Ultraman Tiga

Ultraman Tiga (ウルトラマンティガ, Urutoraman Tiga) is a Japanese tokusatsu TV drama and the eighth entry (twelfth overall) 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 (three being crossovers, two being direct sequels to the series as well as a comic book series).

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.

Set in an alternate universe from the year 2007 until 2010 (2049 in the U.S. dub), 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 (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 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.

Konaka brothers (Chiaki and Kazuya [ja]) and Yoshikazu Okada [ja] 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 (1972), which itself was influenced by Gamera. The Konaka script was later reused for Gamera the Brave (2006), Ultraman Tiga, and Digimon Tamers (2001) which was also influenced by Kaiju Booska (and Ultra Q) by Tsuburaya Productions.

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."