Giant Octopus

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Giant Octopus
The Giant Octopus in the alternate ending for Frankenstein vs. Baragon
Alternate names Ōdako, Oodako, Daidako, Giant Devilfish, Dagora,[1] Oodoko[2]
Subtitle(s) Devil of the Sea
(海の悪魔,   Umi no Akuma)[3]
Deep Sea Monster
(深海怪獣,   Shinkai Kaijū)[4]
Sea Demon (海魔,   Kaima)[5][6]
Mysterious Demon (怪魔,   Kaima)[7]
Height 30 meters[3][4][8]
Length 20 metersWotG[9]
Weight 600 metric tonsKKvG,[8][note 1]
20,000 metric tonsFvB-WotG[8]
Allies EbirahGHTBD
Enemies King Kong, Frankenstein, Gaira, GodzillaGHTBD
Conceived of by Shinichi Sekizawa
Modeled by Eizo Kaimai,KKvG Keizo Murase,FvB
Kanju Yagi,FVB Yasuei YagiFvB
First appearance Latest appearance
King Kong vs. Godzilla The War of the Gargantuas
Roar(s)

More roars
This article covers the Giant Octopus featured in three Toho films from the Showa era.
For the creature of the same name from Hanna-Barbera's
Godzilla, see Giant Octopus (Hanna-Barbera). For the giant cephalopod inspired by this creature in Kong: Skull Island, see Mire Squid.
Kinzaburo Furue: “What's the matter?
Osamu Sakurai: “Giant octopus, hurry.
Kinzaburo Furue: “What?!
Osamu Sakurai: “He's after the the berry juice, hurry!
― Dialogue between Osamu Sakurai and Kinzaburo Furue in King Kong vs. Godzilla

The Giant Octopus ( (おお)ダコ,   Ōdako) is a cephalopod kaiju who first appeared in the 1962 Toho Godzilla film King Kong vs. Godzilla. It returned in the alternate ending of Frankenstein vs. Baragon, and finally in The War of the Gargantuas.

In its debut, the Giant Octopus came ashore on Faro Island and menaced the native villagers before their god, the huge ape kaiju King Kong, broke through the wall surrounding the village and challenged it. After a brief battle, Kong triumphed and the Giant Octopus retreated back to the sea. In the alternate ending of Frankenstein vs. Baragon, the Giant Octopus emerged from a lake in the mountains after Frankenstein defeated Baragon and dragged the artificial human into the watery depths from whence it came. In The War of the Gargantuas, the Giant Octopus attacked a fishing trawler but was repelled by Gaira, who proceeded to sink the boat himself. Compared to most other kaiju from the Godzilla franchise, the Giant Octopus has made very few appearances in other media since its three film roles in the Showa series. The monster was featured in Godzilla: Heart-Pounding Monster Island!! for the Sega Pico and the first prequel novel to the GODZILLA anime trilogy, GODZILLA: Monster Apocalypse, and most recently was voted into the mobile game Godzilla Battle Line through a fan poll.[10]

Name

The creature's official English name is simply "Giant Octopus," a direct translation of its Japanese name 大ダコ (Ōdako).[11] However, English-speaking fans have often referred to it by the romanization "Oodako" or, less commonly, by the erroneous reading "Daidako" (using an alternate pronunciation of the kanji 大, dai). The Oodako name would find its way into official use in IDW Publishing's 2023 comic Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons #4.[12] In the next issue, it is consistently misspelled as Oodoko.[2]

For the Giant Octopus' planned appearance in Godzilla Final Wars, it would have been christened Dagora (ダゴラ), a corruption of the Japanese tako ( (たこ) or タコ, "octopus") combined with the common kaiju name suffix ra. This name first appeared in the film's third story treatment; the previous treatment simply used the "Giant Octopus" name, though spelled as 大タコ (Ōtako) with an unvoiced ta.[13] Both the Ōdako and Ōtako spellings appear inconsistently in the third treatment and first screenplay, which use them as descriptors for Dagora.[14] Coincidentally, "Dagora" was the name used for Dogora in American International Television's U.S.-localized version of its debut film.

