Recap / Ultraman Tiga

This is the recap page for Ultraman Tiga, the 1996 entry of the much-beloved Ultraman franchise that revived it from a fifteen year hiatus and marked the beginning of Ultraman's Heisei era. Set in a universe separate from all previous shows, it centers around Daigo Madoka of GUTS, who discovers that he is descended from a prehistoric race of giants that defended an ancient civilization and ends up reviving and merging with the petrified form of the last of these beings. The series ran from September 7, 1996 to August 30, 1997, lasting 52 episodes, and having a movie and a gaiden special.

NOTE: Descriptions are based on the original Japanese version, not the English dubs.

Episodes

1. The One who Inherits the Light: GUTS has uncovered a strange 30-million-year-old artifact that opens up to reveal a hologram of a woman named Yuzare who warns the team of the awakening of two monsters. She tells them that only by awakening the Giants of Light from their mystic pyramid will they be able to stop the beasts, and then, in private with Daigo, reveals he is "chosen by the light".

2. Legend of the Stone: GUTS has to investigate a series of attacks on miners that leave only men's petrified forms as evidence. At the same time, Daigo; his teammates, Rena Yanase, Masami Horii, Tetsuo Shinjoh, and Jun Yazumi; and his superiors, Captain Megumi Iruma and Commander Seiichi Munakata, are studying what they have gathered from Ultraman Tiga's battle with Golza and Melba.

3. The Devil’s Prophecy: On live television, Captain Iruma is warned by a mysterious race of demon-like beings called the Kyrieloids that humanity will face judgement by purifying flame. Sure enough, buildings all over Tokyo are being engulfed in fiery eruptions straight from the Earth's core, with a hooded man sighted at each scene. Will GUTS be able to track down and thwart the Kyrieloids' attacks?

4. Sayonara, Earth: The spaceship Jupiter 5 has vanished, astronauts and all. Then GUTS is faced with a metallic monster from outer space that consumes energy and receives reports of the astronauts' phantoms appearing by their loved ones to say goodbye. So when GUTS receives Jupiter 5's last message, they find a connection between the monster and the phantoms.

5. The Day the Monster Appeared: The gigantic corpse of a monster washes up on shore one day, leaving GUTS to find a way to dispose it. However, the carcass turns out to actually be a dormant zombie and it goes on a rampage, meaning GUTS has to change strategies. Meanwhile, Commander Munakata meets up with a reporter friend named Onoda to talk about his job at GUTS.

6. Second Contact: GUTS goes after a monster from the upper levels of Earth's atmosphere that has mutated from a swarm of microscopic but intelligent lifeforms called Critters. Horii believes he can speak to the monster and has developed a translation device to try make peaceful Critter-Human contact. However, he instead makes a horrifying discovery about the Critter's natures.

7. The Man Who Fell to Earth: An alien spacecraft on a collision course with a GUTS space station is blown up out of necessity and a lack of response to their warnings. Shortly afterwards, Rena's estranged father (the head of the space station) and a friend come to Earth, but the two are captured by a survivor from the spaceship who claims to seek revenge for his family's death.

8. Halloween Night: GUTS locates a strange magnetic field over a small town that celebrates Halloween. So the team heads out in costume, where Daigo encounters a strange old witch giving candy to children. As he tracks the woman, he finds himself trapped in another dimension. What does it have to do with a series of mass child disappearances that occur every Halloween?

9. The Girl Who Waited for a Monster: A strange meteor falls from the sky, prompting GUTS to investigate. There, they encounter a girl named Saki who carries a strange instrument with her. GUTS takes her in for care when she falls unconscious, but the meteor opens up to reveal a monster that seems to be searching for something. Meanwhile, GUTS finds out Saki is more than she appears.

10. The Closed Amusement Park: Shinjoh and his sister, GUTS nurse Mayumi, take a day off to visit an amusement park. There, the two meet a boy named Haruki whose friends mock him for his cowardice in front of his own sister. However, when a mysterious force field traps everyone inside the amusement park, Shinjoh has a chance to teach Haruki about bravery and being an older sibling.

