Tag: Heisei

Ultraman Tiga Ep. 4: Goodbye, Planet Earth

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Hirochika Muraishi. Written by Hidenori Miyazawa. Airdate Sep. 28, 1996.

It’s a familiar science-fiction tale: a crew of astronauts on a mission becomes mutated by an alien force and returns to Earth as a deadly, rampaging monster. This is the story of the classic Ultraman episode “My Home Is Earth,” which borrowed it from The Quatermass Xperiment. (Yes, I’m bringing up that movie again. Its DNA is everywhere in the Ultra series, there’s no helping it.) The immense popularity of “My Home Is Earth” has caused many later Ultra shows to attempt their own versions. Here’s Ultraman Tiga’s take.

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Ultraman Tiga Ep. 3: The Devil’s Prophecy

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Hirochika Muraishi. Written by Chiaki J. Konaka. Airdate Sep. 21, 1996.

After two episodes without much character development for the GUTS team, we get a story focused on Captain Iruma and her personal and professional struggles. Megumi Iruma is my favorite character in Ultraman Tiga, and “The Devil’s Prophecy” shows how much she can shine. Defense team captains before her were stoic, occasionally boring, and at times borderline negligent. Iruma is the captain I’d feel most confident serving under. Maybe a tie with Captain Muramatsu from Ultraman, but I get to know far more about Iruma as a person. 

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Ultraman Tiga Ep. 1: Inheritance of Light

~ Ryan Harvey
Ultraman Tiga Inheritance Light Ultra Statues

Directed by Shingo Matsubara. Written by Masakazu Migita. Airdate Sep. 7, 1996.

The first episode of an Ultra show has a heavy burden. It must establish the global situation, introduce a new defense team, merge the human hero with the Ultra Warrior, and then have enough time left over to celebrate with the action goodies. “Inheritance of Light” is one the best premiere episodes thanks to its efficiency, action, and visual effects that get the job done. It’s an impressive start, especially considering how fast the show had to come together. For viewers who may not have tuned into an Ultra show since the 1970s, Ultrman Tiga’s first episode was a reminder of why they loved Ultraman in the first place.

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Ultraman Tiga: An Introduction

~ Ryan Harvey
Ultraman-Tiga-Title-Card

The Dark Age for Tsuburaya Productions finally ended in 1996. Fifteen years after the last episode of Ultraman 80 aired, Tsuburaya Pro returned to the airwaves with a domestically produced full Ultra program. Despite a rocky development period, Ultraman Tiga gave the series a rebirth for the Heisei era. It has remained one of the most popular Ultra shows and defined the franchise for a new generation. For many people my age and younger, Ultraman Tiga is likely the first Ultraman show they knew. 

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Ultraman Zearth (1996)

~ Ryan Harvey
Ultraman Zearth

Directed by Shinya Nakajima. Written by Shukei Nagasaka.

Ultraman Zearth, Earth’s defender from the Land of Bright in Nebula Z95, must stop the schemes of the gold-stealing invader Alien Benzene and its kaiju attack dog, Cotton-Poppe. However, Zearth and his human form, Katsuto Asahi (Masaharu Sekiguchi), face a dreadful obstacle: mysophobia. Ultraman Zearth can’t stand getting dirty. A little grease on his hands and he’s paralyzed or hopping around howling. Oh no, what will the world do? And how can monster-fighting organization MYDO, which operates out of a gas station where the members also pull extra shifts, help in the battle against Alien Benzene while poor Zearth is cringing at having to cross a pool of mud?

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