Kaiju Ward Gallas (2019)
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Kaiju Ward Series: Gallas (2019)
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Welcome to the Kaiju Ward. (怪獣区へようこそ。)
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— Tagline |
Kaiju Ward Gallas (シリーズ怪獣区 ギャラス Shirīzu Kaijū-ku: Gyarasu, lit. "Kaiju Ward Series: Gallas") is a Japanese tokusatsu kaiju short film produced by Toei and the Tokusatsu Lab for the former's paid streaming service Toei Tokusatsu Fan Club. It was released exclusively through the Fan Club on February 2, 2019.[1] The directorial debut of special effects director Hiroshi Butsuda's protegé Ryotaro Kogushi, the film centers on a vengeful young woman named Erika who turns into a giant monster to menace her manipulative ex-boyfriend after he dumps her.
Plot
While having drinks at Bar Guidepost, Hayato Otaka asks his younger girlfriend Erika Katase what she wishes for them to do. Erika confesses that she wants to be able to see Hayato every day, but he reminds her of his busy schedule and berates her for her childishness. Erika recalls the pair of high heels Hayato had bought for her in order for her to learn to be a woman and tells him that she's finally gotten used to them, but Hayato taunts that her charms have worn off and repeats his question. As a tearful Erika storms out of the bar, Hayato vents to the bartender about youngsters' inability to detect insincerity and demands that he feel sorry for his breakup. As Hayato prepares to head out, he finds the seat next to him to now be occupied by a woman in dark clothing with a large scar across her face.
Hayato leaves the bar free of charge as compensation for the barkeeper's perceived insensitivity. Meanwhile, the mysterious woman pulls a black feather from her briefcase and dissolves it in her drink—turning it pitch black—before taking a sip. While walking through an alley, Hayato sees a crow picking at trash and scares it away by knocking over a garbage can. Hayato suddenly feels a presence behind him and turns around to see an expressionless Erika, now dressed in a black gown and heels, staring back at him. Hayato tells her to get lost, but he is approached from behind by another exact clone of Erika. Writing the sight off as a drunken hallucination, Hayato cuts through an alleyway, but finds yet more Erikas on the other side. Hayato begins running through the streets, but is stopped at every turn by Erikas, who begin closing in on him and emitting deep, ear-piercing screams. After a short moment, however, the Erikas disappear and leave behind only black feathers. As Hayato examines one, he is interrupted by a giant crow-like monster looming over him. Back at Guidepost, the barkeeper feels the rumbling of the monster's footsteps and asks the scar-faced woman if she is responsible; the woman replies that the monster is named Gallas, and refuses the barkeeper's pleas to stop with her kaiju-related schemes. Gallas drops down onto all fours and begins crawling after Hayato through the city, destroying everything in her path.
Hayato ducks into a warehouse storing numerous cans of gasoline, barrels of explosive material, and canisters of flammable gas. With a newfound determination, he gathers the barrels to the center of the room and douses them in gasoline before attempting to burst open one of the gas canisters with a metal pipe. Just as Hayato manages to open the canister, Gallas's head bursts through the ceiling. Hayato flees the building and tosses his lighter into it, causing it to erupt into a violent explosion which beheads Gallas. The decapitated carcass collapses onto the street and begins pouring out blood from its neck cavity. Meanwhile, at the bar, the scar-faced woman laughs and repeats Hayato's earlier sentiment about youngsters being unable to tell when someone is playing around or being serious. As Hayato is distracted with a cigarette, a new head emerges from Gallas' neck cavity and swallows the man whole. In a flash of light, Gallas disappears and Erika appears back on the street in her normal attire. She takes off her heels and tosses them aside before quipping that she is hungry. At the bar, the scar-faced woman examines a feather in a jar and explains that dark influence can overtake the pure of soul, and manifest in physical form. The bartender asks her if the feather is Erika's soul, but he receives no answer; the woman places the jar into her briefcase, which is packed with jars filled with various other creatures and objects.
The woman concludes that humans are foolish creatures before setting off toward the door. The barkeeper requests that she never return, but she parts with the words, "It seems I can't really do that."
