#gamera april

[thezanyarthropleura]

More artwork for Gamera vs. the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mikey meets his hero.

He let out a breath, looking up at the creature that loomed over him. One that had done all this for the sake of protecting the humans, as a defender. Perhaps it was a True Gamera, after all.

The four small silhouettes at its center shifted, and one of them parted from the others, swimming up through the projection’s neck and out through its mouth. A thinner orange chain threaded between two lower teeth as the small, humanoid creature lowered itself by it, clinging to some small wooden stick the chain was apparently projecting from the end of.

It was a turtle.

They were turtles. How strange, and curious that was. He could resolve more with it so close to his eyes, the glowing orange lines across its green body and the bead hanging from its necklace, glowing orange itself and projecting the echoes of four more beads around it in a circle of five that resembled some sort of medallion.

“Hey, Gamera. Big fan,” it said, clearly the orange-tinted voice he’d been hearing all along. Mikey, if he recalled correctly. “Well, maybe big isn’t the right word, considering. But I’m kind of my own big deal too, you know? Turtle Titan? Anyway, don’t know if you can understand, but… Karai’s our family. Save her, don’t hurt her.”

Weakly, as it was difficult with the angle his neck was at, Gamera nodded.

Mikey smiled, albeit clearly trying to contain either excitement or shock, perhaps both. “Alright, big fella, good talk. High thr—” He looked down at one of Gamera’s hands still bound by chains, frowning. “Hey, if we’re both turtles, why do you get five?”

He mocked a momentary pout, then gave a soft smile and pulled another wooden stick from his belt, this one attached by a much shorter metal chain to another identical stick. He swung it around in the air for a bit, before angling it so the other end tapped against the tip of Gamera’s claw in a gesture of comradery.

[astoundingbeyondbelief]

Kaiju Weeks in Review (August 6-26, 2023)

Godzilla: War for Humanity's first issue has already grabbed my interest, juggling a huge monster cast and an eccentric defense team. The new monster, Zoospora, is an impressive creation, and I think the Godzilla Island formula of "a new threat starts attacking Earth's monsters one by one" will work well here. Also, it's got the long-overdue IDW debut of Minilla! Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons #2 doesn't give me much to talk about in comparison, apart from my delight at the Moby Dick cameo. Right, Godzilla destroying the Spanish Armada, we've all seen it.

Apple TV+ has finally revved up the marketing machine for Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, releasing a few stills of the cast (Godzilla included) and offering a Fall 2023 premiere date. Some longstanding rumors have been confirmed as well. Bill Randa, John Goodman's character in Kong: Skull Island, will appear in flashbacks to the 1950s, played by Anders Holm. Anna Sawai plays Cate Randa (probably his granddaughter). Kurt Russell and his son Wyatt play Lee Shaw, Shaw being the name of a founding Monarch member in the first Monsterverse graphic novel, Godzilla: Awakening. Few plot details are available yet, but here's the logline:

Following the thunderous battle between Godzilla and the Titans that leveled San Francisco and the shocking revelation that monsters are real, “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” tracks two siblings following in their father’s footsteps to uncover their family’s connection to the secretive organization known as Monarch. Clues lead them into the world of monsters and ultimately down the rabbit hole to Army officer Lee Shaw (played by Kurt Russell and Wyatt Russell), taking place in the 1950s and half a century later where Monarch is threatened by what Shaw knows. The dramatic saga — spanning three generations — reveals buried secrets and the ways that epic, earth-shattering events can reverberate through our lives.

The other Monsterverse news from the past three weeks is that Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire has been pushed back slightly to April 12. Dune: Part 2 occupies its old slot on the calendar; Warner Bros. would rather starve theaters again than pay the actors it needs to promote the film what they're worth, I guess.

Add Kaiju Brooklyn to the list of North American kaiju conventions. Right now details are largely limited to what's on this poster; they also recently announced that Dope Pope will be among the artists. Wish I could spare the funds to go, but I think it's coming up too soon.

GAMERA -Rebirth- is almost out, and as part of its final marketing push, Kadokawa is releasing short behind-the-scenes videos on each of the monsters. So far we've gotten Gamera (above), Gyaos, and Jiger. Wish they were translated, but I'll take what I can get from a streaming show.

[chernobog13]

The Whale God (Kujira Gami) (July, 1962) Daiei Film

A fishing village is plagued by a monstrously large, seeming unkillable whale that returns to their waters every year and decimates their fishing fleet.

The richest man in the village (Takashi Shimura; Godzilla's Dr. Yamane) offers all his money, land, and even his daughter's hand in marriage to whomever can kill the whale.

Shaki (Kojiro Hongo, before he started appearing in Gamera films) has lost three generations of men from his family, including his father, to the murderous whale. Shaki's not interested in the reward; pure vengeance fuels his quest to kill the beast.

Kiju (Shintaro Katsu) is a drunken brute who arrives in the village to claim the reward, and beat down any man who gets in his way. He and Shaki quickly go from rivals to enemies, and one wonders if they will kill each other before they face the whale.

It's interesting to watch Katsushin play such an unlikeable, villainous character (although this certainly isn't the first, or even last time he played one), especially for anyone who may only be familiar with his work as Zatoichi. Kiju is pretty much Zatoichi's polar opposite.

And Zatoichi had not yet become ingrained in the public's consciousness. The Whale God was released right in-between The Tale of Zatoichi (April, 1962) and The Tale of Zatoichi Continues (October, 1962), the first two films in the series.

Another item of interest is that this is Katsushin's only kaiju film. Yes, the whale in this movie is considered a kaiju in Japan, probably because of its size (said to be twice that of any other whale), its apparent immortality/invulnerability, and its desire to wreak destruction.

The practical effects are pretty impressive, especially given the period this was made and the small budget allotted. A full-size whale head was created (as seen above), as well as an 18-foot long whale miniature. And to top it all off, this film has an ominous musical score by Akira Ifukube, the man who set many a monster to music.

