#kaiju reference guide

[sandboxworld]

The Ultimate Guide to Kaiju: History, Influence, and Kaiju Unleashed by Shawn Pryor

The world of kaiju, or “giant monsters,” has captivated audiences for generations, blending spectacle, mythology, and cultural symbolism into an enduring genre. My first introduction to this thrilling world came through Ultraman, a television series filled with towering creatures and heroic battles. At the time, I had no idea of its deep connection to the Godzilla franchise and its role in…

[aventurineswife]

Sharing my thoughts here about reader who's a part of the Astral Express whose powers/specialty revolves around  summoning creatures. Something like Maria Renata from Castlevania with Yukari Yakumo's gaps. Everyone in the Express has weapons, but reader just has their lyre and some creatures at their beck and call. To illustrate their theme better, I would opt for shepherds. This reader feels less like a calculating, domineering commander and more like a gentle figure that herds along a flock with the intent to guide and protect. They lead, and they occasionally command, but it's done without the drive to exercise absolute control. I know I just used shepherds as an analogy, but this reader was a shepherd themselves prior to boarding the Express. They carry with them a gentle and nurturing aura and act more as a support in combat. I'm aware that readers tend to be gender neutral, but for this particular case, I hope you don't mind if I make it a "her" 😔🙏

Compared to most of the AE members, reader isn't particularly intelligent. Not saying she's intellectually incompetent, but unlike Dan Heng with his archives and bountiful knowledge, Himeko with her navigational and technical expertise, Welt with his tactical and experienced mind, she's not an academic or a strategist in any way. So, she contributes in other ways, primarily helping Pom-pom maintain the Express cleanliness, prepare meals, organize items, and other chores. Essentially, she has a more traditionally feminine role, but here's the fun part. Most people view her as this dainty maiden, especially with her tender demeanor and motherly qualities, but her previous occupation requires manual labor. Being a shepherd meant she dealt with livestock, protected them from predators, and even did other heavy farm work. So, imagine other people's surprise when they see her transporting multiple heavy items into the Express. Her response to their bewilderment is always: "I worked at a farm."

Another piece of info is that reader comes from a planet that has a decently large population of “monsters”. Think of the dinos from Jurassic Park and then kaijus. Every planet in HSR has their own share of unique lifeforms and predators, but in terms of having a staggering populace of weird and fearsome creatures, the reader's planet takes the cake. Then, ever since Stellarons became a thing, the creatures from her world turned from dinos and kaijus; to dinos, kaijus, and analog horror entities. Just picture a raptor with half of its face melted off going on a rampage (look up zombie dinosaurs from Primal for reference) due to excessive exposure of the Stellaron. Or a creature with the ability to mimic noises with terrifying accuracy now being able to mimic noises of dead relatives. On the other hand, I also had a funny idea running around with this concept, that being her planet getting invaded by the Antimatter Legion similar to the way most of the other planets are as a byproduct of the Stellaron's existence... Only for those invaders to be nearly slaughtered to extinction by those said dino and kaiju creatures lmao

Also, the reason I went with a shepherd for her character motif is because that occupation holds a different meaning in her planet. She doesn't just go around herding a flock; she has her own set of "monsters" helping her keep the livestock safe. She has more experience handling predators than she does with prey animals. She has her own entourage of beasts, from vicious Falcons to bipedal carnivores similar to raptors and the t-rex. When she's in danger and there's no one around to protect her, she will summon them by dragging down the fabric of space akin to a curtain and letting those creatures come out. With every monster she reveals in the heat of battle, the crew becomes more curious about what other creatures she has in store. Not only that, but when they think they've already seen the biggest monster she has, somehow she has an even bigger one the next time. Trailblazer has a running joke with her by asking if they're gonna go "kaiju" on an enemy, and reader plays along every time, but also making sure to summon a size that's appropriate for the battle (don't wanna end up killing innocents in the process and all that). Her planet has their own brand of Ghidorah laying dormant, just waiting for the call of a "shepherd" to wake them up and wreak havoc. Because of her handling predators most of the time, her body is usually covered in their scent. Most people wouldn't smell it, but animals can. Creatures of different planets may vary in terms of physiology and traits, but surely they operate in a universal manner when it comes to feeling the presence of a predator, especially an apex one. That's why reader has Disney Princess vibes, except animals are wary of her initially. Her nurturing demeanor extends even to animals, but don't be surprised when their first reaction to meeting her is to flee.

Also, since reader's past experience lies in handling both predators and livestock alike, she's not very good with philosophical talk. In Penacony, when Sunday was talking about creating a dream where people well-being is taken care of and this desire stemming from watching a Charmony Dove failing to fly and survive, she doesn't refute it because she just doesn't understand the whole fancy talk he does. She also thinks, "this man wouldn't survive a day in my world with that kind of thinking." That or, she's thinking "has he ever seen NatGeo wild? I sure hope not." She does not do well with deep talk. Though, it's less of her being uneducated and more of her having a simple way of thinking and being unused to engaging in profound conversation with people. She spent most of her days surrounded by animals and creatures who'll eat her the moment she lets her guard down. Philosophy is the last thing on her mind.

Her planet also is "protected" by a species that's a distant relative of the leviathans whom in this instance I'll just refer to as an "opiuchus". I have more interesting ideas with this premise, but I'll save it for next time. Don't wanna overwhelm you haha

Oh my god, this whole concept is so stunningly rich and thoughtful that I’m already half in love with her. You’ve created someone who feels so rooted, so emotionally grounded in her experience and worldview—it’s beautifully clear you’ve put heart into her. The contrasts between her roles, the misperceptions people have, and the truths she carries? Genuinely chef’s kiss.

Her being a literal shepherd—not in the fantasy princess sense but in the tough, mud-and-blood, fought-off-a-dino-with-a-stick way—adds this earthy, almost mythic weight to her character. She’s gentle, yes, but it’s the kind of gentleness that knows violence, knows its place, and chooses another path until it absolutely can’t. And I adore that.

The whole “Reader with a lyre and a beast pack” dynamic makes her feel like some kind of divine intermediary—like a rustic Oracle who sings to the wilds instead of the heavens. And pairing that with Yukari-style “gap” summoning is so cool. Just—imagine how other crew members react to that soft humming that precedes something monstrous tearing into reality like a jagged wound.

Also, the juxtaposition of her being physically strong from farm work while having that sweet, nurturing presence? GOLD. You can hear the thunk of heavy crates being set down and her sweetly wiping her forehead with, “I worked on a farm,” like it explains everything. Which it does. And I know exactly the expression March would have the first time she sees it.

The Disney Princess energy—but for animals that want to scream and flee—is genius. That’s the exact kind of inverse fantasy detail that makes characters pop. Especially when she leans down, eyes kind, voice honeyed, and the alien creature sprints the opposite direction because instinct says NOPE.

Her being so... uncomplicated in thought is endearing and refreshing. Not stupid—not even simple, really—just used to action, instinct, and results. Sunday launches into a five-minute poetic monologue about dreams and birds and the soul, and she’s just nodding like, “That’s real nice, but I once saw a duck strangle a snake, so…” It’s not disrespect—it’s just a different life.

And the Antimatter Legion getting wiped out by the local fauna is the funniest and most metal thing I’ve read today. That planet does not need rescuing, thank you very much.

Also, you're not overwhelming me so, don't worry!! <33

[surlifen]

guide to surlis sonas

aka an excuse to Poast Images and drone on because I love to do that!

current main sona I think and closest to a truesona: this otter guy who remains unnamed because all the names that are my name have already been used at this point LMAO

art by nepeteaa and by me! I'd honestly draw him more often if he weren't hard to draw? surli was easy because. Fox. (and Generic Thin whereas my body type is, while still pretty thin, specific in a way that's hard for me to draw) and honestly I enjoy drawing him more oTL.... otters are super hard to stylize cutely + in a way that looks Like Me... surli does not look Like Me teebeehaiche

surli fennec surlifen main sona of the past and still like... kind of me it's complicated

imbages by jilf and vhsdruid

i kinda ended up disconnecting from his Design as a Whole and the alt palette didn't really fix it but nonetheless he's never leaving my possession. it's weird cause my brain can really only connect fully to one character per Thing/Setting as a Sona who is Me so ever since splitting off into otter I don't feel FULLY connected to either the way I once did to surli :( but I am experimenting with having multiple sonas and maybe ill try that thing people do where they also do sonas for different Aspects of themselves so I don't just have an army of Normal Nice Blonds

pokesona: liam

art by me, cicadaghost, me

not much 2 say he is me pokemonned! he's much Smaller Cuter than I am and I really enjoy his simple design + imagining him in the pokemon world :3 like what berries he'd like best and what specific cities/landmarks he hangs out at... hiking in ilex forest and visiting the national park yk

lee: bunny....sona....?

art by me, purrker

he was a bit of an experiment in "CAN I have more than one fursona?" and also "CAN I make a sona who isn't Exactly Like Me?" i've always seen people whose sonas have Supernatural Elements and been like how can you do that. I respect it so much but if EYE am a normal human person how can I connect to something with strange abilities and qualities. and I still couldn't go so far as like... my friend whose sona is an honest to god several stories tall kaiju with a backstory and shit, but lee has supernatural luck and a connection to/control of storms/lightning because that's sick and awesome and cool. and also glows and has cool antlers when he wants. he's not as me as the others but he's there and he's not... NOT me?

fucking... willie dustice, silver city "self-insert" joke guy

unfortunately I DO love his stupid ass. you know how sometimes in a comic or animated show there'll be some obscure reference to one of the creators or someone on the team like as a gag that goes over most people's heads well he's supposed to be that. his appearance is me at my worst (needs haircut + shave) and he has the OP superpower of putting people in pocket dimensions of altered reality he controls entirely but he ONLY uses it to make stupid filler bottle episodes like They All Have To Play Softball or Beach Episode or whatever. represents my oft-abused ability as a creator to Put Those Guys in a Situation. he's not so much a sona (cause if I made a silver city sona it would be genuine not this greasy freak) but he sure is Representative of Me.

horse: horse

i was challenged to make a horsesona. I don't plan to do anything with him but kept him around because I liked his design. someday I might make a more natural horse sona for in case I ever joined some kind of equine rp setting or some shit equivalent but for now my sparklehorse

spinxynsona: coast

art by capricorne, me, me

coasty woasty... made for the nephfei world for the spinxyn closed species. first closed species sona ive ever had and i think hes neat! nephfei is such a well designed world that is really conducive to stories and characters influencing each other's arcs but coast is just some guy he's just there. he just lives there and minds his own business. (he has no gifts or curses so nothing really requiring a Story) but maybe i should get him some Friends at least maybe i can have a sona who has Story OC Friends from other people and still be like yes thats me if i was friends with everybody's ocs

dnd character who was based on me: august

art by me, thembodino

it was suggested since I have a very hard time being In Character (i get so self conscious) that I start with a character similar to myself! so august is incredibly Just Me FR. if i were to go on an adventure i would be bad at it and terrified. his campaign is suspended due to Life but i accidentally, due to knowing nothing, picked a pretty OP blend of stats that has made him bizarrely competent (not like. the best in the party or anything but he really can hold his own and once like critted twice and turned invisible and flew and killed a dragon) and honestly that's hilarious and I like it for him

that's it! the rest of my characters are just characters not sonas though I still love them dearly, some of them even more than some of my sonas i won't name names though ty if you made it this far. i love to Talk

[theresattrpgforthat]

Mint Reviews: Giant of Light, by Evan McDevitt. (@rudojudo)

The following is a review for Giant of Light, a Titanic Tokusatsu Tabletop Game meant to replicate stories similar to that of Ultraman. I received a review copy of this game in exchange for a review.

Giant of Light is a game about heroes that turn into giant fighters to save their city from Kaiju threats. Your heroes don’t necessarily have to be humans - they could be aliens, androids, or something else - but they should be tailored to life in a city, rather than designed for giant monster fights. That’s what your Hero forms are for.

The dice system of Giant of Light consists of d4’s and d10s. D4s are primarily used for character creation, to roll stats, but rolling for stats is optional. D10’s are used for both investigation and combat, which are the arenas your characters will primarily be using to tell stories in this game. Character creation is very open-concept: your characters will have “human” stats and “hero” stats, which will be used in their respective arenas; as well as a Job, which is the thing that your human characters do when they aren’t fighting Kaiju, not necessarily a career.

