BELLOWS
Not exactly a monster per se, Bellows is an Invader ship with the ability to conjure up illusions. The ship creates the illusions of Iron, Kittyfire and Zailas in order to make Ichiro and his cousin Satoshi look like liars as the Invaders want their plans of stealing the space alloy Satoshi’s father created to be secret.
Bellows is alright. The ship itself, designed by Tetsuo Osawa, is a fine enough design for an alien ship, being based off of a horseshoe crab, albeit it feels a bit plain compared to some of the monsters we’ve seen before, but I can’t fault the show for trying something a bit more out of the box.
KINDER
In what is one of the creepier episodes of the show, the Invaders dispatch the monster Kinder to sabotage SGM’s plans of creating a device that can freeze their ships in place, leaving them vulnerable to attack by the Self Defense Forces. Disguised as a doll and teamed up with an android clown, the duo manage to destroy the schematics for the device, as well as set SGM HQ on fire. After the clown android is destroyed, the doll transforms into the monster Kinder.
Kinder is usually seen in his doll form in the episode, and it works very well, being reminiscent of various killer doll horror films. It works so well honestly, that Kinder’s transformation into a kaiju comes at almost a relief in the episode. That being said, I do find the design to be a really cool one. The Noh mask motif is back again, and I like the red body with the yellow bellows on it, really reminds me of Aribunta from Ultraman Ace. Yonetani was inspired by crabs and shrimp when conceptualizing the design, and made the face intentionally look like Iron’s.
CHAMELEGON
In what is probably their most diabolical plan yet, the Invaders send out Chamelegon, an invisible monster to destroy a nuclear powered vessel in the Tokyo marina. Only Mirrorman is able to see the monster, but the Invaders frame Kyotaro for murder, forcing him to go on the run from the police as the monster gets ever closer to it’s goal.
Chamelegon is backed up by a fantastic, nail-biting story, and has a really good design to boot. While the monster was obviously inspired by chameleons and their ability to change their colors, Yonetani based the design itself off of a turtle, fitting for an ocean going beast. While the suit isn’t as nice looking as several of the suits we’ve seen prior, I do think that adds to the character’s charm, as the ratty nature of it makes it seem like Chamelegon is some disgusting, deep sea creature.
Interestingly enough, while Chamelegon never reappeared in the show, the character almost gained an odd, second life. The writer for this episode, Hiroyasu Yamaura also wrote a Godzilla script in the late 70’s as part of the push by Toho producer Tomoyuki Tanaka to revive the character onscreen. His script, known as Tokyo SOS: Godzilla’s Suicide Strategy featured the King of the Monsters going up against Gigan and a monster who was only visible to Godzilla named Chamelegon! There isn’t much known about the conceptualization of the story, but it seems clear to me that Yamura was definitely pulling a healthy amount of inspiration for coming up with Godzilla’s opponent in the story.
AROZA
An ancient dinosaur revived and empowered by the Invaders, Aroza is sent to destroy a self defense force base.
Aroza, despite being your average saurian monster seen throughout tokusatsu, feels a bit out of place here in Mirrorman due to just how regular he feels. That being said, he’s still a very fun opponent, and gives our hero quite a bit of trouble in his episode. The episode played during the Toho Champion Festival in 1972, so he definitely feels very cinematic compared to the other monsters seen prior. The design by Tetsuo Osawa is a really nice one, and I like the frills seen on his head, which gives the character a nice silhouette. All in all, he’s just a dinosaur kaiju, but he’s a fun dinosaur kaiju. The character was just named as “Allosaurus” in the script, named after the real world dinosaur, but this was changed to Aroza by producer Toyoaki Tan.
While Aroza would never make a proper comeback, the character would make a surprise cameo alongside Dark Mander, a monster from Tsuburaya’s 1973 show Fireman in an episode of Toei’s Space Sheriff Gavan set in a movie studio.
