Here is a section featuring all of my kaiju figures. Kinda random, but oh well:

Bandai 6 inch figures
Anguirus 2004
Burning Godzilla
Destoroyah
Gamera 1999
Godzilla 1954
Godzilla 1968
Godzilla 2004
GMK Godzilla
Gigan 1972
Gigan Final Wars
Hedorah 1971
Jet Jaguar
King Ghidorah 2001
Kiyru (with drill hand)
Legion
Mechagodzilla 1993
Mothra 2004
Rainbow Mothra
Rodan 2004
SpaceGodzilla
*
Other Bandai
Big Scale Gamera 1995
Big Scale Grand Ghidorah
*
Trendmasters
12 inch Walking and Roaring Godzilla
*
Y-MSF
Godzilla 1967 w/ Infant Minilla
Varan
*
Sakai Yuki Dioramas
Godzilla Raids Again
King Kong vs. Godzilla
Mothra vs. Godzilla
Ghidorah the Three Headed Monster
Invasion of Astro Monster
Son of Godzilla
Destroy All Monsters
Godzilla vs. Hedorah
Godzilla vs. Gigan
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla
Terror of Mechagodzilla
*
Sets
Godzilla Pack of Destruction
*
High Grade Monsters
Godzilla 1974/Fake Godzilla
Godzilla 2002
Hyper Gaos
King Caesar 1974
Kiryu
Mechagodzilla 1974
Mecha-King Ghidorah
*
Destroy All Monsters Battlezone
Godzilla
*
Other
4'' vintage Godzilla figure
5'' vintage Godzilla figure
8'' inch vintage Godzilla figure (green)
12'' vintage Godzilla figure (red)
King Kong 2005
Vintage 4'' Gomess
Zilla erasers
*
If you have a collection you would like to be posted, please leave a comment with your collection!

Last updated: 4-20-08

Here is a random section concerning some kaiju comics!

Last updated: 4-20-08

This section contains references to kaiju films.

Armagedon

Reference to: Gorath, Godzilla (monster)

Baisicly the entire movie is a reference. The whole plot of the giant planet crashing into Earth is here. Also, the begining has some Godzilla toys in it or something like that (never actually seen the movie, but I've heard about this).

*

Ed Wood
Reference to: Half Human
When the infamous Bela Lugosi recites his lines from Bride of the Monster in front of a crowd, a shot of the original American poster for Half Human can be seen in the background. Strangely, Half Human came to America in 1957 and Lugosi died in 1956 so this scene could not possibly have happened in the real world.

*

Pee Wee's Big Adventure

Reference to: King Ghidorah and Godzilla (monster)

Probably the most famous reference, Pee Wee rides by a set filming a Godzilla movie. The scene is of Godzilla fighting his three headed menace Ghidorah

*

Son of Blob

Reference to: Godzilla vs. Hedorah

The scene where the blob eats the kitten is an obvious nod to the night club scene in the 1971 film where a kitten is left meowing in the Smong Monster's sudge.

last updated 4-18-08

The GIANT MONSTER WRESTLING section of Kaiju Universe has pretend matches made just for this blog. A new match will be added weekly.