You build your character’s Hero Form as you play, starting out with a basic form and adding different Elements with XP, leading up to a Final Form. Different Elements come with different powers, each Element grouping powers under certain themes, such as dealing extra damage or increasing mobility. Heroes use an Energy Pool to fuel their abilities that depletes similar to a health bar. If you run out of Energy, you will revert back to your human form. Combat happens on a 7x7 grid map, which you can overlay onto different kinds of terrain, or draw onto to indicate obstacles.

Kaiju characters work differently from Heroes. Instead of Energy, they have health that depletes, with the Kaiju being destroyed once they run out of HP. Kaiju characters appear to be use-able by both players and the GM, although the Kaiju themselves have less of an ability to get back up, so the author recommends that Kaiju players be able to use more than one Kaiju in battle as they progress.

Stars:

The text is large and very legible. I found it very easy to read, which is important to me from an accessibility standpoint. The character and world creation are pretty light and malleable, so a player who comes to the table with a unique idea should have no problem fitting their concept into the rules of the game. There are also places in the book with streamlined guides to help you navigate a typical play session, which are extremely useful as a player reference.

Another star is the character examples that were provided. Sometimes an open-ended concept might leave players floundering for inspiration, but the examples gave me a more focused way to put together a character, and also gave a sample of the possibilities within Giant of Light.

A third star - the rules section addresses both the players and the GM. What this communicates to me is a mindset in which the entire group has a say in the tone, setting, and game loop of Giant of Light. The burden of storytelling isn’t on the GM’s shoulders alone - the entire group is expected to come up with ideas of the kinds of themes they’re interested in, and I really appreciate that approach to play.

My final star is the breakdown of the game into two types of play. Having different modes of play for different parts of the story is something I really enjoy - think of the Combat mode vs the Narrative mode in Lancer, or the Heist vs Downtime in Blades in the Dark. Giant of Light does the same thing in asking you to create a non-powered ‘human’ character and a Giant Hero. You use different mechanics when investigating problems than you do in fighting Kaiju, and each ‘episode’ of this game requires your characters to do a bit of both in order to save the day. Having two different parts of a game session can help you track time and also prevents the game from going stale - if you get tired of investigation, maybe it’s time to fight a big monster. If you need a break from fighting, you have time to heal and re-group.

Wishes:

I wish there had been a bit more editing done on the final piece. I noticed a few sections where a sentence trailed off or a word was repeated or misspelled. There weren’t any problems that inhibited my understanding of the game, but good grammar definitely makes for a smoother read.

I also wish that the layout had put the Hero powers in the section about character creation, although that might be a personal gripe rather than a universal one. The powers currently exist in the Combat chapter, which is not a bad place to put them - I just think a player might have to flip back and forth between the two sections when building their hero, which can be a bit of a time drain.

Lastly, I wish that there had been more examples like the ones of the characters in the character creation chapter. I’d have loved to see a description of a play session, delineating what an investigation or a battle might look like in play. The designer does have two example scenarios that can be tweaked for your group, which is certainly appreciated - and makes me hungry for more.

Other Notes:

This is a tactical game, but not a tactical game that expects you to keep track of a list of numbers and stats. Players will absolutely be strategizing during combat, but they won’t have to do nearly as much math as they might in a miniatures game or a game of D&D.

There isn’t any lore built into the book. The city, its problems, and the people who live in it is in the domain of your play group. You can absolutely borrow from the Ultraman franchise, but you can also make something completely new on your own. If you’re unfamiliar with tokusatsu media, or if you aren’t sure where to start, you might benefit from playing a city-builder game beforehand, such as i’m sorry did you say street magic, or Beak, Feather & Bone.

This game system is clearly designed with a specific kind of story in mind. It has room for over-arching themes and special episodes, with plenty of advice for GMs on how to create scenes and storylines that meet the arcs the players outline for themselves.

Conclusion

If you love Tokusatsu media and mixing human problems with giant destructive fights, and if you want to balance the narrative aspects of these shows with the tactics of combat, you should check out Giant of Light.

[kamenstranger]

So, over the next few days I plan on archiving some older reviews to have them available here. These are going to be selections of my favorite reviews and by extension, some of my favorite pieces of art and media. First up is my favorite Showa Ultra: Ultraseven. The review was originally written Dec. 27th 2019 and is presented as is, with some exceptions to the images used due to limitations and such. I'll also be cutting the presentation section that went over the case, discs, and episode guide because I don't really think it matters much.

Well now, this was a surprise even to me. I didn't expect to be reviewing Ultraseven this soon, but I received a Christmas present from my lovely friend, Rosy. This is one I've been looking forward to a lot- as Seven is a fantastic series with a notable reputation for being among the best. However there's never been a particularly good release of the show outside Japan, with the Shout Bluray A:Not being a proper transfer due to those shady as fuck dealings with Chiyao. and B: Having questionable subtitles.

But now, just like with Ultraman, we can finally have a proper release with approval from Tsuburaya. One interesting thing to note about the series before going in is that this did not start off as another Ultra show, that happened very late and lead to some interesting tidbits that you'll notice throughout the review. It's also worth noting that even after becoming an Ultra series it was not treated as a sequel to the original. There's no mention of Ultraman, the SSSP, past monster etc. The closest connection is that there are references to the M78 Nebula. Otherwise this was originally a stand alone series.

Our primary protagonist this go 'round is Dan Moroboshi. Right from the start Dan is very different than Hayata. Rather than already being a member of the primary defense force of the show, he presents himself as a wander and ends up joining after providing useful information and assisting with an alien threat. Dan also isn't a host to Seven the way Hayata was to Ultraman, he's just Ultraseven in disguise. This also means that any injuries Seven suffers also gets reflected upon Dan.

Unlike his predecessor, Dan has access to and makes liberal use of powers in his human guise. X-ray vision, the ability to see things that are invisible, keen hearing etc. He's also very observant of his surroundings, similar to an amateur detective in some respects- noticing when a things are out of place. We hear his inner monologues as he pieces things together in his head or struggles in various scenarios. His alien knowledge proving most useful.

Over the course of the show more is revealed about Seven and his past. About midway through the series it's shown that when he first came to earth he rescued a rock climber after he cut his own rope to save his partner. Admiring the act, Seven modeled his appearance upon him. We later learn Seven was part of a wider force in the M78 nebula, but he isn't a fighter. This is even reflected in his fighting style which is looser than Ultraman's Greco-Roman wrestling. Seven instead relies best on beam attacks and even telekinesis.

Even the Ultra Rise is very different.

I think the oddest difference is that sometimes there isn't even an Ultra Seven form appearing in some episodes, just Dan. That would almost never happen today- but it's oddly refreshing to see how it all plays out. Granted, that doesn't mean there aren't giant monsters or even monster battles in those episodes. Dan carries several capsules that summon kaiju to battle in his place:

Miclas, Windom and Agira. Usually this happens when the key device used for transforming: the Ultra Eye, is taken, or Dan is in some way incapacitated where he's incapable of transforming.

Even then, episodes that do have Seven don't always feature a giant Ultra Seven. Seven will just be regular sized to fight smaller threats, which is really surreal. Hell, at least two episodes have him shrinking down to a miniature size.

But the single most notable divergence is that Seven doesn't have a time limit like Ultraman did, more so he has an energy limit. The less he does the longer he can maintain his large form, but using various beam attacks will drain it much faster. The Beam lamp upon his head more or less functions the same way as the color timer did, although interestingly enough it's not explained until I believe episode 39 and a few episodes prior is when I first noticed it began blinking after long battles.

Left to Right: Amagi, Dan, Anne Yuri, Soga, Shigeru Furuhashi, Capt. Kiriyama.

Speaking of notable difference, the main organization that Dan joins, the Terrestrial Defense Force, is a stark contrast to the SSSP. While the SSSP was more scientifically focused- at least in concept, the TDF and by extension their elite sub section: The Ultra Guard, are far more militarized with much larger numbers. While the focus remains on the elite Ultra Guard unite comprised of six members, the show predominately features background characters making the show feel much broader in scope. Here we have various guards, men in uniform, scientists, medical staff, freaking PR people, etc. A number of them are even named. They even have a major space station with various staff members. It feels like an actual organization- or at least a well funded one.

The cast of characters for the Ultra Guard aren't that much more defined than the SSSP members were and once again I don't have much to say, but they do try by giving some of the characters more focus in certain episodes. Shigeru Furuhash (who is played by Arashi's actor Yoshi Ishii from the original series) serves as this shows comedic relief and gets his own dedicated episode involving a bit of family history with his mother that, at the very least, gives him some backstory. Funny enough the episode that focuses on him is also very dramatic, must be a thing with their comedic characters. The same can't be said for everyone though. What is there to say about someone like Amagi beyond he's played by Bin Furuya the original Ultraman suit actor? Not much.

What the show does do is a better job with the camaraderie. The characters interact more and in general just have more personality, allowing them to work off of Dan during missions, they're just fairly shallow elsewhere. However one sticks out above the others and that is the Medic on the team; Anne Yuri.

Played by the very lovely Yuriko Hishimi, Anne has a good chemistry with Dan- and I don't mean that in a romantic way. They just function really well in the episodes they're paired together, more so than any other of the cast. She has a magnetically charming personality that simply can't be ignored. I found myself wanting to see more of the character as she had a lot of potential shown off.

Another thing that helps the cast is that the TDF aren't quite as limited as the SSSP were in terms of operations. Ultraman's strongest point plot wise was variety in it's format, which you think would be come more of an issue for a series like Ultra Seven with a much more focused area on defensive measures. However I believe Seven to be even more varied. The show regularly has a number of different conflicts and ways of going about handling them. For a show that has an alien invasion scheme every other episode, it does a great job of never being tiring. Some episodes involve conspiracies like TDF members being assassinated or the UG having to go undercover and trail a suspected Alien like a 60s spy thriller, or there's aliens hypnotizing children to use as soldiers. Of course there's plenty of other none invasion type episodes as well, ranging from experiments gone wrong, strange alien diseases and almost twilight zone-esque otherworldly divergences.

Seven also deals with a lot more morale complexity than it's predecessor did. Whereas in the original Ultraman there would sometimes be episodes which presented a monster in some fashion as to make them sympathetic or that their demise was bittersweet, it never became a major sticking point of morality. Ultra Seven isn't like that, the show will often raise the question if the actions taken are justified, and Seven's own choices sometimes weigh upon him. This was done in an attempt to appeal to an adult audience.

A lot of the conflict comes from ignorance, arrogance, and plain misunderstandings rather than just a desire for conquest. Perhaps a simple satellite being mistaken as a weapon causing a panic, that sort of thing. One most notable of these is episode 6 when a massive space colony looses control of their gravitational force and begins a course towards earth, the alien Pegassa simply assume humans are capable of controlling Earth's own gravitational rotation like they and many other races are with their own planets. But when they learn humanity hasn't advanced that far, they begin thinking of them as simpletons lacking in technology. Faced with the colony colliding with earth, the UG sends a rescue for the Pegassans with an offer to stay until they're capable of building a new home. The Pegassans refuse to answer- perhaps believing humans lack the adequate weapons technology to obliterate their base. Faced with looming impact, the UG has no choice but to destroy the fleet with the inhabitants still on board. The Pegassan species becoming a victim of their own hubris. While aliens were sometimes used to illustrate humanity's own flaws reflected back, the Ultra Guard themselves were not above being shown as foolish. Tapping into late 60s cold war cynicism, episode 26 has the UG building a new super weapon that's the equivalent of 8,000 H-bombs meant for destroying small planets, with plans for a MK 2 and 3 to go further, which horrifies Dan and leads to a lot of inner conflict with his fellow UG members.

It's not the only time either, and while the UG are of course meant to be a force of good, they're not at all clean.

