Tag Archives: Kaiju

Japanese Film, Kaiju, Podcast

#13: Godzilla vs. Biollante

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Godzilla vs Biollante

Download Link – Episode 13: Godzilla vs Biollante

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Intro and News (00:00):

Lamentations on the Winter 2017 anime season, Netflix, and Amazon’s Anime Strike.

Review (34:00):

Two monsters, created by science gone awry, go head to head in the second Godzilla film of the Heisei era: Godzilla vs Biolante.  This follow up to Return of Godzilla or Godzilla 1984, which we reviewed in episode 7, arrived five years after the release of the previous film had under-performed at the box office.  Looking for fresh ideas to revitalize the somewhat moribund franchise, producers at Toho held a public contest in search of a script.  The winning entry, written by a dentist named Shinichiro Kobayashi with a script that largely sidelined the franchise’s typical anti-nuclear bent in favor of a new focus on the emerging threat posed from bio-technology, was heavily rewritten by Director Kazuki Omori to include spies, assassins, and corporate espionage.  The resulting film is a truly a bizarre mishmash of ideas: espionage, deadly assassins, fictional middle eastern countries, mad science, ESPers, military super weapons, and, of course, awesome Kaiju action — it’s a hell of a ride!

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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!

 

 

Japanese Film, Kaiju, Podcast

#8: Gamera 3: The Revenge of Iris

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gamera 3 poster

Download Link – Episode 8: Gamera 3 Revenge of Iris

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Random talk (00:00: 

Ultraman Orb, video game Engrish, wrestling, Macross, Power Rangers 

News (26:10):

Review (56:30)

We watch Gamera 3: The Revenge of Iris from 1999, the final film in the Heisei Gamera trilogy.

Links:

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!

Japanese Film, Kaiju, Podcast

#7: Return of Godzilla

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The_Return_of_Godzilla_Poster_Japan_1

Download Link – Episode 7: Return of Godzilla

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What we’ve been watching (00:00):

  • JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Legend of Korra, DC Animated Universe, Space Brothers, Southern Cross, Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress
  • Southern Cross’s “Cosmic Deja Vu“  might be the most appropriately titled opening theme song ever.

News (36:15):

Finally, at 1:06:13, the Cold War threatens to turn hot in Toho’s Return of Godzilla, the 1984 franchise reboot, directed by Koji Hashimoto, that kicked off the Heisei era. 

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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!

Kaiju, Tokusatsu

Talkin’ Toku

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Tokusatsu is an enormous component of worldwide media fandom, and its visibility has increased drastically in recent years. Before I get into some more US-centric news in upcoming posts, I want to lay down a few key terms that run through tokusatsu so that everyone is on the same page.

Tokusatsu – A term that essentially means “special filming,” and roughly refers to anything that involves special effects and would be categorized in the west as science fiction/fantasy. For most people, tokusatsu is “live action things which are exciting and cool.” If you watch an eastern program that has live actors and some things that you want to own a toy or figure of, then it is probably tokusatsu.

Daikaiju – This basically translates to “great monster” or a rough equivalent. This is explicitly referring to film series like Godzilla, Mothra, Gamera, and other giant monster movies. In the west we often simply say kaiju, though in Japanese that term is broad enough to encompass any monster from a werewolf to King Ghidorah.

Sentai – This term means “task force,” and the is part of the title of Toei’s long-running series. This basically refers to the familiar teams of primary colored spandex superheroes.

Henshin – This can mean “transformation” or “metamorphosis” and refers to any hero switching from their normal form into a their hero mode. The ultimate example of this trope is Kamen Rider, who shouts henshin before changing into his heroic self.

With our vocabulary lesson finished, here is a ridiculous video to whet your appetite for more spandex, explosions, and monsters – the glorious train-themed Ressha Sentai ToQger.

 

Japanese Film, Kaiju, Podcast

#5: Gamera 2: Attack of Legion

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Gamera 2 Attack of Legion Poster

Download Link – Episode 5: Gamera 2 Attack of Legion

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Show Notes:

  • Brief Ultraman Orb impressions from Grant, which you can watch for free here: http://www.crunchyroll.com/ultraman-orb
  • Shout outs and blog talk.
  • Funimation’s Kickstarter for the Vision of Escaflowne Bluray with new English Dub comes out next month.  Here’s the trailer featuring the new dub cast.  Also, the super swag collector’s edition, which Zen has pre-ordered, is still available at Rightstuf.704400079702_anime-vision-escaflowne-tv-complete-series-movie-collection-altA
  • Super Dimensional Fortress Macross appears on Amazon Prime; Harmony Gold talk follows.
  • Our thoughts on Attack on Titan Season 2, Space Battleship Yamato 2202, and the new Godzilla anime announcements.
  • Finally, at 36:10 we continue with our review of part two of Shusuke Kaneko and special effects master Shinji Higuchi’s Gamera trilogy — Gamera 2: Attack of Legion (1996).

Links:

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!

Japanese Film, Kaiju, Podcast

#2: Gamera Guardian of the Universe

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Gamera Guardian of the Universe

Download Link – Episode 2: Gamera Guardian of the Universe – A Friend of At Least One Child (Maybe)

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Show Notes:

  • Grant has a short Hulu followup.
  • The End of the Millennium, Retail-Apocalypse manga (aka DD Fist of the North Star) comes to a close.
  • We collectively ogle Woody Robo Sheriff Star.
  • We chatter on about Studio Ghibli Producer Nishimura’s controversial remarks (he has since apologized).
  • Finally, we discuss and review the 1995, Kaiju film, directed by Shusuke Kaneko, Gamera: Guardian of the Universe.  The review starts at 28:40.

Apologies again for the substandard audio quality.

Links:

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!