MMB Chapter 139, Episode 12 of Dyna's Romantic Phantom Thief
Chapter 139, Episode 12 of Dyna's Romantic Phantom Thief
Time flies like an arrow, and in the blink of an eye, the broadcast of "Ultraman Dyna" has reached a new stage.
After the groundwork laid, the development of the story, and the deepening of its world-building in the first ten episodes, viewers' trust in the work has reached a peak.
Although the controversy surrounding the character design of "Shinobi" still exists online, it is undeniable that Gu Nan has deeply imprinted the name "Dyna" in the hearts of the audience with extremely high-quality production and a solid script.
Following the pre-sale frenzy of the True Bone Carving series toys and the release of the Augment Games, the long-awaited Friday primetime slot has finally arrived.
This week's episode is the twelfth one – "Phantom Thief Himara".
The episode opens with a cinematic style reminiscent of an art film, immediately grabbing everyone's attention.
On the television screen was a picture with a strong autumnal atmosphere.
Dusk, the sun goes down.
On the path by the river, two children are happily kicking a soccer ball.
In one corner of the picture, an elderly gentleman dressed in a black suit, wearing a top hat, and leaning on a cane walks slowly by.
The camera focused on a rooster-shaped weather vane by the roadside.
Based on the sun's rising in the east and setting in the west, the current shadows cast on the wind vane indicate that the wind is blowing from southeast to northwest.
"Wow, this filter is so old-fashioned, the detail is incredible..."
At this moment, Lao Tang, who was watching the drama live, couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
As a seasoned tokusatsu enthusiast, he has an exceptionally keen eye for capturing camera shots.
This environmental description, in just ten seconds, establishes a bleak and mysterious autumn twilight atmosphere.
The comments section was filled with agreement.
[Still treating tokusatsu as art films]
This episode didn't feel like a tokusatsu drama; it felt more like watching a movie.
[A director with formal training really makes a difference!]
The plot progresses.
The scene shifts to a space filled with strange colors. It's filled with all sorts of seemingly unrelated items.
There are huge Easter Island Moai statues, Buddhist figurines from folk tales, and various exquisite porcelain and paintings.
These things were piled up haphazardly, yet there was a strange sense of harmony about them.
This is the protagonist of this episode—the phantom thief alien, Himara.
Himala is not the kind of aggressive-looking invader; it has a unique aesthetic.
It boasts of being the universe's number one phantom thief, specializing in stealing what it considers "beautiful" from various planets in the universe as collectibles.
This time, its target was—"the neighborhood under the setting sun".
Is it going to steal the entire block?
The viewers in front of their televisions were stunned.
Everyone's seen monsters steal money, treasures, or even nuclear bombs, but this is the first time I've ever seen one that "packs up" an entire street and the beautiful sunset view it's covered in.
As Himara opened the mysterious box in her hand, an eerie light enveloped the entire block.
There was no violent explosion, nor any screams.
The entire block disappeared from the map instantly, as if it had been erased by an eraser.
All that remained was a huge, square crater on the ground.
Holy crap! These special effects!
Direct spatial transfer? That's way too overpowered!
Wow, this reminds me of Brainiac from DC!
What's it like inside the stolen neighborhood?
……
The Serret, which had just passed this spot, suddenly came to an abrupt stop.
Sensing something amiss after hearing the strange noise, Kariya and Asuka got out of the car and went back to the neighborhood to investigate...
Inside the TPC base, Nakajima rambled on as he reported that the 12th block had disappeared.
Meanwhile, Asuka and Kariya stared in astonishment at the desolate land before them.
The neighborhood we just passed by has vanished as if it had been dug up!
Only the old gentleman in the suit and his hat remained hanging to the side, bearing witness to all of this.
This was not an isolated case. As the aliens threw out several pieces of red cellophane, one block after another disappeared. Recalling the contents of the previous fax, everyone in the TPC base realized that all of this was very likely the work of Himara.
The scene then cuts to the interior of Himara's alternate dimension box.
The shrunken neighborhood retains its original appearance, and even the setting sun in the sky seems to have frozen at its most beautiful moment.
Himara gazed at her new collection with delight, letting out a triumphant laugh: "How beautiful, this eternal twilight..."
Himara's signature background music begins to play. The screen is then blurred again, and accompanied by a strange laugh, the phantom thief alien Himara appears.
It recognized the bird that had gotten off the car and come to follow it as Ultraman Dyna.
He also stated that he did not come to invade Earth.
What it wants is a beautiful view of a town at sunset!
"Mr. Asuka, I have absolutely no intention of invading Earth. On the contrary, I have absolutely no interest in such barbaric acts!"
Seeing the wary bird aiming its gun at him, Himara remained completely calm.
"But I found something incredibly beautiful on this planet!"
"Something beautiful?"
"Of course, this planet has beauty that no other planet has. Do you know what it is?"
He kept it a secret.
"That's the town at sunset~"
"When I first saw that town at sunset, I was captivated by it, Mr. Asuka."
"I must get my hands on anything I like! In other words, anything I find beautiful will become mine!"
"Stop spouting nonsense!"
The bird replied, "The sunset in the town belongs to the people who live there!"
Himara, however, scoffed at the idea.
