DKN Podcast – Episode 74: Battle In Outer Space
February 7, 2015DKN Total Axess – Episode 19: Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster
February 21, 2015
This very sad piece of news is just making its way to the states via August Ragone. Composer Riichiro Manabe, who composed scores for Godzilla vs. Hedorah and Godzilla vs. Megalon, passed away January 29th. He was 90 years of age.
Fans of Godzilla are most certainly familiar with Manabe’s scores, especially that of Megalon due to the film being the most widely available Godzilla film for many years during the years of VHS.
His Godzilla theme is undoubtedly the most iconic of his pieces for the two films.
His music for the two films has been ridiculed by some in the fandom as well. The general opinion is his Hedorah score is considered weak while Megalon is slightly more competent. Overall, the general opinion if his two scores is that it seems to lack the power and gravitas of Ifukube.
Personally, comparing Manabe to Ifukube is something that cannot, nor should, be done. Ifukube’s and Manabe’s styles are so different, and the films they scored so different in their tone, that you simply cannot say one is better than the other. There may be a preference, but a comparison of “who is better” is unwarranted.
I wrote a review of Manabe’s score for Godzilla vs. Megalon here where I explain how much I really enjoyed listening to his score for that movie. I find his music to be rich with personality and fun. While the scores for the two Godzilla films he was a part of have many of the same pieces of music, there are some differences as well. One needs to remember, too, he scored for the franchise during the decade in which ticket sales were dramatically declining and, thus, production, budget, and overall quality of the films diminished.
This isn’t to say Manabe’s scores are of poor qualtiy (because they aren’t), rather it’s a reminder that Manabe couldn’t invest a lot of time in either score (especially Megalon) and, like Ifukube with Terror of Mechagodzilla, a lot of his music was recycled for Megalon as a means of lowering budget costs.
Manabe certainly scored two films that are widely known today and are among some of fans’ favorite and/or first time they saw a Godzilla film. He certainly is a huge part of many of our fandom lives in that regard.
As a celebration of his life, I will be listening to one of his scores this week. The man had fun scoring his two Godzilla movies and, I must add, his music for the two films is memorable and a whole lot of fun!
