is a kaiju film monster taking the form of an enormous monstrous lobster. The name ''Ebirah'' is a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsMothra is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', that first appeared in the 1961 film '' Mothra'', produced and distributed by Toho Studios. Mothra has appeared in several Toho ''tokusatsu'' films, most often as a recurring character in the ''Godzilla'' ...

Hedorah , also known as the Smog Monster, is a kaiju monster who first appeared in Toho's 1971 film '' Godzilla vs. Hedorah''. The huge monster was named for , the Japanese word for sludge, slime, vomit or chemical ooze. Overview Whereas Godzilla was a s ...

, Ghidorah, etc. and

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film '' Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films prod ...

himself (Jp: ''Gojira''). Ebirah first appeared in

Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer ...

's 1966 film ''

Ebirah, Horror of the Deep is a 1966 Japanese '' kaiju'' film directed by Jun Fukuda and produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd. The film stars Akira Takarada, Kumi Mizuno, Akihiko Hirata and Eisei Amamoto, and features the fictional monster characters Godzilla, M ...

''. It is one of the two main antagonists of the film. Ebirah has also appeared in '' All Monsters Attack'' and '' Godzilla: Final Wars''. Ebirah has also appeared in a number of video games, including '' King of the Monsters, Godzilla, Godzilla: Save the Earth, Godzilla Unleashed: Double Smash, and Godzilla Trading Battle.

Overview

Showa series

In ''

'', a terrorist organization called the Red Bamboo had set up a base of operations on Letchi Island. The giant lobster Ebirah was successfully used to destroy any ship that came too close to the island. The Red Bamboo ships used a special extract from the island’s fruit to protect themselves from Ebirah. When a small group of people stranded on the island saw the monster

sleeping in a cave, they woke it so it could fight Ebirah. Godzilla easily won and injured the crustacean with its atomic ray. The day after, a Red Bamboo ship appeared, but they unknowingly used a placebo and not the real fruit extract. Ebirah attacked and tore the ship apart. Godzilla reappeared, but this time, Godzilla pulled off Ebirah’s claws. The wounded Ebirah then fled. Ebirah was not seen again until it appeared on Monster Island in Ichiro’s dreams in '' All Monsters Attack''. Its appearance in this film is simply stock footage utilized from ''

''. Ebirah was originally going to appear in ''

Destroy All Monsters is a 1968 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. The film, which was produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd, is the ninth film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise, and features eleven monster ...

,'' but did not make it to the final draft. Showa Ebirah is 50 meters (164 feet) tall and weighs 23,000 metric tons (25,353 short tons).

Millennium series

In the Millennium era, Ebirah makes an appearance in '' Godzilla: Final Wars'' as one of the many controlled monsters of the Xiliens, a race of extraterrestrial beings. It destroys a factory near Tokyo, and the military forces are sent to destroy it, but are outmatched by the immense crustacean. Instead, the mutant soldiers are called to stop the monster. The mutants successfully defeat Ebirah and are about to kill it, when it disappears in a flash of light. The Xiliens arrive and say that they destroyed the monsters to save Earth. However, it is soon found out that the monsters were in fact controlled by the Xiliens all along. The Gotengo then frees Godzilla from the Antarctic so it can fight the controlled monsters. The plan is a success and Godzilla successfully defeats all of the monsters. When it arrives in

Tokyo Bay is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan, and spans the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. The Tokyo Bay region is both the most populous ...

, it faces Ebirah and the Smog Monster

. However, they are no match for Godzilla, who blasts them out of the water with its atomic ray and the duo crash into a building, where Ebirah's claw stabs Hedorah's eye. With another blast, Godzilla destroys them both. Final Wars Ebirah is 30 meters (98 feet) tall, 100 meters (328 feet) long, and weighs 50,000 metric tons (55,115 short tons).

Reiwa series

In Godzilla: Monster Apocalypse, a prequel novel to Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters, two Ebirah appeared in the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

in early 2010's. USS Saratoga defeated a third Ebirah in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

Appearances

Films

* ''

'' aka Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster (1966) * '' All Monsters Attack'' aka Godzilla's Revenge (1969) stock footage cameo * '' Godzilla: Final Wars'' (2004)

Video games

* '' Flappy'' (first appeared on FM-7 in 1983) * '' Kaijū-ō Godzilla'' / ''King of the Monsters, Godzilla'' (

Game Boy The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same t ...

- 1993) * '' Godzilla Trading Battle'' ( PlayStation - 1998) * '' Godzilla: Save the Earth'' (

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the ...

, PS2 - 2004) * '' Godzilla Unleashed: Double Smash'' ( NDS - 2007) * ''Godzilla Defense Force'' (2019)

Literature

* '' Godzilla: The Half-Century War'' (comic - 2012-2013) * '' Godzilla: Rulers of Earth'' (comic - 2013-2015) * '' Godzilla: Cataclysm'' (comic - 2014) * '' Godzilla: Monster Apocalypse'' (novel - 2017)

References

Bibliography

* {{Godzilla Fictional lobsters and crayfish Godzilla characters Fictional characters with superhuman strength Fictional characters who can move at superhuman speeds Mothra characters Fictional monsters Toho monsters Science fiction film characters Fantasy film characters Fictional aquatic creatures Fictional crustaceans Film characters introduced in 1966 Kaiju Horror film villains