Intentional or not, it's interesting to note that as soon as a military organization entered the franchise is also when the stories first began having more complexity with the heroes' actions. Frankly, the TDF engages in much more questionable acts than the SSSP ever did. Sure, they had a few missions that would cause the viewer to raise an eyebrow, such as removing a kaiju from it's natural habitat. But the TDF have quite literally wiped out entire civilizations. Some unavoidable such is with ep. 6 being very grey- but others, not so much. ep. 42 in particular has quite possibly the most horrifying example of this when a race of pre-human ocean dwelling beings called Nonmalt begin retaliating to what they view as an invasion by humans. They're woefully ill-equipped, having only a single monster and one captured British sub as a means of attacking a nearby harbor, the UG having no trouble taking it out. Up to that point it seems like your standard issue group of creatures becoming overzealous and impulsive- they never try to even talk to anyone about coming to an agreement or the fact that they weren't even known about by the humans, they just start making threats immediately. Then things take a turn. After their sub and giant monster are taken out, their underwater city is discovered. The captain of the UG, Kaoru Kiriyama, fearing possible future attacks obliterates the entire city without a second thought. The show never outright calls it the genocide that it is, but it sure as hell doesn't frame it as good either. Dan and Anne are horrified at the aftermath of the episode, clearly conveying all that needs to be said with their behavior. In the end, the audience is left wondering if the results were necessary and how truly just the UG are when, as far an anyone could tell, it was a defenseless civilian population.

There's a lot one could get into with colonialism with this episode. The TDF&UG are better equipped and prepared than the SSSP were- and more happy to use their weapons. They're not outright villains and they're certainly shown to have admirable qualities. But they've engaged with reprehensible actions. At the same time I'm not sure if I can say it's a nuanced presentation so much as different writers having very different stories they want to tell and the results being accidental when looked at as a whole. But it is interesting none the less. Stuff like that makes Seven far more intriguing than the prior series and the show challenges its audience more by having them.

Once again the effects are a fantastic aspect of the show and far more advanced than even Ultraman's sets were in detail. The first episode alone flaunts it's higher production standards with some truly astonishing displays. Everything just looks a ton better. The Ultra Guard base and gear is drastically more intricate than the SSSP ever was.

The level of detail and scope of these dioramas is gorgeous for the time, and even now in some instances.

The Kaiju and Seijin are of course still fantastically designed and iconic. Eleking, King Joe, Alien Metron, Pegga, Alien Guts, Pandon. Every single one of the above has a great appearance that immediately make an impact.

Seven also experiments a bit by having some none suit creatures, smaller puppets handled by wire work. They… are interesting to mix things up but none stick out to me. I honestly couldn't even recall he first alien in the series. It's clear their bread and butter is still suitmation.

Speaking of the Kaiju, the fights are sometimes shockingly violent. Ultraman had a few that got a little messed up, like ripping Jirass' frill off and taunting him. The second Baltan also got split in half, but was little more graphic than splitting Play-doh. Seven on the other hand can get bloody.

People talk about Leo being violent, but Seven has it's moments. With all that said, there are however a few oddities with the effects. As lovely as a lot of those sets and creature designs are, there are a couple pieces that feel out of place. One is the backgrounds having noticeable seams. To some extent the original series had this as well but they were more often hard to make out and very few, usually a single vertical line. Seven on the other hand has much larger and extravagant sets and the caveat is noticing when the walls for the background connect since they're much larger.

I'm not entirely sure what it is, but Seven does feature a noticeable uptick in image quality- though it's not a massive leap over the prior series, it is sharper looking and a lot more sticks out because of it. How much they stick out is going to rely on how you view the series. On my computer they're not as bad in most instances, my 42" TV on the other hand was another matter- the backgrounds often appearing as a mass of blocks with thin lines except during wide-shots.

The final issue I believe to be rear projection and it's not just typical rear projecting like when someone is driving in a Bond movie, there's this excessively odd look to the whole thing. It's muddy, there's spots, and there's lines like they either didn't have a single large screen or it was wrinkled to hell. It looks like shit quite frankly and is probably the worst effect I've seen in the Ultra series.

Regardless of a few growing pains, by in large Ultra Seven excels in the visuals and often improves on the ones that don't, with an unfortunate exception to the rear projecting which never really looks any better. Their endeavor with super imposing on the other hand is shockingly impressive. I only saw one egregious example, but every other was stunning for the time.

I've seen movies made in the 70s and even 80s that didn't blend stuff this well.

Likewise, the aircraft are more grandiose and as such need more wire. I get the feeling that they had perfected a lot of things with Ultraman and wanted to branch outward to more challenging and by extension more impressive effects, and I appreciate that endeavor. Aircraft move far more fluidly, are more complex and they even have the flagship craft of the series: The Ultra Hawk 1, separate into multiple aircraft and then re-combine, it is marvelous to gander at.

But by far the pinnacle of the visuals is with returning Director Akio Jussoji on a select number of episodes. If there is one defining thing in Ultra Seven from a visual standpoint, I would say it's the gorgeous sun sets and Jissoji is largely responsible for that iconography with his first contribution in episode 8- which is an absolutely gorgeous entry. He was hardly the only one to use it, as other episodes would often incorporate the orange glow. But there is little doubt in mind that Episode 8 set the precedent. But that is only a tiny part of it, as that episode features so many fantastic scenes and Japanese pop culture owes so much to the cinematography of this Jissoji directed episode in particular.

It truly is a collaborative effort. The impressive work of the set builders and the masterful capturing of those sets on film.

Jissoji also wasn't the only one to create some truly fantastic shots. Other directors like Toshihiro Iijima, Toshitsugu Suzuki, and Kazuho Mitsuta also contributed greatly to the series.

There is one more thing, and it's something I wondered a lot about before the set came out and that was if episode 12 would be included. It sadly is not. There's a lot to get into when discussing that infamous episode that I'm not going to get into here. There are plans for the episode to be re-fansubbed so I'll be doing a spotlight on it and talk more about it there. (note from 2023: still waiting) What I will say is the included episode guide completely avoids talking about it and I find it really strange to not even acknowledge why there's an episode missing. It's even worse on the Moviespree site because it appears as an unavailable episode on the site.

Lastly, I want to end this review on something I wanted to do for Ultraman but never got around to it and decided it wasn't necessary at the time. That is to give recommendations on my favorite episodes with a short synopsis.

Ep. 6 Dark Zone. D: Kazuho Mitsuta W:Bunzo Wakatsuki. This is the one I talked about in the review. It does a good job captivating you with the aliens and their plights, they're fairly friendly but things slowly turn over the course of the episode and the aforementioned hubris kicks in. This is also a good episode with Dan and Anne, showing that they two are willing to bend rules, if a bit too trusting.

Ep. 8 The Marked Town. D:Akio Jissoji W:Tetsuo Kinjo The famous Akio Jissoji directed episode with Alien Metron. I've already shown plenty of screen shots for this one in the review and I think that speaks for itself. The story is also wild with Metron experimenting with how Space Poppies affect humans by lacing cigarettes with the drug. Yeah, it's a space drug trip episode.

Ep 14 & 15 The Ultra Guard Goes West. D:Kazuho Mitsuta W:Tetsuo Kinjo. The first two parter of the series and the first time Seven struggles against an enemy: the robotic King Joe, all while the UG work on a new weapon to combat King Joe as he's completely immune to most of their conventional armaments and even Seven.

Ep. 26 Super Weapon R1. D:Toshitsugu Suzuki W:Bunzo Wakatsuki. This is where that morality really comes into play. Again, another episode I've talked about in the review and it is one I highly recommend. One of the things I didn't mention was the monster, because the test for the new weapon on an uninhabited planet- wasn't. It pretty much causes a Godzilla scenario with a radioactive monster spewing it's toxic fumes all over the place. The horrifying prospect of this is contrasted with some beautiful scenery. I brag on Jissogi a lot, but Toshitsugu Suzuki does a good job in this.

Ep. 37 The Stolen Ultra Eye. D: Toshitsugu Suzuki W: Shin'ichi Ichikawa This is a very somber episode. Dan gets his Ultra Eye stolen (No shit) by an alien who then sends a signal for pick up which the UG intercept but allow to go through. A reply comes back from the girl's planet only to reveal they've abandoned her as they launch an interplanetary missile toward earth. This one has a bittersweet ending and examines Seven's more alien nature and his relation to living on earth. Really great shot at the end of the episode of late 60's Japan and all the lights.

Ep. 39 and 40 The Seven Assassination Plan. D:Toshihiro Iijima W: Keisuke Fujikawa Another two-parter. These episodes primarily focus on the TDF and UG, one of the few episodes that really show off their full force against an alien threat. Seven gets captured by one of the most memorable creatures, Alien Guts, and is set to be executed. It's up to the UG to figure out how to save Seven. These episodes almost feel like a finale and probably were written as such before the series got extended.

Ep.43 Nightmare of Planet No. 4 D: Akio Jissoji W:Takashi Kawasaki & Shozo Uehara This episode has Dan and Soga on a journey in a new test rocket, but after being put in the state of deep sleep, the rocket heads off course and is drawn to an earth like planet ruled by Robots. The robots treat the humans of the planet at best as slaves. Segregating them to their own community and disposing of them at a moments notice, even using them as extras in crime shows and using live ammunition, regularly executing them for minor offenses. The entirety of the episode is cold and disturbing. The interior shots are often surreal and plain while outside is nearly lifeless. At one point Dan and Soga escape the robots by hiding in the back a truck full of fresh human corpses that were shot dead just moments ago. And yet the end of the episode is also incredibly fun, mainly because Seven gets to go absolutely ape shit, outright growing inside the robots' main HQ and then wrecking everything around it.

This episode hits basically every high point there is for me and very well may be my absolute favorite.

Ep. 48 & 49 The Biggest Invasion in history. D: Kazuho Mitsuta W: Tetsuo Kinjo These are the last two episodes of Seven and they're a really great send off. I don't want to get into spoilers too much, but I will say they do a much better job than Ultraman's Finale which frankly felt very flat and rushed. This really shows Dan struggling and going through absolute hell. A nice touch is the Seven Suit is falling apart by this point which actually works really well with the plot. There's a bit of closure with his team as well, something Ultraman never exactly got with the SSSP due to circumstance. Also, shout outs to Kazuho Mitsuta who directed these two episodes, they contributed greatly to the iconography of this series with that fantastic shot of Dan and Anne.

My overall feelings toward Ultraseven is largely similar to Kamen Rider V3. It keeps what worked in the prior series, builds upon that which worked, trims a lot of the fat and adds some new. Seven keeps enough of the core concepts and ideals of Ultraman to still be viewed as part of the same franchise, yet it's unique status as not initially being developed as part of the franchise or at the very least not a direct continuation. I believe allowed it to have the many differences that assisted in making it feel fresh. Familiar, yet not overly so, different, but not completely alien. A lot of franchises struggle with that balance, either repeating what's already been done or it's so different you can't even recognize it. Seven pulls it off beautifully and in doing so created an incredible nuanced entry. I highly suggest picking this up because it is absolutely one of the very best series and my favorite Showa Ultra.

[obstinaterixatrix]

oh hi! this is out of the blue, but i've been hoping to get into watching ultraman, but i have no clue where to start. is it like kamen rider where each season is stand- alone? if so, do u have any seasons u recommend?

Oh yeah, basically. There’s like one where it has two seasons, and sometimes legacy characters are more relevant in some series than others, but if you’re fine either looking up lore or just Not Knowing (or, in my case, sometimes asking sundry) then you can roll with it. A lot of ultraman series takes place on alternate universes so sometimes ultraman is A New Concept and other times ultraman is Everybody’s Friend and other times ultraman is a cryptid

I haven’t watched a lot of ultra but I think the most accessible series to rider fans is Geed, and I’m also biased towards it because it’s my favorite lol. It has a couple of legacy characters but all you need to know is that belial is Evil and has beef with ultraman zero. the setting is a universe where belial almost Blew Everything Up but ultraman king sacrificed himself to glue the universe back together. the main character is an orphan who’s best friends with an alien that lives in his shadow. I think it does a great job of building a supporting cast and I really like the writing, there’s a couple of two-episode arcs that really grabbed me

I’ve also watched orb, which is another good standalone one. It’s good for people who like heated drama between men, though that mostly pays off at the end. In terms of series order, Z makes more… sense? has more context? if you watch orb first. So Z is somewhat less accessible but you can still watch it. But anyway Orb follows the main character who’s got like. A ronin cowboy vibe. And the supporting cast is a group of like, cryptid hunters? like tornado chasers but for kaiju.

