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[astoundingbeyondbelief]

Kaiju Week in Review (November 26-December 2, 2023)

I wasn't over the moon when Toho announced that Takashi Yamazaki's Blockbuster Monster Movie was in fact the next Godzilla film. I had seen a few of his works—none bad, but none spectacular either. Well, I've set my sights on watching the rest in the new year, because Godzilla Minus One is an unqualified masterpiece. A tagline from the original Godzilla, King of the Monsters! comes to mind (as it often does when you're me): "Mightiest melodrama of them all!" A lot of the post-Showa films suffer from an abundance of characters who just spout exposition and look at monitors; here, almost everyone in the small cast gets at least one close encounter with Godzilla, and the monster's backstory is conveyed with extreme efficiency. This tale of a war veteran trying to rebuild his life in the ruins of Tokyo, stumbling into a family, finding fulfillment in blowing up leftover mines, and haunted by what he perceives as his cowardice in combat, would have been plenty compelling without Godzilla.

Since it does have Godzilla, it's high on my list of the best movies of the year, and I only need one viewing to call it one of the best installments in the almost-70-year-old series. Yamazaki patiently waited some 15 years after Always: Sunset on Third Street 2 for his shot at a Godzilla feature. You certainly get the sense, watching one of the most brutal, pissed-off incarnations of the monster ever to grace the screen, that he spent every day of it in preparation. Watch it often while it's still in theaters, and watch it big.

Godzilla Minus One will gross about $10 million in its U.S. opening "weekend", a third-place finish that beat expectations. For context, Godzilla 2000, the last Toho Godzilla film to receive a wide release here, made about $10 million during its entire theatrical run here. Ticket prices were cheaper then, of course, and Minus One was helped along further by almost half of attendees going to premium-format screenings. Conversely, it had to overcome Americans' subtitle phobia, and the first weekend of December is usually a slow one. I was pessimistic at the outset, but now I expect larger theaters to carry the film into the new year, especially with near-universal raves from critics and audiences.

Yes, a third section for Godzilla Minus One; it's well-deserved, I promise. MyKaiju is risking life and limb by hosting an English translation of the film's novelization, written by Takashi Yamazaki himself. It appears to be at least partially machine-translated, but the Japanese text is included for comparison. Haven't read it yet, as I want to see the film a second time first, but quite a breakthrough given how mysterious this sort of thing usually is.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters could never hope to compare with the opening of a stellar new Godzilla film; unfortunately, I also thought this week's episode was the weakest so far. It's bookended by Frost-Vark action, but the rest just drags. All's forgiven if the teacher and the hacker smooch though.

Toho and Legendary used to let each other's live-action Godzilla movies breathe; now the U.S. opening weekend of one is coinciding with the opening marketing push of the other. IGN released a trio of pics from Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, showing Kong with his axe; Dr. Andrews, Jia, and Trapper (Dan Stevens's character) in uniform; and Godzilla "evolving into a powerful new form." The same article included an interview with director Adam Wingard. Naturally, he didn't give away much... besides the return of Doug.

Earlier in the week, Legendary put out a trio of posters featuring Godzilla, Kong, and the film's antagonist, now christened Skar King. The taglines ("Unite" for our heroes, "Bow to Your King" for SK) sound like kaiju campaign slogans. Makes me wonder if, like Godzilla vs. Megalon before it, the movie will improbably capitalize on the presidential election next year. To steal a joke from Titanollante: Godzilla/Kong unity ticket? They'd have my vote.

Godzilla's new form, meanwhile, has already been spoiled by a T-shirt on Legendary's own site and some dire-looking Playmates figures. It makes sense that Wingard would want to have his own spin on the character after keeping the design from Godzilla: King of the Monsters for Godzilla vs. Kong. Hard to cast judgment without seeing the real design in full, but there's one particular detail I really like.

The film also has a booth at CCXP in Brazil, with a panel later today, so I think a trailer is incoming (the main reason I hammered out this whole post so quickly).

I missed this one last week: Tsuburaya announced an anime project called Ultraman: DARKNESS HEELS. The DARKNESS HEELS branding has been around for a while, spotlighting prominent evil Ultras—and, of course, Jugglus Juggler. No details on the anime yet, but if the Juggleman's there, so am I.

