| Daimajin | |
|---|---|
 1984 poster for a screening of the threeDaimajin films[1] | |
| Created by | Daiei Film |
| Owner | Kadokawa Daiei Studio |
| Films and television | |
| Film(s) | Daimajin Return of Daimajin Wrath of Daimajin (all 1966) |
| Television series | Daimajin Kanon (2010) |
Daimajin (大魔神,Daimajin,lit. 'Giant Demon God') is a Japanesetokusatsu[note 1] series centering on an eponymous fictitious giant warrior god. It initially consisted of a film trilogy shot simultaneously and released in 1966 with three different directors and predominantly the same crew.[3] The series was produced byDaiei 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.[4]
Daimajin was originally designed to be the first foe ofGamera, and the concept developed into both Daimajin and Barugon appearing in the 1966 filmGamera vs. Barugon.[7] The filmmakers were also inspired by thegolem that appeared in the 1936 Czechoslovakian filmLe Golem, which was redistributed by Daiei Film in thepost-war period.[8] Expertise obtained during the production of the 1964 filmFlight from Ashiya, in whichNoriaki Yuasa and others had also participated in, also contributed in the launch of the franchise.[9]
Daimon thevampire, the recurring character which made its debut inYokai Monsters: Spook Warfare, was heavily inspired by the formerprofessional baseball playerChikara Hashimoto acts of Daimajin, and Hashimoto was also appointed for the role of Daimon.[note 2][10]
After the original film trilogy in 1966, the series was revived in 2010 as a television drama titledDaimajin Kanon, broadcast onTV Tokyo.[11] The Daimajin character also made acameo appearance in the 2021 filmThe Great Yokai War: Guardians.[12]
Since the bankruptcy ofDaiei Film, all of its representativetokusatsu franchises (Gamera andDaimajin andYokai Monsters) have faced repeated inactivity in productions. There existed several revival attempts ofDaimajin andYokai Monsters along with theGamera franchise, the most popular of the three, by Daiei Film's successors (Tokuma Shoten andKadokawa Corporation).[13][14] For example, Heisei Gamera trilogy initially started as an attempt to revive Daimajin, and the company later launched anotherDaimajin project along with the Heisei Gamera trilogy. This was supposed to featureSteven Seagal, the father ofAyako Fujitani who played the human protagonist of the Gamera trilogy, and the plot written byYasutaka Tsutsui andKatsuhiro Otomo was later published as a novelization.[15][16] There had been additional revival attempts, such as one byIshiro Honda in 1980s[17] an alleged 1990s project byOrange Sky Golden Harvest with starringKevin Costner,[18] and Kadokawa, after acquiring the copyrights of Daiei properties from Tokuma Shoten, announced a Daimajin project along withGodzilla vs. Gamera crossover in 2002,[14] which followedYasuyoshi Tokuma (jp)'s attempts to produce a crossover between the twokaiju prior to his death in 2000,[19][20] howeverToho eventually turned down the proposals andGamera the Brave was instead produced.[21]
Among the three franchises, only theDaimajin has not received any new film productions as of 2024 (except forDaimajin Kanon andThe Great Yokai War: Guardians).Takashi Miike, who has directedThe Great Yokai War andThe Great Yokai War: Guardians, had also attempted to revive Daimajin in the late 2000s along with the 2006 filmGamera the Brave, which was allegedly cancelled due to the box office result of the 2006 Gamera film and was eventually redeveloped intoDaimajin Kanon.[22][23][24] Miike described the difficulty to revive theDaimajin franchise based on budgetary problems; Daimajin (as a character) is physically much smaller than traditionalkaiju andUltraman and directly interacts with humans. This results in necessity of increase in Daimajin's size to act among modern buildings, and expensive (large-scaled, life-sized, and detailed) models andprops for filming.[25]
A rather predictable storyline of the franchise had also triggered the cancellation of the reboot attempt as a television series calledMajin Ikaruga in 1960s[9] byNoriaki Yuasa andMamoru Sasaki and Yoji Hashimoto (jp) along with the budgetary requirement; Yuasa and Sasaki[note 3] were also originally appointed forDaimajin Kanon.[26][27]
Producing threeDaimajin films within the same year presumably accelerated financial difficulties of Daiei Film and resulted in the cancellation of subsequentDaimajin productions.[28]
Daimajin along with Gamera and Daimon andSadako Yamamura and characters from theGeGeGe no Kitarō series[note 4] and multiple other characters from various franchises madecameo appearances in the novel seriesUSO MAKOTO Yōkai Hyaku Monogatari byNatsuhiko Kyogoku.[29] Additionally, Daimajin made an appearance in the 2015 novelDaimajin Denki.[30]
Daimajin has appeared in severaltelevision advertisements such as ones byToyota,Suntory, and Acecook (jp).[9]
In 1988, Masahiko Katto produced aindependent film titledThe Resurrection of Daimajin.[18]
| Official English title | Japanese title | Japanese release date | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daimajin | Giant Demon God (大魔神) | 17 April 1966 | [31][32] |
| Return of Daimajin | Wrath of the Giant Demon God (大魔神怒る,Daimajin Ikaru) | 13 August 1966 | [33][34][32] |
| Wrath of Daimajin | The Giant Demon God's Counterattack (大魔神逆襲,Daimajin Gyakushū) | 10 December 1966 | [31][32] |
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.[31] The film has been released under many English alternative titles, such asThe Devil Got Angry,The Vengeance of the Monster, andMajin, the Monster of Terror.[31]
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, and the pieces are thrown into the lake. Nevertheless, Daimajin awakens and attacks the lord and his men, destroying them, before being calmed once again.
