Godziban – ゴジばん【GEMSTONE ゴジラ 応募作品】 (Review)

March of Godzilla 2019

Godziban

aka ゴジばん aka Gojiban aka ゴジばん【GEMSTONE ゴジラ 応募作品】
Godziban GEMSTONE ゴジばん
March 20, 2019
Written by Hideyuki Kobayashi
Directed by Hideyuki Kobayashi and Jun Shimazaki

Godziban GEMSTONE ゴジばん
A long time ago in a galaxy far far away, 2004 in Tokyo to be precise, there was a Godzilla puppet show called Gekigoji. It was officially licensed by Toho and performed by the Koganemushi Theatrical Company. Koganemushi has produced a bunch of puppet shows featuring a variety of cute monsters and also some Ultraman shows such as this one. The Godzilla show was around 30 minutes long (according to fan lore online) and featured a variety of puppets including Godzilla, Minya, Little Godzilla, a huge King Ghidorah puppet, Gorosaurus, Mothra, Anguirus, Baragon, and Gabara. There does not appear to be an official recording of the play but pictures from the event have shows up online (largely from Koganemushi’s own website, and helped spread to the English speaking side by Monster Island Buddies)
Godziban GEMSTONE ゴジばん
That seemed to be the end of it until 2019 called. One of the Koganemushi people who goes on twitter as g_zanika announced he is bringing the puppets out of retirement to make a 10 minute long film for a contest. The GEMSTONE contest picked the short as the winner, and before you can say “Godzilla” they had announced there would be a new biweekly series featuring the puppets called Godziban (that’s the official English name, before that we called it Gojiban) appearing exclusively online. The series is a bunch of skits, the main one involves Godzilla-kun teaching his two brothers Little and Minya how to be great monsters. There is also a Kamatte Godzilla, where the Kamatte Godzilla from Shin Godzilla appears to women in need. A long-running short gag sequence is Hedojii, which has old man Hedoji (Hedorah as a wizened scribe) and his grandson Hedochi wandering through barren wastelands. Hedochi will ask a question which causes Hedoji to give a long answer explaining the way of things. Then it all ends on Hedochi making a joke. Go! Jet Jaguar is an animated segment where Jet Jaguar answers questions and has adventures. Moshi Mosu features two baby Mothra as they speak to each other through two cups connected by a string. These segments all have precursors in the original 10 minute video, but I am unaware if any of the material comes from the prior stage show. Gojiban has started providing English versions with their latest videos and often incorporates fan comments into the segments. there is even a comic strip version now called Godziman (Gojiman)! It is great having a new, ongoing Godzilla media project that will eventually bring all sorts of new, weird, and wonderful monster canon into the world of Godzilla.
Godziban GEMSTONE ゴジばん Kamatte Gojira
So let’s get started, first up is the original GEMSTONE contest video!
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Go! Godman: Godman vs. Gorosaurus (ゴッドマン対ゴロザウルス)

March of Godzilla Godman

Go! Godman: Godman vs. Gorosaurus

aka ゴッドマン対ゴロザウルス その1 – その6 aka Goddoman Tai Gorozaurusu
Gorosaurus Godman
Week of November 9 – 15, 1972

Why are you murdering me? I’m just looking for the hospital! Oh, God, NOOOOO!!

Hell yeah, Gorosaurus is back! But he’s getting beaten up by Godman, because Godman is a jerk and kills everything you love. Especially if what you love is ratty old kaiju film costumes like this Gorosaurus suit, which has seen better days by far. The Gorosaurus suit is in such bad condition that pieces of it are flopping around and it’s all crushed inward like all the padding is missing or decayed away. In fact, it’s hard to think anything except Gorosaurus is very very sick and shouldn’t be getting beaten up by this jerk Godman, but should instead be given medical attention for whatever illness is happening to him. Someone call up Medical Jet Jaguar, I don’t care if he hasn’t been invented yet, go get a time machine and then go get Medical Jet Jaguar! We need an intervention to save Gorosaurus before Godman the jerk kills him!

