I'm Not A Master, I'm A Director (Creating Fate Movie In Nasuverse)

Half an hour later, under Shinji's orders, Master Li finally allowed the poor Heroic Spirits to take a short break.

"Damn, that old man is ruthless," Cu Chulainn muttered, glancing at Li Shuwen, who stood firm like a pine tree in the distance. "He's a demon, only my teacher could possibly compare to him."

"Agreed…" Archer (EMIYA) weakly raised one hand in support of Cu Chulainn's statement, though his other hand was still holding his back.

Even Gilgamesh, rarely agreeing with anyone, nodded. "That damned mongrel... He's not even human."

Gilgamesh, who usually did as he pleased and feared no one except Enkidu, had indeed tried to resist. 

But whenever he so much as hinted at opening his Gate of Babylon, Li Shuwen would close in instantly.

First second, his Noble Phantasm would be shattered. 

On the second one, Li Shuwen's fist would be buried in his stomach. 

By the third, Gilgamesh would be sprawled out on the ground.

Though humiliating, after losing several treasures, Gilgamesh had to admit that within five paces, this white-haired old man in sunglasses was invincible.

'What kind of Assassin is this? This is way off the mark!"'

In Gilgamesh's understanding, apart from a certain armored Hassan, Assassins were supposed to be sneaky, not confrontational. 

But this guy? He was all about face-to-face combat! 

Unless Gilgamesh was at least 500 meters away, he wouldn't dare provoke this grandpa.

"Where did Master even find this guy? Even I can't beat him in close combat," Enkidu was equally baffled by the old man's prowess.

Despite his usual fondness for teasing Gilgamesh, Enkidu had no interest in such punishments. 

Unfortunately, under Li Shuwen's intimidation, even Enkidu had no choice but to comply.

"Master." Li Shuwen approached Shinji, addressing him softly.

"Master Li," Shinji paused his work and looked up. "How are they?"

Li Shuwen smirked, a trace of disdain in his expression. "Completely useless. Their physical conditioning is barely passable; not a single one died from my punch. But their technique is awful. They'll need more training."

Shinji's mouth twitched slightly.

Surviving one of your punches is already impressive! 

What more do you want? A full-on brawl for hundreds of rounds?

Maybe it's just something about the Nasuverse, but Master Li was absurdly powerful. 

According to Kotomine Kirei, if it came down to a pure martial arts match, he wouldn't last beyond the third round before having to run for his life.

Despite the internal complaints, Shinji kept his thoughts to himself. "I'll leave them in your hands, then. Please make sure they're ready before the action scenes."

"Don't worry, Master," Li Shuwen nodded slightly. "You summoned me to train these unworthy souls, and I won't let you down."

With that, the old man turned and marched back towards the resting Heroic Spirits.

"You lot, how long are you planning to lie around? Get back to work!"

"Ah! The demon's back!"

"Old man, this is too much!"

"Enkidu, cover me, I'm taking him down!"

"Good luck, Gil. I'm staying down."

"Damn it!"

...

Watching the chaotic scene unfold, a slight, helpless smile appeared on Shinji's face.

"Well, maybe it's good for them to learn a lesson."

Lately, those guys had been getting too rowdy. Having a "disciplinary supervisor" around wasn't a bad idea.

Originally, Shinji had summoned Master Li to serve as the martial arts director. 

Unlike the previous Fate series movies they filmed, Ultraman in Super 8 already had a well-established combat style, which was mostly hand-to-hand combat.

For Heroic Spirits like Cu Chulainn and the others, they were skilled in armed combat, but hand-to-hand combat wasn't their strong suit. 

Not that they weren't powerful in unarmed combat, but it just didn't look as impressive as when they wielded their weapons.

After all, visual effects always take precedence. 

While Kotomine Kirei could handle some stunts himself, teaching multiple people different styles was beyond his capability. 

To address this, Shinji directly summoned Master Li for assistance.

Master Li had traveled extensively during his lifetime and had encountered countless martial arts styles. 

Although Bajiquan was his specialty, it didn't mean that was all he knew. 

Nasu's portrayal of him was brutal; in the realm of martial arts, the old man was indeed invincible.

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While Master Li was busy training the Heroic Spirits, Shinji began shooting the dialogue scenes. 

Super 8, as a major tokusatsu (special effects) film, had a clear distinction between action and dialogue scenes—primarily distinguished by whether or not the actors were in suits.

