Godzilla Island – Story Arc 6

1997

Directed by Shun Mizutani

Godzilla has several TV shows throughout his history. In this year’s March of Godzilla, we will be cataloging one such show, Godzilla Island. Godzilla Island was a series of three minute episodes that ran from October 6, 1997, until September 30, 1998. 256 episodes were created, using a combination of toys and stock footage to bring the characters to life. Throw in some characters acting in front of a blue screen and a basketball-shaped annoying robot, and you got Godzilla Island in a nutshell. One advantage to the toymation approach of monster effects is it allows the appearance of all sorts of kaiju from all over G-history. Multiple Jet Jaguars! All sorts of one-shot characters pop up over the course of the series. But as this was created around 1997, no one from the Millennium series of films is present.

Set in the year 2097, where most kaiju live on an island in the Pacific Ocean. Godzilla Island. I guess, I’m not sure if they give it an actual name, since they speak this Japanese language all the time. Anyway, Godzilla Island soon becomes a center of activity for alien invasions left and right. Aliens being the evil Xilien aliens, as seen in Godzilla vs. Monster Zero. The one individual seen even dresses like them, although she doesn’t follow the contention that all females of the species look identical to Kumi Mizuno. Godzilla Island is governed by the Godzilla-Guard, aka G-Guard, which is staffed by one guy and a robot. The G-Guard Commander is less than capable in dealing with invading monsters and aliens, but luckily he is joined by mysterious young girl Torema, who has a powerful space ship and psychic powers.

According to the credits, the series was directed by Shun Mizutani and written by Takahiko Masuda. With music by The Edge. I guess U2’s The Edge, unless there is another The Edge running around, in which case I must bang my head on the desk. We’ll run through the episodes in order broken up by story arcs. Some stories are only a few episodes long, and some last close to twenty. Each episode ends with “tsuzuku” which basically means “to be continued.” So tsuzuku will be our catchphrase of the series. If you missed this paragraph you’ll probably be very confused, as we will probably type tsuzuku more than Godzilla in these articles.


The action is brought to life with toys. It is toymation at it’s finest, almost a decade before Robot Chicken. This allows for lots of monsters to be in lots of shows, lots of monster fights that we would never see otherwise, and lots of new versions of monsters. Plus the fact they had a deal with Bandai Toys to produce lots of exclusive toys for the show didn’t hurt. Come to think of it this is more of a blatant commercial for toys than the He-Man cartoon! But first let’s meet the human actors who will be appearing in most of the episodes:

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! Her spaceship is named the Vabaruda. 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. 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.

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 King Caesar fighting Megalon 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!

Featuring the monsters –

Anguirus – Godzilla’s first foe and now a close friend. His only power is a spiky back but he’s brave on the battlefield. One of the usual residents on Godzilla Island who shows up to watch the action as stories progress. Godzilla – The King of Monsters. Godzilla is pure awesome in giant fire-breathing lizard form. Everyone who comes to Godzilla Island wants a piece of Godzilla. And they all get kicked to the curb. Gorosaurus – Old foe of King Kong who spends most of his days watching whatever happens on Godzilla Island. His special move was to do kangaroo kicks. Mothra (Larva) – Mothra, Goddess of Infant Island, and defender of Earth. Larva Mothra is part of a continual chain of Mothras that go through larva and mature forms, though this one will eventually become Mothra Leo. Mothra (Moth) – The Classic Moth form of Mothra. Eventually dies, as all Mothras do, but this is the first one killed by a volcano. Her son is Mothra Leo. Mothra Leo – a boy Mothra who has extra powers, from the Rebirth of Mothra series. Can zap things with antenna and wing blasts. No one has a good explanation on how male Mothra Leo is supposed to continue the Mothra line. But don’t worry, as an egg magically appears anyway. Rodan – A prehistoric monster awakened in modern day, Rodan is a former foe of Godzilla who has learned to work with him to fight off the evil monsters. Has some hot springs named after him on Godzilla Island. Will eventually become Fire Rodan, because he did so in the Heisei movie series that was still recent, in addition to giving Bandai another toy.

Do you like Mothra? You better, because Mothra is all over this story arc, like it’s a giant porchlight on a summer night. All you Mothra haters need to break out the bug zappers. But please don’t, because the little fairy twins will sing a sad song and another Mothra will hatch out of an egg to cover you in webbing.

Episode 41 – Mothra, Infant Mothra
It looks like Mothra the moth is dying, so only Mothra the larva will be left. This upsets Torema, who hasn’t seen any Mothra films so she doesn’t know this always happens. Meanwhile, a meteor crashes on Godzilla Island, so this is probably some new enemy or an old enemy. Either way, we find out after the Tsuzuku.

Episode 42 – A Doubtful Delivery Charge
As Torema and G-Guard Commander speculate about the meteor, someone comes in and gives G-Guard Commander his lunch (and places an electronic bug under the table!) Who could this be, considering no one else is on the island and there is only one other actress on the show? Of course it’s Zaguresu, but G-Guard Commander doesn’t even think about it and almost eats the lunch. Torema chases after Zaguresu, but outside sees a woman with a crystal ball who wants to read her fortune. Who could this woman be? Seriously, why are they falling for this? Is this the Power Rangers now? Also, the meteor begins to glow. Tsuzuku!

