Ultraman Tiga

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Ultraman Tiga

Ultraman Tiga (ウルトラマンティガ Urutoraman Tiga?) is a Japanese tokusatsu TV show and is the 11th 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 4 movies (3 being crossovers, 1 a direct sequel to the 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 was one of the 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 Fox Box programming block on Fox Broadcasting Company affiliates, the third Ultra Series to air in the United States.

Plot

Set in the years 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, such as 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 from Super-Ancient Monsters and other forces of darkness are found, 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 Ghatanothoa, and his servants, Gijera and Zoigar. Ghatanothoa defeats Ultraman Tiga with ease, withstanding the Delcalium Light Stream and a modified version of the Zepellion Ray, both Tiga's finishes, and turns him back into a statue, but the light of humanity is able to turn him into Glitter Tiga, giving him the power to defeat Ghatanothoa 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 ultimately 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 Tiga statue will be revitalized.

In the movie "The Final Odyssey", set in two years after Tiga's final battle, Daigo was approached by a mysterious woman who possessed a dark version of the Spark Lens. It is then revealed that more than 30,000,000 years ago, Tiga was originally evil in nature, part of a group of four that dominated Earth. The group consisted of Dark Tiga, the woman in gold with telepathic abilities, an evil Ultraman in red with superhuman strength and another in purple with superhuman speed. One day, Tiga fell in love with a local human, and decided to convert from darkness to protect her from harm. Being the weakest of the four, Tiga quickly became a target of the group. However, unbeknownst to the group, the original "talentless" Dark Tiga possessed the ability to absorb powers from fallen enemies. As he eliminated each of the three dark members, he absorbed their powers which explains new Tiga's color patterns (purple, red and gold lined with his original silver). Convinced by his ability to convert the last known Spark Lens to good, Daigo accepts the gift and becomes Tiga again once again, survives his inner struggles and vanishes the darkness within.