Daigo Madoka

Biography

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"I must rescue everyone in the base. It's my duty."

―Daigo Madoka to Rena Yanase, Master of Darkness

"Even with a human heart... you can't get rid of the darkness completely. I believe that. Human beings... can become a light all on their own."

―Daigo Madoka to Camearra, Ultraman Tiga: The Final Odyssey

Daigo Madoka
Data
Ultra	Ultraman Tiga
Transformation Item	Sparklence
Type	Hero
Age	23 years old
Gender	Male
Home World	Planet Earth (Neo Frontier Space World)
Family	Ultraman Tiga (Ancestor and previous incarnation) Amui (Ancestor) Rena Yanase (Wife) Tsubasa Madoka (Son) Hikari Madoka (Daughter) Omi Yanase (Father-in-law)
Affiliation	GUTS
First Appearance	Ultraman Tiga episode 1 "Inheritance of Light"
Latest Appearance	Superior 8 Ultra Brothers
Portrayed by	Hiroshi Nagano (Adult) Takashi Nagata (Child) Wayne Grayson (voice, English dub) Ryuki Kitaoka (stunt double) Kohji Mimura (stunt double) Kota Iwaki (Pachinko Ultraman Tiga 1500×84)

Daigo Madoka is a member of the Earth defense squad, GUTS, who was able to transform into the Ultra-Ancient Giant of Light, Ultraman Tiga, due to him possessing genes of the Ultra-Ancient Civilization from 30 million years ago.

Conception

Etymology

During production, the name "Daigo" was devised by the series' producer, Hiroyasu Shibuya.

"According to writer Masakazu Migita, among the various Ultraman projects proposed at the time, one of the project plans included a particularly overweight character who seemed to only eat daifuku (a type of Japanese sweet). As a result, the character was named "Daigo". However, since the name Daigo seemed quite novel, it was ultimately chosen by executive director Kazuho Mitsuta.

In the TV series, the positioning of the name "Daigo" as either a first or last name remained quite ambiguous until the final episode. After the show concluded, Hiroyasu Shibuya suggested using a name from Tsuburaya Productions, ultimately deciding on "Madoka " as his last name. This name was first revealed in Ultraman Tiga: The Final Odyssey.

History

Pre-Ultraman Tiga

Daigo as a young child

Before he was recruited for GUTS by Souichiro Sawai, Chief Officer of TPC, Daigo was working with the TPC transportation division when he saved the TPC leader from abduction by aliens. Since then, he worked with the elite rescue team. ^{To the Southern Limit}

Ultraman Tiga

Daigo first appears with Rena in the GUTS Wing in Mongolia watching Golza rise out of the Earth. With their ship only being a rescue vehicle they used what they had readily and drove Golza away from a village with smoke flares. Golza retreated for unknown reasons but the two could not follow him as they were called back to base. An meteorite had crashed on Earth and was determined to be hollow. GUTS was called to handle the examination along with a scientific expert. Eventually the meteorite was revealed to house Yuzare's time capsule returning to Earth thirty million years after it launched to the predicted time when great disaster would befall its people again. Everyone was surprised by the hologram and its prophecies of Golza, Melba and the need for them to revive the giant Tiga. However, Daigo was initially the only one willing to believe in a Ultra-Ancient Civilization but after carbon dating showed the time capsule was genuine and Melba's revival on Easter Island, GUTS was forced to take her words seriously.

Daigo inside the pyramid touching a statue

Following the hologram's words and Yazumi's genius, they found the Pyramid of Light in the region formerly known as the land of Tiga. Daigo was drawn to the statues within, as he heard voices in his head. Instinctively knowing how to get in, he walked through the walls to find the statue of Tiga and two others of his fellow Ultras, most likely comrades in arms. Despite his teammates' warning Daigo touched the statue, somehow calling to the Ultra-Ancient DNA inside him. Daigo heard screams of people dying genetic memories of the ancient cataclysm surged up with in him.