[kawaiiblue18]

Click for better quality So um, I got a lil silly after rewatching the Legendary Monsterverse movies

So basically I made a Rottmnt x Monsterverse crossover AU I’m calling Rise of the Ancient Kaiju Turtles (RotAKT AU for short). It takes place in the Legendary Monsterverse movies in which the turtles take the place of the kaiju. This is my design for Raphael, who takes Godzilla’s place. I’ll be drawing refs for the other turtles later. More rambling about this AU below the cut

Additional doodles:

So, in this au, Raphael takes the place of Godzilla. I based his design mostly from Godzilla plus some elements from Gamera (who is a snapping turtle kaiju). Raph sports mainly Godzilla’s abilities: the ability to absorb anything nuclear and the atomic breath beam except it’s red. I decided not to give most of Raph her cannon ninpo powers like he does in Rottmnt mainly because she’s already huge, her hide plus shell is already extremely durable, and keeping the cloning ability would make him a bit too overpowered. However, he can create limb projections that are not attached to her body (as show in the doodles).

Also if you haven’t already noticed, Raph is bi-gender. And before you say anything, technically Godzilla is intersex anyways and can reproduce asexually (example: Godzilla Jr appearing out of nowhere without another adult of Godzilla’s species around) so I don’t wanna hear it.

More things to note is that Raph is Godzilla’s age which is like over 250 million years old and he’s the oldest of her adopted siblings. (Note: I say adopted because even though they are all part turtle, none of them actually share genetic makeup, but treat each other as siblings anyways because they’re all the only one of their species alive and other turtle-like kaiju is the closest they are gonna get.) Raph took over as alpha Titan after her predecessor and parent, Dagon (the skeleton found in Godzilla 2014), died at the hands of the parasitic Kraang (the MUTOs is this AU) to which Raph plus other kaiju were barely able to beat them into hibernation. Over the following years, it’s Raph’s duty as alpha to make sure the balance of nature remains. So he doesn’t pay much attention to humans when ancient human civilizations start appearing since they aren’t causing any causing any problems.

Ancient humans made cave paintings of the kaijus and giving her the name Rapheal which means “God has healed” after seeing how Raph’s radiation helps the environment and believing all kaiju are gods. Yes, this means the renaissance artists were NAMED AFTER the turtle kaiju siblings, not the other way around. Ancient civilizations also called Raph the King/Queen of monsters depending on how she was depicted in their culture.

After Raph is rudely awoken up from deep hibernation in 2014 from a nuclear explosion, she’s a bit confused to find how developed human civilization has gotten and how they’re basically everywhere on the planet. He still goes to defeat the awoken male and female Kraang (aka male and female MUTOs) before they reproduce in Boston. In 2019, the eco-terrorist humans had managed to find all the alien pieces of armor and bring back the Shredder (aka Ghidorah) which leads Raph to wake up her siblings from hibernation to help defeat him.

Raph is cautious towards humans and doesn’t completely understand why they tried to almost kill him, but Mikey makes her realize not all humans are bad through introducing Raph to April (aka Madison in this AU). I write more on this AU as I complete the rest of the ref sheets.

[sunhaloscarab]

ahah, you know what, i'm gonna post about my tmnt kaiju/godzilla au :)

it's called radiant beasts, and it's mostly inspired by '87 and the showa era, tho i take a lot of stuff from other incarnations too

so the turtles are like gamera x4, splinter is a king caesar-esque kaiju, and they all live on monster island. april and irma are humans who stumble across the turtles one day and form a psychic bond, allowing them to communicate.

shredder is king ghidorah, and krang is mechagodzilla! shredder is a very old storm god and the foot clan worships him like a kind of cult. karai is also a human who forms a psychic bond with shredder, and is hailed as the herald of the shredder

krang was built by the utroms to be the ultimate war machine, but went berserk upon first being activated and basically annihilated everyone. when all was said and done, he gave himself the name of krang, to define his identity. he gets shot into space and crash lands on earth, where he is found by a curious shredder. being giant kaiju, they fight at first, but eventually settle into an uneasy alliance :)

they definitely have the classic '87 gay married/divorced dynamic AHAH i just think it's really funny and charming

anyway. the tmnt have to stop shredder & krang from destroying new york!

[lammfleisch]

☆ Stuff I watched, read .... 2023 Edition ☆

☆ January ☆

Highlights:

• Missing: What happened to MH 370

• HERO SP

• Asunaro Hakusho

• Pokemon Legends Arceus

• Hausmann & Benecke

• Kyojo OST

• Persona 3 Portable Switch

• Masquerade Night OST

• The Legend & Butterfly OST

☆ February ☆

Highlights:

• The Case of Gabriel Fernandez

• Persona 4 Ultimate Switch

• 3096 Days

• Ghostwire Tokyo Prelude

• Cyberpunk 2077

• Riding in Darkness

• Destiny 2 Season of the Seraph

• Destiny 2 Season of the Haunted

☆ March ☆

Highlights:

• MH370: the plane that disappeared

• Destiny 2 Lightfall

• A Bittersweet life

• Addicted

• The Marco Effect

• Downfall: the Case against Boeing

• The Tinder Swindler

☆ April ☆

Highlights:

• Hogwarts Legacy

• QualityLand

• Fahrenheit 11/9

☆ May ☆

Highlights:

• Bring me the Horizon 'LosT'

• The Gazette 'Stacked Rubbish'

• THE GUNDAM FACTORY YOKOHAMA Official Book

• KDA 'All Out'

• fLow

• BBC Johnny Kitagawa

• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

• The Man in the High Castle Season 2

• The Man in the High Castle Season 3

• The Man in the High Castle Season 4

• Hemlock Grove Season 1

☆ June ☆

Highlights:

• Hemlock Grove Season 2

• Ado 'One Piece RED Movie Songs'

• Super Mario Bros the Movie OST

• Hemlock Grove Season 3

• Electric Callboy 'Tekkno'

• Helldogs

☆ July ☆

Highlights:

