MEFILAS II
The first in a series of returning monsters seen in Ultraman Taro, Mefilas here is…not looking as good as the original did in 1967.
Mefilas’s plan here is not as complex as it was in the original show. Here, Mefilas uses the formerly extinct Mandarin Grass, a plant with paralyzing poison in it’s vines. Placing it inside of a vending machine, the grass sticks several children, afflicting them with paralysis, plotting to take over the world by targeting the kids. Not a well-thought out plan considering the grass is only in one vending machine located in Japan.
Gotta say, Mefilas here is a major downgrade from the one seen in Ultraman. While the concept drawings for this iteration of the character are a near-perfect replica of the original Tohl Narita creation, but something went wrong here in the execution of this incarnation. The suit here wasn’t a brand new creation, but rather a modified suit made for stage show attractions. I don’t mind a different take on a familiar character, but I wish there was more time devoted to the creation of the costume, as well as a better story for such an iconic character.
The original antagonist of this episode was a mushroom creature named Mushra, but was changed to Mefilas when it was planned to feature several classic kaiju in a string of episodes. Interestingly enough, Mefilas here is the first alien invader seen in Taro, and more aliens would appear after his episode. Unlike what happened with Return of Ultraman, this (as well as the addition of the King Bracelet) wasn’t in response to ratings at all, which is fairly strange.
While there isn’t too much backstory for this character in the show itself, there’s quite a bit of lore regarding this version of the character outside of the show, especially in regards to his relationship to the original Mefilas. While some media, such as the 1984 film Ultraman Story implies the two are the same character, many material from around the time such as children’s magazines and manga would state that the two are brothers, with the second Mefilas being in cahoots with the other returning monsters in Taro, and with this Mefilas being upper management, hence his dumpier appearance, as well as his inexperience in combat. I’m not sure how “canon” it is, but I love the idea that this guy is just the dumpier, pencil-pushing brother of the original Mefilas.
While this version of Mefilas would never return outside of the footage of his fight with Taro being used in Story, I wonder if the fact that both Mefilas and Yapool being part of the Four Heavenly Kings in Ultraman Mebius is a nod to his appearance in Taro. Lastly, while the Mandarin Grass itself had never returned since this episode, Mandarin Juice made from this plant would be referenced in episode 18 of Ultraman Taiga, the show starring Taro’s own son fittingly enough.
MODIFIED ELEKING
The second classic monster to return in Taro, the original Eleking absorbs the light of the full moon and revives, now with a lemon-yellow color as well as being armed with firey breath. A group of boys, look to try and capture the monster’s horns in order to create dentures for their grandfather puts them in the path of the dangerous monster, only for them to be saved when Taro defeats the creature by pulling off his horns.
While not as bad as Taro‘s version of Mephilas, I do find Eleking here to be pretty bad. Much like Mephilas, the suit was made from a modified suit made for stage show attractions and looks more akin to the version of Eleking seen on the goofy 1970 show Ultra Fight. And like how Mephilas was a replacement for a new character, Eleking was a replacement for a mammoth-like monster named “Fang Monster Gokiba”. Sadly, unlike Mushra mentioned above, Gokiba would never appear in an episode of Taro, with the plot of using the monster’s tusks to make dentures being the only-leftover element from the original script, only changed to horns in the final version. This explains the oddities in the episode, like Eleking’s new fire based abilities, as well as the monster drawing power from the full moon.
Like the other returning monsters in Taro, books and magazines from around the time would elaborate more on the monster’s origin. Part of an army of revived monsters brought together by Yapool and Geronimon, the two arch-villains planned to send down a rebuilt King Joe, but decided Eleking would be a sufficient substitute due to how long it’d take to reconstruct King Joe. With Eleking being defeated, an alien commander of the army lamented that perhaps they should’ve just waited to send King Joe.
This version of Eleking wouldn’t make any more appearances, but footage of the character would be used in Ultraman Story, with the original Eleking being modified by Mephilas/Mephilas II. The character would be mentioned in episode 9 of Ultraman Mebius where GUYS’s resident kaiju nerd Teppei (aka the closest representation of yours truly in an Ultra show), mentions that this Eleking is a different individual than the one Ultraseven fought. So….I guess the original Eleking wasn’t revived? Ultraman continuity is weird.