Daigo and the others had no time to figure out how to revive Tiga however as both monsters were drawn to the resting site of the ancient protectors. In the advent of Golza's and Melba's attack on the statues, Daigo fought bravely but his GUTS Wing was shot down. About to crash, Daigo was turned into light after which he was absorbed into the only remaining statue, becoming Tiga for the first time. With Tiga now awakened, he defeated Melba and forced Golza to retreat.^{Inheritance of Light}

Daigo contemplating his responsibilities as he stares at the Sparklence

Returning to the base, he had a conversation with the program version of Yuzare, he was able to hear thanks to his ancient DNA. She explained his ancestry and how her civilization was destroyed as well as the nature of the Ultramen. She explained to him how he was both human and light as he bore the DNA of the Ultras.^{Legend of the Stone}

Since then Daigo fought many monsters and met many non-human individuals, despite his superhuman power, Daigo valued his humanity above all else and fought with it, touching certain individuals of ancient or aliens origins. However Daigo eventually came to face his opposite, an individual who shared his Ultra-Ancient DNA, but sought only to discard his humanity in exchange for the power of an Ultra, Keigo Masaki, who decided to attack him using Geozark so that he could steal the Sparklence. With it, Keigo mocked Daigo's resolve and transformed into Evil Tiga using another stone statue. Forcing his way through the barrier, Daigo retrieved the Sparklence once more and fought Evil Tiga, now having gone berserk due to his lack of a pure heart when Keigo turned into light. However, Tiga was too late to protect Guardie, who died attempting to stop his former master.^{Inheritance of Shadows}

Daigo decides to follow what he believes is the right choice to prevent humanity from being destroyed by Gijera.

With the emergence of Gijera, the genes inside Daigo gave him another memory - one of the destruction of the Ultra-Ancient Civilization by a great darkness. After everyone else seemed to succumb to the effects of Gijera's pollen, Daigo learned from Nook and Terra that Gijera's blooming signaled the time of destruction, and that humans were likely to accept Gijera's false utopian reality granted upon them rather than having to struggle against the upcoming darkness. Nook also told him that in the past, Tiga and the others did not interfere with humans' decisions, and had to leave them to die.

At first Daigo was conflicted as to what to do, and then he remembered that Yuzare told him that he was human, and light. He took this as a way of telling him to do what was right, and transformed into Tiga to destroy Gijera. However, as both Nook and Terra were kept alive by an extract of Gijera's pollen, they died but they thanked Tiga for standing up to the destruction.^{Eternal Life}

It was some time later that Daigo began to experience nightmares similar to the vision he first saw when he looked at the Gijera flower for the first time. It was the memories in his DNA acting in response to the coming apocalypse leaving Daigo aware he would soon have to face the great evil that ended the Ultra-Ancient Civilization. It was also at the same time that Rena noticed Daigo was keeping a secret from and the rest of the team. She had deduced that he was Tiga, but choose to keep that to herself. After some time of giving him the cold shoulder, she finally confronted him during their pursuit of Zoiger into the upper atmosphere. Demanding to know why he felt he had to fight alone, Rena convinced Daigo to reveal his secret to her and transformed, together they brought down Zoiger and Daigo as Tiga ended the ancient evil. However, while it seemed a victory, both literally and for their relationship, they were soon alerted that other Zoigers were appearing worldwide; the prophesied calamity was soon rising.^{Take Me Higher!}

Daigo trapped in a crystal inside the Tiga Statue after his defeat

Rena and Daigo returned to TPC HQ to find that a wave of darkness, both literal and metaphorical was ravaging the world. It was originating from R'lyeh, the same underwater domain that Zoiger was first spotted, only now it was rising. The same wave of darkness was now converging on TPC base forcing the General-Chairman to order a complete evacuation. As the TPC staff and GUTS left to board the Artdessei airship, Daigo stayed behind in the command room as the darkness began to surround it. While Rena called on him to leave with them, Captain Iruma revealed her suspicions of Tiga's identity and effectively told Daigo to do what he had to. As the rest of GUTS left on the Artdessei, Daigo transformed and flew off to face the Great Darkness who ended the Ultra-Ancient Civilization, Gatanothor. While his friends watched from a distance due to the field of darkness Daigo faced the evil god, first in Multi Type and then Power Type, but his power was insufficient and in the end Tiga was turned back into a statue.^{Master of Darkness}