The big toy reveal this weekend was Super7's ULTIMATES! MaiGoji figure. Previous Godzilla figures from this line haven't lived up to the official photos, but hope springs eternal. It's $85 (much less than the MonsterArts); preorders started Friday. Other highlights: a Super7 ReAction figure of the original Godzilla's skeleton, which comes with a little Oxygen Destroyer, and a plush Mothra from Surreal Entertainment that can flip to imago form to a neck pillow-shaped larva.

[catdotjpeg]

Shin Godzilla (2016) dir. Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi

Contains some spoilers.

Today marks the 77th anniversary of the u.s. bombing of Hiroshima. I’ve been reflecting a lot on it these days, mostly because of all the conversation around Oppenheimer. I didn’t set out to watch Shin Godzilla as a result of those conversations, or because of the date or anything like that, but I realized this morning that it ended up happening that way. 

I will say I went about this kind of funny– the first film I saw in Hideaki Anno’s Shin Japan Heroes Universe was Shin Kamen Rider, then Shin Ultraman, and finally Shin Godzilla– so with the exception of Evangelion 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time, which I have yet to see, I watched the series backwards. Because of this, some of the elements that Anno (and Shinji Higuchi) used in Shin Godzilla weren’t as surprising to me as they seemed to be to 2016 viewers because they’ve now become hallmarks of the SJHU films– namely the choice to use elements of the original 1954 Godzilla soundtrack. The integration of the original soundtracks has been one of my favorite aspects of the SJHU films, and it worked well for me here. Michael W. Harris has an interesting post on his blog, The Temp Track, comparing Shiro Sagisu’s work in this film to his work for the Evangelion series– I recommend reading it if you’re interested in that sort of thing, as my musical knowledge isn’t robust enough for me to say what I want to say about it. I originally thought that they used the 1954 roar for the entirety of the film, but when I was looking up information about it this morning, I learned that they only used it for Godzilla’s third form (dubbed Shinagawa-kun for his destruction of the Shinagawa ward)-- his fourth form (Kamakura-san) uses the higher pitched 1962-1975 roar. Maybe modern audiences are more familiar with the later roar, or perhaps it was a choice motivated by personal nostalgia on Higuchi and Anno’s parts. 

Modern depictions of Godzilla tend to favor a kaiju-fighting anti-hero Godzilla– a Godzilla that is fearsome, but respected, and can be maneuvered to fight against other more antagonistic monsters. The Godzilla we see in Shin Godzilla is not this. This Godzilla is a destructive, terrible, inescapable force. From the first moment that we see something explode out of the water, there’s an atmosphere of dread– or at least there was for me. Of course, much as the 1954 Godzilla came less than a decade after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, this film came less than a decade after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, and the simultaneous nuclear disaster in Fukushima. I’m sure that Japanese audiences knew exactly who the filmmakers were pointing at during sequences like the meetings-on-meetings, or the press conferences featuring politicians clad in blue jumpsuits. Ishiro Honda, the director of the 1954 Godzilla, is stated to have filmed Godzilla’s destruction of Tokyo to directly mirror the bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The scenes of boats piled on top of each other, or cars being flung apart as the road is ripped up beneath them, clearly evoke the destruction caused by the 3.11 earthquake and tsunami. (There’s an article on MyKaiju called “311 Motif in Shin Godzilla” where John Ruffin compares scenes from the film and images from the news.) I watched Shin Godzilla thinking about 2011, but also the consequences of global warming in the global south– particularly in places like the Philippines, where people are hit year after year by catastrophic typhoons– and of course, to a lesser degree, the ineffectual government response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Anyway, this isn’t to say that there aren’t moments of sympathy for Godzilla. It’s made clear that Godzilla exists as a result of environmental destruction– individual and state choices– and after the bombs are dropped, we hear the song “Who Will Know,” believed to be from Godzilla’s point of view. Of course, Godzilla never asked to become irradiated megafauna. 

I read from a few people that the depiction of the u.s. was somewhat unpopular with western audiences. I honestly thought that the depiction of the u.s. was quite generous considering … everything about the u.s. I was most interested in Kayoco Anne Patterson’s motivations– she enters the film as a fast-talking, clearly Asian American politician (suspend your disbelief for a second– her makeup in comparison to the makeup we see on some of the other women in the film is one of the best examples I’ve seen of Asian American versus Asian makeup styles) but about halfway through the film, she tearfully explains that her grandmother lived in Japan during the war and lived through the bombings. Although it isn’t the focus of the film, there’s an interesting conversation here about diaspora and their connection to their homelands. It’s this connection that guides her actions, even at the cost of potentially destroying her political career. 