Mach 1: Orga vs. Monster X

Arena:Death Valley Desert

The ground shakes as something massive moves beneath it. Suddenly, a large grey object erupts from the Earth, reveling it's identity. It's none other than the space monster Orga! Letting out his first wail in months, the alien begins walking, unsure of where to go. As he slowly lumbers forward, a bright light in the black night sky catches his eye. He looks up to see what it is, but before he can, it starts falling towards Earth. It hits the ground with incredible impact, creating a huge crater in the surface. As the smoke clears up, a humanoid figure begins moving inside of the crater. Suddenly, three beams of lightning emerge from the dust, taking Orga by surprise and knocking him over. Then, the figure itself walks into view. Orga looks up curiously at Monster X, wondering if he is a threat. His wondering is soon over, however when Monster X releases another surge of light, shocking Orga once again. In response, the lumbering beast pulls itself up at a surprisingly quick pace and leaps towards Monster X. At the same time, he fires his shoulder cannon, knocking over the humanoid beast, but his body misses and falls down once again. Monster X, laughing vilely at Orga's clumsiness, gets up and begins kicking around the space beast, giving Orga a terrible headache. Orga, however fights back by shooting his cannon at the hot sand, causing it to fly wild and to temporarily blind Monster X. Confused, Monster X begins flailing his arms and legs, hoping to get a good hit. His efforts are in vein, however whn Orga turns around and opens up his mouth, intending to consume Monster X. He leans over, picking up the blinded Monster X in his jaws and begins a transformation. He begins to get thinner and more human-like, and his hump starts shrinking. His color changes from grey to white and his mouth begins to get smaller, squashing Monster X. Moments latter, there is no Orga, nor the old Monster X. In their places stands a newly formed Monster X, ready to begin it's own destruction of planet Earth.
Your Winner: ORGA!

Match 2: Anguirus (Millennium) vs. Varan

Arena:New York City

It was worse than 9-11. Hundreds of buildings where being destroyed this time. Not only that, but small trees, buses and people where being hurled this way and that. This was no tornado. It was a monster. Varan was capable of making huge gusts of wind with his thin but powerful wings. He found much pleasure out of destroying things to. The air force was called in, but it was no use. Would this monster destroy The Big Apple? Just then, a roar was heard. Varan momentarily stopped and looked behind him. Swimming beneath the Brooklyn Bridge, was another monster. This monster had a shell on his back made of huge spikes. As Anguirus climbed out of the water, he was greeted by a powerful force of wind. He roared in frustration at Varan and tried to fight back. Realizing that he was powerless against the wind, he thought of a plan. The curled himself into a tight ball and sent himself flying through the air. Varan tried to move away, but he was knocked down by a massive amount of spikes. Varan bellowed in pain and stood up to his full height. Anguirus was still hurling through the sky straight at him. He turned around and whacked Anguirus with his tail. The monster was sent flying into a building with huge impact. Anguirus recovered himself and leaped at Varan. This time, Varan was quick and glided up into the sky before he was hit. Anguirus, frustrated, tried another strategy. He leaped into the air and butted Varan with his horn. Varan fell from the sky, loosing massive amounts of blood at the same time. He lay unmoving on the ground. Anguirus began a victory roar, but as soon as he was about to leave. Varan leaps onto him biting him in the neck. Anguirus roares in pain and leaped into the river. Varan laughed at his retreating foe and resumed his destruction.
Your Winner: VARAN!

Match 3: Titanoaurus vs. Burning Godzilla vs. Rodan (Millennium) vs.

Gamera (Millennium)

Arena: Cedar Point

It was just a normal day at the park. Kids with cotton candy in their hands were running around, adults were sitting on benches talking and keeping an eye on their children and everyone was having a wonderful time. Little did they know that the very park that they were in would become a pile of broken ride parts in a few hours.

As the park was at it's busiest time, a huge gust of wind swept over the people. They looked up and saw Rodan heading right towards them! In a panic, they ran about wildly, trampling many beneath their feet. However, just as they thought that this was the end, a stream of fire rushed through the heavens, knocking Rodan out of the sky and landing on a crowd of people. Then, as the confused people turned around to find the source of the fire, a roar was heard. It was Godzilla! Godzilla's heat patches glowed with hatred toward the Earth. He moved his lumbering body forward, trapping the crowd in between himself and the fallen body of Rodan. A few people did manage to escape, but where blocked by another monster. As Titanosaurus lifted himself out of the Earth, roaring down at the puny humans. He looked around, deciding which monster to attack first. He decided to take on Rodan, the weaker prey. He advanced much quicker than the lumbering Godzilla and was soon looking down on the knocked out Pterodactyl. He was about to stomp on the creature's wing when another stream of light rushed toward him. Enraged by being disturbed, Titanosaurus rushed toward Godzilla, leaping onto him. It was his turn for victory. However, this Godzilla was much more powerful than the one that he had fought before. Godzilla's spines began to light up and released a fire bolt from his mouth, throwing Titanosaurus upon Rodan. Rodan, now awake, managed to turn his body around and bite the dinosaur's long neck. This enraged Titanosaurus even more and he began whamming Rodan with his tail.

