Ultraman Tiga


Ultraman Tiga is a Japanese tokusatsu TV drama and the eighth entry in the Ultra Series, Produced by Tsuburaya Productions and Mainichi Broadcasting System and commemorates the 30th anniversary of the Ultra Series, Ultraman Tiga had aired at 6:00 pm and aired between September 7, 1996, to August 30, 1997, with a total of 52 episodes with five movies.
It was broadcast after a franchise hiatus of over 15 years, set in a universe different from all previous series and updated with a new look and feel. Tiga is the first Ultraman with multiple combat modes and non-red colors. It is one of the most popular entries in the Ultra Series. Because of Tiga's popularity, he had more exposure on TV and movies than any other Heisei Ultraman. Ultraman Tiga was also dubbed in English by 4Kids Entertainment and broadcast in the United States as part of the FoxBox programming block on Fox Broadcasting Company affiliates, making it the fourth Ultra Series to air in the United States after Ultraman, Ultra Seven and Ultraman: Towards the Future. A modern retelling of the drama titled Ultraman Trigger: New Generation Tiga was released on July 10, 2021, as a commemoration for the drama's 25th anniversary.

Plot

Set in an alternate universe from the year 2007 until 2010, giant monsters and conquering aliens start to appear, as was foretold by an apocalyptic prophecy about uncontrollable chaos over the Earth. Facing the threat, the TPC is created along with its branch, GUTS. Through a holographic message in a capsule found by researchers, the GUTS gets knowledge about a golden pyramid built by an ancient civilization. At the site, three statues of a race of giants who defended early human civilization on Earth about 30,000,000 years ago have been unearthed. GUTS finds the three ancient statues, but two of them are destroyed by the monsters Golza and Melba. The third one gains life from the spiritual energy of officer Daigo, a descendant of the ancient race. Daigo and the remaining statue merge into a single being, made of light. Shortly after defeating the two monsters, Daigo is revealed by the hologram of the prophecy that 30 million years in the past, a great evil that not even the giants could stop, destroyed the ancient civilization. Ultraman Tiga is a hero who protects the Earth. He accompanied the children throughout their childhood.
The same evil reappears in the finale of the series, the Ruler of Darkness Gatanothor, and his servants, Gijera and Zeiger. Gatanothor defeats Ultraman Tiga with ease, withstanding the Delcalium Light Stream and a modified version of the Zeperion Ray, finishes Tiga and turns him back into a stone statue, but the light of humanity turns him into Glitter Tiga, giving him the power to defeat Gatanothor and save the Earth. However, Tiga's victory came at a cost. Daigo was no longer able to become Tiga after the Sparklence disintegrated into dust after his final battle. It is revealed that Tiga, although no longer bound to Daigo, and its energy now remains in the hearts of all those who believe in Tiga, inner strength, and justice. Given the right conditions such as times of despair, the sparks will gather and the Tiga statue will be revitalized.

Production

Konaka brothers and separately prepared the original scripts of the 1995 film Gamera: Guardian of the Universe, where the Konaka plot was inspired by Tsuburaya and Toho's Daigoro vs. Goliath, which itself was influenced by Gamera. The Konaka script was later reused for Gamera the Brave, Ultraman Tiga, and Digimon Tamers which was also influenced by Kaiju Booska by Tsuburaya Productions.

Episodes

Films

  • Ultraman Tiga & Ultraman Dyna: Warriors of the Star of Light
  • Ultraman Tiga, Ultraman Dyna, & Ultraman Gaia: The Decisive Battle in Hyperspace
  • Ultraman Tiga: The Final Odyssey : The story is set two years after the final episode.
  • Ultraman Tiga Gaiden: Revival of the Ancient Giant : A direct-to-video special set at prequel to TV series and set many years after the end of the series In it, Daigo and Rena also have a son who is named Tsubasa.
  • Superior Ultraman 8 Brothers
  • ''Ultraman X The Movie: Here It Comes! Our Ultraman''

    Other appearances

Cast

  • Daigo Madoka/Nagano: Hiroshi Nagano
  • Rena Yanase: Takami Yoshimoto
  • Megumi Iruma/Yuzare: Mio Takaki
  • Seiichi Munakata: Akitoshi Ohtaki
  • Masami Horii: Yukio Masuda
  • Tetsuo Shinjoh: Shigeki Kagemaru
  • Jun Yazumi: Yoichi Furuya
  • Souichiro Sawai: Tamio Kawachi
  • Masayuki Nahara: Uketa Take
  • Tetsuji Yoshioka: Ken Okabe
  • Mayumi Shinjoh: Kei Ishibashi
  • Naban Yao: Ichirō Ogura
  • Reiko Kashimura: Takako Kitagawa
  • Yūji Tango: Yoichi Okamura
  • Ultraman Tiga : Yūji Machi
  • Narrator, Ultraman : Issei Futamata

    Guest cast

  • Omi Yanase: Shigeru Araki
  • Ryosuke Sanada: Jun Yuzuhara
  • Sayaka Ijuin: Michiko Shimazaki
  • Zara: Shogo Shiotani
  • Lucia: Motoko Nagino
  • Takuma: Takuma Aoki
  • Noodle Shop Vendor: Shoichiro Akaboshi
  • Kiyoto Inui: Tom Saeba
  • Keigo Masaki: Takashi Kora
  • Shin Hayate: Masaki Kyomoto

