Death Kappa

Death Kappa
Death Kappa
	DVD cover
Directed by	Tomoo Haraguchi [ja]
Screenplay by	Masakazu Migita
Story by	Tomoo Haraguchi
Produced by	Yoko Hayama; Yoshinori Chiba; Tomo Fukatsu; Hidemasa Iwashita;
Starring	Misato Hirata [ja]; Mika Sakuraba [ja]; Ryuki Kitaoka [ja];
Cinematography	Yoshihito Takahashi
Edited by	Yoshitaka Honda
Music by	Masako Ishii
Production; company	Nikkatsu
Distributed by	Tokyo Shock
Release date	June 5, 2010 (Tokyo);
Running time	85 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese

Death Kappa (Japanese: デスカッパ, Hepburn: Desukappa) is a 2010 kaiju film directed by Tomoo Haraguchi [ja]. An international co-production of Japan and the United States, it stars Misato Hirata [ja], Mika Sakuraba [ja], and Ryuki Kitaoka [ja]. In the film, a series of military experiments result in the appearance of a giant irradiated monster rivaled by a colossal mutant kappa (an amphibious, turtle-like yōkai).^[1]^[2] It is the second kaiju film by the company to be inspired by kappa after Gappa: The Triphibian Monster (1967).^[3]

Plot

Cast

Misato Hirata [ja] as Kanako Kawado^[4]
Mika Sakuraba [ja] as Yuriko
Daniel Aguilar Gutiérrez as Professor Tanaka
Ryuki Kitaoka [ja] as National Guard
Hiroko Sakurai as Fujiko Kawado
Mitsuko Hoshi as JSDF Officer
Shigeru Araki as Secretary-General
Yakan Nabe as Station Attendant
Toshio Miyake as Hangyloas
Kazunori Yokoo as Death Kappa

The film features cameo appearances by Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi.^[4]

Production

The production saw the appointment of Tomoo Haraguchi—a special effects makeup artist known for Japanese tokusatsu films—as director,^[5] marking a shift in direction from the previous two films, which were characterized by extreme, innovative gore. Death Kappa embraces the tradition of Japanese "tokusatsu" kaiju cinema (exemplified by the Godzilla and Gamera series).^[6] It serves as an homage to the Nikkatsu-produced film Gappa: The Triphibian Monster, originally released on April 22, 1967. Misato Hirata, known for her role as Crew Member Konomi in Ultraman Mebius, stars in the lead role. Additionally, Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi—who would later work on Shin Godzilla—make cameo appearances.^[5] The sound effect for Death Kappa's heat ray was reused from Godzilla's firing sound. The scene where the announcer—played by Shinji Higuchi—is attacked by Hangyoras pays homage to the 1954 film Godzilla. Trailers for both the Japanese and US releases include the tagline: "King Kong is dead. Godzilla has retired. Gamera... who?"^[5]

Reception

Death Kappa received generally negative reviews. Steven Sloss of Our Culture Mag praised the film's use of traditional tokusatsu special effects techniques, but criticized its humor, calling it "among the very worst of the kaiju genre."^[7] Rob Hunter, writing for Film School Rejects, complimented the film's miniature city set and monster fight sequences but lamented that "Death Kappa's giant monster madness doesn't begin until halfway through the film though, and until then we're stuck with a mixed bag of scenes, gags, and characters that never quite come together as a whole."^[8] Spencer Perry of ComicBook.com called the film "preposterous and amateurish throughout," but concluded that "Even when the absurd effects are laughable it doesn't sway from the film's relentless enthusiasm for what it's trying to do."^[9]

References

↑ Weinstock, Jeffrey Andrew (2016). The Ashgate Encyclopedia of Literary and Cinematic Monsters. Routledge. p. 355. ISBN 978-1409425625.
↑ Foster, Michael Dylan (2015). The Book of Yokai: Mysterious Creatures of Japanese Folklore. University of California Press. p. 164. ISBN 978-0520271029.
↑ "Death Kappa: Tenth Anniversary Attack Edition". Doomed Records. Retrieved January 22, 2026.
1 2 "デスカッパ (2010)" [Death Kappa (2010)]. Cinema Today (in Japanese). November 27, 2010. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
1 2 3 野村宏平; 冬門稔弐 (November 23, 2016). ゴジラ365日 (in Japanese). 洋泉社. p. 336. ISBN 978-4-8003-1074-3.
↑ "ゴジラは引退した！ニュー・モンスター『デスカッパ』降臨！". Tower Records. June 1, 2011. Retrieved August 11, 2026.
↑ Sloss, Steven (June 29, 2019). "Absent Fiends: The "Wilderness Years" of the Kaiju Genre". Our Culture Mag. Archived from the original on September 20, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
↑ Hunter, Rob (July 16, 2010). "Another Hole In The Head 2010: Death Kappa". Film School Rejects. Archived from the original on January 1, 2012. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
↑ Perry, Spencer (April 1, 2021). "10 Monster Movies to Watch if You Liked Godzilla vs. Kong". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on April 2, 2021. Retrieved June 2, 2021.

External links

Death Kappa at IMDb

[1] Weinstock, Jeffrey Andrew (2016). The Ashgate Encyclopedia of Literary and Cinematic Monsters. Routledge. p. 355. ISBN 978-1409425625.

[2] Foster, Michael Dylan (2015). The Book of Yokai: Mysterious Creatures of Japanese Folklore. University of California Press. p. 164. ISBN 978-0520271029.

[3] "Death Kappa: Tenth Anniversary Attack Edition". Doomed Records. Retrieved January 22, 2026.

[Cinema_Today_2010-4] 1 2 "デスカッパ (2010)" [Death Kappa (2010)]. Cinema Today (in Japanese). November 27, 2010. Retrieved June 2, 2021.

[:0-5] 1 2 3 野村宏平; 冬門稔弐 (November 23, 2016). ゴジラ365日 (in Japanese). 洋泉社. p. 336. ISBN 978-4-8003-1074-3.

[6] "ゴジラは引退した！ニュー・モンスター『デスカッパ』降臨！". Tower Records. June 1, 2011. Retrieved August 11, 2026.

[7] Sloss, Steven (June 29, 2019). "Absent Fiends: The "Wilderness Years" of the Kaiju Genre". Our Culture Mag. Archived from the original on September 20, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2021.

[8] Hunter, Rob (July 16, 2010). "Another Hole In The Head 2010: Death Kappa". Film School Rejects. Archived from the original on January 1, 2012. Retrieved June 2, 2021.

[9] Perry, Spencer (April 1, 2021). "10 Monster Movies to Watch if You Liked Godzilla vs. Kong". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on April 2, 2021. Retrieved June 2, 2021.

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