#also rodan is real

[ruubesz-draws]

And that's how Godzilla got trapped in the ice and lost weight👍 :)

Also, Rodan is in the movie. I know this because I saw it in my dreams.

Inspired by Mickey Mouse Shorts

[thatoneawkwardhorse]

“He’s so pretty when he goes down on me ❤️”

[astoundingbeyondbelief]

Kaiju Week in Review (December 31, 2023-January 6, 2024)

Episode 9 of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters was a huge one, wrapping up the flashback storyline with gut punch after gut punch and dropping half the cast into a new realm of the Hollow Earth, Axis Mundi. I'm being vague because there's a very big twist at the end. Chomping at the bit for the finale.

@quazies has graced us with another animated Godzilla short, this one focusing on Rodan and wringing surprising emotion out of the daffy bird. And I continue to get a kick of out this Animal Crossing-esque Monster Island. This is their fourth Godzilla video; if you're unfamiliar with them, correct this immediately.

The new issue of TotalFilm has a sizable article on Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. My notes:

Trapper (Dan Stevens) is a sort of Titan veterinarian.

Emphasis on filming in real places; the Hollow Earth is a mixture of Greenland, Iceland, Hawaii, and Australia. Also mentions some sort of physical Kong prop and another full-sized HEAV.

Apex isn't in this story "in a literal way," but Monarch seems to have copped some of their tech; Kong's B.E.A.S.T. Glove is implied to be one example. Sort of disappointing that the Monsterverse continues to avoid having a recurring human villain, but then it would've been hard to keep Apex in the picture, between the Mechagodzilla scandal and all their key members dying.

Rome is mentioned as a location in the film, which was reinforced this week with a Japanese trailer showing Godzilla astride the Colosseum prior to his evolution. As a half-Italian, I'm thrilled.

Wingard is aiming for late-Showa Godzilla vibes. Not possible on a nine-figure budget, says I, but I'm curious to see what he comes up with. Adds that he "wanted the color palette of the film to resemble the experience of what it was like to walk down a toy aisle in the 1980s[.]"

Wingard on Skar King: "[He's], in a way, the closest that the human threat has ever been juxtaposed onto a titan itself. The Skar King almost represents an upscaled version of the worst parts of humanity, just as Kong represents some of the best parts of humanity."

Now, about that cover... they're doing the bisexual lighting on purpose at this point, right?

The new Godzilla Battle Line units are Orga and Kiryu Kai (Heavy Arms Type). Orga's pretty fun, dropped into the arena by the Millennian UFO and respawning with half health once defeated. The new Kiryu is a major addition, dealing 30% more damage to units that cost 7 energy or more.

This is my first Kaiju Week in Review covering 2024; for a look back on all that happened in 2023 in kaiju film, television, and video games, I'll refer you to this excellent video by @zagorudan. @vintagehenshin has one out on indie tokusatsu as well.

This is a year ending in "4", so a lot of Godzilla movies have big anniversaries on the way. The biggest, of course, is Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, turning 50 on March 21. Toho wasn't celebrating golden anniversaries in earnest when the other non-Godzilla members of the Big Five reaches theirs, so expect a Full Weapon Strike of merch, comics, and short films. We already know Mechagodzilla's in the next Godzilla Rivals issue, though not top-billed. Ultraman Leo, ESPY, Evil of Dracula, and Prophecies of Nostradamus also turn 50 this year.

[short-wooloo]

I have been looking for this image for so long

It's so hard to find Kaiju scale charts that both compare sizes of various incarnations of characters and real buildings too, and I also love this because it conveys that while the Showa era monsters (Rodan, Anguirus, and Gigan) are big, they don't absolutely dwarf everything, and that's why the Showa era Kaiju size range of 40-70 meters is my preferred size for them, like don't get me wrong, I do enjoy the absolutely Titanic proportions of Heisei era onward, but there's a charm to the smaller sizes that I like, and I think there's something to the idea that although humanity can build structures that dwarf Kaiju, said monsters still smash and knock over everything, because their power is just that much greater, really emphasizes the "power of mother nature" aspect with the animal Kaiju, and also the threat of alien/non natural Kaiju

Plus when Kaiju are smaller, humanity building vehicles and facilities that can contain them are easier to accept

[hrodvitnon]

Xenilla Arc HCs...

…or ideas- however you wanna slice it. 

I think the absolute essence of this arc hinges ride or die on the answer to the question “Does it end with Ozymandias dying?”. A lot of people seem partial to the answer being yes- I will straight up admit my biases here and say I disagree- but the answer can go either way.

If the answer is yes then I think the arc should theme around Godzilla coming to terms with the fact that his brother is gone and not coming back, and that he needs to stop comparing himself against Ozzy and be king in his own way. It would center very heavily on examining older characters like Tiamat, Mothra, Shimo, and Dagon and how they all have to move on and forward. A pretty bleak story with a sad ending. I admit there’s probably more ways to do this version of the story that I’d be down to hear if anyone wants to share.

If the answer is no then the arc should be about Godzilla and crew turning a blind eye to the insurmountable odds that stand between them and freeing Ozzy- a story seriously fraught with hardship, suffering, and anguish with a dim light at the end of the tunnel. The reason I prefer this route is I actually think it’s more true to Abraxas as a story as that’s how the original story played out. This would be very similar- except it’s Godzilla’s story instead of Vivienne’s. And the unadulterated cruelty and torment wouldn’t be focused on just her. Everyone who follows Godzilla down this path goes through some shit to get to the end. The rest of this post is written with this route in mind, but like mentioned earlier I’m open to hearing about a version of this story where Ozzy doesn’t walk away- I just struggle to find a good way to write that myself. 