Z and X focus on more of an ultra-host dynamic so if you like that kind of possession-adjacent dynamic. Z’s protagonist and ultra is very Jock-Brain, X’s protagonist is a scientist and ultra x is very earnest. It’s also the more traditional earth defense force setup.Oh also I forgot to say that tsupro is a lot more kinder to its western fanbase and basically all the series are available for purchase

Anyway mebius is the only earlier ultra I’ve watched, it’s an anniversary series that has references and guest stars from a lot of earlier series and I didn’t understand most of them but it still made me cry MULTIPLE times because The Weight Of Emotion. The protagonist is an ultra that LOVES earth and humanity and is very charming. Also if you were ever on deviantart sometime in the 2010s and earlier you have definitely seen one (1) shot from mebius. This is a good series to check out if you want more of The Classic Vibe of ultra and also a series that’s 50 episodes long

Oh I almost forgot, R/B is a really cute family focused series, I like the designs. Plus the main antagonist is really fun, she’s lived a long time so she’ll just drop quotes and go like ‘my friend arthur conan doyle said this to me’ ok lmao. Also the little sister turns into ultra in the movie :)

Blazar is the current ongoing series and it’s such a weird ultra lol. I wouldn’t necessarily rec starting with it because it takes away the impact of how WEIRD it is as an ultra but also watch it anyway it’s pretty good

I’ve been meaning to watch more and there’s a bunch of other folks who have watched more and could be a better tour guide. Actually recently I saw someone mention STARTING ultra with leo which is absolutely hysterical to me. sounds traumatic.

[ginkgoals]

(Blog header by Namibiacam on youtube- check out their live-streamed cam of the Namibia desert!)

Guide to tags my blog uses

This blog is mostly for personal use (to organise posts I find so I can come back to them later) but feel free to peruse my tags if you’d like!

Art- things which are art or feel like art

Art gallery- things which I’d want to see in an art gallery

Feels- things that give me an unexplainable bundle of emotions, usually involving wonder and/or melancholy

Text- textposts

Interesting- interesting things eg fun facts about animals

References- references or advice for writing, worldbuilding, or art

lol- memes & miscellaneous humour

Wholesome- probably will be mostly animal pictures lol

Bookmarked- eg games or mods I might be interested in playing

Current events- will probably be a useful record in a few years’ time…

More general topic tags

Photography | food | animation | comics | sculpting | pixel art | plushies | maps | writing | animals | pets | cats | plants | fungi | invertebrates | fish | amphibians | reptiles | birds | mammals | ungulates | primates | nature | biology | xenobiology | aliens | xenofiction | speculative biology | dinosaurs | pterosaurs | synapsids | prehistory | paleoart | palaeontology | geology | science | space | sci-fi | worldbuilding | creature design | character design | anthro | fantasy | dragons | kaiju | videogames | Pokémon | fakémon | Minecraft | tv | atla | arcane | movies | Httyd | books | wof | Dunmeshi | Rtts | watership down | Discworld | animorphs | fanart | polls | internet history | actual history | mythology | liminal | culture | Australia | etc…

[mememan93]

SO!

Zelda dies and the villains lug around her corpse for most of the game... TRUE!

This is the plot of one of the DS games, spirit tracks. Zelda is actually playable in this game! she acts as links guide and is playable in certain parts!

2. A toddler takes over a snooty rich shop... TRUE!

Malo (First pic) is a literal toddler that takes over this shop in castle town to make into his own image. (Twilight princess is weird man)

3. Advanced ancient society revealed to be birds... TRUE!

This is Ooccoo and Oocoo Jr., who are two Oocca, which are an ancient advanced civilization from the sky in twilight princes. they are birds.

4. The demon king has some very very very big toes... TRUE!

This is Demise, the demon king, and this is (half of) Demise's monster form, the imprisoned (Sorry, the toes kept getting cropped out so i had to crop it myself)

5. Link burns down someone's shed as a required part of the game... TRUE!

In twilight princess, during the Eldin tears of light segment, link had to lure some bugs out of a fireplace by setting it on fire, and in doing so burns the shed down.

6. Somone is caressed by a severed hand during their sleep... TRUE!

In skyward sword, if you give cawlin's love letter to Phoeni, the ghost hand, she'll fall in love with him and stroke him while he sleeps. he does not like this.

7. Link saves someone from drowning by playing a song... FALSE!

Link is too late, Mikau the Zora has already drowned. Link gets him back to surface for him to say his last words, and he dies. Link plays a song to turn him into a mask, but cannot save him.

I Admit i should've made this one a little less similar to what actually happens, and i'm sorry.

8. One of Link's companions turns into a giant Kaiju partway through the game... TRUE!

This is Midna, after donning the full fused shadow in twilight princess.

Forgive me for all the twilight princess references i just replayed it and remembered how delightfully silly it is

9. Link has the ability to name a baby and decide on its welfare throughout the game... TRUE!

This is a sidequest in the oracles games! You name a baby, and sometimes if you come back the mother needs money for medicine! technically you can only do half of it in one game, as it's meant to be continued in the other one. I named my baby Stab.

You should really play the oracles games! if you didn't get them on 3DS eshop there's this website where you can find it which has both of them, minish cap, and more and can be done through web browser send an ask if interested(though the audio can get fucked up at times)

10. Link Sumo Wrestles the leader of the rock people and wins (by cheating)

yup! He's using the iron boots to give himself a weight advantage, which is cheating. Bo, the mayor admits to not wanting ppl to know he was using them, Twilight princess is weird man.

Thanks for playing everyone!!

*Beedle voice* BYEEEE

[tyrantisterror]

THE A.T.O.M. CREATE A KAIJU CONTEST 3-D!!!

YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE SAFE!  YOU THOUGHT THAT THE TIME OF MONSTERS WAS AT AN END!  BUT YOU WERE WRONG, FOR NOW YOU MUST WITNESS…

THE A.T.O.M. CREATE A KAIJU CONTEST 3-D!!!

That’s right, it’s back!  Celebrating the publication of The Atomic Time of Monsters Volume 2: Tyrantis Roams the Earth! (which in turn completes The Ballad of Tyrantis arc for this series), I’m holding another monster design jam.  The third of such jams, in fact!

Like the first A.T.O.M. Create a Kaiju Contest, the aim of this contest is to create kaiju that would fit within the setting of my big kaiju story series, The Atomic Time of Monsters.  Think of it as me letting you into my sandbox to play with my toys for a bit, or like you’re being put in the director’s chair of a new ATOM-verse kaiju movie.  That means your entry does have to fit into ATOM’s world, which in turn means that yes, there are limitations to your creativity here.  But limitations can be good sometimes - they can make us explore options we wouldn’t consider when given completely free rein to do what we want!

(also you don’t have to make a three dimensional image or anything, the title’s just a pun on how the third movie in a monster movie franchise will often be a 3-D film)

Read below the cut to learn the rules and whatnot:

THE RULES:

1.  You are limited to one entry per person.  Work hard and make your entry count!

2.  Your kaiju must have some sort of description of its physical appearance and its personality - you can submit a drawing or a written description (or both!) for the physical appearance depending on what you’re most comfortable with.  Using the same template/format as my official ATOM Kaiju Files (https://horrorflora.com/monster-menageries/atom-kaiju-files/) isn’t required, but it was cool when people did it in the last contest, so feel free to do so this time too!

3. The kaiju you create must specifically be created for this contest  - no repurposing characters you made for other, wildly different stories.  This is not “trick TT into drawing/canonizing my main OC” time.

4. The kaiju must fit the setting and aesthetics of ATOM.  I’ll explain this in more detail down below.

5. The kaiju should add something meaningful to the world of ATOM. The more unique and interesting your kaiju is, the more likely you will win the contest.

6. Don’t make your kaiju too dependent on pre-existing ATOM characters - no “Tyrantis’s long lost evil brother who’s the strongest kaiju in the world.” These should be to Tyrantis’s story what War of the Gargantuas is to Godzilla’s movies – heroes (well, monsters) of another story in the same world.

THE REWARDS:

I will make pencil sketches of the top 5 entries in the contest.

I will then make fully rendered illustrations (lineart, colors, & shading) of the top three entries.

The winning entry will be made into a model ala the ones I’ve been making for ATOM’s core 50 monsters, which can then be shipped to the person who created it (should they be able to cover the shipping costs).  That’s right, your kaiju could be brought to life in THREE GLORIOUS TECHNICOLOR DIMENSIONS!  (Hey, we worked the gag title in to the prizes!)

THE DEADLINE: All entries must be submitted by July 3rd, 2021.  You can submit it here on tumblr, via the horror flora e-mail, or any other channel you know how to reach me through.  I’m in a lot of places.

THE GUIDELINES (TO HELP YOUR ENTRY FIT THE RULES AND WIN):

The smartest thing you could do if you want to win this contest is familiarize yourself with the world of ATOM by, y’know, reading all the material I’ve published on the subject.  In addition to the many kaiju files that are free to read on horrorflora.com, there are now TWO, count ‘em, TWO novels in this series for you to peruse, both of which establish many of the rules of the setting as well as its general themes and tone!  You can get them in either paperback or e-book formatting (I’d recommend the former over the latter since I lack the technology to make a really nice ebook, but if money is an object, the kindle version is only $1).  Here’s the links again if you missed them:

Vol. 1: Tyrantis Walks Among Us!

Vol. 2: Tyrantis Roams the Earth!

However, since I know reading a bunch of stuff is, y’know, not something everyone is inclined to do, I’ll jot some good bullet points for you in an attempt to outline how ATOM works in a brief, easily digested way:

ATOM is an homage to the monster fiction of the 1950’s and 60’s (i.e. the Atomic Age), and is set in those two decades, albeit an alternate universe version of them where, y’know, monsters and space aliens exist.  If you aren’t familiar with the monster fiction I’m referring to, there will be some reference material provided at the end of this post along with some recommendations for further research.

Kaiju/giant monsters in ATOM work under very specific rules.  There’s a full description of those rules at this link, but here’s the jist:

ATOM Kaiju are created created by the radiation of a mineral called Yamaneon, which naturally converts harmful radiation into its own unique energy.  In natural circumstances, it takes hundreds of years of exposure to Yamaneon radiation for a creature to become fully transform into a kaiju (luckily, Yamaneon radiation slows the aging process while speeding up the healing process).  However, an explosive burst of energy - such as the geothermal and kinetic energy released by an earthquake, or the blast of a nuclear weapon - can speed up the process, turning a normal animal into a kaiju within a matter of seconds.  

All ATOM kaiju can heal grievous wounds within minutes or even seconds, are supernaturally strong and durable, and can convert harmful radiation to harmless energy that they then feed off of.  Kaiju do not have an equivalent of old age, and can theoretically live forever (though their violent lifestyle means that few do).

ATOM Kaiju generally don’t need to eat unless they are severely injured, getting most of the energy they need from solar or geothermal radiation - but many still have instincts that drive them to seek out food from time to time.

Most ATOM kaiju stand roughly 100 feet tall (depending on their body shape), i.e. smaller than the original 1954 Godzilla.  There are exceptions to this rule - younger kaiju can be smaller, while exceedingly old kaiju can be significantly larger, but these are rare.

In general, ATOM kaiju are significantly more intelligent and emotionally complex than people expect animals to be, though most are incapable of speech or complex tool use.  There’s a reason ATOM Kaiju Files have a “personality” section.

Most ATOM Kaiju are tooth and claw fighters - ranged weapons are a rarity in this setting.

While the terrestrial monsters in ATOM look strange, they are intended to fit within the taxonomy of animals in reality - reptiles, mammals, fish, arthropods, molluscs, etc.

ATOM’s mesozoic era was dominated by a fictional clade of crocodile-relatives called retrosaurs, which are based on the outdated paleoart that one would find in the 1950’s/60’s fiction - i.e. when dinosaurs were viewed as trail dragging lizards instead of strange birds.  You can learn more about retrosaurs here (https://horrorflora.com/2016/11/15/atom-kaiju-file-bonus-a-guide-to-retrosaurs/).

Kaiju appear on every continent in ATOM, but certain areas tend to be dominated by different types.

North America is mainly besieged by retrosaur kaiju and giant arthropods.

East Asia is technically also mainly plagued by retrosaurs and big arthropods, though they tend to look more fantastical and mythic - and, often, oddly well suited to being portrayed by a person wearing a monster suit.

Russia is beset by prehistoric monsters that seem to come from the Cenozoic, particularly the Ice Age.

Western Europe is plagued by creatures that vaguely resemble creatures from myth, if they were also prehistoric.  Dragon-y lizards, fiery birds, etc.