11. Requiem to Darkness: Horii is sent to visit a resort that has recently sighted a monster that may have something to do with some alien cells stolen from the Stellar Development Department. There, he encounters his friends from Stellar Development, prodigal genius Ryosuke Sanada and his girlfriend, Sayaka. However, Horii soon finds Ryosuke is much closer to the monster than he imagined.

12. S.O.S. from the Deep Blue Sea: Rena and Daigo visit a marine laboratory developing a fish-guiding system that will help humanity herd marine species for free-range aquaculture. At the same time GUTS is tracking a sea monster mutated by radioactive waste leaking into the ocean, and the creature seems to be heading towards the lab for some reason.

13. Human Collecting: Shinjoh's "nephew" (actually little cousin, but he likes to call Shinjoh "uncle") Shinichi reports to GUTS of a crow-faced alien attacking people with a shrink ray and decides to track the creature by himself. Shinjoh heads out to stop his reckless plan, but when both are shrunk and captured by the alien, they discover a plot to enslave humanity.

14. The Released Target: GUTS receives a report of a strange meteor that turns out to be a crashed spaceship pod. They soon run into a woman named Rucia who seems to be fleeing somebody. When she is rescued by the team from a strange humanoid creature and brought to the base, they discover that she is an alien and there is another of her kind out there. But why are they being chased?

15. The Phantom Dash: Mayumi's motorcyclist boyfriend^note Real Life motorcycle racer Takuma Aoki As Himself is coming back to Japan after a winning a racing championship, but at the same time GUTS is faced by the return of Gazote, who has attacked a plane and is attracted to the electromagnetic waves of a solar power plant. And as GUTS works to save the power plant from the monster, a familiar figure will come to assist them and Mayumi.

16. The Demon’s Return: A gang of thieves desecrate the shrine of the legendary samurai Kagetatsu and take his sacred relics. That's when strange earthquakes release massive body parts from underneath the nearby hills, prompting GUTS to find out what's going on. Meanwhile, the spirit of Kagetatsu takes over the body of one of thieves to face the return of an old enemy.

17. Red and Blue’s Battle: Somebody is kidnapping athletes and fighters in the dark of the night, and the latest abduction has provided evidence of alien activity involved, giving GUTS what they need to launch a search. At the same time, a kindly old woman is letting an alien stay in her place, and the extraterrestrial tells her he needs help looking for somebody coming out at night.

18. Golza’s Counterattack: Volcanic activity occurs at extinct Mt. Kirimon, so GUTS figures something has disturbed the lava underneath the mountain. Taking out the drill tank Peeper to investigate uncovers that Golza has reappeared and is absorbing magma from the dead volcano's heart. Now GUTS and Tiga will be facing an old foe who has grown more formidable than any they've encountered yet.

19. GUTS into Space Pt. 1: GUTS' Dr. Yao has developed a lightspeed engine called the Maxima Overdrive and a massive spaceship called the Artdessei. At the same time, Japan has had sightings of strange robots and a huge mechanical fortress has appeared in outer space, blasting at major cities with devastating lasers. It seems evil forces are coming after the Maxima Overdrive.

20. GUTS into Space Pt. 2: Ultraman Tiga has saved GUTS from certain destruction by the Gobunyu robots, allowing the team to head into space on the Artdessei and prepare their operation to destroy the mechanical space fortress and end the robots' threat. Meanwhile, Dr. Yao must convince whatever forces are behind the Gobunyu that humanity should be allowed to have lightspeed travel.

21. Deban’s Turn: GUTS is chasing after an alien that releases electromagnetic waves to drive humans into a violent and deadly insanity. They soon notice that a small circus troupe was at every scene, with one member wearing an elaborate alien costume. GUTS searches for the performers and discovers that the alien has been hunting for the group, specifically their new member Deban.

