Ultraman Tiga

Ultraman Tiga (ウルトラマンティガ) is a Japanese tokusatsu TV show and is the 12th show in the Ultra Series. Produced by Tsuburaya Productions, Ultraman Tiga was aired at 6:00pm and aired between September 7, 1996 to August 30, 1997, with a total of 52 episodes with 5 movies (3 being crossovers, 2 being direct sequel to the series as well as a comic book series).

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.

Plot


Set in an alternate universe in the year 2007-2010 (2049 in the U.S. dub), giant monsters and conquering aliens start to appear, as was foretold by an apocalyptic prophecy about an uncontrollable chaos over the Earth. Facing the threat, the TPC (Terrestrial Peaceable Consortium) is created along with its branch, GUTS (Global Unlimited Task Squad). 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. 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, 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.

The same evil reappears in the finale of the series, the Ruler of Darkness Gatanothor, and his servants, Gijera and Zoigar. Gatanothor defeats Ultraman Tiga with ease, withstanding the Delcalium Light Stream and a modified version of the Zeperion Ray, both Tiga's finishes, and turns him back into a stone statue, but the light of humanity is able to turn 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 Spark Lens disintegrated into dust after his final battle. It is revealed that Tiga, although no longer bound to Daigo, its energy now remains in the heart 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.

Episodes

 * 1) The One Who Inherits the Light (光を継ぐもの)
 * 2) Stone of Legends (石の神話)
 * 3) The Devil's Prophecy (悪魔の預言)
 * 4) Sa-yo-na-ra Earth (サ・ヨ・ナ・ラ地球)
 * 5) The Day the Monster Came Out (怪獣が出てきた日)
 * 6) Second Contact (セカンド・コンタクト)
 * 7) The Man Who Came Down to Earth (地球に降りてきた男)
 * 8) On Halloween Night (ハロウィンの夜に)
 * 9) The Girl Who Waits for a Monster (怪獣を待つ少女)
 * 10) The Closed Amusement Park (閉ざされた遊園地)
 * 11) Requiem to the Darkness (闇へのレクイエム)
 * 12) S.O.S from the Deep Sea (深海からのSOS)
 * 13) Human Collecting (人間採集)
 * 14) The Released Target (放たれた標的)
 * 15) The Phantom Dash (幻の疾走)
 * 16) Resurrected Friend (よみがえる鬼神)
 * 17) Red and Blue's Battle (赤と青の戦い)
 * 18) Golza's Counterattack (ゴルザの逆襲)
 * 19) GUTS to the Sky (part 1) (GUTSよ宙（そら）へ 前編)
 * 20) GUTS to the Sky (part 2) (GUTSよ宙（そら）へ 後編)
 * 21) Deban's Turn (出番だデバン!)
 * 22) A Fog's Coming (霧が来る)
 * 23) Dinosaurs' Star (恐竜たちの星)
 * 24) Go! Monster Expedition Team (行け! 怪獣探検隊)
 * 25) The Devil's Judgement (悪魔の審判)
 * 26) Evil Monster Realm of the Rainbow (虹の怪獣魔境)
 * 27) I Saw Obico! (オビコを見た!)
 * 28) One Vanishing Moment (うたかたの…)
 * 29) Blue Night's Memory (青い夜の記憶)
 * 30) Monster Zoo (怪獣動物園)
 * 31) The Attacked GUTS Base (襲われたGUTS基地)
 * 32) Zelda Point's Defenses (ゼルダポイントの攻防)
 * 33) Vampire City (吸血都市)
 * 34) To The Southern Limit (南の涯てまで)
 * 35) The Sleeping Maiden (眠りの乙女)
 * 36) The Time-Transcending Smile (時空をこえた微笑)
 * 37) Flower (花)
 * 38) The Mirage Monster (蜃気楼の怪獣)
 * 39) Dear Mr. Ultraman (拝啓ウルトラマン様)
 * 40) Dream (夢)
 * 41) Friend from Space (宇宙からの友)
 * 42) Town Where the Girl Disappeared (少女が消えた街)
 * 43) Land Shark (地の鮫)
 * 44) The One Who Inherits the Shadows (影を継ぐもの)
 * 45) Eternal Life (永遠の命)
 * 46) Let's Go to Kamakura! (いざ鎌倉!)
 * 47) Goodbye to Darkness (闇にさようなら)
 * 48) Fugitive from The Moon (月からの逃亡者)
 * 49) The Ultra Star (ウルトラの星)
 * 50) Take Me Higher! (もっと高く!～Take Me Higher!～)
 * 51) Master of Darkness (暗黒の支配者)
 * 52) To The Shining Ones (輝けるものたちへ)

Cameos

 * Episode 49: The original Ultraman helps to defeat monster Yanakagi. As mentioned earlier, Tiga is from an entirely different timeline than the original Ultra series, so a lot of plot contortions are made in order to bring together this dream team, to honor the 30th anniversary of the original Ultraman.

Films

 * Ultraman Tiga: The Final Odyssey (2000): The story is set two years after the final episode.
 * Ultraman Tiga Gaiden: Revival of the Ancient Giant (2001): A direct-to-video special set many years after the end of the series (Year 2038, 21 years after the events of Ultraman Dyna) In it, Daigo and Rena also have a son who is named Tsubasa.

