Ever since Gojira opened in 1954, Toho has gradually been building its roster of iconic kaiju. Well, mostly iconic, as some are certainly more compelling than others. For every Godzilla and Rodan there’s a Manda from Atragon (and Destroy All Monsters). What I’m looking at here are the unsung treasures of the Toho kaiju catalog, however a few missed the cut that some may have been expecting. For instance, Megaguirus, who was left off because he was too close in design to Battra, and Battra is far better (not many kaiju get a full character arc). SpaceGodzilla didn’t make the cut, either. He barely missed the cut-off for our best of the Toho kaiju list, and it’s difficult to call him underrated when he’s so famous and liked in the kaiju fan community. Gorosaurus is just a dinosaur, Toho’s Frankenstein is absurd (as are Sanda and Gaira of War of the Gargantuas), and Toho’s King Kong is effectively the same as RKO’s King Kong, so it’s impossible to call him underrated.
As for Gabara and Minilla, the fans’ dislike for them is well-deserved. What follows are the ones that fall between the Godzillas and the Gabaras of the catalog. I wasn’t just looking at the Godzilla franchise but, let’s face it, most of the interesting monsters who debuted outside the Godzilla franchise ended up in the Godzilla franchise anyway at one point or another.
1) Titanosaurus
Consider this a half endorsement of Titanosaurus (no relation to the Titanosaurus seen in Jurassic World Rebirth). On one hand, the secondary antagonist in Terror of Mechagodzilla has a truly annoying roar. Worse yet, he’s fully a pawn of both marine biologist Shinzo Mafune and the Black Hole Planet 3 Aliens.
But he’s still a pretty perfect secondary antagonist. Godzilla already took out Mechagodzilla once, so the stakes needed to be upped. Mechagodzilla was still going to be the big bad, so why not just have a massive, long-necked body slammer as his backup? Of course, the stakes were already raised since Godzilla didn’t have a partner in Terror of Mechagodzilla, meaning Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla‘s King Caesar, but Caesar was pretty lame backup to begin with. He was basically just a big wet dog who hid behind rocks.
2) Baragon
Baragon might be the most underutilized kaiju outside of Varan. That said, at least Varan got his own movie. Baragon, however, was just the antagonist in the profoundly bizarre yet quite enjoyable Frankenstein vs. Baragon (known in the States as Frankenstein Conquers the World).
The design of Baragon is one of Toho’s more memorable. He’s reptilian, but also subterranean, and with a horn poking out of his forehead. It’s hard to tell what he’s really based on. Like many other kaiju introduced before the movie’s release, Baragon was included in Destroy All Monsters, but he isn’t given much to do. He was, however, an integral part of Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack. So, he’s got that going for him, which is nice.
3) Megalon
Megalon is the ultimate case of the antagonist monster being far better than the movie that surrounds him. Specifically, Godzilla vs. Megalon. Admittedly, some people really like Godzilla vs. Megalon. Back in the day it arguably got the most exposure of the franchise outside Gojira thanks to Mystery Science Theater 3000 (for which it was perfect).
But, make no mistake, Godzilla vs. Megalon is an overly silly movie. And that has an effect on how seriously people are able to take Megalon. But he’s a pretty well-designed and formidable opponent. A beetle monster, he has half-drills for hands, the ability to shoot a laser out of the star on his head and is the ultimate burrowing kaiju. It’s just a shame the one time we’ve seen him is in one of the Shōwa era’s lowest points.
4) Kumonga
Sure, Kumonga is just a big ol’ spider. Like any other spider his most threatening aspects are the ability to spin webs and bite. But he’s a pretty neat looking spider.
The real reason Kumonga is here is because he was a perfect big bad for Son of Godzilla. The earlier films in Toho’s Godzilla saga were pretty heavy, at least comparatively. And, while Son of Godzilla does have some environmentalism stuff in there that might bore kids, it is overall designed to be more kiddie than, say, the assassination plotline in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster or the indictment of greedy capitalists that is Mothra vs. Godzilla. What Son of Godzilla focuses on more often than not is Godzilla becoming a parent (As one might expect given the title). It has cutesy scenes of the Big G teaching Minilla to spit his little atomic ray breath (or rather smoke rings until dad steps on his teeny tail). It needed a big bad that wasn’t too intimidating and overly powerful but was intimidating to a young monster. Kumonga was perfect for that.
5) Kamacuras
Kamacuras is here for the same reason Kumonga is: he (or rather they) was perfect for Son of Godzilla. Kamacuras is the one we meet in the first act, Kumonga is the one we meet later on. It’s a progression.
And, like how Kumonga is just a big spider, Kamacuras is just a big praying mantis. But he has a neat design nonetheless. Both Kumonga and Kamacuras were relegated to the Shōwa era’s middle phase. That phase, when the threats weren’t as intimidating and the tone was lightened, consisted of movies seven through ten: Ebirah, Horror of the Deep, Son of Godzilla, Destroy All Monsters, and All Monsters Attack. These two bug monsters were in all but Ebirah, then never used again outside short appearances in Godzilla Final Wars (though Kamacuras did appear briefly in the animated GODZILLA: Planet of the Monsters).
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