With a heavy heart that goes out to Takayama's family and loved ones, we pass along news that Yukiko Takayama, the mastermind behind the brilliant Terror of MechaGodzilla (1975) screenplay has passed away at the age of 83. At her home in Tokyo, Takayama left us on June 2nd, 2023 of natural causes. Her funeral will be held on June 12th, 2023.
A graduate of The Scenario Center (a screenwriting school), Terror of MechaGodzilla was Takayama's first professionally accepted script--Thus she became the Godzilla series' second and final female screenwriter. (Kazue Shiba co-wrote 1967's Son of Godzilla with Shinichi Sekizawa.) As such it's fitting she was so protective of her female lead Katsura Mafune. Internally refit as a cyborg, Katsura wrestled between what she had become and her human emotions. Was she a cold-hearted robot? Or could she be allowed to care and love? “As long as this idea was not removed from the script, I didn't care all that much about what was done with it,” said Takayama.
Takayama made her directorial debut in 1996 with After the Wind Was Gone. Her sophomore directorial effort, The Maid of the Dojoji Temple (2004), was honored by awards and nominations from the Washington DC Independent Film Festival and the Shanghai Independent Film Festival.
In 2016, Takayama returned to her first screenplay and continued the story of both Katsura and Titanosaurus, in 2075: Meister Titano's Counterattack. 100 years after the events of Terror of MechaGodzilla, both tragic characters are found for a final meeting.
You can read the short story's translation at Toho Kingdom:
2075: Meister Titano's Counterattack
She ended the Showa Godzilla series with much grace and delivered some of the most beloved and memorable characters in the series. Takayama will be sorely missed.
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Source(s):
Jiji.com
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