However- one thing I don’t think should happen is a bait and switch. Genuinely I fail to see a satisfying end to this story if Ozzy’s baited to be able to survive but then doesn’t. Yes it would be angsty. Yes Goji would cry a lot. But I feel like you’d need to either write that extremely well or risk a very unsatisfying end. I just kinda fail to see a world where that can be pulled off with finesse. Again- fully ready to admit I’m biased here- would always be willing to hear others out on this, but idk man. 

Anyways- the additional excuse of a very weepy happy ending gives you ample breathing room to write the most horribly fucked shit imaginable. A concept I’m sure you’re familiar with. Xenilla would want to play with his food before he consigns him to infection. He knows the effect he has on Godzilla and he intends to relish every moment of it. Physical, mental, you fucking name it; he wants Godzilla to go through hell in his final days before he mercifully delivers him to Gigan’s Proliferation Chambers to be infected. A large part of this torment would be what he does to those closest to him. 

Big turning point in the arc; could happen about halfway through when the G-Team thinks they have a solid grasp on how to deal with Xenilla. The man himself shows up, wrecks Goji’s shit in front of everyone (maybe even drops him from the atmosphere like that one ask), and then kidnaps some of his closest companions to be taken to Gigan’s fleet. This could literally be anyone- but my idea is for it to be Abraxas, Mothra, and Rodan (could also throw in Leo or Ladon for some real cursed shit). They get taken right in front of Godzilla. Cue a rehash of Viv’s mental mindbreak when San got swallowed except with the King believing he’s just lost his wife and two best friends. 

While onboard the ship, couple of things happen. Everyone besides Abraxas goes through some kind of horrific experience and is additionally incapacitated by the Indoctrination radio waves permeating the ship. Abraxas is spared via San being granted immunity when Ghidorah used to live onboard, and she ends up being the key to getting everyone off alive. This is also partially an excuse to give her a fight with Gigan as a moment for her to fix one of Ghidorah’s most depraved acts (a very hard and very bloody fight, might I add). 

There ends up being serious consequences for this abduction. For one- everyone that does get taken ends up partially Indoctrinated. They can pretty easily shake off the worst effects as Abraxas would get them onto an escape craft within a day or two- but it’ll definitely leave mental scars. In addition, I think Rodan should end up partially infected. I think between Mothra and him, Xenilla would choose him to be infested because it would fuck Godzilla up more to see someone as carefree and quippy as Rodan utterly broken the parasite like he was- also because Mothra may have some unforeseen resistance to it being born of the Planet. This starts a subplot where Rodan is slowly getting more infected day by day and the return party needs to rush to find a way to cure him before losing him for good (this could also be how they find the cure they use on Ozzy later, more on that later). Very angsty all around- Rodan freaking out each time the cordies try to get control of him, everyone else worrying themselves into an early grave over him, etc. 

Subplot #2: Monarch believes the key to stopping Xenilla is somewhere in the Hollow Earth. So- they send a group of Kaiju down there to look for an answer; in my head the group consists of Kong, Dagon, Barb, and Battra. They end up being right and find an Iwi forge/refinery where the Gojiran/Zohar weaponry was forged. Through a task requiring human/Titan cooperation, they create an Ultra-Radiated weapon that they think can neutralize the parasite (again, more on this later). Thinking it could either be a knife or a spear. 

Whilst all this is happening, the few remaining Titans topside scramble in preparation as the world prepares for what could be a full-scale alien invasion. At this point- only like Goji, Tiamat, and Shimo would be left. They could all be having individual flashbacks to their most treasured moments with Ozzy whilst maybe even fighting off some advance enemies (Megaguirus or MOGUERA, anyone?). 

The final conflict would start with a 1 on 1 confrontation between Shimo and Xenilla. Reason being that she needs to buy time for the cure to be finalized and for Kong’s group to return. This could also be her first truly challenging fight in millennia and we could actually see her pushed to her limits. 

The actual fight begins when Godzilla rolls up all roars and challenges to Xenilla. He roars back- prepared to finally win this 1 on 1 and drag Goji back in a horrifically mauled state to be stuffed full of fungus- only for Godzilla to immediately halt his charge and shout ‘NOW, FATHER!’. Xenilla barely has time to turn around before he’s blasted point blank by a sub-atomic Oxygen Destroyer- only after the bombardment does the full Titan Vanguard roll up. Establishes that this fight is not for glory, to establish dominance, or to enforce Godzilla’s sovereignty. Godzilla is going to win and does not care how dirty he has to fight to do so. 

Dagon is armed with Oxygen Destroyers, Kong’s got his new weapon, Godzilla’s all powered up, and Abraxas has a new little secret weapon up their sleeve I’ll touch on in a bit. Even so- Shimo’s already been worn down and doesn’t have a lot less in the tank. Her efforts mainly go into protecting the group’s first major plan: Barb. A lot of people seem to forget that her EMP blasts disable Titan powers- taking away Xenilla’s shields and devastating Coronal Rays. This works until it inevitably doesn’t, and the group goes through plan after plan similar in tactfulness to this until Kong or Mothra or someone gets a clean impalement with the new Zohar weapon. 

