"Ally of justice or messenger of the devil?"
- ―Series Catchphrase
Ultraman Gaia is a Japanese tokusatsu TV show and is the 14th show in the Ultraman Series. It was created by Chiaki J. Konaka and produced by Tsuburaya Productions and Mainichi Broadcasting System.
The series can be watched on Tubi and Roku.
Production[]
The draft proposal for Ultraman '98 (tentative), written in May 1998.[1]
Tsuburaya Productions achieved significant success with the high-quality content of their TV series Ultraman Tiga and Ultraman Dyna, produced between 1996 and 1997. By the end of 1997, it was decided internally to produce the third installment of the "Heisei Ultraman" series.
At that time, the planning stakeholders included Tsuburaya Productions, Mainichi Broadcasting System, Yomiuri Advertising, Bandai, and Kodansha. When deciding to produce the third installment, the discussion atmosphere indicated that, unlike the previous work Ultraman Dyna, which was positioned as a "sequel to Tiga," this new series should change direction and adopt an entirely new world view. Therefore, the setting was completely altered compared to the previous two series, with the new world view no longer being interconnected, and the time period setting almost coinciding with the broadcast year.[2][3]
In 1998, simultaneous with the production of Ultraman Dyna, planning meetings for the new series began, gradually establishing its direction. After numerous discussions, several key points for the new series were finalized, including: "enhancing the series by using the concept of Taiga drama as a model," "introducing two competing Ultraman," "establishing a recurring enemy throughout the series," "incorporating bold transforming machinery and rich mechanical effects," and "forming a special investigation team composed of land, sea, and air experts." Tsuburaya Productions also added two more points: "continuing the human Ultraman concept" and "depicting themes close to the heart, set in modern times." Based on these points, the project plan was further developed.[2]
The subsequent planning and setting work was undertaken by Tsuburaya Productions and Yomiuri Advertising. Initially, three writers submitted their own proposals, all of which depicted another Ultraman as a "brother," but failed to break through the traditional framework and were not adopted. By April, Masato Oida and Nobuyuki Koyama from Tsuburaya Productions began collaborating with Yomiuri Advertising to compile new proposals.[3]
Oida's intention at the time was to comprehensively enhance the inherent appeal of Ultraman. Carrying a hastily organized proposal document from the planning department, he visited Chiaki J. Konaka, who had previously participated as a screenwriter for Ultraman Tiga, inviting him to join the new project in the capacity of a head writer. After accepting the proposal, Konaka presented his own ideas, including making the protagonist younger, strengthening the realism of team roles, such as by adding an aerial team, and creating unprecedented enemy images. These ideas were generally approved, and Konaka was confirmed as a head writer.[2][3][4][5]
The basis of the mechanical design this time was the hexagonal prism container machinery and the aerial mothership base, a design proposed early on by Bandai. Konaka incorporated a thrust reverser into the mechanical design, closely linking it with the concept of the "Alchemy Stars," further elucidating the protagonist's background.[2]
The first promotional poster of Ultraman Gaia.[6]
In May 1998, Hirochika Muraishi joined the meeting as the lead director. His idea was to break away from the traditional framework followed by previous Ultraman series, emphasizing the collaboration of professionals against formidable enemies. The special effects director was Kazuo Sagawa. Konaka began advancing the establishment of the Ultraman image, based on the concept of "Ultraman grounded on Earth," further developing the concept of "human Ultraman" from the previous two works, emphasizing the protagonist's strong will, which foreshadowed dramatic plot developments. Thus, the character names emerged from the Gaia hypothesis, a concept related to the Earth's environment, and were established as "Ultraman Gaia" and "Ultraman Agul." They have conflicting philosophies in regards to defending the Earth from a mysterious, malevolent, and extremely intelligent cosmic entity. The first half of the series explores the growing tension between them, and their eventual clash. The second half has them reconcile their differences so they can defeat their common enemy.[7]