• Wenjia

• ULTRAMAN 2019 S1

• ULTRAMAN 2019 S2

• ULTRAMAN Final

• SD GUNDAM Battle Alliance

• ULTRAMAN Blazar Ep 1 - 4

• Marvel ULTRAMAN Rise of ULTRAMAN

• Marvel ULTRAMAN Trials of ULTRAMAN

• Marvel ULTRAMAN The Mystery of Ultraseven

• Mario Kart 64

• Venom: Let there be Carnage

• Wonder Woman 1984

• Mario Kart Super Circut

• Fzero 64

☆ August ☆

Highlights:

• Wario Ware Inc

• Super Mario Kart

• Super Mario World

• Pokemon Puzzle League

• Super Mario 64

• Shin Kamen Rider

• Godzilla 1954

• Godzilla 1998

• Godzilla Planet of the Monsters

• Godzilla City on the Edge of Battle

• Godzilla The Planet Eater

• Godzilla Singular Point

• Dragonball Fighter Z

• Dragonball Abridged

• The Days

☆ September ☆

Highlights:

• Godzilla Final Wars

• Gacy

• Houdini and Doyle

• Gamera - Rebirth -

• The Batman

• The Suicide Squad 2021

• München

• Resident Evil Infinite Darkness

• The Mumie

• Demon Daughter 1 by Jennifer L Armentrout

• Godzilla: The Official Guide to the King of the Monsters

• Demon Daughter 2 by Jennifer L Armentrout

☆ October ☆

Highlights:

• The Conjuring 3: the Devil made me do it

• ZDFs: Ganz normale Männer. Der "vergessene Holocaust"

• Master Detective Pikachu

• Demon Daughter 3 by Jennifer L Armentrout

• Encounters

• Tschernobyl 1986

[newsintheshell]

ANIMEJAPAN 2023: LE MILLEMILA NOVITÀ DALL'EVENTO (PARTE 2)

Trailer, locandine, date, annunci di sequel, nuove serie e chi più ne ha più ne metta!

Seconda mandata di notizie direttamente dall’AnimeJapan 2023! Se vi siete persi la prima la trovata qua. La terza e la quarta... soon™. 🤯

🔶🔸 TALES OF WEDDING RINGS

La serie arriverà nel 2024 e si presenta già bene, if you know what I mean. 👀

A dirigerla, presso STAPLE ENTERTAINMENT, c'è Takashi Naoya(Vermeil in Gold - Il mago a rischio bocciatura e la calamità più forte si fanno strada nel mondo della magia).

🔶🔸 GOBLIN SLAYER

Mostrata solamente una nuova locandina per la seconda stagione della serie, che attualmente rimane programmata per un generico 2023. Posticipo incoming?

🔶🔸UNDEAD UNLUCK

 Nuova locandina anche per l'action comedy tratta dal manga di Yoshifumi Tozuka, che però fissa il debutto della serie per ottobre.

🔶🔸 HIGH CARD

Rimanendo sempre sui titoli della scuderia TMS, è stata confermata la produzione di una seconda stagione dell'originale serie diretta da Junichi Wada (WorldEnd, Sakugan), che potete recuperare sia su Crunchyroll che su ANiME GENERATION.

🔶🔸HYPNOSIS MIC: DIVISION RAP BATTLE RHYME ANIMA

Luce verde anche per una seconda stagione della serie animata del progetto crossmediale di casa King Records, incentrato su battaglie rap.

🔶🔸GAMERA REBIRTH

Mostrato il primo trailer ufficiale della miniserie evento di 6 episodi, che nel corso dell'anno porterà su Netflix l’iconica tartarugona di Daiei e altri cinque storici kaiju.

Come la trilogia di film dedicata a Godzilla, già presente sulla piattaforma, anche questo anime è realizzato in computer grafica e diretto da Hiroyuki Seshita.

🔶🔸SPY X FAMILY

La famiglia Forger tornerà su Crunchyroll, con la seconda stagione della serie, a partire da ottobre.

Il film, intitolato SPY×FAMILY CODE: WHITE, approderà invece nelle sale giapponesi dal 22 dicembre!

🔶🔸 MIGI & DALI

La mistery comedy tratta dal manga di Nami Sano (Sono Sakamoto, perché?) non ha ancora uno straccio di periodo di debutto, ma nel frattempo sono stati svelati locandina e teaser trailer.

La serie è scritta e diretta da Mankyu (The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague) e in lavorazione presso GEEK TOYS.

🔶🔸OOKU - LE STANZE PROIBITE

Netflix ha annunciato che questa estate arriverà in streaming una serie animata tratta dallo shojo manga storico di Fumi Yoshinaga (Antique Bakery), edito qua in Italia da Planet Manga.

L'adattamento è diretto da Noriyuki Abe (Arslan Senki, Kochoki) e prodotto presso STUDIO DEEN.

🔶🔸 RASCAL DOES NOT DREAM OF A SISTER VENTURING OUT

Il film uscirà in Giappone il 23 giugno e andrà ad adattare l'8° volume della popolare light novel, firmata da Hajime Kamoshida (di cui J-POP Manga ha portato in Italia il fumetto).

CLOVERWORKS ha già tratto dall'opera una serie tv, un primo film e ha intenzione di animare anche il 9° volume, intitolato Rascal Does Not Dream of a Knapsack Kid.

🔶🔸 I GOT A CHEAT SKILL IN ANOTHER WORLD AND BECAME UNRIVALED IN THE REAL WORLD, TOO 

In visto del debutto su Crunchyroll, fissato per il 6 aprile, ecco il terzo promo per la serie action school harem, in salsa isekai, basata sull'omonima novel dell’autore di The Fruit of Evolution.

Oltre al simulcast, vi ricordo che ne è già stato confermato anche il doppiaggio in italiano.

🔶🔸OPUS COLORS

Secondo promo per la nuova serie originale targata C-STATION, che comincerà ad andare in onda dal 6 aprile in Giappone.

Dietro l'anime c'èlo stesso staff principale che ha lavorato alla serie di Starmyu.

