Ultraman Tiga (series)

Ultraman Tiga (ウルトラマンティガ) is a Japanese tokusatsu TV show and is the 11th show in the Ultra Series. Produced by Tsuburaya Productions, Ultraman Tiga was aired at 6:00pm and aired between September 7, 1996 to August 30, 1997, with a total of 52 episodes with 5 movies (3 being crossovers, 2 being direct sequel to the series as well as a comic book series's) After a franchise hiatus of over 15 years, set in a universe different from all previous series and updated with a new look and feel. Tiga is the first Ultraman with multiple combat modes and non-red colors. It was one of the popular entries in the Ultra Series. Because of Tiga's popularity, he had more exposure on TV and movies than any other Heisei Ultraman. Ultraman Tiga was also dubbed in English by 4Kids Entertainment and broadcast in the United States as part of the Fox Box programming block on Fox Broadcasting Company affiliates, making it the fourth Ultra Series to air in the United States after Ultraman, Ultra Seven and Ultraman: Towards the Future.

Plot
Set in the alternate timeline of the years 2007-2010 (2049 in the U.S. dub), giant monsters and conquering alien start to appear, as was foretold by an apocalyptic prophecy about an uncontrollable chaos over the Earth. Facing the threat, the TPC (Terrestrial Peaceable Consortium) is created, such as its branch, GUTS (Global Unlimited Task Squad). Through a holographic message in a capsule found by researchers, the GUTS gets knowledge about a golden pyramid built by an ancient civilization. At the site, three statues of a race of giants who defended early human civilization on Earth about 30,000,000 years ago from Super-Ancient Monsters and other forces of darkness are found, but two of them are destroyed by the monsters Golza and Melba. The third one gains life from the spiritual energy of officer Daigo Madoka, descendant of the ancient race. Daigo and the remaining statue merge into a single being, made of light, Ultraman Tiga. Shortly after defeating the two monsters, Daigo is revealed by the hologram of the prophecy that 30 million years in the past, a great evil that not even the giants could stop, destroyed the ancient civilization. The same evil reappears in the finale of the series, the Ruler of Darkness Gatanozoa, and his servants, Gijera and Zoigar. Ghatanothoa defeats Ultraman Tiga with ease, withstanding the Delcalium Light Stream and a modified version of the Zepellion Ray, both Tiga's finishes, and turns him back into a statue, but the light of humanity is able to turn him into Glitter Tiga, giving him the power to defeat Ghatanothoa and save the Earth.

However, Tiga's victory came at a cost. Daigo was no longer able to become Tiga after the Spark Lens disintegrated into dust after his final battle. It is ultimately revealed that Tiga, although no longer bound to Daigo, its energy now remains in the heart of all those who believe in Tiga, inner-strength and justice. Given the right conditions such as times of despair, the sparks will gather and Tiga statue will be revitalized.

GUTS
GUTS (Global Unlimited Task Squad) is the "peace-keeping" force of the Tiga universe. It is a special investigation team of the TPC (Terrestrial Peaceable Consortium).

Main article: Daigo Madoka
 * Daigo Madoka/Ultraman Tiga (マドカ・ダイゴ／ウルトラマンティガ)


 * Rena Yanase (ヤナセ・レナ)
 * An action hero in her own right, being the best fighter pilot and no stranger to using heavy machines and artillery, and happens to have compassion for some of the monsters. Daigo's love interest, later becomes his wife. After a series of events, she becomes aware of Ultraman Tiga's identity, and figures out that Daigo is Tiga and witnesses Daigo transform in front of her in episode 50.


 * Captain Megumi Iruma (イルマ・メグミ隊長)
 * The first female Captain in an Ultra series, she has a commanding yet motherly presence. She mostly stays in headquarters and leaves field operations in the capable hands of her deputy captain, Munakata. Her influence makes GUTS perhaps less militant than some of her superiors over at TPC, which provides some opportunities for dramatic tension. She is formerly a scientist and she is also a widow with one child that lives with her mother-in-law. Later, she was revealed to be the re-incarnation of Yuzare.


