History: Derived from the Japanese word "Kamakiri" meaning mantis, the Kamacuras was first discovered by Japanese archeologist Dr. Matsumiya in 1955 on a remote tropical island in the Pacific Ocean. Solgel Island, as it was called, was home to several Kamacuri as well as a colossal prehistoric spider-like beast named KUMONGA. At the time the Kamacuri were 25 feet in height with legs fully erect and 35 feet long. The Kumonga kaiju would feed on the Kamacuri for sustenance.
Matsumiya and his six year old daughter, Riko, were the only members of the Solgel Island expedition. Dr. Matsumiya's focus studies shifted from archeology to kaijuology upon discovery of the great beasts living on the island. A freak accident destroyed their radio equipment, effectively stranding the father and daughter alone on this island of monsters. The 25 foot giant mantises soon began hunting the two of them, nearly killing them both on several occasions. The locating of a cave system beneath the jungle terrain became the Matsumiyas salvation from the Kamacuri.
The cave system extended all over the island allowing the two of them to move about the island undetected by the Kamacuri. Matsumiya's notes suggest that the cave system may have been created by an extinct race of mega-lumbricus terrestris (giant earthworms). These gargantuan worms may have also been the primary food source of the Kamacuri, perpetuating the species for millennia, with the monstrous Kumonga in turn consuming the Kamacuri, keeping the numbers of Kamacuri low.
Artwork by Dave Wachter from IDW's Godzilla: Cataclysm
In 1960 Dr. Matsumiya passed away leaving his daughter alone on the island. For seven years Riko lived by herself on the island, surviving and growing into adulthood. In 1967 a team of Japanese scientists arrive on Solgel Island to run secret weather control experiments for the United Nations. The UN team, led by Dr. Kusumi, were plagued by the Kamacuri just as the Matsumiyas were. During one of the team's experiments a radioactive isotope was detonated in the atmosphere resulting in a radioactive storm on the island. Extreme temperatures and flood-rains along with the radioactivity transformed the Kamacuri from 25 feet tall to near Godzilla-size.
The Kamacuri were now large enough to level buildings and cause wide-scale destruction. In one instance, Riko Matsumiya and a reporter assisting the UN team witnessed three Kamacuri level a peak on the island and unearth a kaiju egg. The giant mantises cracked open the egg revealing what appeared to be a creature belonging to the Godzillasaur family. The three Kamacuri quickly descended upon the newborn kaiju with the intent to kill and presumably eat the creature. Before the giant insects could inflict any serious damage, Godzilla arrived on the scene.
Artwork by Yasushi Torisawa
The three Kamacuri engaged the king of the monsters in combat, much to their folly. Godzilla succeeded in killing two of them, the third Kamacuras retreating before meeting a similar demise. Several days later the lone Kamacuras again encountered the infant Godzillasaurus and attempted to kill the baby kaiju once more. The Kamacuras' battle was interrupted by the giant arachnoid Kumonga. Kumonga covered the Kamacuras in anesthetizing webbing before injecting the kaiju with a lethal dose of venom. No more Kamacuri were seen during the remainder of the time Dr. Kusumi's team spent on Solgel island. The UN team succeeded in their weather experiment, lowered the temperature on the island, and forced the kaiju on the island into hibernation.
Years later a research team, led by Riko Matsumiya, returned to Solgel Island and captured both Kumonga and a surviving Kamacuras. The two kaiju were transported to the Ogasawara Islands for study.
Artwork by Bob Eggleton
KAMACURAS' BIOLOGY
Gigas-Acontista Solgelis.
The differences between the common mantis and Kamacuras, beyond the obvious, are minimal. The giant mantis has six legs, the two forelegs being spiked and raptorial which allow the monster to grasp, hold, and attack. Kamacuras stands almost as tall as Godzilla when its legs are fully extended. The legs, despite being quite slender, allow the Kamacuras to leap great distances without the aid of its wings. Kamacuras' raptorial forelegs are the kaiju's primary method of attack, but not its only method of attack.
Kamacuras has two sets of wings. The Tegmina or 'outer wings' are heavier and coarse, almost as if covered in a lightweight armor. These outer wings shield the more delicate hind wings. It is these hinds wings which move at incredible speeds, carrying the great monster through the air. At full speed the slipstream created by the Kamacuras is powerful enough to shatter steel and level buildings.
And lastly the Kamacuras has the ability to change its pigmentation in accordance with its surroundings, a natural camouflage. It's usual coloration is of a reddish brown hue but due to the camouflage capabilities its natural complexion is unknown. Kamacuras being a carnivore and possessing the ability of flight, if the kaiju were to ever reach a populated area the resulting damage and death toll could be catastrophic.
