The War of the Gargantuas is a 1966 tokusatsu kaiju film co-produced by Toho and Benedict Productions. A loose sequel to Frankenstein vs. Baragon, it was released to Japanese theaters on July 31, 1966.
The War of the Gargantuas
Following a shipwreck, the lone surviving crew member blames the accident on Frankenstein. Other disasters soon follow, much to the confusion of Frankenstein’s former caregivers Paul Stewart, Akemi Togawa, and Yuzo Mamiya, who recalled the creature being friendly and never aggressive toward humans.
When the JSDF deploys its newly-developed Type 66 Maser Cannons to destroy the rampaging green giant, a second brown giant arrives to rescue him. Stewart realizes that the savage green Gargantua, named Gaira, must have regenerated from severed tissue left behind by the brown Gargantua they raised, named Sanda. Sanda soon learns of his brother’s habit of eating humans and attacks him, triggering a battle to the death between the brothers in Tokyo. Akemi pleads to save Sanda from the JSDF while Sanda tries fruitlessly to end his brother’s rampage non-violently.
The War of the Gargantuas 1996
One night, a fishing boat in the waters just off Japan finds itself under attack by a Giant Octopus. Just before it can strangle one of the crew members to death with one of its tentacles, the monstrous cephalopod is attacked by a gigantic green-haired humanoid creature. After dispatching the octopus, the giant begins violently attacking the boat and attempting to sink it.
Sometime later, one surviving crew member is being held in a hospital. Representatives try to get the story of how the ship sank from him, but he says in terror that the ship was sunk by Frankenstein. The maritime authority is hesitant to believe that the ship was sunk by this “Gargantua,” and dispatches divers to investigate the shipwreck.
The War of the Gargantuas – The Movie
They uncover the clothes of all of the other four crew members, which are soaked in blood and look as though they were chewed up and spit out. Another boat soon falls victim to the Gargantua and a group of civilians finally witnesses the creature emerge from the water as they try and bring in a fishing net.
The maritime authority contacts Frankenstein expert Dr. Paul Stewart in Kyoto to ask him if it is possible the Gargantua is the Frankenstein he raised at his institute. He dismisses the notion, stating Frankenstein died at Mount Fuji and would never live in the sea nor eat humans.
The War of the Gargantuas – The Movie 1996
Furthermore, reports of huge humanoid footprints in the Japanese Alps have led Stewart to investigate along with his assistant Akemi Togawa, while their colleague Dr. Yuzo Mamiya travels to investigate a salvaged shipwreck believed to be attacked by the Gargantua. Stewart and Akemi find the footprints in the mountains and accept the possibility they were left behind by Frankenstein, while Mamiya finds a mucous membrane left behind on the shipwreck. Analysis of the membrane shows that the creature’s cells are almost identical to Frankenstein’s, and the JSDF determines that Frankenstein must be behind the attacks. On a cloudy day, the Gargantua comes ashore at Haneda Airport and terrorizes the fleeing civilians. When the sun peeks through the clouds, the Gargantua immediately runs back to the sea, which Mamiya determines must mean the monster is averse to bright light. The three scientists attend a conference in Tokyo to discuss countermeasures, but Stewart is still of the belief that the Gargantua in the sea and Frankenstein are different individuals.