* NON VUOI PERDERTI NEANCHE UN POST? ENTRA NEL CANALE TELEGRAM! *

Autore: SilenziO))) Se usate Twitter, mi trovate lì! 

blogger // anime enthusiast // twitch addict // unorthodox blackster - synthwave lover // penniless gamer // INFJ-T magus

[monsterasia-zero]

The Cinema Film Of The Week - Gamera vs Barugon

Directed By Shigeo Tanaka

Story By Niisan Takahashi

Starring Kojiro Hongo, Kyoko Enami, and Akira Natsuki

Music By Chiji Kinoshita

Distributed By Daiei Films

Release Date April 17, 1966

Country Japan

[kamenstranger]

Review: Japanese Special Effects Cinema:Godfathers of Tokusatsu Vol. 1

Over the past Holiday season I was gifted a book I had been wanting to read since its release in April; Japanese Special Effects Cinema:Godfathers of Tokusatsu Vol. 1 by J.L Carrozza.

As the book's title suggests, it's a comprehensive guide on the history of Tokusatsu. Vol. 1 spanning from the early 1900s to the end of the 1970s, progressing in a linear fashion with each major release while also providing context when needed. The start of the book gives a general overview of the special effects landscape in cinema from the earliest days, with works from international filmmakers laying the foundation that would eventually lead to Japan's own contributions and unique visual styling developed in the 30s.

The book truly picks up in the second chapter spanning from the late 30s to the end of WWII, when the concept of scale miniatures was truly crafted into an artform all its own and early suitmation was coming to fruition. The general presentation is to give historical context and background information on an upcoming project, followed by a particular film including its title, director, the film's release date, and the production history of the film itself.  Carrozza then delves into his own general analysis and thoughts on the film or series, with a particular focus  on (but not limited to) the special effects quality. Finally ending with more information about the film when applicable; contemporary reception, if it was a debut director, or if the film was seen by and noted as a big inspiration by a well known person. Anno of course comes up a lot, but he's far from the only one. These analytical segments carry themselves with both a professional earnestness in examining the works, while also being fairly casual. One may even get a sense that Carrozza’s sanity is being tested by some of the later Gamera Films, probably some of the funniest moments within the book and one I find incredibly relatable.

Unsurprisingly,  a great deal of the book deals with Eiji Tsuburaya. The man simply was incredibly prolific and damn near everyone in the industry was either directly taught or inspired by him until his death- which even then his many proteges would carry on the tradition and inspiring others in turn, which is one of the most intriguing parts of the book, particularly the aftershocks Tsuburaya’s death had across the entire industry.

However, I do want to point out that the book doesn't pay much service to Tsuburaya's personal life outside of providing context or important details, nor should it. After all, Master of Monsters is already a deep dive into the man's life overall. So while details such as his change in name and conversion to Catholicism are mentioned, they're not the focus point; the movies are. And of course, as major of a player as Tsuburaya was, he is not the only one given the spotlight in regards to their contributions. The Yagi brothers are regularly mentioned for all their monster creations, Noriaki Yuasa of Daiei is regularly talked about, even Tomio Sagisu and his weird Cat obsession. And the list continues to grow and change as new talent emerges, becoming famous in their own right.

By and large Screen Writers, Producers, DPs, pyrotechnics, prop and set builders, and various other units are brought up and given background information whenever possible and always a name to those behind the magic. The information is detailed, yet concise. The sheer dense nature of the book comes from how much is covered and the broad scope of covering every notable Tokusatsu production until the end of ‘79. (I generally can read a novel in about 4 days, this took two weeks)

Quite frankly, it's refreshing to see so much condensed into one space for so many seldom talked about figures in the industry, where they got their start, ended up, etc.

Equally refreshing is a wider focus on not just DaiKaiju films or just one studio, but a plethora of Toku from various genres, production teams, and how the industry shifted over time– to say nothing of the influence major Hollywood films would have on the medium. War films, historical films, disaster movies, even Yokai films, occult films, space films, psychedelic horror, all are covered. And because the book goes in chronological order, the topic is always changing. 1965 kicks off with None But the Brave, then it’s The Retreat from Kiska, followed by Frankenstein Conquers the World, Zero Ace, and then over to Spy Catcher 13 on Television. It's not just about Godzilla, Gamera, and Ultraman. It's also Watari The Ninja Boy, Goke, Wind Velocity 75 Meters, The Bullet Train, Zero Fighter, ESPY, and Japan Sinks-- the film that inspired Shinji Higuchi. 

We’re not just focusing on monsters and Super Heroes, even if that will always be the bread and butter of the medium, nor is it even just Japanese films. As long as a Japanese crew was involved in some capacity, however limited (i.e. Inframan) it’s covered. 

This is by far the most appealing part of the book for me personally. Not only is its information a goldmine, but it can perhaps serve as an even broader introduction to more than just your typical idea of what Tokusatsu is.

The comprehensiveness and thoroughness of the information contained makes this both a captivating history lesson, and valuable resource to rely upon to gain a better understanding of Japan’s film history– at least in regard to the medium in question… With one exception that I have to get into, and boy do I really hate that I have to do this because 99% of this book is really great.

As mentioned, a large amount of the book revolves around Tsuburaya and those around him, those who could carry on his teachings, and those who would go even further with what practical effects can do. I'm very pleased to say the book doesn't just stop being engaging with Tsuburaya's passing, it's very much interested in where and how the industry gets on without such a prominent figure. Carrozza clearly has a deep love of miniatures in particular, you can tell by the enthusiastic writing this is his favorite aspect of Tokusatsu as it is with most people, and it plays a part in how much information is present. Because of that Tsupro, Toho, and even Daiei have a lot more readily accessible information to their history, just in general. It's why something like Spectreman can have four and half pages of production information, but you're lucky to get one or two on Ninja Arashi. What is there to say about something like that?