Speaking of political careers, the protagonist, Rando Yaguchi, has a complex character arc. At the beginning of the film, he is one of the only characters willing to oppose the senior politicians’ belief that the explosion of steam in the ocean is not a threat. Throughout Shin Godzilla, we see him working tirelessly to protect his nation– at one point, his coworkers practically beg him to take a shower. His superior and mentor, Hideki Akasaka, believes for a moment that Yaguchi is motivated solely by a desire to further his political career, before understanding that Yaguchi truly wants to do what he sees as most effective to bring the Godzilla disaster to an end. This may not have been the intention, but there’s still something unsettling about Yaguchi’s character to me– even if we’re to believe he has the best intentions, and he does certainly seem to hesitate the least when it comes to doing what would save the greatest amount of people, he’s still a politician, and still needs to play the game. 

Finally, I was struck by a lack of criticism of the Self-Defense Force. They’re largely presented as a self-sacrificing body willing to do whatever it takes to protect the nation. I’m not sure if it’s because Japanese criticism of bureaucracy and the government had been happening for decades at this point, whereas popular criticism of the military generally ends at a broad anti-war sentiment, or maybe it was simply too complicated to fit in a critique of militarism in this situation. I’ll be the first to admit that as a Filipino, I have no shortage of criticism of the JSDF. There was a moment where my partner and I had the same reaction though: there’s a painting in the background of a scene where Yaguchi is talking to three JSDF officials depicting a handful of military helicopters flying in front of Mount Fuji, and after the scene ended, my partner and I both asked, “What was up with that painting??” 

Shin Godzilla is a dense, devastating film that warrants multiple watches. I’m sure I’ll have different takeaways the next time I watch it. (As it is, this is all I can remember because I forgot I wanted to take notes while watching. My bad!!!) 

I rented it on youtube and watched it in Japanese with English subs.

Here's a link to the original review on Letterboxd.

[gayspiderman]

Why didn’t you tell me? You know I’ve been trying to communicate with him - to understand. Kong didn’t want you to know. He was afraid. Now, everyone knows.

GODZILLA VS. KONG dir. Adam Wingard

[mutantsasquatch]

Name: Atlas

Height: 45 meters.

Length: 60 meters.

Weight: 900 metric tons.

[summitkaiju]

Summit Showcase: We just received my 2019 Kaiju calendar from @mykaiju. The calendar jam packed with so many amazing pictures of everyones favorite monsters and includes all the Godzilla movies Japanese release dates, and many of the actors/actresses birthdays are listed on the calendar. Be sure to go and check out John's diorama photography on his Web site and other social media pages. You can also get many high resolution prints and the 2019 @myKaiju calendar on his Etsy Store which are a favorite and are a great addition to any collection. Links to My Kaiju Godzilla website and social media pages are listed below. mykaiju.com/calendar/ etsy.com/shop/MyKaiju instagram.com/mykaiju facebook.com/mykaiju/ #summitKaiju #サミット怪獣 #japan #kaiju #xplusgodzilla #ゴジラ #Godzilla #toho #Xplus #ricboy #diorama #model #gorjira #mykaiju #myKaijuGodzilla #calendar #ヘドラ #годзилла https://www.instagram.com/p/Bt1Dvhgn8Pm/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=rfqmpb7spdkb

[lendanovich]

Mechagodzilla - Pre-GSCF Commission Art Piece #mechagodzilla #godzilla #xplus #kaiju #kaijufan #tokusatsu #freshvinyl #godzillakingofthemonsters #mykaiju #showagodzilla #penandink #sketch #drawing #painting #comics #comicartist #comicart #ink #art #copic #mixedmedia #gscomicfest #gscfest #gscf #gardenstatecomicfest #zappcomics #commissions #commission #commissionopen #lendanovich https://www.instagram.com/p/By9LLwmhHIa/?igshid=p0wkgvam3tmt

[blueruins]

MyKaiju

[swampthingy]

MyKaiju

[thehipsterzombiejointexperience]

