Seiichi Munakata

Seiichi Munakata
Data
Type	Ally
Gender	Male
Age	33 years old
Affiliation	TPC GUTS
First Appearance	Ultraman Tiga episode 1 "Inheritance of Light"
Latest Appearance	Superior 8 Ultra Brothers
Portrayed by	Akitoshi Otaki David Moo (voice, English dub)

Seiichi Munakata is one of the main characters of Ultraman Tiga. He is the vice-captain of GUTS.

Personality

Munakata has a composed, calm, and serious personality. He has a fearless and reliable attitude towards missions, and due to his experience in the defense force, he possesses decisive judgment and excellent combat command abilities, similar to Iruma.

Despite not showing it often, he regards his subordinates as his own family and sometimes has a more straightforward and humorous side that is inconsistent with his serious appearance.

In the series, it was revealed that he has a physique that cannot drink, so he does not drink alcohol; but likes to drink milk. ^{The Day the Monster Came Out}

History

Ultraman Tiga

In the past, Munakata was a member of the defense force and served as a subordinate of Iruma. He was saved by Iruma during a battle, and since then, he has had unwavering trust in her. After that, he and Iruma joined GUTS, and he assumed the role of vice-captain in the team. ^{Vampire City}

After Ultraman Tiga appeared in the world, with the increasing frequency of monster disasters, to fight against these giant creatures, he often took on the role of front-line commander and went to the disaster site to assist Tiga in combating the monsters.

Before Gatanothor's resurrection and the destruction of the world, he, along with GUTS and TPU's senior staff, witnessed Tiga's defeat and learned the truth about Tiga's identity as Daigo. They then put all their efforts into a rescue plan, trying to revive Tiga, who had become a statue. ^{Master of Darkness}

In the final episode of the series, he witnesses all the children of the world turn into light and witness the birth of Glitter Tiga and the process of Tiga defeating Gatanothor. In the end, he posed for a photo with the members of GUTS on the Artdessei.^{To the Shining Ones}

Ultraman Tiga: The Final Odyssey

After learning about Iruma and the other investigation team losing contact on R'lyeh, he assumed the role of GUTS acting captain and led GUTS to R'lyeh to support the operation. When he entered the ruins, he immediately rescued Iruma, who was attacked by monsters, and in the end, he and everyone witnessed the return of Glitter Tiga and the submergence of R'lyeh Tragedy.

A year later, he and the other members bid farewell to Daigo and Rena, who were heading to Mars. ^{Ultraman Tiga: The Final Odyssey}

Ultraman Dyna

Years after GUTS was dissolved, Munakata is currently a recruit instructor at TPC's West Asian branch. At the request of Nahara, the chief of staff, he once piloted the GUTS Wing EX-J back to Japan and assisted the members of Super GUTS and Ultraman Dyna in stopping the actions of Geomos.^{The Smile of Destruction: Part 2}

Additionally, Munakata also made a brief appearance in Kohda's memories. He served as an interviewer during GUTS' recruitment examination and taught Kohda the knowledge he needed as a vice-captain.^{The Time of Resolution}

Ultraman Tiga & Ultraman Dyna: Warriors of the Star of Light

After Tiga and Dyna defeated Queen Monera, Munakata, Horii, Shinjoh, and Rena reunited with Iruma. ^{Ultraman Tiga & Ultraman Dyna: Warriors of the Star of Light}

Counterparts

Superior 8 Ultra Brothers

In this film, Munakata is the manager of the Tourism Bureau of the Yokohama City Hall and Daigo's boss. During the final battle, he also served as related personnel of the Yokohama City Government to assist in disaster relief. ^{Superior 8 Ultra Brothers}

Gallery

Ultraman Tiga

Ultraman Tiga: The Final Odyssey

Ultraman Tiga & Ultraman Dyna: Warriors of the Star of Light

Munakata along with Shinjoh and Horii reuniting with Iruma

Ultraman Dyna

Munakata in The Time of Resolution

Munakata in The Smile of Destruction: Part 2

Munakata in Ephemeral Dream

Superior 8 Ultra Brothers

Munakata debuts as Head of Tourism Division

Miscellaneous

Munakata attended TSUBURAYA CONVENTION 2019

Trivia

• Akitoshi Otaki, who played Munakata, had previously made guest appearances in the Ultraman series, which allowed him to get to know many people at Tsuburaya Productions.
  • In fact, when Ultraman Tiga was starting, casting director Minoru Ando had approached Otaki about appearing in the series. However, Otaki temporarily declined due to his age, mentioning that he would appreciate it if they considered him for any other roles in the future. Ultimately, executive director Kazuho Mitsuta decided to cast Otaki as Munakata.
  • This decision was made because most of the characters had already been roughly determined, and only the casting for Munakata was still undecided.
• According to Masakazu Migita, the surname "Munakata" was actually a character name that he retained while writing the proposal The World's First Ultraman during the preparation period for the series.
• Munakata was meant to drink alcohol but his actor Akitoshi Otaki is a teetotaler, thus said trait was forced to be passed to the character.