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Introduction + News (0:00)
- We talk about Netflix’s Castlevania.
- The depressing news of Godzilla suit actor Haruo Nakajima’s death.
Review (20:40):
Released in 2016 (a full twelve years after Godzilla: Final Wars), Shin Godzilla marks the third reboot of the franchise as the eponymous lizard stomps his way across modern Japan with the Japanese government racing to stop him. It’s a well worn plot by this point, yet the film’s almost singular focus on the tumultuous bureaucratic response to the crisis — rather than, say, around a few core characters — makes for something that feels fresh and new, while also giving writer and director Hideaki Anno ample time to take aim at the bureaucratic morass that is Japanese government. As for Godzilla himself — courtesy of veteran VFX director Shinji Higuchi and a new design by Mahiro Maeda — probably not since his original outing in Gojira (1954) has the creature looked so terrifyingly monstrous.
Links:
- Podcast #13 – Godzilla vs. Biollante
- Podcast #7 – Return of Godzilla
- Last we checked Shinji Higuchi’s Gamera Trilogy is available on Blu-ray for a ridiculously low price. We reviewed all three Gamera films on previous episodes of the show: Gamera: Guardian of the Universe | Gamera 2: Attack of Legion | Gamera 3: The Revenge of Iris.
- Hideaki Anno’s short: Giant God Warrior Appears in Tokyo.
If you have questions or comments about the show, please feel free to shoot us an Email or leave a comment below.
Thanks for listening!
BLADE LICKING THIEVES 
Your review missed the connection to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami that resulted in the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. There are references throughout: from the scope of the disaster not being accurately presented to the public, right down to the white Tyvek suits everyone is wearing outside in the beginning of the second half.
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I remember they saying that this Godzilla represented the Fukushima disaster.
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Interesting, and thanks for taking the time to listen. It’s true — though, we caught the reference to Fukushima generally — not being Japanese or as informed on the topics as we could be, tiny details and small references to those incidents were certainly lost on us.
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