He came to us from the staaaaaars!
The final Showa Ultraman show, Ultraman 80 attempts to breathe some new life into the franchise after five years of dormancy. Unlike the other Ultra shows, 80 gives us a novel premise as Takeshi Yamato has to juggle being Ultraman 80 while also being a member of the current defense team UGM and a school teacher! This gives the show a wonderful, unique feel, and allows for some creative and heartwarming stories. Sadly, due to a variety of issues behind the scenes such as the current climate of how parental groups were scrutinizing children’s media, 80‘s school based setting is dropped quite early on, and the finished show doesn’t feel quite the same.
Tying in with the school theme, most of the kaiju in Ultraman 80 are born out of Minus Energy. Minus Energy is a concept where negative emotions can actually bring kaiju into existence, and with 80’s battles over them being used to help illustrate how to get over problems that might be plaguing a child. It’s a really novel idea, and allows for some unique stories that hadn’t been done in any of the prior shows. This Minus Energy concept would carry over into other later entries, oftentimes when Ultraman 80 himself shows up for the rare crossover. On the monster design duties for this show is Osamu Yamaguchi, an art director who had been working with Tsuburaya Productions since their 1977 tokusatsu show Dinosaur War Aizenborg, and who will be the one to tackle nearly all the kaiju on the program.
CRESCENT
Born from Minus Energy, Crescent is the first monster to appear on Earth since the Saucer Beasts from Ultraman Leo. Crescent here isn’t a bad monster to start us off with, being your average big dinosaur an Ultra tends to wrestle in their first adventure. He’s simple, but hits the marks of a quality design thanks to his dark, craggy scales, as well as the three fangs protruding from his mouth! Crescent’s main inspiration was the Asian Black Bear, which is reflected on his white, crescent marking on his body.
GIKOGILAR
Gikogilar is a kaiju I’ve overlooked for years, but upon retrospect, have regained some appreciation for the guy. I like how he has a similar dark coloration for his body like Crescent does, a feature I wish more of the latter Minus Energy born beasts kept. I also really like his smug face coupled with that tendril-beard!
HOE
A monster created from a boy’s unrequited crush, Hoe ditches the reptilian look of the last few kaiju, instead feeling a bit more akin to a yokai or even one of the Gremlins in terms of appearance. I really like Hoe’s ribbed throat, which Yamaguchi took from whales. Tying in to the episode’s theme, Hoe’s power are sulfuric acid tears, a fitting power for a creature born from Minus Energy.
Hoe would become one of the privileged few kaiju to escape from 80, appearing with some frequency through the Heisei era. While not clocking in as many roles as guys like Bemstar or Velokron, Hoe’s got quite a few under his belt and is the closest thing to an iconic monster for 80. Hoe’s most notable role however, is in 2006’s Ultraman Mebius, which featured Takeshi Yamato reuniting with his former students at their old school. A fitting return for the monster and the show’s original premise.
ZANDRIAS
Probably among the most memorable kaiju from Ultraman 80, the Zandriases are a pair of space monsters, parent and child, who get into an argument, with the younger Zandrias heading for Earth to sulk. Juxtaposed with this story is one of Takeshi’s students rebelling against his father, with the Zandrias serving as sort of a mirror to his relationship to his own father. After helping the father and son reconnect, 80’s plan to solve the problem the two kaiju are having…is to help them bond by getting them to beat the tar out of him! It’s a really heartwarming story, and I love the idea of an Ultra hero intentionally “losing” in order to help out the family problem of some monsters. It’s just too cute for words.
The Zandrias designs are fantastic ones, albeit they look genuinely more menacing than they actually are in the story. Their designs feel like the sort of perfect ideal of a flying monster, bringing to mind pteranodons and bats, while also not being too influenced by either animal. One thing I really like is how the parent and child Zandrias differ in terms of size. It’s not too dramatic, but it helps the story immensely in ways I can’t imagine working if each suit had the same proportions. The name Zandrias comes from a restaurant that the episode’s writer, Shosuke Ai and 80‘s producer Kazuho Mitsuta would patronize frequently, known as Sandria.