That's not to imply any of this information is easy to get, by no means. It's very hard work, particularly to sift through and condense everything- not to mention filtering possible contradicting stories or dated sources. But some things are easier than others. I will say it's impressive the amount of info that's presented for other studios, particularly P Productions and even Toei. They're given adequate attention, even in the early days. The back of the book features a full bibliography of all the sources and citations for this information, and a vast number of books pertaining to Tsupro, Toho, Daiei, even a few on P productions. Given their long and vast histories, it's not too surprising that there would be dozens upon dozens of books on the subjects. However, Toei and more specifically Kamen Rider are the odd ones out with the least amount of books, which also isn't surprising.

But this does lead to what is quite possibly the most egregious part, which is Kamen Rider '71's segment.

Now, just to be clear, I don't wanna dunk on Carrozza. What he's done is truly magical and I am deeply appreciative of all that's here. But this part is flawed, and it's putting wrong information out there.

There are some good aspects. The book mentions early production concepts that are often glossed over, like how Tiger Mask was partially the inspiration, and even early concept names like Maskman K, Kamen Tenshi: Masked Angel, and Cross Fire. It covers Masaru Igami, Shinichi Ichikawa, and Shozo Uehara being brought on as writers. Although there's no mention that both Ichikawa and Uehara left to work on Return of Ultraman due to conflicts with Producer Toru Hirayama, while Masayuki Shimada and Hidetoshi Kitamura would take their place.

What is noted is that many of the concepts under Cross Fire were maintained, which is true. The Scars that show up when angered, Ruriko Midorikawa as the daughter of a dead professor, the Spiderman. All of that was under Crossfire-- Shocker as a villain organization goes back even further. A surprising amount of the concepts were attributed to Toei's creative department, even the scars which ended up only appearing in the manga.

Now the book doesn't get into all those fine details, it starts and stops at "Many concepts from Cross Fire were maintained" which is fine. Gotta keep things condensed and a lot of that information is superfluous for this type of book. We don't need to get into Crossmask: Kamen Rider or Hopper King. That's too much of a deep dive.

Where things take a turn is in regards to the design aspects. A popular and incorrect over-simplification of the story involves  Toei wanting a Skullman show or something like it, but then it was decided that would be too violent so Ishinomori came up with the Grasshopper look. Another is the inverse where Ishinomori wanted a Skullman show and Toei said no to the premise/design.

Both of these are wrong with an inkling of truth in them. But the book presents a tale I've never heard. The way it's told here is that Toei wanted a Skull motif to replace Crossfire, but Ishinomori felt it was redundant since he just worked on the Flying Phantom Ship in '69. He created over 50 designs and his son Joe picked the Grasshopper, which played well into some environmental themes Ishinomori was pushing for. There is ZERO mention of Skullman made just a year earlier, which is such a bizarre missing piece and the only version of Kamen Rider’s creation that I know of with no Skullman.

As with the others, there are true parts in there.

The actual tale is that Ishinomori wanted something downright grotesque and felt that Crossfire's design was limiting. Ishinomori proposed the Skull motif to Toru Hirayama, who in turn relayed it to fellow Producer Yoshinori Watanabe, who despised the proposal. Watanabe felt it was too derivative of Skullman and wanted something original, while the Broadcast Station, MBS, felt it was too scary for their family friendly time slot. Ishinomori made over 50 designs, liked a Grasshopper one best because it was still creepy and helped play into an environmental theme of nature fighting back that Ishinimori was fond of.

There was still doubt around the design, but Ishinomori's son, Joe, went through the designs and picked the Grasshopper, so it was sent for approval.

Now, this book mentions that Hirayama felt the insect design was weak as bugs are small, but eventually came around. Although it's claimed by Hirayama in his own book that it was MBS' Tetsu Shouno, who felt the insect design was weak, while Hirayama defended it. Hirayama did however have some reservations about the design possibly scaring children. When the helmet was finished, it was shown to a little girl, nearly driving her to tears, much to Hirayama’s horror. But it was too late to change. The rest of the book’s segment is largely what seems speculative, like The Hulk being an inspiration because...transformation? One part also mentions that they originally wanted the character to Grow a la Ultraman, but Ishinomori talked them out of it- I've not been able to find anything to support that. The closest I know of off hand was many years later in Kamen Rider J, which Ishinomori was supposedly against with exception to if it was treated like a one off miracle at the end of the movie. That doesn't mean it’s not true to ‘71, mind you, but I can't say that's an unheard of gem of information, given the flaws elsewhere.

What's weird is everything following is fine. The analytical section doesn't really get into the human themes of the series, but it rightly points out the grittier overall tone and appearance of the series, noting the first 13 episodes are among the best of the era. Specific designers at Equis are also mentioned, including Akira Takahashi, Tsutomu Yagi, and Masamitsu Sakuma. Information like that isn't often discussed, it's just a shame that so much the preceding info is garbled if not outright wrong.

But it's also not all too surprising as information on Kamen Rider has always been extremely muddled, and there aren't a ton of solid resources in comparison to other productions, despite how notable the franchise is. I think the best example of that might be that goddamn Zone Fighter has more detailed information on the production side than Kamen Rider does (Though it doesn't hurt that Zone Fighter is more effects focused than Rider to begin with).

In stark contrast with the rest of the book's well researched material, Rider feels like the information is half remembered and lacking the details of other productions. Even when we get into V3 which has much more readily available information thanks to airings in Hawaii and a DVD release, it has a fairly sparse section on the production end.

And there may be some truth to the half remembered details part. One of the books listed as a source is Fujioka's The Truth about Kamen Rider and Takeshi Hongo, published in 1999. And I would not be shocked if some of the information contributed to not only the odd information contained here, but the general murky history overall. There's a solid chance Fujioka's recollection may have forgotten some details, or gotten some wrong. I would've hoped that another book cited; Toei x Ishinomori would've corrected that, but there's no telling how detailed that book gets.

Regardless, other works like 2007's The Men Who Made Kamen Rider tell the story above, in addition to Toru Hirayama's 2012 bio: Crybaby Producer's Last Words - 50 Years of a TV Hero's Steps. Neither of course are in the bibliography. Even if we were to very generously assume that Hirayama's book was incorrect or embellished, I think it would be worth mentioning and getting into the varying scenarios instead of relying on a limited source when the information is out there, just not utilized.