Return of Daimajin was never released theatrically in the United States, but was released to television byAIP-TV in 1967.[34] It also has been released under the alternate titleReturn of the Giant Majin
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 ofMajin Strikes Again.
| Title | Japanese release date | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Daimajin Kanon (大魔神カノン) | 2 April 2010 | [26] |
The 2010 dramaDaimajin Kanon is the sole television series of the franchise. Originally,Noriaki Yuasa from theGamera franchise was appointed for the director along withMamoru Sasaki as the writer and additional film crews fromToei'sKamen Rider franchise.[26]
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[31][33][34] | ||
| 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) | [31] | [33][34] | [31] |
| 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 | [35] |
| Daimajin | February 1, 2005 | Daimajin | [35] | |
| Daimajin: Return of Daimajin | April 12, 2005 | Return of The Giant Majin | [36] | |
| Daimajin: Wrath of Daimajin | May 3, 2005 | Daimajin Strikes Again | [37] | |
| Daimajin | Blu-ray | September 18, 2012 | Daimajin,Return of Daimajin,Daimajin Strikes Again | [3][38] |
| The Daimajin Trilogy | Blu-ray | July 26, 2021 | Daimajin,Return of Daimajin,Wrath of Daimajin | [39] |
Successes ofGamera andDaimajin franchises contributed in subtle improvements of financial situation of Daiei Film (while rushed productions ofDaimajin films worsened the strength of the company[28]), and resulted in the launching of theYokai Monsters including the creation of Daimon thevampire.[18]Kazunori Ito had presumably inserted references toWrath of Daimajin within his Heisei Gamera trilogy; snowscapes inGamera 2: Attack of Legion, and taboo breaking of a mountain village and its hazardous consequences inGamera 3: Revenge of Iris.[26]
The aforementionedGeGeGe no Kitarō series and theAkuma-kun series byShigeru Mizuki introduced Daimajin-based characters on occasions[note 5] where Mizuki had associated with Daiei Film for theYokai Monsters (which includesThe Great Yokai War: Guardians).Kyogoku Natsuhiko also made Gamera and Daimajin andGeGeGe no Kitarō characters andSadako Yamamura[6] andInuyasha andSesshomaru (jp)[note 6] co-appeared in theUSO MAKOTO Yōkai Hyaku Monogatari series.[29]
Daimajin potentially influenced other productions such as the 1967 British horror filmIt!, the 1984 novel seriesGod Mazinger, the 1985 North Koreankaiju filmPulgasari influenced by theGodzilla franchise, and the 1991 filmRobin Hood: Prince of Thieves by aforementionedKevin Costner.[18] Parody characters based on Daimajin were featured in various other productions such asUrusei Yatsura,[43] a popularvariety showWHAT A FANTASTIC NIGHT (jp),[45] video games such asGenpei Tōma Den,[46]Ginga Ninkyouden (jp),Gekibo: Gekisha Boy series, andMagic Sword: Heroic Fantasy.[47]
Formerprofessional baseball playerKazuhiro Sasaki was nicknamed after the Daimajin, and Sasaki has participated in collaborations and advertisements with the franchise.[48][49][50]
The term "Daimajin" has been increasingly used in popular cultures and other topics such asDragon Quest,[51]High School! Kimengumi,[52]Martian Successor Nadesico,[53] and production varieties.[54][55] Former professional boat racer Masato Aki (jp) was also nicknamed as "Seto no Daimajin" (瀬戸の大魔神,lit. 'Daimajin of the strait') and a competition race was named after him.[56] Several comedian groups such as the Daimajin (jp) also bear the term in their stage names.[57]
In response to the repeated vandalisms targetingnational treasures andimportant cultural properties ofNara Prefecture in 2010s (jp), the prefecture and its school committee (jp) and prefectural police (jp) designated Daimajin as the mascot character for crime prevention posters.[58]
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