Cast

 * Daigo Madoka/Ultraman Tiga (マドカ・ダイゴ)/Nagano (長野): Hiroshi Nagano (V6) (長野 博（Ｖ６）)
 * Rena Yanase (ヤナセ・レナ): Takami Yoshimoto (吉本 多香美)
 * Megumi Iruma (イルマ・メグミ)/Yuzare (ユザレ): Mio Takaki (高樹 澪)
 * Seiichi Munakata (ムナカタ・セイイチ): Akitoshi Ohtaki (大滝 明利)
 * Masami Horii (ホリイ・マサミ): Yukio Masuda (増田 由紀夫)
 * Tetsuo Shinjoh (シンジョウ・テツオ): Shigeki Kagemaru (影丸 茂樹)
 * Jun Yazumi (ヤズミ・ジュン): Yoichi Furuya (古屋 暢一)
 * Souichiro Sawai (サワイ・ソウイチロウ): Tamio Kawachi (川地 民夫)
 * Masayuki Nahara (ナハラ・マサユキ): Take Uketa (タケ・ウケタ)
 * Tetsuji Yoshioka (ヨシオカ・テツジ): Ken Okabe (岡部 健)
 * Mayumi Shinjoh (シンジョウ・マユミ): Kei Ishibashi (石橋 けい)
 * Naban Yao (ヤオ・ナバン): Ichirō Ogura (小倉 一郎)
 * Reiko Kashimura (カシムラ・レイコ): Takako Kitagawa (北川 たか子)
 * Yūji Tango (タンゴ・ユウジ): Yoichi Okamura (岡村 洋一)
 * Ultraman Tiga (ウルトラマンティガの声): Yūji Machi (真地 勇志) (voice)

Guest cast

 * Omi Yanase (ヤナセ・オミ): Shigeru Araki (荒木 しげる)
 * Ryosuke Sanada (サナダ・リョウスケ): Jun Yuzuhara (柚原 旬)
 * Sayaka Ijuin (イジュウイン・サヤカ): Michiko Shimazaki (島崎 路子)
 * Zara (ザラ): Shogo Shiotani (塩谷 庄吾)
 * Lucia (ルシア): Motoko Nagi (梛野 素子)
 * Takuma (拓磨): Takuma Aoki (青木 拓磨)
 * Noodle Shop Vendor (夜鳴きそば屋)/Obiko (オビコ): Shoichiro Akaboshi (赤星 昇一郎)
 * Kyoto Inui (イヌイ・キヨト): Tom Saeba (冴場 都夢)
 * Keigo Masaki (マサキ・ケイゴ／イーヴィルティガ): Takashi Kora (高良 隆志)
 * Shin Hayate (ハヤテ・シン): Masaki Kyomoto (京本 政樹)
 * Ultraman (ウルトラマンの声): Issei Futamata (二又 一成)

Suit actors

 * Ultraman Tiga (Multi and Sky Type): Shunsuke Gondō (権藤 俊輔)
 * Ultraman Tiga (Multi and Power Type): Koji Nakamura (中村 浩二)
 * Monsters and Aliens: Daisuke Terai (寺井 大介) Ryūki Kitaoka (北岡 久貴) Daisuke Kanemitsu (金光 大輔) Koji Nakamura (中村 浩二) Toshio Miyake (三宅 敏夫) Motoko Nagino (梛野 素子)

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 formally the Fox Kids Children's block on Fox in the United States. The first episode premiered on September 14, 2002.

4Kids made some significant changes, such as 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 Spark Lens 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 "Spark Lens. 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 25 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 (who voiced Rena) 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
 * David Moo
 * Dan Green
 * Mike Pollock
 * Corinne Orr
 * Jason Samuels
 * Eric Stuart

Songs

 * Opening theme
 * "TAKE ME HIGHER"
 * Lyrics and Composition: Jennifer Batten, Alberto Emilio Contini, Giancarlo Pasquini
 * Japanese Lyrics: Kazumi Suzuki (鈴木 計美)
 * Arrangement: Yasuhiko Hoshino (星野 靖彦)
 * String Arrangement: Mitsuo Hagida (萩田 光雄)
 * Choral Arrangement: Hiroaki Suzuki (鈴木 弘明)
 * Artist: V6
 * Original Artist: [Dave Rodgers, English version of Take Me Higher before V6 translated it into Japanese language]
 * "TAKE ME HIGHER" reached #1 of the Oricon Weekly Rankings Charts for the week of September 30, 1996, and became a Platinum Record.
 * Ending Theme
 * "Brave Love, TIGA"
 * Producer: Gorō Kishitani (岸谷 五朗)
 * Lyrics: Sunplaza Nakano
 * Composition: Barbe-Q Wasada (バーベQ和佐田)
 * Arrangement: Yasuhiko Fukuda (福田裕彦)
 * Artist: Earth Protection Force (地球防衛団)
 * Leader: Gorō Kishitani
 * Members: Takashi Utsunomiya (宇都宮 隆), Toshiaki Karasawa, Naoto Kine (木根 尚登), Sunplaza Nakano, Yasafumi Terawaki (寺脇 康文), Masahiko Nishimura, Barbe-Q Wasada, Papala Kawai (パッパラー河合), Patrick Bommarito (パトリック・ボンマリート), Funky Sueyoshi (ファンキー末吉), Yasuhiko Fukuda (福田 裕彦), Honjamaka (ホンジャマカ)

Adaptations
Dark Horse Comics published a manga-style series based on Ultraman Tiga in 2003–2004.