Real
Name: Kamacuras
Kamacuras
Real
Name: Kamacuras
Identity/Class: Mutated insectoid / Kaiju
Occupation: Predator
Affiliations: Kamacuras (other members of the species)
Enemies: Gojira, Minira, Kumonga
Known Relatives: Kamacuras (other members of the species)
Aliases: Gimantis (English translation)
Base of Operations: "Monsterland", Ogasawa Islands; formerly Sollgel Island
First Appearance: “Kaijuto No Kessen: Gojira No Musuko” (first aired on December 16, 1967); “Monster Island’s Decisive Battle: Son of Godzilla” (English
Translation)
Powers/Abilities: The Kamacuras are a race of gigantic sized insects that stand over 150 feet in size and weigh over 3,000 tons. As a result of their tremendous size and weight, each Kamacuras possesses tremendous strength, sufficient to rip apart a mountain range. Their exoskeleton carapace provides them with a level of durability enabling them to shrug off various attacks and even modern day weaponry. However while this carapace is apparently effective against most physical assaults, it is less than resilient towards energy based ones as a single atomic blast from Gojira proved capable of instantly killing them.
They also possess a pair of wickedly serrated claws on their forelegs and a formidable set of mandibles as well. They also have a pair of fragile wings on their back that enabled each member to fly for short distances. Their top air speed was never accurately measured. Ordinarily, these wings were hidden from view and folded behind a protective sheathing.
The Kamacuras were capable of communicating with one another and intelligent enough to function in groups; this was their usual form of attack, swarming over a singular enemy with superior numbers and defeating them. They were intelligent enough to employ tools such as giant rocks to attack their enemies.
History: The Kamacuras were first discovered on Sollgel Island, an isolated and remote island in the South Seas. They were gigantic insects that resembled preying mantis nearly the size of a man, and were hampering the weather control experiments being conducted by the United Nations. The arrival of a nosy Japanese reporter, Goro Masaki coincided with one of the tests going awry by an unexplained and incredibly powerful signal that interfered with the UN equipment. As a result, a radioactive storm blanketed the entire island, mutating various life forms on the island, including the preying mantis, until they came to tower nearly 50 feet in height and were subsequently dubbed Kamacuras. The scientists watched a trio of Kamacuras accidentally unearth a mammoth egg buried beneath a mountain and greedily crack it open intending to gorge on the contents, finding inside a nearly helpless infant dinosaur when the King of the Monsters, Gojira suddenly appeared and angrily attacked, slaying two of the Kamacuras and forcing the last to beat a hasty retreat. The scientists realize that the infant was the source of the disruptive signals, which were a call for help that Gojira instinctively responded to. Realizing that the infant is in fact, a miniature Gojira they name it “Minilla”.
Gojira quickly adopts Minilla; playing with him and later proceeded to teach him how to defend himself, helping Minilla unleash its plasmatomic breath. Minilla subsequently encountered one of the human natives of the island, Saeko, and made friends with her. Saeko also encountered Goro Masaki and led him to her underground caves for shelter against another gigantic insect, a humongous spider known as Kumonga. Straying from Gojira’s protection, Minilla stumbled across the surviving Kamacuras which attempted to devour the baby dinosaur. However their struggle attracted Kumonga's attention, and the spider quickly decided that Minilla would be a much better meal than the tiny humans. Kumonga slew the Kamacuras and then overpowered Minilla, swiftly cocooning the dinosaur in webbing, but Gojira, alarmed by the disappearance of his offspring, came rushing to his aid. While the monsters battled, Goro Masaki, Saeko and the UN scientists escaped Sollgel Island and triggered their weather machine, freezing the entire island and trapping all the kaiju, sending them all, including at least one Kamacuras, into a state of extended hibernation.
The United Nations subsequently captures the Kamacuras and imprisoned the gigantic insect on a protected zoological preserve on Ogasawa Island dubbed Monsterland where it continued to live relatively peacefully among the other kaiju inmates.
Comments: The Kamacuras originally acquired their name because in Japanese, the word “kamakiri,” translates into preying mantis. In the English translations of the movie, the Kamacuras were renamed Gimantis, obviously a shortened version of “gigantic mantis”.
The movie itself seems to indicate that only three Kamacuras existed and all were seemingly destroyed at the end of the movie yet, but at least one survived to make brief cameos in several future films, although the Kamacuras do not play any significant roles in any of them and apparently served simply as “scenery” to increase the number of kaiju located in “Monsterland”. One possible explanation is that more than the three Kamacuras were mutated but then again Toho was never one to bother with inconsistencies and it wasn’t the first time that they have done so; Anguirus, Baragon, Gorosaurus, Kumonga, Rodan, Varan, and even Gojira have all suffered seemingly fatal injuries or deaths only to make miraculous resurrections in order to save money and recycle old stock footage.
Like many of the lesser kaiju of the Showa Series, the Kamacuras were totally written out of the continuity in the Heisei Series and would only return to the big screen in the Millennium Series 2004 in “Gojira: Final Wars.” Receiving a slightly updated appearance and backstory, the singular Kamacuras was tremendously enhanced to provide a credible physical threat. Aside from its incredible strength, its durability was augmented and it proved capable of shrugging off an entire salvo of missiles without harm. The Kamacuras could fly at incredible speeds and with impressive agility, becoming a streaking blur in midair compared to its original somewhat sluggish air speed. In addition, the rapid flapping of its wings generated powerful sonic shockwaves that could literally explode buildings and other structures in its wake. Further, the Kamacuras also gained a chamelonic ability to alter its coloration to match its surroundings enabling it to turn almost invisible to the naked eye, giving it an enormous advantage while hunting or stalking its prey. The Kamacuras utilized its new speed in addition to its serrated claws to whiz by its targets and rip huge gaping rents in its victims.
The Kamacuras were merely one of the dozens of kaiju who according to the film’s backstory, appeared as a result of mankind’s unchecked contamination of the environment from their nuclear tests, toxic wastes, and other chemical and biological weapons unleashed in their destructive wars. It was later found that the Kamacuras (along with most of the other kaiju) shared the M-Base with the alien Xilans which enabled them to control the gigantic insect. One of the numerous kaiju sent around the world to wreck havoc, the Kamacuras was sent to France where it destroyed much of Paris before it, along with the other rampaging kaiju, abruptly vanished in a flash of light. Revealing their presence, the Xilans proclaimed that they were responsible for destroying the kaiju as an act of good faith and friendship. However it was later discovered that the Xilans were merely trying to destabilize Earth’s leadership and secretly controlled the Kamacuras and the other kaiju all along and had simply teleported the gigantic insect away.
When their true nature was revealed, the Xilans sent the various kaiju, including the Kamacuras, to destroy Earth's entire civilization and wipe out all resistance to their rule. Desperate, the last band of rebels traveled to Antarctica, where, decades ago, the human race had entrapped the greatest and most destructive kaiju of them all, Gojira, under tons of ice and left him in suspended animation. Unlike all of the other kaiju, Gojira dd not share the M-Base gene and was thus immune to the Xilans, who promptly send their forces to destroy this threat. Despite the Kamacuras' superior maneuverability and chamelonic ability, it proved little match for Gojira, who quickly defeated it and skewered the gigantic insect on a huge electric transmission tower, killing it.
Thanks to Michael Higuchi for the above profile.
CLARIFICATIONS: None.
Any Additions/Corrections? Please let me know.
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