SNAKE KING AND HARIGOJIRA
Much like several other tokusatsu shows from the 1970’s, Mirrorman would undergo a metamorphosis in response to competition from other shows at the time. Many changes would be foisted on the show with these two episodes, so again, as a heads up Spoiler Warning.
Having enough of SGM and Mirrorman foiling their plans, the Invaders decide to finally rid themselves of the only obstacle to their domination of the Earth. Sending down the monster Snake King, SGM’s base is destroyed, and all of the members are presumed dead.
As Kyotaro goes out to battle Snake King, he falls into the Invaders’ trap. With Mirrorman in their clutches, they implant a time bomb in him. Should Kyotaro stay as Mirrorman for too long, the bomb will explode, though it begs the question of why they don’t just blow him up in the first place instead of drawing it out, but I guess the Invaders just wanted to be petty. Thankfully, the spirit of Mirrorman’s father arrives to warn Kyotaro, and gives him a Color Timer ala Ultraman, so Mirrorman can be warned when the bomb is about to go off.
While Mirrorman is able to kill Snake King, the monster’s partner, Harigojira escapes. Thankfully, it’s revealed SGM had survived, now being outfitted with a high-tech base, weapons and a powerful aircraft known as the Jumbo Phoenix. Mirrorman and SGM are able to destroy Harigojira and ready themselves for the next time the Invaders strike.
The changes in Mirrorman came about in order to bolster the show’s viewerships as in 1972, the tokusatsu superhero landscape became an incredibly crowded one. Taking inspiration from their own Ultraman shows, Mirrorman would give it’s hero a similar time limit, as well as giving SGM armaments that would rival all the defense teams in any Ultra show. The series would also kick up the tension and stakes in each episode as the Invader plans become more dangerous, making these two episodes sort of a transition to a larger conflict for the heroes and villains.
For the monsters to usher in this new era, I think both are pretty cool. They do represent a bit of a change as the more surreal looking beasts we saw in the show’s earliest episodes are phased out for more saurian critters, with most of them being tools of the Invaders rather than being the Invaders themselves. It’s a bit of a shame the show had to lose some of it’s uniqueness, but there’s still some cool monsters up ahead.
Of the two, I think I find Snake King my favorite. A snake monster isn’t too weird, but Yonetani goes wild with the concept, delivering a monster I find incredibly striking, but also really silly, but in the best possible ways. Look at him! He’s got snakes for arms and legs! How can you hate a guy who has snakes for his limbs?! Yonetani took inspiration from cobras, as well as the mythical eight headed dragon from Japanese mythology, Yamata no Orochi.
His partner, Harigojira, doesn’t really have a good symmetry or contrast with his partner, but I can’t help but like him as well. He definitely leans deeply into the spike theme and he looks like an intimidating opponent for sure with the hook hands. He’s another Yonetani monster, and he took inspiration from porcupines as well as the famous kaiju Anguirus from the Godzilla series.
KILLERGON
Wanting to lure Kyotaro into a trap, the Invaders begin publicly taunting that Mirrorman can’t defeat their monster, Killergon. Sensing that this is a trap, Dr. Mitarai forbids Kyotaro from going into battle. However, Kyotaro does so, and finds himself promptly defeated by the monster. Angered by Kyotaro throwing himself into danger, Mitarai discharges Kyotaro from SGM, and shortly, the Invaders send out Killergon again, intending on destroying the Jumbo Phoenix.
Killergon is an alright monster. While I love the episode’s drama, I do find the character to be a bit plain, at least compared to previous enemies. It’s a decent design though, albeit it looks a bit too much like Yonetani’s inspiration, Gudon from Return of Ultraman, almost to the point where I could believe someone mistaking Killergon for a repurposed Gudon suit.
Killergon doesn’t differ too much from his concept art, but there were some elements of the creature left on the cutting room floor. The monster’s whip arms were supposed to retract out of the creature’s claws, but the final suit kept the whips out all the time. In addition, the monster wasn’t as thin as the final suit and was a much lighter color, but this was changed as the suit being in water would cause it to stain, as well as swell after absorbing water.
GORGOSAURUS AND MAYASAURUS
A pair of brother monsters, Gorgosaurus and Mayasaurus are dispatched to ground the Jumbo Phoenix in a volcanic area. It soon becomes a race against the clock to save the Jumbo Phoenix.
While Gorgosaurus is killed by Mirrorman, his brother, Mayasaurus, escapes and beings to spread a radioactive mist around Japan. The Invaders lure Mirrorman into a trap, forcing SGM to use the Jumbo Phoenix to rescue the hero.