At the stage when the planning was roughly finalized, all participating writers gathered for a general meeting. Hosted by Konaka, the meeting confirmed the basic direction of this series. Firstly, Konaka announced the emphasis on scientific research and presented relevant data. Then, Oida outlined the overall development and goals of the plot, including the timing of the two Ultraman's confrontation and Gaia's upgrade. Each writer's main responsibilities were discussed, and detailed decisions were shared through fax and other means. These writer meetings were held weekly until the content for the first quarter was finalized. In these meetings, Konaka acted as the main adjuster of the story flow and coordinator of concepts, emphasizing plots not relying on character backgrounds and highlighting characters as professionals. The recurring enemy throughout the series was given a name, but since these enemies wouldn't physically appear like Yapool, the term "Radical Destruction Bringer" that Konaka used to explain the concept of the enemy was eventually adopted.[7][3]
Regarding the main concept of the project, Konaka once stated that the plot of Ultraman Gaia was related to contemporary issues such as the Kyoto Protocol, depicting how modern humans might need to address environmental problems, such as environmental destruction, wildlife extinction, and pushing the Earth itself towards destruction.[8] Meanwhile, monsters were portrayed as beings coexisting with the Earth, awakening due to the Radical Destruction Bringer Event. In the first half of the story, Gamu fought and defeated the monsters in battles, but in the latter half, Gamu realized that the monsters were also Earth's creatures, and innocently defeating them would be detrimental to the future of the Earth. Additionally, from the outset, there was a hope to influence children, the main audience, to have a positive concept of the future through the series, avoiding being constrained by apocalyptic views and encouraging them to embrace the possibilities of the future through correct scientific progress.[9]
The main actors of Ultraman Gaia participated in the production press conference.[10]
Hiroshi Maruyama was in charge of designing both Ultraman, and Kaigome Productions and the modeling department accelerated the modeling work. On June 22, 1998, the special effects team of Ultraman Gaia began filming. The main filming began on July 3. Ultraman Gaia was officially announced at a program production presentation on July 16, marking the formal production of the series.[7][11]
There were no more full meetings of writers after the second quarter. As the image of the entire work had been established among all participants, the writers began creating scripts in the usual manner. The writers responsible for the crucial episodes from 23 to 26 completed their scripts through collaborative discussions. The third quarter was originally set to be a period emphasizing diversity. Konaka also took a relatively conservative approach, with the only requirement being to enhance the global perspective, requesting Keiichi Hasegawa and Muraishi to set the stage overseas and introduce a female protagonist when they collaborated.[7][11]
Considering the plan in the first quarter where Agul's powers were absorbed by Gaia and he exited the stage, it was decided to retain Agul/Fujimiya from the start of the second quarter due to his strong appeal to children and his significance in the story. His revival was then considered after the third quarter. Eventually, when planning the fourth quarter, a climax scene was arranged for Agul's triumphant return.[7] This series, like its predecessors, achieved success in both toy sales and viewership ratings.[12]
Synopsis[]
Gamu Takayama is a 20 year old member of an organization called Alchemy Stars. After a monster known as C.O.V. attacked the Earth, Gamu falls through a portal of light and meets the giant: Ultraman Gaia, who gives him his powers. Later, when Gaia was in trouble in episode three, another Ultraman, Ultraman Agul appeared. Can they save the Earth? Who is Agul, is he friend or foe? Later in the series it is seen that Agul, too, is a being of justice, but only protects the Earth, not humanity. The conflict between the two later leads to a duel, opening a wormhole that allows a giant beast to reach Earth. What will happen then?
Characters[]
Protagonists[]
GUARD[]
XIG[]
Operation Crew[]
Team Lightning[]
Team Falcon[]
Team Crow[]
Team Hercules[]
Team Seagull[]
Team Marlin[]
Alchemy Stars[]
KCB[]
Others[]
- Sato
- Makoto
- Nakaji
- Shigemi Takayama
- Yuichi Takayama
- Megumi Kuroda
- Kyoko Inamori
- Ritsuko Sasaki
- Yuki
- Shusaku Sawamura
- Kijuro Mato
- Hirano
- Radical Destruction Cult
Ultras[]
Kaiju[]
- Radical Destruction Bringer
- Dragon in Gamu's Vision
- C.O.V.
- Geel
- Apatee
- Primal Mezard
- Mezard
- Bokrag
- Gan-Q Code №00
- Gan-Q Code №01
- Tenkai
- Anemos
- Crabgan
- Rezaito
- C.O.V. II
- Baby C.O.V.
- Varsite
- Mizunoeno Dragon
- Wolf Gas
- Psycho Mezard
- Antimatter
- Reanimated animal corpses
- Deents
- Mother Deents
- Alguros
- Imit-Ultraman Agul
- Diglobe
- Zonnel
- Psycho Mezard II
- Lilia
- Geschenk
- Candea
- Pazuzu
- Gomenos
- Zonnel II
- Geel II
- Zoruim
- Mimos
- Enzan
- Rukulion
- Gokigumon
- Kijuro Mato
- Gan-Q Code №02
- Aeroviper
- Syazac
- Wolf Fire
- Unidentified Aliens
- Algona
- X-Savarga
- Queen Mezard
- Phantom-Ultraman Agul
- Tigris
- Tsuchikera
- Pazgeek
- Σ-Zuigul
- Black Gamu
- Satan Bizor
- Spirit Parasites
- Bizorm
- Izac
- Super C.O.V.
