#toho animation fest

[shysheeperz]

[bluerosety-blog]

Please they were on a date!! 😌💕😉 I'm debating going to sleep or waiting for today's chapter! 😖🤔

[astoundingbeyondbelief]

Kaiju Week in Review (March 17-23, 2024)

Mere days to go before a new Godzilla movie... didn't we just do this?

Before we welcome that latest entry, let's look back on one that just commemorated its golden anniversary. With Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla turning 50 on March 21, every member of Toho's Big Five has now hit the half-century mark. The company didn't mark the day itself with much; as has become typical, the celebration of Mechagodzilla (and presumably King Caesar) will be spread throughout the year. I wrote a bit about the magnificent machine, who I consider the best Godzilla antagonist, here. The film itself is one of Teruyoshi Nakano's masterpieces, an onslaught of animated rays and gorgeous explosions. The humans are forgettable, but they keep the pace brisk—and the alien commander Mugal is almost as devilish a villain as Mechagodzilla itself, especially in the English dub. Speaking of that dub, you can watch a video breaking down the entire voice cast here, thanks to the tireless work of the Save All Dubs! group.

Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong #6 finally gets to the good stuff, with Lex Luthor piloting Mechagodzilla and commanding an army of Titans to raze Metropolis while the heroes counter with not one but two giant robots. It doesn't quite measure up to the Godzilla: Rulers of Earth finale, but like that double-sized issue, it required two artists (Christian Duce joined by Tom Derenick) to draw all those characters, and the results are impressive. The story hasn't grown any more complex, but I'm at least interested to see how it all wraps up.

In other Godzilla comic news, a Godziban manga by Sakuju Koizumi has started up, hosted by Telemaga, a tokusatsu-focused Kodansha site. The first installment was pretty short, so I'm guessing these'll be updated weekly. It isn't the first comic version of Godziban, as one called Godziman ran during the 1st Season, but this one's actually illustrated.

Tokyo's Ikebukuro district made Godzilla the honorary chief of police on March 16 to take part in a parade promoting traffic safety. The stunt made international headlines and generated no small amount of angst over Cop Godzilla. I think Gamera would've been better-suited to this campaign myself.

Here's the trailer for Season 2 of Chibi Godzilla Raids Again, revealing Gabara, Gigan, and Titanosaurus's designs. Looks as funny as the first one. Maaya Uchida, who sang the ending songs in SSSS.Gridman and SSSS.Dynazenon, will voice Chibi Minilla. It's gone weirdly neglected by English Godzilla social media accounts, but X user @MakoMattari translated it.

The Music Box Theatre in Chicago has a Godzilla program for the ages scheduled for June 7-13, in honor of his 70th birthday. There's not a weak day on the schedule, but the clear highlight is a 24-hour marathon of the entire Showa series on the 8th, which I don't think has ever been attempted before.

G-Fest has also started announcing guests: Ayako Fujitani (Asagi in the Heisei Gamera trilogy) and Rie Ota (Baragon in GMK), both first-timers. Frankly, they could carry the con themselves if they have to; not sure who I'm more excited to meet!

[dweemeister]

Sending out Oscar nomination eve vibes

First things first, as a fan of the human chaos that is the Academy Awards, viewing films primarily through the prism of awards is one of the most myopic ways to look at movies. That there is a whole sub-industry of journalism dedicated to awards horse racing and campaigning never ceases to amaze me - even though I must admit to consuming said journalism (or "journalism").

Going into and out of a screening with "I wonder what this could get nominated for?" as the first thing in your mind is not how anyone should absorb and analyze a film. Awards are for the industry, sure, but they're also markers of taste for a certain group of people at a moment in time. They're good entryways into budding film buffs. Awards are fun; don't try to get too emotionally involved in them.

Okay, putting that aside and fully realizing some of the below will sound hypocritical, I begin with some extremely unlikely stuff I would like to see tomorrow morning, but probably won't happen at all...

That despite the highly questionable 2017 move to take away sole nominating power for Best Animated Feature from the Short Films and Feature Animation Branch (I'm guessing the Academy at-large got sick and tired of the category featuring films they hadn't seen/refused to see), I hope those who opted into voting on Best Animated Feature nominees looked beyond the major American and Japanese animation studios. Did Robot Dreams catch their eye (this was a major hit in its native Spain and France)? Maybe Perlimps (directed by Ale Abreu, who did Boy & the World)? Ernest & Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia (which I admit I truly enjoyed, although I still hold the original in much higher esteem)? My Love Affair with Marriage? What about The Peasants (directed by the same team who gave us Loving Vincent)? I hope they took the time to give those films a watch, their due justice. If they don't get nominated because they didn't deserve, that's okay. But I want voters (and everyone out there) to realize the world of animation is much more than Disney/Pixar/DreamWorks/Illumination/Netflix/Sony and Studio Ghibli/Toei/Toho Company. There is so much more out there.

