TALKBACK #10: All Monsters Attack

[O.Supreme]

[lhb412]

I should really go back and listen to all the Classic Media commentary tracks. Haven't done so since their release.

[O.Supreme]

[Benjamin Haines]

After all these years, I have to say that I still don't fully get the ending to this film.

I mean, I get it up to a point. Ichiro fights back against his kidnappers and escapes. He reassures his mom that he understands why she and his dad have to work so much. He stands up to Gabara, shooting down his invitation to join the gang, and then when Gabara moves to attack, Ichiro doesn't hesitate to hit him first, proclaiming that he hates bullies and eventually winning the fight. I get all of that.

Why, then, does Ichiro promptly carry out Gabara's bidding, become a bully himself, and still join up with that gang? That's what happens when Ichiro honks the painter's bike horn, just like Gabara told him to do the day before. Am I missing something here? It's like he can't help but let Gabara influence him even after standing up for himself and winning.

[H-Man]

I don't think he was joining the gang. We see that some of Gabara's friends and presumably Gabara himself have come to respect Ichiro for standing up for himself. The most puzzling aspect is that he goes to honk the painter's horn, but I don't think he means any harm to the painter. It's definitely an accident that he causes the guy to fall (and he even stops to have his dad apologize on his behalf). I think the last pratfall is Honda and Sekizawa wanting to end their children's film on a bit of physical comedy, although it unfortunately makes Ichiro momentarily look like a sociopath. I don't think it's supposed to be "Ichiro becomes a bully himself," as some fans have speculated, but that last bit is still my least favorite part of the movie.

[Benjamin Haines]

I'm not saying that Ichiro is consciously trying to be a bully but that's what he ends up doing. He chooses to do exactly what his own bully told him to do by messing with someone else. Why does Ichiro suddenly revert to needing the approval of Gabara and the gang immediately after he kicks Gabara's ass? One minute he's humiliating Gabara in front of his goons, the next he's carrying out Gabara's instruction from the day before. Then he runs off with Gabara's gang just minutes after declaring that he wouldn't join them.

It's like if Gabara (the kaiju) had been trying to goad Minilla into harassing Rodan, and then after Godzilla sent Gabara retreating, Minilla suddenly decided to mess with Rodan and run off into the jungle with Gabara.