Daigo being revived

During this time as his friends searched for a way to revive him, Daigo was telepathically contacted by the Kyrieloids, who mocked his predicament before leaving the Earth. Refusing to give into despair Daigo held fast in his belief that his friends would help him, indeed they did or at least tried. GUTS recruited Keigo Masaki because of his expertise on Ultra Statues and used a device of his design to attempt to revive Tiga. Despite their attempt, Gatanothor interfered. However another source of light came to Tiga, the children of the world refused to give up and their shared conviction created a massive Nexus of Souls, they all became beings of light which merged with the Tiga statue, reviving him as Glitter Tiga.

With this new power, the children of the world, Daigo and even Rena overpowered Gatanothor and destroyed him canceling the prophesied destruction indefinitely. However the battle was not without its costs. Upon reuniting with Rena in human form, Daigo showed the Sparklence which had turned to stone, the ancient device crumbled in her hand. Later, Yazumi took a souvenir picture for their group.^{To the Shining Ones}

Ultraman Tiga: The Final Odyssey

Daigo in Ultraman Tiga: The Final Odyssey.

Two years after Tiga's final battle, Daigo is approached by a mysterious woman, Camearra, who invaded his dreams and harassed Daigo. This started to create a rift between Daigo and Rena, who didn't want him to keep secrets and bear burdens on his own like he did during his time as Tiga. However, while going back to the GUTS base to investigate, Daigo was beaten up by the human forms of the Giants of Darkness, and was granted the Dark Sparklence. Daigo dreamed of the Ultra-Ancient ruins and Yuzare told him about Tiga's past as a Giant of Darkness. Soon awakening, Daigo put on his GUTS uniform once again to face the Giants of Darkness, convinced that humans are able to turn into light of their own will, despite being told by Yuzare in a dream that if he transformed into Tiga Dark, the pyramid barrier she placed over R'lyeh would disappear.

With his former teammates and Rena, they decided to go to R'lyeh to confront the Giants of Darkness. Daigo transformed into Tiga Dark to fight them, and absorbed their powers to gain his own Type Changes. After killing both Darramb and Hudra, Tiga faced Camearra and regained Multi Type by protecting Rena from Carmearra. Enraged, she turned into Demonthor and killed Tiga. However, the dormant light from the deceased Giants of Light in the ruins revived Tiga as Glitter Tiga, who defeated Demonthor. In the aftermath, Daigo found Camearra dying, saying that she wanted the light too.

Daigo then went back to Rena and got married. Some time later, while departing to Mars, Daigo passed by Shin Asuka, who he recognizes as his successor. ^{Ultraman Tiga: The Final Odyssey}

Tiga, Dyna, and Ultraman Gaia Novel: The Adventure in Hyperspace

In the sequel novel to Ultraman Tiga, Ultraman Dyna, & Ultraman Gaia: The Decisive Battle in Hyperspace, it was explained that the Tiga that was summoned by Tsutomu to assist Gaia and defeated Sculla was indeed Daigo, who eventually lost his memory when the first Red Sphere vanished and return him to his world. When Tsutomu traveled to the Neo Frontier Space World during the events of Ultraman Tiga: The Final Odyssey, Daigo regained his memories and lead the GUTS members in Artdessei as he joined forces with Asuka/Dyna and Super GUTS in assisting Gaia during his fight with Charija's monsters. ^{Tiga, Dyna, and Ultraman Gaia Novel: The Adventure in Hyperspace}