That Justine Triet is nominated for Best Director for Anatomy of a Fall. Give us Milo Machado Graner as a Supporting Actor nominee, too.

Another child actor in the acting categories, please. No one pins a 30-year-old Asian American male as a fan of Are You There God? It's Me Margaret. I read the book (one of the few major Judy Blume books I had never read) last year, and adored the film adaptation. But, in realization that I don't think the film is good enough for Best Picture... how about a Best Actress nod for Abby Ryder Fortson? She embodies Margaret beautifully, and strengthens this adaptation with a mature performance. She deserves it solely for escaping the Ant-Man series and not being involved in Quantumania. On another note, Rachel McAdams has taken all of the headlines for Margaret. She's fine, but I completely disagreed with her character's expanded presence in the film, as it took away from Margaret (Blume's book is entirely from Margaret's perspective).

Dominic Sessa. Supporting Actor for The Holdovers. Make it happen, please.

I haven't seen it. And this is a bit self-serving, professionally. But as the Artistic Director for Viet Film Fest, if Trần Anh Hùng's The Taste of Things is indeed deserving of a Best International Feature nomination (which, by looking at reviews, surely sounds like the case), I hope that voters do not punish the film for taking France's spot in Best International Feature instead of Anatomy of a Fall. I think the French believed that The Taste of Things represented French culture better than Anatomy of a Fall, and wanted to spread the love among potential Oscar contenders. Nevertheless, there's been a kerfuffle since France announced Trần Anh Hùng's film as their International Feature pick. Let's put that controversy aside, please.

That actors reward performances that are "showy" and nuanced. I feel like the Discourse over the last two years have been to reward maximalist performances in maximalist movies.

That voters in the music branch stop giving into the trends of amelodic, atonal, and minimalistic film scores (I'll even thrown in film scores that prioritize a "vibe" or "beat" over anything else, truly any score that is meant "not to be noticed"). We're in a moment now where younger directors (and certain auteurs who clearly have limited knowledge in the power of great melodic film music) are telling their composers - some of whom are incredibly capable artists, others not so much - that melody is old-fashioned, has no place in modern "realistic" cinema, and belongs only in musicals and animation. As a pianist/violinist who isn't that good at all and was classically trained through high school, this hurts deep. Don't be so afraid of a gorgeous melody and what it can provide to even movies aiming for realism. If the reactions as I was leaving The Zone of Interest and Poor Things the other nights were any indication, I'm becoming a endangered minority. Perhaps they should ship me to a museum so I can listen to my outdated film scores.

Am I still hurting from the sonic trash that was All Quiet's Best Original Score win last year? You bet.

Godzilla Minus One shocks us all and gets a nomination. Somewhere. Anywhere. Visual Effects? Yes please. Best Picture? Ehh, probably not, but if somehow made it, this kaiju fan would be very happy.

Okay, now for more likely things that'll happen. Some vibes need to go that way too, even if I'm a little more comfortable about the following.

That Killers of the Flower Moon can weather what appears to be a lack of support outside the United States - I get it, many non-Americans are tired of American cinema's racial reckonings on-screen - and solidly find its nominations for Picture, Director, Actress (Gladstone), Supporting Actor (De Niro), Screenplay, Cinematography, Editing, Costume Design, Production Design. Anything beyond that is a luxury to me - I waffle on the deservedness of Leonardo DiCaprio's performance and I disapprove recent trends in how AMPAS perceives what constitutes a worthy score.

That even though I personally don't think Barbie deserves to be nominated for any of the big awards, I hope it does well in the technical categories it deserves (Cinematography, Editing, Song, Costume Design, Production Design, and Visual Effects). Even if it gets nominated for Best Picture (which I think is a 90% chance right now), I don't mind at all.

Past Lives love. Celine Song? Greta Lee? Teo Yoo?

I think American Fiction is dancing 50/50 on all of its potential nominations right now. At least get Jeffrey Wright in for Actor and Cord Jefferson for Screenplay. Picture and anything else a luxury.

