Kaijû daifunsen: Daigorou tai Goriasu

Another weird monster movie for the list... literally! I'm going to be writing about the most obscure ones I can find tomorrow. This qualified perfectly, as it's really going for the same market the more kid-friendly Godzilla films of the Showa Era went for, but getting significantly sillier and more child-friendly (though not quite so far in a humourous direction that it feels like a parody of Godzilla - there's a degree of sincerity that shines through, albeit dimly).

So there's a giant ugly walrus monster, but he also seems cool, and he's Daigoro. He's the good guy. There's a cheery theme song early on that details his backstory, even if the lyrics are sad and entirely at odds with the instrumental (they mention his mother being dead, and him living on an island all by himself and stuff).

There are budgetary restrictions on what Daigoro can be fed, just like there were clear budgetary restrictions on the film's crew (I'm hoping this was intentional meta-commentary. If so, that rocks). The lack of food's one problem. But things get worse when the fairly generic enemy "Goliath" shows up, and then we get a couple of fun scenes of monster fights. They are so schlocky, but also so much fun, and I think the suit actors and the filmmakers behind the camera knew exactly what they were doing.

Still, I don't know if it's a whole lot better than a 6/10. It's a lot of stuff I've seen before, and besides an interesting tone, there's very little else here that makes it stand out or feel in any way ambitious. So it works for light entertainment for giant monster movie fans who have progressed through all the Godzillas, the Gameras, the Mothra movies, even the more recent Reigo trilogy, the Daimajin series, the Ultraman shows (if you're truly dedicated), and even obscure (now sort of cult) kaiju movies like Pulgasari.

I only have a finite amount of memory in my brain, and look how much of it goes to remembering monster names and monster series! #priorities.

Made to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Tsuburaya Productions, Daigoro vs. Goliath is certainly a film that follows in the goofy, thoroughly ridiculous crater-like footsteps of other 70s kaiju films, one that I can't help but make the comparison with the latter Showa era Gamera films in all their painful child-centric antics. It's the kind of kaiju film that wouldn't appeal to anyone over the age of 6, despite being bright, colourful and laden with sing-along musical numbers, strained slapstick, crazy contraptions and abundant juvenile whimsy, there's certainly a crowd for this type of rubbish, unfortunately, I am not one of them. However, I can give credit to a lot of the special effects sequences, mainly the miniatures and pyrotechnics, both of which are top-notch, though they are few and far between the otherwise horrifically ugly kaiju designs (and I thought Minilla was the ugliest mf). The usually reliable director Toshihiro Iijima delivers some exceptionally heavy-handed social commentary, far from the more subtle approaches to his work on Ultraman, while Toru Fuyuki delivers a score that would make you think he fell asleep in the recording booth, the acting is no better and plays like a half-arsed classic sitcom. Daigoro vs. Goliath can be perfectly summed up as an experience in the scene where Daigoro uses a giant Toilet to do his gargantuan business while the human cast looks on in a bizarre fascination, this is not a film I can easily recommend and ultimately feels like a tax write off cause Tsuburaya couldn't make the historical epic they initially wanted.

Daigoro VS. Goliath handles several political issues that still plagues the Earth today such as Communism. Daigoro represents the United States, and Goliath represents the Soviet Union. And although Daigoro does not have the greatest past, and isn't having the best time due to money, with the help of the smarts from his caretaker and his family, he pulls through to stop the overtaking power of Goliath that is trying to stop him and put him and his friends in danger. Daigoro ultimately defeats Goliath in the end, and even though there is peace among the citizens of Japan, it feels almost as if like another monster will return. But Goliath has learned to handle it, and will protect his friends. Even when another monster does return.

Here is the heartwarming story of a giant bipedic hippopatomus who has two conflicts he must resolve. First, the arrival of a renegade giant lizard from outer space who threatens the hero's territory. And second, there is the struggle to use the proper - and I'm not making this up- the proper TOILET for Daigaro. The movie plays like a pre-K Gamera film, with the thrown in Japanese boys to suit the needs of Nippon's pedophiles. However, the special effects and miniatures are surprisingly well done. And the suitmation styles for Daigaro and Goliath are very unique for them (at least they weren't recycled suits from the Ultraman series of that period.) This joint effort between Toho and Tsuburaya productions actually has more integrity, believe it or not, than the 70's Godzilla flicks (and Gamera flicks.) Unfortunately, there is no English version of this film available as it was never released in the US in any format. However, it is available via underground video dealers who have the "connections." Without any translation, the story is relatively easy to follow, a tribute to disciplined filmmaking I guess.