 * Deputy Captain Seiichi Munakata (ムナカタ・セイイチ副隊長)
 * A no-nonsense, chisel-faced commander. He was saved by Iruma back in his days on the defense force. He is a teetotaler who has a penchant for drinking milk at jazz bars and wearing a baseball cap in the field.


 * Masami Horii (ホリイ・マサミ)
 * The pug-faced, brainy, Osaka-dialect-speaking comic-relief technologist who finds love and gets married during the series. Known as the "Brains of GUTS" with his genius.


 * Tetsuo Shinjoh (シンジョウ・テツオ)
 * The bland but tall and good-looking guy with a fan following. He has a younger sister named Mayumi, who is a TPC nurse. He is sometimes brash and hotheaded, but is also a bit of chicken and fears ghosts and supernatural things. He has formed a goofball combination with either Daigo or Horii.


 * Jun Yazumi (ヤズミ・ジュン)
 * Rounding off the crew is young Yazumi, the communications and computer expert who goes out into the field even less than Captain Iruma. When reports of a winged monster appearing from Easter Island, most of the GUTS crew attends to this, the second monster on the loose since the meteorite landed, while Yazumi remains behind to research the name "Tiga." Yazumi discovers that the name is an old popular name of a northeastern district in Japan.

TPC

 * Inspector General Souichiro Sawai (サワイ・ソウイチロウ総監)
 * The head and founder of TPC, and a strong advocate of GUTS. A pacifist at heart, but also a rationalist in the face of the dangers that face humanity. Advocated the formation of TPC when he was the secretary general of the United Nations back in the 20th century. Often participates in field operations. Also dedicated to contacting extraterrestrial life.


 * Chief of Staff Officer Masayuki Nahara (ナハラ・マサユキ参謀)
 * A gentle man of principle who avoids confrontation. He likes to put the breaks on reckless military buildups.


 * Military Police Director General Tetsuji Yoshioka (ヨシオカ・テツジ警務局長官)
 * He is responsible for the enforcement arm of TPC. A war hawk, but also an old friend of pacifist Sawai. Often disagrees with Nahara, but never acts irrationally. A former submariner. He likes to carry and use a traditional folding Japanese fan.


 * Mayumi Shinjoh (シンジョウ・マユミ)
 * Mayumi is Shinjoh's 19-year-old younger sister who works as a nurse in TPC. She had a biker boyfriend that died in episode 15. She joined the organization with the help of her older brother.


 * Professor Naban Yao (ヤオ・ナバン博士)
 * The founder of Maxima Overdrive, which can harness the power of light. A scientist at heart, he continues to pursue the dreams of his childhood. It takes him 20 years to turn his dream of creating the greatest ship ever into a reality (in the form of the Art Dessei). In a nice touch, names his test vehicle the Snow White.


 * Professor Reiko Kashimura (カシムラ・レイコ博士)
 * The head of TPC's "Ride Mecha" R and D. She made several appearances in the first half of the series. She participates in the analysis of Yuzare's time capsule and the modification of GUTS mecha to combat. She also makes an appearance in Ultraman Dyna.


 * Professor Yuuji Tango (タンゴ・ユウジ博士)
 * An army scientist from TPC's Life Sciences Research division. He is small at heart but full of pride. He spends time analyzing the remains of the Tiga statues. His insecurities eventually lead him to trouble.


 * Technical Officer Omi Yanase (ヤナセ・オミ技官)
 * Rena's father, the head of Station Delta. He has a bad relationship with Rena, at first. But they are reconciled, after he shows that he actually loves his daughter, when captured by Alien Regulan.


 * Captain Shin Hayate (ハヤテ・シン隊長): A poker-faced Captain of moon base Garowa. Flees to Earth when Garowa is annihilated by monster Menjula. An old friend and senior of Captain Iruma, who sees him as a great senior figure.

