#gappa

[astoundingbeyondbelief]

Kaiju Week in Review (March 24-30, 2024)

A coworker asked tonight me how Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire measured up to Godzilla Minus One, and I responded, "Almost as good, but in a completely different way." If you like monsters (and if you're following me I have to assume you do), see it, no questions asked. There's about a million of them and they're all delightful. The franchise has long struggled to recapture the specific charms of the Showa era, and I think this comes closer than any of them. (It's the climactic tag-team battle... also Mothra returning to knock some sense into Godzilla). Pure junk food, but you can't just watch Oppenheimer all the time.

Godzilla x Kong tore up the box office this weekend, performing well above expectations. Its $80 million opening Stateside was the second-best of the Monsterverse (after Godzilla). It added another $114 million internationally for the best overall opening of the (still-young) year. China was a big part of that with $44 million; giant monster movies are among the few Hollywood imports that still play well there. With a $135 million budget, lowest of the Monsterverse by a wide margin, it's a matter of when, not if, Legendary announces the next one.

The Oxford English Dictionary has added an entry for tokusatsu, defined as "A genre of Japanese film or television entertainment characterized by the use of practical special effects, usually featuring giant monsters, transforming robots, and masked and costumed superheroes." It's part of a group of 23 freshly-acknowledged Japanese loan words; unclear if the timing is coincidental. Oh, and if you're curious, they added kaiju in 2018. As someone who remembers when the only English-speakers who used either word were in fandom, it's pretty wild to see.

French company Extralucid Films will release Gappa on Blu-ray in June. The impressive-sounding bonus features are naturally all in French, but there's one that transcends language: 17 minutes of extra monster footage. The U.S. version of Gappa, Monster from a Prehistoric Planet, only has about 7 minutes worth of shots absent from the Japanese version, so I'm pretty curious about the other 10. It's also the first time this footage has been released in HD (Tokyo Shock blew it in 2020).

Season 2 of Chibi Godzilla Raids Again is indeed receiving official English subtitles, starting the same day as the Japanese premiere, April 10. Godzilla Battle Line also added a hilariously busted joint Chibi Godzilla-Chibi Mechagodzilla unit, along with a Destoroyah variant. (Maybe Godzilla x Kong units are next month?)

A new Monsterverse movie means new books to buy. The prequel comic Godzilla x Kong: The Hunted is out already (not recommended), but officially you'll have to wait until April 23 for the novelization and May 14 for the art book. Chalk that up to the late release date change, maybe. Unofficially, people are already getting the novelization from Amazon, because they're a monopoly that can afford to pay the fines from publishers for breaking street date. The audiobook version also released on the same day as the film. I don't have intel on what it adds and changes yet; adding everything from the film itself to Wikizilla is all I can handle right now.

The San Francisco Giants are offering a Godzilla VIP Experience on May 17, a long-overdue acknowledgement of the savior of their city. Tickets are almost gone, though I think it's a shame that the promotion is opt-in to begin; what happened to giving these tchotchkes out to the first thousand fans? Well, figures that they'd make getting merch of the Minus One Godzilla in the States a hassle.

[ceramicwings]

dj geroppi (gappa keroppi) made this for my friend who calls him keroppi <3

[chernobog13]

My brain is telling me this model would not be as cool as it looks on the box, but the rest of me is saying "I WANT THIS RIGHT NOW!"

[rugops]

Gappa

[monsterasia-zero]

Gappa The Triphibian Monster Gallery - Sonorama Art

[findzandstuff]

Pages covering Kaiju in A Pictoral History of Horror Movies, The Hamlyn Publishing Group Ltd, 1973.

[spaceintruderdetector]

[deceitful-eyes]

Gappa redesign for Titanotober Day 4

[arcana-shipper]

Not the best shots and I am sorry about that. I tried with what I got.

Soo Kryp finds an egg that hatches into a baby Gappa when he was pretty young.

He names the hatchling Keiko.

(Scorpion’s Post) (Kenshi’s Post) (Kuai Liang’s Post) (Liu Kang’s Post) (Kung Lao’s Post) (Jax’s Post) (Johnny’s Post) (Sonya's Post) (Kung Jin's Post) (Rain's Post) (Smoke's Post) (Kitana's Post) (Tsung's Post) (Ermac's Post) (Quan Chi's Post) (Takeda's Post) (Jade's Post) (Sektor's post) (Cyrax's Post) (D'Vorah's Post) (Cassie's Post) (Tanya's Post) (Jaqui's Post) (Cole's Post) (Emily's Post)

[mp3playerheadphones]

[laboitediabolique]

Gappa The Tripibian Monster, promotional English language poster, Nikkatsu Corporation, 1967.

[chernobog13]

Behind the scenes while filming Gappa (1967).

Pops Gappa is humongous!

[movieposters1]

[skookworks]

A few more from the old Kaijuphile fan art galleries. These are some of my redesigns of Toho monsters.

[monsterasia-zero]

The Cinema Film Of The Week - Gappa: The Triphibian Monster

Directed By Haruyasu Noguchi

Story By Akira Watanabe

Starring Tamio Kawachi, Tatsuya Fuji, and Yoko Yamamoto

Special Effects Akira Watanabe

Music By Saitaro Omori

Distributed By Nikkatsu

Release Date April 22, 1967

Country Japan

[vintagecinemaart]

Gappa the Triphibian Monster-Rare Original Vintage Movie Poster of Hiroshi Noguchi's Kaiju Adventure with Tamio Kawaji and Kôji Wada #gappa #Gappathetriphibianmonster #godzilla #kingkong #gorgo #vintagecinemaart #movieposter #wallart #kaiju https://etsy.me/3Xbt8FV https://www.instagram.com/p/CnUk0Y3OkAb/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=