Japan Synopsis
モスラ
“A gruesome marvel!”
Shipwreck survivors found on the presumably uninhabited Infant Island leads to a scientific expedition that discovers a surviving native population along with the Shobijin, tiny twin fairy priestesses of the island's mythical deity called Mothra. After the fairies are kidnapped by an exploitative businessman named Clark Nelson, Mothra sets out to rescue them.
Titles With Overlapping Themes
Films and series that share thematic tags with Mothra. Number on each card indicates how many keywords overlap.
Other Titles From TOHO
Action + Adventure in Japan
1030 Japan titles in our catalog blend the Action and Adventure genres. Below: the top-rated of them (excluding Mothra itself).
The 1960–1962 Japan Window
Mothra holds position #19 of 45 Japan films in the 1960–1962 window, below highlighted by audience rating.
The 1960s Japan Landscape
Mothra premiered in 1961 — a quieter year for Japan cinema with only 10 titles in our catalog. The 1960s overall landed 202 films and series across 10 years of activity.
Position in Catalog
Released alongside 9 other Japan films in 1961.
The 148th Japan title from Japan we index (earliest catalogued entry: 1899).
Our Japan catalog contains 4,579 titles in total (2,908 films).
Audience Engagement
137 audience reviews — more than 81% of Japan films in our index.
Review volume (81th percentile) outruns trending popularity (55th) — a durable title with sustained audience attention.
Thematic Fingerprint
Tags on Mothra, grouped by how common each theme is across the full Asian catalog. Rare tags are more distinctive signals.
- mothra · 5
- cigarette · 4
- dam · 4
- tokyo tower · 4
- construction · 3
- moth · 3
- metamorphosis · 3
- ambassador · 2
- guardian · 2
- miniature people · 2
- editor · 2
- mosura · 2
- surrender · 1
- cocoon · 1
- h bomb · 1
- airfield · 1
- man eating plant · 1
- journalist · 17
- fairy · 9
- monster movie · 6
- japan · 454
- based on novel or book · 288
- monster · 91
- tokyo · 78
- kaiju · 77
- giant monster · 64
- island · 41
Reception Benchmarks
Ranked #1,935 of 4,579 Japan films indexed here (58th percentile by TMDB audience score).
Among Japan Action productions specifically: #798 of 1,714 (top 47%).
Production Details
| Primary Country | Japan |
|---|---|
| Original Language | Japanese |
| Spoken Languages | Japanese, English |
| Production Companies | TOHO |
| Runtime | 1h 41m |
| Release Date | July 30, 1961 |
| IMDb | tt0055198 |