Reigo: King of the Sea Monsters is a 2008 tokusatsu kaiju film produced by Reigo Associates and distributed by InterMedia Co., Ltd. It premiered on June 12, 2008, at the Kitazawa Town Hall in Tokyo.
Set in 1942, the film depicts a sea monster hunting a Japanese fleet led by the real-life battleship Yamato after it accidentally kills its child. It is the first original kaiju film by Gamera 4: Truth director and popular rakugo performer Shinpei Hayashiya. A sequel, entitled Raiga: God of the Monsters, was released the following year.
Reigo: King of the Sea Monsters
In 1941, the Empire of Japan commissioned Yamato, meant to be the mightiest battleship to ever sail. With the Pacific War underway, the Navy calls in Divisional Officer Noboru Osako to serve on the Yamato as his wife is expecting a baby. Talking with his childhood friend Chie, Sub-Lieutenant Takeshi Kaido voices the possibility that he might not return. His grandmother and Chie see him off the following day.
Reigo: King of the Sea Monsters – The Movie
As soon as the ship finds port, Osako sneaks a woman named Momoka aboard underneath a flag with amorous intent, only to reel back in terror when he discovers her grandfather under the flag as well. He explains that his village can no longer fish at night, as a dragon called Reigo has returned to the seas. Its appearance will be heralded by “Bone Fish.”
Osako laughs at his story, believing the fleet is more than a match for any monster. He delivers a final warning: Reigo isn’t just dangerous in its own right, but an omen of disaster.
Reigo: King of the Sea Monsters – The Movie 2008
Captain Yamagami announces that Yamato will soon be escorting a supply convoy. One of his officers reprimands the gambling aboard the ship, at which Osako looks especially chastened. A sailor spots Reigo and its child swimming near the fleet, but mistakes them for an enemy submarine. The Yamato opens fire with its main guns, killing the child. Sailors note its final cries and notice strange flashes in the water, but dismiss it as a whale.
Word never reaches Yamagami, who distributes sake throughout the ship in celebration. Osako passes along the story Momoka’s grandfather told him, but only as entertainment. Later that evening, he spots an American sailor in the water and brings him aboard.
Kaido steps in to translate, but to their surprise the man can speak Japanese. He identifies himself as Lieutenant-Commander Norman Melville. Before the intoxicated Osako can carry out any violence, Yamagami orders Melville locked up in the hopes he can provide them with information.