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alchemicinkChallenge #6
Share your favourite piece of original canon.
I can't narrow this down to one overall favorite of all time, so I just decided to do a current favorite that's occupying all my brainspace lately: Ultraman Arc
More specifically, the pilot's monologue and Yuma's response in Ultraman Arc episode 12.
An extremely basic overview of the show is that kaiju (giant monsters) appear each week, and the protagonist, Yuma, secretly transforms into Ultraman Arc to stop them. He also works with a team of kaiju researchers (called SKIP) to help prevent disasters.
Episode 12 is the second of a two-parter. In the previous episode, a giant robot (called Givas) arrived from space and attacked both Arc and the kaiju he was fighting. Everyone thinks the robot must be an enemy because of the attack, except for Yuma who witnessed Givas protect some kids from the kaiju.
The SKIP team is working on translating what Givas is saying, but they keep ending up with "I am here to be your enemy." But Yuma insists that can't be correct, and if they could just communicate with Givas, then maybe they could understand each other better.
In episode 12, Yuma climbs inside Givas, hoping to speak to the pilot, but is shocked to only discover his remains. This means Givas has been acting on his own the whole time.
But the pilot left a message behind explaining things, and Yuma listens.
(The English dubbed episode is available on YouTube, and you can listen to the monologue beginning at 12:55 and ending at 15:33)
The pilot explains that the two of them had been searching for a way to save their planet, but after centuries of looking, the planet perished and they were the only ones left. Without a purpose anymore, the pilot decided to continue their journey just to provide proof that they'd lived. But even he knew he couldn't live forever, and he worried that Givas would give up on living too if he knew that the pilot was gone. So he told Givas to go looking for a new friend.
Perhaps it's merely the gravitas of the voice actor speaking, but the monologue gets me every time I listen to it. It can be so devastating to feel as though you are adrift in life, lacking purpose and feeling alone. It can be so easy to just give up.
But that's what I love about the next part of the episode. Yuma reaches out to Givas, trying to stop him from fighting and save him before the Global Defense Force tries to destroy him. Eventually he gets through to him, and he tells Givas, "your real journey's just begun. There's so much more ahead of you."
(That part of the episode is from timestamp 21:20 to 22:00)
There's so much more ahead of you.
The course of your life may not be what you had originally expected, but you still should keep following the path forward, even if you don't know what lies ahead anymore.
Maybe the platitude is a bit on-the-nose, but it resonates with me every time I watch this particular episode.
So, yeah, that's the bit of canon I wanted to share 😊
(By the way, Ultraman Arc is really a wonderful show about imagination and loss and making connections with people, and it's fully available to watch on YouTube. English dub playlist here (the episodes are currently out of order 😒) and original Japanese with subtitles playlist here. The final episode airs next week ðŸ˜)
Share your favourite piece of original canon.
I can't narrow this down to one overall favorite of all time, so I just decided to do a current favorite that's occupying all my brainspace lately: Ultraman Arc
More specifically, the pilot's monologue and Yuma's response in Ultraman Arc episode 12.
An extremely basic overview of the show is that kaiju (giant monsters) appear each week, and the protagonist, Yuma, secretly transforms into Ultraman Arc to stop them. He also works with a team of kaiju researchers (called SKIP) to help prevent disasters.
Episode 12 is the second of a two-parter. In the previous episode, a giant robot (called Givas) arrived from space and attacked both Arc and the kaiju he was fighting. Everyone thinks the robot must be an enemy because of the attack, except for Yuma who witnessed Givas protect some kids from the kaiju.
The SKIP team is working on translating what Givas is saying, but they keep ending up with "I am here to be your enemy." But Yuma insists that can't be correct, and if they could just communicate with Givas, then maybe they could understand each other better.
In episode 12, Yuma climbs inside Givas, hoping to speak to the pilot, but is shocked to only discover his remains. This means Givas has been acting on his own the whole time.
But the pilot left a message behind explaining things, and Yuma listens.
(The English dubbed episode is available on YouTube, and you can listen to the monologue beginning at 12:55 and ending at 15:33)
The pilot explains that the two of them had been searching for a way to save their planet, but after centuries of looking, the planet perished and they were the only ones left. Without a purpose anymore, the pilot decided to continue their journey just to provide proof that they'd lived. But even he knew he couldn't live forever, and he worried that Givas would give up on living too if he knew that the pilot was gone. So he told Givas to go looking for a new friend.
Perhaps it's merely the gravitas of the voice actor speaking, but the monologue gets me every time I listen to it. It can be so devastating to feel as though you are adrift in life, lacking purpose and feeling alone. It can be so easy to just give up.
But that's what I love about the next part of the episode. Yuma reaches out to Givas, trying to stop him from fighting and save him before the Global Defense Force tries to destroy him. Eventually he gets through to him, and he tells Givas, "your real journey's just begun. There's so much more ahead of you."
(That part of the episode is from timestamp 21:20 to 22:00)
There's so much more ahead of you.
The course of your life may not be what you had originally expected, but you still should keep following the path forward, even if you don't know what lies ahead anymore.
Maybe the platitude is a bit on-the-nose, but it resonates with me every time I watch this particular episode.
So, yeah, that's the bit of canon I wanted to share 😊
(By the way, Ultraman Arc is really a wonderful show about imagination and loss and making connections with people, and it's fully available to watch on YouTube. English dub playlist here (the episodes are currently out of order 😒) and original Japanese with subtitles playlist here. The final episode airs next week ðŸ˜)
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