That the Short Film and Feature Animation Branch doesn't confuse professionally edited home movies with a worthy documentary short. Please stop.

For the record, yours truly is on Team Killers of the Flower Moon. And right now? I'm expecting the film to perform like Scorsese's The Irishman (2019) on Oscar night.

There's... a major contender of a film or two out there I'd like to see not do so well on nominations because I did not care for them (Oppenheimer is not one of them, as I think it mostly deserves the nominations that appear to be headed its way... winning those boatload of nominations, though? hmm). Those one or two films shall go nameless so as not to jinx anything. But perhaps you already parsed them out by reading the above.

[beansproutsong]

Pick up proxy Jump Fest 2024

I’ll do pick up on this saturday, you can request me anything.

where to check the goods list? - Jump store / shueisha item: https://www.goods-onlineshop.com/shop/r/r22/

Chara ani booth: https://www.chara-ani.com/pickup.aspx?p=cawj

chugai mini booth: https://www.chugai-contents.jp/blog/event/jf2024/

showa notes booth: https://www.showa-note.co.jp/material/pdf/notifications/2e9720c7-f8db-4a74-8903-b5e96916a29f.pdf

toho animation booth: https://tohoanimationstore.com/shop/secure/jf2024.aspx

aniplex plus booth: https://online.aniplex.co.jp/JF2024

DM me here or at my twitter to place your order

[ljaesch]

VIZ Media Publishes the My Hero Academia: You're Next Film's One Shot Manga

VIZ Media’s Shonen Jump website has published “A Piece of Cake,” Kōhei Horikoshi’s special one shot manga for the My Hero Academia: You’re Next anime film. TOHO International will bring the film to U.S. theaters on October 11, 2024. The film will be available with English subtitles and dub releases. The film had its North American premiere at Beyond Fest in Los Angeles on October 6, 2024. The My…

[recentanimenews]

Titans Clash in Godzilla vs. Hedorah Short Film

  Just in time for Godzilla's 67th birthday, the official Godzilla Channel on Youtube has uploaded "Godzilla vs. Hedorah", a five minute short film that celebrates the 50th anniversary of Yoshimitsu Banno's Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster film with some romping, stomping monster action.

    "Godzilla vs. Hedorah" is directed by Kazuhiro Nakagawa and features the Godzilla and Hedorah monster suits from the 2004 Godzilla: Final Wars film directed by Ryuhei Kitamura. The short film is part of the programming for Godzilla Fest 2021, an online event that streams from 12:00 to 19:00 (7:00pm JST) on November 03, 2021, on the official Godzilla Channel on Youtube.

  Source: Official Godzilla Channel Youtube page

  Copyright notice: TM & © TOHO CO., LTD.

    ---

Paul Chapman is the host of The Greatest Movie EVER! Podcast and GME! Anime Fun Time.

By: Paul Chapman

[wolfcrunch]

Yep, so we're excitedly waiting since the release date of Season 5 was confirmed to be for April 2021, and last year's HeroFes/Jump Festa event released the trailer for S4, whenever the two trailers release, it's gonna be soon and its usually played at events like this right? Gonna keep an eye on the Toho animation channel, that's where I caught the trailer for the second cour with the Cultural Fest, and screeched about it to my friends at 4am, luckily they were awake in different timezones xD

yea, they usually drop trailers/pv’s at events like herofes and jump festa! herofes seems like it’d be the perfect time for the first one, so i really hope they do. i need to see my kids animated, even if its just a few seconds ajdhka

i will be Watching twitter......and the official anime account, hoping they give something

[goatbunnyart]

2017.may.15  23:53

So... day 1 of trying to make individual posts OUTSIDE Instagram is mostly working. I’ve been uploading a buncha content on my Patreon.

I figured I’d share these screen caps of the latest project I have completed: A short film called Everyday Kaiju which was a joint production with My Bestest Art Buddy @waxcrayonmonsters!

I developed the initial story ideas with my wonderfully imaginative fiance last summer and now, less than a year later, we have this fun little homage to Toho Kaiju films!

I was talking with @waxcrayonmonsters today and we’ve discussed making a quick trailer for it! I’m actually pretty stoked about it cuz we came up with some genius ideas.

We’ve submitted the film locally to the Fantasia International Film Fest here in Montreal. It’s only a matter of time til we hear our film got accepted. Aaaand if we don’t hear anything by mid-July, we know it’s not happening :(

Anyway, I”m staying upbeat and keeping my fingers crossed! We poured our heart and soul into this one, so I hope it gets shared with everyone.