Ultraman Dyna

Daigo, Rena, and their daughter Hikari on Mars

Daigo Madoka appeared in episodes 50 and 51 of Ultraman Dyna when Asuka was lost on Mars after his battle with Terranoid. Daigo rescued him from the Martian dunes and brought him to his bio-dome where he met his family. At this point Daigo and Rena had a daughter, whom they named Hikari, and were working as biologists on a project to grow crops on Mars. ^{Final Chapter II: Solar System Annihilation}

Upon awakening Daigo had a talk with Asuka on the responsibilities of being an Ultra and he and his family looked after him until Super GUTS arrived. Later, after Dyna was sucked into a wormhole, Daigo is seen in his damaged garden musing aloud that he wished Asuka good luck, somehow knowing he was still alive. ^{Final Chapter III: Toward Tomorrow...}

Ultraman Tiga Side Story: Revival of the Ancient Giant

Daigo is not seen in this side story but his second child, his son Tsubasa mentions him when explaining the Bronze Sparklence. ^{Ultraman Tiga Side Story: Revival of the Ancient Giant}

Counterparts

Dark Horse Manga

Main article: Daigo Madoka (Dark Horse Manga)

Daigo appears in manga form in the Dark Horse Ultraman Tiga manga.

Superior 8 Ultra Brothers

Daigo with Ultra Brothers in Human Forms

An alternate reality version of Daigo was childhood friends with Shin Asuka and Gamu Takayama, and was engaged to Rena Hayata. He began experiencing visions including the Ultra Brothers, he soon met Hibino Mirai (Ultraman Mebius), who came to his world to investigate a potential threat.

After Mebius is turned to bronze by Alien Hipporit, Daigo gains his counterpart's memories as an Ultra from another world and the Sparklence materializes in his right hand. He transforms to fight the monsters threatening the city. When Hipporit traps him, Asuka and Gamu transform into Dyna and Gaia respectively and free him. Later, the trio are joined by Ultraman, Seven, Ace and Jack, and they gained victory over the darkness.

Daigo soon marries Rena like the original Daigo did and had a daughter. Together with the others, they travel to Nebula M78. ^{Superior 8 Ultra Brothers}

Profile

Daigo usually uses a device called the Sparklence to transform, but in near death situations, he is able to transform without it.

According to the hologram of Yuzare, Daigo has the "power to become light" embedded in his genes since ancient times, passed down from the days of the Ultra-Ancient Civilization from 30 million years ago. It is implied during their first conversation and heavily in Final Odyssey, that Daigo is in fact the reincarnation of the original Tiga, who was once a warrior of evil but turned to the light after being convinced to turn back to the light by the original Yuzare. This is supported by the fact that Camearra, Tiga's former lover, immediately recognized him in human form, implying he is identical in appearance to the original Tiga's human form.

Also, as stated by the Yuzare program in episode 2, the two are one being, Daigo is different from most Ultra Hosts/human forms, in that he is neither a human assimilated with an Ultra or an Ultra taking on a human form, Daigo is an otherwise normal human being who has the ability to transform into an Ultra, which is also his biggest weakness. Like other Ultras, who have the M78 three minute rule, Daigo is powering his Ultra form by the light he turns into and the light his body can absorb like any Ultra, meaning he can only stay in Ultra form for three minutes on Earth, although he seems to have more flexibility in space. Also any injuries he carries in human form carry over to his Ultra form and Vice versa. During a few episodes when Daigo's hand was injured, every time he transformed he checked his hand to see if it was in fighting condition. It was shown after his fight with Geozark that Daigo was immediately tired after transforming back into human form. Outside of his ability to transform into living light/an Ultra, Daigo is a normal human being as has been shown several times in the series.