22. A Fog is Coming: A mysterious fog engulfs a small village and Horii is sent to investigate. There, he runs into a young lady named Michiru Ezaki, the daughter of one of the Jupiter 5 astronauts, and discovers the villagers have been infected by alien parasites producing the fog to strike from hiding. Now the two are fleeing for their lives from the monsters in the mist.

23. Planet of the Dinosaurs: Paleontologists uncover a perfectly preserved dinosaur mutated to enormous size and outfitted with cybernetic weaponry. GUTS is equally baffled by the discovery, but things get more suspicious when a strange woman awakens the dinosaur. At the same time, aliens have arrived and announced their intention to retake Earth after a 65 million year absence.

24. Go, Monster Expedition Team!: When GUTS is investigating the appearance of toxic, tree-killing fumes along an abandoned highway, a gang of mischievous children report seeing a monster. GUTS finds no evidence of their sighting and is pretty sure that the kids are pranking them, prompting the kids to do their own investigation for the poison-spewing monster.

25. The Devil’s Judgment: While GUTS is looking into a mass sighting of an angel, Captain Iruma visits her estranged son, who now lives with her late husband's mother. Iruma's mother-in-law has seen the angel too and, like many others, believes it is a sign of Judgement Day. However, GUTS finds strong evidence that a familiar and malevolent force has returned to try destroy Ultraman Tiga.

26. The Rainbow Realm of Monsters: GUTS is tracking a series of Bermuda Triangle-like vehicle disappearances down a lonely stretch of highway, of which the latest victims are a family of four. All these disappearances occurred when an inverted rainbow appeared over the road, and when GUTS enters through, they discover a dimension ruled by a monster of herculean strength.

27. I Saw Obiko!: GUTS visits the town of Hikono to investigate a series of strange kidnappings related to sightings of the legendary youkai Obikobushi, who the locals note has become more aggressive in his mischief lately. As GUTS delves into the mystery of Obiko, they learn that for the spirits of ancient myth, the modernization of the human world can be too much for them.

28. One Vanishing Moment: GUTS initiates its operation to destroy the Critters and end the Gazote threat once and for all. However, radio waves used in the campaign have awoken a different monster. With most of team focusing on the Critters, Captain Iruma agrees to let Yazumi out on the field for the first time, giving GUTS' youngest member his first taste of both war and love.

29. A Memory of Blue Skies: During a space mission, Shinjoh is attacked by a mysterious alien ship and returns to Earth not too long afterwards in perfectly fine condition. However, he has become extremely determined to meet the popular singer Maya Cruz, who he now insists is his sister. Somebody has taken over Shinjoh's body, and GUTS need to find out what they want from the celebrity.

30. Monster Zoo: While Daigo and Rena are visiting a zoo and farm, a monster appears. GUTS fears the creature intends to devour the animals nearby, but analysis shows it is simply a mole mutated to gargantuan size and the creature is sleeping peacefully outside. This leads Rena to suggest sparing the beast, but its presence is putting everyone, including the rest of GUTS, on edge.

31. GUTS Base Under Attack: GUTS scientists have discovered a meteorite carrying an amoebic artificial lifeform originating from another planet. Horii is especially excited because the lifeform has the ability to create oxygen, which has unlimited beneficial uses. However, the lifeform has different ambitions — ones that make no consideration for the lives of any beings except itself.

32. Zelda Point Defense: GUTS has been assigned to stop a bird monster soaring towards Zelda Point, a mountain that hides stockpiles of Zelda Gas, a highly explosive chemical discovered by Dr. Masahiko Nezu, who lost his daughter Asami and pet cockatiel Shiela to his discovery. GUTS has been told by Dr. Nezu that the monster intends to destroy the Zelda Gas, but only he knows why.

