Ultraman Trigger: New Generation Tiga is available to stream on YouTube
On a Martian settlement, botanist Kengo Manaka has a recurring nightmare about a mysterious woman and a giant of darkness. His attempts to find the perfect Martian soil for his plants to grow take him to some excavated ruins, currently being investigated by his mother and her benefactors the Sizuma Foundation.
When the ruins are attacked by a monster, Kengo is mysteriously protected by a bright light. As he investigates further, the monster's master appears and Kengo is once again protected by the woman from his dreams. Standing before a statue of the mysterious giant, Kengo merges with it to come a giant of light - Ultraman Trigger!
Given just how popular Ultraman Tiga is a production that fully celebrated its 25th anniversary was a given, but a modern day take on the story is definitely an interesting way to go about it. Ultraman Trigger might not be following Tiga to the letter, but at the same time Tsuburaya Productions certainly aren't going light on the parallels. It isn't just a case of them necessarily being there just for older fans to catch either, since Trigger's preview episode directly called out a lot of them for new viewers (not to mention Tiga being recapped in the Ultra Chronicle Z: Heroes Odyssey compilation series). Trigger's origins mirror that of Tiga's, while the Dark Giants he'll face off against are a reimagining of the trio that appeared in Ultraman Tiga: The Final Odyssey. Defense team GUTS-Select is based on Tiga's own GUTS, and the monster that appears in this episode is a fusion of two Tiga kaiju (Golba = Golza and Melba). It feels both equal parts remake and reimagining, with no clear indication yet on just how exactly this fits in to the Ultraman universe. Of course knowing said universe Tsuburaya are almost certainly going to make it fit in somehow, and that mystery certainly comes as part of the appeal.
Whereas as some of the more recent shows have had a habit of introducing the whole cast within the first episode, Ultraman Trigger takes it slow and only utilises a handful of them to get the story going. There will surely be plenty of time spent with GUTS-Select going forwards, but for now all we really need to know is that they exist. It's a shame that the end of this episode suggests that a lot of action probably won't take place on Mars, because having it has a starting point really makes Trigger feel unique. The level of CG required to give it scale is perhaps a bit cost prohibitive, but it's nice to look at something that isn't just all conventional cities or Earth landscapes for once. Naturally driving the story is Kengo, our botanist hero who just wants to make everyone smile. There's a very classic sensibility to Kengo's words, one that makes him immediately likeable as well as perfectly suited to the role of a hero. The botanist angle is particularly endearing, as we see him carry his precious flower around in a capsule - determined to find the perfect Martian soil to make it bloom. Even though he doesn't have a clue what's happening around him and why he's suddenly wrapped up in some alien prophecy, he goes along with it so that he can help save people.
Supporting Kengo we briefly meet his mother Reina, as well as Mitsukuni Shizuma - the eponymous head of the Sizuma Foundation. While the pair mostly just help move the story along here, Shizuma definitely stands out as a point of interest. Not just because of his quickness to present Kengo with a Sparklence (the GUTS-Select firearm which in Kengo's case also switches to his transformation item) and invite him to join GUTS-Select, but also his various allusions to Ultraman Tiga. He seems very familiar with the story of Tiga, as well as musing that Ultraman "exists in this world" as well. When we do eventually find out just how Tiga and Trigger connect together, he is likely going to factor into it somewhere. But if villains are more your thing it looks like we've got some good ones here, as the Dark Giant Carmeara has awakened and is not happy with Ultraman Trigger for sealing her all those years ago. Her parallels to Camerra from The Final Odyssey aside it's nice to have another Ultraman series go all in with a monster villain from the first episode, her "giant of darkness" design mirroring the Ultras "giants of light" look in all the right ways.