Should probably explain my idea of curing the parasite now. The key to curing the infection in my eyes is two-fold and relies on two things: Neutralizing the fungus and destroying it. You can’t do one without the other. To start with it’s destruction- I think the only really viable option is literally to burn it off the bone and cells it grows on. If you’ve ever heard of Radiosurgery, it’s a form of cancer treatment that utilizes extremely precise beams of gamma radiation to literally burn away cancer cells. Obviously this is very risky to preform as screwing it up could cause irreversible damage to bone or critical tissue- if this was a normal patient. Ozymandias is Gojiran- so radiation wouldn’t have any adverse effects on him specifically, but the parasite? It would probably take a lot- a very heavy dosage and very concentrated- but Ozzy’s body would be able to endure while the fungus would not. But the infection is tricky, cunning, it would start to defend itself in some way or even try to take Ozzy with it should it be threatened like this. This is where we find the need to neutralize it- and the one who may be able to do that is Abraxas. We know that Ghidorah communicated between the heads via psionics, and we’ve seen further communication from Ichi and Ni to Vivienne and San. Vivienne and San could talk back but they could never actually initiate conversation (or maybe they could? I actually kinda can’t remember rn). Another thing- despite being shielded from Indoctrination’s worst effects- they could still hear that goddamn infernal buzzing on the ship. In fact- they heard it so well they could commit it to memory… so much that they could think about it, ponder it, learn how it works…

I’ve read asks on here that mention 'Shaking off Reaper Indoctrination’, and that’s always felt a little weird to me- because that really isn’t something you just 'shake off’- it’s very clear in ME that the damage is permanent and not something very salvageable. However- what if the 'cure’ for Indoctrination is actually just another form of Indoctrination that undoes the programming on a psychic level. An Anti-Indoctrination method created by Abraxas after scrutinizing the actual frequencies of Indoctrination to see how it works. I think this would be a fantastic way to progress Abraxas’s character past where they were left at the end of Abraxas- going from one of Ghidorah’s most tortured victims, to the one who broke free of his control and defeated him, and now acts as an Anti-Ghidorah undoing all of his past sins. First defeating Gigan and then turning Indoctrination against them. So this becomes how Rodan, Mothra, and Ozzy are saved from being Indoctrinated- and also how Abraxas becomes possibly the most dangerous Titan on Earth- now knowing the secrets of Indoctrination and able to leverage that against their enemies. I’ve got a lot more thoughts on this I’ll cover in a separate ask just because this post is getting long. 

So the actual method of curing Ozzy is essentially to reverse-indoctrinate the parasite into going dormant whilst Ozzy gets pumped with Zohar to kill off the infection- but where, I hear you ask, could we get a constant stream of Zohar and enough of it to eventually burn every bit of the fungus away? If you answered Bahamut’s Proliferation (name I gave to Tiamat’s Liar; open to additional name suggestions). It’s constantly charging from the incoming Coronal Rays and through some Monarch tech, it can be repurposed as a Cordyceps curing facility for both Rodan and Ozzy. However- the curing process would not be short- the place would’ve just been drained by Godzilla a few years ago and the stream of Solar Energy wouldn’t exactly be fast. It could take weeks or even months for the fungus to be completely gone- and Ozzy would be in a coma the entire time.

As mentioned earlier- ending’s a fucking tear-fest all around. Despite all the hardship, Goji and his subjects pulled through another impossible situation. Just like Abraxas being freed from Ghidorah- Ozzy is freed from Xenilla. 

As always- really interested to what other have to say in regards to this; also expect that followup ask with how Abraxas’s Anti-Indoctrination would work.

---

Now that it’s explained, I feel more open to the idea of Ozzy living after a lot of pain and suffering on everyone; it feels like Gigan (and the narrative) expects our heroes to fail in saving him from a life of horrors in spite of all their efforts, and yet Abraxas is like “You know what? Fuck you. Un-funguses your lizard.” (Abraxas can indeed initiate “psychic conversations” with Ghidorah; they’ve definitely done it one or two times in Chapter 18, I remember that.)

I do wonder how well crafting weapons made from the Zohar will work; the AbraxasVerse Timeline posits the idea that the Zohar may be the planet’s core and that Ghidorah consuming it would basically destroy Earth from the inside-out, and we know Battra is going to HATE that. On the other hand, @zerm2v0hg also presented an idea that maybe the Scarred Apes under Skar King’s rule might have refined elements of Zohar for their own fucked-up purposes, and that Synthetic Zohar can be produced without potential planet-cracking ramifications... although the synthetic alternative may have ramifications of their own, who knows...

On the one hand it makes sense that the Fleet would have an enormous Fuck-Off HUEG LIKE XBOX ship dedicated for Gigan, but on the other I’m not so keen on the idea of Ghidorah having previously lived there because it clashes with a lore-dump I’d made about the Fleet; namely that Ghidorah is the source of no insignificant amount of generational trauma and its actions are antithetical to the Fleet’s belief about Experience being the key to a life well lived (one must experience as many things as possible both good and bad), because Ghidorah will kill anything and everything it can, meaning no survivors to tell of the Experience.

It’s been a while since I’ve really spitballed what exactly the relationship between AbraxasVerse Gigan and Ghidorah would be like, but I definitely recall they fought each other. A lot. They had a rivalry but unlike with Godzilla it was this weird interplay of violence and sadomasochistic... mutual appreciation? Like, Gigan comes to believe that Ghidorah completes him in the sense that he’s constantly improving his technique and cybernetics and weaponry after every fight; and Ghidorah appreciates Gigan because they LOVE a good fight and Gigan always provides a good scrap. The Fleet however is scared shitless of Ghidorah due of the whole galactic genocidal road trip schtick, and because it’s come damn close to actually killing Gigan, their living god, at times. 

Ghidorah also hates Little Ones, like the members of the Fleet, with the fury of a thousand suns. They don’t even have to look remotely like the Makers, they just bring up those terrible memories just by doing their own thing without realizing it. So Ghidorah having roomed with Gigan on his own personal ship seems a bit odd with that in mind.

“Welcome to my humble abode, Ghidorah! I’d like you to room with me while we travel the stars on a glorious crusade to spread the Word of Flesh and Metal.”

“THE FUCK DO WE NEED A ROOM FOR? OR A SHIP? WE CAN FUCKING FLY THROUGH SPACE. ALSO YOUR LITTLE ONES PISS US OFF. WE’RE GOING TO KILL THEM ALL NOW.”

“Ahh, that’s what I thought you’d say, you crazy fucking noodle! Can’t let you do that to my babies, they’re mine!”