[chernobog13]

WHO’S TALLER - GODZILLA OR ULTRAMAN?

Okay, that might not be an exact apples-to-apples comparison, given that Godzilla’s depicted size has fluctuated throughout his film career.  He started out in 1954 at 50 meters tall, and at last appearance in the anime trilogy he was 300 meters tall.

But I hereby submit, right here and right now, photographic proof that Ultraman is actually taller than Godzilla:

The photograph above was taken during G-Tour 3′s visit to Toho Studios in 2015.  The bespectacled gentleman second-from-left in the standing row is Kenpachiro Satsuma, the actor who portrayed Godzilla in all of the Heisei-era films.  In the same row, second-from-right, wearing dark glasses is Bin Fururya, the suit actor who portrayed Ultraman.

Pretty darn clear who’s taller by far: Ultraman!

For further edification: Standing directly to Satsuma-san’s left is Toho special effects wizard Teruyoshi Nakano, who mentored under Eiji Tsuburaya and took over as special effects director on the Showa Godzilla films after Tsuburaya-san’s passing.  Nakano-san was also the special effects director on The Return of Godzilla/Godzilla 1985.

Standing to Nakano-san’s left is Akira Takarada, the actor who got his start in film at the same time as Godzilla in the original 1954 Gojira, and just like the Big G is still going strong.  Takarada-san had numerous roles in the Godzilla series, as well as several other kaiju eiga from Toho.

Directly to Takarada-san’s left is actor Yosuke Natsuki, who - during his very extensive career - had starring roles in Ghidorah the Three-Headed Monster, Dogora, and The Return of Godzilla/Godzilla 1985.  Sadly, he passed away in 2018.

Displayed on the table is the original Oxygen Destroyer prop from Gojira.  This is kept locked up at Toho most of the time, and rarely brought out for display.  I’m sure some folks at Toho probably thought one of us on the tour was going to try and make a run with it.

Unfortunately I don’t remember the name of the gentleman standing at the end next to Satsuma-san, and I can’t find the notes from the trip where I wrote it down.  I know he is active in the Japanese film industry, and I believe I’ve spotted him at a few G-Fests.  If anyone reading this can identify him for me I would appreciate it.

photo by me

[dannpainapppuru]

マイリトルゴート / My Little Goat - Trailer from Tomoki Misato on Vimeo.

■Website mylittlegoat.tumblr.com/

2018.3 Director, Animator : Tomoki Misato Music : Daisuke Kawashima Sound Design : Kyosuke Nagano, Masumi Adachi Cast : Aimi Fukuhara, Kaori Yamashita, Mizuho Misato

監督・アニメーション：見里朝希 音楽：川島大輔 音響：永野響介、安達万純 声の出演：福原愛未、山下香織、見里瑞穂 東京藝術大学大学院映像研究科アニメーション専攻　第9期修了作品 ©2018 Tomoki MISATO / Tokyo University of the Arts

■Awards■ 2020.01 "Hollywood Blood Horror Festival" Best Animated (America) 2019.12 "Paris International Fantastic Film Festival" Golden Eye 2019 (France) 2019.10 "ANNY Best of Fest (Animation Night New York)" Grand Prize Winner (America) 2019.08 "23rd The Fantasia International Film Festival" Audience Silver Award for Best Animated Short Film (Canada) 2019.06 "12th Fest Anča International Animation Festival 2019" Special Mention (Slovakia) 2019.06 "SHORT SHORTS FILM FESTIVAL & ASIA 2019" the Official Competition Japan & Governor of Tokyo Award（Japan） 2019.04 "Animation Festival O!PLA" Golden Bundle Award (1st place) (Poland) 2019.04"31 FILMFEST DRESDEN" ARTE Short Film Prize, Golden Horsemen of the Youth Jury (Germany) 2019.04 "15th edition of Cortoons Gandia" Best Graduation Short Animated Film (Spain) 2019.03 "Festival International de Film d'Animation de Meknes" Best Student Film Award (Morocco) 2019.03 "22nd Japan Media Arts Festival"　Jury Selections (Japan) 2019.01 "the 2019 La Picasa International Film Festival" BEST FILM FICILP 2019, BEST ANIMATED MOVIE award (Argentina) 2018.12 "24th Campus Genius Contest" ART DIVISION PLATINUM, ENTERTAINMENT DIVISION PLATINUM (Japan) 2018.12 "12th Fukui Film Festival" Animation Grandprix (Japan) 2018.11 "ASFF As Film Festival 2018" Animation Now! Award, Idea Academy Award (Italy) 2018.11 "20th DigiCon6 ASIA" Gold Special July Award (Japan) 2018.11 "New Chitose Airport International Animation Festival 2018" Jury's special Award (Japan) 2018.10 "TIAF Taichung International Animation Festival" Young Critics Award (Taiwan) 2018.10 "14th Kichijoji Animation Film Festival" Grand Prix, STUDIO4℃ Award (Japan) 2018.10 "20th DigiCon6 ASIA" Japan Gold Award (Japan) 2018.10 "StopTrik IFF 2018" Maribor Grand Prix (Slovenia) 2018.09 "ReAnima Festival" Best Student Film (Norway) 2018.09 "Indie-AniFest 2018" Audience Choice of ASIA ROAD 'Star of Festival' (Korea) 2018.09 "Turku Animated Film Festival" Tough Eye Award (Finland) 2018.08 "ASK? Film Festival" ASK? Award (Japan) 2018.03 "12th TOHO Cinemas Students Film Festival" Grand Prix Short Animation (Japan)

