AKUZONE AND GERA
A group of interdimensional invaders targeting a dimension that’s akin to Sengoku era Japan, the Akuzone feel more akin to the various villains seen in Toei’s tokusatsu output through the Showa era than what the Ultra series throw our way. But hell, some variety never really hurt. I like the look of the Akuzone emperor, Mebeez, who’s half human-half reptilian face feels appropriately weird for an interdimensional overlord. The design is inspired by Japanese dragons, but personally I don’t see it.
We only briefly see the faces of the Akuzone troops, but it’s a pretty good depiction of a ‘reptoid’ alien, almost looking like the true face of the Visitors from the classic 1983 scifi show V.
Sadly, Gera’s not as bizarre as his masters, just being your average dinosaur kaiju. He’s not a bad monster I’ll say, and he almost comes across as cute since he starts off as the size of a cat early on in the episode, but as some monster from another dimension, he’s awfully plain, just a bit too plain if you ask me.
ARGO
An alien whose true form is a substance similar to soap suds (not unlike Dancan from Ultraseven), Argo absorbs every human he comes across to gain their knowledge, which is wonderfully creepy. I have to say, I’m really fond of his giant form, which brings to mind shellfish and coral with his red, hose covered body. I have to say, while not Yamaguchi’s intention, Argo’s giant form bears some resemblance to the Star Vampires, some of my favorite creatures from the Cthulhu Mythos. I also sense a bit of Garamon in there as well with the face too!
Showa era tokusatsu fans will probably recognize Argo’s human form, played by actor Goro Mutsumi, who previously appeared as the villainous Black Hole Aliens Kuronuma and Mugal from Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla and Terror of Mechagodzilla respectively, as well as a member of SAF from Tsuburaya’s Fireman.
ZAKIRA AND VAL
Zakira (left) and Val (right) is one of those stories the series occasionally throws out in regards to monster ecology, stuff I find really fascinating. Zakira is a space-faring monster that preys on Val. This leads to some complication as a baby Val imprints on Takeshi. That being said, while it’s definitely tragic that poor Val dies trying to protect his “mother” from Zakira, I can’t fault Zakira altogether too much since he’s just trying to survive as well.
I’m a fan of both their designs as well, and both manage to compliment the other well enough and feel different, despite both being flying, reptilian kaiju. Val’s got the stronger design, definitely a cute flying monster design. Zakira though, is not too shabby himself, being a well disguised Tabra suit and meant to feel like a cross between a dinosaur and an airplane.
KIYATHI
A monster awakened near Kiya Valley, the local villagers plan to capitalize on the monster reawakening for a tourist trap scheme! Kiyathi himself isn’t one of 80‘s more notable kaiju, but it’s a passable design in a quirky story, so it works. Oddly enough, the episode keeps comparing Kiyathi to Ghostron from Return of Ultraman in terms of appearances, even though he always seemed more like a Red King knockoff to me personally if we’re picking out kaiju that he looks like.
ZATAN AND ZATAN SILVER
A race of aliens that engage in their invasion plans by infiltrating the Earth disguised as people they’ve killed, a pair of Zatans plot to destroy a Space Observation Center disguised as a reporter and a friend of UGM’s public relations officer Sera. I’ll give the Zatan points for being real sneaky, but I can’t say I’m big on the design. I like the concept of using a wide brimmed hat for inspiration, but as far as the designs Yamaguchi has come up with in the show, Zatan feels fairly cheap and slapdash.
Their mechanical monster Zatan Silver however, is much, much cooler in my book. It’s another sort of typical saurian design, but Yamaguchi spices it up by taking inspiration from sharks for the monster’s head, which combined with the trio of tentacles on his noggin, the overlapping scales and the all-silver color scheme just make him a fun robot monster. I dunno, maybe it’s just because he’s a big, robot dinosaur, but there’s something about Zatan Silver that hits all the right boxes with me.
ZOLA
A strange seed from space found by a young girl, her green thumb soon gives life to Zola, who, as you’d expect in typical plant monster fashion, begins to start chowing on the local wildlife before growing to a colossal size when hit by the energy shots of UGM’s weaponry. Zola here is pretty typical as plant monsters come, but I like how they look like a collection of gross, dark green vines assembled into a vaguely humanoid form.
BARRACK SHIP
Originally a computer controlled ship known as the Queens, the onboard computer soon malfunctions and the rogue machine soon begins assimilating every boat it comes across. Barrack Ship is essentially a return to Iron Rocks from Ultraseven in terms of general idea, but I like the idea of tying this monster’s origin to being something manmade rather than being extraterrestrial. In addition, I’m quite fond of the look of the thing, even if it is just a pile of rusty ships.
GAZERA
A monster created by a sick child out of clay and various knick-knacks, Gazera is changed into an actual monster when a mysterious ball of light (presumably Minus Energy, but we’re never quite told exactly what it is) enters into the clay creation, growing to human size and then becoming a gigantic behemoth after it absorbs the energy from Takeshi’s sidearm.