Seeing that the monsters where occupied, Godzilla spat out some more fire, hoping to destroy the prehistoric beasts for good. However, just as his spines began to light up, he was knocked over with tremendous force. He flew to the ground, not knowing what had happened. He looked up. A large shell was hovering above the ground. He had never seen anything like it before. Suddenly, two arms popped out from within the shell, and it was soon after followed by a head. Gamera landed, roaring at the King of Monsters, not knowing who he was, but ready to take him on.

Titanosaurus was still slamming his tail into Rodan, not knowing whether the beast was dead or alive. Presuming he was dead, he stopped. In a second, Rodan hopped up and mercesly pecked at Titanosaurus, dispite the pain in his head. Titanosaurus fought back, punching and biting Rodan. Then, Titanosaurus picked up Rodan's beak with his mouth and hurled him at Gamera, not realising he was there.

Gamera turned, seeing Rodan hurling towards him. He was too late, however, as the creature knocked him off his feet. Gamera was pinned to the ground. Seeing thier chances, Titanosaurus and Godzilla ran forward, hoping to finniish of the two monsters. Godzilla, however did not want company. Godzilla's spines began lighting up, with a stream of fire to follow soon afterwards. He hit Titanosaurus with his beam, but then something happened. Titanosaurus, once weak against sonic beams, had develped an immunity for it, and a sonic beam! He shot his beam, locking on to Godzilla's, and a beam battle began. However, Godzilla's beam was to strong, and reached Titanosaurus, litterally blasting his head off. He stumbbled forward a little bit, then fell. Dead.

With a roar, Godzilla claimed victory. But it was ended soon enough, when Godzilla noticed Gamera and Rodan where getting up. Gamera, now focused on his latest enemy, flew into the sky, hoping to kill off Rodan from the distance. But then, Rodan flew after him! Gamera was surprised. He had fought the Gaos before, a creature which resembled Rodan in many ways, but Gaos had only shown fear of Gamera. But this new flying menace was not going to go down easily. But Gamera was the Guardian of the Universe, the sworn enemy against anything that threatened the world. He had to continue. Gamera turnned around, shooting out plasma balls from his mouth. Rodan dodged them, and continued on faster and faster. Soon he and Gamera where alongside one another. Gamera tucked into his shell and began spinning, ripping into Rodan and making him bleed. Rodan wailed, but he wasn't going to give up now. Then, without warning, Gamera bit into Rodan, his sharp tusks peircing his neck. Bones crunched inside Rodan. He new he was dying. He stopped moving, wanting to fall to the Earth. Gamera let him go and watched him fall. With a victory roar, Gamera was about to leave the battle field. Suddenly, another ray of fire shot through the sky. This "Godzilla" creature still wanted to fight. And he accepted the challange.

Godzilla saw Gamera coming closer. Godzilla seized his chance and without hesitating, shot at the Gamera with his heat ray. Gamera was knocked to the ground. There was silence for a few moments until Gamera's tail, legs and arms began coming out of the object. Then, soon enough, his head popped out of the top hole. Gamera roared at his latest foe, signaling another challenge. Godzilla took no time in attacking and whammed Gamera with his tail. Gamera fell to the ground, but at the same time released a plasma ball from his mouth. Surprised, Godzilla fell down to, causing the ground to cave in. Seeing his chance, Gamera quickly got up and walked towards Godzilla, picking him up by the tail. He pulled his legs in and flew off into the sky with the King of the Monsters. Not far of the ground, Godzilla reawakened, blasting Gamera once more. Failing to stay in the air, the turtle fell from the sky, realising Godzilla. The two fell down again, this time causing an even greater impact.

Moments later, a monster got up from the hole. The burning death machine raised his head with one last roar and began to walk away into the sunset.