    English dub

An English dub of the series was produced by 4Kids Entertainment and recorded by their in-house dubbing studio, 4Kids Productions. The dub aired on the Fox Box, which was formerly the Fox Kids Children's block on Fox in the United States. The first episode premiered on September 14, 2002.
4Kids' adaptation served as a parody of the original Ultraman series' English adaptation produced by Peter Fernandez and, as such, made some significant changes. Such changes include producing a new theme song and soundtrack that replaced the originals. Storylines were altered to comply with Fox's Standards and Practices division and accommodate commercial breaks and broadcasting scheduling. Each episode was one or two minutes shorter than its Japanese counterpart. The dub included tongue-in-cheek dialogue, which changed the personalities for some characters such as Captain Iruma, who was changed from a smart, level-headed individual to an airhead. Additionally, Captain Iruma was referred to as a "sir" instead of a "ma'am".
Some monsters were given new sound effects, and the transformation sequence was altered altogether, showcasing all of Tiga's forms and emphasizing the change from Daigo to Tiga. Tiga's "Multi, Power, and Sky Types" are changed into "Omni, Power, and Speed Modes," respectively. The Sparklence was renamed the "Torch of Tiga", although the Region 1 DVD Release refers to it as the "Spark Lance" for the first DVD but afterwards, the translation becomes "Sparklence. His light techniques were called "Luminizers", and the Color Timer is referred to as the "Biotic Sensor."
Ultraman Tiga was removed from the FoxBox lineup on March 15, 2003, due to low ratings, with only 24 episodes of the 52-episode series having aired. 4Kids initially planned to relaunch the show in September, but decided to release the Japanese episodes on DVD instead. As a result, their dub is only viewable through recordings of the original broadcasts. Erica Schroeder claimed that part of the reason for Ultraman Tiga's limited success in the U.S. was due to 4Kids' indecision whether to satirize the show or make it serious.

English voice cast

  • Wayne Grayson as Daigo Madoka
  • Erica Schroeder as Rena Yanase
  • Megan Hollingshead as Megumi Iruma
  • Jimmy Zoppi as Masami Horii
  • Andrew Paull as Tetsuo Shinjoh
  • Sebastian Arcelus as Jun Yazumi
  • David Moo
  • Dan Green
  • Mike Pollock
  • Corinne Orr
  • Michael Rosenbaum
  • Jason Samuels
  • Eric Stuart

    Remake

A modern retelling of the series titled Ultraman Trigger: New Generation Tiga was released in TV Tokyo from July 10, 2021, to January 22, 2022, as a commemoration for the 25th anniversary of the series. Actors Raiga Terasaka, Yuna Toyoda, Shunya Kaneko, Meiku Harakawa, Katsuya Takagi, Kei Hosogai and Shin Takuma portrayed as Kengo Manaka, Yuna Shizuma, Akito Hijiri, Tesshin Sakuma, Himari Nanase, Seiya Tatsumi, Ignis and Mitsukuni Shizuma respectively, while M・A・O and Sumire Uesaka voiced Marluru and Carmeara respectively. The series was directed by Koichi Sakamoto as a main director, and was followed by Ultraman Decker on July 9, 2022.

Songs

;Opening theme
  • "TAKE ME HIGHER"
  • *Lyrics and Composition: Jennifer Batten, Alberto Emilio Contini, Giancarlo Pasquini
  • *Japanese Lyrics: Kazumi Suzuki
  • *Arrangement: Yasuhiko Hoshino
  • *String Arrangement: Mitsuo Hagida
  • *Choral Arrangement: Hiroaki Suzuki
  • *Artist: V6
  • : "TAKE ME HIGHER" reached #1 of the Oricon Weekly Rankings Charts for the week of September 30, 1996, and became a Platinum Record. For Mill Creek Entertainment's DVD release of the series, the song is replaced with "Mezameyo, Ultraman Tiga," except for episodes 3 and 4, which retain TAKE ME HIGHER.
;Ending Theme
  • "Brave Love, TIGA"
  • *Producer: Gorō Kishitani
  • *Lyrics: Sunplaza Nakano
  • *Composition: Barbe-Q Wasada
  • *Arrangement: Yasuhiko Fukuda
  • *Artist: Earth Protection Force
  • *Leader: Gorō Kishitani
  • *Members: Takashi Utsunomiya, Toshiaki Karasawa, Naoto Kine, Sunplaza Nakano, Yasafumi Terawaki, Masahiko Nishimura, Barbe-Q Wasada, Papala Kawai, Patrick Bommarito, Funky Sueyoshi, Yasuhiko Fukuda, Honjamaka
;Insert song
  • "The memory of the blue night"
  • *Lyrics and composition: G.BROOKER.K.RED
  • *Artist: Hitomi Sudo
  • "ULTRAMAN LOVE FOR CHILDREN "
  • *Composition: Hino Yasumasa
  • "TAKE ME HIGHER "
  • *Lyrics and composition: Jennifer Batten, Alberto Emilio Contini, Giancarlo Pasquini
  • *Japanese lyrics: Suzuki Tadashi
  • *Arrangement: Hoshino Akihiko
  • *Artist: V6

    Post–release

Adaptations

published a manga-style series based on Ultraman Tiga in 2003–2004.