Manda (マンダ Manda?) is a sea dragon kaiju created by Toho that first appeared in the 1963 film Atragon
Name
Manda's name could be a combination of the Japanese words "man" (万?) and "daija" (大蛇?), which when combined mean "ten thousand serpent".
Design
Appearance
Manda's original Showa appearance, the ShodaiManda, resembles an Eastern dragon, as he has four legs, multiple horns on the head all the way down to the tail, and two barbs coming from the face. In Atragon, Manda's roar was deeper and his eyes had slit pupils.
SoshingekiManda
In Destroy All Monsters, Manda takes on a different appearance than its first form. He has more of a snake-like appearance and has no feathers, feelers, horns, or a beard. Its eyes have also changed, instead of the occasional glowing yellow eyes which only had slit pupils, this puppet has more character to its eyes sporting light blue eyes, with more circular pupils for a protagonistic approach.
Portrayal
Manda in almost every appearance is portrayed by a puppet on wires.
Roar
Manda's roars in the Showa series were primarily made from human rasps and grunts from tigers or lions. These sounds would later be reused for Godzilla's grunts and growls. In Destroy All Monsters, Manda's roars were sped up and raised in pitch.
Origins
In the Showa series, Manda was the guardian of Mu, an underwater kingdom. How Manda became its protector and how long he had been protecting it is unknown.
History
Atragon
Manda in Atragon
Manda was a dragon that lived in the sea and was the guardian of Mu, an underwater kingdom.
When the Gotengo attacked, Manda fought it and wrapped his body around the ship and trying to crush it. But Gotengo charged electricity and unleashed it on Manda, badly shocking him. Manda unwrapped himself and tried to swim away. Gotengo chased after, and fired the Absolute Zero Cannon, which froze Manda.
Destroy All Monsters
Manda in Destroy All Monsters
Manda was taken to live on Monsterland in Destroy All Monsters. In 1999, the Kilaaks came to Earth and took control of Manda and the other monsters of the island, and made them attack major cities around the world.
Manda attacked London, eventually ending up in Tokyo where he crushed a monorail line. Then, the people of the world freed them from the mind control, and the monsters were sent to fight King Ghidorah. Manda did not fight in the battle, and watched from the sidelines with Varan and Baragon. After King Ghidorah was defeated, Manda and the other kaiju returned to Monsterland.
All Monsters Attack
Manda also made a very brief appearance in All Monsters Attack, but only in a brief glimpse of recycled stock footage.
Abilities
Constriction
Manda does not have any special weapons, but he can wrap his body around an enemy and crush them similar to how a snake constricts his prey.
Waterborne nature
Although he is slow on land, Manda can also swim very fast and can breathe while submerged in water.
Fireballs
In the video game Godzilla: Monster of Monsters, Manda has the ability to spit fireballs.
Video games
Godzilla: Monster of Monsters
Manda appeared within the video game Godzilla: Monster of Monsters.
Godzilla (2014 video game)
Manda appeared a third time in the film "Godzilla: Final Wars" (2004) as a deep sea monster, battling against the Gotengo in the deep waters off the cost of Normandy. The strangling attack it performs with its body is called the "Binding Breaker".
The original model for Manda had fins all the way down its side from neck to its tail. These were notably absent from its second form.
Comics
Godzilla: Cataclysm
Manda is briefly shown in issue 1, fighting Angruirus by wrapping himself around the monster.
In other languages
- Russian: Манда
- Chinese: 曼达 (Mà ndá)
Trivia
Manda and Moguera's cameos in the second Urusei Yatsura feature film.
- Manda, along with Gorosaurus and Varan, are some of the few kaiju that appeared in Godzilla films which aren't related to Godzilla, had appeared alongside him, and never fought him at all.
- However, there was a deleted scene in Destroy All Monsters that would have had Manda fighting Godzilla.
- Manda finally does battle with Godzilla in Godzilla: Rulers of Earth.
- In the manga version of Destroy All Monsters, Manda takes part in the final battle with King Ghidorah, wrapping around his wing.
- A giant snake in Naruto has the same name as Manda as well as bearing some similarities.
- There's an unused kaiju from Godzilla: The Series named after him as a tribute.
- Manda shares his name with the Manda Formation in Tanzania, Africa.
List of appearances
Films
- Atragon (First appearance)
- Destroy All Monsters
- All Monsters Attack (Stock Footage)
- Terror of Mechagodzilla (Stock Footage)
Video games
- Godzilla: Monster of Monsters
- Godzilla, King of the Monsters (Gameboy)
- Godzilla (Arcade) (Cameo)
- Godzilla: Heart-Pounding Monster Island!!
- Godzilla Movie Studio Tour
- Godzilla: Trading Battle
- Godzilla Generations
- Godzilla Unleashed: Double Smash
- Godzilla (2014 video game) (Kaiju Guide)
Comics
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Official Godzilla Compendium. Profiles of the Monsters; Page 134.