What also really works here is that the fight isn't the same straightforward win we usually get from a premiere episode either. Trigger already has his hands full fighting Golba, but once Carmeara also joins the battle things start to go south for our hero pretty quickly. Trigger being overwhelmed so soon establishes just how much of a threat Carmeara is, and we see some great scenes of him literally being pounded in into Mars' muddy surface. I'm not sure when the last time Tsuburaya were this eager to have their beautifully constructed suits be caked in mud, but it definitely wasn't any time recently. It adds an extra level of grit and realness to the fight, as well as acting as a throwback to older days' when it felt like literally anything could go with the fight scenes. This disadvantage creates a good way for Trigger's signature weapon to be introduced, and as he turns the tide we get to see another beloved element of Ultraman that hasn't been seen onscreen for a while - the madmen going so far as to blow the actual monster suit up at the end. The whole thing is just a fantastic blend of old and new techniques, setting Trigger up as another series that's clearly going to have plenty to offer visually.
On top of matching the incredibly high standards the franchise has set for itself in recent years, Ultraman Trigger: New Generation Tiga's first episode is another standout premiere in how it has immediately set itself apart from the more recent string of Ultraman shows. From its Mars setting and more individual approach to its Ultraman as a character to the more classic sensibilities when it comes to the fight sequence, Ultraman Trigger channels Ultraman Tiga in a way that manages to feel fresh despite the numerous parallels. It will be interesting to see just how Trigger plans to act as a companion piece to Tiga in terms of continuity, but given the franchise's track record whatever happens it'll almost certainly be an enjoyable show in its own way regardless.
8 comments:
Tiga is my favorite Ultra Show. What is yours, Alex?
Ultraseven is mine. There are a lot of really good ones but that's definitely the standout for me!
I swear, why isn't Toei for Kamen Rider and Super Sentai what TP is doing for Ultraman world wide?
Maybe it's just me, but most of the Ultras since Orb have felt kind of generic. I'm constantly forgetting Taiga exists because it just blends with its peers in my mind. Like, outside of the connection to Tiga here and the much-appreciated return of exploding the kaiju at the end, there wasn't a whole lot that really felt new or gripping--especially since the protagonist felt about as milquetoast as it gets. Maybe I'm just missing something.
Kengo made it hard for me to get into the episode. Pretty generic with no real motivation. Sure it's all pretty and looks great but without some kind realism to the characters it falls flat imo.
Hello!
I'm already watch Kamen Raider and some Super Sentai, and I'm trying getting into Ultraman, I tried watching Tiga and Dyna, because people always recommend these - principally Tiga - as two of the best Ultra series. But I didn't like it.
I know Kamen Rider is for kids too, but these series (Tiga and Dyna) are just silly. There's no villain, no touching story, no character development (I watched Tiga until episode 16 and Dyna until episode 14), just "new monster, fight, Ultra shows a new power without explanation wins, moral lesson for the kids". And the fights get repetitive, 'cause Ultraman doesn't get nothing as cool as like the new forms of Kamen Rider, for example.
You would recommend some of the more newer series (Orb, Z or Trigger) or they still mantain the same formula?
Hello, and thank you for reading and giving Ultraman a try!
In general Ultraman has always had more of a focus on individual episodes rather than ongoing stories in comparison to Kamen Rider, so you'll find that pretty much across the board. However as the newer shows are 25 episodes long as opposed to 50, they are punchier and all the plot focus episodes are naturally closer together. Modern Ultra has a much bigger focus on alternate forms as well, which are definitely more comparable to the ones Rider has.
I think both Orb and Z are solid starting points, however in your case I'd go for Orb as that has a much stronger and prominent lead villain. Seeing Orb before Z will also give you some additional context which makes the latter show better as well. Geed would be another good choice too. X is usually the one I bat for the most, but I'll admit that's a little more episodic than the others. Trigger it's still a little early to tell, but the fact it's a "New Generation Tiga" that's copying a lot of Tiga's beats means it might not be ideal for you if you weren't into the original.
So yeah, I'd say give Orb a go!
Ok, then I gonna give Orb a try! Thanks for the answer!
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