(I know it’s not the intent and I’m sorry, but Titan-sized escape shuttles also make me giggle due to the mental image of the Earthborn Titans trying to figure out how anything works. “Hey, Rodan? I think we should start the engines. Like, right now.” “I CAN’T FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET THIS THING WORKING!” “NIGHT VISION ENGAGED.”)

[tyrantisterror]

Following up on the monsters from the 90s cartoon, which ones do you think would work best in a proper Godzilla movie? Either as the main monster or as, like, secondary monsters?

All of 'em. Every episode of Godzilla: The Series is essentially it's own little twenty-four minute monster movie. It manages that by 1: being serialized and thus not having to spend a long first act establishing who our characters are and how the setting works and 2: cutting all the chaffe out of the second and third acts to give you a lot of monster action and story beats. And one of the reasons I think it's better than its predecessor The Godzilla Power Hour, which also had these advantages, is that it tried to make each monster's story feel unique. Godzilla vs. Giant Rats in a sewer, Godzilla vs. the Loch Ness Monster but really the mad scientist who stole her baby, Godzilla vs. a legally distinct from King Kong giant ape BUT it's actually a robot and also the real threat's a big fucking snake, Godzilla vs. a Giant Bee but there's also smaller giant bees and animate vines to menace the heroes, etc. You could take almost any episode from the series and just give it some elaboration to make into a movie.

I guess we could rule out monsters who have clear counterparts - like how Megapede is supposed to be a Mothra homage, or Q is supposed to be a Rodan homage (and also Q from Q The Winged Serpent) - but even then I feel the series did a good job of making its homages broad enough that they can still work as their own characters.

[geekgemsspooksandtoons]

Long live the king, Godzilla

For years, I like to say it like, “Long live the fucking king” to sound cooler ever since they were using that line. But well, it’s been years since I rewatched Godzilla King of the Monsters. The 2019 film that’s a sequel to Godzilla 2014...I have some things to say which may surprise some of you.

This may sound crazy or just...I was hoping to just gush about this film. Because the many times I would talk about this film and calling it one of the greatest cinematic experiences in my life. A film I have seen four times in the theaters. And saying things like I think this film spoiled me when I felt Godzilla vs Kong felt tame and “Less epic” which says a lot...

But rewatching the film just now...I think experiencing it in a theater, and maybe the hype really got me. Again, I feel like experiencing this in a theater is the best thing ever. But now, years later...I can understand much more why people don’t like the Monsterverse itself.

I will spoil some stuff, not a whole lot. Because I know a friend of mine reads my reviews. Mainly that Bioshock one from long ago. I’m going to start off with the negative before I go into the positives. I feel like that’s better to do because I want to explain what issues I had with this film. I’m going to add a keep reading option as well.

But and I didn’t add this last night because I forgot. I went to bed, and I can’t add another keep reading option. I like Filmento and he brings up a lot of good points that I agree with.

Anyway, here’s my detailed review.

The negatives.

This film, like I have seen others said before...THIS FILM NEEDED TO BE THREE HOURS. Which may sound insane. But this film’s pacing is very bothersome. And this goes in hand with another thing that bothered me.

You know all of the complains about Godzilla 2014 of how it kept cutting away from the monster fights at times. Which it started to annoy people. I totally get that; I get the criticisms towards that. But I also understood Gareth Edwards wanted to retrain himself from showing too much of the monsters. https://twitter.com/CallMeJaiden54/status/1637358513449209857 Granted, I get why people were annoyed. Maybe a balance would’ve been better.

But KOTM’s pacing...really doesn’t help with a bunch of things. Because like others have said before. This is basically like the Godzilla Final Wars for the American Godzilla movies. And Final Wars is a kickass movie I may add. Now I want to say this funny part.

If they wanted to make it even more of a Final Wars comparison. We should’ve gotten Mark fighting Jonah in a physical fight, while Mark is beating down Jonah, you see Godzilla beating down on Ghidorah on a still working tv. You could’ve had that, and I strangely would’ve loved it. But back to the point.

The fact that this film’s pacing goes very quick, despite it’s alright...there are moments of character building. But I feel this doesn’t help the monsters and some character development. Even though I think me gushing over Godzilla 2014 was also the result of seeing a movie before that made me question what is happening to cinema. And Godzilla 2014 reminded me cinema was real again.

But the buildup to the MUTO’s and Godzilla is excellent. You get the feeling of horror, wonder and other feelings. While I do think it makes sense you don’t have to wait for long to reintroduce Godzilla because we already know him. It’s weird to talk about.

2014′s slow pacing really helps easing a viewer into the story. Even if it’s “Boring” and while the reveal of Ghidorah, Mothra and Rodan are fantastic. Especially with their scores, I feel they’ve could’ve done better. Because in a way...it doesn’t feel special. In fact, while Brad Peyton’s Rampage is flawed. Even that took some time to build up certain aspects and it didn’t have to deal with multiple characters.

There’s a crap ton of new characters in here and some kind of stick around even when they don’t need to be there. And that’s a critique I agree with the Monsterverse. We need a consistent cast. While I get a post and others saying the monsters are the stars. But that’s not an excuse...because when you don’t have a consistent cast or have a couple of characters not come back. You have to introduce a bunch of new characters and if they aren’t handled right, it’s weird.

And again, that pacing. It doesn’t help character development, and it doesn’t help with the impact of certain things when you go at such a fast pace. It legit hurt the film for me. Because there’s a lot of things I like here. It may sound crazy I want a 3-hour cut of this movie, but I want that. This is a film that deserves that. And it would’ve helped me appreciate some of the big and emotional moments too.

Now, I want to talk about the positives. Granted, you’ll still hear me talk about some criticisms. But I want to get to this part.

