New Godman Remake?

Go! Godman (or Ike! Goddoman) was a Japanese TV series than ran for 26 short (five minute) episodes from 5 October 1972 until 10 April 1973. It was a tokusatsu television series: the first from Toho to feature a Kyodai Hero — an Ultraman-like giant superhero fighting assorted giant monsters, most famously Toho’s own Gabara (from All Monsters Attack), Gorosaurus (from King Kong Escapes), Kamoebas (from Space Amoeba), and Sanda and Gaira (from War of the Gargantuas). There was no story in each episode, just a fight between Godman and that day’s monster.

Go! Godman was followed by Go! Greenman (or Yuke! Guriinman), which ran for 52 episodes from 12 November 1973 until 27 September 1974. Some of the same Toho monsters made cameo appearances, along with King Kong (well, the suit, not the name) from King Kong Escapes, and Minilla from Son of Godzilla.

Both these series are about to be released in Japan in a box-set of three DVDs titled Kaetekita Ohayou Hiiroo: Yuke! Yuke! Goddoman & Guriinman [lit. Return of the Good Morning Heroes: Go! Go! Godman & Greenman].

The big news is, however, that the third disk will feature something being called Shinsaku Goddoman [lit. New Godman Production]. This is a new Godman feature directed by Masaaki Tezuka, who is best known for the post-Millennium Godzilla films Gojira tai Megagirasu: Jii Shômetsu Sakusen [trans. Godzilla vs. Megaguiras: G-Eradication Command] (2000), Gojira tai Mekagojira [aka Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla] (2002) and Gojira tai Mosura tai Mekagojira: Tôkyô S.O.S. [aka Godzilla, Mothra, Mechagodzilla: Tokyo SOS] (2003).

ScifiJapan reports that:

The team also includes monster suit maker Fuyuki Shinada, whose previous work has included such high-profile productions as GODZILLA, MOTHRA & KING GHIDORAH: GIANT MONSTERS ALL-OUT ATTACK (aka GMK, Gojira Mosura Kingugidora Daikaiju Soukougeki, 2001), the monster Legion for GAMERA 2: ATTACK OF LEGION (Gamera 2 Region Shurai, 1996) and Iris for GAMERA 3: REVENGE OF IRIS (Gamera 3 Irisu Kakusei, 1999).

The picture above is from the new feature, the monster being Tsunojirasu.

And as we’ve been talking about weird kaiju a lot lately, check out this one from the original Greenman series:

It’s what makes me love them!

Sources:

• SciFi Japan
• Enshohma from the Kailuphile.com Forum
• the Toho-a-Park Godman/Greenman website
• Wikipedia
• Kaiju Search-Robot Avery