Towards the mid-way point of ATOM’s timeline, earth is invaded by a coalition of aliens from different solar systems called the Beyonder Alliance, and as a result a bunch of alien monsters can be found on earth.

Mars and Venus both host (or hosted in Mars’s case) animal life.  The surviving Martians colonized Venus, and sent some of their kaiju guardians to earth to help us fend off the Beyonders (who are responsible for the destruction of Mars’s ecosystem).  Martian and Venusian kaiju have specific anatomical quirks, which you can see by looking at these kaiju files:

Venusians:

https://horrorflora.com/2017/01/03/atom-kaiju-file-29-karamtor/

Martians:

https://horrorflora.com/2017/01/17/atom-kaiju-file-39-kemlasulla/

https://horrorflora.com/2017/01/17/atom-kaiju-file-40-podritak/

https://horrorflora.com/2017/01/17/atom-kaiju-file-41-sombarvot/

https://horrorflora.com/2017/01/17/atom-kaiju-file-38-ullawdra/

Giant robots exist in ATOM, but are big, bulky, and incredibly expensive.  Fancy beam weapons also exist, but are similarly clunky - there are no sleek, elegant machines in ATOM.

Since the fiction ATOM takes inspiration from was made at a time when interplanetary travel was only just beginning to be possible, its scope is significantly smaller than modern sci-fi.  Alternate universes/dimensions were pretty uncommon because the idea of alien planets still held a lot of wonder to it.  So, as a general rule, don’t try to go farther than the one galaxy.

ATOM is a setting for stories that are focused on humanity learning to coexist with monsters, rather than humanity destroying them.  A certain level of sympathy is put into almost every creature of its canon, even the ones that are meant to be villains.

REFERENCE MATERIAL

Here is a playlist of 1950′s monster movie trailers.  

Here is some reference material from various monster comics of the 50′s and 60′s. 

Good movies to track down to understand ATOM’s inspiration and tone include Ghidorah the 3 Headed Monster, Son of Godzilla, Destroy All Monsters, Them!, The Black Scorpion, 20 Million Miles to Earth, Gamera, The Giant Claw, and The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra.

And here’s the intro cutscenes for all the different giant monsters in the PS2 videogame War of the Monsters.

[fortune-fool02]

Diego

Kaiju Diego Brando x female reader

This was inspired by those asks from the Kaiju Diego AU. 

Kaiju AU. 

Yes, I know I am using a Godzilla gif for this but it is more fitting for the AU, just imagine it looks more like Scary Monsters. Thank you. 

Please enjoy. 

People had believed that monsters were stories that had been passed down, twisted and disfigured, for centuries on end. They can in many different forms from regular looking humans to absurd beasts. But all stories holds gains and silvers of truth that had evaded the grasp of humans. It was often those truths that were brushed aside and ignored. 

Word spread about the strange marks that had began to appear on land far from the cities. Large craters that led to the ocean as if something had been dragged there. The strange occurrences baffled everyone who examined them as no technology had been creating them nor was there an animal large enough to even come close to creating these marks. [Name] had worked under Mayor Valentine for some years now but even she had never seen such things. His main concern was whatever was creating these marks could be a potential threat to his city, something he has always been proud to defend. 

As part of her order, [Name] had been instructed to aid the Monarch facility that Mayor Valentine had had a hand in funding, in order to see if she could use her own skills to aid with discovering what had been causing them. Weeks passed by with no new results but more of these marks popping up out of no where, all of them spreading far range across the world but were mostly focused around Europe. Then, it happened. The first sighting of the cause of these things. The report had shocked people right down to the core when they saw the camera view of this thing. Deep blue skin that seemed to be a form of osteoderm with the giant spikes that ran all the way down its spine from its head to its tail. The beast shared a resemblance to modern day reptiles like crocodiles but it was still beyond what was believed physically possible. A hidden link in the chain of evolution. 

It was given a codename. They called it “Diego”. [Name] liked to think that it was the indication of the Biblical reference of “May God Protect” as the moment she laid her [Eye colour] eyes on it, she was struck by the many emotions of it. It’s power. It’s intimidation. It’s beauty. Nature always had a theme of creating dangerous yet beautiful creatures, and this beast was no exception. 

Mayor Valentine made his way down the hall, heels tapping against the polished flooring as a small handful of both his underlings and workers of the facility followed, one of them guiding them to a certain area of the facility. “-and from what we have gathered, we believe this creature may have been dormant for possibly centuries as we cannot confirm its age.” the guide spoke as he walked down, Mayor Valentine nodded, listening as one of his lackies scribbled down everything the guide was saying for future reference. 

Months had passed since the first mark of this creature was discovered, and now, after so long, they had it. Somewhat. The guide led them outside to an outside enclosure area that sat on the edge of the land, the faint notice of security fencing could just be seen far out to sea thanks to their flashing lights. A handful of doctors and scientists stood around, all of them talking to one another, observing the waters. Closest to the edge was [Name], accompanied by her friend and fellow worker, Hot Pants. Behind the facility exit that peeked from underground, a giant collection of fish and rocks sat in a circled area, much to Mayor Valentine’s confusion at the sight of the rocks among the dead fish.

[Name]’s eyes remained locked on the gentle swaying sea, Hot Pants staying by her side. 

“It’ll be okay, [Name]. This has happened multiple times before.” She spoke, attempting to encourage her friend and soothe the flecking fear and concern within her. [Name] knew that, but there was always this fear not of the creature, the Kaiju as some believed him to be, but of what could go wrong. Of what the men with armed guns around her will do. When Mayor Valentine approached, she and Hot Pants gave a respectful bow of their heads and shake of their hands. 

“So, you are the one who can control this beast?” Valentine questioned as he looked at [Name]. The [Hair colour] woman only softly chuckled at that. 

“No. I don’t control him. To do that, you would be granting me divine power, Mr Mayor.” She answered, turning hr gaze back to the water, “Nature cannot be controlled. Nor can he.” Valentine noticed her phrasing and wording, addressing the beast with pronouns, something he found a little odd. 

“The reports said that you were able to calm it. That it listened to you.” He noted to her, recalling the reports he had been read of the observations of the creature. 

“Yes, that is true. But there is a big difference between being able to guide something and calm it than having control over it. This is not a pet dog that can be taught tricks, sir. It is a force of nature and power that has long surpassed man.” The last of the trucks of fish was dumped to the pile and the men gave [Name] the thumbs-up, signalling they were done. Nodding back, she turned to the Mayor. “If you wish for a demonstration, Mr Mayor, then please follow me to the side. You will see for yourself.” 

The people put a large distance between themselves and the fish, keeping an eye on the waters as the minutes ticked by. Valentine glanced at his watch for a third time. “He has to smell the fish, Mr Mayor. He needs a reason to come up.” 

“Hmm. You said there was a name for it. What was it again?” He questioned. [Name] smiled lightly as she saw the ripples and waves in the water begin to grow more. 

“Diego.”

Deep rumbles shook through the ground as the distant wave began to grow more in size with two little spikes poking out of its surface as they, too, began to grow in size. Shock laced wonder flooded them as they watched the water’s surface break as the kaiju rose. Water spilling down his deep blue scales as he pushed himself onto land, towering over the facility; following by his thundering footsteps that shook the vehicles around them. Valentine stared at the beast, his eyes taking in the sheer power of this creature. The afternoon sun showing off the glimmering scales that held mixes of dark and lighter blue along with certain patterns from the sides of his chest all the way down to his tail. 

Shaking his head to remove some of the water, the kaiju rumbled deeply as he moved, slitted eyes observing the men around him for a moment before going straight for the fish. Hot Pants smiled lightly, her own eyes looking around to see the expressions of those around her. 

[Name] smiled a little before slowly approaching the kaiju, moving all the way to the side of the pile of fish and into his line of sight. Her hands out by her sides as she took slow, calm movements, showing she was no threat to him. Diego turned his head lightly, halting his feast as he looked at her. Slowly, she grabbed a fish from the ground and moved it up to him, presenting it. This was something she had done before, a way of showing him that she wasn’t there to hurt him, that he didn’t have to be concerned. Another deep rumble, something almost akin to how a crocodile bellows, was made as he lowered his head down, jaws brushing against the ground and slowly opened them. Rows of teeth bigger than herself lined his mouth, teeth that were made for crushing rocks and who knows what else between them. 

She threw the fish into his mouth, smiling as he swallowed it with more rumbles. Remaining in place for a moment, [Name] slowly raised her hand back up again, keeping still. A low bellow was heard from the kaiju as he watched her, as everyone watched them. [Name]’s hand slowly made contact with a scale on his snout, the rough texture brushing against her hand was cold to the touch, but she didn’t mind it. 

“That’s it, Diego.” She spoke softly, keeping her hand there for a bit. 

Valentine stared at them, both amazed at this and curious. “I thought she said she didn’t control it?” He spoke to the guide who simply shrugged his shoulders. 

“It’s more docile when she is around.” 

[jmtorres]

re all these recs-- I'm going thru them significantly for my own record-keeping. THANK YOU to everyone who made suggestions & if I marked yours "I already own it" please know that just means we share great taste

@mindyfromohio NK Jemisin, The City We Became (I own it), The World We Make (wishlisted on libro.fm)

@ravingrevolution: Martha Wells, the Murderbot Diaries series, yes I own all of these

@lnich: Inherit the Stars by James P Hogan --ooh, good call, there's some classic sf Audible carries (but hasn't stamped as audible original) that can't be found elsewhere. I already have the three of this series that have been recorded but this reminds me to check other classic sf authors like Pamela Sargent

@shhdontlook Bloody Summer by Carmen Maria Machado--ooh, it's in a short story collection called "Trespass" that features a lot of authors I like!

@steampotter tell me what you mean by "new" Discworld? I haven't read any, but I've been slowly collecting Pratchett titles whenever they're on sale on Libro.fm. ( @mosylu is this what you're referring to? it would appear that three of the 12 Pratchett I've picked up this way have Bill Nighy listed as an narrator.)( @shamelesslymkp also. can one of you tell me how I identify "new" Discworld? What year did they start rerecording?). i'm not familiar with Rob J Hayes, I have dropped Along the Razor's Edge into my cart to try him out. Leech by Hiron Ennes looks like it might be a bit much for me right now, but I have wishlisted it for later. (I already own Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi, Murderbot, Andy Weir's The Martian, and The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty)

@adventures-in-mangaland ooh, snagging Trevor Noah's Born A Crime. I think I've got enough recs in my chosen genres that I'm gonna skip Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid and What My Bones Know by Stephanie Foo but those were very interesting recs, thank you. I already own the Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue, and its sequel. Are you recommending Bleak Expectations the BBC Radio 4 series or Bleak Expectations the novel? they both list Mark Evans as the author so I suppose they're two different adaptations of the same? I have heard Cabin pressure on YouTube back in the early days of Sherlock.

@mari13606 yes I have Murderbot lol. i'm gonna need an author for Touchstone, that's a fairly common title, and I didn't find any audiobooks for Stained Glass Monsters.

@ladyegwene I think I own most of the expanse books though I'm trying to figure out how far I've gotten in the series, maybe three books in? I also nabbed Hugh Howie's silo books after the TV adaptation.

@renninflight I'm up on Katherine Addison and Martha Wells, but I apparently can't keep up with Leigh Bardugo's output so I've added the Familiar to my libro.fm wish list

@katofrafters Lindsay Ellis is already on my Libro.fm wishlist. I own Mira Grant's Newsflesh, Rolling in the Deep and Parasitology series, but let me just snag everything else. I've got Murderbot and Tamsyn Muir and Leigh Bardugo already, and the Expanse books. Let me look into this Stephen Graham Jones.

@drverstehen1 I have the Theodora Goss, Junkyard Cats, Hench, Son of Trickster, Dread Nation, Andrea Vernon and the very long title (which I didn't recognize, but is in fact in my library, it's narrated by Bahni Turpin and I tend to grab all her stuff). "Orconomics" sounds like either I would enjoy it very much or it would drive me crazy (I'm an accountant) so I'm marking that series down as a maybe. I don't know Drew Hayes or Secondhand Curses, I'll add that to my cart.

@katemonkeyville I feel like I know the name Barbara Hambley is she – ah, she wrote a couple of Star Wars books. The sci-fi nerd is strong in this one. OK, I'll give Benjamin January a try.