As someone who’s loved Godzilla since I was a kid. It was mainly the Showa and Millennium eras that got me into becoming a fan. And this was my biggest positive when this film first came out. This may sound strange, but seeing the way Ghidorah, Mothra and Rodan were handled in this film. To me, it felt like if you were watching a Spider-Man and Batman film for the first time. And you see that iconic comic book character treated with dignity and respect. That was the feeling I had when I saw these monsters for the first time.

While you still had the sci-fi aspect in them. The direction is more “Mythological” in a way, more so a feeling when handling these characters. “Spirtuality” is the word I’m looking for. While I can understand why people, or one person may think these three were “Nerfed” but I’m sorry. NO, THEY WERE NOT NERFED. And I can’t agree with hearing that their roars are “Generic” like what the fuck?

Godzilla is portrayed wonderfully again with respect. He’s great as well. But the new monsters, the Toho ones are fucking beautiful. This film’s portrayal of Ghidorah is legitimately my favorite of his interpretations. While Rodan could’ve had more with him, he is dealt with properly.

But I feel like the big glow up is literally Mothra herself. A character while not my favorite, I always preferred the more “Aggressive” and “Masculine” monsters you can say. But Mothra is important and the fact they were able to handle her so well in this film. While I feel like Ghidorah and Rodan were easier characters to get right. They knocked it out of the park with Mothra. They all ooze personality and their themes are legit perfect for each of them.

I want to talk about the human characters. This is actually my favorite group of human characters in the Monsterverse. And I was saddened only two of them came back for Godzilla vs Kong. Granted, I think I wanted Godzilla vs Kong to be Godzilla 3 but with King Kong. It still technically is a Godzilla 3, but with Kong more as the lead monster.

While the pacing hurts the film. The cast of Monarch here is genuinely likable. And I wished for some they were expanded upon more. With some acting more like supporting roles, and I shouldn’t use the word “NPCs” to describe them. That is a term I have wanted to use for some time. My favorites of the new characters were Rick (Who is legit funny when he is) and Chen. Also, kind of wished Barnes was showed more or just...there’s a lot of new characters here that you may lose track of them if you don’t have subtitles on or haven’t seen the film multiple times like I have before. But seriously, I liked Chen and that’s because of well...lore reasons that I wished she had more to do.

I also want to say this. I think Mark Russell, played by Kyle Chandler is maybe the human protagonist we’ve had in an American Godzilla film. Even though I think Ford was fine, he’s more of a “Passive” character. When Mark is a more active protagonist. While a flawed character devastated by the loss of his son. He is at his core a good man who still loves his daughter and ex-wife. Especially when you have moments like him going into the Artic base by himself the moment he sees Emma and Madison on footage and risking his life to find them. Along with a strong moment that still stuck with me is him going back to save a group of Monarch soldiers being left behind, despite he could have the chance to follow his family. There are other little moments like he still talks to Madison in emails. His arc is pretty fine.

Madison played by Millie Bobby Brown is fine. But her biggest moment is her stealing the Orca and using it to save billions of lives during the whole Titans attacking across the world. I don’t think there’s much of an arc for her. But it’s more of well, her making her own choices and well...this leads into the next part. 

Emma is...an interesting character. She’s fine as an antagonist who then changes because she realizes what she’s done. I feel like it could’ve been done better. But knowing there is a deleted scene where...I’ll link them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQmVLpKgmGI Fuck, these deleted scenes are good.

It’s funny to me seeing the fandom having Godzilla and Mothra be Madison’s “Parents” but again, while Mark is flawed. That dude at mostly has his priorities straight.

We also have Charles Dance as Alan Jonah who I want to see again. He’s threatening when he is and commands a presence. He’s good with what he’s given.

I now want to talk about Serizawa, particularly his scene. I do agree that his character in the 2014 film, he’s a bit underdeveloped. But in all seriousness, his sacrifice to basically save Godzilla is still powerful. It’s legitimately one of the best scenes in the film. Ken Watanabe is always good with his performances. But what I hate about this is the fact while we should’ve gotten more development with him. It’s the fact we can’t use him again. And having watched this video yesterday. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1ciSG9Z8o4

I’ll admit, I have wanted to make a reblog talking about how the 2014 movie could still have the similar story but making Ford less passive or something and make him as compelling as his father or something. And annoyed by people possibly wanting “Godzilla vs Heisenberg” despite how much of a good actor Bryan Cranston is. But that video...I genuinely wished that was the approach they take with Joe Brody instead. We’d still have Serizawa around, especially in Godzilla vs Kong. And having Joe sacrificing himself instead would’ve been just as powerful for not only reasons this video talks about. But also, other things I have wondered about.

There are other characters to talk about. But nothing really noteworthy in ways. Despite the sad fact you have Graham being killed all of a sudden by Ghidorah in one scene. And the colonel from the last film being killed in a deleted scene. There’s a trend with the characters from the 2014 film being killed off in this film.

[graspingremlinhands]

You're quite welcome. On your Anthro AU itself, is it kinda like Bluey? Also, what is Angurius like in this AU?

I genuinely don't know what Bluey is about. I was more thinking in the likes of sitcoms, like Friends, How I meet your mother and others.

Now Anguirus's family where Godzilla's neighbors. He comes from a very big family and sometimes he felt kinda ignored. That's why was common for him to stay most of his time at Godzilla's house. That and also he was one of the few friends Godzilla made(He was kinda grumpy ans shy as a kid). They have been friends since then, almost always being in the same class and shared hobbies in common.

He was a real help for Godzilla after all went down. They even date but broke up (Goji is his grief was being a jerk). Despite that they're still close and he loves Rodan as he were his own brother.

In my AU he's married to Gamera but I still don't have an idea of what job suits him.

He's pretty chill, reliable and laid back although he can get scary if push come to shove. His friendship with Godzilla is full of mean banters but also long conversations.

Another thing is that he hates tattoos and peircings, they creeps him out.