BIG EYE
Starting off as an ordinary house plant, the Invaders transform it into Big Eye in order to prevent Kyotaro from stopping a missile that is going to hit SGM HQ and wipe it, and Tokyo out.
Big Eye isn’t too crazy, but I’m quite fond of eyeball monsters in tokusatsu, and the idea of an eyeball monster that’s also a plant monster is a fun combination. I also find it really fun how the character starts off at human size for a good portion of his episode, which leads to a memorable scene where he battles Kyotaro inside SGM HQ.
Big Eye is another design by Yonetani and was originally named Zephyrus and drew upon cabbages for the monster’s design inspiration. Yonetani made Big Eye a cyclops in order for him to be differentiated from Varricane from Return of Ultraman which had a full face on his torso compared to Big Eye’s…well, big eye.
SPHENODON
A normally gentle prehistoric monster, the Invaders revive Sphenodon and give it a diet of cacti containing toxic substances, causing the monster to become violent, allowing it to attack ships.
Sphenodon, much like Aroza, almost feels a tad out of place in the show, but he’s another fun dinosaur monster. I do like the floppy spines he has, as well as his goofy face. You gotta feel bad for the poor guy.
Yonetani’s original intention for the design was that it was a dinosaur whose back was covered in ancient plant life, so those spines are actually leaves! However, the final suit would leave out any botanical details aside from the spines. The suit was repurposed from the Gokinezula suit from Return of Ultraman, with the name being derived from the sphenosuchia reptile family that were around from the Triassic to the Jurassic Period.
TAIGAN
Seeking to stop SGM from developing a special satellite built to attack the Invaders’ ships, Taigan starts out as a gross, slimy blob that the Invaders drop inside of a zoo, letting the monster run loose. Taigan goes around absorbing all sorts of animals there such as elephants and tigers.
The final result is a a hybridized monster that attacks the science center Dr. Mitarai is at the laboratory he’s at. I’m a big fan of monsters based on elephants, so Taigan here is easily one of my favorites of the monsters seen in Mirrorman.
The original design by Yonetani would’ve had Taigan as a quadruped monster and be played by two suit actors, not unlike Dodongo from Ultraman. However, time and budget constraints forced the staff to create a Taigan that was much simpler. While I’m sure the original concept by Yonetani would’ve been great, I love the one we got, so I can’t complain too much.
KING WONDER
King Wonder is sent by the Invaders to attack Earth’s moon base, knowing full well that Mirrorman is unable to travel there to stop him (unlike Ultraman, Mirrorman is unable to fly). It’s a scheme that would otherwise seem pedestrian in a different show, but here, it’s pretty clever.
King Wonder himself is an alright design. I always felt the design felt a little too goofy for the more straight-laced Mirrorman, and I feel like it would’ve worked in something like Jumborg Ace or Ultraman Ace myself. It just doesn’t feel as creepy as what we’ve seen prior in the show.
The original design by Yonetani is an interesting one, feeling reminiscent of an insect and looks like it’d be quite at home with Yonetani’s other designs in Jumborg Ace and was named Wonderla at this early stage. The final design we see in the show was apparently based on the dollar sign character ($) for the shape of the monster.
ANDROSAURUS
A monster native to Saturn, the normally peaceful Androsaurus is lured to Earth by the Invaders after they capture her egg, intending to have the angry parent kill Mirrorman.
Androsaurus here is unique, as she’s the show’s first good monster, and she manages to have a happy ending here in her debut episode. It’s a story that feels doesn’t feel quite in line with what we’ve seen earlier, but I find the character helps expand the world of the show, and shows that there’s all kinds of strange creatures outside the conflict we’re watching.
The original design by Androsaurus was done by Akihiko Iguchi, and was named Androider. While I do like Iguchi’s design, I feel like Yonetani’s version of it feels a bit more unique due to it being a quadruped and not as flashy, which fits a creature that is a natural one and not a creation of the Invaders.
