Ultraman Taiga

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"The story of the son of Taro. And Taiga is here!"

―Series tagline

"Let's go Partners! Buddy Go!"

―Second tagline

Ultraman Taiga
Ultraman Taiga is the 29th entry in the Ultraman Series
Series
Episodes
Information
Format/Genre	Tokusatsu Superhero Kaiju Science Fiction Drama
Created by	Tsuburaya Productions
Starring	Yuki Inoue Chiharu Niiyama Ryotaro Ayuri Yoshinaga Kou Nanase
Original Air Date	July 6 - December 28, 2019
Opening Theme	Buddy, steady, go!
Ending Theme	Hitotsu Boshi (episodes 1-13) Sign (episodes 14-25)
Number of Episodes	25
Running Time	Approximately 25 minutes
Original Channel	TV Tokyo
Continuity
Previous	Ultra Galaxy Fight: New Generation Heroes
Next	Ultraman Taiga The Movie: New Generation Climax
Production/Release
Previous	Ultraman New Generation Chronicle
Concurrent	Ultra Galaxy Fight: New Generation Heroes
Next	Ultraman Chronicle: ZERO & GEED

Ultraman Taiga is the 29th entry of the Ultraman Series, created by Tsuburaya Productions. It is the first Ultraman series to be broadcast in the Reiwa era.

Production

"Only few are aware of the aliens that inhabit this Earth. What you're about to witness is a miraculous story, where these young people cross paths."

―Narrator's Introduction

This series is the seventh installment of the "New Generation Heroes Series," and it is also the first work in the Ultraman series to be broadcast during the Reiwa era following Japan's change of era name in April 2019. This time, it is also the first in the series to feature the concept where the protagonist transforms not through type changes but through a combination with three Ultramen. Additionally, Ultraman Tregear, who appeared in Ultraman R／B The Movie: Select! The Crystal of Bond, will make his appearance as the main antagonist.

The program was first announced on April 18, 2019, with the main cast revealed on May 22, 2019.

The main Ultras featured in this work form the Tri-Squad, composed of Ultraman Taiga, Titas, and Fuma.

The central theme of the Ultraman Taiga series is considered to be "diversity." This intent is clearly declared in the opening sequence of the series. The first half of the series introduces the worldview that runs throughout the series, while the latter half focuses on the story's settings. The series is set in a human society where aliens are moderately recognized, and various aliens naturally reside on Earth, including alien criminals. This indicates that the series emphasizes "lyricism, emotion, and context" over narrative elements and dramatic visual effects when depicting the sci-fi drama. This is the direction pursued by the series, exploring the truth and meaning of life by revealing human traits.

Each episode of the series is viewed as a milestone towards the conclusion, providing the dramatic "weight" in the foundation of the series' story. The themes of each episode tackle heavy issues, including social problems, ultimately revealing humanity (and alien-ity). This means that equal consideration must be given to both each individual episode and the overall flow of the series, showcasing the lives of the protagonists and the Ultras on this basis.

The literary ideas mentioned above stand in stark contrast to the previous six series of the "New Generation Heroes." Ultraman Taiga emphasizes overall plot coherence, resulting in a deeper impression. This series attempts to return to the characteristics of the Showa-era Ultraman series, including the freedom of individual episodes and the significant differences between them, thereby creating a strong impact when multiple episodes are accumulated.

It is reported that the planning for Ultraman Taiga began in April 2018, with Tsugumi Kitaura from Tsuburaya Productions serving as the executive producer and Kazuyuki Murayama and Yusuke Okamoto as the planners. The protagonist, Ultraman Taiga, is set to be the son of the popular Showa-era Ultraman Taro, a decision made early in the planning stages. This setting was evidently influenced by the immense popularity of Ultraman Zero, who is the son of Ultraseven. Following Ultraseven, having Taro's son as the protagonist also seemed quite reasonable. Additionally, Taro's design was relatively easy to modify, and more importantly, Taro himself is a very popular character who has appeared regularly in Ultraman Ginga, making him familiar to recent audiences.

The basic story concept was handled by Series compositors Sotaro Hayashi. It is reported that Hayashi initially prepared two plans: one reflecting Murayama's intentions and another with a storyline he wanted to achieve. In the early planning stages, it was decided that there would be five Ultraman warriors and a middle-aged man responsible for accounting in the civilian security organization EGIS. Ultimately, the plan of "three Ultraman from different planets" was adopted.

