Daimajin
| Daimajin | |
|---|---|
 1984 film poster for a screening of the three Daimajin feature films.[1] | |
| Films and television | |
| Film(s) | Daimajin (1966) Return of Daimajin (1966) Daimajin Strikes Again (1966) |
| Television series | Daimajin Kanon (2010) |
Daimajin (Japanese: 大魔神, Hepburn: Daimajin) is a series of Japanese films. The trilogy of films were all shot simultaneously and released in 1966 with three different directors and predominantly the same crew.[2] The series was produced by Daiei Film and contained similar plot structures involving villages being overthrown by warlords, leading to the villagers attempting to reach out to Daimajin, the great demon god, to save them.[3]
History[edit]
Daimajin was originally designed to be the first foe of Gamera, and its concept was feedbacked into both Daimajin and Barugon appeared in the 1966 film Gamera vs. Barugon.[4] The filmmakers were also inspired by the golem appeared in the 1936 Czechoslovakian film Le Golem.[5]
Daimon the vampire, the recurring character which made its debut in Yokai Monsters: Spook Warfare, was heavily inspired by the former professional baseball player Chikara Hashimoto's acts of Daimajin, and Hashimoto was also appointed for the role of Daimon.[6]
After the original film trilogy in 1966, the series was revived in 2010 as a television drama titled Daimajin Kanon, broadcast on TV Tokyo.[7] The Daimajin character also made a cameo appearance in the 2021 film The Great Yokai War: Guardians.[8]
Since the bankruptcy of Daiei Film, all of its representative tokusatsu franchises (Gamera and Daimajin and Yokai Monsters) have faced repeated inactivity in productions. There existed several revival attempts of Daimajin and Yokai Monsters along with the Gamera franchise, the most popular of the three, by Daiei Film's successors (Tokuma Shoten and Kadokawa Corporation).[9][10] For example, Tokuma Shoten's cancelled Daimajin project along with the Heisei Gamera trilogy was supposed to feature Steven Seagal, the father of Ayako Fujitani who played the human protagonist of the Heisei Gamera trilogy, and this plot was later published as a novelization.[11]
Among the three franchises, only the Daimajin has not received any new film productions as of 2024 (except for Daimajin Kanon and The Great Yokai War: Guardians). Takashi Miike, who has directed The Great Yokai War and The Great Yokai War: Guardians, had also attempted to revive Daimajin in the late 2000s along with the 2006 film Gamera the Brave.[12] Miike described the difficulty to revive the Daimajin franchise based on budgetary problems; Daimajin (as a character) is physically much smaller than traditional kaiju and Ultraman, and directly interacts with humans. This results in necessity of expensive, large-scaled, life-sized models and props for filming.[13]
Films[edit]
| Official English title | Japanese title | Japanese release date | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daimajin | 大魔神 (Daimajin) | 17 April 1966 | [14][15] |
| Return of Daimajin | 大魔神怒る (Daimajin ikaru) | 13 August 1966 | [16][17][15] |
| Daimajin Strikes Again | 大魔神逆襲 (Daimajin gyakushu) | 10 December 1966 | [14][15] |
Daimajin[edit]
In Japan, a household of peasants cower during a series of earth tremors that are interpreted as the escape attempts of Daimajin, a spirit trapped within the mountain. These events are observed by Lord Hanabasa, and his chamberlain, Samanosuke, who are attempting to seize power in the area. As the villagers pray at a shrine, Samanosuke and his henchmen slaughter Hanabasa's family, with only his son and daughter escaping, who are assisted by the samurai Kogenta. Back at the shrine, Samanosuke's men begin to take over and forbid gatherings at the shrine. After failing to warn Samanosuke about his actions, the priestess Shinobu returns home, finding Kogenta and the two children. Shinobu takes them up the side of the mountain into forbidden territory, where the stone idol which is Daimajin stands, half-buried in the side of the mountain. The children grow to adulthood with the son, Tadafumi (Yoshihiko Aoyama) reaching his 18th birthday. Meanwhile, Samanosuke has enslaved the village. After several attempts to return peace and freedom to the village, Samanosuke's men travel up the mountain to smash Daimajin. Damaijin is asked by the daughter, Kozasa (Miwa Takada) to save her brother, with the idol removing a mask to reveal Daimajin's real face, leading it to rise from the mountain and exact its wrath on Samanosuke and his fortress. Daimajin's wrath begins to grow to attacking everything in sight, only stopping when Kozasa's tears land on Daimajin's feet.