It's a shame because I do truly feel this is an invaluable book with solid information, especially for lesser known productions, one that also gives a look at how trends would shape the industry. Hell, I finally have a name and photo for the damn machine Toei used for all its composite shots; the Totsu ECG system.

I still highly recommend the book to anyone interested in Japanese special effects, a ton of love was poured into this. But I also can't overlook that a major franchise has a mess of garbage information that only further clouds the murky waters. I hope this is corrected in a 2nd edition or at least updated info is mentioned in Vol 2 due in March. As is, do not cite or rely on this as a source for Rider history, it's the one spot I can definitively say is bad.

[nexttrickanvils]

With that post/poll I just reblogged, here's some birthday funfacts with the Shakespearesona kids.

Kanari's birthday is June 28th, which was also the birthday of Polly Moran, an actress and comedian from the Golden Age of Hollywood. As a comedian, she was effective at slapstick and was known to be brash and loud-mouthed. I thought it'd be a good fit for our punchy Zio Girl.

Takumi's birthday is April 7th, the same birthday as Francis Ford Coppola. Chosen due to the Coppola family having multiple members in the film industry. Not quite the generations long legacy of the Matsushidas but close enough, right?

Kazuhiko's birthday is February 20th, sharing it with Richard Beymer who played Tony in the first movie adaptation of West Side Story (which is a Romeo & Juliet retelling.)

Chika's birthday is July 20th, sharing it with Natalie Wood who played Maria in the aforementioned West Side Story movie adaptation.

Aijiro's birthday is November 27th, the premiere date of the first Gamera movie. I thought it fit given Gamea's popularity with kids and Aijiro being the youngest member of the party who still has a fondness for heroes and monsters.

Lowe being a creature of the Backstage doesn't really have a birthday or at least one he remembers. Everyone decides to make April 26th, the date William Shakespeare was baptized.

Hitomi's birthday is March 3rd, same birthday as Jackie Joyner-Kercee, a retired track and field star who is considered one of the greatest female athletes of All Time. While Hitomi's a swimmer not a track and field runner, I thought it still fit.

And finally Rie's birthday is May 16th, sharing her birthday with Lynn Collins, the actress who portrayed Portia in the first sound film adaption of Merchant of Venice.

Our wildcard, Sora's birthday will be whenever me and Sakuradreamerz finally post the first chapter. And there's one more birthday but the character is kind of a spoiler so wait and see. ;)

[thezanyarthropleura]

With the epilogue chapter posted, Gamera vs. the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is now a COMPLETE WORK on AO3! It’s done! It’s turtles! It has art!

72,216 words

Pairings:

Karai/Shinigami (TMNT)

Asagi/Yukino (Gamera)

Rating: M

Content Warnings:

canon-typical violence including blood

various types of implied abuse including sexual abuse (Karai) and injury/dismemberment (Baxter Stockman)

Synopsis (short version):

The turtles and Karai’s girlfriend get in a fight over whether Gamera is allowed to eat the Shredder

Synopsis (long version):

When Gamera reappears after a seven-year absence, the turtles discover his startling connection to the ancient builders of their own hidden lair! Embarking on a research expedition to the underground city, Donatello and Michelangelo cross paths with Shinigami and her ally Ayana, both on the warpath in their desperate plan to use Gamera to save Karai from her father’s abuse. Meanwhile, the Shredder is chosen by a mysterious anti-monster cabal to develop countermeasures against Gamera, Asagi and Yukino follow the trail of Shinigami’s magic to New York, and Baxter Stockman hatches schemes of his own.

When their plan to take control of Gamera goes awry, sending him into a rampage across New York City, Shini and Ayana must join forces with the turtles and their allies to find a way to return him to his senses so he can complete his mission. Four turtles haven’t yet managed to take down the Shredder and the Foot for good… so how about five?

[astoundingbeyondbelief]

Kaiju Week in Review (December 18-24, 2022)

Toho Kingdom is closing out the year with some big interview translations. I haven't had time to go through the full Honda piece yet, but it starts with him noting that Shinichi Sekizawa was perpetually single and obsessed with model trains and ends with his wife Kimi just ripping the shit out of the Heisei Godzilla movies, so it's clearly a must-read. The other translations are for Kazuki Omori and Koichi Kawakita interviews included in a behind-the-scenes featurette on Godzilla vs. Mothra. With Toho continuing to prevent official releases of these films from including such bonus features, it's good that fans are stepping up.

Shinpei Hayashiya is crowdfunding for his next indie kaiju film, War of the Ninja Monsters: Jaron vs. Goura. Production is already well underway; he just wants to make the effects better. (Hopefully that means quality over quantity.) It's set in Chichibu, and the monsters look an awful lot like Godzilla and Gamera.

It took a ridiculously long time, even by Japanese standards, but Shin Ultraman finally has a home video release date (April 12). The special features sound impressive (I'm especially glad to see Shin Ultra Fight present), but as is standard for Toho, there will be no English subtitles. So we'll have to see who else picks it up.

According to K-D-M, the fifth MonsterVerse film has wrapped shooting. It's still dated for March 15, 2024, so it looks to enjoy a lengthy post-production period.

The Asylum's 25th anniversary "spectacular" 2025 Armageddon hit VOD on December 23, again putting me in the awkward position of hyping up a 2022 kaiju film on here that turned out to be complete garbage. Above are my thoughts on it after streaming it last night. At least it was on Hoopla.

[aggrus]

also in honor of me and my friends finishing the original gamera series i made sprites for all the kaiju. i’ll be making more when we finish the rest of the movies.

in order: gamera, barugon, gyaos, viras, guiron, jiger, zigra.)

[bloodborne-on-pc]

How many “Legendary bought the rights to Gamera” videos do y’all think are gonna be uploaded to YouTube tomorrow?