These two guys are quite fun, even if they would maybe feel more at home in an Ultraman show, which is fitting, since Yonetani based both of their designs off of Red King. Of the two, I find Mayasaurus the more interesting of the two since his wings, and the yellow-blue color scheme makes him the more interesting monster.
The two monsters would reappear in episodes 36 and 37 as Gorgosaurus and Mayasaurus β. Gorgosaurus β is a bit more interesting than his first incarnation, now given red accoutrements on his shoulders and a red crest. He ain’t too shabby of an upgrade.
Mayasaurus β isn’t too different, except for the much larger, yellow frill around the base of his neck, but it’s a definite upgrade from his old one.
Gorgosaurus would have an interesting life after the show in Ultraman Taro, as the suit would be turned into the costume for the monster Oil Drinker. Gorgosaurus himself though, would join the ranks of Dustpan as one of the two Mirrorman kaiju that would break into the Ultra series, with Gorgosaurus II battling Ultraman Taro in episode 47 of his show. Since the original Gorgosaurus suit was turned into Oil Drinker, a suit made for stage shows and public appearances was used. Interestingly, I’ve seen some sources that suggest this Gorgosaurus is the child of the earlier one, as well as being sent out to battle Taro by the Invaders.
AGRIEDA
After injuring Mirrorman’s arms so he cannot use his Silver Cross attack, Agrieda is sent by the Invaders to destroy a missile base, forcing Kyotaro to come up with an alternate technique for killing the monster.
I wouldn’t call Agrieda one of my favorite monsters, but he certainly isn’t a bad one. A monster that’s able to absorb Mirrorman’s attacks makes him very dangerous, and while he looks more suited to appearing in an Ultraman show, his design isn’t bad, being a nice mix of mole, alligator, mole cricket and ant.
SEAKILLERSAURUS
Taking note of how humanity has poisoned it’s own oceans, the Invaders send their monster Seakillersaurus to spread a filthy, yellow liquid that poisons the ocean further. It’s a plan that’s perhaps one of the deadliest ones they’ve cooked up as they’re trying to destroy an essential part of the biosphere, and had Mirrorman not intervened, I can imagine this would’ve been devastating.
Seakillersaurus’s episode was done as a bit of social commentary. After the retool, it was decided to write more stories with relevant social themes at the time, and Seakillersaurus’s story reflects the worries in regards to polluting our oceans, something that is sadly still relevant 50 years later.
The design by Yonetani is a pretty good one, albeit not one of my immediate favorites, but not bad for a sea monster, with Yonetani taking inspiration from mermaids, anglerfish and barnacles to create a truly toxic looking sea monster.
PAIRMONSKING
Summoned to protect an Invader base near the Nagashima Spa Land, Pairmonsking is probably one of, if not the most ridiculous kaiju seen in Mirrorman. I always get a kick whenever they bring out a kaiju that’s in the pantomime horse style, and it never fails to bring a smile to my face and I’m glad they were able to get the budget to make one after they were unable to with Taigan. Much like Dodongo from Ultraman, Pairmonsking here is based off of the Kirin from Japanese mythology, albeit the design reminds me more of various African animals such as giraffes, okapi and zebras.
Pairmonsking would return as Pairmonsking β alongside Mayasaurus and Gorgosaurus, albeit there’s no real visible difference between the two incarnations.
Also, this is the position the Invaders get in when they transform into him. I was literally howling with disbelief when I first saw it.
SMOKENESS AND MOLEKING
In what is maybe one of their deadliest plans in the entire show, the Invaders send Kyotaro a message in his dreams: SGM and Mirrorman will soon fight and destroy one another. Kyotaro is soon lured to an apartment complex the Invaders have completly taken over, goading him into attacking it, making SGM believe that Mirrorman is now a threat. As the Jumbo Phoenix attacks Mirrorman, the Invaders send out Smokeness to the fray.
While Mirrorman is able to kill Smokeness, he soon runs out of energy and dies. Happy at their victory over Mirrorman, the Invaders send out Moleking to destroy Japan nearly unopposed. Things look bleak until Mirrorman seems to be revived via divine intervention and saves the day.
