God Raiga vs. King Ohga: War of the Monsters (2019)
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Deep Sea Monster Raiga vs.
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An invincible sea god? A subterranean king? A great battle that shakes the whole of Japan! (無敵の海神か？地底の王か？日本全土をゆるがす大決戦！)
The super clash of two giant monsters! (二大怪獣超激突！) |
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— Tagline |
God Raiga vs. King Ohga: War of the Monsters (深海獣雷牙 対 溶岩獣王牙 Shinkaijū Raiga tai Yōganjū Ōga, lit. Deep Sea Monster Raiga vs. Lava Beast Ohga) is an independent tokusatsu kaiju film authored by Shinpei Hayashiya. The third film of Hayashiya's "Deep Sea Monster Series," it is a followup to the 2009 film Raiga: God of the Monsters. The film premiered at a Kadokawa event on May 7, 2019,[1] and was released on home video in North America by SRS Cinema in early 2020.[2]
Plot
Three years after his campaign against Raiga, Commander Kito leads his subordinates into their new base, which is disguised as a toilet in Atami Castle. In Tokyo, the Prime Minister summons First Secretary Handa, who reveals that a ground gap discovered beneath Atami indicates a kaiju will attack soon. Kito, as he did in Asakura, is sure to devastate the city with his counterattack. He sees an opportunity for the Prime Minister to complete his pet casino project during the rebuilding efforts. The JSDF soon detects two enormous heat signatures in the Atami area.
Handa encourages Counselor Kohara to let Kito have free reign during the coming battle. A subterranean monster, Ohga, derails a Shinkansen in Atami, followed by a Bone Fish attack during a fireworks show. Kito mobilizes his troops after seeing a video of Ohga on the news, and the beast heads towards Raiga, who has made landfall at Sun Beach. Two CIA agents attempt to contact them with information, only to find none of them speak English, and head to Atami in an Osprey. As police and emergency responders struggle to evacuate Atami, Kohara arrives and encourages Kito to raze the city. Kito's subordinates, Nakagawa and Miyazaki, are aghast, but he is all too eager to launch an all-out attack, starting with the battleship Atami Samurai. Neither monster is affected, and Raiga quickly sinks the ship. Ohga dispatches a tank column with a shower of sparks, while Raiga rampages through the city. A new Kamikaze tank targets Ohga with an electric cannon, but the monster's light-bending abilities foil it. One of Kito's old friends, Yasuda, offers him use of a top secret drill-nosed mine excavator, Gokumei II. Following Ohga underground, it draws blood with its laser, but the monster smashes it just before it can fire a Tomahawk missile. A Gatling Robot attacks next, and Ohga destroys the CIA agents' Osprey in the ensuing firefight. Raiga and Ohga clash near Atami Castle, but neither emerges victorious, and they depart the city.
The next day, Kohara is demoted for failing to prevent the Gokumei's deployment, while the prime minister's casino project proceeds as planned. Kito and his troops travel to the Minato Defense Force base beneath Tokyo Tower, where Tomo, the Prime Minister's mistress, enlists his help in stopping the next kaiju attack. When Raiga and Ohga attack Tokyo, they counter with two remote-controlled Octopus tanks. Their electric pulses seemingly stop Raiga, but he soon regains his footing and obliterates them with his own lightning. Ohga endures ramming attacks by Shinkansen loaded with explosives. Raiga and Ohga clash again as Kito, Nakagawa, and Miyazaki join the battle on foot. Kito is prepared to detonate a Plasma Photon Bomb beneath the monsters in the hopes of killing them both. Samejima Special Forces support him with a howitzer and the shark-shaped NI-26 Amphibious Combat Vehicle. Kito is injured during the chaos, and Miyazaki offers to detonate the bomb instead. Terrified of the kaiju, he leaves it 100 meters from their position. The resulting explosion kills all of the soldiers, Raiga, Ohga, and the Prime Minister, but the radioactive fallout creates a new monster: Kuga. He attacks Honolulu, Hawaii, and is opposed by the earth monster Dias, who bursts out of a nearby volcano.
Staff
- Note: God Raiga vs. King Ohga: War of the Monsters does not have opening or end credits.
Staff role on the left, staff member's name on the right.
- Directed by Shinpei Hayashiya
- Written by Shinpei Hayashiya
- Produced by Shinpei Hayashiya, Atsuko Tsunakawa
- Music by Keiichiro Kitazono, Rengoku Kozou
- Cinematography by Hajime Okano, Kenji Onawa, Nobuyuki Yamazaki, Yutaka Arai, Shinpei Hayashiya
- Edited by Yutaka Arai, Shinpei Hayashiya
- Production design by Shinpei Hayashiya, Naofumi Kanamori
- Director of special effects Shinpei Hayashiya
Cast
- Note: God Raiga vs. King Ohga: War of the Monsters does not have opening or end credits.
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Actor's name on the left, character played on the right.
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Appearances
Monsters |
Weapons, vehicles and races
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Production
Principal photography on God Raiga vs. King Ohga: War of the Monsters took place years before its completion, as Shinpei Hayashiya uploaded the first trailer to his YouTube channel on June 22, 2015.[3] At the earliest, it was shot in 2014, as indicated by a poster for the Atami Sea Fireworks Festival hung in Kito's base.
Gallery
- Main article: God Raiga vs. King Ohga: War of the Monsters/Gallery.
Alternate titles
- Deep Sea Monster Raiga vs. Lava Beast Ohga (literal Japanese title and American VHS title)
- Raiga vs. Ogha (Japanese English title)
- Raiga vs. Ohga: The War of the Monsters (Japanese poster title)
Reception
Writing for DoBlu, Matt Poprocki panned God Raiga vs. King Ohga: War of the Monsters, calling it "outright incoherent. Post-production effects slather the screen in fake fire, swirls, distortion, and other techniques as to make action impossible to follow. Hasty composites place monsters against real backdrops, other times in poorly disguised still images."[4]
Video releases
SRS Cinema VHS (2020)
- Tapes: 1
- Audio: Japanese
- Subtitles: English
- Notes: Limited to 50 copies.
SRS Cinema Blu-ray/DVD (2020/2021)
- Region: N/A
- Discs: 1
- Audio: Japanese
- Subtitles: English
- Special features: Optional "Filmlook" filter and trailers on the Blu-ray. The bonus features on the DVD are unknown.
SRS Cinema Blu-ray (2022) [Reigo, Raiga, Ohga: Giant Monsters Attack]
- Region: N/A
- Discs: 1
- Audio: Japanese
- Subtitles: English
- Special features: Unknown
- Notes: Packaged with Reigo: King of the Sea Monsters and Raiga: God of the Monsters.
Videos
Trailers
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Production
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Trivia
- The film's English title mimics Godzilla vs. Kong.
- Nakagawa notes that Godzilla, King Kong, and the Gappas all attacked Atami in the past, though Miyazaki points out that King Kong vs. Godzilla and Gappa were just movies.
- Kaiju Gaiden producer Mark Jaramillo and then-director David Hall, who interviewed Hayashiya for their documentary, make appearances as CIA agents. Kaijucast host Kyle Yount plays the soldier who tells Shinpei Hayashiya's character that Raiga and Ohga have almost the same DNA.
- Nakagawa's wristwatch communicator rings with the Showa King Ghidorah's cackle, a nod to its reuse in Ultraman.
- Decorations in Commander Kito's base include toys of Godzilla, Ultraseven, and Raiga, as well as issues of Godzilla: Rulers of Earth.
- The Gatling Robot's missiles are Nerf Elite darts.
References
This is a list of references for God Raiga vs. King Ohga: War of the Monsters. 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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