[makeste]

an index of Horikoshi Kouhei interviews

these are organized by date, oldest to newest, and I’m including a brief bullet-point summary of each to make it easier to look up specific interviews by content.

also, please note that although I haven’t spoiler tagged this post, the interviews from roughly 2019 onwards include some spoilers, so please watch out for those if you’re anime-only or otherwise not caught up with the manga. that said, the other interviews I think are all good.

putting this below a cut to keep things tidy.

interview with Horikoshi Kouhei and Kishimoto Masashi, May 2015

(note: this is not the actual interview word-for-word, but includes the highlights)

Horikoshi talks about being a fan of Naruto when he was growing up

Horikoshi says he was inspired by the way Kishimoto shows emotion through drawing hands, and that he loves drawing hands thanks to Naruto

Horikoshi mentions that Gaara is his favorite character and that he really liked the Chuunin Exam arc

Kishimoto praises BnHA and says he knew it would be a hit when he read the second chapter

they talk a bit about the worldbuilding and the process of creating a story where 80% of the population has superpowers

they discuss Naruto and Sasuke’s rivalry and Horikoshi mentions that he found it “frustrating” and that he really liked the Valley of the End and thought it would be the end of the series. he says it was very emotional

they talk a little about the stress of writing manga and about the toll it takes on mental health

pre-anime interview, April 2016

talks about his reaction when he found out BnHA was getting an anime

talks about how the series originally came about

says that BnHA is the story of Izuku and All Might and that their story is the “vertical axis” which runs through the main story

says there is also a “horizontal axis”, which is the side characters and quirks and all of the other elements that he considers to be the “fun part” of the story which mellows out the darker aspects of the vertical axis

mentions that he really likes drawing and writing Bakugou

mentions Deku vs Kacchan 1 as one of the early highlights in the series for him

talks about Ochako being someone who has a more cheerful relationship with Deku, which balances out some of the heavier aspects of Deku and Katsuki’s relationship (again, horizontal vs vertical axis)

mentions that if he could pick any quirk he’d pick a “no need for sleep” quirk

talks about reading Dragon Ball as a child

mentions that he really likes American comic book heroes, especially Spider-Man

mentions Goku and Spider-Man as the two that come to mind when he thinks about heroes and what it means to be a hero (specifically, that Goku is the “win” aspect and that he brings reassurance to everyone, while Spider-Man is the “save” aspect who helps other people)

talks about hearing Deku and Bakugou’s voices in the anime for the first time, as well as Ochako, Iida, and All Might’s voices

another pre-anime interview with konomanga.jp, April 2016

(note: this interview is in Japanese, but Google translate does a servicable job with it)

talks more about Spider-Man, including his favorite costumes and comic artists

gives some American comic book recs

mentions that he likes Godzilla and Gamera and always goes to see those movies

talks about his Star Wars influences

talks about his favorite manga as a child -- Dragon Ball, One Piece, and Naruto

talks about becoming a manga artist, and about some of his influences

says that he likes drawing monsters, creatures, and villains, and says that he really liked drawing the panel where Tomura made his first appearance at USJ

talks a little about composition and frame movement in his work, and about the challenges of drawing a weekly manga

mentions that he knows what the story ending will be, but hasn’t yet figured out how to connect the dots to that point

interview with Horikoshi Kouhei and Umakoshi Yoshihiko in BnHA: Ultra Archive, May 2016

(note: Umakoshi is the anime character designer for BnHA. also, this interview was part of the Ultra Archive character book, so you’ll have to scroll a bit through its other contents in order to get to the interview.)

they talk about the process of creating the BnHA anime and sketching out all of the character designs. Horikoshi says the anime character model sheets look just like how he draws them

they talk about Horikoshi’s obsession with drawing hands lol. Horikoshi mentions that the way Mike Mignola (the creator of Hellboy) draws hands was a big influence

they talk a lot about art and drawing in general

Horikoshi talks about Ochako’s character design a bit

they talk about the differences between drawing manga and doing animation

Umakoshi talks about his first impressions of BnHA

Horikoshi mentions that he still has a lot of ideas for characters and quirks that he hasn’t been able to implement yet

they talk about the different character designs and which ones they find easy, difficult, and fun to draw

they talk for a fair amount of time about Iida’s character design

Umakoshi talks a bit about other anime he’s worked on

they talk about the character of All Might, and Horikoshi ominously says that All Might’s future will be “a fairly sad affair”

interview with Natalie Comics, June 2018

talks about the 4th anniversary of BnHA, and the release of BnHA: Two Heroes

talks about the Basement internship arc and mentions that it was challenging for him to write

talks about the question “what is a hero?” and how he defines heroes

mentions Mina, Sero, and Shouji as characters he would like to/plans to feature in the future, and mentions that he already has a story planned featuring Shouji

talks about the popularity of the series

talks a little about Koike-san, his first editor

talks about Two Heroes and its development and story

talks about club activities at U.A., and which clubs Deku and Katsuki would be in

talks about his mom and about some of his childhood experiences which inspired scenes in the manga

talks about why he became a mangaka

talks about what percentage of the series is completed, mentions the original planned length was about 30 volumes but that it has obviously surpassed that

mentions that he has an idea of how the last arc will be planned out

interview with Horikoshi and Eiichiro Oda, August 2018

Horikoshi talks about being a fan of One Piece and mentions he even sent artwork to Oda which was included in one of Oda’s galleries

they talk more about OP and about favorite arcs and how it’s influenced Horikoshi’s work

Oda compliments Horikoshi’s art and they talk about cover artwork and coloring (Horikoshi mentions he uses Photoshop)

Horikoshi talks a bit about BnHA Two Heroes

Horikoshi again mentions that he originally thought BnHA would be about 30 volumes (Oda says he should shoot for 50 but Horikoshi laughs and says he’s not sure he can do ten years)

they talk about how fucking long OP is and how manga stories tend to expand once the story starts taking off