**note: the camouflage and destructive slipstream abilities were introduced in Godzilla: Final Wars
Review: Let's be honest, giant praying mantises are awesome. If one is going to take a creature from the insect kingdom and blow it up to gargantuan proportions the praying mantis is likely high on the list. Anybody remember Universal Studios' 1957 giant monster movie THE DEADLY MANTIS? That film set the precedent for giant mantises in movies. I'd like to think Toho went through all these classic 1950's giant insect movies like TARANTULA, THE BLACK SCORPION, THEM, and The Deadly Mantis and recruited what they believed to be the best among them.
As a child when I first saw Son Of Godzilla the Gimantis and Spiega were scary. Even now, thirty years later, they're still creepy. The amount of detail on the Kamacuras marionette is mind blowing too. And the movement of the mandibles was always skin-crawling. Overall the design work and build of the Kamacuras is very impressive and visually compelling. And in general giant mantises make for exciting enemies in anime or monster movies with their deadly forelegs and flight.
And like Kumonga, the Kamacuras is basically a large-scale puppet. Bringing both kaiju to life as convincingly as they did is an incredible feat compared to the relative simplicity of a man wearing a monster suit. I have to give credit where credit is due on this. The puppetry of Kamacuras and Kumonga is very well done and impressive. It's interesting in that with many American monster movies they seemed to have gone with giant insects for antagonists whereas Toho seldom used insects. Maybe it was because to achieve the Toho standard of reality and believability in their monsters they knew the only way to bring such creatures to life would've been through the difficult process of puppetry. Mothra, Battra, Kamacuras, Kumonga, and Megaguirus remain the only insect kaiju in the entire roster probably for this reason.
On the flipside though, it's just a big insect. As amazing as Kamacuras is with its detail and marionette performance, at the end of the day it's not a very imaginative design. Insects themselves are such bizarre looking creatures already that if blown up to kaiju-size they make great monsters. But for my personal preference I love seeing creatures I've never seen before or things with a natural esthetic but a unique design like Varan or Anguirus. Battra and Megaguirus managed more interesting and creative designs in my opinion than Kumonga or Kamacuras.
All in all Kamacuras is still an great kaiju and an impressive sight to behold in Son Of Godzilla. The CGI Kamacuras in Final Wars is less impressive however and the brief shots of the puppet Kamacuras are even less so. It was great that they chose to bring the Kamacuras back for another movie but the 2004 rendition pales in comparison with the 1967 realization. But to be fair, most if not all of the kaiju suits looked subpar in Final Wars, not just Kamacuras.
Artwork by Dave Wachter from IDW's Godzilla: Cataclysm
Beyond Son Of Godzilla and Final Wars and a brief tiny new shot in Godzilla's Revenge, Kamacuras is a seldom seen kaiju. Stock footage of the kaiju was heavily featured in Godzilla's Revenge and briefly in Godzilla Vs Gigan. The giant mantis hasn't had any major or playable appearances in video games. But the kaiju did make a brief appearance in the IDW comics GODZILLA: CATACLYSM and GODZILLA: RULERS OF EARTH.
Kamacuras made appearances too in four young adult books from Random House, GODZILLA INVADES AMERICA, GODZILLA: JOURNEY TO MONSTER ISLAND, and GODZILLA VS THE SPACE MONSTER all written and illustrated by Scott Ciencin and Bob Eggleton as well as the book GODZILLA 2000 written by Marc Cerasini. If you can track down these books from Random House (all of which are sadly out of print) they're fun reads and the art of Bob Eggleton is, as always, amazing.
As for kaiju I'd like to see resurrected in a new film, Kamacuras is pretty low on my list. But just imagining what they could do today with CGI effects, if they were to bring Kamacuras back and drop a decent amount of money into the effects the kaiju would look absolutely spectacular. The MUTO from Legendary's 2014 Godzilla film resembled Kamacuras in more than a few ways.
Threat Level: 6 out of 10
Wide-Spread Destruction
Destroyer of Earth
For more studies in Kaijuology check out the pages below
After completing perhaps the heaviest production schedule in what some would call the greatest year in Godzilla's history and following what is essentially the kaiju equivalent of the Avengers in GHIDORAH THE THREE-HEADED MONSTER where do the filmmakers go from here? For the sixth film in the series how does one begin to top a space monster like Ghidorah and the uniting of earth's monsters? First off, you'd keep the kaiju masters themselves on hand for one more epic adventure.