Staff
- Main article: Kaiju Ward Gallas/Credits.
Staff role on the left, staff member's name on the right.
- Directed by Ryotaro Kogushi
- Supervised by Hiroshi Butsuda
- Written by Kaori Kaneko
- Produced by Hideaki Tsukada, Tsuyoshi Nakano
- Line producer Kazutaka Sekiya
- Associate producer Kohei Yamamoto
- Music provided by Toshifumi Kawamura
- Cinematography by Keizo Suzuki
- Edited by Hiroshi Sunaga
- Production design by Hajime Takahashi
- First assistant director Kazuhiro Sugami
- Visual effects by Keisaku Kimura, ACT Designs
- Gallas designed by Hideki Tajima
- Gallas suit modeled by Tomo Hyakutake, Manabu Yoshimatsu
Cast
Actor's name on the left, character played on the right.
- Makoto Okunaka as Erika Katase
- Keisuke Minami as Hayato Otaka, Erika's boyfriend
- Kohei Yamamoto as bartender of Bar Guidepost
- Nao Nagasawa as scar-faced woman
- Daisuke Sato as Gallas, giant monster
Appearances
Monsters
- Gallas
- Erika's soul
- Various monster souls
Development
Kaiju Ward Gallas was announced on October 27, 2018, during the "Toei Tokusatsu Fan Thanksgiving 2018" live event. The film's cast, main staff, and a teaser image of Gallas were released that September 14.[2]
The film's poster and two images of Gallas were unveiled on December 20.[3] This was followed by a trailer on January 1, 2019 (January 2 in Japan).[1] Despite the trailer stating it to be a film, some English sources misreported it as a series.[4]
Production
Kaiju Ward Gallas had concluded filming of both its drama and tokusatsu scenes and entered post-production by the time of its cast announcement on September 14, 2018.[2]
The film's end credits indicate that it was filmed in or around the Showa Shindo shopping street, Nakano Film Commission, and Sept Gout in Nakano, Tokyo; Bar Lemon Heart in Nerima, Tokyo; and the SKIP City complex in Kawaguchi, Saitama.
Marketing
On January 23, 2019, the Gallas suit made an hour-long appearance at "Super Hero Festival Kamen Rider x Super Sentai Live & Show 2019" at Nippon Budokan arena. The monster was played by Gallas actor and associate producer Kohei Yamamoto.[5]
A three-part behind-the-scenes documentary on the making of Kaiju Ward Gallas was made available through the Toei Tokusatsu Fan Club app, with the first episode premiering on February 23.[6]
A video of Gallas, Yamamoto, and Nao Nagasawa participating in the Ryusolger-based "Let's Dance Together! Que Booom Dance!!" dance trend was posted by the official Que Booom Dance YouTube channel on May 18. As a compliment to the campaign, Kaiju Ward Gallas became available for free in the Toei Tokusatsu Fan Club app until June 18th.[7] A little under two years later, the short would be made free once again as a tie-in for the release of Toei and Shochiku's What to Do with the Dead Kaiju?; this time the movie was posted to the Toei Tokusatsu YouTube Official channel and was accessible between January 28 and February 6, 2022.[8]
Gallery
- Main article: Kaiju Ward Gallas/Gallery.
Manga adaptation
- Main article: Manga: Kaiju Ward.
A manga which adapted and continued the story of Kaiju Ward Gallas debuted in the Toei Tokusatsu Fan Club app on September 19, 2020, free of charge to subscribers.[9] It ran for five issues until March 28, 2021.[10]
Foreign releases
Kaiju Ward Gallas has never been officially released outside Japan, with even the upload to the Toei Tokusatsu YouTube Official channel being region-locked. However, the English fansub group MegaBeast Empire translated it mere days after its release.
Videos
Trailers
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Miscellaneous
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Trivia
- The titular Gallas later appeared in another Toei Tokusatsu Fan Club original production: Junretsu's Love Spring: Tour of Famous Onsen Throughout Japan, a miniseries spinoff of the 2021 film Super Battle Junretsuger.
References
This is a list of references for Kaiju Ward Gallas. 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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