By far one of my favorite monsters from 80, Gazera’s slapdash appearance really does capture the feeling of what a kid would design if forced to make a monster on the fly, as well as harkening back to the days of the crazier 70’s kaiju. I love the Jumbo Machinder arm he’s got! And much like that annoying kid on the playground who’d always say his superpower was having every power whenever you’d play superheroes, Gazera’s just as ridiculously broken, being able to absorb all sorts of energy thrown at it and then hit back with twice as much power. The monster is even able to absorb the kinetic energy from 80’s punches and kicks! The only weakness preventing Gazera from being the strongest monster in all of kaijudom is the fact that his amplifier on his chest was prone to falling off when it was a toy, and is just as fragile as a kaiju.
Gazera’s design fittingly enough, was actually conceptualized by a child! Rather than utilize Yamaguchi, director of photography Shinichi Ooka had his child create a monster out of clay, which was used as the final design for the monster. Really lends an authentic feel to the creature!
ANGORUS
The story of Angorus is very much a tried and true kaiju story: A baby monster is captured by humanity, and the angry parent goes rampaging in search of them. The baby Angorus is a cute little creature and one of the more realistic monsters we’ve seen in the series so far. I could totally imagine seeing this thing at an aquarium.
The mother Angorus doesn’t look too different, mainly being larger and more round and incorporating some features of a pufferfish on her lower body. She’s just overall a really damn good fish kaiju, even if she doesn’t really break any boundaries in terms of design or conception.
One brief aside to note is that when UGM goes to battle the monster, they attempt to capture it with a fishing lure and a gigantic worm. A bit odd at first, but knowing what dwells on Earth by the time of Ultraman 80, I’m not shocked that colossal earthworms are running around.
FIRE DRACO
An ancient dragon that was slain ages ago near the village of Yamanami, it is stated that upon the dragon’s death, a mysterious shining stone fell out of monster’s stumps and the three heads retreated deep into the mountains.
Now, during a celebration of Fire-Draco’s death, the three heads, now disguised as humans, seek the stone in order to regain their true form. However, the white head, having been reincarnated as a young boy named Mitsuo, is beginning to have mixed feelings about the plan…
Fire-Draco is another one of 80‘s more underrated monsters, and the idea of a monster reincarnated as three humans, one of which is reluctant about being reborn and wanting to remain as a human makes for a really fascinating, and unique episode. Mitsuo’s reluctance even helps 80 be able to get the upper hand in the final battle. The design of Fire-Draco, while not as clean and elegant as the more famous three-headed dragon, King Ghidorah, is pretty good. Huge fan of how each head has it’s own color and design to it, especially with how Mitsuo’s head looks much smaller and meeker compared to the other two.
GUWAGANDA
Originally a child’s pet stag beetle, the poor thing perishes during a cold front that hits Japan and is soon transformed into a kaiju thanks Minus Energy from his owner’s grief and anger. When the cold air starts creating mirages, Guwaganda is initially mistaken as one of them, but it becomes very apparent that the monster is real.
While not as memorable as Antlar, Guwaganda is is a really nice looking insectoid kaiju, with some notable features such as the correct amount of legs, all of which are covered in spines, those large jaws and my personal favorite, his collection of four eyes around his head. In addition, the idea of Minus Energy transforming a dead pet into a kaiju makes for a cool concept, and thanks to that, Guwaganda is able to get a bit of a happy ending, as once the kid lets go of his anger, Guwaganda is able to return to his grave and then, is restored back to life as a regular, everyday beetle.
BALTAN
Yeah he’s back! Much like how Return of Ultraman brought back Baltan in order help boost ratings, 80 brings back the alien for a similar purpose. Baltan here infiltrates UGM disguised as a young boy, but rather than wanting to destroy UGM from the inside out, his plan is much more zany: He wants to capture Ultraman 80 so he can be put in a Baltan zoo! It’s goofy as all get out, and you’d think the Baltans would want some more concrete form of revenge after most of their kind got destroyed by the original Ultraman, as well as their other failed schemes, but I guess they figured just humiliating 80 was good enough for them.
The Baltan suit here was originally made for the film Ultraman Monster Big Battle, utilized in a sequence that was a new version of Baltan’s fight scene with Ultraman all the way back in episode 2 of the original show, as it was deemed that the original fight scene wasn’t exciting enough for the compilation film. It’s not a bad update to the 1966 suit in all honesty. One curious thing about the episode however, is how Baltan mentions that 80’s prison is located on Planet Baltan, but said planet was mentioned as being destroyed in their debut episode in Ultraman, though presumably they found some new world and renamed it in honor of the old one.
Another Baltan would show up to vex 80 in episode 45. Here, Baltan’s plan is even more ridiculous, with the alien planning to cause strife and eventually WWIII by…having a kid get in trouble with his friends because they don’t believe him when he says he photographed a UFO….wha? Ok, it’s clear that this guy’s goal is going to be very hard to get to if he starts off with framing a kid as a liar for seeing flying saucers. I don’t mind the more kid focused plots and the episode is fun enough just seeing Baltan again, but it’s a step down in terms of evil plans.
Easter's Kaiju Kompendium 