At that time, the name Ultraman Taiga was already decided. The name was chosen for its strong and resonant sound, and it was later defined to mean "one who has the courage to embrace the sun" in the Nebula M78. Based on this foundation, the actualization of the planned imagery, the basic story settings, human character settings, and various problem-solving aspects during the planning phase were handed over to the main director Ryuichi Ichino. Ichino focused on visual effects, hoping that children would be attracted to elements such as the design of the EGIS office. The EGIS uniforms, being civilian attire, were designed to present a simple yet cool look, different from the special search teams. As for the human form of Ultraman Tregear, Kirisaki, Ichino wanted the costume design to convey a sense of elegant horror, aiming for a stylish yet terrifying appearance.

To avoid contradictions in character settings, Junichiro Ashiki served as the setting supervisor. When Ashiki joined the project, the settings for the other two Ultramen had not yet been determined. Considering that his favorite Ultraman work was The☆Ultraman, which was celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2019, Ashiki proposed that one of Taiga's partners should come from Planet U40. This setting eventually became Ultraman Titas. As for the other Ultraman, Fuma, it was naturally decided that he would come from Planet O-50 within the "New Generation Heroes" background.

In this series, when depicting the characteristics of kaijus, there was a strong intention to avoid presenting them merely as characters to be defeated or as antagonists. This approach shares a common philosophy with some episodes of Ultraman Gaia and Ultraman Cosmos, acknowledging the diversity of life and existence and respecting its significance. Therefore, each monster appearing in this series has a simple background story to avoid complex setups. This makes each story easy to understand yet full of climaxes. The same goes for the aliens; they usually hide within human society on Earth, exhibiting "heaviness" and characteristics of social stories when faced with real-life oppression and frustrations, portraying worldly conflicts. These settings resulted in several outstanding episodes. However, these settings were also designed not to expand beyond the worldview of the series. This way, as various stories accumulate, they are recognized as common elements connecting the protagonists.

The series is centered around the protagonist Hiroyuki Kudo and Taiga, interweaving Taiga's stories with Titas and Fuma, as well as the background stories of EGIS members. The mix of Earthlings, aliens, and robots, and the integration of various sci-fi elements, became one of the series' charms, also reflected in the latter part of the narration at the beginning of Ultraman Taiga. In summary, the main axis of Ultraman Taiga lies not only in the aforementioned settings but also in many practices in the imaging part. This is due to the deep technical expertise of the participating directors. Like the previous "New Generation Heroes" series, Nissan provided vehicles for this production, with the X-Trail used as the transportation for EGIS members.

Additionally, the background stories of the three Ultraman were handled in a supplementary setting to avoid distracting the main worldview with detailed character backgrounds, and these were specifically explained in the voice drama. At the same time, a web series titled Ultra Galaxy Fight: New Generation Heroes was aired on YouTube. Since then, the Ultraman series has evolved from being a topic aired on a single channel to forming its universe through multiple expressions, ushering in a new era.

Synopsis

Aliens have been emigrating to Earth secretly, but only a handful knows about this truth. Living in such a society, the main character Hiroyuki Kudo begins working at a private security organization E.G.I.S. (Enterprise of Guard and Investigation Services). The organization takes care of cases related to aliens, and Hiroyuki works day and night to protect peace.

However, there lies a huge secret in him, which he himself is not aware of. He carries Ultraman Taiga’s “particle of light”.

The new story begins as Taiga’s powers revive from Hiroyuki's body!

Voice Drama

An episode of Tri-Squad VoiceDrama was uploaded to Tsuburaya Productions' YouTube channel as a follow up to each episode of the series. The main characters are the three Ultras within Hiroyuki. Side characters are documented here and extra episodes that came with other releases are recorded here.

