Go! Godman: Godman vs. Gabara (ゴッドマン対ガバラ)
Go! Godman: Godman vs. Gabara
aka ゴッドマン対ガバラ その1 – その6 aka Ike! Godman: Goddoman Tai Gabara
Week of October 12 – 18, 1972
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Wait, he’s crazy! Help! Help!!
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Everyone knows and loves Gabara as the lizard cat monster from Godzilla’s Revenge that bullies Minya until Minya learns to stand up for himself. And then Godzilla beats him up as well for good measure. Now Godman gets a turn at fighting that bully jerk. That’s reason number one why we’re starting off with the second episode of Godman for March of Godzilla: Godman, a familiar and deserving monster gets beat up! Reason number two is this is the earliest episode of the DVD, but let’s pretend my made up reason number one is the real reason!
A toad gets nuked and turned into Gabara. Just why someone is nuking a toad is never explained, nor why the toad mutates into a cat lizard monster with electric powers and an inferiority complex. Shouldn’t they have nuked a cat and a lizard? Ours is not to reason why, but only to watch Gabara die.
The only episode of the series on the DVD is Part 4, and by now Gabara and Godman are both big and fighting in the city. Gabara has a fighting strategy that consists of lying on top of Godman and slapping him repeatedly. Somehow this lasts for a while before Godman starts using his flail and his exploding disks on Gabara. We unfortunately jump to tsuzuku before we get a conclusion, so it will be a mystery if Gabara is murdered by Godman, or if he’s just totally beaten up. But based on Godman’s actions in other episodes, that answer is yes, Gabara is murdered. And as Gabara is a big bully who picks on the best kaiju ever, Minya, he deserves to die. He might even be one of the few legitimate Godman murders of the series!
Shots of the missing episodes I have seen include a bit where Godman is flying around and Gabara grabs him, at this point Godman hasn’t grown big, but is about the size of a toddler in Gabara’s arms, which brings up some odd scaling issues.
Weirdly enough, this is probably one of the best episodes of Godman, because we see a monster we know that deserves to get beat up get beat up. Everything else turns into crazy town, a bit of which we get hints of here as Godman makes little effort to not get slapped around by Gabara, who is lying on top of him. If you think that sounds vaguely perverted, let me tell you this series looks incredibly perverted with the modern, jaded gaze you find on TarsTarkas.NET. You’ll find out more as March of Godzilla: Godman continues! More Godman goodies on the Godman Splash Page!
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Posted by Tars Tarkas -
September 8, 2016 at 8:10 am
Categories: Television Reviews Tags: Gabara, Godman, Japan, March of Godzilla: Godman, tokusatsu
Ike! Godman Splash Page
Godman was Toho’s first tokusatsu, premiering Thursday, October 5th, 1972, on the Good Morning! Kids Show on NTV. This was a day before Toho’s Rainbowman series premiered, so Godman is technically first even if his show is only five minutes long. This means we must be respectful of his place in history, even though he is terrible and so is his show! The story was designed to play six days a week at five minutes each episode, wrapping around the weekend, and providing a complete Godman adventure. But as the show is almost entirely Godman fighting a different monster each week without any of that plot nonsense, it’s not 100% required for you to watch every episode. Eventually, the Ike! Godman series was replaced by the successor Ike! Greenman series, and Greenman would battle some of the monsters from Godman. Never fear, the plots would be just as scarce.
Ike Godman stood in obscurity for decades, with only a few episodes released on laserdisc format (or so the people who upload clips claim), which soon began circulating in the exciting world of grey market vhs tapes. In 2008, the world was shocked when DVDs were released of select episodes of Ike! Godman and Ike! Greenman, along with a brand new original short starring the pair. Shocked, because who was really clamoring for this?? Now, we did not get either full series on DVD, the disks are mainly “best of”s, with only a few complete stories and many monsters only getting a one episode appearance, if that. But like an awful jerk once said, we go to war with the army we have, and what we have is garbage that will only get worse in longer form. I have managed to find a few more extra episodes out there thanks to the magic of the internet, so that will be included when possible. Unfortunately, that means a few of the monsters have no representation at all, at least until the rest of the show is finally released somehow.
That being said, the Godman Splash Page is filled with whatever information I could muster of all the creatures and powers of Ike! Godman, which should be enough to make people think I know what I am talking about. It’s not like anyone else will watch more than one episode of this show, unless they are being tortured by terrible, terrible people. Honestly, this show is awful, and it is only interesting because of the many monster suits being reused.
The True Monster of Ike! Godman:
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Godman powers
Godman has a bunch of special moves that he does by calling out their name. They include:
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Godman kaiju roll call!