- Super Pazuzu
- Blitz-Blotz
- Tigris II
- Shinryoku
- Mokian
- Deathbringer
- Zebubu
- Dobishi
- Fishman
- Kaiser Dobishi
- Gomenos II
- Geel III
- Tigris III
- Zonnel III
- Syazac
- Zog
Cast[]
- Gamu Takayama : Takeshi Yoshioka
- Hiroya Fujimiya : Hassei Takano
- Akio Ishimuro : Hiroyuki Watanabe
- Tatsumi Chiba : Sei Hiraizumi
- Seiichiro Tsutsumi : Takashi Ukaji
- Atsuko Sasaki : Ai Hashimoto
- Georgie Leland : Maria Theresa Gow
- Saika Ukai : Ayaka Tanaka
- Katsumi Kajio : Masami Nakagami
- Yasushi Kitada : Katsuhiko Hasegawa
- Satoshi Ogawara : Yusuke Sawaki
- Tatsuhiko Yoneda : Kuronosuke Kagawa
- Koichi Hayashi : Shogo Shiotani
- Toru Tsukamori : Shin Ishikawa
- Miho Inagi : Tomoko Kawashima
- Juri Mishima : Izumiko Matsuda
- Kei Tadano : Kei Ishibashi
- Satoru Yoshida : Masaru Matsuda
- Mitsugu Shima : Kei Kagaya
- Takanobu Kuwabara : Koji Nakamura
- Atsushi Koyama : Shunsuke Gondo
- Renji Matsuo : Tom Saeba
- Michael Simmons : Samuel Pop Aning
- Katsutoshi Yokotani : Tetsuo Shoji
- Gentaro Imai : Hiroaki Irisawa
- Kingo Iwao : Naoyuki Yokoyama
- Ryuichi Senuma : Hiroshi Ishii
- Catherine Ryan : Debbie Regier
- Reiko Yoshii : Yukari Ishida
- Michifumi Inoue : Eisuke Tsunoda
- Kenji Tabata : Hiroshi Tsuburaya
- Sato : Togo Okumoto
- Makoto : Hiroaki Nishijima
- Nakaji : Masashi Kagami
- Narration : Hiroshi Isobe
Suit Actors[]
- Ultraman Gaia :
- Shunsuke Gondo (V1 & V2)
- Koji Nakamura (Supreme Version)
- Takeshi Takeyasu
- Kazuhiro Shimizu
- Takanoshin Seki
- Nobutoshi Takahashi
- Ultraman Agul :
- Kazuhiro Shimizu
- Takeshi Takeyasu
- Takanoshin Seki
- Kaiju:
- Toshio Miyake
- Junpei Mukaihara
- Hiroyuki Okano
- Eiji Mori
- Kazuhiro Shimizu
- Tomoko Otani
- Yuka Suzuki
- Koji Mimura
- Kazuo Goto
- Motoko Nagino
Staff[]
- Directors: Hirochika Muraishi, Toshiyuki Takano, Masaki Harada, Takashi Kodama, Miki Nemoto, Tsugumi Kitaura, Ryuichi Ichino, Hitoshi Ishikawa, Takeshi Yagi
- Series compositors: Chiaki J. Konaka, Naoyuki Eto
- Screenwriters: Chiaki J. Konaka, Keiichi Hasegawa, Hideyuki Kawakami, Shin Yoshida, Junki Takegami, Ai Ota, Kenji Konuta, Masakazu Migita, Shinsuke Onishi, Takahiko Masuda
- Special effects directors: Kazuo Sagawa, Shinichi Kamizawa, Tsugumi Kitaura, Hirochika Muraishi, Hiromasa Mitsudome, Masaki Harada, Takeshi Yagi
- Executive producer: Kazuo Tsuburaya
- Supervisor: Koichi Takano
- Planning: Masato Oida, Yoshihiko Marutani, Minoru Ohno
- Producers: Nobuyuki Koyama, Hiroshi Morotomi, Kazunori Takashiro
- Music composer: Toshihiko Sahashi
- Music producer: Shizu Tamagawa
- Art directors: Hiroshi Matsubara, Tetsuya Uchida, Yuji Terai, Tomoko Kotakemori
- Cinematographers: Takehiro Kuramochi, Takashi Nishino, Osamu Kakami (special effects), Yoshihito Takahashi (special effects), Hajime Takahashi (special effects)
- Character designer: Hiroshi Maruyama
- Mechanical & item designer: PLEX
- Image boards: Kenji Hashizume
- Action choreographers: Takeshi Yaguruma, Nobutoshi Takahashi
- Puppetry: Kikkosen
- Optical animation: Japan Effects Center
- Modeling: Kaimai Productions
- Studio: Toho Built
- Vehicle cooperation: Honda Motor Co., Ltd., Honda Access
- Extras cooperation: Motoko Inagawa Office, Kurata Promotion, Gekidan Nihon Jidou, Takase Dojo, Tokyo Hoei, Hayakawa Productions, Hoei Project
- Production: Tsuburaya Productions, Mainichi Broadcasting System, Yomiuri Advertising Agency
Music[]
- Opening Theme
- Ultraman Gaia!