Androsaurus would return with her offspring, Androsaurus Jr. in episodes 36 and 37, where they save Mirrorman from the Invaders launching the hero into the sun, as well as help him battle several revived Invader monsters. I think it was a clever idea to bring the two back as allies in this episode to help Mirrorman. Sadly, Androsaurus dies battling alongside Mirrorman, a tragic end for a friendly monster, and one that is just as sad as Pigmon’s second death in Ultraman.
COLDON
A monster kept in a small capsule by an Invader, Coldon is used to freeze and capture scientists who are working on a warp device.
Coldon’s a fun monster, but man is he a strange one, even when compared to the vast array of monsters we’ve seen thus far. While his abilities don’t seem too strange at first, his powers have the strange side effect of transporting the target he froze, while leaving behind an exact duplicate made of ice….alright? In addition, he’s apparently shares the same life force as the Invader controlling him, so when he dies, she does as well, which just brings up all sorts of questions. Are the Invader monsters we’ve seen so far their monsters, but they just fuse/transform into them?
The choice of squid for a freezing monster is a bit of an odd one, but honestly, it’s a fun, unexpected concept for such a character. The design by Iguchi has some nice color to him, and I like the various details of the suit like the suckers, tentacles near the head, the bulbous eyes and the sail on top. He’s an underrated one for sure.
Yonetani originally did a design for Coldon, basing it off of several concepts such as his unused design of Priz-Ma from Return of Ultraman, American Football players, and fittingly, a collection of ice blocks and was even intended to be transparent in some areas with visible blood vessels! While the design by Yonetani is a really good one, it does feel a bit too in line with what one expects an ice monster to be. That being said, it’s sad this version of Coldon wasn’t recycled as a different character down the line.
One thing I’d like to note is that the actress who played the Invader controlling Coldon was Hiroko Sakurai herself, the same woman who played Yuriko in Ultra Q, and Fuji in Ultraman!
DUSTPAN AND THE GIANT BUGS
Plotting to devastate mankind’s crops, as well as spread numerous diseases, the Invaders begin mutating roaches, flies and locusts to human size in order to sow chaos. However, a young psychic girl picks up on their plot, and Mirrorman is able to once again stop the Invaders after they transform into the monster Dustpan.
The three giant insects, Haebun, Gokibura and Mosugojira, are fun characters, and maybe feel a tad quirky for a story that’s a bit more serious, but I do like them. They idea of transforming insects into monsters for them to disrupt how mankind lives is a pretty unique plan. It is interesting that the most we see of the three giants insects is their corpses, as you’d think we’d be seeing them running around more.
I find the monster here, Dustpan, to be one of the coolest monsters from Mirrorman, and I think it’s was a smart idea to continue the insect theme established earlier in the episode, and while Dustpan doesn’t really look like a real insect, he really looks like the kind of critter you’d see in a Raid commercial, which is something I love. Dustpan was another design by Yonetani, with the suit being a repurposed Plooma from Return of Ultraman. It’s been suggested that Dustpan was designed by Yonetani around the reuse of the Plooma suit, but this has been denied by Yonetani. Dustpan’s design was inspired cockroaches, hornworms and moths.
The characters seen in this episode would go on to make some very curious appearances outside of Mirrorman. Haebun, Gokibura and Mosugojira would all appear in an insecticide commercial by the show’s sponsor Otsuka Pharmaceuticals. Dustpan would later pop up in the infamous Japan-Thai co-production Hanuman vs. 7 Ultraman as a member of the monster army alongside Gomora and Ultraman Taro monsters Astromons, Tyrant and Dorobon. The inclusion of Dustpan along the various Ultra kaiju is quite odd indeed, especially since Mirrorman wasn’t aired in Thailand to my knowledge. I’ve heard rumors that Dustpan’s role was originally meant for Red King, but a mixup caused the Dustpan costume to be sent over in its place, though I can’t verify them. This team up would be mentioned in the manga Ultra Super Fighters Gekiden with Dustpan as a comrade of Gomora, a clear reference to the time the two shared the screen.
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