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Godman Episode List:
Godman vs. Kinger (ゴッドマン対キンガー その1 – その6) Goddoman Tai Kingaa (October 5 – 11, 1972)
Godman vs. Gabara (ゴッドマン対ガバラ その1 – その6) Goddoman Tai Gabara (October 12 – 18, 1972)
Godman vs. Ghoston (ゴッドマン対ゴーストン その1 – その6) Goddoman Tai Gosuton (October 19 – 25, 1972)
Godman vs. Yasugon and Tsunoterah (ゴッドマン対ヤスゴン その1 – その6) Goddoman Tai Yasugon – Tsunokeraa (October 26 – November 1, 1972)
Godman vs. Tsunosilver (ゴッドマン対ツノシルバー その1 – その6) Goddoman Tai Tsunoshirubaa (November 2 – 8, 1972)
Godman vs. Gorosaurus (ゴッドマン対ゴロザウルス その1 – その6) Goddoman Tai Gorozaurusu (November 9 – 15, 1972)
Godman vs. Madaran (ゴッドマン対マダラン その1 – その6) Goddoman Tai Madaran (November 16 – 22, 1972)
Godman vs. Gattlar (ゴッドマン対ギャットラー その1 – その6) Goddoman Tai Gyattoraa (November 23 – 29, 1972)
Godman vs. Momonglar (ゴッドマン対モモングラー その1 – その6) Goddoman Tai Momonguraa (November 30 – December 6, 1972)
Godman vs. Kamoebas and Folgon (ゴッドマン対カメーバ・フォルゴン その1 – その6) Goddoman Tai Kameeba – Forugon (December 7 – 13, 1972)
Godman vs. Bolbes (ゴッドマン対ボルペス その1 – その6) Goddoman Tai Borupesu (December 14 – 20, 1972)
Godman vs. Imogoras (ゴッドマン対イモゴラス その1 – その6) Goddoman Tai Imogorasu (December 21 – 27, 1972)
Godman vs. Bullman (ゴッドマン対ブルマン その1 – その6) Goddoman Tai Buruman (January 4 – 10, 1973)
Godman vs. Dongolar (ゴッドマン対ドンゴラー その1 – その6) Goddoman Tai Dongoraa (January 11 – 17, 1973)
Godman vs. Skeleton Man No.1 and Skeleton Man No.2 (ゴッドマン対スケルトマンNo.1・スケルトマンNo.2 その1 – その6) Goddoman Tai Sukerutoman No.1 – Sukerutoman No.2 (January 18 – 24, 1973)
Godman vs. Sanda (ゴッドマン対サンダ その1 – その6) Goddoman Tai Sanda (January 25 – 31, 1973)
Godman vs. Gaira (ゴッドマン対ガイラ その1 – その6) Goddoman Tai Gaira (February 1 – 7, 1973)
Godman vs. Trunker (ゴッドマン対トランカー その1 – その6 Goddoman Tai Torankaa (February 8 – 14, 1973)
Godman vs. Hotter(ゴッドマン対ホッター その1 – その6) Goddoman Tai Hottaa (February 8 – 14, 1973)
Godman vs. Green-Mask (ゴッドマン対グリーンマスク その1 – その3) Goddoman Tai Geriinmasuku (February 15 – 21, 1973)
Godman vs. Funtlar (ゴッドマン対フントラー その1 – その3) Goddoman Tai Funtoraa (February 15 – 21, 1973)
Godman vs. Bat-Man (ゴッドマン対バットマン その1 – その3) Goddoman Tai Battoman (February 22 – 28, 1973)
Godman vs. Kappalge (ゴッドマン対カッパルゲ その1 – その3) Goddoman Tai Kapparuge (February 22 – 28, 1973)
Godman vs. Alien Tiborusm (ゴッドマン対ティボラス星人 その1 – その3) Goddoman Tai Tiborasu Seijin (March 1 – 7, 1973)
Godman vs. Ostotam (ゴッドマン対オストタム その1 – その3) Goddoman Tai Ostotam (March 1 – 7, 1973)
Godman vs. Tsunojiras (ゴッドマン対オストタム その1 – その3) Goddoman Tai Tsunojirasu (March 8 – 14, 1973)
Godman vs. Elephantar (ゴッドマン対ツノジラス その1 – その3) Goddoman Tai Erefyandaa (March 8 – 14, 1973)
Godman vs. Totsaurus (ゴッドマン対トットザウルス その1 – その3) Goddoman Tai Tottozaurusu (March 15 – 21, 1973)
Godman vs. Jilarji (ゴッドマン対シラージ その1 – その3) Goddoman Tai Shiraaji (March 15 – 21, 1973)
Godman vs. Wolflar (ゴッドマン対ウルフラー その1 – その3) Goddoman Tai Urufuraa (March 22 – 28, 1973)
Godman vs. Gejilba (ゴッドマン対ゲジルバ その1 – その3) Goddoman Tai Gejiruba (March 22 – 28, 1973)
Godman vs. Trilorn (ゴッドマン対イボギラー その1 – その3) Goddoman Tai Toriroon (March 29 – April 4, 1973)
Godman vs. Ibogilar (ゴッドマン対イボギラー その1 – その3) Goddoman Tai Ibogiraa (March 29 – April 4, 1973)
Godman vs. Stegojiras and Akumon (ゴッドマン対ステゴジラス・アクモン その1 – その6) Goddoman Tai Sutegojirasu – Akumon (April 5 – 11, 1973)
Citations and image sources:
インサイター (The site 90% of the internet got their Godman kaiju images from!)