Your Winner:BURNING GODZILLA!

Match 4: Ebirah (Showa) vs. Minnila (Showa)

Arena: Monster Island

After weeks of searching, Ebirah finally finds land। He raises his massive body out of the water and scuttles around the shore. No sooner has he arived does the forest around him begin to move. Angry at being desturbed, Ebirah draws toward the forst ready to attack. Out from the forest pops Minnila, looking for Godzilla. Minnila thinks that Ebirah wants to play (!!!!!!) so he runs toward him. He learns all to late that Ebirah is hungry, and the massive shrimp leaps apon our young hero. However, Minnila has gotten stronger than his last battle and quickly snaps of almost all of Ebirah's legs. He then throws Ebirah into the sea and dances with joy over his latest kill. (WOW THAT WAS SHORT!)

Your winner: Minnila!

Match 5: Mechagodzilla (Showa) vs. King Caesar (Millennium)

Arena: Okinawa

The inside of the station was quiet. Mechagodzilla, the super robot of the Black Hole Aliens was about to be launched. The platform rose into the air carriyng the super weapon through a hole in the ground. Mechagodzilla opened his mechanical jaw and scretched. He began walking but then, a mound of rock began to move and out popped King Caesar, this one stronger than before. Mechagodzilla recocnized his foe and new this would be easy. All he had to do was stand still. Sure enough, the Okinawa God ran forth, arms outstretched . As King Caesar was about to hit his foe, Mechagodzilla leaped into the air, causing King Caesar to hit his head on another mound of rock. Mechagodzilla transformed into his flying form and rushed toward the unconsious beast. Howver, King Caesar was quick and leaped into the air, kicking Mechagodzilla. Mechagodzilla began to fall but quickly transformed again. He landed on his feet and began shooting beams at King Caesar. One of the beams missed and his a rock, which fell on to the furry beast's head, knocking him out again. Mechagodzilla saw his chance and picked up King Caesar. He then found the nearest body of water and dumped his foe into it.

Your winner: MECHAGODZILLA!

Match 6: Gigan (Showa) vs. Hedorah (Showa)

Arena: San Fransico

Landing with a huge thud, the space beast Hedorah arrived on Earth. After he had failed the first time, Hedorah was eager to try to conquer the planet again. He changed into his flying form and headed towards the Golden Gate Bridge. Once there, he landed on it, crushing it and killing many people. Hedorah laughed vilely and began eatting the courpses. Occupied with his work, he did not notice an object flying towards him. It cut oped the Smog Monster with it's buzz saw and landed in the water. Hedorah, angry at loosing so much acid, leaped toward Gigan, landing on him and covering him up. Gigan, berely able to brethe through the dense smog, poked his way through with his sharp beak. When he was about to break through, he hurled Hedorah away from him, sending him miles. Gigan quickley flew over and cut him open once more. Hedorah lost no time into changing into flying form to search for a more vonerable spot to start his destruction.

Your Winner: GIGAN!

last updated 4-19-08

This section contains lost kaiju related projects. So far, it is just a list containing the projects, but soon there will be the monsters planned to make an appearances in the films as well as a brief plot outline.

The Volcano Monsters:
Monsters: T Rex and Ankylosaurus
Planned reliese date: 1957
Plot: Two dinosaurs, an ankylosaurus (Anguirus) and a t rex (Godzilla) are found supposedly dead. While bringing the monsters to San Francisco,the t rex falls of the ship. Meanwhile, back in San Francisco, the ankylosaurus awakens and soon finds the t rex. The two battle it out untill the t rex bites the ankylosaurus on the neck, killing it. The t rex then makes it's way to the arctic but is confronted by planes which burries it under tons of ice.

Mothra:the Giant Monster:
Monsters: Mothra
Intended reliese date: 1961
Plot: A group of explorors find a strange island, in which the inhabetints are a group of natives warshiping two half foot tall twin farries. When the farries are taken to Japan, thier god Mothra comes looking for them, causing massive amounts of dammage in the process.