■Official selection■ 2019.06 "the 2019 Toronto Indie Horror Fest"(Canada) 2019.05 "ANIFILM 2019"(Czech Republic) 2019.03 "TOKYO ANIME AWARD FESTIVAL 2019"(Japan) 2019.03 "GUADALAJARA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (FICG)"(Mexico) 2019.03 "11th Tehran International Animation Festival"(Iran) 2019.02 "ANIMAC International Animation Film Festival of Catalonia"(Spain) 2019.01 "2019 COURTS MAIS TRASH Festival"(Belgium) 2018.10"The 7th Annual Kuandu International Animation Festival (KDIAF)" (Taiwan) 2018.10 "TAF Thessaloniki Animation Festival 2018" (Greece) 2018.10 "KLIK Amsterdam Animation Festival 2018" (Holland) 2018.09 "The International Animation Festival + Agora" (Greece) 2018.09 "Anim!Arte 2018" International Students Maxi (Brazil) 2018.09 "2nd Chaniartoon 2018 - International Comic & Animation Festival" (Greece) 2018.09 "Festival Stop Motion Montreal 2018" Independent film competition (Canada) 2018.09 "Sendai Short Film Festival" NEW TALENT COMPETITION (Japan) 2018.08 "LINOLEUM Festival" Scary Tales / Horror showcase (Ukraine) 2018.09 "BUT Film Festival 2018" The shortlist of films (Holland) 2018.08 "Strasburg Film Festival ? 2018" (United States) 2018.06 "Animafest Zagreb 2018" Short Films Competition (Croatia)

[larrytquach]

Here is an event exclusive collaboration print between me and @lenzations @artofshev and @gazbott for the Godzilla Fest film festiva by @bafilmevents starting tomorrow night in San Francisco @balboatheater. All profits from the sale of these prints will go to @alameda_animal_shelter. I love animals, so I'm really excited and happy that this is going to a good cause! Only 10 prints of these will be available at each artist table. And yes those cute animals in the photo are currently available for adoption! #Godzilla #toho #animalahelter #adoptdontshop #muttsofinstagram #kaiju #sanfrancisco #legendary #gojira #JetJaguar #gigan #mothra #artistsoninstagram #art #illustration #dogs #cats #charity (at Balboa Theater, San Francisco, CA) https://www.instagram.com/p/B1eZEtrAIOH/?igshid=1lyb8x5asd5ia

[nerdiertides]

'Spirited Away' returns to theaters later this month

‘Spirited Away’ returns to theaters later this month

(Featured Image Source: GKIDS Films, Studio Ghibli Fest / Studio Ghibli Fest / Toho) Classic anime film Spirited Away is returning to North American theaters later this month as a part of this year’s Studio Ghibli Fest. Written and directed by Academy Award-winning director Hayao Miyazaki, Spirited Away is a 2001 Japanese animated fantasy film that tells the story of Chihiro, a young girl who,…

[astoundingbeyondbelief]

Kaiju Week in Review (June 11-17, 2023)

Tsuburaya Productions released a five-minute trailer for Ultraman Blazar, focused on the human cast. Between this and the unveiling of a bunch of the monsters (a combination of originals and some deep cuts), it continues to look extremely promising.