The only episode that made it to DVD is the final episode, number 6, which consists of Godman beating the ill Gorosaurus up for a while before tossing explosive disks at him. Godman follows this up by firing his Godman Supersonic Wave, blowing up Gorosaurus with swirly death!!

BOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! Gorosaurus never did anything to you, except live and get in the way of your fists. Godman should have been escorting Gorosaurus to hospice care to help with his obvious disease. Way to be a horrible monster, Godman. Someone needs to call Godman to kill Godman.

There are a few clips of earlier episodes online, which consist of Gorosaurus stomping around the nearby town, expertly not stepping on any building, almost as if he’s avoiding wanton destruction because he’s a good guy (Or more likely, the tv series doesn’t have the budget to break the models!) This makes it even more sad when Godman kills him. I am not sure what episode the clips are from, as they begin in the middle of the show. March of Godzilla: Godman will continue, and check out the Godman Splash Page for more Godman goodies!
Gorosaurus Godman
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Ike! Godman Splash Page

March of Godzilla Godman
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:

Godman – Godman is a jerk who slaughters monsters for fun and has an unnatural attraction to young children, who he has brainwashed to be a mass army that spots new targets for him to kill. That this dangerous cult leader is lauded as a hero speaks to the fundamental failing of humanity. Godman wears a uniform that is a red spandex body pajama with an outside filthy silver diaper, and booties and gloves. His long flowing hair flutters in the breeze. Godman is big at promoting his own brand, with a big “G” imprinted on his belt buckle, boot buckles (actually golden rings), and wrists. Godman came to Earth from the Fire God Star, which means there might be more of him. He has an alliance with Greenman, another monster killer.

Godman powers
Godman has a bunch of special moves that he does by calling out their name. They include:

God-Circle – Godman’s Deadly Tron disc that explodes on contact.
God-Spark – Godman’s explosive finger sparkles. Nice to know Godman’s fist is a member of the NRA!
God-Crush – Godman’s flail that he uses on monsters to redirect their attack back to them. He also occasionally uses it as an actual flail.
God-Shower – Godman’s gross-sounding water attack. Seriously, Godman, what is wrong with you??? This stuff is sprayed on monsters and they dissolve. Eww! Some reports also list a “God-Acid” power that comes from his hands, but all I’ve seen is the hose-spraying God-Shower.
Godman Supersonic Wave – Godman fires a swirl from his chest that brutally murders his opponents, which looks amazingly identical to the Qotile blasts in Yars’ Revenge.

Godman kaiju roll call!