Transformation

• Sparklence
• Black Sparklence

Daigo Madoka using the Sparklence

Tiga's rise

Daigo Madoka raises the Sparklence to the sky and activates it. When gripped tightly the Sparklence wing-like "appendages" then unfold and light shines from it, transforming Daigo into Tiga. Daigo has another transformation that he brings the Sparklence close to his chest and presses the small gold button, Daigo and the Sparklence merge with the Sparklence turning into Tiga's chest crest and Color Timer. The Sparklence will not work if shrouded by any form of intense darkness. Sometimes, if in near death situations he is able to transform without it. During the series finale, the Sparklence disintegrated into dust perhaps due to Tiga being transformed into a statue again. Sometimes, Daigo shouts "Tiga" while raising the Sparklence.

Daigo holding the Sparklence

The Sparklence open

Daigo raises the Sparklence

Daigo transforms

Daigo transforms by willpower

Tiga's first rise, first appeared in episode 4

Tiga's second rise, first appeared in episode 7

Tiga's second rise w/ red background, only in episode 14

Tiga's third rise, first appeared in episode 15

Tiga's regular rise, first appeared in episode 16

Tiga's rise from Superior 8 Ultra Brothers and beyond

Human-sized transformation

First appearing in Ultraman Tiga: The Final Odyssey, the Black Sparklence is a dark version of its light counterpart. As Tiga was originally a dark Ultra, it stands to reason that this may have been the original form of the Sparklence. When gripped tightly and raised to the sky the wing like appendages unfold, dark energy shines from it and Daigo will transform into Tiga Dark. What became of it after the battle with Camearra is unknown, it possibly disappeared or may have turned into a new Sparklence like the original given that Daigo's son recognized an ancient version of his father's device, regardless Daigo's days as an Ultra warrior were over as he never transformed again.

Black Sparklence activation

Tiga Dark arises in the movie

Daigo transforming

Powers and Weapons

• Combat Training: As a member of GUTS, Daigo is trained in combat and the use of high tech arms.
• Pilot Training: As a member of GUTS, Daigo is trained in the handling of their machines and vehicles.
• Ultra-Ancient DNA: Daigo possesses Ultra-Ancient DNA giving him certain abilities. Beyond these few powers he is otherwise a normal human being.
  • Light Transformation: During times of extreme duress, or near death experiences, Daigo has shown the ability to transform into pure light similar to Ultras. This ability, when first discovered allowed him to merge with the Tiga Statue and ever since then, it has been an alternate way of transforming into Tiga.
  • Sparklence: Using the Sparklence, Daigo can transform into Ultraman Tiga at will.
  • Darkness Resistance: Because of his Ultra-Ancient DNA, Daigo is resistant to the power of darkness. The vampire monster Kyuranos didn't attempt to turn him, sensing that it would be pointless. He was immune to Gijera's pollen and survived in Gatanothor's darkness.