Other characters
Main article: Keigo Masaaki
 * Keigo Masaki/Evil Tiga (マサキ・ケイゴ／イーヴィルティガ)


 * Yuzare (ユザレ)


 * Michiru Ezaki (エザキ・ミチル)


 * Makio Kirino (キリノ・マキオ)
 * A man with extraordinary ability who is able to predict future events and communicate with others through telepathy. Thanks to this ability, he knew Daigo's identity as Ultraman Tiga. He became jealous of Daigo, because Daigo/Ultraman Tiga was praised as a hero with his "extraordinary power", while Makio himself was seen by others as a monster. Makio then blackmailed Daigo to play games with him and told him to defeat the monster Galra without transforming, and even threatened to reveal Daigo's identity as Ultraman Tiga to the world if he lost or transformed against the rules. But after seeing Daigo's eagerness to protect Rena, he is touched and redeemed himself by telling Daigo Galra's weak spot, so he could finally defeat it.


 * Tomoki Miura (ミウラ・トモキ)
 * Iruma's only son. He lives with his grandmother and is a computer Genius that surpasses even Yazumi.


 * Ghatanothoa (ガタノゾーア)
 * The Ruler of Darkness, and ancient evil that engulfed the Earth in darkness and destroyed the ancient civilization that the giants protected, and turned the giants to stone. Eventually Ghatanothoa's reign over the Earth ended when he and his followers went into hibernation. In the present when the series is set, Ghatanothoa and his servants reawakened to destroy humanity. Even though Ultraman Tiga stood in his way, he was no match for the Ruler of Darkness who turned him back to stone. However, the light of humanity revive Ultraman Tiga as Glitter Tiga who finally killed Ghatanothoa, completely obliterating him with a blast of energy from his color timer. Its name is derived from Ghatanothoa, of which one of the spellings in Japanese is the same.

Mecha

 * GUTS Wing 01 (GW-01)
 * An advanced fighter with variable-sweep wings. It would be later used by the SuperGUTS as a trainer as well as fighters for other organizations.


 * GUTS Wing 02 (GW-02)
 * It can carry up to four team members. It can open its Hyper Electromagnetic Launcher by sliding its fuselage to the side.


 * GUTS Wing EX-J (GW-EXJ)
 * A heavily modified version of the GUTS Wing 02. It can split into EX-J α and EX-J β.


 * Snow White
 * A custom made GUTS Wing 01 designed for hypersonic flight.


 * GUTS Wing Blue Tornado (GW-BT)
 * A custom built GUTS Wing 01 designed by the American branch of the TPC. Although its speed availability exceeds GW-01 its weapons are less effective.


 * GUTS Wing Crimson Dragon (GW-CD)
 * A custom built GUTS Wing 01 designed by the European branch of the TPC. Its combat efficiency exceeds GW-01 and is still used during the SuperGUTS age.


 * Artdessei
 * It is large enough to load 3 GUTS Wings, the Artdessei is a space-flight-capable carrier and battleship. It is also equipped with the Neo-Maxima cannon.


 * Machine Sherlock (GUTS Car)
 * A modified Chevrolet Camaro, equipped with cannons above the roof.


 * Machine De La Mu
 * A modified Chevrolet Blazer, equipped with Degner Canon on the roof.


 * Peeper
 * A tank equipped with a drill for subterranean exploration and combat.


 * Dolpher-202
 * A submarine used for underwater missions.


 * Stug
 * A modified motorcycle for offroad mission purposes.

