Manda
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Manda (マンダ Manda) is a sea dragon kaiju created by Toho that first appeared in the 1963 film Atragon.
Name
Manda was originally conceptualized as a giant snake during production of Atragon, and was given the name "Mammoth Snake" (マンモススネーク Manmosu Sunēku), which later became "Mammoth Serpent" (マンモス蛇 Manmosu Da). Because the upcoming year, 1964, was the year of the dragon, Toho felt it would be appropriate to make the monster a dragon instead. Toho redesigned the creature as a sea dragon, and shortened "Manmosu Da" into "Manda," which became the monster's official name.[4][5]
Manda's name has also been speculated to be a combination of the Japanese words "man" (万) and "daija" (大蛇), which when combined mean "ten thousand serpent."[6]
Appearance
Manda resembles an Eastern dragon, as he has four legs, multiple horns on the head all the way down to the tail, and two barbs coming from the face. In Atragon, Manda's roar was deeper and his eyes had slit pupils.
Origins
In the Showa series, Manda was the guardian of Mu, an underwater kingdom. How Manda became its protector and how long he had been protecting it is unknown.
Manda's origins in Godzilla: Final Wars are unknown.
History
Showa Series
Atragon
The guardian of the underwater kingdom of Mu, Manda was unleashed by the Mu Empress when the Gotengo approached Mu. Manda attacked the ship, wrapping his body around it and trying to crush it. The Gotengo discharged a powerful electrical shock, forcing Manda to release it and retreat to a nearby rock. The Gotengo fired its Absolute Zero Cannon at Manda, freezing him in place and allowing it to proceed unopposed to Mu.
Destroy All Monsters
Manda was taken to live on Monsterland in Destroy All Monsters. In 1999, the Kilaaks came to Earth and took control of Manda and the other monsters of the island, and made them attack major cities around the world, eventually ending up in Tokyo where he crushed a monorail line. Then, the people of the world freed them from the mind control, and the monsters were sent to fight King Ghidorah. Manda did not fight in the battle, and watched from the sidelines with Varan and Baragon. After King Ghidorah was defeated, Manda and the other kaiju returned to Monsterland.
All Monsters Attack
Manda also made a very brief appearance in All Monsters Attack, but only in a brief glimpse of recycled stock footage.
Millennium Series
Godzilla: Final Wars
In the Millennium series, Manda attacks Normandy, when the Gotengo comes to stop it and attacks Manda in the English Channel . At first, Manda was able to constrict himself around the Gotengo and pull the warship further and further into the depths of the water, severely damaging it. However, the crew spotted an underwater volcano and charged into it, with Manda stuck on their ship. Unable to withstand the heat, Manda was forced to uncoiled himself and swam away. The Gotengo managed to get out of the volcano, but Manda charged at the ship. The Gotengo turned around 180 degrees and fired the maser cannon to freeze the weakened Manda, and then rammed into him with its powerful drill, breaking him into pieces and killing him in the process.
Abilities
Manda does not have any special weapons, but he can wrap his body around an enemy and crush them similar to how a snake constricts his prey. Although he is slow on land, Manda can also swim very fast and can breathe while submerged in water. In the video game Godzilla: Monster of Monsters, Manda has the ability to spit fireballs.
Filmography
- Atragon (1963)
- Destroy All Monsters (1968)
- All Monsters Attack (1969) [stock footage]
- Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975) [stock footage]
- Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)
Video Game Appearances
- Godzilla: Monster of Monsters
- Godzilla, King of the Monsters (Gameboy)
- Godzilla (Arcade) (Cameo)
- Godzilla: Heart-Pounding Monster Island!!
- Godzilla Movie Studio Tour
- Godzilla: Trading Battle
- Godzilla Generations
- Godzilla Unleashed: Double Smash
- Bandai Namco's Godzilla (Kaiju Guide)
Bandai Namco's Godzilla
- Main article: Godzilla (2014 video game)/Kaiju Guide#Manda.
Manda in Godzilla: Monster of Monsters
Comics
Godzilla: Rulers of Earth
Manda appears in Godzilla: Rulers of Earth issue #3 along with Gezora. Manda appeared and destroys an aircraft carrier. Manda was later revealed to be a "water monster", along with Titanosaurus and Gezora. After a brief fight with Godzilla, the trio of aquatic monsters retreated. Later, the trio, now joined by a revived Destoroyah, fought Godzilla underwater. During the fight, the military used a new sonar blaster to confuse Gezora, Manda and Titanosaurus, making them flee, leaving Destoroyah to deal with Godzilla and the military. After the Devonians were defeated, Manda was seen living in the oceans near the Monster Islands. Lucy Casprell stated that Zilla was unable to get onto the island because of the monsters keeping him in the ocean and off land, Manda possibly being the cause of it. When the Trilopods invaded the Monster Islands and captured the monsters, Manda was not seen, although a Trilopod with Manda's characteristics was seen during the final battle in Los Angeles.
Godzilla: Cataclysm
Manda is briefly shown in issue 1, fighting Anguirus by wrapping himself around the monster.
Manda constricts Anguirus
Gallery
- Main article: Manda/Gallery.
Sightings
- A giant snake in Naruto has the same name as Manda as well as bearing some similarities.
Manda and Moguera's cameos in the second Urusei Yatsura feature film
Roar
Manda's roars in the Showa series were primarily made from human rasps and grunts from tigers or lions. These sounds would later be reused for Godzilla's grunts and growls. In Destroy All Monsters, Manda's roars were sped up and raised in pitch. In Godzilla: Final Wars, Manda was given a variety of roars from different animals, typically lions. The roars were mixed with snarls from a leopard, tigers and other inorganic sounds.[7].
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In Other Languages
- Russian and Serbian: Манда
- Chinese: 曼达 (Màndá)
Trivia
- Manda is one of the few kaiju to appear onscreen with Godzilla but never fight him, others being Varan and Gorosaurus.
- However, Godzilla and Manda did battle in a deleted scene from Destroy All Monsters, taking place during the attack on Tokyo by four kaiju.
- Manda finally does battle with Godzilla in Godzilla: Rulers of Earth.
- In the manga version of Destroy All Monsters, Manda takes part in the final battle with King Ghidorah, wrapping around his wing.
References
This is a list of references for Manda. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]
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