Toho launched a Twitter account for their next Godzilla film on June 12. It's been counting down all the "core" (live-action and Toho-produced) entries in the series at the rate of one per day, starting with Shin Godzilla. Presumably, they'll reveal the poster, title, and maybe more for the new one at the end (so July 11). The way they're doing this also lends credibility to the rumored Godzilla Zero title.

Hoshi 35, Megumi Odaka's triumphant return to movies, released a trailer, poster, and a bunch of stills (gathered on Wikizilla). Alas, no shots of the daikaiju in the trailer, just the baby.

Bandai's finally going to be producing Ultraman toys for the U.S., with the first wave focused on the animated Netflix movie due next year.

For those of you headed to G-Fest next month, the full schedule is out, and they finally announced the Friday and Saturday movies at the Pickwick: Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla and Godzilla (2014), respectively. King Kong Escapes will also replace Shin Ultraman on Thursday. Dunno if I'll go to GXMG (I just rewatched it before the Tokyo SOS Fathom Event), but I'm lunging at the chance to see G14 properly-lit and with booming sound. They showed it in 2017 too and it was a blast. For the hotel's film festival, the big title of interest is Yuzo the Biggest Battle in Tokyo, a Yoshikazu Ishii joint set during the pandemic. And if you haven't caught Iké Boys yet, that's playing twice (very much before the audience it was intended for).

Also, go to my friend Alana's panel about designing kaiju gijinkas for cosplay (Saturday at 1). If you've been to either of the past two cons, you probably remember her Mothra costumes, and we're both working on a bunch more for this year.

Oh yeah, and there's a third North American kaiju con, Super G, starting up in the fall... well, sort of. It might be better termed a convention within a convention (Northern National Collectors’ Convention). September 29-October 1 in Windsor, Canada, right on the Michigan border. Not many specifics yet, but the press release says, "Super G will offer fans a variety of guest celebrities and artists, direct from Japan and around the world, who worked on Kaiju franchises making either their first-ever or first-Canadian convention appearances. Inclusion opportunities feature program panels, contests, experiences, theatrical showings, collectables, cosplay, and more."

I haven't been keeping up with Godziban's multi-episode collaboration with Televi-Kun—seems like pretty routine stuff—but then they had to pay homage to Sharknado in the newest installment. I knew, of course, that this day would eventually come. Now which one of you said sharknadoes weren't kaiju back when I was unhealthily obsessed with that series?

[summitkaiju]

Be sure to go and watch the Summit Kaiju short animated film which is a part of the G-FEST double double feature film festival returned to the Pickwick Theatre with one pair in the afternoon and the second pair in the evening, as well as our regular Friday and Saturday night features. Pickwick Theatre 5 South Prospect Avenue, Park Ridge, IL 60068 Phone: (847) 825-5800 #summitKaiju #サミット怪獣 #toho #Xplus #ヘドラ #годзилла #mothra #哥斯拉 #ricBoy #哥斯拉 #少年リック #shonenRick #シンゴジラ #エクスプラスゴジラ #エクスプラス #גודזילה #kaiju #creative #summitKaijuContest2018 #godzilla #ゴジラ #kaijuInNature — view on Instagram https://ift.tt/2NUBG0O

[bog-o-bones]

Kaiju Forecast - 2018

The new year is quickly approaching us and kaiju fans certainly will have their plates full next year. Here’s a list of some of the major movies, events, merchandise and more to look forward to in the coming year!

Movies

Obviously the main tent-pole film of the year will be Legendary’s Pacific Rim: Uprising due out on March 23rd. The sequel to arguably the forefather of the New Kaiju Boom has seen plenty of ups and downs during it’s development, including a terrifying “indefinite hiatus” stamp placed upon the film in late 2015. Thankfully, the film has marched on through production and features the return of fan favorite characters from the first film as well as a new team of Jaeger pilots, led by Star Wars and Attack The Block’s John Boyega. Although a few trailers and promotional ads have been released, kaiju groupies can probably expect a surge in marketing around February.

Second banana (no pun intended) to Uprising is New Line’s Rampage loosely based on the popular city-crushing game franchise. Another film that’s spent time in Development Hell, Rampage stars perennial popcorn flick favorite Dwayne Johnson and will be unleashed April 20th to theaters everywhere.