Episodes

 * 1) The One Who Inherits the Light (光を継ぐもの)
 * 2) Stone of Legends (石の神話)
 * 3) The Devil's Prophecy (悪魔の預言)
 * 4) Sa-yo-na-ra Earth (サ・ヨ・ナ・ラ地球)
 * 5) The Day the Monster Came Out (怪獣が出てきた日)
 * 6) Second Contact (セカンド・コンタクト)
 * 7) The Man Who Came Down to Earth (地球に降りてきた男)
 * 8) On Halloween Night (ハロウィンの夜に)
 * 9) The Girl Who Waits for a Monster (怪獣を待つ少女)
 * 10) The Closed Amusement Park (閉ざされた遊園地)
 * 11) Requiem to the Darkness (闇へのレクイエム)
 * 12) S.O.S from the Deep Sea (深海からのSOS)
 * 13) Human Collecting (人間採集)
 * 14) The Released Target (放たれた標的)
 * 15) The Phantom Dash (幻の疾走)
 * 16) Resurrected Friend (よみがえる鬼神)
 * 17) Red and Blue's Battle (赤と青の戦い)
 * 18) Golza's Counterattack (ゴルザの逆襲)
 * 19) GUTS to the Sky Part 1 (GUTSよ宙（そら）へ 前編)
 * 20) GUTS to the Sky Part 2 (GUTSよ宙（そら）へ 後編)
 * 21) Deban's Turn (出番だデバン!)
 * 22) A Fog's Coming (霧が来る)
 * 23) Dinosaurs' Star (恐竜たちの星)
 * 24) Go! Monster Expedition Team (行け! 怪獣探検隊)
 * 25) The Devil's Judgement (悪魔の審判)
 * 26) Evil Monster Realm of the Rainbow (虹の怪獣魔境)
 * 27) I Saw Obiko! (オビコを見た!)
 * 28) One Vanishing Moment (うたかたの…)
 * 29) Blue Night's Memory (青い夜の記憶)
 * 30) Monster Zoo (怪獣動物園)
 * 31) The Attacked GUTS Base (襲われたGUTS基地)
 * 32) Zelda Point's Defenses (ゼルダポイントの攻防)
 * 33) Vampire City (吸血都市)
 * 34) To The Southern Limit (南の涯てまで)
 * 35) The Sleeping Maiden (眠りの乙女)
 * 36) The Time-Transcending Smile (時空をこえた微笑)
 * 37) Flower (花)
 * 38) The Mirage Monster (蜃気楼の怪獣)
 * 39) Dear Mr. Ultraman (拝啓ウルトラマン様)
 * 40) Dream (夢)
 * 41) Friend from Space (宇宙からの友)
 * 42) Town Where the Girl Disappeared (少女が消えた街)
 * 43) Land Shark (地の鮫)
 * 44) The One Who Inherits the Shadows (影を継ぐもの)
 * 45) Eternal Life (永遠の命)
 * 46) Let's Go to Kamakura! (いざ鎌倉!)
 * 47) Goodbye to Darkness (闇にさようなら)
 * 48) Fugitive from The Moon (月からの逃亡者)
 * 49) The Ultra Star (ウルトラの星)
 * 50) Take Me Higher! (もっと高く!～Take Me Higher!～)
 * 51) Master of Darkness (暗黒の支配者)
 * 52) To The Shining Ones (輝けるものたちへ)

Cameos

 * Episode 49: The original Ultraman helps to defeat monster Yanakahgi. As mentioned earlier, Tiga is from an entirely different timeline than the original Ultra series, so a lot of plot contortions are made in order to bring together this dream team, to honor the 30th anniversary of the original Ultraman.

Films

 * Ultraman Tiga: The Final Odyssey (2000): The story is set two years after the final episode.
 * Ultraman Tiga Gaiden: Revival of the Ancient Giant (2001): A direct-to-video special set many years after the end of the series (Year 2038, 21 years after the events of Ultraman Dyna) In it, Daigo and Rena also have a son who is named Tsubasa.


 * Ultraman Tiga & Ultraman Dyna: Warriors of the Star of Light: A crossover between Tiga and the series, Ultraman Dyna (as events of the movie is set during times of the Dyna series). Ultraman Tiga appears to assist Dyna in battling an Alien Threat.
 * Ultraman Tiga & Ultraman Dyna & Ultraman Gaia: Battle in Hyperspace: A crossover featuring Tiga as an Ultra that appeared in the film.
 * Superior Ultraman 8 Brothers: Tiga was one of the main Ultramen to appear in this film, alongside Showa-era Ultra Heroes, marking the first major "crossover" between Showa and Heisei Ultramen. This movie occurs in an alternate universe where Ultras never came to Earth and were thought of as legends from a TV show. Ultraman Mebius crossed over into this universe to team up with them.

4Kids Adaptation
Ultraman Tiga was the 4th Ultra series to be adapted for a U.S. release. It was released by 4Kids Entertainment for Fox's FoxBox Saturday morning programming and debuted on September 14, 2002.

