After the success of Rodan the year before, the venerable team of Ishiro Honda, Tomoyuki Tanaka, Eiji Tsubaraya, Akira Ifukube, and an incredible list of soon to be genre staples came together for The Mysterians. It would be a few years before the Godzilla series began a decline with countless alien invasions, giving this film a unique spot in the Toho kaiju film history. It's a decent invasion film, seemingly made to capitalize on the awe-inspiring effects Tsubaraya was capable of.
That's the biggest flaw the film could be stuck with. The battle between the humans and the Mysterians ends up becoming a dull laser fest that refuses to finish. Having come to Earth to mate with our women, the invading forces should have more in their arsenal than just a dome with a laser strapped to the top of it and some unimpressive flying saucers. Their plans to take over must not have been particularly grand or they may have brought heavier firepower.
Thanks to Godzilla creator Tanaka, they did. Feeling the film needed a giant monster (like most of the films from Toho in the same era) he devised Moguera. The name is never spoken in the film, leaving it to the audience's imagination. It's a stereotypical 1950's giant robot, complete with a spinning antenna on his head. It's a bulky suit, worn by always excellent Haruo Nakajima, but the thick legs and body make it obvious how difficult the suit was to move in.
It's also a mystery to the film, seemingly defeated within the opening half hour, then making a barely noticeable appearance near the finale, only to be crushed by the armed forces machinery. It feels like it was added at the last moment, and that ends up being a significant piece of trivia. There should have been more scenes involving the robot, especially to break up the war involving a stationary dome.
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