Kinger (キンガー) Kinga
Appearances: 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)
Bio:He is called Kinga in other translations. No Kinger episodes are available at this time, despite this being the first episode and that seems like the kind of thing you would include on a DVD…
Gabara (ガバラ) Gabara
Appearances: 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)
Bio: Gabara returns from being an imaginary monster into reality thanks to a toad getting hit by lightning. I’d explain the science behind that, but we all know it as it is very simple Science 101 and it would just be a waste of time. Gabara is a jerk, so he immediately gets into a fight with Godman. His fighting style includes lying on top of Godman and slapping him. Perhaps the toad that became Gabara was a poisoned toad, and he corrupted Godman with his bullying powers, which is why Godman goes rogue in later episodes.
Ghoston (ゴーストン) Gosuton
Appearances: 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)
Bio: No Ghoston episodes are available at this time. He looks like some angry boulders came to life.
Yasugon (ヤスゴン) Yasugon
Appearances: 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)
Bio: A young lizard monster child with dual rows of fins down his back. He has only two stubby, clawed fingers on each hand, and no thumbs. I don’t know why Godman decides to fight him, and after he beats him up he only lets Yasugon live after he bows in worship of Godman. The monster immediately befriends a small boy who helps fix one of his injuries, meaning this monster was good, and Godman is a bully. Tsunoterah doesn’t like him and threatens him in the second part of their week long story arc.
Tsunoterah (ツノケラー) Tsunokera
Appearances: 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)
Bio: We briefly see him in the cliffhanger of the prior three episodes, but no Tsunoterah-focused episodes have been released. All I know is he threatens children and child kaiju, so he’s probably a jerk. He looks like an annoyed hippo donkey. Hopefully Godman murders him.
Tsunosilver (ツノシルバー) Tsunoshirubaa
Appearances: 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)
Bio:Tsunosilver can fire deadly rays from his mouth, and even blows up a jet liner, giving Ike! Godman a huge body count! He also has a weird tongue jutting out of his mouth, which makes his rolling around with Godman in the dirt look more perverted than the average perverted Godman fight. Tsunosilver means Hornsilver, so you will occasionally find him listed by that name (or Silverhorn, or the similar Tsunoshirba). His name has a lot of different translations, including Tsunokeler.
Gorosaurus (ゴロザウルス) Gorozaurusu
Appearances: 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)
Bio:Gorosaurus is a famous kaiju, but by now the suit has seen better days and Gorosaurus looks like he’s sickly, which attracts scavenger predator Godman to try and finish him off. From the footage I’ve seen of unreleased episodes, Gorosaurus is expertly avoiding stomping on buildings, so his murder seems extra bad. Someone call Godzilla!
Madaran (マダラン) Madaran
Appearances: 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)
Bio:Madaran looks like Gappa the Triphibian Monster was run through a filter to make him more childlike. As his episodes aren’t released, no information is available at this time.
Gattlar (ギャットラー) Gyattoraa
Appearances: 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)
Bio:This guy looks like a bunch of bananas got angry one day and caused some trouble. He must be an appealing guy! Gattlar is sometimes called Giandorah in other translations, I’m not sure what the official one is.
Momonglar (モモングラー) Momonguraa
Appearances: 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)
Bio:Momonglar has the distinction of being the hardest Godman kaiju to find anything about, the only picture of him is a grainy image in an animated gif, and I haven’t even seen him on any of the Godman edits I watched on the various Chinese and Japanese video sites. Momonglar is called Momondarah in other translations
Kamoebas (カメーバ) Kameeba
Appearances: Godman vs. Kameba 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)
Bio:Kamoebas from Space Amoeba also shows up to be fought by Godman, but as Kamoebas was just chilling on the beach when Godman started punching him, he did nothing wrong, and it turned out Forugon was causing all the trouble. Godman didn’t even apologize for his brutal assault.
Folgon (フォルゴン) Forugon
Appearances: Godman vs. Kameba 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)
Bio:A goofy bird monster with a weird haircut, Folgon was causing trouble on the beach and Kamoebas caught the blame, until a jealous Folgon decided he wanted to be beaten to death by Godman instead! So he was.
Bolbes (ボルペス) Borupesu
Appearances: 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)
Bio:Looking like a weird tree came to life, Bolbes probably was just being Bolbes before Godman flew by to kill him dead. His episodes aren’t released. Bolbes is called Borupes in other translations
Imogoras (イモゴラス) Imogorasu
Appearances: 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)
Bio:Imogoras looks like a cool, creative kaiju design that screams the 1970s, but is the type of tokusatsu monster that you get nostalgic for when you start seeing modern designs. His episodes aren’t released, so no word on how Godman probably murders him.
Bullman (ブルマン) Buruman
Appearances: 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)
Bio:Weird how Bullman doesn’t have that prominent of horns even though so many other Godman kaiju have horns to the point where “horn” is in their name. The Bullman episodes aren’t released, so no clue if at one point Godman taunts him with a red cape.
Dongolar (ドンゴラー) Dongoraa
Appearances: 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)
Bio:This walking butt with a nose looks like he’s supposed to be ginseng, maybe? Who knows, Godman wants him dead regardless. Dongolar is called Dongorah in other translations
Skeleton Man No.1 (スケルトマンNo.1) Sukerutoman No.1
Appearances: 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)
Bio:Skeleton Man No.1 shows up to harass a kid who is fishing, and Godman comes to actually defend children for once and beats up Skeleton Man No.1 and his buddy, Skeleton Man No.2. His head looks slightly more blueish in some shots.