Characters

Protagonist

• Hiroyuki Kudo

EGIS

• Kana Sasaki
• Homare Soya
• Pirika Asahikawa

External Affairs X Division

• Sakura

Antagonist

• Kirisaki

Others

• Rento Kujo
• Nana Kujo
• Kouichi Imazato
• Ai Tennoji
• Honoka Kanzaki
• Sachiko Motomiya
• Osamu Tasaki

Ultras

Tri-Squad

• Ultraman Taiga
• Ultraman Titas
• Ultraman Fuma

Villains

• Ultraman Tregear
• Imit-Ultraman Belial

New Generation Heroes

• Ultraman Ginga
• Ultraman Victory
• Ultraman X
• Ultraman Orb
• Ultraman Geed
• Ultraman Rosso
• Ultraman Blu

Others

• Ultraman Taro
• Ultraman Jack (Flashback)
• Ultraman Zero

Kaiju

• Alien Rivers Kawazu
• Alien Ckalutch
• Cicada Human
• Alien Magma Maguma
• Baby Zandrias
• Zegun
• Young Mother Zandrias
• Alien Markind Markind
• Hellberus
• Baby Guesra Chibisuke
• Lecuum
• King Guesra Chibisuke
• Galactron MK2
• Darebolic (MB)
• Alien Fanton
• Alien Zetton Zolin
• Volk
• Alien Serpent
• Galmess
• Hupnath
• Alien Pedan
• Chiburoids
• Alien Seger Aoi
• Segmeger
• Alien Damara
• Alien Gapiya Abel
• Cicada Girl
• Alien Perolynga
• Alien Babarue
• Alien Hook
• Night Fang
• Majappa
• Maiko Namekata
• Alien Keel
• Hupnath
• Alien Nackle Odyssa
• Black King
• Maria
• Alien Zelan Oshoro
• Pagos
• Gymaira
• Ilt
• Gigadelos
• Lunah
• Alien Galo
• Dethmon
• Purana
• Baby Samekujira
• Lim Eleking
• Baby Vadata
• Alien Chibull Mabuze
• Skull Gomora
• Alien Semon Meed
• Demaaga
• Bemular
• Alien Bat Seiji Komori
• Alien Pitt Hitomi Mizuno
• Zetton
• Gorothunder
• Alien Haze Mystie
• Alien Bado El-Ray
• Aribunta
• Pandon
• Alien Ghose
• Takkong
• Shinji
• Giestron
• Alien Godola
• Alien Sran
• Alien Zarab
• Woola

Cast

• Hiroyuki Kudo : Yuki Inoue
• Homare Soya : Ryotaro
• Pirika Asahikawa : Ayuri Yoshinaga
• Kana Sasaki : Chiharu Niiyama
• Sakura : Shingo Kazami
• Kirisaki : Kou Nanase

Guest Cast

• Rento Kujo : Kenta Mishima
• Nana Kujo : Misato Kawauchi
• Volk : Ryo Tachibana
• Man Who Wants to Return to the Stars : Hiroyuki Takano
• Ai Tennoji : Sora Kurumi
• Oda : Tamotsu Ishibashi
• Maria : Ryoka Oshima
• Honoka Kanzaki : Kaoru Ukawa
• Ilt : Airu Shiozaki
• Kanta : Reo Masuda
• Alien Semon Meed : Sento Takemori
• Sachiko Motomiya : Natsuko Nagaike
• Mystie : Keisuke Homan
• Osamu Tasaki : Masashi Azuma
• Asuka Tasaki : Yumi Okuda
• Shinji : Ayumu Yokoyama

Voice Actors

• Ultraman Taiga : Takuma Terashima
• Ultraman Titas : Satoshi Hino
• Ultraman Fuma : Shota Hayama
• Ultraman Tregear : Yuma Uchida
• Ultraman Taro : Hiroya Ishimaru
• Ultraman Ginga : Takuya Negishi
• Opening Nerration : Daisuke Ono