The film was released in the United States by Daiei International with subtitles in an English-dubbed version by Bernard Lewis.[14] The film has been released under many English alternative titles, such as The Devil Got Angry, The Vengeance of the Monster, and Majin, the Monster of Terror.[14]
Return of Daimajin[edit]
In Japan, Daimajin is found on an island in the middle of a lake which is surrounded by two peaceful villages, Chigusa and Nagoshi. In a distant third village ruled by an evil lord, the citizens flee to Chigusa to take refuge. One day, the evil lord decides to take over the two villages and attempts to do so at an annual festival. After being pursued by the evil lord's army, the people of Chigusa and Nagoshi find themselves on the island with the Daimajin statue. The evil lord has his men shatter the statue with a large amount of gunpowder. Daimajin's shattered remains end up at the bottom of the lake. Daimajin awakens to inflict chaos to all around it, including the landscape and the evil lord.
Return of Daimajin was never released theatrically in the United States, but was released to television by AIP-TV in 1967.[17] It also has been released under the alternate title Return of the Giant Majin
Wrath of Daimajin[edit]
In Japan, Daimajin is found at the top of a mountain. Fathers in a village have been captured by an evil lord and forced to work in labor camps. Four of their sons decide to go rescue them, even if it means crossing the mountain where Daimajin is. The four sons pay their respects to the statue when they pass it so that they do not incur its wrath. The evil lord eventually angers the statue, who comes to life and destroys all those who have not been paying respect to it. The children and their fathers are spared, while the work camp is destroyed.
Wrath of Daimajin was never released theatrically in the United States, but received the international English title of Majin Strikes Again.
Television Drama[edit]
| Official English title | Japanese title | Japanese release date | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daimajin Kanon | 大魔神カノン (Daimajin Kanon) | 2 April 2010 | [18] |
The 2010 drama Daimajin Kanon is the first television series of the franchise. Originally, Noriaki Yuasa from the Gamera franchise was appointed for the director along with Mamoru Sasaki as the writer and additional film crews from Toei's Kamen Rider franchise.[18]
Recurring cast and characters[edit]
List indicator(s)
- This table only includes characters which have appeared in more than one film.
- A dark grey cell indicates the character was not in the film, or that the character's presence in the film has not yet been announced.
| Character | Film | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Daimajin (1966) |
Return of Daimajin (1966) |
Wrath of Daimajin (1966) | |
| Daimajin | Riki Hoshimoto [14][16][17] | ||
Crew[edit]
| Occupation | Film | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Daimajin (1966) |
Return of Daimajin (1966) |
Wrath of Daimajin (1966) | |
| Director | Kimiyoshi Yasuda | Kenji Misumi | Kazuo Mori |
| Producer(s) | Masaichi Nagata | ||
| Screenplay | Tetsuro Yoshida | ||
| Composer(s) | Akira Ifukube | ||
| Director of photography | Fujio Morita | ||
| Editor(s) | Hiroshi Yamada | ||
| Ref(s) | [14] | [16][17] | [14] |
Home media[edit]
| Title | Format | Release date | Films | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daimajin Collection: Daimajin, Return of Daimajin, Wrath of Daimajin | DVD | October 22, 2002 | Daimajin, Return of Daimajin, Daimajin Strikes Again | [19] |
| Daimajin | February 1, 2005 | Daimajin | [19] | |
| Daimajin: Return of Daimajin | April 12, 2005 | Return of The Giant Majin | [20] | |
| Daimajin: Wrath of Daimajin | May 3, 2005 | Daimajin Strikes Again | [21] | |
| Daimajin | Blu-ray | September 18, 2012 | Daimajin, Return of Daimajin, Daimajin Strikes Again | [2][22] |
| The Daimajin Trilogy | Blu-ray | July 26, 2021 | Daimajin, Return of Daimajin, Wrath of Daimajin | [23] |
Legacy[edit]
Former professional baseball player Kazuhiro Sasaki was nicknamed after the Daimajin, and Sasaki has participated in collaborations and advertisements with the franchise.[24][25][26]
References[edit]
- ^ "Daimajin Festival (1966)". Jposter. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
- ^ a b Marsiglia, Jason S. (October 11, 2012). "Daimajin: The God that Lives in the Shadows of Monsters". Diabolique Magazine. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
- ^ Oritz-Moya 2016, p. 43.