Interview with Anime News Network at SDCC, August 2018

talks about his love of American comics, especially Spider-Man, and says that American comics are a lot more mainstream in Japan nowadays thanks to all the superhero movies

talks about how he got started as a manga creator

talks about being inspired by Dragon Ball, and that All Might in particular was inspired by Goku

talks a bit about the process of creating characters

talks about Bakugou’s popularity and that it took him by surprise at first

mentions that he doesn’t have the stamina for BnHA to be a long series like One Piece

interview with Cinema Today Japan, December 2019

(update: here is the link to @hanashimas​‘ translation which is more accurate)

talks about Deku and Bakugou’s characters and their attributes

mentions that at the start of the story Bakugou thinks Deku is above him, so he tries to act intimidating and superior to overtake him

(ETA: apparently this is a mistranslation; he actually says that he intended for Bakugou to be a character who was “above” Deku so to speak, who Deku would eventually surpass. he then goes on to talk about his realization that Bakugou could actually have a much more interesting character arc, which of course we have since seen play out.)

mentions that he planned to have Bakugou and Deku improve on two separate vectors as they entered U.A.

mentions Deku vs Kacchan 1 as a turning point where he had some realizations about Bakugou’s character that humanized him for him

mentions that he always knew Bakugou wouldn’t turn evil and “would never lose to the darkness”

says the scene where Katsuki takes Kirishima’s hand at Kamino was bittersweet because it showed Bakugou’s growth, but also showed the ongoing gulf between him and Deku because Deku knew that Katsuki wouldn’t take his hand

mentions that Bakugou still needs to apologize to Deku

says that Kirishima, Kaminari, and Mina are among the easiest characters for him to draw because they take the initiative and get the other characters excited and help pull the story forward

mentions that he always hears Nobu’s voice in his head now when writing Bakugou

talks about the characters being high school kids still, and that when he expanded on their families he was conscious of that -- “I wanted to show that these protagonists are still children after all”

interview in Volume R (booklet that was released along with Heroes Rising), December 2019

talks again about his manga influences and what inspired him to become a mangaka

talks about the experience of getting his first manga published

talks about what inspired him to write BnHA

has an interesting quote where he talks about the vaguely desperate feeling of “trying one last time”, which was weighing on his mind when he created BnHA, and which also played into Deku’s motivations in the first chapter

mentions All Might as being a character that he’s attached to

talks about his reactions to the anime, the overseas popularity, and the first movie

talks about his heavy involvement in the production of Heroes Rising

talks about designing and creating the bad guys for Heroes Rising

talks about the creation and character design of Hawks and mentions that the original character design was going to have a bird head lol

mentions that Hawks will have a relatively big influence on the story in the future

talks about how the ending of Heroes Rising was his original planned ending for the series

talks about Bakugou’s character development which leads up to that moment

talks about the conclusion of the series, and that all of the characters will come together in the end

interview with all of the past editors of the BnHA manga, March 2021

(note: this is another interview that’s not translated word for word, but summarized. also this interview was with just the editors, not Horikoshi himself.)

they talk about the early reception to the manga, and Horikoshi’s reactions

they talk about the individual moments early on when they realized that the series would be “amazing”

Yoritomi mentions that Horikoshi came up with the designs for most of the Billboard Top 10 pro heroes at the last minute lol

including Hawks (all Horikoshi had decided on prior was that he was going to be “cool” and would be a spy)

everyone praises Horikoshi’s character designs in general

they talk about the start of the anime and that whole process

they mention that Horikoshi cried watching both of the movies

they talk about the overseas popularity of the series

each editor lists their favorite episode of the anime

they talk about Horikoshi sacrificing his original manga ending to be used in Heroes Rising

they talk about that one ending theme song in season 4 that showed the pro heroes’ childhoods, and that Horikoshi had the anime team change Hawks’s to match the backstory he had planned

they talk about the upcoming season 5 and send final messages to the fans

interview in the MHA Drawing Smash Exhibition Pamphlet, April 2021

Horikoshi talks about the art in the exhibition and about the process of creating the artwork

he mentions that the piece with Deku rescuing a falling Ochako took the longest to draw

he says the drawing of All Might was the most fun to draw for him

that’s pretty much it, this one is very short lol

interview in Jump GIGA Spring 2021, April 2021

talks about which characters will play an important role in the final act. specifically mentions Hawks, Ochako, Shouji, Shinsou, Monoma, and Sero

“many characters’ actions will converge into a single one, so maybe the best way to say it would be ‘keep an eye on all of them!’“

says that for Hawks’s flashbacks and the Todoroki family’s past, he was influenced by Sion Sono’s works

mentions that the drawing of Deku and Ochako from the MHA Drawing Smash exhibit isn’t directly related to the main story, but that while drawing it he kept in mind how their relationship would develop if he explored it deeper

says he had the final act (or at least the chapter 306 reveal part of it) vaguely planned for a long time, but started to think about the specifics in volume 21 during the Endeavor vs High-End fight

says he’s already decided on the ending, and that “the path to it has been longer than I initially expected, but the main elements that I’ve decided before starting the series are still the same”

Q&A trivia from Vol. W World Heroes’ Mission, August 2021

(and alternate translation by aitaikimochi)

talks about All Might not having many friends among the pro heroes (but says he’s become “slightly attached” to Aizawa since he started teaching at U.A.)

describes what Bakugou, Tsuyu, and Mineta’s rooms look like

talks about Jirou and Momo’s relationship and the kind of things they like to talk about when they hang out together

says that Shouji’s face will eventually be revealed, and that he is “not sure” about Hagakure’s :’)

talks about the types of YouTube videos Shouto watches (pretty insightful answer which is equal parts sweet and sad)

says that Midnight’s classes were the most popular among the students

says U.A.’s robots once rebelled against their creators (lol wtf)

says his three favorite movies are Akira, The Ring, and Spider-Man: Far From Home. he says Akira in particular is his bible

and that’s it for now, but I will update this post with future interviews as they are posted, and if anyone has links to an interview I’ve missed please let me know.

[indragonsaur]

This some type of project is something to do with my stand alone gamera thing and it’s not April fools joke because I don’t wanna do that shit this year