Development

Shinichi Sekizawa added a scene featuring a giant octopus into his King Kong vs. Godzilla screenplay without warning, but Eiji Tsuburaya and his team liked the idea.[15]

Several live octopuses were used to portray the monster onscreen. Assistant special effects director Teruyoshi Nakano recalled that getting them to move was difficult, saying: "We threw the octopus on the table and poked him with a stick, threw water on him, and blew air on him, but it wouldn't move. No matter how hard we did it, it wouldn't move. We even tried to use cigarettes!"[16] Finally, someone came up with the idea of using lighting equipment and a pin filter to shoot the octopus with a beam of light. Once the shots were finished, the crew released some of the animals into the ocean and cooked and ate the rest.

For the scenes where King Kong suit actor Shoichi Hirose was required to tussle with the Giant Octopus, a rubber puppet was used instead. Several full-sized tentacle props also flail around during the battle with the Faro Islanders. All of the molded objects were created by Eizo Kaimai, who used latex casts of real octopuses.[8] Finally, a stop-motion tentacle appears during the Giant Octopus' siege, picking up a Faro Island warrior and throwing him.

Keizo Murase and brothers Kanju and Yasuei Yagi built a larger Giant Octopus puppet for the would-be American ending to Toho and Benedict Pictures' Frankenstein vs. Baragon. According to Murase, the prop consisted of a wire-mesh frame covered in foam (the frame later removed), which was then coated with sawdust and latex.[8] During post-production, Benedict president Henry G. Saperstein requested that Ishiro Honda and Tsuburaya shoot a new ending involving a giant octopus, impressed by the creature's portrayal in King Kong vs. Godzilla. Of the scene, Honda thought that "putting the octopus in a lake in the mountains was very awkward."[17] Famous Monsters of Filmland #39 (June 1966) initially reported the title of the film as "Frankenstein vs. the Giant Devilfish" and published photos of Frankenstein dueling the giant cephalopod. However, when American International Pictures distributed the film as Frankenstein Conquers the World, they used the original ending where Frankenstein plummets into a fissure in the ground. Saperstein said the new octopus "wasn't that good," and the ending remained unreleased until it accidentally aired on Japanese television on April 8, 1971.[17][18] Both Toho and Tokyo Shock have since made this ending available on home video.

The Giant Octopus' prop in use as Sudar for Ultra Q

Saperstein managed to get the same octopus prop in the next Toho-Benedict co-production, The War of the Gargantuas, with its scene remaining in both the Japanese and American versions this time. The prop had lights installed in its eyes, which were controlled using a variable autotransformer.[8] More full-sized tentacles allowed it to menace the sailors. Around the same time, Tsuburaya Productions used the prop to depict Sudar in episode 23 of Ultra Q, accompanied by stock footage from King Kong vs. Godzilla.[19] Tsuburaya brought it back again two years later to realize a giant octopus in episode 14 of Fight! Mighty Jack.

The Giant Octopus was considered for inclusion in Godzilla Final Wars, cropping up as early as the film's second story treatment, published on December 19, 2003.[20] In this version of the story, the creature would have attacked Kenya before being easily dispatched by Godzilla in Manila, Philippines.[21] In the following treatment, published on January 5, 2004, the octopus was given the name "Dagora" and had its role fleshed out.[22] As in the previous version, Dagora would be unleashed on Kenya (specified this time as Mombasa), then confront Godzilla in Manila.[23] The latter is described in more detail, with Dagora first latching onto Godzilla's leg and resisting the King of the Monsters' attempts to remove him. Godzilla finally finds success by biting down on a power line, causing his body to be electrified and forcing Dagora to let go. Dagora is then slammed into a church steeple by Godzilla, but leaps into the ocean and escapes with his life.[24] Dagora was incorporated once more in the film's first screenplay from February 16, 2004, now attacking Sydney, Australia and assailing Godzilla in the South China Sea.[25] Dagora again latches onto Godzilla, but both monsters disappear beneath the waves. After explosions appear across the water's surface, the monsters finally emerge, and Godzilla finishes off Dagora with his atomic breath.[26] Dagora was included along with Godzilla and Zilla in a preliminary sketch of the Sydney Opera House miniature, dated March 3, 2004, which indicates that he would have been 300 meters long and 62 meters tall in-universe, translating to a prop that would be 6 meters (~19.7 feet) long and 1.24 meters (~4 feet) tall at 1/50th scale.[27] However, the octopus was removed by the next screenplay draft, published that March 31.[28]