Director Ishiro Honda, special effects masters Eiji Tsuburaya, Teruyoshi Nakano, and Sadamasa Arikawa, music by Akira Ifukube, and writer Shinichi Sekizawa take the story to the next level, the universal level. Haruo Nakajima in charge of the kaiju and stunts and with an all-star cast featuring Akira Takarada, Kumi Mizuno, Jun Tazaki, Akira Kubo, Yoshio Tsuchiya, and 'the Rebel' himself - Nick Adams - Toho studios unleashed an apocalyptic science fiction masterpiece. INVASION OF ASTRO-MONSTER a.k.a. GODZILLA VS MONSTER ZERO raised the stakes of the franchise higher than ever and created a template for numerous sci-fi films to copy and repeat for the future.
THE PLOT
As Earth continues researching and peering deeper into the vastness of space they discover a new planetoid in the Scorpion Constellation on the far side of Jupiter. Code named: Planet X - The World Space Authority dispatches two astronauts, F. Glenn and K. Fuji, on a mission to the newly discovered planet. Upon arrival Glenn and Fuji discover a race of cyborgs inhabiting the planet as well as the terrifying kaiju, King Ghidorah. Through duplicity and advanced technology the Xians lay siege to Earth in a bid for universal domination. With the Xians able to control Ghidorah, Rodan, and Godzilla to do their bidding, what hope does Earth have against these invaders from outer space?
THE GOOD
Raising the Stakes. As a franchise keeps growing so too must the stakes. After a devastating space monster forced three of Earth's monsters to join forces to save the world where do you go from there? Writer Shinichi Sekizawa takes the plot galactic. Combining two of the most popular sci-fi sub-genres, giant monsters and flying saucers, into a seminal science fiction epic. The Xians lure humanity to their planet, secretly infiltrate Earth planting sleeper cell agents to assess our defenses, abduct our monsters and control them, then begin a full scale invasion. This time the monsters cannot save the world from this alien threat. Humanity must figure out a way to defeat the Xians on their own including freeing the kaiju from the Xian control.
This plot, similar to the 1957 film THE MYSTERIANS, would become a staple of Toho's kaiju films, being reused and borrowed again and again for future films like Destroy All Monsters, Godzilla Vs Gigan, Godzilla Vs Mechagodzilla, Godzilla Vs King Ghidorah, and Godzilla: Final Wars. The Xians themselves would become iconic villains of cinema, somewhat androgynous in appearance, technologically advanced, emotionless robotic cyborgs. Even the thin visor covering their eyes has become a signature of science fiction stories (Geordi La Forge anyone?). Yoshio Tsuchiya is as much to thank as director Ishiro Honda or the costumer designer, delivering one of his most memorable performances. All the actors deliver wonderful performances including Kumi Mizuno, Akira Kubo, and Nick Adams. It's a shame Nick Adams' life ended so tragically. It would've been great to see him in more tokusatsu films.
THE BAD
Stock Footage and Dancing Kaiju. As wonderful of a movie as this film is, it also has some of the first indications of the shifting of the series from serious dramas to low budget kids films. Godzilla dancing in this film is one such scene. According to David Kalat's book A Critical History and Filmography of Toho's Godzilla Series, director Ishiro Honda was opposed to the anthropomorphization of Godzilla's character. I wouldn't doubt either if Godzilla's shift to a child friendly hero was a reason why Ishiro Honda took time away from the series. This is also the first film in the series to show significant amounts of stock footage from previous kaiju films. The footage recycled from 1956's Rodan stands out the worst. Taking into account all the stock footage and the already limited screen time of the kaiju, there is little new kaiju footage in this film. It is unfortunate but the film is still quite good albeit not as high quality as the previous two films in the series.
Artwork by Jeff Zornow
THE VERDICT
The masterminds behind Ghidorah's attack in the previous film make their presence known in this galactic epic. The Xians make their legendary debut in a plot-formula that would go on to define many Godzilla films in the future. With Ishiro Honda at the helm accompanied by the dream team of golden age Tokusatsu creators and an all-star cast, Invasion of Astro-Monster is a seminal film in the series. The only aspects that bring this movie down are usages of stock footage and Godzilla's little dancing jig. It also looks a little ridiculous when the Xians pull Godzilla from Lake Myojin with his feet sticking up unnaturally high and his tail between his legs. Beyond these the movie is classic kaiju greatness.
