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.
In his debut film, Manda was the guardian of the undersea empire of Mu, and was unleashed to destroy the Gotengo before it could breach the heart of Mu. The second incarnation of Manda introduced in Destroy All Monsters was one of the monsters contained on Monsterland by the end of the 20th century, and was unleashed to attack Tokyo under the command of the Kilaak invaders. After the aliens' control of the monsters was severed, Manda was present at Mount Fuji when Godzilla and the other monsters battled King Ghidorah. Manda made a brief appearance in Godzilla: Final Wars as well, once again battling the Gotengo underwater.
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]
Design
Manda resembles an Eastern dragon, as he has an elongated thin body with four legs. In Atragon and Godzilla: Final Wars, Manda's skin is a bluish-green color, and his head is adorned with four horns. The original Manda from Atragon has two long barbs on his face that resemble whiskers, and a mane of hair that extends from the top of his head all the way to his tail. His face is also covered in small spikes. This Manda possesses yellow reptilian eyes with slit pupils.
The second generation Manda from Destroy All Monsters resembles a snake with legs rather than a traditional oriental dragon. He has no horns or spikes on his head, and there is no hair on his body. His eyes are more rounded and mammalian, and are light blue rather than yellow. The third generation Manda from Godzilla: Final Wars closely resembles the original Manda, though the hair on his back is replaced with a row of pointed spikes and his whiskers are removed. This Manda has a small hood behind his head similar to that of a cobra, and four long barbs extending from the underside of his body. He also has spikes on his arms and legs, and a forked snake-like tongue rather than the rounded mammal-like tongue possessed by previous incarnations.
Origins
In Atragon, Manda was the guardian of Mu, an underwater kingdom. How Manda became its protector and how long he had been protecting it is unknown. In Destroy All Monsters, Manda is one of the monsters contained on Monsterland, a human-monitored island located in the Ogasawara Islands, at the end of the 20th century. 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
At the end of the 20th century, Manda was one of the monsters contained on Monsterland, a facility in the Ogasawara Islands. When the Kilaaks came to Earth and took control of Manda and the other monsters of the island, they made them attack major cities around the world. Manda appeared in Tokyo alongside Godzilla, Rodan and Mothra, where he crushed a monorail line. When the crew of the Moonlight SY-3 freed the monsters from the Kilaaks' control, they all assembled outside of Mount Fuji to assault the Kilaaks' base. Manda did not fight in the battle against King Ghidorah, 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 was one of the monsters inhabiting Monster Island in the dreams of Ichiro Miki.
Millennium Series
Godzilla: Final Wars
In 20XX, Manda attacked Normandy, causing the Earth Defense Force to deploy the Gotengo to engage him 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 uncoil 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 Absolute Zero 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 Games
- Godzilla: Monster of Monsters!
- Godzilla, King of the Monsters
- Godzilla (Arcade) [cameo]
- Godzilla: Heart-Pounding Monster Island!!
- Godzilla Movie Studio Tour
- Godzilla: Trading Battle
- Godzilla Generations
- Godzilla Unleashed: Double Smash
- Godzilla (PlayStation 3 / PlayStation 4) [Kaiju Guide]
Godzilla (PlayStation 3 / PlayStation 4)
- 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
- Eiji Tsuburaya's team built ten different Manda props for Atragon, ranging in size from twenty centimeters to five meters.[6] The five-meter Manda had a radio-controlled jaw. Tsuburaya Productions later used one of the Manda props to portray the monster Kai Dragon in episode 6 of Ultra Q, "Grow Up! Little Turtle."
- 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 adaptation 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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