The Day the Monster Came Out

The Day the Monster Came Out
Ultraman Tiga, episode 5
Information
Airdate	October 5, 1996
Directed by	Kyota Kawasaki
Written by	Chiaki J. Konaka
Special Effects Directed by	Tsugumi Kitaura
Viewer Ratings	6.5%
Continuity
Previous	Sa-yo-na-ra Earth
Next	Second Contact

The Day the Monster Came Out is the fifth episode of Ultraman Tiga.

Synopsis

The carcass of a monster washed ashore along the coast of Kitagawa City. Immediately, GUTS commenced its disposal operation, but the mission failed. Astonishingly, the monster revived despite showing no signs of life! The only way to bury the monster is to incinerate it. Vice-Captain Munakata devised one strategy after another and confronted the immortal monster...!

Plot

Munakata is drinking milk in a bar when a reporter approaches him about GUTS. Then their attention is drawn to the television, and the reporter notices that Munakata has slipped away without him noticing. Reports of a seemingly-dead kaiju washed up on a beach comes into GUTS Base, and the local people are complaining about the smell and the rotting corpse. GUTS is tasked with moving it away from the area, with Rena assigned to carry it via her jet.

When Daigo asks her about her experience with using the apparatus, she mentions that she is quite skilled with crane-games. Once above the monster, however, things don't go as planned, as the flesh appears to be so rotten that the crane dosn't get a good grip. When she does manage to get the crane onto the monster, the monster actually roars to life, to everyone's surprise. It struggles with the cables still attached to it, endangering Rena in her jet, so Daigo transforms into Tiga and helps her to release the monster. The fight is about even, but Tiga prevails in the battle.

Cast

• Daigo Madoka : Hiroshi Nagano (V6)
• Rena Yanase : Takami Yoshimoto
• Megumi Iruma : Mio Takaki
• Seiichi Munakata : Akitoshi Otaki
• Masami Horii : Yukio Masuda
• Tetsuo Shinjoh : Shigeki Kagemaru
• Jun Yazumi : Yoichi Furuya

Guest Actors

• Takehiko Onoda : Akira Ohtani
• Kousei Ueda : Ryo Nishida
• Special news program moderator: Toru Morinaga

Voice Actors

• Ultraman Tiga : Yuji Machi
• Narrator : Issei Futamata

Suit Actors

• Ultraman Tiga (Multi Type): Shunsuke Gondo
• Sealizar: Toshio Miyake

Appearances

Ultras

• Ultraman Tiga
  • Multi Type

Kaiju

• Sealizar

Home Media

• Ultraman Tiga Volume 2 features episodes 5-8.

Trivia

• This episode was requested by the producer to be filmed as a "road movie"-style episode," within the constraints of the budget. The initial concept was to give each GUTS team member more screen time and active involvement, so individual character stories were specifically created. As a result, Munakata was chosen to be the protagonist of this episode.

• At the end of the episode, Munakata arrives at a bar and orders milk, while Onoda orders alcohol. To save face for both himself and Onoda, Munakata eventually raises his glass, toasts with Onoda, and then quickly leaves. As Onoda expresses his gratitude to GUTS, the camera shifts to a shot of Munakata walking away stylishly, only to stumble and fall due to his drunkenness.
  • At this moment, the narrator delivers the episode's final line: "Munakata never was much of a drinker." In fact, this scene was not mentioned in the script and was an additional element added by the episode's director, Kyota Kawasaki.
  • The episode was written by Chiaki J. Konaka, who wanted to capture the Mighty Jack atmosphere in the bar scene. Additionally, Konaka created the character Onoda with the purpose of having him meet Munakata and present GUTS from an external perspective.
  • Although it wasn't originally planned, Konaka, who doesn't drink and has a fondness for jazz music, felt that Munakata might also not drink. He intended to add some offbeat humor around this idea, and it was made even more effective thanks to director Kyota Kawasaki's approach to the script, which Konaka felt was a perfect fit.
• Kawasaki mentioned that he didn't initially expect the story to develop in the way it did. He fully immersed himself in the filming, taking a serious approach to most of the episode, except for the humorous ending. He noted that the term "monster disaster" in the script immediately made him realize the theme to be conveyed, though he hadn't anticipated that the story would focus so much on that theme throughout.
• Special effects director Tsugumi Kitaura commented that, due to the episode's short length—around 9 to 10 minutes—he had originally planned to cut out parts that didn’t fit the special effects style. However, he ultimately didn’t make those cuts, which instead led to more special effects being included, presenting some challenges in filming. As it was his first time directing, he strived to exceed the visual expectations set by the script, but he wasn't entirely sure about the results.
• Another monster analyst also named Kousei Ueda appears in episode 29 of Ultraman Max.
• According to Chiaki J. Konaka's personal blog in 2006, a scene from this episode was ultimately deleted. The scene depicted a naval soldier during World War II who encountered the living Sealizar in the Pacific and ordered to open fire on it. The reason for the removal of this scene may have been due to time constraints or because director Kawasaki felt it was unnecessary, although Konaka no longer remembers the exact reason.