is a Japanese

tokusatsu is a Japanese term for live action film or television drama that makes heavy use of practical special effects. ''Tokusatsu'' entertainment mainly refers to science fiction, War film, war, fantasy, or Horror film, horror media featuring such te ...

Kyodai Hero is a television subgenre in tokusatsu that involves Japanese superheroes or robots either with the ability to grow to immense heights to fight giant monsters or who are originally giant as a part of their lives. The Kyodai Hero is the mainstrea ...

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 ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

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 ...

. It ran from October 5, 1972, to April 10, 1973. It was pulled from reruns on September 28, 1973, and it was replaced by ''

Ike! Greenman is a tokusatsu television series Kyodai Hero kaiju produced by Toho in 1973. It ran from November 12, 1973, to September 27, 1974. It emerged as a follow-up series to ''Ike! Godman'', but the two share no continuity. Compared to the anthology-lik ...

''. While on air Monday through Saturday, with only one or two episodes per week, each episode consisted of six (or three) parts and each part was five minutes long. The entire series ran for twenty-six episodes. On every Monday (or Thursday), the Kaiju for the particular set of episodes would appear, with the plot for the set advancing through each successive day of the week, with the battle ending on Saturday with Godman being victorious. Each set follows a similar structure, with people calling for Godman's aid and the hero coming to assist them.

Aya Hirano is a Japanese actress and singer associated with the voice acting agency Grick. Beginning in the entertainment industry as a child actor in television commercials, she appeared in her first voice acting role in the anime television series '' A ...

, as Konata Izumi from the anime '' Lucky Star'', sang this show's theme song on the ''Lucky Star'' music compilation CD.

List of monsters

The following is a list of the monsters from the series:

Returning Monsters

Famously, numerous previous monsters from Toho's library of Kaiju made appearances in the series. *2. Gabara from '' All Monsters Attack'' *6.

Gorosaurus is a fictional dinosaur, or '' kaiju'', who first appeared in Toho's 1967 film ''King Kong Escapes''. It was an opponent of King Kong in the film, and it later had a prominent role in 1968's ''Destroy All Monsters''. Gorosaurus is a typical gian ...

from ''

King Kong Escapes is a 1967 ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. The film was a Japanese– American co-production between Toho and Rankin/Bass, and stars Rhodes Reason, Linda Miller, Akira Takarada, Mie Hama, Eise ...

'' *10. Kamoebas from ''

Space Amoeba is a 1970 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, written by Ei Ogawa, and produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka and Fumio Tanaka, with special effects by Sadamasa Arikawa. Produced and distributed by Toho Studios, the film stars Akira Kubo, A ...

'' *16. Sanda from ''

The War of the Gargantuas is a 1966 '' kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Referred by film historian Stuart Galbraith IV as a "quasi–sequel" to '' Frankenstein vs. Baragon'', the film was a Japanese-American co-production; ...

'' *17. Gaira from ''

'' *20. Bat People from ''Latitude Zero''

Other Monsters

*1. Kinger *3. Gosthon *4. Yasugon and Tsunokeler *5. Tsunosilver *7. Madalan *8. Gattlar *9. Momongolar *10. Folgon *11. Volpes *12. Imgoras *13. Bullman *14. Dongolar *15. Skeleton Man No.1 and No.2 *18. Trunker and Hotter *19. Green Mask and Hundler *20. Kappalge *21. Alien Tiborus and Osutotam *22. Tsunozillas and Elephanter *23. Totosaurus and Shilarji *24. Wolfar and Gejilba *25. Torilorn and Ibogiller *26. Stegodzillas and Akumon

Movie Monster Changes

The Toho movie monsters that appear in this series are not related to their theatrical counterparts in terms of continuity. The suits were changed since their appearances in the original movies. *Gabara, the Gargantuas, Tieborasu, Tsunzaurasu, ''Totosaurus'', Akumon, and Tsurazuu later appeared in ''

''. *Gabara's suit was green instead of blue. He was also green in ''

''. *Some of the Toho suits were in really bad shape. The Gargantuas' suits appeared to be rotting (especially Gaira), despite the fact that both suits were repainted. They were also wearing new masks (with wigs). *The Gorosaurus suit was in such poor shape that the inner support seemed to be deteriorating. It made Gorosaurus' torso look like it was caving in. *Kamoebas had a flatter head and darker color.

Theme Songs

These are the theme songs from the show: *''Ike! Godman'' (''Go Forth! Godman'') **Sung by: Yamamoto Ichiro **Lyrics by: Fuji Konosuke **Music by: Yamashita Takeo **Arrangement by: Hirose Masakazu -Note: "Ichiro Yamamoto" is another professional name of

Ichirou Mizuki , better known by his stage name , was a Japanese singer, lyricist, composer, voice actor and actor best known for his work on theme songs for anime and tokusatsu. For over 50 years, he had recorded over 1,200 songs for Japanese film, televisio ...

. This song plays during the show's openin

*''Bokura No Godman'' (''Everyone’s Godman'') **Sung by: Yamamoto Ichiro & ‘Green Peace’ **Lyrics by: Fuji Konosuke **Music by: Yamashita Takeo **Arrangement by: Hirose Masakazu 1972 Japanese television series debuts 1973 Japanese television series endings Film and television memes Internet memes Toho tokusatsu Tokusatsu television series Godzilla television series {{Japan-tv-prog-stub