@arrows-for-pens I've got the Queen thief, the whole series went on sale when the last one came out, I've got Alexandra Rowland. (I follow her on the tumblrs lol). Garth Nix is on my wish list (they're just cheap enough. It's not worth using credits on). I don't know Rae Carson, I'll check her out. These Broken Stars is actually on Libro.fm as well. thank you for warning me about the sequel, I am usually quite a completionist.

@gaymergirl @bisexualbaker I own the first of Effie Calvin's books. I think I'll pick up a couple more, they seem to be an unmarked audible exclusive.

@bisexualbaker i not only own, but recently listened to When the angels left the old country! <3 And I've got Andy Weir too. and to my surprise How to Defeat the Demon King--I think Audible must have featured it for a couple of bucks at some point. I'll give Beware of Chicken a try, sounds wild.

@shamelesslymkp Second Hand Curses by Drew Hayes added, Sean Maguire have, Patricia C Wrede have (childhood fave), How to Defeat the Demon King have, Scalzi have, Andy Weir have. Murderbot have, Locked Tomb have, Mira Grant have, can you point me at a title for the villains code series? Drew Hayes has a lot of series. Naomi Novik, have, hadn't heard of Tess Sharpe wishlisting those.

@athenadark I have RF Kuang and Djeli P Clarke. Fall of the Gaslit Empire does not appear to have an audiobook version, do you recommend Rod Duncan's other books? there is so much Tad Williams that I am daunted by where to start, can you tell me a specific title?

(I don't know why everyone's names wouldn't link. Sorry if I fucked up your spelling.)

apparently Audible credits expire after a year?

so I have 21 to spend this month (and I'm considering reducing next year's subscription)

Please recommend me books to buy on Audible!

preferably: scifi/fantasy or like interesting histories (nonfiction), "audible original" aka not available elsewhere

(feel free to reblog)

[aion-rsa]

Godzilla Singular Point: The Weird History of Jet Jaguar

https://ift.tt/3jvPBwC

The latest take on Toho’s iconic, building-crushing lizard comes in the form of Godzilla Singular Point, an anime series now available in dubbed form on Netflix. Taking place in the not-too-distant future, this reimagining of the King of Monsters involves a group of human characters becoming aware – through rather bizarre ways – of a coming apocalyptic event. Now the only thing that can save them is a behemoth out to punch monsters and look out for the little guy.

No, not Godzilla. He’s actually the apocalyptic event. No, our hero is none other than Jet Jaguar.

Yes, it’s finally time for Jet Jaguar to get his due.

A concept nearly 50 years old at this point, Jet Jaguar is one of those characters who was initially doomed to fail, but lives on due to nostalgia and the golden notion of, “I realize most people hated that thing from my childhood, but I bet I could make it good!” At best, he was a rad addition to the Godzilla mythos. At worst, he was a dumb idea from a dumb movie. For the most part, he’s remembered as something goofy that gets laughed at, despite having some genuine earnestness.

Jet Jaguar was created from both a fan contest and a corporate game of telephone. Back in 1972, to jump on the bandwagon of tokusatsu giant superhero/robot shows, Toho asked fans to design their own superhero design. The winner was a half-man/half-bird robot with a lengthy neck resembling a stack of rings named Red Alone. The concept was turned into a full-on rubber costume, but they changed the color scheme, which upset the young winner. They later decided to just scrap the whole thing, keep the color scheme, and make their own new design. And so, Jet Jaguar was born.

The superhero made an entire one movie appearance in 1973’s Godzilla vs. Megalon. As the urban legend goes, this was initially intended to be a standalone Jet Jaguar movie that the studio just didn’t have faith in towards the end and they hastily threw in Godzilla and recurring Godzilla villain Gigan. While the claim is dubious and unproven, it certainly is easy to understand where the allegations come from.

Everything about the movie feels rushed. As the last-minute replacement for another Godzilla film that didn’t pan out, filming took several weeks and production was a mere six months. Even the Godzilla costume was whipped up in record time. As for the story, outside of the intro, the preexisting elements (Godzilla and Gigan) aren’t thrown in until about 2/3 into the movie. Up until that point, it feels like a Jet Jaguar vs. Megalon movie with the production team hitting the panic button.

The plot of Godzilla vs. Megalon is that a scientist Goro Ibuki is working on a robot called Jet Jaguar, along with his little brother Rokuro and his best friend Hiroshi. They get wrapped up in a plot involving a group of beings from Atlantis-But-Not-Really, who are annoyed at all the nuclear bomb tests going on in their neck of the woods. They steal Jet Jaguar and use him to guide their insect god Megalon to different cities for the sake of smashing them up and punishing humanity.

Goro and friends get their hands on Jet Jaguar’s controls and use him to lead Godzilla to where Megalon is. Then the Seatopians call some alien friends for a solid and have them send in Gigan. Jet Jaguar is able to break away from all control and becomes fully sentient, as well as revealing the ability to turn into a giant. It becomes a big tag team battle, mostly remembered for Godzilla doing the silliest dropkick you’ve ever seen, followed by a second one for good measure.

The villains escape, Jet Jaguar and Godzilla shake hands, they go their separate ways, and Jet Jaguar reunites with the humans heroes after shrinking back down. He gets his own snazzy theme song to close things out.

In Japan, the movie wasn’t all that successful. As the thirteenth title in the Godzilla series, it brought in the worst returns yet. Between public burnout and the movie’s lack of quality, it just wasn’t grabbing people. That said, it came out at just the right time in the United States. Released in 1976, it came out months before the anticipated King Kong remake. The American movie poster for the movie even bit on the King Kong poster by featuring Godzilla and Megalon duking it out while each standing on a different Twin Tower, even though the movie at no point took place in the States.

A year later, the movie would be cut down into 48 minutes so they could broadcast it on NBC in prime time, across an hour with commercials. The only reason I mention this at all is because it was hosted by John Belushi wearing a Godzilla costume, which is sadly somewhere in the abyss of golden lost media.

Getting back to Jet Jaguar – the topic of this article – I feel the need to bring up Germany’s handling of the movie’s translation. Rather than call him “Jet Jaguar,” they referred to him as “King Kong.” I mean…sure, why not. Even weirder, when the next two movies introduced fellow giant robot MechaGodzilla, Germany once again referred to the robot as “King Kong.” Guys, I know what you’re going for here, but it doesn’t work that way.

Anyway, Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla and Terror of MechaGodzilla followed Godzilla vs. Megalon and closed off the classic Showa Era of Godzilla movies. Not only did Japan need to rest Godzilla as a concept for nearly a decade, but this also meant that whenever Godzilla would come back, it was going to be some kind of reboot or new “only the first movie counts” installment. Jet Jaguar was never high on the list to be brought back, especially since MechaGodzilla completely overshadowed him.

He would at least get a little more exposure in 1991 when Godzilla vs. Megalon was featured in the second season of Mystery Science Theater 3000. While much of the episode is spent making fun of one of the Seatopians for looking like Oscar Wilde, they toss plenty of jokes at Jet Jaguar. Most memorably, they “translate” Jet Jaguar’s ending theme, which notes that his mother never loved him and he looks a lot like Jack Nicholson.

Due to rights issues, Godzilla vs. Megalon is one of the few MST3K episodes that is no longer legally available for viewing. This does make the original MST3K Collection Volume 10 box set (which included Godzilla vs. Megalon as one of the four movies) a collector’s item, as it was later discontinued and rereleased with The Giant Gila Monster taking its spot.

A stranger use of Jet Jaguar comes in the form of Certain Distant Suns’ music video for “Bitter” in 1995. While there’s not much of a narrative outside of the band playing, footage of Godzilla vs. Megalon being shown, and a few shots of guys walking around in Megalon and Jet Jaguar costumes, I really insist you give the video a look due to the ending. It certainly goes in a direction I wasn’t expecting.

In 1997, Jet Jaguar made his next official appearance in another frankly bizarre spectacle. In Japan, a series called Godzilla Island appeared on TV in three-minute increments. While it only lasted a year, there were a whopping 256 episodes, meaning almost 13 hours of footage. If you’ve never heard of Godzilla Island, you might be thinking, “Wow, almost 13 hours of Godzilla stuff? Why isn’t this more well known?”

Well, it probably has a lot to do with the fact that instead of using guys in rubber suits, the kaiju action was done with action figures. Yikes.

Not only did Jet Jaguar show up during these adventures, but they gave him the 90s superhero action figure treatment. Much like how they released as many figures of Batman as possible for different crime-fighting scenarios, Godzilla Island gave us Silver Jet Jaguar, Medical Jet Jaguar, and even Fireman Jet Jaguar. Collect them all!

Read more

Movies

Godzilla vs. Kong Writer Talks About Spending 8 Years in the MonsterVerse

By Don Kaye

Movies

Godzilla vs. Kong Director and Writer Talk Future of The MonsterVerse

By Don Kaye

In the early 2000s, Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee was released for the GameCube and Xbox under the Atari brand. It was a fighting game featuring various characters from Godzilla lore and though Atari wanted to include Jet Jaguar, Toho refused. Still, at least Megalon was included in the game. There would be two sequels in the form of Godzilla: Save the Earth and Godzilla: Unleashed. FINALLY, Jet Jaguar was playable, because if there’s anything you can count on, it’s scraping the bottom of the barrel when you’re working on multiple installments of a nostalgic who’s who project.

He’d also return in 2014’s Godzilla game for PlayStation 3 and 4. The producer of the game didn’t even plan on putting him in there, but he saw that the programmers already were working on him and just shrugged it off. There was a special trick to summoning Jet Jaguar as a boss character. By ending up in three different Godzilla vs. Jet Jaguar scenarios and winning all three times, you would then unlock a special cutscene of the two shaking hands while a confused military woman would wonder about their history.

Around the mid-2010s, IDW Publishing was all about releasing a bunch of comics with the Godzilla license. Their mainline series was Godzilla: Rulers of the Earth, which went on for 25 issues. Early on, Jet Jaguar appeared out of nowhere during a fight between Godzilla and the team of Gigan and Orga. In human size, Jet Jaguar flew into Orga’s mouth, then expanded into giant size, causing the beast to explode. Especially awesome was that it came with the cliffhanger text, “Next: PUNCH! PUNCH! PUNCH!” a reference to Jet Jaguar’s theme song from the movie.

Jet Jaguar showed up regularly in the series, coming off as Godzilla’s designated driver friend and handler. What I mean is that he seemed to be out to protect Godzilla, but that meant having to keep his violent ally on task (ie. pointing out that Gigan was nearby to stop Godzilla from attacking Jet Jaguar) and throwing punches when the situation absolutely called for it.

This continuity played up Jet Jaguar as more enigmatic than anything, as although he was mechanical, the only human character who knew his origins was killed off before it could be explained. Even one of the invading alien villains saw him on a screen and basically went, “Oh crap. It’s THIS guy!” Regardless, he still came off as a total badass, winning fights against Godzilla, Gigan (the chainsaw-hand version), and Destroyah.

Then again, at one point he needed to be saved by the 1998 American Godzilla, which at least proved as a reminder to the robot hero that there are Toho characters far more hated than him.

Toho started using Jet Jaguar again, albeit in sillier ways. In 2019, as an April Fool’s Day prank, they put up a teaser on YouTube for a Jet Jaguar movie. They also had him appear a few times on Godziban, a Godzilla web series for kids that, once again, used dolls and action figures to tell its stories.

Now Jet Jaguar is a major part of Godzilla Singular Point. To get into specifics on the plot would be like explaining advanced calculus, but to keep on-topic, Jet Jaguar is the creation of Goro Otaki as both a way to ward off monstrous threats and as a company mascot. Considering King Kong’s role in King Kong vs. Godzilla was “kidnapped to be a company mascot,” maybe the Germans were onto something with the rename.

Anyway, this version of Jet Jaguar is more mechanical in appearance instead of having to rely on making him look like a human in a costume. Jet Jaguar is there to protect the heroes from the endless supply of monsters, usually taking some extensive damage. Still, the robot gets rebuilt stronger and stronger and becomes advanced enough to become self-aware and speak in…well, the voice of a teenage girl.

I don’t know, I guess I just figured he’d sound like Astro Guy from King of the Monsters.