Repost from @kaiju.kombat • Incredible artwork created by @mykaiju! Happy 67th anniversary to The King of The Monsters, Godzilla! #godzilla #godzillaappreciation #happyanniversary #godzillakingofthemonsters #godzilladay #godzillamovie #happybirthdaygodzilla #longlivetheking #godzillaiskingtoall https://www.instagram.com/p/CV1st-0FiNo/?utm_medium=tumblr

[pi9zilla]

I expected something special. This exceeds expectations. Thanks @mykaiju ! https://www.instagram.com/p/BsWayNdHOyc/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1589l8r8w4rbz

[medicated]

SPOILER WARNING FOR SHIN GODZILLA

[summitkaiju]

Would you like to see the Summit Kaiju (Batholith) in a @legendary monster movie? #summitKaiju #サミット怪獣 #japan #kaiju #ゴジラ #Godzilla #toho #Xplus #ricboy #gorjira #ヘドラ #годзилла #HaruoNakajima #エクスプラスゴジラ #エクスプラス #mykaiju #classicMonsters #vintagemonsters (at Summit Kaiju International) https://www.instagram.com/p/BuKI_DHHuGm/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1rr2taj8yqigj

[astoundingbeyondbelief]

A new kaiju fanzine...

This is a must have for the Holiday Season @mykaiju Magazine, a full-color fanzine for Godzilla toy photographers, fans and collectors. Each issue will feature Godzilla toy photography, posters, articles, artists, collectors, collectibles, and more. There will have @summitkaiju photography in the magazines along with other popular Kaiju artists and photographers. Learn more at https://ift.tt/2EnVreB

8.5 x 11 inches Premium magazine 50+ full-color pages Photo galleries, poster spreads, and more Printed by Blurb.

#summitKaiju #サミット怪獣 #japan #kaiju #ゴジラ #Godzilla #toho #Xplus #ricboy #gorjira #ヘドラ #годзилла #HaruoNakajima #エクスプラスゴジラ #エクスプラス #mykaiju #classicMonsters #vintagemonsters — view on Instagram https://ift.tt/2A2mBF1

[blueruins]

MyKaiju

[summitkaiju]

The X-Plus Yuji Sakai Best Works Selection Godzilla(2004) Poster Version fourth preorder is now available! Due to popular demand we have reopened up the preorders with a limited amount of figures available! Get your's before they are sold out! MyKaiju had the opportunity to create and animate this promotional video. Check it out in 4k on the 少年リック preorder page @ https://ift.tt/2XxjHmF #ゴジラ #XPLUS #summitKaiju #酒井ゆうじ A new series, originally designed and produced by Yuji Sakai, the Yuji Sakai Best Works Selection is finally about to launch! The Yuji Sakai Best Works Selection is a selection of highly artistic masterpieces from the past works of Yuji Sakai - using his original molds and materials to recreate these works of art. Each model comes with a plated stand that includes the item name and series number, providing customers with a high-quality, luxury series of collectible items. The first commemorative item in this series is Godzilla(2004) Poster Version, from Godzilla FINAL WARS (released in 2004)! This item was created by Mr. Sakai in 2004 as a three-dimensional recreation of the theatrical poster drawn by the master artist Noriyoshi Ohrai at the time of the film's release. In contrast with the version of the monster as depicted in the film, this poster's Godzilla was recreated with beautiful detail (down to the tiniest aspects, such as the buildings at his feet, and the crashing waves, and also includes details not even drawn in the original illustration), and portrayed with vivid movement. This is a spectacular recreation of the world evoked by Mr. Ohrai's poster. This item is a statue figure, crafted using Poly-materials, which were used to recreate the sharp dorsal spines and bumpy textures on the skin's surface, enabling intricate details that would not be possible with a normal PVC figure. The figure comes with a customized base, fitted with a plate that adds presence and high-quality luxury - making this a highly collectible work of art. The Shonen RIC exclusive version is equipped with LED lights that enable the dorsal spines and diorama base to light up. (requires 2 AA batteries, sold separately) We invite you to bring home the beauty and character of this Godzilla(2004) Poster Version, brought to three-dimensional life as a high-quality statue. Modeled and produced by Yuji Sakai Planning coordinator: SAKAI YUJI Zokei Kobo by Summit Kaiju International