Frankenstein vs. the Human Vapor:
Monsters: The Human Vapor and Frankenstein
Intended reliese date: 1963
Plot: After his girl friend was killed in an acident in The Human Vapor, Mizuno seeks out Dr. Gildor, who has stollen the misshapen
body of the Frankenstein monster from a cementary. Mizuno and Frankenstein meet and clash in a fierce battle.

King Kong vs. Godzilla II

Monsters: King Kong and Godzilla

Intended release date: 1963

Plot: Godzilla, presumed dead reawakens from his water "grave" to rematch the mighty King Kong, who has returned from Faro Island

Mothra Against Godzilla

Monsters: Mothra and Godzilla

Intended release date: 1964

Plot: The body of Godzilla is washed up on to a Japanese shore. He is persumed dead and is baugt by some entropanuers. He awakens and begins to destroy the city while the humans summon the god Mothra to fight the menace.

Frankenstein vs. Godzilla

Monsters: Frankenstein and Godzilla

Intended release date: 1963

Plot: After a strange looking boy is found killing and eatting pet animals, he begins growning to kaiju sized porportions. Fearing that the boy will soon turn on humans and make them his new scource of food, the military lure Godzilla from his iceburg (the same on he was trapped in in Godzilla Raids Again) with boats, hoping he will fight the Frankenstein monster. Well it works, but the battle ends in a draw. Godzilla is trown into a river and Frankenstein is eatten up by the Earth and both are never heard of again for some time (although we all know what happened to Godzilla.....)

************************
King Kong vs. Ebirah (1966)
Girah vs. Sanda (1966)

Batman vs. Godzilla (1966)
Invasion of the Giant Monsters (1968)
Gamera vs. Garasharp (1972)
Godzilla vs. Hedorah II (1972)
Godzilla vs Deathla (1972)
Godzilla vs. Redmoon (1972)
King Ghidorah's Counter Attack (1972)
Godzilla vs. the Space Monsters (1972)
Titanosuarus vs. Godzilla (1975)
Godzilla vs. the Devil (1978)
Spacegodzilla (1978)
Godzilla vs. Gargantua (1978)

The Rebirth of Godzilla (1978)
Godzilla vs. the Asuka Fortress (1979)
Godzilla vs. Bagan: the Return of Godzilla (1980)
Godzilla 2 (1989)
Biollante vs. Godzilla (1989)
Mothra vs. Bagan (1990)
Godzilla vs. King Kong (1991)
Godzilla vs. Mechani Kong (1991)
King Ghidorah Strikes Back (1992)
Godzilla vs. Gigamoth (1992)
Godzilla vs. Super Mechagodzilla (1) (1993)
Godzilla vs. Super Mechagodzilla (2) (1993)
Godzilla vs. Ghostgodzilla (1995)
Godzilla vs. Bagan (1995)
Godzilla vs. the Gryphon (1996)

Rebirth of Mothra: Mothra vs. Megalon (1996)
Rebirth of Mothra: Mothra vs. Anguirus (1997)
Godzilla vs. King Seesar (1999)
Godzilla vs. Anguirus (1999)
Godzilla vs. the Space Monster (2001)
B.V.A: Baragon, Anguirus, Varan: Godzilla 2002 (2001)
Godzilla: FINAL (2004)

last updated 6-2-07

Godzilla 3-D is still on!:

A few weeks ago, it was announced that Godzilla 3-D is still on! The bad thing is, were getting it a little late (filming begins in Febuary 2008) but as long as it comes out...

*

Big news for the Big-G!!!!!!!! (?):

A trailer that was shown at a showing of the new Transformers movie has left many exited. The movie, according to some to be Cloverfield (probably just a working title) features a giant monster tearing apart New York. The monster is said to be a giant lion of some sort and the movie may, very well be the sequal to the U.S Godzilla. My best guess? GODZILLA VS. FIRELION!!!!!!!!!!