One can’t forget about the King of the Monsters either. The second installment in the anime trilogy will make landfall in Japan on May 5th, titled Godzilla: The City Mechanized for the Final Battle (whew). Initial details remain scarce bar the inclusion of Mechagodzilla (who can be seen in the poster above). International fans may also get the chance to view the first installment in the series on Netflix, although no details for that are available either, aside from a continuously fluctuating date on the film’s Netflix Instant listing.

Tsuburaya’s latest entry in the Ultraman franchise will be seeing it’s traditional theatrical film in the form of Ultraman Geed: The Movie. Abroad fans of the show will most likely have to wait for a fansub service to translate the film in order to see it, but it may also be subject to a small theatrical screening like it’s predecessors Ultraman Ginga S: The Movie and Ultraman X: The Movie, although those were released to coincide with the Ultra series’ 50th anniversary. Never give up hope, though!

Of course, one can’t also forget about the ever-so-secretive Cloverfield franchise, which supposedly launches it’s third film in the semi-anthology series on February 2nd. Tentatively titled God Particle, the film has been pushed back three times from its initial October 2017 release date, leaving some to speculate if it is even going to come out at all. The Cloverfield franchise is noted for its heavy use of alternate-reality games for its marketing, but God Particle has seen effectively nothing so far, even when we’re less than three months away from release. Only time will tell, however.

Not necessarily a kaiju film, but it does feature the 8th Wonder of the World and may or may not feature Ultraman and the third incarnation of Mechagodzilla, Based on a thoroughly bland and tasteless early teen novel, Ready Player One is basically this generation’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit only for “geek culture” (hard gag) and...you know, bad. Kaiju fans will most likely want to wait for the YouTube compilation of all the references instead of wasting $9.00+ on a movie ticket to see some giant monster action.

Also supposedly on the docket is a film adaption of the above novel, Steve Alten’s Meg which features a surviving prehistoric Megalodon terrorizing some form of human society (you can tell I’ve read the book, can’t you?). Yet another film stuck in development hell, although the production for this film is at least two decades old. Supposedly principal photography has been completed on this film, but who the hell knows.

Television

While Tsuburaya is most definitely working on the next main installment of the Ultra series, a short series in the style of Ultraman Retsuden or Ultraman Zero: The Chronicle will be aired starting January 6th. Ultraman Orb: The Chronicle follows the history of the titular Ultra’s alter ego Gai Kurenai. Unlikely to be picked up by Crunchyroll like it’s original show, Ultra Fans will most likely want to stalk fansub sites to view this series.

Another of Tsuburaya’s toku heroes will see an animated revival next year with Studio Trigger’s Gridman anime based on a short shown at the Japan Animator Expo in 2015. Titled SSSS Gridman, named after the original show’s Americanization Superhuman Samurai Syber Squad, the show will be released in the Autumn of 2018. Also related to Gridman, the original show is being broadcasted to nearly-impossible-to-document-channel Toku starting this December.

Aside from Ultraman and Gridman, I don’t know of any other kaiju-related television shows happening next year, so to not leave this section sparse, I should probably mention Kamen Rider Build, which while technically not kaiju based or a 2018 release, is tokusatsu-related and will be continuing into the new year. I know nothing aside from the basics of Kamen Rider, but according to the wiki it will be the last Rider show to be fully broadcasted during the Heisei era, as the next series will run into 2019 when Emperor Akihito will abdicate the throne to his son Prince Naruhito, thus beginning a new era of Japan.

Events

It would be heresy to discuss kaiju-related events and not bring up the quintessential annual kaiju con G-FEST! Next year’s convention looks to be an absolute banger and the entire guest list and schedule hasn’t even been announced yet! In attendance next year are Akira Takarada, best known for his role as Ogata in the original 1954 Godzilla film as well as his other roles throughout Toho’s library. Joining him will be Megumi Odaka, known as Miki Saegusa in the Heisei Godzilla series. This is her first G-FEST in over fifteen years, having attended back in 2000. Fans will most definitely not want to miss this event! G-FEST 2018 will be held July 13th - July 16th at the Crowne Plaza Chicago O’Hare in Rosemont, IL.

San Diego Comic Con has always been the number one hotspot for pop culture news every year, and 2018′s convention is definitely one kaiju fans want to keep their eyes peeled to. The highly anticipated sequel to Legendary’s Godzilla reboot has wrapped filming and it’s extremely likely that the film will have some sort of presence at next year’s SDCC. Whether this means a panel with the cast and crew or a trailer is anyone’s guess, but considering it’s the last major convention before the film’s release (with the possible exception of New York Comic Con in October), it’d be insane of Legendary not to promote the film here. San Diego Comic Con will take place July 19th - July 22nd at the San Diego Convention Center.

