Ultraman Tiga Ep. 34: To the Farthest South

April 29, 2026April 25, 2026 ~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Hirochika Muraishi. Written by Chiaki J. Konaka. Airdate April 26, 1997.

The politics and history of the Terran Peace Consortium have materialized in several Ultraman Tiga episodes so far: “The Devil’s Prophecy,” “The Day When the Monster Appeared,” and “The Battle of Zelda Point.” This is the first episode to make TPC politics its centerpiece. It foregrounds two figures who represent the opposing poles of the organization’s purpose: the dovish Commissioner Sawai (Tamio Kawachi) and the hawkish Director Yoshioka (Ken Okabe).

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Ultraman Tiga Ep. 33: Vampire City

April 18, 2026April 29, 2026 ~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Hirochika Muraishi. Written by Keiichi Hasegawa. Airdate April 19, 1997.

Ultraman Tiga is doing another horror episode, this time with a different brand of fear: the ‘90s noir vampire flick. Welcome back to the days of leather-clad cool vampires who do backflips and make their lairs in deserted nightclubs. The episode goes all-in with a trendy vampire tale, and pulls it off, making for a superior Tiga episode to pick for Halloween than the show’s actual, bespoke Halloween episode.

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Ultraman Tiga Ep. 32: The Battle of Zelda Point

April 8, 2026April 18, 2026 ~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Tsugumi Kitaura. Written by Ai Ota. Airdate April 12, 1997.

Ai Ota’s third script for Ultraman Tiga continues her style of crafting fantasy stories with childlike slants. But these are not necessarily “childish” stories. “The Battle of Zelda Point” is built on a horrible tragedy: the death of a young girl and her father’s belief that he was responsible. The episode has its bleak moments, but it also has a fairy-tale quality and a transcendent conclusion that prevent the heavy subject matter from overpowering the tone.

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Ultraman Tiga Ep. 31: GUTS Base Under Attack

March 28, 2026April 8, 2026 ~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Tsugumi Kitaura. Written by Hideyuki Kawakami. Airdate April 5, 1997.

An alien lifeform capable of imitating humans and absorbing their abilities infiltrates the GUTS base, posing a potential threat to all life on Earth. In other words, Ultraman Tiga is doing its own riff on the science-fiction classics The Invasion of the Body Snatchers (both the ‘56 and ‘78 versions) and John Carpenter’s The Thing. The premise also makes for a convenient money-saving “bottle show” that sticks to the standing TPC headquarters sets and doesn’t require any guest stars.

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Ultraman Tiga Ep. 30: The Monster Zoo

March 11, 2026March 28, 2026 ~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Masaki Harada. Written by Kazunori Saito. Airdate March 29, 1997.

Rena asked Daigo out at the height of the apocalyptic events of “The Devil’s Judgment.” This episode opens on the apparent outcome of that: the two are on a date at a rural zoo on a pleasant sunny day. A zoo seems the right weekend getaway for them. (Although the two of them making jokes that the cows resemble Horii is a touch rude.) Anyway, because this is Ultraman Tiga, Rena and Daigo’s date is interrupted when a giant monster bursts through the zoo grounds.

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Ultraman Tiga Ep. 29: Memory of a Pale Night

February 25, 2026March 13, 2026 ~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Masaki Harada. Written by Keiichi Hasegawa. Airdate March 22, 1997.

Shinjoh is going on an important test flight, so Daigo is stuck taking Shinjoh’s sister Mayumi to see a show from current pop sensation, Maya Cruz. (It’s not a date, he insists, making sure Rena hears this.) Daigo admits that he doesn’t even know who this Maya Cruz is, which shocks Horii, a Cruz superfan. Of course Horii is a superfan of the big pop star of the moment. Horii’s basically twelve years old and we love him for that.

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Ultraman Tiga Ep. 28: One Vanishing Moment

February 14, 2026March 13, 2026 ~ Ryan Harvey

Directed and Written by Kyota Kawasaki. Airdate March 15, 1997.

We start big. We start explosive. GUTS and TPC’s ground forces are waging a furious battle against giant monster Jobarieh. The action is pitched on a large scale, with the tanks and GUTS Wings in full assault mode. They manage to drive Jobarieh into a temporary stasis, which is good news, because they have another major operation that’s just about to go into action.

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Ultraman Tiga Ep. 27: I Saw Obiko!

January 24, 2026March 13, 2026 ~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Kyota Kawasaki. Written by Ai Ota. Airdate March 8, 1997.

“I Saw Obiko!” starts like another horror outing for Ultraman Tiga, this time with a traditional Japanese folklore approach. The demon Obiko — an actual demon, not an alien pretending to be one — has been frightening people in the area of Hikono City for several months with his sudden appearances. When Obiko actually attacks a young man and leaves physical evidence behind (the man’s hair goes white), GUTS comes to investigate. They soon discover Obiko’s disguise as a noodle vendor who haunts the streets of the town at night.

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Ultraman Tiga Ep. 26: The Rainbow Monsterland

January 10, 2026March 13, 2026 ~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Hirochika Muraishi. Written by Masakazu Migita. Airdate March 1, 1997.

When it comes to giant monster media, I am a forgiving soul. You don’t have to do much to make me happy. Most Ultra show episodes manage to reach the minimum for the entertainment I crave. An episode like “The Rainbow Monsterland,” which is unremarkable in almost every way, tempts me to give it a passing rating of “Average” because it meets the minimum. There are giant monsters — two of them, one a welcome returnee — and they fight. Ultraman Tiga shows up to challenge the winner, while the GUTS members have their own adventure on the ground. This is what I’m looking for in an episode of this show, so I should be happy.

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Ultraman Tiga Ep. 25: The Devil’s Judgment

December 20, 2025April 18, 2026 ~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Hirochika Muraishi. Written by Chiaki J. Konaka. Airdate Feb. 22, 1997.

This sequel to “The Devil’s Prophecy” expands and improves on the original in every way. This is the episode Chiaki J. Konaka was destined to write: a religious-themed horror epic. We’ve had horror on Ultraman Tiga before, such as “The Fog Is Coming,” but this apocalyptic tale exists on a higher plane. It’s a powerful character study for Iruma, shows GUTS operating at their best as a team, delivers a hopeful message about human unity in the midst of terrifying times, peaks in a thrilling battle scene, and even nudges Rena and Daigo’s romantic relationship to the next stage. The best episode of Ultraman Tiga yet.

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