A shame because Rodan has them and it's also his job since he's a tattoo artist in my AU.

[guthrie-odonto]

Biola: Monster Genesis: Rodan

The year is 2023. A particularly heavy swarm of Meganulon emerges from the earth in response to mining activity. If that wasn’t enough for Typhon to deal with (Meganulon and Meganlon larva, Meganula for short, have already been encountered by the organization in 1956, so they have experience with the insect), there were two other ancient megapredators that awoke alongside them. This pair giant “birds” would be given this name by Typhon: Rodan.

Despite appearing like the more innacurate depictions of pterosaurs, closer morphological and genetic study has found that Rodans are a highly derived pachycephalosaur, evolving from ancestors that were arboreal and with neotenic in their heads, eventually gaining flight and growing massive in convergence with large pterosaurs, with wing membranes only stretching to the hips as a fan of protofeathers from their shorter tails providing lift to the posterior end. In a radical extension of the pachycephalosaurid’s head butting behavior (which is retained in their combat, both on ground and through falcon-like, high speed impacts), these dinosaurs also show a heavy convergence with woodpeckers. With some help from their wing spurs (also used in combat and to search for hidden prey like an aye-aye tapping its finger), they use their robust beaks to chisel into the mountains and cliffs containing Meganulon, their prey, before consuming them with their long, spear tipped tongues that also wrap around their brain case like a woodpecker's.

Initially, the Rodans, a larger, brightly colored male and a dull, burgundy female, stuck to their natural food source. Both snatching individuals in the air like bee-eaters, digging within the nest, and picking off stragglers on the ground⏤then, when the swarms made their way into cities and the bugs got more inconspicuous, they started to supplement their diets with the tiny, bony things that were smaller than Meganulon, but also weren't as innately defended...

Eventually, like the real world's 56 film, their nesting site at Mt. Aso is discovered and incinerated with a controlled eruption, with the Rodans perishing in the explosion...

... about 66% of the Rodans, that is...

[ifuckinglovedinosaurssomuchjesus]

GODZILLA MOVIE MARATHON: Ghidorah, the Three- Headed Monster (1964)

The ultimate crossover event! A threat appears so powerful that Toho’s backlog of titular monsters must work together to beat it back! This movie is basically the culmination of the Toho monsters universe, it’s the linchpin of the franchise and the turning point for Godzilla as a character, which is why it’s kind of sad he’s barely in it...

Yeah, obviously the delicate balance of human drama and monster action is one topic that’ll always be a source of contention for fans, but this is really the first time the series goes too far in my eyes. I cannot stress this enough, besides a few scenes lasting a few seconds, the monsters are not a part of this movie till the last 20 minutes. Be ready to sit down for over an hour before you see men in rubber suits getting abused on miniature sets.

That’s not to say the human plot is bad, I actually quite enjoy it! A princess about to be assassinated is visited by a bright light, that possesses her to scream to anyone that’ll listen that the world is about to end. The press and police are on her tail, trying to both investigate if what she’s saying is the truth and to protect her from more assassins, while a mysterious meteorite begins to glow and swell in the rural mountains. It’s all pretty intriguing and never boring, and I think the fact that the focus is on the growing threat of Ghidorah’s awakening keeps the monsters in your mind even if they aren’t on screen. I also love the Mothra Shobijin in this movie, especially the fact that they’re apparently making appearances on late night cable TV nowadays.

The monsters themselves are also great. Rodan vs Godzilla is pretty hilarious with how they seem to only be capable of mildly annoying each other, laughing at the other’s pain and playing catch with a boulder. My favorite part was Rodan lifting Godzilla into the air just to drop him, dick first, into an electrical pole. Then of course there’s the bit where we hear the translated conversation between Mothra, Godzilla, and Rodan where Godzilla calls humans bullies of all things. It’s goofy, it’s stupid, it’s fun.

You can also tell why King Ghidorah is, to this day, still considered the big bad of the Godzilla franchise. The movie spends a long time hyping him up, and you do recognize him as a big threat that needs to be stopped. Unfortunately, you can tell the budget was low, because we don’t get very much scenes of him actually reigning havoc. When you watch these movies in quick succession, it’s pretty clear how much less of a force of nature the three headed alien is compared to the absolute carnage of the very first Godzilla. Likewise he does get trounced pretty easily and flees with his tails between his legs like a little bitch, but somehow he still left this movie seeming pretty cool.

The real importance of this movie is that it’s the first time Godzilla was seen as the good guy, a consistent across the rest of the Showa era and something that becomes a major part of his characterization in later continuities too. The contradictory metaphors of Godzilla being the personification of the atom bomb and the hero of earth is something many people have wrote many essays on, so I won’t really bother, but I do like the extra layers this movie provides and I hold good guy Goji close to my heart.

Overall, an important movie in shaping Godzilla as a character. A solid 7/10.

[ericmhe]

Godzilla Series Rewatch

Destroy All Monsters:

Ok, so this is a movie I've avoided rewatching until now and it's all due to one of the most bitterly disappointing experiences in my life. Kind of falls to seeing everything out of order and my dad being utterly incapable of giving a decent plot summary. I'd seen some of the later movies, Gigan and Megalon, MechaGodzilla, I had the NES game Monster of Monsters and to some degree my kid self had just kind of accepted Godzilla and Mothra's campaign across the solar system as part of Godzilla lore assuming that the monsters I didn't know were all from movies I hadn't seen. (Also I was confused as to why Barugon was misspelled and looked so wrong... kid nonsense eh?)

So to finally get to the point: when my dad told me there was a Godzilla movie where all the earth monsters, with Godzilla leading them fought all the space monsters with Ghidorah (Still Geedrah to me at the time) leading them, I had expectations completely blown out of proportion. What kind of crazy $#!* was I about to see? Rodan fight MechaGodzilla? Mothra fight Megalon? And what of the monsters I hadn't seen? Would guys like Varan and Moguera and Gezora be there and was Gezora as useless as his game counterpart? The possibilities seemed endless.