The plot to pit SGM and Mirrorman against each other is a solid one, and actually succeeded for the most part until Mirrorman was revived somehow. Though I have to question the logistics of the episode, as Mirrorman dies after being Mirrorman too long as opposed to exploding. As for the monsters, I find them to be quite good for such a solid pair of episodes. There’s a nice symmetry to them, as they both feel like good subterranean monsters without feeling too similar to each other. Of the two, I think I like Smokeness the best, as the blue and red color scheme works very well, and he comes across as a fun mixture of a reptile and insect grub. Moleking himself ain’t too bad either, and the size of the suit helps give the character a menacing, almost apocalyptic presence when he’s running around in his episode.
From what I’ve heard, there was a weird mixup in regards to the designs of these characters. Originally, the Smokeness design was intended for Seakillersaurus, before being changed to Moleking and then becoming Smokeness, while the original design for Moleking was going to be for Smokeness until the final episode. It genuinely makes my head hurt trying to make sense of this.
To muddy things up further, there’s also this design that was for Moleking as well before the design for Smokeness became the final version of Moleking. It’s an alright design and feels like it matches Smokeness in terms of color and aesthetic, and while I’m a fan of the final Moleking design, I do wish this one was used in Mirrorman somewhere or in another production.
HALLEY JACK
Halley Jack here shows up during the Invader’s plot to throw Mirrorman into the sun, and he follows Mirrorman and the Androsaurus family to Earth after the hero is freed. Sadly, out of all the monsters we see in the show, Halley Jack might be the worst of them all. Despite being the only new monster in the episode and having a functional suit, the monster is portrayed via miniature, with only the suit being used in a close up. In addition, he doesn’t even fight Mirrorman proper, and meets his end via the Jumbo Phoenix. Due to the amount of monsters already in the story and how dramatic the Invaders’ plan was, he feels unneeded with everything else already going on in the show.
In addition, the final design doesn’t look as good as the design Yonetani originally came up with which looks much more in line with the other creatures he did for Mirrorman, whereas the final design just feels like something that would belong in a show like Zone Fighter. A rushed production time forced the team to tweak the design into the one seen in the show. Halley Jack just kept getting the short end of the stick.
MAGUMAGON
A monster guarding an Invader outpost in Hell Valley, Magumagon is a pretty decent monster. Another subterranean monster, his spiked body and drill-like hands and feet certainly suit a monster named Magumagon, and the flesh-eating gas he spits out makes him a solid opponent seen in the second half, and he adds to the danger of the area he calls his domain.
Magumagon’s original design was used for the monster Sangani, who appeared in the next episode. Magumagon’s final design by Yonetani would draw from crabs.
SANGANI
Having chosen the island of Ishishima as the location of a new missile base to attack Tokyo with, three of the Invaders abduct and then possess three of the islanders, transforming them into a vampire, werewolf, and noppera-bo to go around the island and begin picking off the villagers one-by-one, prompting SGM and Kyotaro to investigate.
After trapping Kyotaro in a cave, the three ghouls coalesce into the monster Sangani to prevent the Jumbo Phoenix from destroying the missile base.
I have to say, while the three ghouls are fairly cheap looking and are usually seen in full lighting in the episode, there’s something undeniably creepy about the three of them running around and killing people, and I feel like the cheapness and daylight setting if anything, helps them come across as creepier than they’d usually be.
Sangani himself is a decent design, albeit it doesn’t really match the ghoulish Invaders he’s born from. Yonetani took by combining a totem pole and dragon together. I really like the whips for hands he’s got, and the coloration on the chest reminds me of Gango from Ultraman, who also took similar inspiration from totem poles.
I am curious to why he was the original design for Magumagon, which really has got me wondering how crazy the production was behind the scenes due to most of the monsters we’ve seen prior like Smokeness, Moleking, etc get their designs switched constantly, it must’ve been truly chaotic after the initial retool of the show.
SHADOWMONS AND TERRORINGA
Used as muscle for the Invader’s scheme to mass-immigrate into a city, Shadowmons is alright. He’s kind of got a cool design, but he’s sort of so-so in my opinion outside of the horns he has. A serviceable monster, sure, but not one of the show’s best.
Terroringa, the monster seen in the second part of the Invader immigration story, works a bit better, and I feel like I’m maybe a tad more biased to him since he’s a beetle, giving him something to stand out with in the crowd of dinosaurs from Mirrorman‘s second half. I love his little kush-ball/pom-pom shoulders and hips.
Terroringa was another Yonetani design, albeit this was something that has been contested before since Tetsuo Osawa has stated he designed Terroringa, but seeing as how the monster shows up in Yonetani’s book regarding his monsters from the tokusatsu he’s worked on, complete with a design sketch by him which I think clears up any misconception of that.
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