- ^ Junzo Takaki, ed. (1996-07-19). "chapterIII 大魔神の章（1966）『大魔神』". ガメラ画報 大映秘蔵映画五十五年の歩み. B media books special. Takeshobo. p. 85. ISBN 4-8124-0166-6.
- ^ Ishii et al., 1997, 日本特撮・幻想映画全集, p.170, Keibunsha, ISBN 4766927060
- ^ Takeshobo, ガメラ画報 大映秘蔵映画五十五年の歩み, 1996, P.99
- ^ Oritz-Moya 2016, p. 44.
- ^ "「大魔神」55年の歳月を経てスクリーンに復活！ 三池崇史監督「妖怪大戦争 ガーディアンズ」本予告完成". Eiga.com. Retrieved 2021-06-07.
- ^ Movie Walker Press, 2021, 金子修介監督、平成ガメラ三部作を語る！令和ガメラにも「やる気十分」
- ^ ZAKZAK, November 13, 2002, 角川大映、「ゴジラvsガメラ」製作へ - 「大魔神」のリメーク版も, FUJI Evening News
- ^ Kengo Nakamura, 1999, From Princess Mononoke to My Neighbors the Yamadas, pp.38-41, Tokuma Shoten
- ^ Eiga Hihō, April, 2007, 実写限定!巨大ロボット映画ベスト30!-「トランスフォーマー」襲来間近!「ガンヘッド」もやってくるぞ!, Yosensha Co., Ltd.
- ^ Hyouri Takahashi, August 12, 2021, 三池崇史監督が語る「大魔神」復活の意外な真実とは!?『妖怪大戦争 ガーディアンズ』に込めたメッセージと子供たちへの眼差し, banger.jp.
- ^ a b c d e f g Galbraith IV 1996, p. 277.
- ^ a b c Daimajin. Mill Creek Entertainment. 2012. ASIN B008L0YMSW.
- ^ a b c Galbraith IV 1996, p. 334.
- ^ a b c d Galbraith IV 1996, p. 335.
- ^ a b Shuntaro Ono, December 28, 2018, Geistesgeschichte of Gamera: From Showa to Heisei, p.207-208, Takanashi Shobou
- ^ a b "Daimajin (1966)". Retrieved February 8, 2019.
- ^ "Daimajin ikaru (1966)". AllMovie. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
- ^ "Daimajin gyakushu (1966)". AllMovie. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
- ^ "Daimajin - Triple Feature Collector's Edition - Blu-Ray". Mill Creek Entertainment. Archived from the original on October 16, 2012. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
- ^ "Arrow Video Presents Daimajin Trilogy: Part Samurai, Part Kaiju, All Fun". Critical Blast. July 27, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
- ^ 「ホントに大きい!」『大魔神カノン』主演女優・里久鳴祐果、リアル大魔神・佐々木主浩のデカさに口あんぐり
- ^ CR大魔神
- ^ ダイマンCR 佐々木和弘 野球フィギュア 日本大栄海寿ソフビ
Bibliography[edit]
- Galbraith IV, Stuart (1996). The Japanese Filmography: 1900 through 1994. McFarland. ISBN 0786400323.
- Oritz-Moya, Fernando (2016). Murguía, Salvador Jimenez (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Japanese Horror Films. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781442261679.