33. Vampire City: Vampires have been sighted around Tokyo, attacking women to make more of their kind and killing any men they find. At the same time, Commander Munakata is meeting up with Onoda again, who believes the vampires are connected to the disappearance of a subordinate of his who was sent from Japan to investigate the legend of a vampire god in South America.

34. To the Southern Limit: General Sawai, supreme commander of GUTS, has been made head of the United Nations for his peacekeeping achievements, so he gathers the world's diplomats at the Coreomos Islands. However, alien forces attack the meeting and hold everyone hostage, so GUTS teams up with Sawai's longtime friend Security Director Yoshioka to stop the extraterrestrials.

35. The Sleeping Beauty: After rescuing Sawai, GUTS is left wondering which aliens had attacked and why Earth is such a popular invasion target. At the same time, they are looking into a preserved alien corpse from 1968 that has been showing signs of life lately, and Rena is attacked by the alien's specter. Are the forces behind the Coreomos Islands attack older than GUTS believes?

36. The Time-Transcending Smile: A bizarre magnetic storm has appeared over Japan and is warping objects through time and space. One victim of the time storm is a young lady from 1915 called Teri Tezuka, whom Yazumi is assigned to take care of until the mystery of the time storm is solved. However, Horii warns Yazumi that once the time storm ends, something very bad may happen to Tezuka.

37. Flower: Cherry blossom season has arrived in Japan, so all of GUTS (except Daigo, who has volunteered to remain at base and continue monitoring for an unsolved spaceship sighting) decides to take the opportunity to admire the poetry-inspiring springtime. In the team's hanami picnic, Captain Iruma runs into a mysterious mother-daughter duo who kidnap her.

38. The Mirage of a Monster: GUTS' new leader Tatsumura hates Ultraman Tiga for always stealing the team's thunder and informs Captain Iruma of a top-secret plan to ruin Tiga by projecting monster holograms into major cities to cause mass public panic. Iruma is deeply troubled by the unethical plan's confidentiality, made worse by her subordinates demanding to know about the illusory monsters.

39. Dear Mr. Ultraman: During the rampage of a heavily armored monster, Daigo meets Makio Kirino, a man with ESP powers who has learned that Daigo is Ultraman Tiga and hates how Tiga is adored by all while his own powers were shunned. So Kirino challenges Daigo to a game — destroy the armored monster without becoming Tiga or have his secret identity revealed to everyone.

40. Dream: A strange form of cosmic radiation washes over the home of Ikuta, an overworked man who has recently been dumped by his girlfriend, bringing a monster recurring in his stress-induced nightmares to life. The monster is unharmed by any of GUTS' attempts to take it down, meaning the team has to figure out how to stop the living dream at its source — if they can locate it first.

41. A Friend from Space: Shinjoh's buddies Kiyoto Inui and Jun Kinosaki have just returned from a space trip when they are attacked by an alien. Their ship crashlands, and only Inui returns when Shinjoh kills the alien. However, Inui reveals that the alien escaped and the deceased is a transformed Kinosaki, now the first victim of the invaders' plans to assimilate the human race into their hivemind.

42. The Town Where the Girl Disappeared: Yazumi wins the opportunity to visit a virtual gaming and computer programming town run by a supercomputer called Karen E-90. Shortly after arrival, he discovers that Karen E-90 has gone mad and taken over the town to make it into her own image. There, Yazumi also meets a girl with feelings for him who knows the town better than anyone else.

43. Land Shark: GUTS hunts down a shark-like monster that tunnels through earth, but with pieces of stone from the Giants of Light's pyramid and Daigo's Spark Lens starting to react to a presence, something bigger is about. Meanwhile, Daigo meets Keigo Masaki, genius CEO of Psytech Corporation, who wants the Tiga-transforming light of the Spark Lens to unlock a great power he has unearthed.