The Americanized version was a self-parody of 4Kids' style of Americanization. It contained many dramatic changes often seen in other 4Kids acquisitions. There was an entirely new theme song and the original soundtrack for the series was replaced. The storyline was altered to comply with network television censorship standards and made it "kid-friendly" (fewer people die, plots were simplified, and the diabolical motivations of aliens were watered down). There was a lot more dialogue and telepathic conversations to explain plot points that were originally implicit. A minute or two of scenes were cut out both to meet U.S. broadcast scheduling and to make room for special new featurettes that highlight specific aspects of the show.

There was also a lot more blatant and crude humor. The Japanese Ultraman Tiga had a few moments of subtle humor and charming moments. The Americanized version came with dialogue that poked fun of the original material as well as the dubbing in general, which changed the personalities for some of the characters (Notable in this aspect was the transformation of Captain Iruma from a smart, level-headed individual into a complete airhead.) Additionally, Captain Iruma was referred to as a "sir" instead of a "ma'am", perhaps in an attempt at being politically correct. This caused some problems within the addressing of a commanding officer whether that person was male or a female.

The monsters were enhanced with new sound effects, and the transformation sequence was altered altogether, in a scene showcasing all of Tiga's forms and emphazing the change from Daigo to Tiga. Additionally, Ultraman Tiga's "Multi, Power, and Sky types" are changed into "Omni, Power, and Speed Modes," respectively. The Spark Lens was renamed the "Torch of Tiga", although the Region 1 DVD Release refers to it as the "Spark Lance" for the first DVD (soon afterwards, the translation becomes "Spark Lens" yet again. His Light Techniques were called "Luminizers", and Ultraman Tiga's Color Timer is referred to as his "Biotic Sensor." Probably the most infamous (and partially racial) of the Tiga incidents was in episode 22, where the Japanese dialogue was used in the Americanized version of the series as an "Extraterrestrial Language."

Of the 52 Episodes of Ultraman Tiga, only 25 episodes were released dubbed and the series quietly ended its run on the FoxBox with little success. Villains such as Irudo and Evil Tiga never had a chance to appear despite being shown previously in advertisements, indicating that the entire series (or at least significantly more,) was intended to be brought over.

A possible reason for its limited success in America was shown in a reference in Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, another more successful 4Kids acquisition. An episode which "coincidentally" features an Ultraman reference appears in both the Japanese and English versions. This could present the possibility that Ultraman Tiga (only the fourth Ultra series to be shown in the U.S. behind Ultraman, Ultra Seven, and Ultraman: Towards the Future) may have been acquired and broadcasted merely to explain the reference. According to Voice Actress, Erica Schroeder (whom played the voice of Rena of GUTS,) she said that part of the reason for Ultraman Tiga's limited success in the U.S. was due to 4kids having issues deciding on whether to satrize the show or to make it serious, which explains the poorly handled humor and dubbing as seen throughout the dub.

Cast

 * Daigo Madoka (マドカ・ダイゴ)/Nagano (長野): Hiroshi Nagano (V6) (長野 博（Ｖ６）)
 * Rena Yanase (ヤナセ・レナ): Takami Yoshimoto (吉本 多香美)
 * Megumi Iruma (イルマ・メグミ)/Yuzare (ユザレ): Mio Takaki (高樹 澪)
 * Seiichi Munakata (ムナカタ・セイイチ): Akitoshi Ohtaki (大滝 明利)
 * Masami Horii (ホリイ・マサミ): Yukio Masuda (増田 由紀夫)
 * Tetsuo Shinjoh (シンジョウ・テツオ): Shigeki Kagemaru (影丸 茂樹)
 * Jun Yazumi (ヤズミ・ジュン): Yoichi Furuya (古屋 暢一)
 * Souichiro Sawai (サワイ・ソウイチロウ): Tamio Kawachi (川地 民夫)
 * Masayuki Nahara (ナハラ・マサユキ): Take Uketa (タケ・ウケタ)
 * Tetsuji Yoshioka (ヨシオカ・テツジ): Ken Okabe (岡部 健)
 * Mayumi Shinjoh (シンジョウ・マユミ): Kei Ishibashi (石橋 けい)
 * Naban Yao (ヤオ・ナバン): Ichirō Ogura (小倉 一郎)
 * Reiko Kashimura (カシムラ・レイコ): Takako Kitagawa (北川 たか子)
 * Yūji Tango (タンゴ・ユウジ): Yoichi Okamura (岡村 洋一)
 * Ultraman Tiga (ウルトラマンティガの声): Yuji Machi (真地 勇志) (voice)