Overall Ranking: 8 out of 10
(Great! Everyone needs to experience this. The new standard)
Category: Transcendence
(a film enjoyed by both the adolescent and adult Godzilla fan)
ODE TO WHAT MIGHT'VE BEEN
One very interesting aspect of the film are the implied plotlines on the
periphery. During the initial conversation with the Xians the
Controller speaks of Ghidorah in regards to the kaiju's attack on Earth
in the previous film. How would the Xians know of those events unless
they were observing the events or perhaps were responsible for them? If
the Xians were responsible for Ghidorah's first attack on Earth then
perhaps they were also responsible for the decimation of the Martian
people and the destruction of the planet Mars spoken of by Princess
Salno in GHIDORAH ~ THE THREE HEADED MONSTER. Dr. Sakurai has a line of
dialog in Monster Zero, "Ghidorah was always one of their weapons." We are left to interpret this dialog as Ghidorah having been controlled by the Xians for many years, perhaps hundreds if not thousands of years.
Artwork by Yasushi Torisawa
Then there is the attack immediately following the Xian Ultimatum.The Xians are shown attacking the World Space Authority destroying the P1 and satellites. When Glenn confronts Namikawa the building they're in is ransacked indicating some sort of attack or pandemonium. The impression is that the Xians attacked several places on Earth, either to drive home their threat or to destroy key places on Earth that could pose problems. Then there is the line of dialog about Ghidorah attacking the United States and the western hemisphere. Given that Ghidorah shows up for the climax of the film it is assumed that the monster defeats the United States, probably in a huge battle too given that, as Americans, that's what we do, big action and battles. There are large action pieces in this story that happen off screen. Imagine seeing all these action scenes.
The last missing piece of off-screen plot is Mothra. Mothra is the major character missing from this film especially since the monster played such a pivotal role in the last film against Ghidorah. With Godzilla and Rodan under Xian control, Mothra is the only kaiju opposition left from the last movie. Mothra, being of exceptional intelligence for a kaiju, was probably incapable of being controlled by the Xian magnetic waves. It would therefore make sense that after the Xian Ultimatum is issued that the Xians first target would be Infant Island to neutralize the threat of Mothra. Again all these plotlines are mentioned, implied, or can be inferred from lines of dialog and sets. There is a lot more to this story than meets the eyes. If ever told in its entirety, this particular story would be a grand kaiju epic worthy of legend.
Continuity between the Toho Kaiju Cinematic Universe (TKCU) and even from Godzilla film to Godzilla film has always been fast and loose. Filling in these plotholes makes for even more exciting stories, stories I'd love to see.
Artwork by Yasushi Torisawa
VHS/DVD/BLU-RAY
If you are looking for the perfect release of this film none get any better than the Toho Master Collection DVD version from Genius Entertainment and Classic Media. What makes this the perfect edition for any English speaking fan? For starters this DVD contains both the original Japanese language version as well as the original English language version complete with the UPA English dub (the version most of us grew up with on television and VHS). Along with that there is an audio commentary by Godzilla scholar Stuart Galbraith IV, image gallery, original Japanese trailer, and biography of Tomoyuki Tanaka. With three different ways to view the film, simply put, this edition is one of the finest releases of any Godzilla film.
If only every single Showa era Godzilla film as well as Godzilla 1985 were given similar treatment. These editions from Genius Entertainment and Classic Media are without a doubt the best Godzilla releases for fans.
This is the perfect dvd release of this film for any fan, young or old.
Missed a chapter in the saga? Get caught up as we continue the countdown to number one!
Hello everyone! As some of you may know, I am writing for the website COMICONVERSE. I have been covering the current comic books from Marvel Comics Guardians of Infinity and Doctor Strange.
For myself and anyone else interested I am documenting each of my articles here at Blood Work.
If you haven't checked out this latest article here you go!
BOOM! Studios has begun a six issue mini series about the origin of King Kong and Skull Island. This story actually is a prequel to a novel from 2004 titled KONG: KING OF SKULL ISLAND. The art is beautiful and the story matches up nicely with the novel. I am really looking forward to seeing how this series turns out.
If you get the chance to pick this book up, do it.
Click on the link above for my full review!
As always feel free to comment and drop me a line of your own thoughts!
Hello everyone! As some of you may know, I am writing for the website COMICONVERSE. I have been covering the current comic books from Marvel Comics Guardians of Infinity and Doctor Strange.
For myself and anyone else interested I am documenting each of my articles here at Blood Work.
If you haven't checked out this latest article here you go!
The final chapter in the Last Days of Magic story arc is here. Sadly the purposed scope of the premise doesn't quite live up to the reality. This is the issue Marvel's been building toward since issue #1 and it turns out we spent seven issues building up and three issues resolving the matter. Perhaps my expectations were too high.
There's also the little continuity issues with the past 50 years of Doctor Strange lore. But nowadays a little continuity is a hard thing to come by. Oh well. At least Doctor Strange has a comic book out for the first time in 20 years.
We'll see how much longer I stay with it. The coming story arc looks promising though.
Click on the link above for my full review!
As always feel free to comment and drop me a line of your own thoughts!