MODIFIED YAPOOL AND REMODELED BEMSTAR
In the final two episodes of the returning monsters series of episodes in Taro, Yapool himself returns, intent on invading the Earth once more. Reviving Velokron, Sabotendar, and Bemstar, Yapool launches a full-scale assault on the Earth until he’s stopped by Taro and ZAT.
This version of Yapool isn’t too far off from the original Giant Yapool seen in Ultraman Ace, but I thought I’d mention him due to the fact there’s still some differences in the matter of his design. While this version of Yapool uses the original suit from Ace, the character’s face looks a bit more beaten up and malformed. This was due to the suit being used for attractions and deteriorated due to use, thus necessitating a hastily-built replacement head that isn’t quite as nice looking as the original. Hilariously, magazines at the time, as well as Ultraman Retsuden, would claim that Yapool was revived by Empera, the big bad of all the big bads in the original Showa Ultraman timeline and given plastic surgery, hence why Yapool isn’t looking quite like himself. The same magazines would say that Yapool was tied to the appearances of Mephilas and Eleking as seen earlier in Taro, being one of the commanders of the Revived Monster Army. A bit unrelated, but I do like his cool staff he’s got.
There isn’t too much that’s really notable about the Verokron and Sabotendar reappearances, but ol’ Bemstar here is notable enough for mention. Gotta say, the Remodeled Bemstar version of the character doesn’t look quite as nice as the original, with that new head looking especially ugly. This Bemstar suit was one originally used for attractions, hence it’s cheaper construction. Magazines at the time explained this change in appearance as a result of Bemstar being modified by Yapool to be sleeker, as well as turning the horn on Bemstar’s head into an antennae to receive Yapool’s orders. Yapool even upgrades Bemstar to be immune to the Ultra Bracelet, which is revealed in a scene where ZAT somehow has footage of Ultraseven giving Jack the Ultra Bracelet, and has built a buzzsaw with the power of the Bracelet itself…which begs the question of just how ZAT got that moment on camera, let alone had the technology to replicate that weapon. Sort of an odd element to this story, since it raises too many questions, but I can’t help but wonder if it was partly the inspiration for the alien-derived METEOR technology GUYS uses in Ultraman Mebius.
MUSHRA
Starting life as the uh, suggestive looking Haunted Mushroom, Mushra appears in the middle of Tokyo, quickly vanquished by ZAT and Taro. However, a small spore of the mushroom falls into the hands of a young boy. Communicating with the boy thanks to ZAT’s plant translator, the prehistoric fungus takes control of several bullies, and transforms them into mushroom people.
With the mushroom people on his side, Mushra contaminates Tokyo’s water supply, creating a whole army of obedient, zombified slaves. Even ZAT soon finds themselves converted into Mushra’s forces, leaving only Kotaro to deal with the threat.
Hiding out at a water tower, Mushra aims to have his troops attack water purification plants in Tokyo in order to spread the spores further. Revealing himself in a kaiju-sized form, he battles Taro and finally meets his end when the giant alien uses the King Bracelet to dehydrate the fungus, freeing all of the mushroom people from his control, and ending the threat once, and for all.
Originally intended for episode 27’s story before being replaced with Mephilas, I’m glad Mushra was able to find some time to shine since he’s among my favorite monsters from Taro. The idea of a fungus overtaking human beings is a well-worn monster trope, having it’s origins in William Hope Hodgson’s story The Voice in the Night, which partially served as inspiration for Toho’s 1963 tokusatsu horror film Matango, and it makes me wonder if the film was in the back of the minds of the staff here when they were producing the episode.