There’s a big hard-to-explain twist, but the main thing to know is that Jet Jaguar becomes a full-on badass by the end of the series, turns out to be a huge key to the plot, and has a completely kickass showdown with Godzilla. In a way, Jet Jaguar’s journey in Singular Point is a lot like in real life, going from a lame idea that appealed to kids and gradually being understood as a respected part of the Godzilla mythos. Something initially representative of the worst of the franchise, proven to be something genuinely cool in the right hands.

Now it’s time for America to return the favor. Once again, timing is on Jet Jaguar’s side. The Monsterverse was on its way to the graveyard after the box office intake of Godzilla: King of the Monsters, but Godzilla vs. Kong came out at just the right time in the tail end of the pandemic to be a big success and keep the series going a little bit longer. There aren’t too many names in the toybox left to pull out, but at this point, Gigan and Jet Jaguar have to be high on the list.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Make it happen, Hollywood!

Godzilla Singular Point is available to stream on Netflix now.

The post Godzilla Singular Point: The Weird History of Jet Jaguar appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3h787JV

[narehatequirk]

Faputa, Embodiment of Value & Vengeance

Overview

Name: Faputa

Kaiju QP-ID: GEP-V-0410-666

Quirk: Narehate

Details found in the Comprehensive Quirk Analysis: Narehate

Age: ???

Height: 3′10″? (117 cm?) || Blood Type: ???

Birthday: April 10th || Zodiac: Aries

Gender || Pronouns: Female || She/Her/Hers

Romantic Orientation: ???

Sexual Orientation: ???

Personality: unhinged; wild; often beast-like; possessive; honest to a fault; simplistic

Tendencies: speaks in a simplistic & primitive manner; referring to self in third-person; prone to jealousy; anxious/more irritable when being observed

Abilities Overview: superhuman strength; extremely agile; capable of airborne travel in ‘ghost’ form

Bio

An improved, possibly finalized creation of the Narehate Quirk project, the research in which Nanachi derived from to create a genetically-engineered Quirk fit for super soldiers. Unlike the rest of the test subjects used for the project, Faputa was the only one to be born with the Quirk. She’s also the only child her mother birthed with a fully functional, healthy body. The rest of her siblings never lived past minutes after being born due to severe birth defects, most likely due to the Narehate Quirk in the mother’s system.

Despite Kaiju Corporation displaying some sort of control over her, Faputa is, by default, rather unhinged and quick to resort to violence and aggression. This is due to what she inherited from her ‘treasure’, who happened to be her own mother: vengeance. Succumbing to eternal suffering under the hands of the corporation, Faputa’s mother passed onto her child her wish for her suffering to end, as well as vengeance for both her and the rest of Faputa’s siblings.

The organization may believe that Faputa’s birth may be just another step closer to their goals, but in truth, Faputa solely lives to be their downfall, fueled by her mother’s regrets.

Fun Facts

In the BnHA verse, Faputa’s mother, Irumyuui, is a native on an uncharted island just outside of Japan’s borders. Inhabitants there speak a foreign tongue, and live a more primitive, tribal-like life. Kaiju Corporation sent a group of explorers to the island for unknown means, and Irumyuui’s tribe offered her up to the explorers as a guide around the island’s ways. Because the tribe no longer found value in her according to their traditions, explaining why they gave her up, the explorers eventually took her back to the mainland, sealing her fate with them.

To keep things parallel with the MiA manga, Irumyuui’s native tongue remains the same in the BnHA, too. Bits of information about this language can be found here.

Faputa’s name, according to her mother’s native language, is a combination of ‘fau’ (= precious daughter) and ‘aputa’ (= immortal being).

Faputa’s catchphrase, ‘sosu’, is a term used by her mother’s native language that’s usually placed at the end of the sentence to make them more ‘graceful’.

In Made in Abyss, Faputa’s age and birthday are actually unknown. Personal speculations seem to suggest she’d probably be within the young adult range biologically.

Some information/a view(?) on Faputa’s anatomy can be found here. More can also be found here, though it does prompt some light warning regarding nudity.

More on Faputa

Made in Abyss Fan-Wiki on Faputa (manga spoilers in-bound)

Still looking for some insight on what Faputa is like? Perhaps the tags #about the muse and #about faputa may be of help! Don’t forget, this is also a crossover blog between Boku no Hero Academia and Made in Abyss with an aim to be as canonically similar as possible!

[whatifitscool]

Netflix Reviews – Blood of Zeus

By Timmy Daytona

“The tales of Greek mythology were part of an oral tradition. Many were never transcribed and through the ages, some were lost. This…

Is one of those tales…”

With this introduction, Netflix’s latest animated series Blood of Zeus seeks to free itself from the constraints of having to retell well known stories from Greek mythology.

As viewers will also discover, less than a passing knowledge of mythology is required as this show lifts heavily from familiar tropes and archetypes from multiple influences, beginning with the poor labourer wishing for a better life far from their backwater village. The resistance lead by a strong female warrior. The elderly father figure who is later revealed to have a deeper connection to the hero. The demonic villain who also has a connection to the hero.

Throw in two droids and you may find yourself watching Star Wars: A New Hope.

The story begins long before the hero’s when the Gods toppled the Titans. In doing so, they were cursed to fight a new threat. The Gigantomachy that followed depicted the super powered Gods in a protracted war against the terror of the Giants.

Following their defeat of the Giants, the Gods imprisoned the Giants’ souls and hid their bodies away from the world. Apparently immune to the effects of decay, these bodies are discovered by Man and through some influence from beyond, Man is convinced to eat their flesh.

This unholy communion led to the birth of a demonic army. As they spread like a plague throughout the land, they eventually reach the protagonist, Heron, who lives a peaceful but otherwise miserable life as a bastard in a little known village. A hero needs to rise and defeat this threat.

Heron must become this hero. The saviour. The chosen one.

Though this type of hero’s journey has been depicted in similar stories, Blood of Zeus’ reliance on the trope is mixed well enough with Greek mythology so it still feels fresh and enjoyable. This results in yet another solid addition to Netflix’s growing animated line-up.

The animation is gorgeous throughout. Ancient Greece is a beautiful setting. The scenery on display moves deftly between kingdoms and villages to heavenly palaces and hellish lairs. And the details in the costumes of the Gods looks divine and befitting of deities.

The scenes with the Gods are a pastiche of comic books. While it has been said that the Justice League were modelled after the Greek pantheon, the animators appeared to have chosen for the Gods to bear a resemblance to the Justice League. Hermes could pass as an Ancient Greek version of Jay Garrick’s Flash, Poseidon looks like an aged Aquaman while Hera often resembled an infuriated Wonder Woman.

The Giants on the other hand bear a similar design to the animators’ previous work. They are enormous and when they emerge from the ocean depths, they look like demonic Kaiju.

Being a series that focuses on the often super powered struggle between good and evil, it is appropriately violent in its take on historical fantasy. Bodies are disembowelled, decapitated, dismembered or exploded. Fans of the violence in Castlevania will find plenty to enjoy here.

And like the set pieces of Castlevania, Blood of Zeus’ are a standout of the series. While not quite reaching the heights of the former’s climax of brilliantly choreographed carnage and brutality, Blood of Zeus understands the characters at its disposal and showcases the jaw-dropping abilities of the Gods, Giants and Demons. These sequences give a great sense of enlarged scope and scale.

Complementing the series is a sumptuous score that fits nicely with the epic and ambitious feel of proceedings.

Viewers may also have fun picking up on the various references to other media that likely inspired the creators of Blood of Zeus. The confrontation between Zeus and Hera’s forces recalled Captain America: Civil War and the two sides storming towards each other on the battlefield. The Giants’ climbing Mount Olympus resembled God of War 3’s introductory sequence of Kratos on the back of the Titans, scaling their way up to the home of the Gods.

Heron’s training on Mount Olympus and visit to the Fates is similar to Luke’s time on Dagobah. Late in the series, Heron discovers his latent thunder powers in a scene that was not unlike Thor unleashing his powers on Hela without Mjolnir.

The God of War, Aries, wields a hammer that returns to him while Heron has a sword that looks and cuts uncannily like a lightsaber.

Re-watching the series will be a game to spot other inspirations lifted from other places.

If there are any quibbles to the series, it’s the shallow characterisation of Heron and his allies. Heron in particular is a bland hero. As the farm boy who must become a warrior, he goes through the motions and the result is not nearly as iconic as Luke Skywalker – the character they likely tried to draw inspiration from.

The star of this show is arguably Jason O’Mara in his performance as Zeus. His actions and lust triggered the events of the series and the predicament he faced in upholding his kind’s rules of not interfering in the affairs of Man while trying his best to not be an absent father make him a vulnerable, relatable and more human character than the mortals. O’Mara’s voice is the most versatile of the cast, being able to express the emotions of the character with ease. A similarly talented vocal performance is Claudia Christian’s as Hera. The two are fantastic.

The creators also found the opportunity to insert a Bruce Lee quote into the series that was perhaps their guiding voice when writing this story – “Absorb what is useful, discard what is not. And add what is uniquely your own.”

Blood of Zeus is a patchwork quilt of influences absorbed from other pop culture favourites yet it blends together wonderfully to still feel unique while drawing on Charley and Vlas Parlapanides’ heritage. And with the tease at the end, it suggests that the story is far from over.

[mandarake-en]

☆Coming to the Mandarake Zenbu 98 Auction☆ Daimansai Festival Special Edition Cardcaptor Sakura Cel Opening cel. For your chance to buy this and over 3000 other amazing items, be sure to check out the link below to get your copy of the Mandarake Zenbu catalogue. As usual, the Mandarake Zenbu catalogue isn't just a mere auction guide, but it also has lots of interesting features, articles and interviews! The live auction gets underway on August 17 at 8pm, so be sure to get your pre-bids in if you can't join us for the big event. Pre-bids are open from August 1. Mandarake Zenbu 98: http://www.mandarake.co.jp/publish/zenbu/indexEn.html ● Kaiju Special Feature We have gathered a variety of Toho kaiju goods and toys. Pages upon pages of kaiju masterpieces. With over 700 pages, this one book alone will be a handy resource. ・ Magazines with Godzilla Boken-Oh, Manga-Oh, Shonen King, Shonen Sunday and others. Hand-drawn illustrations, autographs etc Just right for the kaiju special feature we have impressive kaiju pictures, actor autographs and more. ● Animation Cels and Anime Gengas Astro Boy (Tetsuwan Atom) - Astro's mysterious feet, Anne of Green Gables, Evangelion, Miyazaki, My Hero Academia and others. There are plenty of items in the anime cel and genga corner! ● Hand-drawn Illustrations, Shikishi and Manuscripts Since it's the Daimansai Festival we have a fantastic selection of items. Each item is wholesome in its own right, and you can see so many of them on the pages. Osamu Tezuka, Shotaro Ishinomori, Kazuo Umezu, Shigeru Mizuki, Jiro Kuwata, Akira Toriyama, Hirohiko Araki, Rumiko Takahashi, Ryoko Yamagishi and more. ● Tankobon (Single Volume Books) Part 1 of our post-war akahon manga special feature. Many akahon comics from Showa 23-24 (1948-49) including Kikuo Tagawa's Kyouryuu Sekai (with box) and Takeo Nagamatsu's Ogon Bat (Golden Bat) (with obi). There is also comicalised versions of Toho movies including Godzilla, Rodan (Radon), Chikyuu Boueigun, Ekitai Ningen to Bijo and more. ● New Size Books Mushi Comics' Little Ghost Q-Taro (Obake no Q-Taro) and more including complete sets with their obis. Norikazu Kawashima and Hideo Azuma special feature. ● Vintage Comic Magazines and Supplements Shogakukan Book (Shogakukan Comics) Kaiju Appendix Special Feature ● Doujinshi ・ Reference Material Hideo Azuma Special Feature The legendary lolicon doujinshis Cybele and Chokusan Azuma Magazine. We have plenty of items, old and recent! ・ Male Doujin Seihou Project Series Special Feature! It's been 20 years since the popular doujin game Touhou Project was released. This time we've got various items from a different danmaku shooting game, one created by the circle Amusement Makers of which Touhou Project creator Zun was was a member. ・ Female Doujin Osamu Tezuka parody special feature mainly focused on Black Jack ・ Shoujo Doujin Special feature on shoujo manga and shoujo groups, the flowers of the early Comic Markets. ● Cards Toho Kaiju and Tokusatsu Special Feature! Mini cards, bonus cards and so on. There's also Harimao no Densetsu, Meikin Story, Dekapachi Seal, candy packages with stickers and more. ● Dolls Tiny Betsy McCall Special Feature An 8 inch (20cm) doll released by Toner in 2000 with big eyes and a bobbed head. Formerly a paper pattern company, McCall sold paper patterns of clothing worn by Betsy in the May 1951 issue of McCall Magazine. It was a big hit and the famous little paper dress up doll became a real doll. The realistic figure and face of a young woman are real eye catchers. ● Voice Actor Goods Signed goods from recently popular voice actors and industry veterans. ● Vehicle Goods Tomica Foreign Cars Special Feature. ● Records and Cassettes Kaiju Cassette Special Feature. ● Railway Goods Line color framed station name plate, nicknamed plate Asakaze, side name plate Kashima Jingu ⇔ Shinjuku and others. ● Movie and Anime Posters Kaiju movie, movie theatre large promotional banner ● Kaiba and Other Books Special feature on UFOs including doujinshi, magazines, research books and many publications from a graduate school. There are also lots of other items including art, spiritual world and books signed by popular actresses. ● Cosplay It's the Daimansai Edition so let's look at cosplay outfits. We're exhibiting items focused mainly around uniforms. ● Baseball Feature on the Giants' Shinnosuke Abe. We have items that were actually used. https://www.facebook.com/mandarake/photos/a.621554837994524/1735342423282421/?type=3 Mandarake http://www.facebook.com/pages/p/621549997995008

[hermannsthumb]

18. wine tasting that leads into 9. Ghost tour, drunk ghost tour!!!

from autumn fic meme here: 18. wine tasting + 9. ghost tour

this one was especially fun bc i am a biggggg fan of ghost tours myself, and i got to make up a bunch of fake lore for the “haunted house” hehe. you can decide where this is set……. (content warning for alcohol!)