ゴッドマン’s モンスター
「行け!ゴッドマン5円引き」の記事へ
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Posted by Tars Tarkas -
September 7, 2016 at 4:05 pm
Categories: Cinema Articles Tags: Akumon, Alien Tiborus, Batman, Bolbes, Bullman, Dongolar, Elephantar, Folgon, Funtlar, Gabara, Gaira, Gattlar, Gejilba, Ghoston, Godman, Gorosaurus, Green-Mask, Hotter, Ibogilar, Imogoras, Japan, Jilarji, Kameba, Kappalge, Kinger, Madaran, March of Godzilla: Godman, Momonglar, Ostotam, Sanda, Skeleton Man No.1, Skeleton Man No.2, Stegojiras, tokusatsu, Totsaurus, Trilorn, Trunker, Tsunojiras, Tsunosilver, Tsunoterah, Wolflar, Yasugon
Godzilla’s Revenge (Review)
Godzilla’s Revenge
aka All Monsters Attack aka Godzilla-Minya-Gabara: All Monsters Attack! aka Gojira-Minira-Gabara: Oru kaiju daishingeki
1969
Starring
Tomonori Yazaki as Ichiro Miki
Eisei Amamoto as Toy Consultant Shinpei Inami
Sachio Sakai as Bank Robber Senbayashi
Kazuo Suzuki as Bank Robber Okuda
Kenji Sahara as Ichiro’s Father
Machiko Naka as Ichiro’s Mother
Shigeki Ishida as The Landlord
Directed by Ishiro Honda
SUPER SCARY SATURDAY! BOOOoooOOOoooOOOooOOOOooOOO! Once again, Super Scary Saturday will be our guide through the world of Godzilla! This is the greatest Super Scary Saturday intro of them all! It’s only ironic that it’s on one of the worst Godzilla movies of them all! It’s got stock footage, more stock footage, annoying kids in short shorts, even more stock footage, even more annoying kids in short shorts, and oddly enough was one of my favorite G films as a kid, probably because this movie is marketed for kids (though I suspect the Super Scary Saturday intro also helped.) The stock shots of Godzilla are pulled from several films, so you see Godzilla’s head change shape a few times. We got our grubby paws on the Japanese version as well as the American TV dub, so we’ll be contrasting both as we go along. It’s the same storyline, but there are a few key differences, most notably, the kid in the Japanese version is about twenty times less annoying! He’s almost respectable! It’s amazing. Minya famously talks in this film, and shrinks down in size to have chats with little Ichiro, the Boy of Monster Island. Speaking of Monster Island, this film was the immediate follow-up to Destroy All Monsters, where all the monsters were living on Monsterland, but from this movie forward they all live on Monster Island. Also, Destroy All Monsters took place in the far off future of 1999, while this film is set back in 1969. So either Monster Island becomes Monsterland, or Monsterland is another name for Monster Island, possibly due to Monster Island being really a peninsula.
I hope I didn’t bore you off with that over-analysis there. It’s time to not care about technicalities anymore, as we’re going to be visiting the mind of an 11 year old boy, his monster playmates, a crazy toy inventor, two bumbling master thieves, and two bullies named Gabara! All of this hosted by Al Lewis, Grandpa Munster himself! It’s the last March of Godzilla film until the next March of Godzilla (ignore that this is May and we’re still putting up films) and the last Super Scary Saturday film I have on tape. So let’s Celebrate, Celebrate, Super Station TBS! And bring on Super Scary Saturday!
After the famous Super Scary Saturday commercial scares it’s way by again, we get the opening. “It’s Me, Grandpa!” we get our familiar greeting as Grandpa Munster awaits us sitting in the Super Scary Saturday theater. He’s excited to have us there: “Do I have a treat for you! This is better than having your own Red Cross Blood Bank franchise!” It sure is. Grandpa Munster rules! Grandpa continues: “You heard of Wrestlemania? Well, we have MONSTERmania!” It’s Godzilla vs. All Comers!
Grandpa then jumps to Crazed Grandpa Announcer Don King mode to promote the upcoming fight! Behind him at the podium are cartoons of Godzilla and Gabara, Godzilla in a wrestling suit giving his pointing finger, and Gabara doing his hair! We cut to Gabara for his view of the upcoming fight, and his Godzilla-taunting, which I will transcribe in it’s entirety for your reading pleasure: “Listen up you giant water lizard! I’m the prettiest monster and the meanest Godzilla. You’re going to get the shock of your life when you step on the Monster Island with me, Gabara, the giant cat from Monstermania! I’m the one, the only, the true world champion!”
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Posted by Tars Tarkas -
May 10, 2006 at 5:55 pm
Categories: Movie Reviews, Ugly Tags: Ebirah, Gabara, Godzilla, Grandpa Al Lewis, Japan, kaiju, Kamakiras, Kenny, Okondoru, Super Scary Saturday