Ultraman Taiga (character)

"I'm you, and you're me! Shout it out, Hiroyuki! Buddy Go!"

- Taiga shouting during his first transformation, Buddy Go!

Ultraman Taiga (ウルトラマンタイガ) is the titular Ultra Hero of the series Ultraman Taiga and is one of the three Ultra Warriors who merge with Hiroyuki Kudo. He is the son of Ultraman Taro, and debuts along with Ultraman Titas and Ultraman Fuma as the first Ultra Warriors in the Reiwa era. Deep inside, he wishes his father Taro to understand and recognize him, but he cannot admit his true feelings. He has a strong sense of justice and is very enthusiastic. Along with Titas and Fuma, he founded the Tri-Squad. Although he is still young and not skilled, he is dedicated to fighting for peace on Earth. Together with Hiroyuki, he grows to become a true Ultraman.

Etymology
Just like how his father Taro has a common Japanese name, Taiga does as well.

Past
While travelling through space, Taiga once had a run-in with the Guar Army general, Imbiza (イムビーザ), who summoned Mecha Birdon (メカバードン) and Modified Brocken (改造ブロッケン) to attack him. Taiga had heard of the Guar Army before, from Zoffy. The cyborg kaiju attacked Taiga, but he was saved by an armored warrior Andro Ares (アンドロアレス).

Taiga once traveled to Planet U40 and stayed there for some time under the care of Ultraman Joneus. Sometime later, he met Titas who decided to join him on his adventures. They later went to Planet O-50 to defend the Warrior's Peak from aliens who wanted to destroy it, and they met Fuma. Thus, the Tri-Squad was formed. At some time, they went to Planet Dino to fight against a robot army, and were almost sucked into a black hole.

Pre-Ultraman Taiga
Twelve years ago, Taiga and his team, the Tri-Squad, attempted to fight Ultraman Tregear after the other New Generation Ultras had been defeated. As a gift, the New Generation Ultras gave their light to the Tri-Squad, with Taiga receiving the lights of Ultraman Orb, Ultraman Rosso and Ultraman Blu. Taiga, Titas and Fuma ignored Taro's warning not to fight Tregear and attacked him. Despite being able to strike him a few times, their combined strength was not even close to enough to defeat their opponent. Titas and Fuma were reduced to particles, which enraged Taiga. He charged ahead, but soon shared the fate of his comrades.

Somehow, Taiga's particles descended to Earth. When Hiroyuki Kudo was attacked by an alien while trying to save his pet, Taiga saved the boy and bonded with him as he was falling from the sky.

Battles on Earth
After twelve years, Hiroyuki worked under EGIS. Taiga helped Hiroyuki out during a mission with Alien Rivers Kawazu, talking to the man through telepathy. After Hellberus attacks Young Mother Zandrias and sets the building Hiroyuki was in ablaze, Taiga emerges, allowing him to transform and fight Hellberus and save both the mother and baby Zandrias. After the battle, Taiga appears before Hiroyuki to talk to him.

Back at the EGIS base, Taiga explains to Hiroyuki the circumstances of how he came to dwell in Hiroyuki. While dealing with a King Guesra, who happens to be Hiroyuki's old pet Chibisuke, Tregear appears and toys with Taiga by beating and mocking him. Taiga and Chibisuke try to fight Tregear, but they are no match for him. Tregear kills Chibisuke, further enraging Taiga and Hiroyuki. Tregear disappears after Taiga uses his Flame Blaster.

Taiga, Titas and Fuma are reunited during the battle against Deavorick, and the Tri-Squad continues to protect the Earth along with Hiroyuki and EGIS.

