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''Atragon'', released in Japan as , is a 1963 science fiction tokusatsu film directed by Ishirō Honda and produced and financed by Toho. It is based on a series of juvenile adventure novels under the banner ''Kaitei Gunkan'' by Shunrō Oshikawa (heavily influenced by Jules Verne) and the illustrated story ''Kaitei Okoku'' ("The Undersea Kingdom") by illustrator Shigeru Komatsuzaki, serialized in a monthly magazine for boys. Komatsuzaki also served as an uncredited visual designer, as he had on ''The Mysterians'' (1957) and ''Battle in Outer Space'' (1959). visualizing the titular super weapon, among others. The film was one of several tokusatsu collaborations of director Ishirō Honda, screenwriter Shinichi Sekizawa, and special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya. It features Jun Tazaki, an authority figure regular to tokusatsu, in his largest genre role as the conflicted Captain Jinguji of the super submarine, 轟天号 ''Gotengo'' (or ''Roaring Heaven''). While the name of the ship is recited as "Gotengō" in Japanese, it should be rendered as "Goten" in English; as the suffix, 号 (gō), simply denotes the object as a ship. For the English-language U.S. version, released in 1965 by American International Pictures, the supersub itself was dubbed ''Atragon'', which had been shortened from Toho's own foreign sales title, ''Atoragon''. Confusion over the actual Japanese title of the film by non-Japanese speakers, has led many to assume the original title, 海底軍艦 (Kaitei Gunkan), to be ''"Undersea Battleship"''; unfortunately, the Japanese term for "Battleship", 戦艦 (''Senkan''), is nowhere to be found in the title. Since 軍艦 (''Gunkan'') should be correctly rendered as "Warship", therefore, the film should be correctly transliterated as ''Undersea Warship''. As was the case in several other 1960s tokusatsu eiga (visual effects films), producer Tomoyuki Tanaka insisted that a daikaiju be incorporated into the storyline for marketing purposes, and to symbolize the upcoming Year of the Snake, Tsuburaya's art director Akira Watanabe designed Manda—a Japanese dragon–like sea serpent that would subsequently appear in several films in the Godzilla series. The ''Atragon'' itself, slightly modified, would reappear in several other movies, including ''Godzilla: Final Wars'' and ''Super Star Fleet Sazer X The Movie: Fight! Star Warriors'', as well as the video game ''Godzilla: Unleashed''. There is also an anime version, a two episode OVA named ''Super Atragon'' based on the same novels made in 1995 by Phoenix Entertainment. A dub of the OVA was made by ADV Films. ==Synopsis== The legendary empire of the lost continent of Mu reappears to threaten the world with domination. While countries unite to resist, an isolated World War II Captain has created the greatest warship ever seen, and possibly the surface world's only defense. While on a magazine photo shoot one night, photographers Susumu (Takashima) and Yoshito (Yu Fujiki) witness a car drive into the ocean. While speaking with a detective (Hiroshi Koizumi) the next day they spot Makoto Jinguji (Fujiyama), daughter of deceased Imperial Captain Jinguji, who is also being followed by a suspicious character (Yoshifumi Tajima). Her father's former superior, retired Rear Admiral Kusumi (Ken Uehara), is confronted by a peculiar reporter (Kenji Sahara) who claims contrarily that Captain Jinguji is alive and at work on a new submarine project. The threads meet when a mysterious taxi driver (Akihiko Hirata) almost abducts Makoto and the Admiral, claiming to be an agent of the drowned Mu Empire. Foiled by the ensuing photographers, he flees into the ocean. During another visit to the detective, a package inscribed "MU" arrives for the Admiral. Contained within is a film depicting the thriving undersea continent (with its own geothermal "sun") and demanding that the surface world capitulate, and prevent Jinguji from completing his submarine ''Atragon''. The UN realizes that ''Atragon'' may be the world's only defense and requests that Admiral Kosumi appeal to Jinguji. Concurrently, Makoto's stalker is arrested and discovered to be a naval officer under Jinguji. He agrees to lead the party to Jinguji's base but refuses to disclose its location. After several days of travel, the party find themselves on a tropical island inhabited only by Jinguji's forces and enclosing a vast underground dock. Eventually Captain Jinguji (Tazaki) greets the visitors, though he is cold toward his daughter and infuriated by Kusumi's appeal. He built ''Atragon'', he explains, as a means to restore the Japanese Empire after its defeat in World War II, and insists that it be used for no other purpose. Makoto runs off in anger, later to be consoled by Susumu. ''Atragons test run is a success, the heavily armored submarine even elevating out of the water and flying about the island. When the Captain approaches Makoto that evening they exchange harsh words; again Susumu reproaches the Captain for his selfish refusal to come to the world's aid. After Makoto and Shindo are kidnapped by the reporter (a disguised Mu agent) and the base crippled by a bomb, Jinguji consents to Kusumi's request and prepares ''Atragon'' for war against Mu. The Mu Empire executes a devastating attack on Tokyo and threatens to sacrifice its prisoners to the monstrous deity Manda if ''Atragon'' appears. Appear the super-submarine does, pursuing a Mu submarine to the Empire's entrance in the ocean depths. Meanwhile, Susumu and the other prisoners escape their cell and kidnap the Empress of Mu (Tetsuko Kobayashi). They are impeded by Manda, but soon rescued by ''Atragon'', which then engages the serpent and freezes it using the "Absolute Zero Cannon". Jinguji offers to hear peace terms, but the proud Empress refuses. The Captain then advances ''Atragon'' into the heart of the Empire (power room) and freezes its geothermal machinery. This results in a cataclysmic explosion visible even to those on deck of the surfaced submarine. Her empire dying, the Mu Empress abandons the ''Atragon'' and, Jinguji and company looking on, swims into the conflagration. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Atragon」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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