Skeleton Man No.2 (スケルトマンNo.2) Sukerutoman No.2
Appearances: 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)
Bio:Skeleton Man No.2 appears when Skeleton Man No.1 is getting beat up to help his friend, only to get murdered first. His head looks slightly more yellowish in certain shots.
Sanda (サンダ) Sanda
Appearances: 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)
Bio:Poor heroic Sanda gets targeted for death by the evil Godman. Godman, is there anyone he won’t kill?
Gaira (ガイラ) Gaira
Appearances: 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)
Bio:After killing Sanda, Godman decides to complete the set and kill off the evil Gaira, so he does.
Trunker (トランカー) Torankaa
Appearances: Godman vs. Trunker (ゴッドマン対トランカー その1 – その3 Goddoman Tai Torankaa (February 8 – 14, 1973)
Bio:Cool-named monster that looks like an old man in bumpy armor. Trunker is called Toranka according to some translations, but that name sucks compared to Trunker, so we reject it outright! None of his stuff is on DVD.
Hotter (ホッター) Hottaa
Appearances: Godman vs. Hotter(ゴッドマン対ホッター その1 – その3) Goddoman Tai Hottaa (February 8 – 14, 1973)
Bio:Hotter pops up the same week as Trunker, so they are connected somehow, but that’s all we know without their episodes being released!
Green-Mask (グリーンマスク) Geriinmasuku
Appearances: 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)
Bio:Green-Mask is a demonic magician who loves to kidnap children. Despite being demonstrably evil, Godman lets him live because he strokes his ego by worshiping him.
Funtlar (フントラー) Funtoraa
Appearances: 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)
Bio:I thought Funtlar would be like “elephant” but he looks nothing like an elephant so who knows? His stuff isn’t on DVD. Funtlar is called Funtorah in other translations
Bat-Man (バットマン) Battoman
Appearances: 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)
Bio:One of the Bat People from Latitude Zero pops up as Bat-Man, but he’s not that Batman, he’s a child-attacking jerk who gets killified by Godman!
Kappalge (カッパルゲ) Kapparuge
Appearances: 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)
Bio:Godman then attacks Kappalge, but those episodes aren’t on the DVD, so who knows what happens. Whatever it is, the killing isn’t complete, as Kappalge returns in the modern Godman special. Kappalge is called Katsubarge in other translations. Kappalge looks like a duck that had far too many head x-rays!
Alien Tiborus (ティボラス星人) Tiborasu Seijin
Appearances: Godman vs. Alien Tiborus (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)
Bio:I’m glad Alien Tiborus lets us know he’s an alien, so we don’t get him confused with regular Tiborus. His stuff isn’t on DVD, so I don’t know how alien his is. Alien Tiborus is called Tieboras in more boring translations. Alien Tiborus has cool head stalks.
Ostotam (オストタム) Osutotamu
Appearances: 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)
Bio:Ostotam is a cool looking monster who isn’t on DVD so I have no idea if he actually is cool or if he is just a chump who gets killed.
Tsunojiras (ツノジラス) Tsunojirasu
Appearances: 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)
Bio:A horned monster who enjoys egging on his opponents into brutally attacking and murdering him. Maybe Tsunojiras thinks that if his opponents kill him, then he wins because he corrupted them. But Godman was already a crazed murderer, so that strategy is sort of dumb!
Elephantar (エレファンダー) Erefyandaa
Appearances: 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)
Bio:Finally, a guy named after an elephant who looks like an elephant! Sort of. Maybe. His stuff isn’t on DVD.
Totsaurus (トットザウルス) Tottozaurusu
Appearances: 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)
Bio:Totsaurus is yet another bird-themed kaiju, I guess one of the designers was a big bird fan or at least had one of those guide books to bird species he pulled from when he was out of ideas. Totsaurus’s stuff isn’t on DVD.
Jilarji (シラージ) Shiraaji
Appearances: 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)
Bio:Jilarji is a friendly monkey who was mocked an attacked by children until he hulked out into Jilarji, which then meant Godman killed him, while the children who mocked the poor monkey got off scot free! This is among the worst things Godman does in the series. He’s yet another guy with a big horn on his head. Jilarji is also called Shiraaji in some translations, his name is among the most disagreed on I saw while searching around.
Wolflar (ウルフラー) Urufuraa
Appearances: 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)
Bio:Wolflar looks cool, so of course his episodes aren’t on DVD. Why waste time with cool monsters?
Gejilba (ゲジルバ) Gejiruba
Appearances: 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)
Bio:Gejilba looks like an escapee from Sesame Street, but his passion for counting can’t compare to Godman’s passion for murder!
Trilorn (トリローン) Toriroon
Appearances: 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)
Bio:Trilorn looks like he leads a Lovecraftian cult OR he’s a doctor in the year 3000 at Planet Express. Either way, Godman has his sights set on him, so Trilorn is probably Tri-DEAD! His stuff isn’t on DVD.
Ibogilar (イボギラー) Ibogiraa
Appearances: 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)
Bio:Ibogilar is another awesome monster design that isn’t on the DVD episodes! Dang it, DVD episodes, it’s not like you couldn’t cram all this stuff on your disk!
Stegojiras (ステゴジラス) Sutegojirasu
Appearances: 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)
Bio:Blue half of the Stegojiras and Akumon partnership, they kidnap children and worship a mysterious volcano god.
Akumon (アクモン) Akumon
Appearances: 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)
Bio:Red half of the Stegojiras and Akumon partnership, they kidnap children and worship a mysterious volcano god.
???? (????) ????
Appearances: 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)
Bio:Mysterious volcano god thing that Godman kills after he kills of its acolytes, Stegojiras and Akumon. Even now, decades later, the show’s creators don’t have a name for it. Was it the main villain behind all the monsters? That would make too much sense, when the clear evidence is Godman is the Dexter Morgan of tokusatsu.

