著者

小林 徹

出版者

群馬大学

雑誌

群馬大学社会情報学部研究論集 (ISSN:13468812)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.12, pp.147-163, 2005-03-31

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Put Ultraman Tiga (1996-97) on the actual scene of Japanese society in the years from 1995 to 1997. It was the memorable period in which some very significant incidents occurred, for example, a major earthquake in the Hanshin area, the fatal gas attack against the metropolis subway system and a junior high school student's killing of the young boy in Kobe. Japan was at that time of the horror entertainment boom with a best-selling novel named Parasite Eve at its peak. Ultraman Tiga is a fictional television program for children featuring a supernatural hero whose mission is to protect the earth against monsters or aliens from outer space. It might be easy to find those above-mentioned incidents reflected in the program but there is more to be argued about the historical significance the work has in terms of the information-oriented society. Analysis of the interactions between its main plot and these reflections shows that Ultraman Tiga had already depicted the fearful digital environment of today where individuals are unwittingly governed by a single computer system on the basis of their own personal information.