In terms of design, I find Mushra to be a clear winner in all marks. This is a kaiju that clearly embodies the creepiness mushrooms can be. I love everything about the design and just how mushroom-y he is with the long mushroom tails, the oyster mushrooms growing on his torso, the mushrooms for fingers, and the fungual strands he has growing under his cap and on his legs. Not to mention, I appreciate how his eyes are on top of his cap rather than under it, giving him a rather sinister look. Mushra’s just a fun guy! (I’m so sorry)
GURON
A bizarre, weather controlling kaiju that appears over Tokyo. Guron attacks Kotaro’s kid sidekick Kenichi and a mysterious boy named Don-chan until Taro is able to step in and save them, defeating Guron by plugging the creature’s mouth using the King Bracelet.
There isn’t much to Guron here, hell, there’s not information on who designed him, but I honestly do find quite a bit about this character to be enjoyable. His design, while simple, helps communicate the weather theme he has by the virtue of his balloon shape, and the features such as his single eye and tusks make him feel akin to a classic yokai, while the cracked skin brings to mind Jamila from Ultraman, making him feel very grotesque. He’s a character that’s overlooked, but is one I can’t help but find this guy among my favorite Taro monsters.
TEMPEROR
While previous entries prior to Taro would feature dangerous alien villains such as Nackle or Hipporito that would command several episodes of them getting the better of the Ultra Heroes. Temperor fills a similar role here in Taro, but rather than playing it straight, it goes right for parody.
Plotting to attack the Land of Light, Temperor decides that the best course of action would be to wipe out the entirety of the Ultra Brothers. Targeting the Brothers as they go to visit Taro on Earth for a BBQ, pure insanity is unleashed, and seeing as how this is probably my all time favorite crossover of the Showa era of Ultraman, I’m going to leave the details of what goes down with Temperor and the Ultras a bit sparse, but it does involve Taro learning he just can’t always rely on his brothers for help, which is a great bit of character development drawn from all the times Taro had to be bailed out by his Brothers or his mom when dealing with kaiju.
While Temperor’s design isn’t as intimidating as villains such as Yapool, Nackle or Hipporit, I feel like Suzuki did a really fantastic job in creating a villain who manages to look regal, imposing, but also really silly all at the same time. Temperor gives off the vibe of an egotistical South American dictator with the gaudy gold cape contrasting with his blue body quite well. Drawing upon insects as well as past villains such as Baltan and Hipporit for the design, some sources would attempt to reconcile this by claiming the Temperor aliens are a distant cousin to the Baltans and the Hipporit. It helps make Temperor feel like a really big villain, considering the reputation that both of those aliens have with the Ultras.
While Temperor has the abilities you’d expect an alien to have in this series, he does sport the bizarre ability to transform himself into a spider-like critter to take control of the bodies of people. While aliens possessing people isn’t too strange, I do love how he turns into one of those rubber jiggler toys to do it!
I also feel like I need to take a moment to talk about Temperor’s ship, which is far from the craft you’d expect such an important villain to ride around in. But I dig it, it feels like the kind of goofy thing Temperor would ride around in and has cool sort of organic look and feel to it.
We also have inside of the craft, one of those creepy cymbal-banging monkey toys as one of Temperor’s minions! Not sure why that was chosen, but it really fits with such a goofy villain in arguably the funniest crossover yet.
Originally conceived as being Empera, the mastermind behind the attack on the Land of Light thousands of years ago and perhaps the greatest villain in the entire franchise’s history. Empera was elaborated upon when the Great Ultra War and how it shaped the Ultra’s culture came up when Taro returned to M78 during the Mururoa arc, as well as being a villain that was working behind the scenes during the returning monsters episodes, essentially making it the “finale” of that particular plot thread. However, while Temperor was originally intended to be the arch-nemesis of the Land of Light, this would eventually be retconned, and Ultraman Mebius would establish Empera proper. While I love Temperor as a villain, I can’t really see him as being the villain who would have such an impact of the society of the Ultras, so I’m glad it was retconned.
Temperor would become one of the most famous monsters from Taro, and would return in several entries later in the Heisei era with a new design, something we’ll cover more in-depth when we get to Mebius.