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

Godman Title

Bat-man-vs godman

Destroy All Monsters (Review)

Destroy All Monsters

aka Attack of the Marching Monsters aka Kaiju soshingeki

1968

Directed by Ishiro Honda

Godzilla before that first morning coffee.

When I was but a wee lad first learning about the Godzilla experience, catching Super Scary Saturday showings of G-flicks, buying Godzilla films on VHS that weren’t showing up on tv, recording films airing on the local UHF station, I was also reading up on every monster movie related book I could read. My favorites were by a guy named Daniel Cohen*, who wrote such books as Super-Monsters and Science Fiction’s Greatest Monsters, well-read copies of which still lie somewhere in my mom’s attic. There was also another set of books at the library that were neon orange with a book each for Dracula, the Mummy, King Kong, Godzilla, and a few other monsters. The thing was, every library in the area did NOT have the Godzilla book! I was so angry! Imagine 8 year old Tars so mad he purposefully murdered his entire Oregon Trail travel party. Some say I went too far, but they say so only via their gravestone markers…

Manda and Godzilla set up their slot car racers!

But is there a point to that rambling first paragraph? Yes! You see, of the Godzilla flicks and lore of Godzilla flicks, knowledge of a movie containing all sorts of Toho monsters was spread. This mythical, magical movie, had like all sorts of monsters, including monsters I had never heard of, beat the tar out of each other and aliens attack. It was Destroy All Monsters. And it never aired on TV anywhere near me. So sad! It also wasn’t at any video store. Destroy All Monsters became a mocking ghost, forever out of reach. Until one day in college suddenly it was on VHS tape. I was like “HELL YEAH!” and bought me some Destroy All Monsters, watched it, loved it, and now don’t know where the tape is because a DVD version was released shortly thereafter. So yeah. And now I have this cool version, which has the AIP dub merged with a widescreen format custom made by some guy on the internet. Because I’m awesome like that.

Check out this curve, ladies!