So when I sit through the movie and get to a climax where a rocket ship fights a UFO and Ghidorah just gets promptly curb-stomped in an act of gang violence I was about as let down as I'd ever been. So after all these years I'll try to give it a fair shake and judge it on what it is from where it was in the movie timeline and not what an overactive imagination had created.

SY-3 is a surprisingly decent ship for the time frame, and definitely less embarrassing than the Super X series. I was pretty sure it had some role in Monster of Monsters so I did a quick check. Is it actually good? Maybe, but I'm not really a big student of space ship aesthetics. (I do know I really like the TNG Romulan Warbird though.) The Kilaaks are a rather more interesting alien idea than I would have expected, high temperature metal slugs? Though it definitely makes it weird that they're supposedly from some asteroid and not an inner planet? I suppose Venus was ruled out because Ghidorah destroyed it but it's not like these movies care that much about continuity.

These days I'm very used to the idea of Godzilla and the kaiju he shares a setting with as being more something humans have to get used to and live around rather than outright defeat, so the tone of the monsters being more or less tamed and kept under watch feels very off. Humans gaining direct remote control of the monsters also feels quite wrong after however many years we've had of “even somehow killing Godzilla is only a temporary inconvenience to him.” However it's still a good moment when the Kilaaks think they've won by setting the monsters free only to have Godzilla promptly end them anyway.

I think the announcer introducing all the monsters at the end is a little heavy handed a way of making sure the audience knows it's a big monster showcase, but it's not a big issue. Although it is funny that it's supposed to be set at the end of the 20th century (so 1999 to 2001?) and they're broadcasting audio and not video. I know, I know, 'zeerust' or whatever they call the inevitable missing of the mark when it comes to setting things in the future. The future catches up and no one was quite right.

This movie made Anguirus in his second ever appearance be the first to draw blood from Ghidorah and even it completely ignored Ebirah's existence. Ouch.

Now, the question is do I really want to rewatch Clip Show Kenny just for the Gabara content? No, the answer is no. The real question is if I force myself anyway for completion's sake.

[kaiju-film-liv]

The Origins of Kaiju Films

Welcome to my five-part analysis of the Kaiju genre. Kaiju films have always fascinated me for their engaging special effects and compelling social commentary.

Kaiju which roughly translates to “strange monster” is often characterized by massive animalistic creatures wreaking havoc on metropolitan areas. Kaiju are often associated with creatures like Godzilla and Mothra but the concept has existed for much longer. In Japanese folklore large creatures or animalistic spirits have existed for quite a long time. The first use of Kaiju in film was not Godzilla (1954) it was actually a translation for the American film The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953) which used the term on its Japanese poster as a synonym for monster. Godzilla (1954) was the first film to use it to describe the monster itself. 

Godzilla (1954) set the tropes by which the Kaiju genre would become synonymous with. The massive monsters, the destruction of cities, the political overtones in the thematics of the film. All three of these aspects would become common place in Kaiju films going forward.

 The film was written and directed by Ishirô Honda with co-writers Takeo Murata and Shigeru Kayama. The film's special effects were done by Eiji Tsuburaya. The company behind the film Tōhō Motion Picture Company was the go-to production company for Japan during WWII but post-war due to labor disputes it began to falter. The success of Godzilla and the branding around it has maintained the company into the modern era.

Ishirô Honda from a young age had a desire to work in film but was drafted into the military for eight years right when his film career began. While in the war between Japan and China, he was a prisoner of war. When he returned to Japan he also saw the ruins of Hiroshima. These experiences informed the political messaging in his films.

The criterion article “Godzilla’s Conscience: The Monstrous Humanism of Ishiro Honda” written by Steve Ryfle when speaking of Ishirô Honda’s shaping of the Kaiju genre stated “Other directors had begged off the project, believing it was ridiculous, and that it would likely end up a laughingstock. But to Honda, this was no joke… Honda created a monochrome masterpiece of sci-fi horror punctuated by extensive destruction sequences that elicited real-life fears of nuclear terror. Images of Tokyo smoldering in the wake of the monster, of irradiated civilians setting off Geiger counters, and of the Japanese military overmatched by the seemingly indestructible foe helped turn Honda’s entertainment spectacle into a cautionary tale about the atomic power that had not long ago been unleashed at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.”

The article also mentions the success of Honda’s films globally “Honda’s films were distributed around the world more widely than those of any other Japanese filmmaker prior to Hayao Miyazaki. In addition to having been embedded in popular culture for decades”

Ishirô Honda would continue to work on Toho Kaiju films for years after Godzilla (1954). He directed Rodan (1956), The Mysterians (1957), Mothra (1961), and Destroy All Monsters (1968). He was also a long-time friend of Director Akira Kurosawa helping him on films like Stray Dog (1949), Kagemusha: The Shadow Warrior (1980), and Ran (1985).

https://hivemind.modlangs.gatech.edu/non-fiction/kaiju-x-kami/

[dxrknessembr8ced]

Few Hours Later....

Continuing on her journey through the hell that is metro city both sisters discovered and have met with a creature similar to an old mechanical ally she once met. What's even more shocking that this tall mechanic being has a girl sitting on her shoulder along for the ride as they walk through the ruins of metro city. Unbeknownst to the twins they met another horror but this horror is one of the most powerful of the horrors. This is the mechanical horror Duoct and his ally on her shoulder is the very first human to tame this makai beasts Saki Mizuno a delinquent girl who grew to love robots, a elite professional gamer and a massive fan of tokusatsu and how these two met is when Duoct taking the form of the thing she loves right before consuming her, her heart and passion of robots is far more powerful than he has anticipated thus instead of killing her the ancient darkstalker befriended her thus becoming inseparable as powerful allies in the making. Becoming the new generation of dark hunters and violent vigilantes as well as horror cannibals. Saki Mizuno was also in response to taming a horror given abilities that of a horror which benefit the both of them.