These words, which disregarded humanity, enraged the bird.
However, this time he didn't go up alone, but went back to the car and chased after them with Kariya.
But Himara was very cunning; he was seen floating in the air.
After a flash of red light, Asuka and Kariya, along with the Seret, were transferred to the previously vanished 12th district...
Good grief, trying to take what you want? Isn't that just robbery?!
I also like to use my phone to capture the beautiful scenery around me, but this guy is something else, he just photographed it all!
[Metron is overjoyed!]
Quick! Jack, come save us!
……
The surroundings were deathly silent; the clouds in the sky were motionless, and the setting sun seemed to be painted on a backdrop, forever hanging in that position.
"Has time stopped?"
Kariya looked around warily.
As the investigation deepened, they finally discovered this enormous alien.
In Himara's eyes, these two humans were nothing more than "impurities" mixed into her collection.
The battle in this episode is not the kind of hard-hitting, bloody melee; instead, it is full of absurd comedic elements.
In order to escape the box-like space, Asuka and the others, who are trapped inside the wooden box, are using the energy laser cannon of the Seret car to attack the sky barrier.
Fortunately, this method is very effective!
The anti-plasma beam gradually tore through the false sky, and the laser cannon successfully pierced the barrier, appearing outside the box.
Mai, who was keeping a close eye on all kinds of information, immediately noticed the reaction of the Seret's laser cannon.
Captain Hibi notifies Nakajima and Koda to go and rescue Asuka and the others.
Although Himara had detected the laser beams shooting out of the box, it did not immediately and hastily board the spaceship to leave.
Instead, they chose to attack the Alpha, which had come to scout ahead.
As expected of an alien who dislikes aggression, this move is truly baffling.
Taking this opportunity, Liang confirmed that the laser cannon was indeed fired from the box next to Himara.
Meanwhile, Koda and Jonjima had arrived on the rooftop, and a standoff ensued.
Taking advantage of the lull in Himara's attack on Koda, Chungjima sneaked around to the back and carried away the wooden crate.
They successfully stole the tower.
Upon seeing the box containing her beloved scenery being taken away, Himara transformed into a gigantic phantom and terrified Chungdo!
The box lay to the side, revealing a small opening.
Taking advantage of this critical moment, when everyone was too busy to think, a beam of light shone from the box!
Dyna has appeared!
And it directly drilled into the alternate dimension inside Himara's body.
However, in this confined alternate dimension, Dyna's movements were restricted after his transformation, while Himara thrived. It used its control over space to toy with Dyna.
The viewers watching this scene had mixed feelings.
On one hand, they were anxious about Dyna's situation; on the other hand, the unique atmosphere of this episode gave them a strange sense of "romance".
Himara's purpose was not to kill; it simply wanted to preserve "beauty."
Although his actions were somewhat robber-like.
It felt that the sunset was infinitely beautiful, but fleeting, so it wanted to "steal" it and seal it in its box forever, making this moment of beauty eternal.
Such a villain's motivation is extremely rare in previous Ultraman works.
Actually... it's not that bad, is it? It's just that its aesthetic sense is a bit extreme?
One commenter weakly remarked.
[Neighborhood residents: You think you're so great, so aloof!]
However, time seems to have stopped in this neighborhood! It's like Zawarudo!
Is this considered a form of immortality?
But soon, Dyna picked up Himara's collection, making him hesitant to act rashly.
Dyna seized the opportunity.
Even within her own domain, Himara's strength is still not great.
After being punched away by Dyna, the previously disappeared blocks and items all returned.
As the box shattered, the imprisoned neighborhood returned to Earth.
The sun finally set, and night fell.
In the end, Himara watched as her painstakingly collected items were destroyed. Instead of retaliating hysterically, she left Earth in a sorry state with the pride and regret of an "artist."
[They didn't kill him?]
This monster is interesting; it's a sophisticated thief.
"The beauty that exists forever is meaningless to mankind. As time goes by and all things are reincarnated, the beautiful moments that remain in our memories in the rolling flow of time are the real treasures. I suppose this is the lesson that the screenwriter of this episode wanted to tell us."
In the live stream, Lao Tang watched the ending and sighed.
"Brothers, this episode has a really deep message. Himara thought that putting the sunset-lit streets in a box was beautiful. But she was wrong. As the line at the end says, 'The sunset is infinitely beautiful, but it's only for a short time.'"
"It is precisely because we know that after dusk the sun will eventually set that the beauty of that moment is worth remembering."
Yes, if time stood still, that wouldn't be beauty; it would be a corpse encased in amber.
Without the warmth of everyday life, without the flow of time, even the most beautiful scenery is just an inanimate object.
Old Tang's interpretation instantly resonated with countless viewers.
[Let's talk about philosophy.]
Indeed, a frozen moment may be exquisite, but its inner soul is already dead.
This episode is truly brilliant; it's not just about fighting and killing, but an exploration of beauty.
This episode could be considered a classic dramatic episode in Dyna's repertoire.
The twelfth episode ended in a subtle, slightly melancholic artistic atmosphere.
However, before viewers could even recover from that "beautiful sunset" sentiment, the thirteenth episode, which followed the trailer, took a dramatic turn!
If the last episode was an art film, then this episode is practically a sitcom!
……