Was Destroy All Monsters worth the 14 years of questing to find? Damn straight it was! Though it isn’t perfect, it is entertaining. It’s got alien invasions, an awesome monster fight finale, Akira Kubo, alien chicks in silver hoodies and capes, 1960s astromen costumes in bright primary colors, attempts to make rocket propulsion scientifically accurate, lasers, and Minya! The only thing missing from this film is Don Frye, but he pops up in another flick years later to make it all right.

Gah this water’s too cold! Back to the blanket for me!

Captain Katsuo Yamabe (Akira Kubo) – Captain of the Moonlight SY-3 spaceship along with first officer Okata. Is the designated hero of planet Earth, because he saves the day again and again and again. His sister is Kyoko.
Kyoko Yamabe (Yukiko Kobayashi) – Katsuo’s sister who has just started her new job on Monsterland the day it is invaded by aliens. What awful timing. Spends most of the film under alien control via earrings. Yukiko Kobayashi is an artist now, if I’m using Google correctly and it isn’t a different Yukiko Kobayashi.
Dr. Yoshita (Jun Tazaki) –The old UN science guy who seems to be in charge of the entire world, as he takes command of everything when the aliens invade. Jun Tazaki is in such G films as King Kong vs. Godzilla, Atragon, Godzilla vs. the Thing, Frankenstein Conquers the World, War of the Gargantuas, Godzilla vs. Monster Zero, and Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster.
Kilaak Queen (Kyoko Ai) – The Queen of the Kilaaks and the Queen of Fashion. This Space Lady wants to conquer the Earth and make all humans part of the Kilaak tribe. Why? Because!
Dr. Otani (Yoshio Tsuchiya) – Dr. Otani is head of research at Monsterland and is a cool guy. Until he’s mind controlled by the Kilaaks and turns evil! Then he goes all Peter Pan out a window, except he doesn’t have magic fairy dust, so he has a tragic ending. Yoshio Tsuchiya has been seen here before in Son of Godzilla, Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, Godzilla vs. Monster Zero, and Gigantis the Fire Monster.
I save the whales….for dessert!

Monster Roll Call!

Godzilla – Godzilla rules monster island, and is then brain controlled and sent to destroy New York. After being set free, Godzilla figures out who the real bad guys are and blows up the alien base.
Minya – Godzilla’s son is here, proving once again why he is the awesome son. He even delivers the finishing blow to King Ghidorah. How many monsters can claim that?
Mothra – Mothra is only in larva form for Destroy All Monsters, probably because the rotting Mothra moth costume last seen in Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster had deteriorated into a big pile of moth goo.
Rodan – Rodan is a flying jerk who thinks the best way to save the whales is to save them for supper! Oh, and he helps save the Earth after he’s not mind controlled.
Anguirus – Anguirus shows how brave he is here by charging in full speed ahead to take on King Ghidorah. Hooray for Anguirus!
Manda – Manda takes a break from the land of Mu to hang out on Monsterland for a while. See this Manda in Ultra Q as well
Baragon – Baragon is around. Yep. It’s surprising Baragon is in this movie, as the suit was currently being hacked to pieces for use in Ultraman. But they managed to glue him back together for a small cameo.
Gorosaurus – Gorosaurus isn’t just a background monster, he trashes France and does some butt-kicking of King Ghidorah himself! A refugee from King Kong Escapes, Gorosaurus would disappear (except for stock footage) until showing up with a badly decaying monster suit on Ike! Godman, and then on Godzilla Island.
Speiga/Kumonga – Speiga has returned from the dead to be a spider and spit some web. So don’t be hatin’ this spider jerk, because for once he’s sort of good. But he still sucks, so screw ’em!
Varan – Varan flies around in the background of the big fight, then suddenly gets a huge closeup during the final flyby of the film. Oh, Varan, why are you so unbelievable? Varan’s solo other movie appearance has three different versions (Japanese, English, Japanese TV) so it’s like Varan was in four films!
King Ghidorah – King Ghidorah returns, once again under control of some crazy alien race, this time the Kilaaks. Oh, King Ghidorah, why do you keep whoring yourself out to the highest bidder? Have some respect for yourself, you’re a “king” for goodness sakes!
Fire Dragon – Hey, you ain’t a real monster! I want my money back…
Moonbase Mission Control stole it’s color scheme from TarsTarkas.NET!