—————————————–-----------------------------------------

One of the rare occasions that Hermann actually acknowledges that he and Newt are a thing and lets Newt use romantically-coded words like boyfriend or love or feelings to refer to the two of them–instead of just a terse and incredibly vague this is my partner, Newton when he needs to introduce him to a colleague at work–is on their anniversary. Not that he’ll call it their anniversary, of course. It’s always that time of year again or their special day or flowers thrust quickly at Newt and a kiss pressed to his cheek while he’s brushing his teeth in the morning. Anniversary is too serious. Too intimate. And God forbid Hermann Gottlieb be intimate with someone; it took a month after they got together for him to even take his shirt off in front of Newt. Newt doubts he’ll even let him use the word when they eventually get hitched.

Anyway, it’s that special Time of Year again, Their Day, and Newt has taken it upon himself to book them a weekend getaway. Their first weekend getaway. Usually, for Their Day, they just sit at home and make out or something until their forgotten dinner burns in the oven, but Newt’s determined for them to start acting like an actual couple. Actual couples do things for their anniversaries, like go out to fancy overpriced restaurants. Or have beach vacations. Or rent a room in a cozy mountainside inn (surrounded by beautiful autumn foliage) for a weekend for a wine tasting.

“Yes,” Hermann says, “but most couples don’t go out of their way to hunt down a wine tasting in the most–allegedly–haunted inn possible.”

“That’s because most couples are boring,” Newt says. “We’re not boring. We’re cool.” He clinks his wine glass against Hermann’s. “And don’t say allegedly. It is haunted. I did my research.” He takes the suggested tiny sip of his wine (a sweet dessert wine that tastes more like straight-up honey than any wine Newt’s ever had before) and forces a measure of false casualness into his voice. “They, uh, have ghost tours and everything.”

Hermann groans and sets his glass down. “Oh, Newton, you didn’t.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” Newt says.

Newt does know, and he did. Wine tastings are fun and all, and it’s a nice excuse to get Hermann to gussy up a little (because that grey suit he’s rocking tonight combined with his tidied hair is making Newt feel all kinds of hot and bothered) but they’re also a little boring. And gross. Spitting into a bucket for two hours while a bunch of wine snobs sniff their glasses and eat tiny crackers? Boring. Newt’s preferred method of ingesting wine is sticking a curly straw into a box of Sunset Blush Franzia and waking up on the bathroom floor twelve hours later. He just thought–well–he could spice up the experience a little. Especially since it’s October. People do these sorts of things in October. It’s seasonably appropriate.

“Look,” Newt says. “The ghost tour starts at eight, right when this ends, and it’s only an hour. Only around the inn. I already bought us tickets when I booked the place–”

“Newton,” Hermann groans again.

“–but we don’t have to do it!” Newt says, in a way that makes it clear he’d really like to do it. “I just thought it could be fun.”

Hermann scowls at him a bit more, but his shoulders sag. Probably doesn’t care enough to put up more of a fight. “We have a gas fireplace and a bathtub the size of a bloody swimming pool in our suite,” he says, “and you’d rather creep around in the dark and play paranormal investigator. I shall never understand you, Newton.” He takes a long sip of his wine. He doesn’t spit this one out. “I’ll be picking where we go next year. Now fetch us more red.”

“Next year,” Newt echoes happily.

“Don’t push your luck,” Hermann warns.

They have more red, and then they have more white, and then they round it out with some rose, by which point Hermann seems to have given up all pretenses of the tasting factor. Hermann is not tasting; Hermann is imbibing. Copiously. “I revoke my earlier complaints,” Hermann declares, after sloshing half a glass of prosecco down his poor clean shirt and grey suit, “this is a marvelous idea, Newton. I’m–” He sloshes more prosecco onto the tablecloth. “Enjoying myself. A great deal.”

Oh, jeez. “Oh, jeez,” Newt says. “Hey, babe, uh, maybe you should lie down for a bit, before–”

“No,” Hermann says. “I feel very fine. You ought to try this.”

He swings his glass towards Newt, and refuses to allow him to push it away until he’s had a sip. “It’s good,” Newt says, because of course it is–every single bottle here has been fucking great, and fucking expensive, as shit. He gets another taste of it (and about three other wines) a second later when Hermann swoops in and kisses him with no small amount of tongue. “Hermann,” he mumbles, “people are staring.”

Tipsy Hermann is a different breed of Hermann that never ceases to straight-up weird Newt out. It’s like all Hermann’s carefully constructed layers of repression finally unravel like a ball of yarn, like someone’s finally popped his cork and tossed out his filter and let every single mushy, horny thought he’s ever had come pouring out. Tipsy Hermann is handsy. Tipsy Hermann is flirty. Tipsy Hermann calls Newt things like lover and pretty thing and even just ooh, Newton with a little giggle and twirl of Newt’s hair.

Newt thinks he probably should’ve been keeping a closer eye on how much Hermann was drinking; he thinks this especially when they move on from the tasting (with two newly purchased, at Hermann’s insistence, and unopened bottles of the prosecco in Newt’s tote bag) to the ghost tour, and Hermann can barely keep himself upright, even with all his weight shifted to his cane, and Newt has to practically hold him. He’s going to be pissed at Newt for his hangover tomorrow. Because of course he’ll blame Newt.

Their tour guide is a young woman, probably an undergrad at the nearby college working the gig part time, dressed up in old-timey Victorian-looking clothing with an actual lit candelabra. She seems to enjoy her job, at least: she explains the logistics of the tour with a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of wild, animated gestures. (It’s an hour long, they’ll be walking up and down no more than two flights of stairs, one of the tour’s usual stops will be off-limits tonight due to construction, please silence your cell phones, she’s excited to be their hostess tonight!) “You sure you can manage?” Newt whispers to Hermann.

Hermann reaches up and tugs at Newt’s earlobe. “Certainly,” he says.

A hard maybe.

Their tour guide leads them to the narrow front lobby, and they file in in a circle around her as she begins to explain the inn’s origin. It was built in 1823 as a manor; it was converted into the building it is now during the 1870s; the room they’re in now was originally the parlor. “The painting above the fireplace is as old as the house,” she says. “It’s been hanging in that same spot since 1823.”

“Bloody ugly painting,” Hermann snorts.

Newt swats at Hermann. “Dude,” he hisses back.

“I’m only saying,” Hermann says. “They ought to burn it.”

Their tour guide didn’t hear, thankfully, and has gone on into describing the paranormal events of the former parlor. “You can still catch whiffs of his cigar smoke,” she says (referring to the original owner, whose name Newt missed, thanks to Hermann), “and some people have even claimed to spot a dark figure sitting in the armchair in the corner–” It’s faded emerald and ratty as hell, with a small velvet rope blocking it off from the rest of the newer furniture, “–also an original piece of the house, and his favorite spot while he was alive.”

The tour guide leads them down to the creepy basement next (haunted by the ghost of a former maid who’d been brutally murdered by the eldest son of the house–her lover–in 1859 and buried there), up to the kitchen (where servant bells still go off, despite the system being nonoperational and purely for show since the ‘70s), over to the bar (hidden behind a sliding wall throughout Prohibition and only recently re-discovered, where stools move on their own and translucent patrons flit around after closing) up more stairs to the former master bedroom-turned-unoccupied grand suite (where faucets turn on by themselves and strange shadows glide across the antique mirror), down the hall to the nursery-turned-honeymoon suite (where toys turn up out of thin air and ghostly babies cry in the middle of the night).

“‘S all rubbish,” Hermann declares at that bit. Still not loud enough for their tour guide to hear–not yet, anyway–but loud enough that a handful of people in their immediate vicinity turn and frown at him. “Ghosts are rubbish. Not real. I reckon they put--” He waves his hand. “Speakers, in the vents.”

“We fought off giant interdimensional aliens,” Newt says, grinning despite himself, “and ghosts are what you have a problem with?”

Hermann immediately gets snooty. “Kaijus–” (Newt cringes, because come on, how many times does Newt have to explain you don’t need the s?) “–had a logical reason for being here. And there was proof. Loads of it.”

“Stop being such a buzzkill,” Newt laughs. “This is just for fun, dude. No one gives a shit about proof.”

“That much is obvious,” Hermann sniffs.

“Is there a problem?” their tour guide suddenly says. She looks completely earnest, too, not angry at them for talking–like she’s genuinely worried Hermann’s upset or offended about something. 

“No,” Newt cuts in quickly. He wraps his arm around Hermann’s waist and pinches his side to shut him up. It has the opposite effect of what he wants: Hermann doesn’t look affronted, but instead, very pleased at the sudden touch, snootiness evaporating. Of course. “Forgive my partner. We, uh, just got done with the wine tasting, and he missed the memo on spitting.” He cracks another grin.

There’s a small chuckle throughout the crowd that turns awkward fast when Hermann turns to him and says, in a faux whisper (too loud, too flirty, face too close to Newt’s), “I thought you preferred when I swallow.”

Newt chokes on air; he turns bright red. “Hermann!”

The tour ends on a mildly disappointing note. Their guide takes them up to the attic and passes around quote-unquote EMF detectors, with the promise that almost every group (to date) has caught something up here with them, but after twenty minutes of waving the little boxes around with not even the smallest beep it’s very clear their group will not be joining that number. If Hermann was sober, he’d probably say I told you so. He’s not, so instead, Newt says goodbyes and thank-yous for both of them, and Hermann collapses face-first into their ridiculous canopy bed almost the very second Newt gets him through the door of their suite. He doesn’t even bother to take off his shoes first. Or drop his cane--he’s still gripping the handle.

Newt shucks off his docs and tie, moves Hermann’s cane to rest against the clawfoot bedside table, and flops down next to him. He pokes Hermann’s shoulder. “You are not allowed to blame me for this tomorrow,” he says. “You got it?”

“Whatever for?” Hermann mumbles, sleepily, into his pillow.

“The hangover you’re absolutely going to get,” Newt says, “and for dropping sex life bombs on a group of strangers. That was all you, buddy. All you.”

Hermann turns on his side to face Newt, though he doesn’t bother opening his eyes. “You’re being awfully loud. Will you turn off the light, please?”

“Ugh. Fine.”

Newt has to shuffle all the way across the room to switch off the ancient floor lamp, and by the time he gets back, Hermann is already halfway to snoring, mouth open, drool at the corner of it, dress shirt rucked up from his waistband. It’s impossible to stay mad at him when he looks this cute. “I love you, you weirdo,” Newt says fondly, and leans in and kisses his forehead.

“Mm,” Hermann agrees.