"Space Great Demon God" and "Space Strange Demon Man" / Fujiko F The Movie ②

As I have written in previous articles, "Doraemon" and "Kiteretsu Daihyakka" share the same narrative structure where tools are used to cause incidents and commotion. The difference is that "Doraemon" uses secret gadgets = industrial products from the future, while "Kiteretsu" uses Edo-period inventions = handmade items.

Therefore, "Kiteretsu" and "Doraemon" inevitably end up with similar works being created.

This time, I will introduce stories from "Doraemon" and "Kiteretsu Daihyakka" where they each film a special effects movie. Since they have surprisingly identical developments, let's look at the two together.

"Kiteretsu Daihyakka":
"Space Strange Demon Man""Kodomo no Hikari" May 1976 issue / Complete Works Vol. 2
"Doraemon":
"Epic Special Effects Movie 'Space Great Demon God'""Shogaku Yonnensei" November 1979 / Complete Works Vol. 9

◆ How it begins

"Kiteretsu Daihyakka" features Korosuke watching a TV show where Grand Robo is active, becoming completely emotionally invested. When the robot wins the battle, he gets very excited, saying, "Grand Robo is the pride of us robots, a star of hope!".

Kiteretsu then films this scene with something like a video camera called the "Mugento" (Dream Lantern). The Mugento also acts as a projector, and when they immediately project it onto a screen, footage of Korosuke destroying the town plays.

It is an excellent camera that can easily composite multiple landscapes and scenes. Korosuke asks them to "film a movie where I am the lead, playing a role like Grand Robo."

On the other hand, in "Doraemon", when Nobita returns home, Doraemon is filming a special effects movie where he composites himself with dorayaki using a machine called the "Easy Special Effects Camera". Like the "Mugento," this camera can easily composite multiple scenes and also serves as a projector.

Nobita and Doraemon start arguing about who should be the lead in an interesting movie, but they decide to put that aside for now.

◆ Preparation for filming (Pre-production)

"Kiteretsu Daihyakka" has Kiteretsu write the script, while Korosuke works on making his own costume. The dexterous Kiteretsu quickly makes the sets and props.

"Doraemon" involves inviting Shizuka to be the lead actress, but Dekisugi, who was visiting, offers to handle the script and directing. In fact, he says he already has a script written for an 8mm animation.

They proceed with preparations by fully utilizing Doraemon's gadgets: the "Pop Basement" for the studio, the "Polaroid Instant Miniature Manufacturing Camera" for sets, the "Dress-up Camera" for costumes, and "Radio-controlled Clay" for moving miniatures.

The main space battleship of the Great Demon King is built by Dekisugi, and Nobita and the others are impressed by its high level of perfection, saying, "You are a genius." Although this is only Dekisugi's third appearance in the series, his character as a genius has already been established in no time.

◆Casting

In "Kiteretsu Daihyakka", they go to negotiate a role with Miyo-chan. Miyo is enthusiastic about wanting to play an Ultra Girl who protects the Earth, but she is offered the role of being kidnapped by a space monster, which she finds a bit dissatisfying. When it comes time to film the scene where she is supposed to be scared, she cannot act scared well, so Korosuke uses a caterpillar to make her scream.

In "Doraemon", in addition to Shizuka-chan, they ask friends like Suneo to participate in the casting for the Boy Ranger Squad. As for the lead role they were arguing over, Doraemon, who childishly insisted on his authority to lend out secret gadgets, ends up playing the hero of justice, Uldraman.

By the way, the costumes for the Ranger Squad are designed by Suneo, who aspires to be a designer, but at first, Shizuka-chan's costume is too revealing, which makes her furious.

◆Villain

In "Kiteretsu," they cast Butagorilla as the villain, the space monster. Since he would likely get angry if offered a villain role, they decide to film him under the pretense that he is playing the hero of justice, Super Kamen.

They have him come out of a concrete pipe and grab a doll, telling him it will be composited later. They also film a scene where he eats, saying that even heroes need to eat. In the battle against the real protagonist, Korosuke, he chases Korosuke and ends up riding on top of him, so they plan to flip the left/right and top/bottom later.

In "Doraemon", the pattern is exactly the same. Gian, who realizes they are filming a movie, is told by Suneo that he wanted him to star in it, and he joins the filming with a smooth talk. Gian believes he is playing a hero of justice, but his actual role is the villain, "Space Great Demon King".

Gian gets into a bad mood because his turn doesn't come around, but they decide to film the big star's scenes first. Just like in "Kiteretsu," they film scenes of him eating, fighting, and lying down, and then Gian goes home.

◆Title

"Kiteretsu" is "Space Monster Demon".
"Doraemon" is "Space Great Demon God".

The plot and the title are almost identical.

◆Preview Screening

"Kiteretsu" features Butagorilla taking the lead in inviting friends to a preview screening. He was convinced that he was the hero and Korosuke was the "Space Phantom Demon," but the story that plays out is the exact opposite. The battle ends, and the movie finishes, but as if to continue the story, Butagorilla and Kiteretsu's group begin a battle of their own.

"Doraemon" involves holding a secret screening because showing it to Gian would mean getting killed, but halfway through the screening, Gian bursts in asking, "Why didn't you invite me?" The "Space Great Demon King" played by Gian is defeated, and the movie ends. Gian starts rampaging in tears, saying "I'll kill you all," but everyone has already fled the room, leaving it completely empty.

I compared these works, which share the exact same theme and story of using a convenient camera to make a special effects movie. The protagonists, Doraemon and Korosuke, have similar body types, and the villains, Gian and Butagorilla, are also very similar in that both are filmed under the mistaken impression that they are the protagonists. They also both fly into a rage after watching the main feature. Incidentally, the part about the heroine being about to be eaten is also a common element.

The difference is that while Kiteretsu does everything from the scenario to directing and making props, in "Doraemon," the genius Dekisugi handles the scenario, directing, and some of the prop making. Suneo shows his presence by being in charge of costume design, but Nobita does not play much of a role.

From the Fujiko F works, I have introduced 6 "movie"-themed stories in the previous article and 2 in this one. What is characteristic about these is that you can see Fujiko-sensei's movie-themed works that he could not hide. In real life, he also had the experience of filming a Western with the members of Studio Zero (though it remained unfinished). You can strongly feel that longing for independent filmmaking and the desire to make movies.

In his later years, Fujiko-sensei made movie work his life's work, such as with "Long-Feature Doraemon" and "Memories of the Future" etc. The boy who loved movies grew up to remain a movie youth until the very day he died.