Apple TV's Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is back on screens for its second season and it has very quickly reminded audiences around the world of the larger-than-life spectacle that the MonsterVerse is. With sightings of Kong, a new treacherous Titan known as Titan X, and a future confirmed sighting of Godzilla, the Kurt and Wyatt Russell-led show isn't holding back.
Its third episode, titled "Secrets", just recently premiered on Apple TV and it proved to be one of emotional depth and humanity, focusing less on the monsters and more on the human side of things. Season 2 episode 3 also closed out with a touching tribute to Tomomi Kamata, who sadly passed away in 2024, reading: "In Memory of Tomomi Kamata".
Tomomi Kamata was a Japanese cinematographer known for his work in the Mexican film industry. He was born in 1949 and arrived in Mexico in the '70s, when he began making a name for himself in the film industry. Among his renowned works are La ilegal, Lecumberri, the Dark Palace, Run, Kane, Gertrudis, Datai and the short La noche de Mateo.
According to an obituary published on La Lista, the beloved cinematographer sadly passed away on September 19, 2024. A statement from the Mexican Association of Cinematographers paid tribute to him and his legendary career, reading:
"We will always remember you with all our love and admiration. May your path be filled with light."
Kamata's daughter, Hiromi Kamata, is a director herself who currently works on Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. She revealed in a 2024 interview with The Television Academy that she always wanted to follow in her father's footsteps due to her love of cinema as a child. Tomomi was reluctant for her to join the entertainment industry due to her initial love of law (which she revealed actually came about due to her love for iconic legal drama 12 Angry Men). Eventually, he allowed her to become a summer intern at his production company and the rest was history. As Hiromi says: "I fell in love with it. So he had no choice."
Hiromi has also worked on a number of prolific TV shows in recent years, directing episodes of Showtime's Let The Right One In, Freeform's Cruel Summer, FX's Shōgun, and most recently, the third season of Netflix's The Night Agent.
She joined Monarch: Legacy of Monsters in the Apple TV show's first season, directing two episodes of season 1 ("Will The Real May Please Stand Up" and "Birthright"). She then took on the third episode of season 2, which has proven to be the most emotional of the new season thus far - one that actually places a focus on family. In that sense, it's pretty fitting that it's dedicated to Hiromi's own family.
Hiromi previously mentioned in an interview with Mixed Asian Media that she has a personal connection to Godzilla as she grew up watching the original 1954 movie with her father.
On behalf of us at Bam Smack Pow, we send our condolences to Tomomi Kamata's family and loved ones, as well as everyone who ever worked with the legendary cinematographer. May he Rest In Peace.