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Godzilla Island – Story Arc 22

Godzilla Island – Story Arc 22


1997

Directed by Shun Mizutani

It’s the Final Countdown! Du-de-du du, Du-de-du-du-du! The last Story Arc of them all! The return of the whole cast, the Secret of Godzilla Island is out and the Xiliens will do anything to get their grubby paws on it! Giant Dark Emperor gets mad, Torema gets sad, and less than a few seconds transpires between this story and the previous one. We get a new monster, but not the giant monsterfest I was hoping for with the final story arc. Oh, well. Things are still good, so let’s get the good goings on going, shall we? New readers, Start here at the beginning of the series, and everyone else get ready for the final chapter. Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow there is no tsuzuku!


G-Guard Commander (Jiro Dan) – G-Guard Commander runs the Godzilla Guard unit on Godzilla Island. He’s all alone except for sassy robot Lucas, so of course he’s bored out of his skull normally. He seems to have been stationed there because it’s a low-priority assignment they could dump someone who can’t work under pressure, because that’s exactly what he is. Luckily Torema shows up to save his pants. I do not know if he has a name but it may be Oji.
Torema (Maimi Okuwa) – A mysterious young girl who shows up one day on Godzilla Island right when the dastardly Xiliens begin to attack. She repels the attack, joins the G-Guard, and begins her fight against Zaguresu the Xilien because Xiliens destroyed her home planet (I think that’s what happened – she may have been from future Earth.) Has psychic powers and her own spaceship called the Panatolute.
Zaguresu (Naoko Aizawa) – Evil Xilien woman who invades Earth using giant monsters and her giant Independence Day/V rip-off spaceship. Enjoys laughing evilly while contemplating the latest diabolical schemes. Follows the Xilien leader Giant Emperor’s orders, because that’s what they do on Planet X. Sheep! Or not, as she becomes defiant. Her spaceship is named the Vabaruda.
Misato (Kaori Aso) – The new monster doctor who is dedicated to her craft. Works hard, argues with G-Guard Commander, and flies Medical Jet Jaguar around all the time. Now has her own spaceship, the Tart-coupe.
Landes (Kaoru Ukawa) – The new Xilien assigned by Giant Dark Emperor to take over Godzilla Island. She has crazy eyes. Always using a pink fluffy fan. Her ship is another Vabaruda.
Nao (Sho Sawamura) – The latest cast addition to Godzilla Island, and the most mysterious because she came out of nowhere and seems obsessed with food. Who is she? Why does G-Guard Commander seem to know her and get annoyed at her constant talk of food? Will we ever get answers? I sure hope so, because otherwise you have to put up with this explanation for the remainder of the series. At this point I think she is G-Guard Commander’s daughter. I translated Sho Sawamura’s name myself so hopefully it is right.
Lucas (Kenichiro Shimamura) – Annoying robot, Godzilla Island-style! Makes sarcastic remarks, and seems to be even mean at times. An annoying Kenny kid in floating metal sphere form. He must be destroyed! Translates from monster language to Japanese.
Camero (???) – Landes’s floating robot, sounds bored when he talks. Just what we needed, another annoying Lucas. Hopefully he can be the entertaining Meowth to the lame Pikachu. Looks suspiciously like MST3K’s Cambot (Last design)!
Narrator – (Yutaka Aoyama) – He’s not a character but the guy who recaps the previous episode in the beginning of the episode. That means thirty seconds of each three minute episode is Narrator recounting events, padding running time beyond levels I want to think about. He’s a typical Japanese male announcer, amazingly excited and epic about even the most mundane things.
Giant Dark Emperor (???) – Giant flaming head who commands the Xiliens and Planet X. Do not look behind the curtain. The great and powerful Giant Emperor commands you, and can hear your sarcastic backtalk! Still, being a flaming head in space has got to be pretty boring.

