Pachimon Kaiju Showcase: Tabby-Imago

The Pachimon Kaiju Showcase series returns with a vengeance! And this time, with kitties!

Pachimon is a modern slang term used to describe bootlegged and stolen versions of more famous kaiju, notably in regards to bromide cards and similar prints from the 1970s that reused and repurposed elements of pre-existing kaiju characters to create quote — unquote "NEW" monsters.

While the mainstream movie kaiju are the most recognizable examples (Godzilla, Gamera, Gappa, ect), the pachimon phenomenon is taken from multiple sources including-but-not-limited to: Ultraman and other tokusatsu characters, American movie and television creatures, vintage paleo-based artwork, real-life photography of animals and locations, science fiction illustrations, and lesser known manga and other foreign comic books.

Pachimon has garnered a cult following with modern Japanese otaku, toy collectors, independent filmmakers, and artists, often leading to limited edition and expensive vinyl figures based on these suspiciously familiar faces. FAR LESS so here in America, but obscure kaiju loving weirdos like myself try our best.

In the past, I've shared Pachimon who had an official name (as official as these illegal cons can muster), but there's also a larger number of these characters lacking such titles and it's about time I started highlighting them, starting with this adorable abomination.

Again, the monster lacks an official name (or a previous fan-made one), but I personally like to refer to this one as Tabby-Imago due to it being a young tabby cat spliced with colorful butterfly wings.

Sure, Tabbyra, like the moth monster Mothra, would have been the more obvious fan-moniker to adopt, BUT that would have been the obvious way out and Tabby-Imago has a better ring to it in my opinion.

According to the Japanese web-site Room103 and its Pachimon subsections (the site's very old, so beware its lack of security), today's feature was the first in the Iwata Pro Large Monster Edition, one of the latter-era series published and sold on the cheap (5 yen a piece, apparently).

As for the real-world location shown within the card image, that's the Nishinomaru-enokida gate of Nagoya Castle in Nagoya, Japan. The gate is probably most recognizable to American kaiju fans as one of Larva Battra's targets from Godzilla and Mothra: Battle for the Earth (1992), ripping its roof to shreds in a less-than-convincing composite shot.

I'll have another menace of Nagoya next week.

Mystery Science Theater 3000 vs. Gamera: Round 2

While we all eagerly await for Godzilla vs Kong this coming Wednesday, I would like to share something humorous and offbeat in a turtle shell to help ease your kaiju cravings if at all possible.

Back in 2019, me and my friends wrote, filmed, preformed, and produced a fan-made series entitled MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER VS GAMERA: ROUND II, featuring the two-of-three older era Gamera films that were never featured on the cult comedy series. Here's the very first entry featuring GAMERA vs. VIRAS (1968).

Here is the second episode, featuring GAMERA vs. JIGER (1970), my personal favorite of the two produced thus far.

In the wake of the 2020 pandemic, production for episode three centered around GAMERA: SUPER MONSTER (1981) has been slow-downed: the safety and well-being of the crew (my friends and I) is the absolute priority and, in the interest of social distancing, at this time we're unable to begin filming.

However pre-production has wrapped and we will continue as scheduled as soon as it is deemed safest for all to do so later in 2021. 

We're all putting this time to use, sets and costumes have been retrofitted, several new physical models and props are being constructed, and higher quality filming/lighting equipment has been invested in to make the presentation of our Super Monster fan-episode (and potentially future ones) much better.

Cicada Human? More Like Cicada GIANT!

With the recent loss of www.cyberkids1954.com, an old Japanese site dedicated various fantasy film productions that were never made (including some extreme obscurities that would cause your common Godzilla fan's brains to melt and pour out from their ear-holes), I've decided to use Enshohma's Corner as a archival back-up for any and all giant monster obscurities that I may stumble upon... Even if some of my own knowledge on the featured materials are as limited as your typical Godzilla fan, I must sadly admit.

I'm no August Ragone but I freaking doing my best, okay?!?!

*Ahem*

Nothing major for this first attempt, just a little show and tell, showcasing an awesome illustration from the Japanese children's book "Original Reprint Edition: Ultra Q" (rough translation).

This illustration features a 'what if' scenario where the creatures Gorgos, Cicada Human, and M1 in mortal combat with each other.

What makes the artwork even more intriguing is the fact that both Cicada Human and M1 were small human-sized characters in the original "Ultra Q" series and have never achieved giant monster status even in their later return appearances.

So it's honestly cool to find this image and see both of them pumped up to Gorgos' level even if M1 (the ape-like fellow in the lower right corner) is still relatively puny, looking like he's barely 16-feet in height when compared to the fleeing humans on the opposite end.

As for the 'Giant Cicada Human'; I honestly have no idea what's up with that yellow scarf wrapped so stylishly around his neck. At first, I thought it was a direct reference to another insect-theme character from Japanese fiction, the iconic Kamen Rider, but that notion seemed doubtful as that grasshopper-inspired superhero was still five years away from "Ultra Q" original broadcast.

However, the book's title of "Original Reprint Edition: Ultra Q"  may suggest that the yellow-colored sight gag was both timely to Kamen Rider's 1971 debut and, as such, most deliberate.

All these book images were found on this Japanese web-site: https://kodansha-cc.co.jp/comic/ultraq/