I kinda want to go back and watch a bunch of the not-too old Godzilla movies. Around the time Godzilla 2014 movie came out, I saw Godzilla: Final Wars, which is a fan-service filled send off to that era of Godzilla. Both are fantastic but Final Wars is so much more ridiculous and into being this big dumb thing. Its a cartoon in comparison and I loved the hell out of it.
I’m not familiar with RahXephon, but given MechaGodzilla and Mecha-King Ghidorah, I would say mecha can be kaiju? Let’s find out:
Can mecha be kaiju?
- Yes, some mecha are kaiju
- Yes, ALL mecha are kaiju
- No, kaiju and mecha are eternally at war and I will accept no mingling between the two.
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I really oughta check that one out. That’s the one where US 2000 Godzilla is “Zilla”, right? And he gets taken out in like 5 seconds?
RahXephon is definitely anime; prepare for a high school boy with a pet robot and a harem of interesting ladies and gentlemen with questionable motives. But it’s also a fascinating psycho-thriller with a mid-season episode that I still have frames of burned into my brain.
Music is a big deal, and the giant robot thing is taken in a very weird direction. Does some things better than Evangelion, in my opinion, and doesn’t guarantee crushing depression. Big, weird, and smart.
Everyone should check out Trollhunter if you haven’t. It has some incredible shots of gigantic creatures, and it’s found-footage style but not too panicky and motion-sickening.
Shin-Godzilla is the best Godzilla movie since the first one (stripping all nostalgia away for what’s in between, I can safely say this) and I’m really excited for what that team does next.
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Me, at the end of Godzilla 2014: “Damn, even Godzilla can’t afford to live in San Francisco”
(Also that halo jump was good)
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Trollhunter is the coolest. I haven’t watched it in a while, but I remember really digging the song over the end credits.
Oops, here it is.
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I still think about Gamera the Brave on a regular basis. The fact that it’s not readily available to gift to friends and family in the US is a crying shame.
I have often joked that once I finish my PhD in comics studies (come on, stupid dissertation!) I should go back and do a PhD in film studies, with a focus on looking at kaiju films through affect theory. I’m not going to, because getting a PhD fucking sucks and I would never put myself through this hell again, but I still think about it sometimes.
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I really enjoyed Colossal. It did have some pacing problems and whatnot, but I don’t think any of them impeded my enjoyment of the movie. It felt so inventive and unique in ways that I crave to see in all movies, not just kaiju movies (although, it could be said it is more a movie with kaiju in it, then a kaiju movie.) I won’t say to much more, because I think the experience of seeing it relatively unspoiled is worth it.
Did not know about Colossal before coming here. Sounds awesome.
Also, when looking it up, I saw that Toho apparently went after them for some money because the director used photos of Godzilla and the Godzilla concept in pitches at Cannes. That is really sus, Toho. That’s like From suing everyone who’s ever said “Souls-like” in a pitch.
I loooove kaiju movies, and I’ve been watching the Godzilla films in order of release recently. I’ve only gotten up to Ghidorah: The Three-Headed Monster.
I highly recommend any kaiju fan to watch Mothra Vs Godzilla and Ghidorah: The Three-Headed Monster, they’re pretty much essential kaiju films and total classics. The latter is where Godzilla transitions from an angry force of nature to an anti-hero. Plus, there’s a really awesome scene where Mothra, Rodan and Godzilla have a conversation about teaming up to fight Ghidorah.
When it comes to recent stuff, I loved Pacific Rim and Godzilla 2014. I’ve been meaning to watch Kong: Skull Island and Shin Godzilla when they’re available on home video.
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The first Ghidorah is my sentimental favorite kaiju film. The scene with the conversation is so good, a real game-changer. I think Ghidorah is maybe also just the coolest kaiju.
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I haven’t seen The Three-Headed Monster, but Ghidorah’s design is pretty conceptually crazy. No arms was a bold move.
Oh, I should probably leave this here. I was just talking yesterday about how I’d love an action-comedy Rampage movie the focuses on George, Lizzie, and Ralph as people who turn into monsters. This…doesn’t seem like it’s gonna be that…
I don’t much like that one, but it’s so ridiculous I guess i understand why people love it. That six second Zilla fight set to SUM41 is kind of undeniable.
Fun Fact: the director of that movie was also the cutscene director on Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes and it definitely shows.
the last Gamera trilogy (Guardian of the Universe/Attack of Legion/Revenge of Iris) is probably my favorite kaiju series and is often underrepresented.
it’s got confident pacing, solid special effects, and that good old kaiju-as-messenger-of-the-earth theming. it’s by the same team who did Godzilla Giant Monsters All Out Attack, which is also thoroughly excellent.
also: all four films have music by the composer of Shadow of the Colossus and it’s fantastic. and there’s this Evangelion looking ass monster.
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I saw Shin Godzilla when I was in Japan but I didn’t actually understand enough Japanese to really follow it (it took me half the movie to realize they weren’t starting off every sentence with transliterated “sorry” but “総理”, the Japanese word for prime minister).
Other than that I haven’t seen much kaiju. I saw Colossal last week, though, and I haven’t been able to get it out of my head since – definitely flawed and the metaphors were messy, but it was engrossing and compelling and I loved what it was trying to say and what it said. It’s made me interested in going back and watching some of the inspirations. Are the movies listed in this thread a good starting point, or does anyone have a good Kaiju 101 list? Seems like at least I should try to go back and rewatch Shin Godzilla with subtitles.
re: Colossal, I think the thing I could have done most without was the origin of their powers. The scene itself did a good job of contextualizing Oscar, but I liked the powers themselves as more of a vaguely unknowable thing.
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Damn, good luck on the dissertation. I’ve got a bunch of friends pushing that boulder up the hill and it fucking sucks seeing so many smart folks forced into this horrible pit of self-doubt.
I got the Gamera HD bundle collection, but I don’t think Gamera the Brave is in there. Worth seeking out though?
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Mothra booster reporting in.
Reviving this thread to share @2Mello’s discovery: Shin Godzilla coming to English Blu-Ray on August 1st!
https://www.funimation.com/shop/home-video/shin-godzilla-movie-bddvd-combo-uv-bld-00531/
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