44. The One who Inherits the Shadows: Keigo has used the power of the Spark Lens to awaken another Giant of Light! Keigo force-merges with the Ultraman, but his greed and pride only turn it evil. While Daigo looks for a way to get the Spark Lens back and stop the corrupted Ultraman, GUTS must get back stone samples from Tiga's pyramid stolen by ex-GUTS scientist and Keigo's lackey, Dr. Tango.

45. Eternal Life: Daigo is left troubled by Keigo's attempt to become an Ultraman, but strange flowers that produce an addicting, hypnotic pollen are now popping up across the globe. While investigating them, GUTS encounters a girl named Terra who claims to hail from the ancient civilization that Tiga protected. She also says the flowers herald the return of a great darkness from 30 million years ago.

46. Let’s Go to Kamakura!: At Kamakura's Enoshima Electric Railway, a photographer named Hoshino spots a pair of giant eyestalks popping from the ground. However, each time GUTS checks it out, they find no signs of a monster, with only Daigo and Rena confident that he did see something. At the same time, GUTS is looking into a series of mysterious cries echoing from space.

47. Goodbye to Darkness: GUTS discovers that a monkey created from experiments with the same Evolu Cells that had turned Ryosuke into a monster is rampaging its way towards the Stellar Development Center where the experiments took place. Meanwhile, Horii has begun dating Michiru Ezaki, but Sayaka is troubled by feelings towards him from the Ryosuke incident.

48. Fugitive from the Moon: Shapeshifting aliens attack GUTS' moon base Garowa, leaving only Captain Hayate, Lieutenant Kishinaga, and a subordinate named Okabe as survivors. The three flee to the Earth GUTS base, but it becomes evident that the attackers have followed them when sabotage wrecks the base. However, accusations of who is the alien only sow distrust amongst everyone.

49. The Ultra Star: In the franchise's 30th anniversary celebration, Daigo encounters a peculiar man looking to buy a monster from Eiji Tsuburaya and ends up following him into the year 1965. There, the strange fellow learns of a monster imprisoned under Lake Ryugamori by an alien, while Daigo learns that Eiji Tsuburaya is in the beginning stages of creating a superhero who will change the world.

50. Take Me Higher!: Daigo is plagued by nightmares about the return of an ancient evil and Rena notices how troubled he is. At the same time, the ruins of a strange city rise from the sea off New Zealand and unleash a dragon-like monster upon the world. Daigo and Rena are sent after the creature, and in the process, Daigo will have to reveal some important truths about to his love interest.

51. Master of Darkness: Just as Tiga destroys Zoiger, hundreds of other Zoigers come out of their prison in R'lyeh to ravage civilization. When Daigo and Rena return to base to prepare for the all-out battle, a malevolent darkness begins to engulf the world. The great evil that had destroyed the civilization Ultraman Tiga protected 30 million years ago has finally awoken to do it all over again.

52. To the Shining Ones: Gatanozoa, the ancient darkness from 30 million years ago, has defeated Ultraman Tiga, turning him to stone once more! While men and women across the world despair at the end of the world, only GUTS and the children remain hopeful. And as the end of the world bears itself upon mankind, GUT will find old allies (and enemies) to help in their struggle to revive Earth's last hope.

Movie and Gaiden

• Ultraman Tiga: The Final Odyssey: Two years after Gatanozoa's defeat and Daigo losing the power to become Tiga, a GUTS expedition with Captain Iruma onboard unleashes three evil Ultramen sealed in R'lyeh. While the rest of the team works to rescue Iruma from the ruins, Daigo (now engaged to Rena) is plagued by visions from the Dark Giants that reveal the horrifying truth of Ultraman Tiga's past.

• Ultraman Tiga Gaiden: Revival of the Ancient Giant: 26 years after the Dark Giants are vanquished, Daigo's son Tsubasa encounters a wormhole that takes him five thousand years into Japan's past. There, he meets a boy named Amui and a warrior-girl named Maharoba. As the three face the forces of the evil wizard Dogura, Tsubasa will learn how far back Ultraman Tiga's past with his family goes.