On a slightly smaller note, Monsterama is a convention in the Atlanta, GA area that seems like your average horror/monster fan convention. Of special note on the guest list to kaiju fans is Matt Greenfield, former president of ADV Films and current president of Kraken Releasing. Both companies are notable for releasing many kaiju films to DVD & Blu-Ray in the west. Kraken’s latest tokusatsu releases include The Return of Godzilla on Region 1 disc for the first time, and Garo, the creation of character and monster designer Keita Amemiya. Fans will want to keep their ears open for this convention as new information regarding possible new releases from the company could be revealed.

Merchandise

The S.H. MonsterArts line continues releasing highly-articulated and accurate representations of characters from the Godzilla franchise, including the first non-Godzilla Showa character in the form of Mechagodzilla. Reissues of the infamous Shin Godzilla figure and the sought-after SpaceGodzilla and Little Godzilla are also in the pipeline. And of course, the highly anticipated release of the 2002/2003 KiryuGoji design as well. Mechagodzilla has been licensed by BlueFin to see a stateside release, but the others will remain Japanese exclusives.

Continuing the theme of super-articulated figures, the S.H. Figuarts line will be seeing a surge of Ultra-related figures next year. On the docket are too many figures to list (see the Ultraman Wiki article) but of special note are the kaiju Antlar, Pandon, Twin Tail and Gudon (seen above). No release dates for any of the kaiju have been revealed, but it’s very likely these monsters will see release in the coming year.

In the world of vinyl figures, chances are Bandai will produce figures for the Godzilla anime sequel, but of special note are new releases in the Movie Monster Series line for 2003 Kiryu and Biollante! This marks the first vinyl figure of Biollante since the original 1990′s deluxe-sized figure. Despite the lack of pictures, the low price of only 1500 yen means collectors will not want to miss out on this one.

Pacific Rim Uprising continues to dominate off the screen with a highly anticipated line of figures from Bandai’s Robot Spirits line. All six of the film’s main Jaegers will be released for less than $40 each (and imported to America via BlueFin) and are easily available for pre-order from mainstream sites like Amazon and BigBadToyStore. Tamashii also plans to release an expensive yet extraordinarily accurate Gipsy Danger figure through its Soul of Chogokin line as well as vinyl representations of the kaiju enemies in the newly revitalized Sofubi Spirits line.

Alternatively, Diamond Select Toys is putting out their own line of Pacific Rim Uprising figures of the Jaegers and the kaiju. These figures appear to be more in-tune with what NECA released for the first film, so those who want similarly scaled figures have that option. DST is also releasing articulated kaiju, for those who aren’t satisfied with Bandai’s vinyl offerings.

Continuing with American companies, NECA has been hard at work sculpting new figures for their Classic Godzilla line. Nothing new has been revealed yet and information is reportedly coming at ToyFair in February, although NECA is notorious for not keeping their word on reveals for their non-80′s properties. Part of this has to do with Toho’s infamously strict licensing policies which resulted in NECA being only allowed to do Godzilla suits in their line as opposed to supporting monsters as well. NECA also revealed that they do not have the rights to create figures based on the 2019 designs of Rodan, Mothra, and King Ghidorah leaving the likely scenario being similar to Pacific Rim Uprising’s toys, with Bandai doing S.H. MonsterArts figures of the three kaiju to be distributed in America via BlueFin.

In late 2017, Criterion secured the streaming rights to fourteen Showa Godzilla films, comprised of the films Classic Media released in their Toho Master Collection, Media Blasters’ two-film library of Destroy All Monsters and Godzilla vs. Megalon, and the out-of-print Son of Godzilla and Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974). The films are currently available for streaming on the FilmStruck service, but Criterion has implied that they are interested in a physical release sometime in the future. Nothing concrete has been revealed yet, so fans will want to keep an eye on Criterion’s monthly Future Releases updates to see if any of these films make the cut.

Finally, kaiju artist and fan extraordinare Matt Frank is drawing an officially licensed Redman manga! From the previews shown, it appears to be taking on more of a dark tone than the original show. No word on a US release yet (although it’s likely copies will be offered at his G-FEST Artist Alley table).

With each passing year, the kaiju fandom grows bigger and bigger and more and more kaiju-related media is being released every month. It’s truly a new age for the genre and definitely the best time to be a fan. Here’s to a happy 2018!