*

New line of Destroy All Monsters figures:

A few days ago, I meet up with Bill Kerner and TomTvdik from Far East Monsters to talk about the new figures. We had a forty five minute discussion about the new series and Godzilla in general and in the end I ended up buying the figure. I was VERY impressed. The detail and sound is amazing. Godzilla's spines and mouth even light up to look like it is breathing fire. I can not wait until I get my hands on King Ghidorah and the rest of the series. I also got thier great velvet poster featuring Godzilla and ten of his friends and foes (Anguirus, Rodan, Mothra, Hedorah, King Ghidorah, Titanosaurus, Megalon, Gigan, Manda and Mechagodzilla). I am trying to get videos of the descussion up so hopefuly you can view them soon.

*

King Ghidorah to be relesaed for the Destory all Monsters Battlezone series!:

The latest addition to the Battlezone series King Ghidorah is now avalible for pre-order! Check out the Far East Monsters site to order!

last updated 4-18-07

This is a section that covers goofs, mistakes or just weird stuff that can be found in kaiju movies.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters!:

• In the scene where Godzilla is going out to sea while the army is trying to shoot him, the bombs can be seen bouncing of the screen and falling.
  

Godzilla Raids Again: (American version)

• When some people discuss who "Gigantis" (Godzilla) and Anguirus are, Dr. Yemanne (who by the way sounds NOTHING like he did in King of the Monsters) shows a picture of "Gigantis", and says: "the result was the first: ANGUIRUS!"
• Also, when Kobayashi and Tisuioka (?) first see "Gigantis" on the island, they have NO IDEA who he is? (hmmmmmmm... maybe they where on vacation in California a year ago).

Half Human:

• NO DUBBING AT ALL!

King Kong vs. Godzilla (American version):

• Most of the original music is replaced by themes from Creature from the Black Lagoon (the opening title theme of this film is The Gillman's theme).

Mothra vs. Godzilla:

• What is that rainbow thing anyway?

Ghidorah! the Three Headed Monster:

• As Rodan flies out of a volcano, a random Godzilla roar can be heard.

Invasion of Astro Monster:

• Godzilla dances!

Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster:

• Right after defeats Ookandaru, Godzilla starts itching his nose.
  

Son of Godzilla:

• There are so many strings that can be seen holding up the Kamacurasis that they look like they are part of the scenery!!!

Destroy All Monsters:

• How on Monster Island does a rocket ship get from the Moon to Earth in ONE DAY?!?!
• If all of the monsters escaped from Monster Island, they would have to either have to swim, fly or burrow. But as far as we know, Kumonga and Gorosaurus can't do any of these things (OK, Gorosaurus did burrow later in the film, but that was suposed to be Baragon they just culdn't use the suit. Also, Kumonga did burrow a little bit in Son of Godzilla but just a few feet bellow the ground).
• In the scene with Godzilla attacking the poeple in the forest, Manda can be heard in the backround

Godzilla's Revenge:

• If you were to take this movie and shake out all of the stock footage, you would get a movie that is about half an hour in length.

Gamera vs. Monster X:

• In the scene where Gamera flys away to confront Jiger, the music is stock footage. If you listen, you can hear Gamera fighting with another monster durring the stock footage.

Godzilla vs. Hedorah:

• Do you want to know what's weird about this movie? EVERYTHING!

Godzilla vs. Gigan:

• During the fight scenes, it keeps changing from daytime to night!!!!!!
• Aparently, Godzilla and Anguirus have taken voice lessons....
  

Godzilla vs. Megalon:

• When Megalon swats at the planes attacking him, Gigan's claw is seen instead of Megalon's.

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla:

• The aliens turn into dead monkeys when they die.....wow....

Gamera: Super Monster:

• Ditto on the Godzilla's Revnge thing.
• That goofy thingy that the space people do to become human. Really.....

Godzilla vs. Destoroyah:

• In the flashback scene about Dr. Serizowa, why didn't they just use the original footage instead of dubbing over it?

Gamera: Revenge of Iris:

• When Gamera is pinned to the wall by one of Iris's tentacles, why doesn't he blow up the tentacle instead of his own hand?
  