KATAN
Another evil alien plotting to kill Taro, Katan decides to take a different approach compared to many of the previous alien invaders. Possessing a young girl, Katan takes advantage of Kotaro’s kindness by sending our plucky hero out on errands to buy Ultraman dolls for the kid, only to try and kill Kotaro when he’s out and about. Katan then blinds Kotaro (and by extension, Taro), but ZAT comes to the Ultra’s aide by placing giant bells on Katan, allowing Taro to battle him. Taro then vanquishes the alien using the Ultra Dynamite; a super powerful attack that involves Taro lightning himself at fire, and charging into the enemy and exploding!
Katan is a character I find myself liking a lot. The bird-like appearance is really unique, and there’s a lot of little details on the suit like the hook-like right hand, the holes in the beak which give it a somewhat synthetic look, and the gross-looking growths along his legs and shoulders, and his plan is just the sort of thing Taro as a show specializes in, although there’s a certain edge to it compared to many of the previous Taro adventures. While he’s sadly not super famous, his episode did mark the first ever use of the Ultra Dynamite, an ability that would become one of Taro’s most famous attacks, and the technique would be used by several other Ultras such as Ultraman Mebius, Taro’s pupil, and fittingly, Ultraman Orb’s Taro-Mebius fusion form, Burnmite. It’s a really iconic and memorable move, so I’m a tad surprised that Katan hasn’t returned despite being the first victim of the attack.
GROST
A freezing alien who takes over the minds of several construction workers with the hypnotic lights from his face, I don’t have too much to say about Grost here unfortunately. It’s a pretty decent looking suit though, and it really feels like a good ice monster and that’s kinda it. Not too bad, but not one of the more memorable monsters from the show.
HERTZ AND MEDUSA
A monster from the Perseus Constellation, Hertz flees to Earth after Medusa, an evil alien, takes over the system. While Hertz initially causes alarm when he lands on Earth, the monster’s peaceful demeanor and attitude proves to ZAT that the creature is harmless.
Medusa, having followed Hertz to Earth, is determined to kill the monster and disguises herself as a young woman and tries to get ZAT to believe that Hertz had killed her grandfather. When Medusa fails to convince the team, she takes over ZAT ageny Moriyama in an attempt to kill the friendly space monster, only to meet her end by Taro’s hands.
While I do have to question just why Medusa felt the need to travel all the way from a system she conquered to kill a monster that probably wouldn’t have affected her rule of the star at all (is it a matter of pride?), I do like the drama of having a friendly space monster being hunted down by an evil alien invader, and perhaps the story would’ve flowed a bit better if Medusa was some sort of intergalactic big game hunter of some kind.
In terms of designs, Hertz isn’t among my faves, but serviceable enough, being a repurposed suit of Anthrone from Jumborg Ace. Medusa herself is a bit better of a design, with all sorts of great details like the spikes and tendrils. She may not be snake-like as her name and home suggest, but I can’t deny that all those wriggly bits definitely feel appropriate for an ugly-looking character named Medusa.
MIRACLE AND TERRORIST
A friendly alien, Miracle arrives on Earth to study the world and its inhabitants, particularly the various cultures of the Earth. Miracle soon comes across a young girl who had lost her parents during Taro’s battle with the Tortoise family. Befriending the tyke, Miracle gives her a magic stone that allows her to see whatever her heart desires, allowing her to replay the memories she has of her parents.
However, right around Christmas, the magical orb gets the attention of Terrorist, a villainous alien. Wanting the orb for himself, Terrorist kills Miracle after the latter refuses to hand it over, prompting Taro to step in and save Christmas.
The aliens seen in the Taro Christmas special aren’t as intense or strange as the ones in the previous specials, but there’s quite a bit to like here. Miracle himself is a fun design, brining to mind simultaneously an owl and Santa Claus, making for a good benevolent alien. I really like the face Miracle has, especially with how his eyebrows make him look friendly. Terrorist himself is a decent design, albeit the turban-like head, coupled with his name makes him feel a tad in poor taste, ala Geronimon. I do like the eyes he’s got though.
Miracle would later appear some 41 years later in Ultraman Ginga Theater Special: Ultra Monster☆ Hero Battle Royale! in 2014, using the original suit with some slight repairs done. Terrorist himself would be considered for a return in episode 16 of Ultraman Mebius, but ultimately wouldn’t be chosen for the part. However, Zamusha, the swordsman alien that did appear in that episode of Mebius, is stated to have battled Terrorist in the Ultraman Mebius Archive Document book.
