Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975-Film)

## Terror of Godzilla a.k.a Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

***Terror of Mechagodzilla***, released in Japan as ***Mekagojira no Gyakushū*** (メカゴジラの逆襲, lit. *Mechagodzilla's Counterattack*) is a 1975 Japanese *kaiju* film directed by Ishirō Honda, written by Yukiko Takayama, and produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka and Henry G. Saperstein, with special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano. The film was produced and distributed by Toho; it is the 15th film in the *Godzilla* franchise, serving as a direct sequel to the 1974 film *Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla*, and is the final film in the franchise's Shōwa period.

*Terror of Mechagodzilla* stars Katsuhiko Sasaki, Tomoko Ai, Akihiko Hirata, and Gorō Mutsumi, and features Toru Kawai, Ise Mori, and Tatsumi Nikamoto as the fictional monster characters Godzilla, Mechagodzilla 2, and Titanosaurus, respectively. The film was released theatrically in Japan on March 15, 1975. It received a limited release in the United States in 1978 by Bob Conn Enterprises under the title ***The Terror of Godzilla***. The film remains the least financially successful entry in the *Godzilla* franchise to this day

## plot

Continuing after the end of the events of *Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla*, Interpol agents, led by Inspector Kusaka, search for the pieces of Mechagodzilla at the bottom of the Okinawan Sea. Using the submarine *Akatsuki*, they hope to gather information on the robot's builders, the alien Simeons. The *Akatsuki* is suddenly attacked by a giant aquatic dinosaur called Titanosaurus and the crew vanishes.

Interpol starts an investigation into the incident. With the help of marine biologist Akira Ichinose, they trace Titanosaurus to a reclusive, mad scientist named Shinzô Mafune, who wants to destroy all mankind. While Ichinose is visiting his old home in the seaside forest of Manazuru, they meet Mafune's lone daughter, Katsura. She tells them that not only is her father dead, but she burned all of the notes about the giant dinosaur (at her father's request). Unbeknownst to them, Mafune is still alive and well. He is visited by his friend Tsuda, who is an aide to the alien leader Mugal. He is leading the project to quickly rebuild Mechagodzilla. Mugal offers their services to Mafune, so that his Titanosaurus and their Mechagodzilla 2 (which is even more powerful than the original) will be the ultimate weapons. They hope to wipe out mankind and rebuild the world for themselves, starting with Tokyo and branching out from there.

But things become complicated for both factions when Ichinose falls in love with Katsura and unwittingly gives her Interpol's information against Titanosaurus, the new Mechagodzilla and the aliens. It is also discovered that Katsura is actually a cyborg, due to undergoing surgery after nearly being killed during one of her father's experiments when she was a child, and Mugal still has uses for her. Meanwhile, Mafune is desperate to unleash Titanosaurus without the aliens' permission, so he releases it on Yokosuka one night. By then, Interpol discovers that supersonic waves are Titanosaurus' weakness. They have a supersonic wave oscillator ready, but Katsura sabotages the machine before they can use it. Fortunately, Godzilla arrives to fight off Titanosaurus and easily defeats him, causing him to retreat back to the sea.

Later, when Ichinose visits Katsura, he is captured by the aliens. Tied up, Ichinose can only watch as Mafune and the aliens unleash Mechagodzilla 2 and Titanosaurus on Tokyo, while Interpol struggles to repair their supersonic wave oscillator and the Japanese armed forces struggle to keep the two monsters at bay. Katsura, while being controlled by Mugal, ignores Ichinose's pleas and controls both the dinosaur and the robot as they destroy the city.

Godzilla comes to the rescue, although at first he is outmatched by the two titans. While Interpol distracts Titanosaurus with the repaired supersonic wave oscillator, Godzilla is able to focus on attacking Mechagodzilla 2. Interpol agents infiltrate the aliens' hideout, rescue Ichinose, and kill Mafune and many of the aliens. The remaining aliens attempt to escape in their ships, but Godzilla shoots them down with his atomic heat ray. The wounded Katsura, while being embraced by Ichinose, shoots herself in order to destroy Mechagodzilla 2's control device (which had been implanted in her body earlier by the aliens). This allows Godzilla to destroy the robot, which short-circuits and is tossed by him into a huge chasm made by the battle, after which Godzilla blasts it with his atomic heat ray, causing it to explode into little pieces of metal again, which are then buried within the chasm at the same time. Godzilla, with the help of the oscillator, then defeats Titanosaurus and heads back to the sea.