A giant of light appears in the SHINKOCCHOU SEIHOU!
Finally, "S.H.Figuarts (SHINKOCCHOU SEIHOU) ULTRAMAN TIGA MULTI TYPE" will be released.
There, Mr. Shunsuke Gondo, who is known as a suit actor of "Ultima Tiga", Mr. Tsuburaya Productions who was involved in costume and character maintenance in the Heisei Ultra series trilogy starting from Tiga, Mr. Tatsuya Nagao who is in charge of this modeling A roundtable discussion was held by the three parties.
For "S.H.Figuarts (SHINKOCCHOU SEIHOU) ULTRAMAN TIGA MULTI TYPE," Jo Narita, who was in charge of suit modeling at the time, created the prototype of the statue. Mr. Nagao of M.I.C., who has worked on numerous "S.H.Figuarts" models, created the movable parts, and Mr. Fukui, who was familiar with the suits of the time, supervised the development. We asked the three people who played a central role in the development to talk about "Ultraman Tiga".

■ S.H.Figuarts (SHINKOCCHOU SEIHOU) ULTRAMAN TIGA MULTI TYPE

--First of all, please tell us about "S.H.Figuarts (SHINKOCCHOU SEIHOU) ULTRAMAN TIGA MULTI TYPE".

Fukui:Actually, I haven't picked it up yet, but it's cool. It's also nice to have a separate line. In supervising this figure this time, it was very difficult to determine "Is the overall balance okay?" As "there is no moving part of the joint once". I think that was probably the case with Mr. Nagao, who is modeling.

Nagao:Okay. After all, in the process of adding movement, steps are created one after another, and even if it fits as a line, when viewed as a three-dimensional object, it feels somewhat rugged. What should I do if the silhouette changes just by changing the angle little by little? It was that battle all the time (laughs).

――What did you think frankly when you received an offer to scan Mr. Gondoh directly this time?

Gondo:It was like, "Did you come (laughs)?" That's a joke, but there was such a story for a long time ... However, it's been 25 years since I played Tiga, so it's different from that time. There was also a conflict as to whether there was any meaning. I usually maintain my body to some extent, but when I was asked to keep my body shape at that time ... Still, not only myself but also the fans love Tiga so much, so I am responsible for that. But when I asked him, he said that he wanted me to provide skeletal balance data, so if you didn't expect muscles and still asked for it so far. I was struck, and I thought that this was a life work, and said, "I understand." However, I was allowed to say, "If you don't agree, I'll cut it off."

――How was the actual scan?

Gondo:I was wondering if something like a pod would go around my body and take a picture like "Basha!" In an instant, but unexpectedly, I was told that one pose was 5 minutes. "No, I didn't hear that ..." (laughs). It was pretty tight, wasn't it?

Nagao:It was a method of having you stand still and scan the whole body. I also have to grasp the detailed modeling and balance in developing, so I took a lot of pictures at the time of scanning.

Nagao:Mr. Narita's modeling was the work of putting in movement so as not to break this form as much as possible. After all, in making clearance and wall thickness, it was inflated a little and the form line gradually changed. At that time, it seems to be adjusted again with Mr. Gondoh's scan data. I tried it like that.

Gondo:As long as it is such a movable figure, it seems that there is a limit value for securing the range of motion, "I want to make it a little thinner from the belly to the back," and that is what I asked to make it as thin as possible.

Fukui:“Gloss” and “sex appeal” are very difficult. It's like the beauty that captures a moment in movement. I think it was a pretty difficult order to find out how to express it in a movable figure. The form of the standing figure was the most sticking point. Mr. Gondo, you said that Tiga in "Ultraman Tiga THE FINAL ODYSSEY" is a completed figure in yourself. It was supervised while paying attention to this area.

Heisei Ultraman Series first work "Ultraman Tiga"

――Please tell us about the design of Ultraman Tiga.

Gondo:There was an imprinted image that "Ultraman has two colors, red and silver", so I was surprised at the addition of blue to it. At first glance, the inspiration and first impression was that it looked like a rotating signboard at the front of a barber shop (laughs). The moment I saw my face, I saw it in an illustration, but I got the image of a marine life. But I thought it was cool.

Nagao:After all, I think that the good modeling of Showa and the new and new design of Heisei are wonderful designs that have found a good landing point.

Fukui:The first thing I saw was the poster visual. What impressed me was the silhouette of the head. Also, the color scheme first caught my eye. I was surprised at the unprecedented design.

Nagao:The beauty of the shape of the eyes, which is often said, is gentle and there is something dignified. That's what I think is wonderful and cool.

Gondo:There are various special effects characters that represent Japan, but Ultraman is a character that has a so-called actor's body line that is particularly suitable for the outline of the body. That's why we suit actors couldn't even put supporters on their knees and elbows (in Ultraman). Because I was taught that (the suit part) is "skin" for Ultraman. After all, the design that children can draw and the simple design are the characters that will remain for a long time. I think it's the pain of birth now, I think it's because there is a hard time to create something different from the previous work every year, but I sympathize with the fact that it is an additional design. I feel that the number of colors used, the line taking, and the overall details have become noisy.

--Did you have any difficulties at that time as a suit actor?

Gondo:Even after the TV series ended, I played Tiga many times, but every time I really struggled with my vision. When facing a monster, you can only see the toes of the opponent's left foot. The quadrupedal monster is still within my field of vision, but when I look back after the humanoid and alien types have switched places, I don't even know where they are anymore. As for the aspect, I'm not conscious of it in my daily life, but I really need oxygen. It's painful anyway. Actually, there is a slit in the mouth part that is large enough to fit a razor, but it is not possible to inhale (enough) air. Regardless of the visibility, I always thought that the air intake holes could be somehow devised, but that didn't come true. Still, Tiga's suit has been improved and improved, and it feels like it was consolidated in the The Movie.

――Is there any improvement in ease of movement while being consolidated?

Gondo:Unfortunately, that didn't change (laughs) ... After all, one of the biggest features of Ultraman 's suits is that the surface and wetsuit are integrated. When twisting or turning in the air on a trampoline, you first twist and steer from the neck, but that is suppressed.

Fukui:Since the wetsuit is made of rubber, it will be pulled back. It applies not only to the neck but also to other movements. I think it was difficult to play so as not to lose the force of being pulled back.

■ For fans

-- So, finally, what is your message to the fans who will be getting "S.H.Figuarts (SHINKOCCHOU SEIHOU) ULTRAMAN TIGA MULTI TYPE"?

Gondo:It feels like "I'm sorry for the inconvenience." When you first heard it, huh? It was, but it is exactly Tiga of the true SHINKOCCHOU SEIHOU. We are confident that we will be able to fully convince you by incorporating a number of new technologies that have never been seen before, and you will be amazed! I really enjoyed it too!

Fukui:I would like you to see the characteristic form of Tiga played by Mr. Gondoh.

Nagao:Anyway, I want you to play down. I also like to play with products that I made, so I want to pick them up quickly (laughs).

Fukui:First of all, I would like to move around and play with it, and decorate it in a standing manner.

Nagao:After playing around with me, I'm the type who wants to stand up and decorate for a long time (laughs). Because it's a type that stands side by side.

Fukui:After this, when Dyna and Gaia come out, I would like to line up three of them.

Gondo:I don't want Tiga to wear a cloak (laughs).

--Thank you everyone.

* March 5th (Friday) 15:30: Corrected a typographical error in the text.