Upon witnessing both horror and human in the same place together placed Hsien-Ko in such a confusing spot. Even Zaruba is very confused for he sensed that the girl is not a horror familiar of any kind. Even the jiangshi can sense the mechanical makai beast.

" You gotta be kidding me-! "

" You're tellin' me.... "

The two took noticed of the jiangshi as they shift their focus. Saki pointed at the jiangshi with a smile on her face, excited and thinks they're a darkstalker.

" Hey look a darkstalker! Lets kick her ass and kill her! "

" Hey-! I'm not a darkstalker! I'm a dark hunter, and I'm trying to not die here! "

" That's bullshit and you know it blueberry! "

Duoct turned to his friend as he can tell that Hsien-Ko isn't a darkstalker despite being a jiangshi.

" Saki, I think they're telling the truth... "

She turned to her mechanical ally confused.

" The hell you mean she isn't a darkstalker! Her skin is blue and old ass chinese attire, certified darkstalker in my book! "

" You have to be kidding me with this, the real question is where the hell are your parents? "

" How about you blow me? "

[dawnowar]

Ebirah, Horror of the Deep was my favorite one so far. It had everything! Godzilla was once again minding his own business and everyone decided to wake him up and fuck with him. What made this one so great is that they knew it so no one got mad at his destruction. Rodan even came through real quick for no reason other than to fuck with him. Mothra's Islanders spent the whole film trying to wake her up. Apparently she's a much more sound sleeper than Godzilla. She's also a lot less cranky when she wakes up. #watchinggodzillas

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[hrodvitnon]

Additional Sham-Goji (heh) thoughts I didn't include in yesterdays ask that I either forgot to mention or came up with afterwards.

I feel like Mothra definitely knows that Godzilla's putting up this front, but doesn't call it out because she also thinks that it's needed (for the time being). I have additional thoughts on her that I can go way more in depth on (if you'd like to hear them), but the short and simple version of those is that despite Monarch being the figurehead of the Coexistence campaign, Mothra's been doing by far the most heavy lifting to make it happen and believes that in order for both humanity and the Titans to survive- they need to learn to coexist ASAP. So much so that she's been tunnel-visioning on it since she convinced Godzilla to send Rodan to Castle Bravo (another one of my HCs, she pulled Goji's tail and was a major factor in getting Rodan sent there). Basically, Godzilla acting all kingly and desperate to live up to the humans' expectations is useful to her because she wants the same thing. She doesn't realize it may be tearing him up a little bit because A. he's good at hiding it and B. she's too busy trying to woo the humans to notice. Again, there's a lot more to this theory I can discuss later.

Kong I feel would be a very interesting character to see interact with this Godzilla, reason being is that he's sorta outside and isolated from the main kaiju world and culture. We've seen some consequences of this from him being a virgin- but I feel like having never interacted with any Titans off Skull Island would make him very different than say, Rodan- who grew up surrounded by Titans. For this case, he wouldn't have many- if any (bars) preconceived notions about Godzilla, compounded against be very observant as an Ape (cue callback to the 'weakspots' discussion). I expect it'd take one feigned nicety from Godzilla or a day of being around him for Kong to just go, "Drop the act dude, you aren't fooling anyone". Sorta like Rodan- but Rodan wouldn't do that because A. Godzilla would immediately reply with a snide comment about Rodan's own front (MAD type beat) and B. He knows it's kind of a sore spot for him and does it out of insecurity. Kong would have neither of these qualms and get on his case whenever his bullshit detector goes off. I can see Goji either getting really annoyed at this or actually starting to just be himself around Kong because he knows lying won't work on him anyways- so might as well just act candidly; and having someone he can always be candid around ends up being a path to healing for him.

(Apologies to everyone sending in asks for the long wait between answers, I'm juggling multiple things at once!)

Definitely something to consider for Mothra next time... and yes, I'm always eager for analysis. Also, I do like how Kong would be the type to not buy into any posturing for the sake of hiding one's real feelings, he's just like "stop being stupid and say what you mean."

[mostlygibberish]

I liked the part with the pickaxes.

For a movie with so many big name monsters, they took far too long to show up, and then the big battle between them was completely underwhelming. I enjoyed the human side of the story, but it also didn't exactly impress. The worst part was that there were barely any cool miniature buildings or vehicles, so the bad rubber monster suits had to do all the work.

Godzilla has been reduced to a bumbling idiot now I guess, because all he accomplished was tripping over himself and flailing wildly. Rodan had nothing to do, and his survival after the end of his own movie wasn't explained at all. Mothra('s son?) stayed in larval form the whole time, and brought the brownface actors and drawn out musical segments with him. There wasn't even a real conclusion to the fight; Ghidorah just sort of got tired and flew away.

The human part of the story was about a political assassination gone wrong and a princess possessed by an alien from Jupiter, which was pretty fun. She spent the movie warning people about the monsters and providing plot details like Ghidorah's name, while some people tried and failed to kill her. The whole thing was ultimately pointless, but still managed to be my favourite aspect.

At one point somebody mentioned seeing a scientist say something on TV, and the movie cut away to a guy in an office addressing the camera about how explosions can cause gaps between dimensions or something? It was really bizarre. 

Also, Godzilla and Rodan had a game of volleyball with a boulder, which I suppose reflects a new direction of humanising/softening the monsters they had decided to take, which I'm not a fan of. The argument between the monsters about whether they should work together was particularly goofy. 

Maybe I wasn't in the right frame of mind to appreciate this one, or maybe I'm just not interested in the direction they decided to take the franchise.

It was alright, but certainly not what I expected.