The Earth and the Sun
Night Fang, upon being unsealed by Alien Babarue through Ai Tennoji's latent powers. Night Fang first bested Fuma and then Taiga before taking off towards the city. As soon as it landed, Night Fang emitted sound waves from its third eye, causing everyone in the vicinity to fall asleep and get trapped in nightmares, which Night Fang fed off of. Luckily, Pirika Asahikawa, who was still awake due to wearing headphones that muffled out the sounds, woke the city up using noise cancelling devices. Hiroyuki Kudo quickly transformed into Taiga, but was still not a match for Night Fang. Seeing this, Ai Tennoji went to aid Taiga by drawing out the remains of the Earth's energy within Night Fang, to summon the sword of light that once sealed it away, and granted it to Taiga. The Taiga Key Holder reacted with it and absorbed its energy, transforming Taiga into his new form, Photon Earth. With the power of the Earth within him, Taiga trounced Night Fang and destroyed it once and for all with the Aurum Storium. Watching the battle, Kirisaki changed into Ultraman Tregear to test Taiga's new power, but it was still not enough to even injure him. Tregear left shortly afterwards, expecting nothing less of the son of Taro. Returning back to the form of Kirisaki, he draws a tarot card from a deck he was shuffling earlier, revealing the Fool. Photon Earth's power continued to prove useful against other threats such as Majappa, Alien Nackle Odyssa, and Gymaira.

Personality
Despite being relatively young, Taiga is shown to be very enthusiastic in being an Ultra Warrior and has the expected qualities of one, exhibiting both bravery and kindness. Although he is the youngest and described as the hothead of the Tri-Squad, he is also the leader of the team and cares deeply for his friends.

Being the son of Ultraman Taro, Taiga is almost always only referred to as such instead of himself and thus, he is almost never called by his name by others, except for those close to him such as his friend Filis, which is a source of frustration for Taiga. Other than that, he also has a desire to be acknowledged by his father, which reminds Taro of his youthful self and his relation with his own father, Father of Ultra.

Taiga is not without flaws. He overestimates his ability in combat which could lead to him being impulsive and careless, despite being a highly competent fighter. Taiga also harbors a great hatred towards Tregear for seemingly destroying his friends in the past, and can get greatly enraged just at the mere sight of him.

Stats

 * Height: 50 m
 * Weight: 40,000 t
 * Time Limit: 3 Minutes

Body Features

 * Ultra Armor: Standard Ultra Armor, which is resistant to fire and lasers. However, like most Ultras from M78, it is weak to the cold. When assuming Photon Earth, it switches to a black and silver color scheme.
 * Ultra Horns: Inherited from his father, Taiga has horns on the sides of his head.
 * Protector: Taiga has a Protector on his chest, and is blue in color. In his other forms, they appear on other parts of his body, and change to gold in Photon Earth form.
 * Color Timer
 * Beam Lamp
 * Taiga Spark (タイガスパーク): A multi-purpose item that allows Taiga to perform various techniques and abilities.

Transformation
Hiroyuki slides down the block lever of the Taiga Spark to activate it, takes the Taiga Key Holder and scans it, then raises his hand while shouting his transformation call. {{#tag:tabber| Normal= {{#tag:tabber| Standard= {{quote|Hero of Light, Taiga!|Pre-transformation call}}

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Trivia

 * Designer: Masayuki Goto
 * Taiga is the first New Generation Ultra Warrior since Ginga not to feature any black markings in his default form.
 * According to Taiga's main director, Ryuichi Ichino, the Ultra's age is equivalent to that of a young man in his third year of junior high school or a freshman in senior high school.
 * Taiga is the only member of the Tri-Squad to have his (default) rise scene completely done in CGI. This does not apply to Photon Earth's rise scene.
 * Taiga being the user of O-50 Ultras' bracelets may attributed to the fact that they are the only members of the New Generation Heroes who actively using his father's (Taro) power as part of their forms.
 * The tarot card the Fool, as drawn by Kirisaki, carries several meanings and interpretations within the context, both positive and negative.
 * The card is numbered 0 of the 22 Major Arcana cards, which is the number of infinite potential.
 * Overall, the Fool depicts someone who is innocent and has a lot to learn, and that he would have to face many upcoming challenges which are ever present, but the Fool instead looks up and focuses on his journey. Along with the Fool is a small dog, which represents loyalty and protection, which may be an allusion to Taiga's friends.
 * When drawn, the card is upright, which represents beginnings, innocence, spontaneity, and a free spirit, much like Taiga himself. On the contrary, if the card were to be drawn upside down, it represents someone who is holding back, recklessness, and risk-taking.
 * Tregear/Kirisaki is simply calling Taiga a fool.

Note