Zandrias would be absent for many, many decades, but would make a return in 2017’s Ultraman Geed after director Taku Tomita learned that Tsuburaya had constructed a brand new suit for the creature, and then appear later in 2019’s Ultraman Taiga and 2020’s Ultra Galaxy Fight: The Absolute Conspiracy, escaping the confines of the show and becoming one of the few 80 monsters to find new life in succeeding entries.
BAM AND MECHAGIRAS
After staying late after school working on papers, poor Takeshi boards the wrong train and finds himself in a bizarre dimension. This is the base of operation of the Bam, a race of aliens seeking to conquer the Earth with their robot kaiju, Mechagiras. The Bam themselves aren’t as elegant as some of our previous alien invaders, but they’re not bad looking, reminding me very much of something one would see in the original Star Trek series.
Their outfits were inspired by American police uniforms at the time, giving them an authoritarian feel. Their method of travel to their 4D base via late night train is reminiscent of the train from Ultra Q‘s final episode, something I’m betting you money was intentional.
Their robotic kaiju, Mechagiras, is by far one of the most impressive monsters seen in the show, and just overall one of the best looking robot creatures Tsuburaya has ever produced. Sort of a homage to Mechagodzilla, Mechagiras is loaded to the brim with all sorts of beams, missiles and even the ability to turn his head around 360 degrees much like his more famous Toho cousin. He’s a monster I’m surprised hasn’t joined the ranks of the few kaiju from this show to return, since hell, a giant, robot dinosaur that can zip in and out of the 4th Dimension is just the kinda concept that deserves to be revisited.
ABDOLAARS
A space monster emerging from a UFO that Takeshi’s space obsessed student manages to spot, Abdolaars was a kaiju I often overlooked in the past, but upon review, has started to grow on me. The design by Yamaguchi feels wonderfully alien, with the vertical slit for a mouth and the tendrils growing around his legs. One thing I have to really commend is the usage of mirrors in the suit, much like Waiell from Ultraseven, which gives this guy a really surreal feel, especially in the nighttime environment he shows up in.
I do wonder though, with Abdolaars emerging from his UFO, is he a kaiju sent by some race, or is he a bonafide alien invader? It’s something never truly touched upon as the episode is mainly focused on Takeshi’s student, but it’s something I’ve always been curious about regarding this guy.
NOISELAR
One of my favorite monsters from the show, Noiselar is attracted to loud noises, causing mayhem as the sounds of the city get his attention. While he certainly causes quite a bit of mayhem, Noiselar isn’t truly meaning to cause the damage he does, and we get to see a bit of the monster’s playful side as he dances to music that some of Takeshi’s students are playing.
The design by Yamaguchi is one of his strongest, making a really slick and streamlined bat monster, just the sort of creature that’d be attracted to loud noises. Noiselar is just one of those monsters that works on all levels.
Noiselar would achieve some life after Ultraman 80, albeit it’s quite the odd journey. A new suit for the monster was constructed in 2018 after a successful crowdfunding campaign tied to Tsuburaya’s Kaiju Girls spinoff series (there was a prior campaign devoted to recreating Zandrias the year prior). However, unlike Zandrias, it would take quite a bit of time for Noiselar to return to the series proper, finally popping up alongside Zandrias in battling Ultrawoman Grigio in the YouTube series Ultra Galaxy Fight: The Absolute Conspiracy.
TABRA
An ancient kaiju sealed away by a mysterious giant of light some 3,000 years ago, Tabra reawakens in the modern era. Tabra’s an alright saurian critter, perhaps not the most exciting monster we’ve seen in the show yet, but he’s got some cool features such as his spike covered body and the long, prehensile tongue he uses to ensnare victims. However, seeing as how dangerous he is to the local human population, wouldn’t it have been a better idea for that mysterious Ultra from thousands of years ago to kill Tabra rather than just hole him up in a mountain for someone else to deal with?
