WHEN ULTRAMAN TALK THE TALK
Recently I met up with my idol Ultraman in Tokyo , Japan , the city he has saved many times over from evil, destructive monsters. We met at an intersection downtown, bought drinks from a vending machine and sat on the kerb for this interview.
Me: Konichiwa, Ultraman-san!
Ultraman: Apa khabar, Visiteur-san!
Me: Wow! Ultraman reti cakap bahasa?
Ultraman: Mesti lah, beb! Gua ada ramai peminat di seluruh dunia. Gua kena lah belajar macam-macam bahasa.
Me: Cool! So, what you been up to, dude?
Ultraman: A bit tired. Fought a monster last night in Fukushima prefecture. We fought until we reached the seaside in Hamadori. A lot of people died.
Me: The monster killed so many?
Ultraman: Actually, gua terjatuh and terhimpit diorang.
Me: Er, I see. Banyak lagi ke monster kat dunia ni?
Ultraman: Ada lah. Tapi diorang dah malas nak lawan. Dah ada agent and publicist. Merchandising rights. Suma lawan nak dapat market share je. Boring lah, beb!
Me: I see. So camne brader-brader lu? Ultraman Tiga, Ultraman Taro .. ?
Ultraman: They all OK. Tiga dah bersara. Sekarang dia bukak restoran sushi kat Shinjuku. Bini dia baru beranak.
Me: Wow!
Ultraman: Yeah. Bini dia makhluk Bumi. So at first, family gua bantah, sebab we all boleh kahwin ngan orang Planet Ultra je. But thank the Ultra-Gods, my father, Ultraman yang bertanduk tu, finally gave his blessings. Cucu dia tu bertanduk jugak, so happy lah dia.
Me: What about Taro?
Ultraman: Taro tengah buat multi-level marketing ju! al ubat untuk kuatkan tenaga batin.
Me: Eh, naper Ultraman suma tak nak jadi superhero lagi?
Ultraman: Tu lah. Nowadays terlalu ramai superhero. Gaban lah, Power Ranger lah, ni lah, tu la. Yang paling teruk si Baja Hitam tu lah. Lawan cam pondan tapi marketing power dia kuat. Sebab tu boleh jadi popular. I always say, never trust superhero yang bawak motosikal, superhero yang pakai topeng pelik-pelik. We all Ultramen don’t need all that cosmetic shit.
Me: Wow, marahnya Ultraman.
Ultraman: Siapa tak marah? Bagero! Superhero ciplak ni suma tak original lah. And they all no integrity or morals. Last week, I dengar Gaban kena ta! ngkap ngan gadis bawah umur. You see?
Me: Man, that is sad.
Ultraman: Tu lah. That’s why kalau tak Ultra, memang tak world lah.
Me: Wuhu ! Lu peminat Mawi ke?
Ultraman: Adalah sikit-sikit.
Me: So, Ultraman, what’syour future plan? You going to give up being a superhero too?
Ultraman: No way. I love my job too much. But my girlfriend complains that I work such long hours. And when I come home at night, I’m always tired and my c! hest light is always beeping.
Me: Woooo! Sounds like you might need some of that ubat from your brader Taro.
Ultraman: Good idea! I better give him a call tonight.
At this point, Ultraman receives a distress call from Yokohama , where a monster is attacking the train station. So off he went, into the blue yonder, to fight yet another worthy adversary. World!