[SHINOBI03]

Finished Tiga. The first official Heisei-era Ultra. In some way you could see it as a reboot of the first Ultraman. It's back to one mysterious Ultra being and GUTS is pretty much and updated SSSP. The series also brought back a proper transformation device that doesn't require will power nor does it blink at random to signal the transformation and it is done the same way the Beta Capsule was. The one big difference here is Daigo being a chosen one instead of getting killed by the Ultra and share his life with the host to resurrect him.

Tiga is a back-to-basis Ultra. He uses martial arts and beam attacks instead of handheld weapons or magic bracelets. This series is also what introduced transformations and multiple forms which I'm 50/50 on it. On 1 hand it makes variety, on the other hand, more toys to sell. The practical effects, models and suits are of course a big improvement over the Showa era, but the chroma key and CGI scenes did not age well and looks very flat and fake looking. The fighting is still needs to get used to. This is my first Heisei series coming straight from the Showa era, and sadly I wasn't that hooked to the Heisei choreography. I got so used to fast Showa action that the Heisei action looks and feels too slow in comparison. Another thing I didn't like was the generic anime and mecha sound effects.

The writing was more balanced here. It's not overly dark but not too kiddified either. However I did notice it had a habit of tragic endings. Lots of characters ended up dead instead of living with their friends and families with more sympathetic monsters. I don't have bad episodes as I thought it was consistently good. There were weird ones but nothing to call terrible.

Favorite episodes:
16-The Demon's Return
17-The Battle Between Red and Blue
27-I Have Seen Obiko
32-The Defense of Zelda Point
36-A Smile Across Space and Time
38-Mirage of a Monster
44-Inheritance of Darkness
49-The Ultra Star

Favorite monsters: Golza, Gakuma, Sealizer, Evolu, Sakunaoni, Magnia, Weaponizer, Silvergon, King Molerat, Shiela, Bakugon, Guardie, Gijera, Obikoboushi.

Favorite aliens: Reguran, Stande,l Enomena, Dinosauroid, Iludo, Menjura.