Different monster feature in each episode, so we’ll keep track of them in each story arc. The complete Godzilla Island Daikaiju List is located here. We’ll also list any new monster match-ups that weren’t in any film but now exist thanks to this series, such as Mecha-King Ghidorah fighting Hyper Mecha-King Ghidorah or something. The R2 Japanese DVD release is unsubtitled, so most of what is going on will be educated guesses thanks to our limited Japanese speaking ability. But here at TarsTarkas.NET we don’t need no stinking subtitles!


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Godzilla Island – Story Arc 21

Godzilla Island – Story Arc 21


1997

Directed by Shun Mizutani

President Skroob – Salute! Hail, Skroob! We all hail Skroob, and it looks like the Japanese do as well, because part of the plot of this Story Arc is lifted from Spaceballs! Unfortunately, Godzilla does not fight a giant robotic maid, but we do have an air shield, and the people beneath it lose all their air. Also, the Secret of Godzilla Island is revealed, A new warship is unveiled, and the plot moves towards the final battle as we hit the next to last Story Arc. Anyone new should head over to Story Arc 1, everyone else get to reading. And may the Schwartz be with you….

G-Guard Commander (Jiro Dan) – G-Guard Commander runs the Godzilla Guard unit on Godzilla Island. He’s all alone except for sassy robot Lucas, so of course he’s bored out of his skull normally. He seems to have been stationed there because it’s a low-priority assignment they could dump someone who can’t work under pressure, because that’s exactly what he is. Luckily Torema shows up to save his pants. I do not know if he has a name but it may be Oji.
Lucas (Kenichiro Shimamura) – Annoying robot, Godzilla Island-style! Makes sarcastic remarks, and seems to be even mean at times. An annoying Kenny kid in floating metal sphere form. He must be destroyed! Translates from monster language to Japanese.
Misato (Kaori Aso) – The new monster doctor who is dedicated to her craft. Works hard, argues with G-Guard Commander, and flies Medical Jet Jaguar around all the time.
Landes (Kaoru Ukawa) – The new Xilien assigned by Giant Dark Emperor to take over Godzilla Island. She has crazy eyes. Always using a pink fluffy fan. Her ship is another Vabaruda.
Nao (Sho Sawamura) – The latest cast addition to Godzilla Island, and the most mysterious because she came out of nowhere and seems obsessed with food. Who is she? Why does G-Guard Commander seem to know her and get annoyed at her constant talk of food? Will we ever get answers? I sure hope so, because otherwise you have to put up with this explanation for the remainder of the series. At this point I think she is G-Guard Commander’s daughter. I translated Sho Sawamura’s name myself so hopefully it is right.
Camero (???) – Landes’s floating robot, sounds bored when he talks. Just what we needed, another annoying Lucas. Hopefully he can be the entertaining Meowth to the lame Pikachu. Looks suspiciously like MST3K’s Cambot (Last design)!
Narrator – (Yutaka Aoyama) – He’s not a character but the guy who recaps the previous episode in the beginning of the episode. That means thirty seconds of each three minute episode is Narrator recounting events, padding running time beyond levels I want to think about. He’s a typical Japanese male announcer, amazingly excited and epic about even the most mundane things.
Giant Dark Emperor (???) – Giant flaming head who commands the Xiliens and Planet X. Do not look behind the curtain. The great and powerful Giant Emperor commands you, and can hear your sarcastic backtalk! Still, being a flaming head in space has got to be pretty boring.


Different monster feature in each episode, so we’ll keep track of them in each story arc. The complete Godzilla Island Daikaiju List is located here. We’ll also list any new monster match-ups that weren’t in any film but now exist thanks to this series, such as Black Mechagodzilla fighting Gigan or something. The R2 Japanese DVD release is unsubtitled, so most of what is going on will be educated guesses thanks to our limited Japanese speaking ability. But here at TarsTarkas.NET we don’t need no stinking subtitles!
Continue reading