[The movie continued:]
[Honkai, the great Demon Lord of this remote land.
He brings terrible nightmares to every sleeping child, eating their candy in dreams, breaking the little flowers they've tended for so long, opening the cages of their pets and letting them escape.
Every child wakes up wailing from these nightmares, developing a fear of sleep, a fear of the nighttime when sleep is necessary.
The entire Great Homu Kingdom fell into panic. And the evil dragon Homusilla was the supervillain who frequently appeared in the dreams of the bravest children!
After the Homu Demon Lord Honkai fell asleep, the evil dragon Homusilla lost its master's guidance and slumbered in its lair.
But recently, for unknown reasons, the evil dragon Homusilla awoke from its slumber. First, it captured the Great Homu King, then exchanged him for Princess Homu-mi.
Now, its dwelling, the dragon's lair, lay right before them.
The path ahead was blocked by a giant boulder. Homu stepped forward, drawing the Holy Sword, intending to shatter the rock.
Homu-la stopped him. "This boulder is too big. You should conserve your strength to fight the evil dragon Homusilla."
Then, Homu-la took out the bomb fruits he always carried, lit one with his fire source, and threw it at the boulder.
BOOM—!
Homu-la exploded in the explosion! A terrifying scar was left on his face. [Cartoon logic applies; he's fine.]
"Thank you, Homu-la!" Homu said mournfully to Homu-la.
Before long, they stumbled into a maze formed by eerie, deceptive trees.
Homu prepared to use the Holy Sword to hack through the tricky trees and clear a path.
But Hori stopped him.
"I've guided lost travelers for a long time. No one knows how to get out of a maze better than I do!"
With that, he began leading the way through the maze. Soon, Hori successfully guided Homu and Homu-la out.
"Thank you, Hori!" Homu sincerely thanked the panting Hori.
Finally, they reached the main gate of the dragon's lair. Homu gripped the Holy Sword, the cloak blessed by the Fairy Miss fluttering behind him.
He pushed open the massive doors. A powerful sense of pressure washed over them.
The terrifying evil dragon Homusilla lifted its head, glaring viciously at them.
"Have you stumbled here by mistake, or have you come to challenge me!?" the evil dragon Homusilla roared. "This is no place for you! Leave at once!"
"Evil dragon Homusilla! We are here to overthrow you!" declared Homu-la.
"Evil dragon Homusilla! We are here to resist your evil deeds!" declared Hori.
"Evil dragon Homusilla! Bring out Princess Homu-mi immediately!" declared Homu.
"So you're the ones from that kingdom!" The evil dragon Homusilla grew furious. It rose from the ground, revealing its most terrifying form.
Menacing scales, a colossal body, a ferocious head – even the bravest child would burst into tears upon seeing it, terrified of being eaten by this behemoth.
Homu was afraid too. After all, he was just a Homu who had left home at the age of ten to embark on this journey alone.
But the Holy Sword gave him courage.
"I'm not afraid of you!" Homu shouted, raising the Holy Sword high and charging towards the evil dragon Homusilla.
After a thrilling and spectacular battle, the evil dragon Homusilla was defeated by Homu!]
Shu: "?"
Wait, wasn't that a bit... rushed?!
Okay, sure, it said a "thrilling and spectacular battle," but it was mostly that classic rubber-hose style, over-the-top, imaginative cartoon fighting.
Things like using the Holy Sword to whip the evil dragon Homusilla like a spinning top, somehow pulling out a bomb fruit from nowhere for precision demolition, throwing rocks that somehow turned into a tennis match, ending with the dragon getting smashed into pieces by a spike shot...
Basically, all sorts of ridiculous and exaggerated antics.
[The movie continued:]
[After these comical combat sequences, the evil dragon finally couldn't take it anymore. Tail between its legs, it scampered off towards the distant horizon.
Homu, meanwhile, only had a slightly dirty cloak.
Princess Homu-mi was successfully rescued, but she brought even more terrifying news...
Honkai was about to awaken! When he awoke, all children would begin having nightmares again! The entire Great Homu Kingdom would fall back into chaos, and everyone would once again fear the night, fear dreaming...
To protect everyone's dreams, Homu decided to press onward, journeying to Honkai's place of slumber to defeat the Demon Lord!
And so, Homu the Brave, Princess Homu-mi, Homu-la the Bomber, Hori the Guide, and the Holy Sword Homu-mi—four Homus and one sword—embarked on the final journey!
To Be Continued—]
Shu shot bolt upright, practically pawing at the screen, staring in disbelief at the large black and white words: To Be Continued.
I was just starting to get interested in this yellow sack-rabbit, and you tell me it's a cliffhanger?!
Shu's eyes were slightly bloodshot. He whipped his head around, looking at the discs scattered all over the floor.
This show was called Homu Brave Fights the Evil Dragon, right? So the sequel should be called Homu Brave Fights the Demon Lord?
Or maybe just straightforwardly Homu Brave Fights the Evil Dragon 2?
Whatever it was called, he just needed to search through the discs dated around 1900!
Shu dove headfirst into the pile of discs.
---||---
The next day, Bronya Zaychik, the earliest riser, came to the dining car feeling refreshed, planning to warm up a glass of milk and have some biscuits.
Then she saw Shu lying amidst the pile of discs, fast asleep with a look of utter defeat on his face.
He was sprawled out on the hard floor, uncovered, still clutching a disc case in his hand.
Glancing coolly at Shu for a moment, Bronya sighed. She silently picked Shu up from the discs—no, hoisted him up—and carried him over to the sofa in the dining car, setting him down gently.
Then Bronya turned back, carefully collected her treasured Homu series discs one by one, and put them back in the drawer.
After finishing, Bronya keenly noticed that one piece of her collection seemed to be missing... It should be that original Homu film, Homu Brave Fights the Evil Dragon...
Turning back, she saw that very disc clutched in Shu's arms.
Sighing again, Bronya carefully pried the disc from Shu's grasp. She looked at it for a couple of seconds, then glanced back at the other discs in the drawer.
Could Shu have been searching for the sequel to Homu Brave Fights the Evil Dragon*?*
Shu might not know, but Bronya certainly knew the history of the Homu IP.
This Homu Brave Fights the Evil Dragon was the very first appearance of the Homu character, considered the foundational work of the entire Homu series.
And the most tragic part was—this 1912 film, Homu Brave Fights the Evil Dragon, had no sequel because its creator had mysteriously disappeared without a trace.
Bronya herself had been devastated when she first learned this news.
"Aih... Why did it have to be this one?" Sighing, Bronya took a blanket from the sofa and draped it over Shu, whose dark circles under his eyes seemed even deeper now.