Staff

• Directors: Ryuichi Ichino (main director), Kiyotaka Taguchi, Makoto Kamiya, Masayoshi Takesue, Takanori Tsujimoto, Tomonobu Koshi, Kohei Nakayama
• Series compositors: Sotaro Hayashi, Takao Nakano
• Screenwriters: Sotaro Hayashi, Takao Nakano, Aya Satsuki, Junichiro Ashiki, Uiko Miura, Sachio Yanai, Hirotoshi Kobayashi, Kyoko Katsuya, Misaki Morie, Ryo Ikeda
• Special effects director: Makoto Kamiya (ep. 1-3)
• Supervisor: Takayuki Tsukagoshi
• Chief producer: Tsugumi Kitaura
• Planning: Kei Kurosawa, Isao Kaneki, Yukio Haruyama, Kazuto Goga, Kenji Hamada
• Producers: Kazuyuki Murayama, Yusuke Okamoto, Aya Yoshino (TV Tokyo), Hayato Saga
• Music: Yuya Mori, Toru Fuyuki (ep. 6 and 22), Kenji Kawai (ep. 23)
• Music producer: Yoichi Sekine
• Cinematographer: Takeshi Arai
• Assistant directors: Tomonobu Koshi, Naoyuki Uchida
• Assistant special effects director: Naoyuki Uchida
• Action coordinator: Daisuke Terai
• Character and kaiju designers: Masayuki Gotoh, Daisuke Inomoto, Reijiro Kato, Yasumasa Watanabe
• Setting supervision: Junichiro Ashiki
• Setting cooperation: Hiroyasu Shibuya
• VFX/CG: Nippon Eizo Creative, Digital Clover (Tokyo Development Laboratory), Marine Post, Undergraph, TSUBAKI, Octigraphica, Hayashi Digital Construction, Act Designs
• Production: Tsuburaya Productions, TV Tokyo, Dentsu

Music

Opening Theme

• Buddy, steady, go!
  • Lyrics: Takuma Terashima
  • Composition/Arrangement: Cher Watanabe
  • Artist: Takuma Terashima

Ending Themes

• Hitotsu Boshi
  • Lyrics: Sayaka Sasaki
  • Composition/Arrangement: Shota Horie
  • Artist: Sayaka Sasaki
• Sign
  • Lyrics: Yohei Matsui
  • Composition/Arrangement: Yuki Honda (Arte Refact)
  • Artist: sphere

Insert Themes

• Chou Yuusha BUDDY GO!
  • Artist: Takuma Terahsima (Ultraman Taiga)
• WISE MAN'S PUNCH
  • Artist: Hino Satoshi (Ultraman Titas)
• Hado wo Iku Kaze no Gotoshi
  • Artist: Shota Hayama (Ultraman Fuma)

Home Media

The series released across six DVDs, as well as two Blu-ray sets. The first Blu-ray released on December 25, 2019 and the second released on February 27, 2020, both containing episodes of Tri-Squad VoiceDrama, behind-the-scenes content, and trailers. The second also comes with a dicussion between Yuki Inoue and Saburo Shinoda.

Volume 1 (episodes 1-4)

Volume 2 (episodes 5-8)

Volume 3 (episodes 9-12)

Volume 4 (episodes 13-17)

Volume 5 (episodes 18-21)

Volume 6 (episodes 22-25)

Blu-ray BOX I (episodes 1-13, Tri-Squad VoiceDrama episodes 1-12, SP2)

Blu-ray BOX II (episodes 14-25, Tri-Squad VoiceDrama episodes 13-24, SP3)

Gallery

Images

Title logo

Videos

新番組『ウルトラマンタイガ』特報PV！ 7月6日(土)あさ9時～テレビ東京系にて放送！

7 6(土)スタート・新番組『ウルトラマンタイガ』スペシャルムービー【本編映像初公開！】

新番組予告『ウルトラマンタイガ』テレビ東京系 2019年7 6(土) あさ9時～スタート！

『ウルトラマンタイガ』第0話「ウルトラマンタイガ物語(ストーリー)」 -公式配信- ULTRAMAN TAIGA Episode 0 Prologue

好評放送中『ウルトラマンタイガ』オープニングムービー！"ULTRAMAN TAIGA"Opening Movie -Official-

Opening movie

発売決定!!『ウルトラマンタイガ』Blu-ray BOX全二巻！

Trivia

• Despite officially being the first Reiwa era series, it is still part of the "New Generation" series, making it the seventh New Generation Ultraman Series. This series, being the seventh series to be produced consecutively, also marks a new record for the Ultraman Series as a whole.
• Ultraman Taiga is the first New Generation series to have more than 25 episodes discounting Ultraman Ginga and Ultraman Ginga S since they are seen as separate entries.
• This is the first series since Ultraman Nexus to change its ending theme song.
• The second sentence of the series' first tagline is a homage to the third verse from Ultraman Taro.
• The "T" denoting Taiga's name in the title card is similar to Taro's title card, which also did the same albeit in a more visible manner.
• Pirika Asahikawa was originally going to be played by Momoka, but was replaced by Ayuri Yoshinaga, due to conflicting schedule.

External Links

• Official website
• Ultraman Taiga at Tsuburaya Productions' official website