is a

kaiju is a Japanese media genre that focuses on stories involving giant monsters. The word ''kaiju'' can also refer to the giant monsters themselves, which are usually depicted attacking major cities and battling either the military or other monster ...

film monster which 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 an ...

's 1967 film ''

Son of Godzilla is a 1967 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Jun Fukuda, with special effects by Sadamasa Arikawa, under the supervision of Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd, it is the eighth film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise. It st ...

''. The name alludes to "kamakiri", the Japanese word for mantis. In its first appearance, the creature was called Gimantis in the U.S. version.

Overview

Showa

In the live-action film ''

'', a species of man-sized

mantis Mantises are an order (Mantodea) of insects that contains over 2,400 species in about 460 genera in 33 families. The largest family is the Mantidae ("mantids"). Mantises are distributed worldwide in temperate and tropical habitats. They ha ...

resembling the Japanese giant mantis lived on Sollgel Island. Later, a radioactive accident that occurred due to a weather experiment mutated the insects and enlarged them further. Now the size of buildings, they became known as Kamacuras. Three Kamacuras find a giant egg and crack it open, finding a baby Godzilla inside. Before they could eat the infant,

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 produc ...

arrives and attacks the insectoids, killing two of the Kamacuras while the third is killed by

Kumonga is a mutated, enormous spider-like kaiju that first appears in Toho's 1967 film ''Son of Godzilla'' and went on to appear in the films ''Destroy All Monsters'', ''All Monsters Attack'' (through stock footage) and ''Godzilla: Final Wars''. In the ...

. A fourth Kamacuras is later transferred to Monster Island as of the live-action film ''

Godzilla vs. Gigan , is a 1972 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Jun Fukuda, written by Shinichi Sekizawa, and produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka, with special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano. Distributed by Toho and produced under their effects-based subsidiary Toho-Eizo, ...

''. The Showa Kamacuras were 2 meters (6.5 feet) long prior to their mutation and 50 meters (164 feet) tall and weighed 2,800 metric tons (3,086 short tons) afterward.

Millennium

In the live-action film '' Godzilla: Final Wars'', an individual Kamacuras appears as one of the many mind-controlled monsters used by aliens called the Xiliens. It attacks

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

and damages one of the Earth Defense Force (EDF)'s battleships until the Xiliens teleport it away to make Earth believe they had defeated the monsters. After the humans discover the Xiliens' true motives, the aliens dispatch their monsters to destroy Earth. Kamacuras battles Godzilla in Tokyo, but the latter eventually impales the former on an electrical pylon. In the novelization, Godzilla crushes Kamacuras' head with its tail instead. The ''Final Wars'' Kamacuras is 40 meters (131 feet) tall, 90 meters (295 feet) long, and weighs 20,000 metric tons (22,046 short tons).

Reiwa

In the anime film '' Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters'', an adult Kamacuras appears briefly in the opening sequence as part of a late 20th century news report stating it was the first monster to appear in human history and depicting it attacking

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

and destroying the

World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...

. This is expanded upon in the film's tie-in prequel novel, ''Godzilla: Monster Apocalypse'', in which Kamacuras emerged from the

Upper New York Bay New York Harbor is at the mouth of the Hudson River where it empties into New York Bay near the East River tidal estuary, and then into the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of the United States. It is one of the largest natural harbors in t ...

on May 4th, 1999 and attacked Manhattan. Over the course of the succeeding 72 hours, the insectoid caused 2.3 million casualties and destroyed large swathes of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

until a

B-2 bomber The Northrop (later Northrop Grumman) B-2 Spirit, also known as the Stealth Bomber, is an American heavy strategic bomber, featuring low-observable stealth technology designed to penetrate dense anti-aircraft defenses. A subsonic flying ...

killed it with bunker busters. Meanwhile, a smaller Kamacuras attacked train passengers in the

East River The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Queens ...

before it was tricked into cutting an old steam pipe, which killed it.

Powers and abilities

All versions of Kamacuras possess forearm blades and the ability to fly. Additionally, the Kamacuras seen in ''Final Wars'' is able to blend in with its surroundings through a form of

cuttlefish Cuttlefish or cuttles are marine molluscs of the order Sepiida. They belong to the class Cephalopoda which also includes squid, octopuses, and nautiluses. Cuttlefish have a unique internal shell, the cuttlebone, which is used for control of ...

-like color changing ability.

Appearances

Films

* ''

'' (1967) * '' All Monsters Attack'' (1969) * ''

'' (1972, stock footage cameo) * '' Godzilla: Final Wars'' (2004) * '' Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters'' (2017, flashback footage)

Television

* ''

Godzilla Island is a television show spinoff of the ''Godzilla'' franchise. It premiered on October 6, 1997, and ran for a total of 256 three-minute episodes, finishing on September 30, 1998. Set in 2097, most of Earth's ''kaiju'' (monsters) live on an island o ...

'' (1997-1998)

Video games

* ''

Kaijū-ō Godzilla is a 1993 action adventure game by Bandai for the Game Boy. It was released exclusively in Japan. The game is notable for featuring nearly every monster in the ''Godzilla'' franchise up until the time of its release. Story While the game does ...

'' / ''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 ...

- 1993) * '' Godzilla Trading Battle'' (

PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...

- 1998) * '' Godzilla Atari Trilogy'' as Playable Kaiju (Xbox One,

Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...

, PC - 2019 or 2020) * ''Godzilla Defense Force'' (2019)

Literature

* ''Son of Godzilla'' (comic - 1967) * ''

Godzilla 2000 is a 1999 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Takao Okawara, written by Hiroshi Kashiwabara and Wataru Mimura, produced by Shogo Tomiyama and starring Takehiro Murata, Hiroshi Abe, Naomi Nishida, Mayu Suzuki and Shiro Sano. Produced and d ...

'' (novel - 1997) * '' Godzilla: Rulers of Earth'' (comic - 2013-2015) * '' Godzilla: Cataclysm'' (comic - 2014) * ''Godzilla: Monster Apocalypse'' (novel - 2017)

References

{{Godzilla Fictional insects Godzilla characters Fictional characters who can turn invisible Fictional characters who can move at superhuman speeds Toho monsters Science fiction film characters Fantasy film characters Film characters introduced in 1967 Fictional characters with superhuman strength Fictional mutants Kaiju Fictional monsters Horror film villains