Episode 43 – An Ill-Omened Premonition
Torema isn’t fooled (Thank the Lord), but Zaguresu starts telling her fortune anyway, and of course it’s bad. Why wouldn’t it be? Then part of G-Guard Central explodes, the part that controls pollution. How much pollution is made on Godzilla Island that they need an entire facility to clear the pollution? Pollution generated by two people and a robot? How much pollution does Lucas the robot put out? And what Godzilla monster is involved in pollution? Way to give it away, writers! Eyes open on the meteor and most people have figured out who it is…Gabara! Okay, not. Tsuzuku.

Episode 44 – Return the Blue Sky and Vegetation!
Black clouds cover the island, bad smoke causes all the monsters to collapse, and now it starts to rain. Sounds like a typical day in 19th century American cities! I’m going to guess it’s acid rain. Torema spots the bug in G-Guard Commander’s office, and when Zaguresu listens in she hears some plan that involves Torema’s ship flying around. Zaguresu moves in to shoot it down as we Tsuzuku.

Episode 45 – The Birth of Hedorah
Zaguresu tries to shoot Torema down but keeps missing, and soon flies into some really dirty pollution. So dirty it threatens to harm her ship unless she dispatches it, which she does. Then Torema calls her to call her names like “baka” and make faces at her for cleaning up the pollution. Zaguresu says “Oh, yeah, well suck on some Hedorah!” and Hedorah grows out of the meteor. Tsuzuku! Also, a special happy birthday to Hedorah.

Episode 46 – Aiming at Mothra!
Hedorah heads to the Mothra cave, and is immune to Torema’s ship’s weapons fire. Mothra the moth goes out to fight Hedorah, but her antenna rays have little effect and Hedorah hits her with acid spray and eye lasers, bringing Mothra down. Before he can finish her off, Godzilla blasts Hedorah in the back with atomic breath, telling Hedorah “I’m gonna go all Al Gore on you, bitch!” Tsuzuku.

Episode 47 – Mothra’s Tears
Godzilla gets a load of Inconvenient Truth to the chest from Hedorah and is out of the competition, and Hedorah now goes after Mothra Larva. Momma Mothra isn’t out of the fight yet, and flies over, picks up Hedorah, and drops him into a volcano. That’s how we stop global warming on Godzilla Island! But she used all her strength, and struggles to not fall in herself. It looks like she might make it, but then the volcano explodes and she’s hit. A sad tsuzuku.

Episode 48 – Mothra’s Sorrow
Mothra Larva is now a cocoon, and the volcano is spewing black smoke. Torema sits by the Mothra cocoon, talking to it. Maybe she’s sharing makeup tips like how to apply the best ganguro makeup job. But Hedorah pops out of the volcano, because this arc isn’t over yet! Tsuzuku. This episode is important because it teaches children you can’t eliminate pollution by throwing garbage into a volcano.

Episode 49 – The Will of the Adult Mothra
Hedorah closes in on Mothra cocoon and Torema, who has only her pistol to protect her, until Godzilla arrives to save them. But Godzilla is getting stomped, until Mothra hatches! And it’s a different Mothra – he’s Mothra Leo, direct from the Rebirth of Mothra films! Uh, yeah. Tsuzuku. Mothra Leo is a boy Mothra

Episode 50 – Mothra Flaps its Wings
Mothra Leo and Godzilla hit Hedorah from both sides. It’s like a kaiju Oreo, with toxic sludge as the creamy filling. Zaguresu is confident that Hedorah will win, until he starts to not. Mothra Leo now has wing-blasts in addition to his antenna blasts and hits Hedorah with this as well. Hedorah is dried out, and Godzilla blasts him into dust and a red ball. Is Hedorah made of a dodge ball? The ball gets squashed. An Indian cries. Ghost of Mommy Mothra appears in the volcano smoke to say goodbye. The closing credits are different from their usual no pictures and instead have footage of Mothra Leo from the Rebirth of Mothra films. Does that mean Death Ghidrah or Dagahra or whoever will show up here as well? Or the Shobijin fairies? Find out, with Tsuzuku!!!!

Fighting Pollution the Japanese way!
[FLOWPLAYER=http://tarstarkas.net/movies/godzillaislandstory6_clip1.flv,490,390]

Mothra gets major pimpage in this installment, and children learn about death, rebirth, and sacrifice. The kind of sacrifice you need to make by crashing your fighter into an American aircraft carrier–I mean, to do your homework! Mothra had like five billion different forms in the Mothra movies, all of which are probably Bandai toys. Buy them today, because they could be sold out tomorrow. And see which version of Mothra will be in the next story, as March of Godzilla Island continues with Story Arc 7 – We All Go To Heaven.

New monster match-ups – Mothra Moth vs. Hedorah, Mothra Larva vs. Hedorah, Mothra Leo vs. Hedorah

Rated 7/10 (Meteor!, magic ball, magic box, glowing cocoon, shriveled Hedorah, another magic ball, SEE REBIRTH OF MOTHRA NOW IN THEATERS!)

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