Daimajin Returns to Western Markets with SRS Release of The Great Yokai War: Guardians

SRS Cinema will be releasing The Great Yokai War: Guardians, a sequel to the 2005 The Great Yokai War, on Blu-Ray in American Markets.

New images of the cover art by Bob Eggleton released via SciFi Japan earlier this week as the October Pre-sale date fast approaches. The 2021 movie was an exciting moment for Daimajin fans as the giant wrathful statue made his return to the big screen after a 55 year absence. Daimajin had last been seen in the 2010 TV series Daimajin Kanon, but hadn’t appeared in a cinema release since 1966 with the third in the Daimajin trilogy, Wrath of Daimajin.

The movie is a sequel to the 2005 The Great Yokai War

The movie is a sequel to the 2005 Takeshi Miike feature The Great Yokai War, that served as a return to the classic Yokai Trilogy from production company Daiei. The Yokai Monsters Trilogy consisted of 100 Monsters, Spook Warfare and Along with Ghosts. Framing itself as a semi remake of Spook Warfare, Great Yokai War saw many favourite creature designs returning to the screen as main character Tadashi journeyed to free the Yokai.

The 2021 follow up focuses on natural disasters actually being an invasion for all who know of Yokai. A young boy is set to help save the world by teaming with the Yokai and awakening Daimajin to help in the fight.

Daimajin was released to home video by Arrow Film

Daimajin starred in a trilogy of movies released in 1966 that all featured different villages that worshipped statues of the title character. In each movie their village comes under attack and the people are sent to pray for Daimajin to send help. Each time the statue would come to life and wreck havoc upon the invaders and the town. While each film had a similar plot, the series more than made up or it with the special effects work.

Creative camera work and strong acting came together to build an imposing image of Daimajin that has remained well loved today. In 2021, Arrow Film brought the Daimajin trilogy to Blu-Ray with the Yokai Monsters series coming soon after.

The Yokai Monster series was released on Blu-Ray by Arrow Film

Fans of Daimajin could pick up the complete trilogy in a single box set, while Yokai Monsters fans could snag the original trilogy, along with the 2005 Great Yokai War movie. While a strong release for any fan of the classic Daiei films, some were left wondering if the 2021 feature Guardians would ever get an English language Blu-ray release to complete the collection.

SRS Cinema have answered fan prayers with this release. The company has been putting out a number of unique Tokusatsu productions to western markets, having most recently released Space Monster Wangmagwi earlier this year. Specializing in underground cinema, their library is filled with insanely unique movies that you’ve likely never heard of, including a reasonably sized library of Kaiju flicks.

It’s uncertain if the release will be import friendly for UK viewers but we’re happy that the feature will be getting an official Western release all the same.