  

Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla:

• Why is it that they call Mechagodzilla Kiyru in this one and Mecha G in Tokyo SOS?
• How come when Godzilla is swimming towards Japan, the people who are building Mechagodzilla think that he's a whale at first?

Godzilla: Final Wars:

• Where did that guy get that motercycle from?

last updated 4-18-08

This is a part of Kaiju Universe that will review kaiju movies. A few days a week, I will post one or two reviews, starting with Godzilla: King of the Monsters! and work up to Gamera the Brave. Each movie will be rated from A to F (Hopefully, I won't have to use the F). With some movies, I will review the Japanese version along with the American version (unless the American and Japanese versions are the same). Enjoy!


Godzilla (1954)
Of all Ishiro Honda's work, This film would have to be his masterpiece. Why do I say this? Well, for starters, the tone of the movie. Unlike many of the 60s of 70s films, Godzilla is a dark, serious and sometimes frightening film without being to boring. Sure, Honda's other films like Matango, Mothra vs. Godzilla and even Varan: the Unbelievable where kept at around the same tone, but there was always some camppines or "cheese" added to it, but not Godzilla.
The second reason I say this is because of the special effects. The models where actually very well made and looked great when they where up close to the monster. One of the best examples was the "bird cage scene" where Godzilla stands next to a gigantic bird house, containing real live birds. It's just amazing how realistic it looks and that it's not just a little cage with plastic birds flapping around. Another well done scene is where Godzilla sticks his head above a building that actually has real people in it screaming in terror. But the most impressive feature is the suit. Although it may be a bit dated compared to the Godzilla in Final Wars, it's still a great first-time achievement.
And the music! Oh my god the music! If anyone can top Akira Ifukube that person would be the best composer on Earth. I've never heard such beautiful and haunting music in my life!
From the first roar that left Godzilla's mighty jaws, to the exiting underwater climax, Godzilla is a very impressive film and definitely Ishiro Hoda's finest achievement. I purchased the DVD Gojira (Godzilla) a few months ago and not only would I recommend the disc, but I HIGHLY recommend the movie.

Rating:A GODZILLA SIZED A+!!

Godzilla Raids Again (1955)
Well to start off, Godzilla Raids Again is, in my opinion underrated in almost every way. First off, the music. Obviously it doesn't stand up to the quality of Ifukube's 1954 score for Godzilla, but it still manages to be erie and excellent at the same time. For example, when Godzilla and Anguirus are fighting, the score is so deep, it actually sounds scary! Also, when the planes fly over the city to confront Godzilla, there is not music at all. You just hear the sound of the planes. Unfortunately, this scene was ruined in Gigantis the Fire Monster, where you hear happy, jumpy music!
The special effects are, like the original very well done. The Godzilla suit looks VERY menacing with it's fangs and pointed ears. I can say the same about Anguirus to. Whereas Anguirus was made to look less "evil" in films like Destroy All Monsters and Godzilla vs. Gigan, the monster looks just as menacing as Godzilla does.
The main reason why this film is underrated is because most people have only seen the "monstrosity" (overstatement there) version (Gigantis the Fire Monster). Many people think that these two versions are the same, but those people are dead wrong. Everything that was wrong with the American version was just right here.
The good news is that, like other old kaiju movies, Godzilla Raids Again was recently released on to DVD in the states. Now, people can see how amazing this version of the film is compared to the 1959 one. What I would recommend doing is purchasing that DVD on a rainy weekend afternoon, make two buckets of popcorn and watch Godzilla Raids Again in the dead of the night.