- Lyrics: Chinfa Kan
- Composition: Miki Matsubara
- Arrangement: Kazuya Daimon
- Song: Masayuki Tanaka & Kazuya Daimon
- Insert Themes
- LOVE IS ALIVE (Episode 10)
- Song: Hitomi Sudo & B.B.WAVES
- Gaia no Chikara (Episode 1, 27, 30, 34 & 35)
- Lyrics: Kumiko Aoki
- Composer: Yasuo Kosugi
- Arrangement: Kazuya Daimon
- Song: Masayuki Tanaka & Kazuya Daimon
- Ending Themes
- Lovin' You Lovin' Me (Episode 1-26)
- Lyrics: Watanabe Natsumi
- Composer and arranger: P.KAWAI
- Song: B.B.WAVES
- Beat on Dream on (Episode 27-51 & Gaia Again)
- Lyrics: Komuro Mitsuko
- Composer: Daisuke Inoue
- Arranger: Kenichi Sudo
- Song: Tomohiko Kikuta
Home Media[]
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- While cleaning out his closet in 2020, star actor Takeshi Yoshioka found production plans for the series. This revealed that the working title of the series was simply "Ultraman '98" at the time, XIG was called DOG, Gamu Takayama was called Gamu Takama , and Hiroya Fujimiya was to act as a sort of "elder brother" figure to Gamu.[1]
- Before Ultraman Gaia, Shin Yoshida proposed a project called Ultraman Dark . The concept was that the protagonist would lose one year of life each time he transformed, and there would be a change of the main character midway through the series. In every battle, the protagonist would question whether it was worth sacrificing his life and envision a hero who follows the path he believes is right.[13]
- After the broadcast of Ultraman Gaia and before Ultraman Cosmos aired in 2001, Tsuburaya Productions did not produce any Ultraman TV series. According to interviews with Masato Oida, Yoshihiko Marutani, and Takehiro Kuramochi, this was because the massive production costs of the previous three series had left Tsuburaya Productions with significant financial deficits. The staff had also been working under tight schedules, so a temporary break was necessary. Initially, Tsuburaya Productions had considered pausing TV production after Ultraman Dyna ended, but due to strong merchandise sales, sponsors pushed for another TV series, which led to the creation of Ultraman Gaia. As a result, even though they planned to continue producing TV shows, a one-year break was needed for recuperation.
External Links[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://x.com/takeshiyoshioka/status/1251298675671699456/
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Ultra Tokusatsu PERFECT MOOK vol. 14: Ultraman Gaia, pg 4
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Ultraman Gaia (TV Magazine Special Edition) pg 76
- ↑ http://www.konaka.com/alice6/ultra/characters.pdf
- ↑ http://www.konaka.com/alice6/ultra/mission.pdf
- ↑ https://x.com/tsuburayaprod/status/1698984655842865259
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Ultra Tokusatsu PERFECT MOOK vol. 14: Ultraman Gaia, pg 5
- ↑ Ultra Tokusatsu PERFECT MOOK vol. 14: Ultraman Gaia, pg 21
- ↑ http://www.konaka.com/alice6/ultra/gaia_ps.html
- ↑ https://x.com/hasseijackson/status/1031150835248463872/
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Ultraman Gaia (TV Magazine Special Edition) pg 77
- ↑ https://www.sanspo.com/article/20230329-TGD63U7TBJIVPEKMKSNBNTSQCU/
- ↑ The Earth Is Ultraman's Planet: Ultraman Tiga Dyna Gaia pg 332