"Daigo, your expression is off! You need to look slightly surprised, yet also as if you've just realized something you suspected all along."

On the set of Super 8, Shinji stood by the camera, directing Hiroshi Nagano on his performance.

"You need to understand that, in a way, Mirai's appearance confirms your suspicions. So, while your attitude towards him should be more friendly—"

"It should also show the urgency of understanding why he's here," Hiroshi Nagano finished, "since before Hibino Mirai appeared, he thought all his encounters were just dreams."

"Exactly!" Shinji nodded.

"Daigo admires Ultraman, and even though Mebius isn't the hero he idolized as a child, he still wants to learn as much as possible about him."

"Alright!" Hiroshi Nagano nodded, understanding the director's intent. 

He awkwardly rubbed his nose. 

Compared to Shinji, who was extremely passionate about Ultraman, Nagano didn't share the same level of enthusiasm for the franchise.

Born in 1972, Nagano missed out on most of the Showa-era Ultraman series and had only followed Ultraman 80. 

Although he had seen some of the other Ultraman shows on videotape as a child, he never watched them consistently from beginning to end.

Of course, Nagano had a strong connection to Ultraman Tiga and his character Daigo, but his understanding of the broader Ultraman universe was probably less than some of the Heroic Spirits in the crew. 

After all, Kotomine Kirei had forced them to repeatedly watch the Ultraman series to prepare for their roles in the suits.

"Actually, this plot design is a bit unrealistic. Neither I, Kariya-san, nor Yoshioka-san (the actor who plays Asuka Shin) could have seen the original Ultraman premiere," Nagano said, somewhat exasperated.

Shinji shrugged nonchalantly. "Don't worry, the audience won't care about that. Older viewers are more concerned with whether their nostalgia is honored."

Nagano's point wasn't entirely invalid—he and the other two Heisei-era human hosts were all born in the 70s. 

They wouldn't have even been able to speak when Ultraman Leo aired, let alone watch the original Ultraman series as it premiered. 

Logically, they should have been watching Ultraman 80 as children, not the original Ultraman.

However, the issue with Ultraman 80 involved complications between Tsuburaya Productions and TBS, so Tsuburaya's attitude towards that series was delicate—ignoring it as much as possible. 

Moreover, in terms of influence, the original Ultraman was undoubtedly the pinnacle of the Ultraman series and the origin of all Ultramen.

Back when the final episode of the original series aired, countless families across Japan opened their windows, and children everywhere could be seen loudly bidding farewell to Ultraman.

So, from any perspective, using the original Ultraman as the opening of the movie was the most fitting choice. 

Super 8 relied heavily on nostalgia as its selling point, and Shinji was determined to emphasize that to the fullest.

"Anyway, we never explicitly stated your ages in the movie, so just imagine you were a kid in the '60s," Shinji joked.

"Fine, let's go with that," Nagano agreed reluctantly.

"Don't sweat the details. Tokusatsu settings aren't meant to be taken too seriously," Shinji said with a grin. "After all, there have been those bizarre Ultraman movies from Thailand. No matter what, our film is more serious than that."

"Ugh, don't bring up that guy from Thailand. It makes me mad just thinking about it."

Having just returned from Thailand after winning a lawsuit, Kariya spoke up, visibly irritated.

Kariya's trip to Thailand had gone smoothly. 

With Tsuburaya Productions well-prepared and the local magus families assisting, they won the case easily.

Despite the success, Kariya still harbored a grudge against the Thai businessman who had caused him to stay in Thailand for so long. 

However, the speed at which Tsuburaya managed to resolve the lawsuit was already impressive, thanks to the local magus families who expedited the legal proceedings by at least double the usual pace.

Shinji's and Kayneth's reputations still carried considerable weight in the magus community. 

Upon hearing that Shinji Matou needed assistance, the local magus families in Thailand immediately offered their support, saying, "No matter what the Modern Magecraft Theories Department plans in Thailand, we'll back you up!"

This local support proved invaluable. 

For instance, the Thai businessman was caught off guard when Shinji asked the local magus families to monitor him to prevent the sale of copyrights during the trial. 

The magus families were more ruthless than Shinji expected, even arranging for the local police to detain the businessman, effectively placing him under house arrest.

That businessman, who never imagined he would experience criminal-level treatment for an economic crime, was later imprisoned for fraud. 

Shinji figured that the man would be bragging to his cellmates about this for a long time.

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