Kamacuras (SoG)

Overview

Gallery

Kamacuras
Nomenclature
Nickname(s)	Gimantis G-Mantide Kamakilas Kamakiras
Biological Information
Species	Irradiated Giant Praying Mantis
Forms	Giant Praying Mantis (Unirradiated form)
Height	50 meters
Length	65 meters
Weight	2,800 metric tons
Affiliation Information
Enemies	Godzilla Minilla Kumonga
Production Information
Created by	Tomoyuki Tanaka Jun Fukuda Shinichi Sekizawa Kazue Shiba
Roar
First appearance	Son of Godzilla

Kamacuras (カマキラス,   Kamakirasu^?) is a giant praying mantis kaiju created by Toho that first appeared in the 1967 Godzilla film, Son of Godzilla.

Name

Kamacuras' name comes from kamakiri (蟷螂^?), the Japanese word for "mantis."

In the original English dub of Son of Godzilla, the Kamacuras are called "Gimantis," which comes from combining "giant" and "mantis."

Design

Appearance

Kamacuras has big, round yellow buggy eyes, long mouths, some 'whiskers', and six legs. Their front legs are similar to scythes with saw-like spikes. Their four rear legs enable them to walk. Their bodies are segmented and they have an abdomen.

They have a purple and brown-like color to them, similar to Destoroyah. The puppets are also known as AllKaijuKama (オール怪獣カマ^?) in All Monsters Attack.

Portrayal

Kamacuras was portrayed using a puppet with wires.

Roar

Kamacuras' roar is actually the screech of Ebirah, only sped up.

History

Son of Godzilla

Kamacuras in Son of Godzilla

When an American weather control experiment on the Solgell Island accidentally caused a radioactive storm in 1967, the island was doused in a radioactive rainstorm that caused at least three of the island’s already two-meter-long praying mantis' to mutate into 50-meter monsters.

After scaring the United Nations crew for a while, the Kamacuras uncovered and attacked Minilla's egg, breaking it open and then proceeding to try and devour the young monster. Godzilla, hearing the cries of Minilla, arrived on the island and quickly killed two of the Kamacuras with his atomic breath, but one managed to escape.

Later, Kumonga, the giant spider, killed the third Kamacuras in battle when he entangled it in his webbing and jabbed it with his poison stinger.

All Monsters Attack

Kamacuras in All Monsters Attack

Kamacuras makes a brief appearance in Ichiro Miki's dreams in All Monsters Attack, as a small pack of them attack Godzilla, only to be killed quickly and easily by him.

Godzilla vs. Gigan

A Kamacuras later turned up on Monster Island, living in peace with the other monsters.

Godzilla Island

Kamacuras also made an appearance in the 12th story arc of Godzilla Island. In the story, Kamacuras arrives on the island under false pretenses, claiming to have escaped from an ever-growing monster army being assembled by the Xilien aliens.

However, Kamacuras is already a part of that army and has arrived to set a trap for Godzilla. Ultimately, Kamacuras fails and flees.

Abilities

As a giant mantis, Kamacuras has all the natural abilities a normal praying mantis would have, such as flight and spiked claws.

Video games

Godzilla (2014 video game)

The original Kamacuras first appeared in the film "Son of Godzilla" (1967) and was a type of large Tenodera aridifolia praying mantis indigenous to Solgell Island. A group of the mantises turned into monsters due to a failed weather-control experiment. They are huge, carnivorous insects that possess the intelligence to act collectively when engaging in predatory activity or combat with an enemy.

The original Kamacuras was operated with piano wire. Three models—small, medium, and large—were often used in scenes together in order to emphasize perspective.

― Kamacuras Kaiju Guide bio

Godzilla: Kaiju Collection

Kamacuras in Godzilla: Kaiju Collection

Godzilla Battle Line

Kamacuras 1967 appears in the game as a unit. There are 3 Kamacuras will appear when player deploy them. There is also Kamacuras Swarm, which summon higher amount of Kamacuras when they got deployed.

Kamacuras

Kamacuras Swarm

Comics

Godzilla: Cataclysm

Kamacuras finally appears in issue #1 of the miniseries Godzilla: Cataclysm. A group of scavengers are attacked by several Kamacuras while searching the ruin of Tokyo for useful items. The Kamacuras manage to kill several members of the party before Biollante shows up and kills some of the Kamacuras with her vines.

In other languages

• Chinese: 卡马奇拉斯 (Kǎmǎqílāsī)

Trivia

• The original Kamacuras puppets, the ShodaiKama, created by Teisho Arikawa for Son of Godzilla were marionettes operated by overhead wires (the same effects were also used for the monsters Kumonga with the ShodaiKumo and the infant Minilla puppet). The effects stand out as some of the best in the Showa series.
• Kamacuras, Kumonga, Destoroyah and Manda were meant to be part of the Trendmasters toyline, but the company went bankrupt beforehand. Prototypes of Kamacuras' toy exist.
• A vaguely humanoid race of mantis creatures who heavily resemble the Kamacuras appear in the 1998 novel Godzilla at World's End, serving as guards and soldiers to the Ancient Ones and their mutated human agent Zoe Kemmering. Because of the similarities between these smaller insects and the much larger Kamacuras, these beings are referred to as 'Kamakites' by the book's protagonists.
• Kamacuras is the second bug Kaiju to fight Godzilla.

List of appearances

Films

• Son of Godzilla (First appearance)
• All Monsters Attack
• Godzilla vs. Gigan (Stock Footage)

Television series

• Godzilla Island

Video games

• Godzilla, King of the Monsters (Gameboy)
• Godzilla: Heart-Pounding Monster Island!!
• Godzilla Movie Studio Tour
• Godzilla: Trading Battle
• Godzilla (2014 video game) (Kaiju Guide)
• Godzilla: Kaiju Collection
• Godzilla Battle Line

Comics

• Godzilla: Cataclysm