Yamaguchi designed Tabra by combining fish and amphibian features. The name itself is derived from the Japanese word taburakasu, which means to swindle.
GABISHALE
An oil-drinking monster, Gabishale certainly demands attention with his exposed brain and hose-like shoulder tentacles. Gabishale might not be the most exciting of 80‘s monster gallery, but he’s not too shabby. Albeit, his long, chameleon-like tongue feels very redundant coming after Tabra.
ZULZLER
Originally an elephant, Zulzler is transformed when 80’s childhood friend Alma, visits the Earth to cause some mischief for poor Takeshi, especially when he’s trying to focus on teaching.
Bringing along her pet Jacky, the turban shell-looking being absorbs too much Minus Energy and flies into the poor beast, transforming it into Zulzler. Thankfully, 80 is able to remove Jacky, restoring both the mischievous alien pet, and the elephant to their natural states.
While he doesn’t truly fight 80 like in the promotional photo above, Zuzler is a worthy addition to the roster of creatures the show has. I’ve made it no secret that I enjoy elephant inspired kaiju, and Zuzler is probably among the best of the best when it comes to that strange, and small grouping of monsters. Yamaguchi creates a perfect fusion of a turban shell and an elephant, creating a very visually striking beast.
While she’s not exactly monstrous looking, I feel I should make mention of Alma before we move on. I love the idea of an alien friend of an Ultra, especially an Ultra with so many responsibilities on his plate like 80, arriving on Earth and causing some mild mischief. She’s the kind of character I can see showing up for all sorts of possible storylines if the show kept the school angle, and it does make me sad she’ll be swept under the rug once the series undergoes it’s retool.
MEDAN
A gas spewing monster, Medan proves to be fairly dangerous with his ability to reform should be destroyed, as well as growing larger as he consumes more gas. UGM can’t just fire upon the beast as well, as the explosion it would cause would be devastating.
Medan’s never been one of my favorites, but he’s far from a terrible monster. I always sort of thought of him as being a bit too plain, and perhaps my feelings on that come from the fact he’s a repurposed Gikogilar suit. I do like the strange tendrils coming from his nose though, which are remind me of moles oddly enough. One thing to note with Medan is that he starts off relatively small in his episode, hatching out of an Alien inspired pod and being human-sized for the beginning of the episode until he regenerates to kaiju proportions.
GORA
The monster of the Vibros alien agent who disguised herself as one of Takeshi’s students, Gora is sent out when Takeshi confronts her at her secret volcanic base. While Gora doesn’t really do much aside from his battle with 80, he’s always been one of my favorites based on his design alone. Yamaguchi did a great job in creating a creature that feels like a perfect mix between flames, lions and gorillas. He’s a monster that is so well done in terms of design, that I’m somewhat surprised he hasn’t joined the privileged ranks of the few kaiju to break away from the show.
I can’t comment too much on Vibros since she’s in human form the entire episode, but the story at least hints that this is a disguise rather than what they truly look like. In addition, the idea of an alien infiltrating Yamato’s classroom is a fun story hook.
Going back to Gora, the monster would have a somewhat bizarre afterlife. While he never appeared in the show proper, Gora would appear in the Televi-Kun magazine’s Andro Melos photo stories, having been cybernetically enhanced by the Guar Army to battle the Andro Warriors. Gora would later appear as one of the man Ultra Monsters in a special episode of comedian Takeshi Kitano’s obstacle course gameshow, Takeshi’s Castle, better known to Western fans as MXC. Lastly, stock footage of Gora’s battle with Ultraman 80 would pop up in, oddly enough, an American commercial for Google’s line of Chromebook computers.
And with Gora, the school arc ends abruptly. While we would get a reunion with 80 and his students in a fantastic Ultraman Mebius crossover episode, the show makes no mention of Takeshi’s former career, and while Minus Energy monsters and kids would continue to play a part in the show, Ultraman 80 loses it’s truly unique series hook, leading to some varying results for the rest of the program.
Easter's Kaiju Kompendium 