[Salaryman Zero]

Ultraman Tiga:

So I finally finished Tiga (plus the Final Odyssey movie) at about 2am this morning and now I'm going to vomit my thoughts here, per usual.

As I've mentioned before, one of the first things I picked up on was how "Showa Ultraman" this show felt. Unlike, say, Kuuga vs OG Rider where there's a pretty clear demarcation between eras, Tiga feels like it could fit right into the Showa era save for obvious improvements in costuming and VFX/SFX. It's pretty much the same tropes, the same plot structure, the same heroes and villains and themes and tones that you would find in any Showa Ultra-series.

I think Tiga pretty much exemplifies the Ultraman franchise in that sense. While Kamen Rider has had to evolve and adapt dramatically to changing times (from Showa, to Heisei, to Neo-Heisei/Reiwa), Ultraman endures. An Ultra-series from today is fundamentally no different to one from the 70s or 90s. And I think that's the root of why I still love Ultraman after all these years; because the franchise has yet to abandon Tsuburaya-san's original intent.

I understand that Tiga was responsible for reviving the Ultraman franchise in the 90s (and tokusatsu television in general?), and it's crazy that it's just the same classic premise with a fresh coat of paint. It just proves to me that the story of Ultraman is relatable to viewers of every generation.

But anyway, I enjoyed Tiga. If I'm being objective and not letting 90s nostalgia cloud my opinion, I don't think the series really reaches the heights of my favorites like Shodai, Mebius, or Geed...but it's still pretty much a solid representation of your standard Ultra show.

I guess I'll start of by discussing the cast. I really liked the GUTS crew. They're easily in the top three attack teams for me so far. The greatest benefit of a 50 episode season (besides more kaiju!) is that the writers really get to develop each individual character; I think pretty much every GUTS officer got their own spotlight episode. Funnily enough Daigo himself is probably the weakest link in terms of characterization, though to be fair, that's par for the course for Ultraman. At least unlike Shin Hayate, Daigo had the romance with Rena to make him a tad more compelling.

But speaking of Tiga, woof, what an iconic design. I really wish we would get more main Ultras with unconventional colors. Nothing about his design seems like it would work. Purple-red-silver sounds like the most bizarre palette, and yet Tiga's one of the most visually-distinct Ultras in the franchise's history.

The only thing I'm meh about are his Sky and Power forms. Besides looking bland (they're literally just purple and red Tiga), I don't think the fight scenes did a great job of emphasizing their unique strengths either. Unlike Kuuga, where every form had clear pros and cons, the Sky and Power forms felt very vaguely-defined to me. Yes, Sky was faster and Power was stronger, but it never felt like changing forms made that much of a difference. It's no wonder Tiga stayed in Multi-Type form most of the time...

Anyway, action scenes were your typical "rubber suits wrestling on a miniatures set" fare. I'm kinda meh on most of the kaiju/seijin designs, largely because Tiga seems to have this weird thing where almost every baddie had a drab concrete-grey color scheme. But I did appreciate when some of the kaiju were clear homages to classic Shodai monsters (Golza was Gomora, Sealizar was Seabozu, Kyrieloid was Baltan, Menjura was Pestar etc.). And I will say that Gatanothor ranks among my favorite Ultra-kaiju of all-time.

Speaking of, the three-part finale was pretty damn awesome. Gatanothor is a gorgeously creepy design, the whole sunken city of R'lyeh was so metal, and I loved how they showed that the threat was global in scale. The ending with Tiga and all the kids was also JUST the right amount of saccharine cheese you want from an Ultra show. Definitely better than just your Ultra-hero getting killed off by a space dinosaur.

Plus, they also turned Tiga into a statue, so points for keeping with Ultra-tradition. Every Ultra needs to be turned into a stone statue at least once. (That or be crucified...)

I also loved the fact that they brought back nearly every side character for the finale; from Hayate to the Kyrelians to Evil Tiga to the ESP guy to Iruma's son. Which is another thing: for such an episodic show, Tiga paid surprisingly close attention to continuity. It definitely helped Tiga feel like a real world with real characters, because callbacks like the Gazote returning or Shinjoh's nurse sister popping in reminded you of our heroes' journey.

Anyway, I feel like I'm all over the place with this review so I guess I'll just close off with a couple unrelated thoughts:

1. The music in Tiga is one of my favorites in the franchise. Besides Take Me Higher and Brave Love, Tiga being classics, some of the instrumental songs are also really beautiful. Love Theme and To the Distant Call were my favorites. I strongly encourage y'all to check out the Tiga OST on YouTube.

2. The movie was overall pretty predictable and meh in my opinion, but I did dig the gimmick of the three evil Ultras, and how Tiga had to beat them to reclaim his "colors." Speaking of evil Ultras, Evil Tiga is such a novel concept and easily the best of the Imitation Ultras I've seen so far. I love the Prometheus-esque idea of man trying to be God with the power of Ultraman. Also helps that Evil Tiga has a badass look. Definitely up there with Darklops Zero and the original Zarab Imitation for me.

3. So Tiga did the whole "ancient ruins is the source of our hero's power" thing first before Kuuga, huh? (Boy I mention Kuuga a lot in this review, don't I...)

4. Episode 49, the one where Daigo travels back in time to meet Eiji Tsuburuya, brought a giant smile to my face. Yes the time-travel plot is nonsensical and makes no sense continuity-wise, and the seijin's evil plan about kaiju trading is dropped midway, but it's such a heartwarming tribute to the creators of the franchise that I really don't care. The scene with Tsuburaya meeting the "real" Ultraman by the lake while the OG theme plays softly in the background made me so happy. And then the team-up with Tiga and Shodai had me giddy. Seeing those two Ultras shake hands--the two statesmen of their generations--was perfect fanservice.

Overall I'd give Ultraman Tiga a solid 4 Shuwatches out of 5. Onwards to Dyna now!

P.S. That last bit in the Tiga movie where Daigo gives Asuka the "Good luck, kouhai" put a big grin on my face too.