Trivia

• According to an interview with then-president of Tsuburaya Productions, Kazuo Tsuburaya, he stated that the decision to appoint Hiroshi Nagano in the main cast is to invoke the image of a youthful protagonist.
• In the initial series proposal, Daigo's appearance was described as a "handsome young man in the Johnny style." As a result, MBS producer Yoshihiko Marutani asked Tsuburaya Productions whether they had communicated with Johnny & Associates, but they stated they had no way to contact Johnny & Associates. Marutani then asked a friend he knew to inquire with Johnny & Associates about borrowing one of their entertainers. Johnny & Associates recommended Hiroshi Nagano from V6 based on the character's image and setting. The selection was made with the assistance of Julie Keiko Fujishima.
• Daigo is:
  • The first instance in the Ultraman Series of a human being with Ultra Genes/biological relations to an Ultra. Due to this, he gains superhuman abilities despite not being an actual Ultra.
  • The first human host to transform and control his Ultra counterpart. This makes him the opposite of Dan Moroboshi in that instead of being an Ultra in human form he is a human that turns into an Ultra.
  • The second Ultra Host to show their transformation item to the members of the defense team, the first was Dan Moroboshi.
  • The first known Ultra Host whose Ultra form runs in his family. Before him, his ancestor Amui wielded his own Sparklence and channeled the power of Tiga. His son also wielded Tiga's power, if only partially and Daigo is suspected to be a descendant of the original Tiga.
• It is revealed that Daigo used to receive bad marks in physics. ^{GUTS to the Sky Part 1}
• In interviews with Sports Hochi in 2011 and another in 2020, Hiroshi Nagano shared his experiences portraying Daigo:
  • He revealed that the role was not decided through auditions; rather, his agency informed him directly that he had been cast as the lead. Since the Ultraman series was something memorable from his childhood, the thought of playing the lead never crossed his mind. It wasn't until the press conference at the Capitol Hotel Tokyu that he met the production team.
  • When discussing Daigo's character, Nagano explained that he didn't have a specific image in mind. He only recalled that the previous Ultraman protagonists were brave and had a strong sense of justice, so he wanted to incorporate those traits into his portrayal. As a result, he didn't feel much pressure in playing the role.
  • Nagano also recalled that the GUTS uniform was initially tailored to his measurements. However, during the first fitting, the uniform was so tight that he couldn't even raise his arms. He had to wear this ill-fitting costume for the early part of the shoot until a properly sized second uniform was rushed into production. Additionally, a third, slightly larger uniform was made to accommodate the wetsuit and bulletproof vest worn underneath.
  • While filming Ultraman Tiga, Nagano was also juggling his commitments with V6 and other projects. Due to his limited availability, many episodes focused on the other GUTS members as the main characters. Nagano mentioned one particularly hectic day when he had to fly from Asahikawa to Chitose, then back to Tokyo for a shoot at Toho Studios, all while dealing with heavy snowfall.

Daigo poses for the first time and transforms.

• • From episode 4 onwards, Daigo's transformation pose was co-developed by Nagano and the director. The signature move involved a counterclockwise arm rotation. According to Nagano, he was instructed not to make the pose too complicated, and they finalized it in about ten minutes.
  • In episodes 15 and 16, Daigo is shown with an injured left hand, a direct result of Nagano's real-life injury. While practicing for V6's TAKE ME HIGHER performance, Nagano injured his finger during a backflip and fractured it. To accommodate his injury, the script was altered to have Daigo sustain an injury during a plane crash. Originally, the plan was for Daigo to injure his leg, but after Nagano explained his situation to the crew, they adjusted the script accordingly. Nagano later shared in a magazine interview that the staff even prepared a larger glove to fit over his bandaged hand.
  • Additionally, in episode 38, it was revealed that Daigo suffered from hay fever, which was also based on Nagano's real-life condition at the time. The director decided to incorporate this detail into the story.
  • Regarding his return as Daigo in the film Superior 8 Ultra Brothers, Nagano expressed his strong principles about reprising the role. He stated, "I will seek the meaning of portraying this character. If the script and the story's theme can be agreed upon after thorough discussions with the director, and if I am satisfied with the direction, I will consider reprising Daigo." He acknowledged that a film like The 8 Ultra Brothers seemed impossible to create due to the fundamental differences between the Showa and Heisei Ultraman series. However, after extensive discussions, he accepted the film's parallel world concept and agreed to appear in it.
• Daigo was meant to return in Ultraman Tiga & Ultraman Dyna: Warriors of the Star of Light and Ultraman Tiga Side Story: Revival of the Ancient Giant but was never made it in due to his actor having trouble with a scheduling conflict. Because of this, his children came into conception to replace him instead (Hikari Madoka in the movie and Tsubasa Madoka in the Gaiden).
• In episode 49, Nagano made a cameo as an assistant director named "Nagano," a playful role added by the production staff for entertainment purposes.
• Starting from 2021, almost all of Daigo's appearances in stock footages (Ultraman Chronicle Z: Heroes' Odyssey) and several published books (such as the "Revive! The Giant of Light - Ultraman Tiga" story book) have been completely cut out or omitted, due to the issues regarding Nagano's agency.
  • Subsequently, with Ultraman Tiga airing on TSUBURAYA IMAGINATION in the same year and Johnny & Associates' reorganization in 2023, Nagano/Daigo's footage was largely allowed to be made public.