History

Showa era

King Kong vs. Godzilla

The Giant Octopus crawled ashore on Faro Island and attacked a village hut in an attempt to retrieve the Farolacton juice the natives stored there. The natives, along with Osamu Sakurai and Kinzaburo Furue, attempted to defeat the Giant Octopus with spears and shotguns, but to no avail. King Kong then appeared behind a giant wooden wall, crumbling it with his bare hands and throwing the pieces at the Giant Octopus. Kong grabbed the creature, but the octopus held tightly onto Kong's head. After a short struggle, Kong pulled the monster off and threw it to the ground. He then threw two boulders at the Giant Octopus' head, causing it to flee back to the beach and return to the sea

Frankenstein vs. Baragon

After Frankenstein defeated Baragon, the Giant Octopus came out of a lake in the mountains and attacked Frankenstein. Frankenstein fought back fiercely, but could not compete with the Giant Octopus' eight powerful tentacles. It dragged Frankenstein into the water; neither monster emerged.

The War of the Gargantuas

The Giant Octopus suddenly attacked a fishing trawler, menacing its crew with its tentacles. However, Gaira soon appeared and attacked the Giant Octopus, defeating it by lifting it up and throwing it into the sea. Gaira then destroyed the fishing trawler himself.

Abilities

Tentacles

The Giant Octopus attacks enemies with its eight tentacles, such as when it dragged Frankenstein underwater and slowly drowned him. However, the larger King Kong and Gaira both easily overpowered it, with Kong ripping the Giant Octopus off his face after it latched on, and Gaira tearing it off of himself and throwing it out to sea. In the comic Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons, the Giant Octopus used its tentacles to drag Godzilla deep underwater, then constricted them around Godzilla's body. In this story, the octopus' grip was strong enough to keep Godzilla in place as Ebirah battered him with his remaining claw, only letting go once Godzilla ripped the claw off with his mouth.

In The War of the Gargantuas, the Giant Octopus also used its tentacles to search a fishing trawler for passengers to feed on. Similarly, in Here There Be Dragons, it was seen using its tentacles to catch a group of great white sharks to eat.

Amphibiousness

The Giant Octopus can stay on land for extended periods of time without its combat ability being hindered, as demonstrated in King Kong vs. Godzilla and Frankenstein vs. Baragon. In Godzilla Battle Line, the Giant Octopus moves faster in water.

Ink

In the game Godzilla: Heart-Pounding Monster Island!!, the Giant Octopus can shoot out ink.

Slowness infliction

In Godzilla Battle Line, the Giant Octopus is able to inflict a slow status upon anyone it attacks.

Beak

In Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons, the Giant Octopus used its beak to eat a great white shark whole.

Video games

Godzilla: Heart-Pounding Monster Island!!

The Giant Octopus made its first video game appearance in the 1995 game Godzilla: Heart-Pounding Monster Island!! for the Sega Pico. In this game, the Giant Octopus appears on the second page, and will spit ink at Godzilla if the player causes a battleship to fire a cannon at a tree, which drops a coconut on the Giant Octopus' head. The Giant Octopus can also initiate a minigame, where the player must solve different puzzles based on the tentacles the Giant Octopus is holding up.

Comics

Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons

A mural outside of a temple on Monster Island depicted Godzilla fighting Oodako in the past.

Following a battle between Godzilla and Ebirah in the waters of Monster Island which saw Ebirah's defeat, Godzilla prepared to deliver the final blow to his crustacean opponent. Before he could fire his atomic breath, however, the King of the Monsters found himself suddenly being restrained by several tentacles, which forcefully dragged him underwater and brought him face-to-face with the culprit - Oodako. Godzilla and Oodako resurfaced, Oodako managing to hold Godzilla in place while Ebirah struck him. After a flurry of blows, Godzilla bit into Ebirah's remaining claw and tore it off, then freed himself from Oodako's grip. Godzilla then stuffed Oodako into Ebirah's mouth and finished them off with his atomic breath.