MOCHIRON
Aw yeah! We’ve hit not only one of my all time favorite Taro monsters, but one of my all time favorite kaiju in general. This is just how majestic of a being we are dealing with here. Mochiron represents the perfect peak of the lunacy of this genre.
Mochiron here, is a living mochi barrel from the Moon, and desiring the mochi that’s made for New Year’s in Japan. Arriving to Earth via zeppelin, Mochiron’s master plan is to consume all of Earth’s mochi. With the help of the Father of Ultra and Minami (the other host of Ultraman Ace who hails from the moon), Taro is able to make enough mochi for everyone, Minami takes Mochiron back home and New Year’s is saved.
Mochiron is just one of those kaiju who is so wonderfully conceived, that I almost have a hard time putting into words just how much I love this guy. He sounds like something that would appear in some one-off parody of Ultraman and not the actual show, but this giant mochi barrel from the Moon exists in the same universe as the more serious guys like Nackle and Ghos and I think that’s wonderful. The design by Koji Shimazaki is excellent. All the individual elements such as the grumpy face, the cracks in the barrel and the plant-like arms and legs all come together perfectly to make a wonderful comedic character, and the implementation of the barrel’s shape into such creative set pieces as Mochiron retracting his limbs and rolling around the countryside, and of course the climactic scene where Taro makes mochi using his body is seriously some of my favorite moments in the franchise. I love me the serious stuff in Ultra, but man, when it gets knockabout goofy is the stuff I’m here for, and Mochiron is just a perfect encapsulation of that brand of insanity.
Mochiron hasn’t made many appearances post-Taro, probably because Tsuburaya Productions knew that they couldn’t measure up to the masterpiece that this episode is, but Mochiron did show up in Ultraman Ginga Theater Special: Ultra Monster☆ Hero Battle Royale! using a stage show suit.
TYRANT
The star of the second New Year’s special in Taro, Tyrant is the show’s breakout monster, even beating characters like Birdon and Temperor. Born from the souls of several dead monsters (Seagorath, Icarus, Baraba, Bemstar, Red King, King Crab and Hanzagiran), Tyrant makes his way through the solar system, beating the tar out of each of the Ultra Brothers as he heads towards Earth for his final confrontation with Taro.
While Tyrant is certainly an imposing monster, the episode itself isn’t some big event like you’d anticipate and is mainly a clipshow of the past battles the Ultras had intersped with their fights with Tyrant. And, when Tyrant finally makes it to Earth, his battle with Taro is anticlimactically short. Several out-of-show sources explain this by Tyrant exhausting himself by the time he got to Earth making him easy pickings for Taro, or that Taro was just so powerful that he was able to wipe the floor with Tyrant. Regardless of the explanation, I’m not too concerned about “power levels” and the like, and whatever one is “canon”, it is a bit disappointing.
However, there’s still quite a bit to like about Tyrant. The idea of the souls of several monsters coalescing into being with a serious grudge is an awesome concept, and I think it’s instrumental to why Tyrant is so popular. In addition, the design by Suzuki is one of the best he’s done for the show, and it’s such a perfect melding of previous monster parts that Tyrant doesn’t feel clunky or poorly designed. Even if he’s made up of previous characters, they all gel together well enough that Tyrant feels like his own monster. In fact, it’s said Suzuki himself was really impressed with how the suit looked, and how the modeling team was able to create such an imposing monster despite the challenge of combining all these critters together. Even if his episode isn’t exactly an earth-shattering one, he feels like a good boss monster. During the scripting process, it was stated that Black King was a component of Tyrant, but this was dropped.
Despite being a mainstay of various pieces of merchandise and a reputation of being born of the grudge of dead kaiju, Tyrant hasn’t clocked in too many appearances from post-Taro. One notable one is in Ultraman Ginga, where an Icarus activates several Spark Dolls (kaiju that have been turned into toys) of the monsters Tyrant was born from in order to recreate the monster which I have to say, was pretty damn clever.
Easter's Kaiju Kompendium 