KAIJU GOJIRA
[RADIO-SERIAL]
Godzilla, the fire-breathing city-stomping giant reptile, is such an entrenched figure of popular
culture and big-monster iconography that it’s hard to imagine a time when people knew about the
critter but didn’t know exactly what he looked like. But, yes, Godzilla was first introduced to the
Japanese people in the form of a radio serial, aired in the summer of 1954, several months before
the original film Gojira premiered in Tokyo.
Eleven episodes aired on the NHK radio network.
[Godziszewski] “One of the first publicity stunts for the film was a radio drama that was
broadcast every Saturday evening from 7:00 to 7:30 p.m. for 11 weeks, starting on July 17. Titled
The Monster Godzilla, this Nippon Broadcasting production was concocted to whet the appetite
of potential moviegoers. The story was loosely based on the first draft screenplay prepared by
Murata and Honda. By the time it concluded on September 25, audiences were primed to see how
the fantastic events of the radio play would translate into film. The Monster Godzilla was also
novelized, being published a year later in July 1955.”
“For a little more than two months, the radio drama The Monster Godzilla aired live on Nippon
Broadcasting, adapting the first draft screenplay penned by Takeo Murata and Ishiro Honda.
Eleven 30 minute episodes were created using a cast of radio voice actors since their onscreen
actors were unavailable. With 5.5 hours to fill up and no visual effects on which to rely, the
production used a generous amount of overly melodramatic narration to fill the gaps. Most drama
scenes expanded on the screenplay’s dialogue and several minor new scenes were also added to
further pad the show. With the movie in the middle of production at the same time, the radio play
needed its own musical score and sound effects. Using a scant four-piece band, the musical
director tried his best to create an atmosphere of dread, but the result was often weak and over
the top. Godzilla’s roar was a rather nondescript, sounding more like a lion with laryngitis rather
than a giant monster.”
ORIGINATION: NHK, Tokyo (Nippon Broadcasting).
DURATION: July 17-September 25, 1954.
PERSONNEL: K. Hashimoto (music director), Shigeru Kayama (scriptwriter), Akio Tanaka (narrator), Toshi
Tatsuno (director).
CAST: Setsuko Fujino (Emiko Yamane), Yukio Kasama (Boss), Fuyuki Murakami (Kyohei Yamane), Tomoo
Nagai (Hideo Ogata), Masahiko Naruse (Daisuke Serizawa), Shozo Shiozaki (Hagiwara).
[OG-NOTE: The last episode of the serial was made available in 2001 as part of a limited CD release entitled
Godzilla Sound Memorial. The CD is currently out-of-print and typically sells for well over a hundred dollars.]