Guest Cast

 * Omi Yanase (ヤナセ・オミ): Shigeru Araki (荒木 しげる)
 * Ryosuke Sanada (サナダ・リョウスケ): Ryoma Sasaki (柚原 旬)
 * Sayaka Ijuin (イジュウイン・サヤカ): Michiko Shimazaki (島崎路子)
 * Zara (ザラ): Shogo Shiotani (塩谷庄吾)
 * Lucia (ルシア): Motoko Nagi (梛野素子)
 * Takuma (拓磨): Takuma Aoki (青木 拓磨)
 * Noodle Shop Vendor (夜鳴きそば屋)/Obiko (オビコ): Shoichiro Akaboshi (赤星昇一郎)
 * Kyoto Inui (イヌイ・キヨ): Tom Saeba (冴場都夢)
 * Keigo Masaki (マサキ・ケイゴ／イーヴィルティガ): Takashi Koura (高良隆志)
 * Shin Hayate (ハヤテ・シン): Masaki Kyomoto (京本 政樹)
 * Ultraman (ウルトラマンの声): Satoshi Furuya (voice)

Suit actors

 * Ultraman Tiga (Multi and Sky Type): Shunsuke Gondō (権藤 俊輔)
 * Ultraman Tiga (Multi and Power Type): Koji Nakamura (中村 浩二)
 * Monsters and Aliens: Daisuke Terai (寺井 大介) Ryūki Kitaoka (北岡 久貴) Daisuke Kanemitsu (金光 大輔) Koji Nakamura (中村 浩二) Toshio Miyake (三宅 敏夫) Motoko Nagino (梛野 素子)

English-dub actors
In 2002, an English adaption dub of the series was recorded by: 4Kids Entertainment and aired on the Fox Box Children's block on Fox in the United States.


 * Wayne Grayson as the English voice of Daigo Madoka
 * Megan Hollingshead as the English voice of Megumi Iruma
 * Jimmy Zoppi as the English voice of Masami Horii
 * Dan Green
 * Mike Pollock
 * Corinne Orr
 * David Moo
 * Jason Samuels
 * Andrew Paull as the English voice of Tetsuo Shinjoh
 * Eric Stuart

Songs

 * Opening theme
 * "TAKE ME HIGHER"
 * Lyrics and Composition: Jennifer Batten, Alberto Emilio Contini, Giancarlo Pasquini
 * Japanese Lyrics: Kazumi Suzuki (鈴木 計美)
 * Arrangement: Yasuhiko Hoshino (星野 靖彦)
 * String Arrangement: Mitsuo Hagida (萩田 光雄)
 * Choral Arrangement: Hiroaki Suzuki (鈴木 弘明)
 * Artist: V6
 * Original Artist: [Dave Rodgers, English version of Take Me Higher before V6 translated it into Japanese language]
 * "TAKE ME HIGHER" reached #1 of the Oricon Weekly Rankings Charts for the week of September 30, 1996, and became a Platinum Record.
 * Ending Theme
 * "Brave Love, TIGA"
 * Producer: Gorō Kishitani (岸谷 五朗)
 * Lyrics: Sunplaza Nakano
 * Composition: Barbe-Q Wasada (バーベQ和佐田)
 * Arrangement: Yasuhiko Fukuda (福田裕彦)
 * Artist: Earth Protection Force (地球防衛団)
 * Leader: Gorō Kishitani
 * Members: Takashi Utsunomiya (宇都宮 隆), Toshiaki Karasawa, Naoto Kine (木根 尚登), Sunplaza Nakano, Yasafumi Terawaki (寺脇 康文), Masahiko Nishimura, Barbe-Q Wasada, Papala Kawai (パッパラー河合), Patrick Bommarito (パトリック・ボンマリート), Funky Sueyoshi (ファンキー末吉), Yasuhiko Fukuda (福田 裕彦), Honjamaka (ホンジャマカ)

Adaptations
Dark Horse Comics published a manga-style series based on Ultraman Tiga in 2003–2004.