DEEP DIVE: Why Did Godzilla Series Screenwriter Kaoru Mabuchi Sour on Toho Kaiju Films?

The only known photo of Kaoru Mabuchi, discovered in 2024 by Meso.

Kaoru Mabuchi (1911-1987) was one of Toho's most important and prolific screenwriters during the Showa era, and he remains one of its most enigmatic figures. Under the pen name Takeshi Kimura, Mabuchi wrote or co-wrote a number of Toho's best and most successful tokusatsu productions, including Rodan (1956), The Mysterians (1957), The H-Man (1958), The Human Vapor (1960), The Last War (1961), Gorath (1962), and Matango (1963).

Under his given name, Mabuchi wrote or co-wrote a number of entertaining kaiju films, such as Frankenstein Conquers the World (1965), The War of the Gargantuas (1966), King Kong Escapes (1967), Destroy All Monsters (1968), and Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster (1971).

The reason Mabuchi stopped writing under his pen name and began writing scripts under his real name (while seeming to lose his motivation for the genre) has remained a mystery for decades, but perhaps we have an answer. Let's explore.

Yoshimitsu Banno in July 2016. Photo by Brett Homenick.

According to Yoshimitsu Banno, who co-wrote the screenplay for Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster with the celebrated Toho scriptwriter, Mabuchi revealed the reason to him. As the story goes, during the production of Matango, director Ishiro Honda cut the film's pre-title sequence in accordance with producer Tomoyuki Tanaka's wishes, despite Mabuchi's protests to keep it intact. Mabuchi argued the sequence was too important to cut, but his pleas ultimately fell on deaf ears. After getting overruled, Mabuchi gave up, and he never wrote another pure science-fiction movie for the studio.

Banno's own experience with the screenwriter was likely even more volatile than what Honda encountered. In spite of Mabuchi's mercurial personality, however, the two managed to hammer out a screenplay for Smog Monster that not only satisfied Banno but still entertains audiences around the world more than 50 years later. Based on Banno's descriptions of events, here's how the process went.

Just before the end of Expo '70, producer Tanaka showed Banno a copy of Mabuchi's first draft of Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster. Banno was shocked at the lack of quality of the script, labeling it "terrible" and "not interesting at all." 

Nakasendo station Magome-juku (located in Nakatsugawa, Gifu Prefecture) in June 2013, which is where Banno completely rewrote Mabuchi's first draft. It proved the perfect location to find inspiration for a story featuring hallucinating hippies. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Completely unsatisfied with Mabuchi's efforts, Banno decided to rewrite the screenplay from scratch. After the conclusion of Expo '70, Banno traveled along Nakasendo via Nagoya by car, stopping at Magome-juku in Nakatsugawa, Gifu Prefecture, to overhaul the script in a hotel by himself. 

Following that rewrite, with the approval of producer Tanaka, Banno and Mabuchi stayed at a cheap, remote hotel in Nagano Prefecture for a week to revise the script together. It was during this time that Banno and Mabuchi had a conversation that revealed Mabuchi's lack of enthusiasm and motivation. According to Banno, the conversation went like this:

“Why did you write such a boring story?”

“I was cutting corners.”

“What do you mean by that?”

After the two started speaking honestly and directly, Mabuchi explained, "I've worked on several projects with new directors, but they all failed. I figured this one would fail, too, so I just wrote it off lightly."  

Yoshimitsu Banno signs a Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971) DVD sleeve in August 2012. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Banno saw this project as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so cutting corners wasn't an option for him. Banno spoke to Mabuchi about his determination to make Smog Monster a success, after which Mabuchi became properly motivated to work on it. It was no easy task, however, as Banno recalled that it took "heated debates and thorough discussions" to make it so. Banno continues:

Once that happened, Mr. Mabuchi proved to be highly logical, meticulous, and careful in his writing, which was both reliable and engaging. 

But the writing process moved slowly. Banno provides this example to illustrate:

For the scene in which the main character, [Dr. Toru] Yano, is attacked by Hedorah underwater, I had diving experience, so I continued writing quickly. When Mabuchi saw this, he angrily shouted, "If you're going to write it alone, I'm going home!" [I replied,] "Please wait!"

Banno was able to calm Mabuchi down, and the pair successfully completed the screenplay.

Yoshimitsu Banno with a copy of The Man Who Made Godzilla Fly in November 2016. Photo by Brett Homenick. 

The information in this blog post about Mabuchi's involvement with Matango comes from a conversation Banno and I had together, supported by contemporaneous notes. The material regarding Banno's working relationship with Mabuchi comes from both English- and Japanese-language drafts of what ultimately became Banno's memoir, The Man Who Made Godzilla Fly,* which was sent to me by Banno via email in November 2012 for my feedback and editing assistance. 

* According to Banno, the title of his memoir was derived from the title of the interview Damon Foster and I conducted in July 2005 with Banno when it appeared in a Godzilla-oriented fanzine the same year.