Weird aliens from a planet called Pairan who look a lot like man-sized starfish creatures with a huge eye in the center show up in Japan and scare people. But their real intention is not to invade earth; instead they try to warn a scientist about his newly created weapon. To do so, one of them changes his look to that of a famous Japanese singer. But then the aliens discover a giant glowing meteor heading towards Earth! Can the starfish monsters help mankind to destroy the meteor before it crashes into Earth? It soon is discovered that there's only one way to destroy it...
Made by Daiei studios (later creators of the flying turtle Gamera, a popular movie monster in Japan) in 1956, this was the fist color science-fiction film from Japan. Supported by a then huge budget it was a serious effort to compete with enemy Toho studios and their 1954 hit "Godzilla". In 1957, Toho studios even made a somewhat similar movie, "Chikyû bôeigun", also known as "The Mysterians". "Space Men Appear in Tokyo" has far less special effects footage than Toho's movies, but the relatively few special effects seen in this film are of pretty good quality, especially considering their age! Filmed in beautiful colors, the film is still well worth watching. Story-wise, it is similar to the American production "When Worlds Collide", but it's actually based on a Japanese novel by Gentarô Nakajima.
Made by Daiei studios (later creators of the flying turtle Gamera, a popular movie monster in Japan) in 1956, this was the fist color science-fiction film from Japan. Supported by a then huge budget it was a serious effort to compete with enemy Toho studios and their 1954 hit "Godzilla". In 1957, Toho studios even made a somewhat similar movie, "Chikyû bôeigun", also known as "The Mysterians". "Space Men Appear in Tokyo" has far less special effects footage than Toho's movies, but the relatively few special effects seen in this film are of pretty good quality, especially considering their age! Filmed in beautiful colors, the film is still well worth watching. Story-wise, it is similar to the American production "When Worlds Collide", but it's actually based on a Japanese novel by Gentarô Nakajima.