Books

GODZILLA: Monster Apocalypse

The Giant Octopus lived in the Pacific Ocean, where it sank several fishing and transport vessels every year.[29]

Gallery

Main article: Giant Octopus/Gallery.

Roar

Befitting its species, the Giant Octopus's "roars" are breathing sounds recorded from live octopuses.

The Giant Octopus' roars

Trivia

  • The inclusion of the Giant Octopus in Toho's vast slate of monsters may be the fulfillment of a dream of special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya, who had always wanted to make a monster film with a giant octopus.[30]
A map of Monster Island made as promotional material for All Monsters Attack, featuring a giant octopus (top right)

Video

Wikizilla: YouTube Kaiju Profile: Giant Octopus

See also

External links

Notes

  1. Some sources state that the 1962 Giant Octopus weighs 2,000 metric tons, rather than 600.

References

This is a list of references for Giant Octopus. 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]

  1. Kimura 2023, p. 98.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Oodko?.png
  3. 3.0 3.1 Godzilla Toho Giant Monster Pictorial Book. Shogakukan. 1 April 2005. p. 102. ISBN 4-09-280052-5.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Definitive Edition Godzilla Introduction (14th Edition). Shogakukan. 20 November 1996. p. 71. ISBN 4-09-220142-7.
  5. Toho Special Effects Movie Complete Works. villagebooks. 28 September 2012. p. 108, 133-135. ISBN 4-864-91013-8.
  6. Japanese King Kong vs. Godzilla trailer
    Umi Ma Oodako.png
  7. Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah Monster Complete Works. Kodansha. 5 December 1991. p. 69. ISBN 4061777203.
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 All Toho Monsters Pictorial Book (4th Edition). Yosensha. 4 September 2016. pp. 77, 109, 122. ISBN 978-4-8003-0362-2.
  9. Toho Special Effects All Monster Encyclopedia. Shogakukan. 23 July 2014. p. 43. ISBN 4-096-82090-3.
  10. @gz_battleline (20 May 2022). "当初、1位の怪獣をサービス開始1周年の6月近辺での実装を計画しておりましたが、上位3怪獣の得票数が接戦となりましたので、3体全ての開発を行い順次実装させて頂くことを決定いたしました。3体全てを満足頂ける形で実装する為、開発を行って参りますので、しばらくお待ちください。#ゴジバト". Twitter.
  11. Kiryu timeline 2.jpg
  12. Oodako by zalgo529 dgb6xzp-375w-2x.jpg
  13. Kimura 2023, pp. 95, 98.
  14. Kimura 2023, pp. 98, 106, 112.
  15. Guy Mariner Tucker (1996). Age of the Gods: A History of the Japanese Fantasy Film. Feral House. p. 151.
  16. G-Fest 2004 panel, published in G-Fan #71
  17. 17.0 17.1 Steve Ryfle and Ed Godzizewski (2017). Ishiro Honda: A Life in Film. Wesleyan University Press. p. 226. ISBN 9780819577412.
  18. Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters (hardcover ed.). Chronicle Books. 1 November 2007. p. 95. ISBN 978-0811860789.
  19. Kimura 2023, p. 93.
  20. Kimura 2023, pp. 94-95.
  21. Kimura 2023, p. 96.
  22. Kimura 2023, pp. 98, 101.
  23. Kimura 2023, p. 101.
  24. Kimura 2023, pp. 104, 106, 112.
  25. Kimura 2023, p. 112.
  26. Early.png
  27. Kimura 2023, p. 115.
  28. Renji Ōki (October 25, 2017). GODZILLA: Monster Apocalypse. Kadokawa. pp. 112–150.
  29. Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters (paperback ed.). Chronicle Books. 6 May 2014. p. 34. ISBN 978-1-4521-3539-7.
  30. [KAIJU CONVERSATIONS: An Interview with Teruyoshi Nakano]
  31. Interview: Jordan Vogt-Roberts
  32. DVD Talk - Behind The Scenes of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
  33. "1★ Giant Octopus Descends!". Godzilla Battle Line official site. 8 August 2022.

Bibliography

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