Rating:B+

Godzilla: King of the Monsters! (1956)
This was the first kaiju movie that I ever saw so it really means a lot. Terry Morse really took this seriously and didn't do what Paul Screibman did to Godzilla Raids Again. Raymond Burr also fists nicely with the Japanese cast, in fact it would be easy to make someone believe that Burr was in the original version of Godzilla. There where so many great things about this film, but of course with the good is always the bad. OK, in this case we shouldn't call it BAD, we should just call it, well not as good as it could have been. For example, instead of having the Ifukube's haunting score for the credits, they only added Godzilla's roar and footsteps. Yes, it is a nice opening for the film, but then you have to wait longer for the music. Another "bad" thing about it is that they lightened up the tone just slightly. There are a few (about two) "jokes" in the film, but really this does not distract the viewer from the rest of the darker parts.
One really nice thing about Godzilla: King of the Monsters! is that some of the lines in the film outshines the Japanese ones. For example, when Ogatta says to Dr. Serizowa (SP?) "you have your fears which might become reality, and then you have Godzilla, which is reality",it makes up for the "jokes" put in earlier in the film.
All in all, Godzilla: King of the Monsters! is in no way a campy science fiction cheepie (again referencing the Americanized Raids Again), but a wonderfully made gem that belongs in every kaiju fan's collection.
Rating: A-

Rodan (1956)

This is one of those movies that will always be remembered even by non kaiju fans. The reason for this is mainly because of the monster itself. A pterodactyl is something that is easily remembered by people and can also shock them with fear (in the old days, that is). For instance, if you take a monster like Guiron, a creature with a knife for a head is not easily remembered because it doesn't remind people of anything in the real world. Another big leap for this film is that it was Toho's first monster film shot in color! The last and most important thing though is that it was directed by Ishiro Honda. Yay!

As for the special effects, well they certainly aren't as good as the ones in Godzilla, but hey, it's 1956, what do you expect? There is one thing that I would like to comment on though. The Meganulon suit is by all means great, but if you compare it to the Rodans, well, it just looks like it could have used a little bit more work.

Rodan is, like many movies of the 60's, pure monster fun. Rodan is a magnificent creation and it sucks that it was made worse as the Showa Godzilla movies continued. Rodan also seems like a monster that would make a good series of it's own or maybe even a TV series.

Rating:B

Half Human (1957)
Holly crap! Did the American editors even WATCH the Japanese version?? They didn't even dub it, they just added narration, happy music and cut 30 minutes! I really need to get ahold of a Japanese version, even if it doesn't have subtitles. OK, enough gripping, lets go over the GOOD parts about the movie:

1. It's REALLY rare, so once you get it, you sort of ignore the flaws

2. The snowman is kinda creepy, which is always good

3. At least they kind of kept the same plot outline, unlike what happened to Giant Monster Varan

4. It's actually very entertaining

Well, I'm out of ideas (there are probably lots more), overall, Half Human is enjoyable, but if I where to choose between this and Godzilla: King of the Monsters!, stick with Godzilla.
Rating: C++ (in between C+ and B-)

Giant Monster Varan (1958)
This is one of those movies where Ishiro Honda did an amazing job, and some American producer screwed it up. Heck, in the American version, you don't even get to see Varan fly!
This movie, like Godzilla, is serious and scary. The score is one of Ifukube's best, and it sucks that it was only used very briefly in Varan: the Unbelievable. Also, Varan is very unique and interesting, one of my favorites in fact.
As I said, in the review for Godzilla, there is usually some camppines, even in a movie like this. One example is when the young native boy spooks out a group of explorers and tells them: "come to our village, or Baradagi will eat you up". Then, one of the men says, in a very "guy from King Kong vs. Godzilla like way" says "OH NO!!!!!!" Also, this probably wasn't meant to be funny, but when the happy folk (something that I call random people) are bombing Varan underwater, Varan is just sitting there all happy-like as bombs explode all around him. Oh yeah, one more thing. The guy who kept shaking the bamboo stick was funny!
All I can say about Giant Monster Varan is that it's sad how some guy thought "HEY! LET'S TAKE A REALLY GOOD MOVIE AND MAKE IT INTO CRAP!!!!!!!" Hopefully, Classic Media will do the same thing it did for Godzilla Raids Again and release this movie side by side with the American version so people can appreciate this highly underrated film.

Rating:B+

The H-Man (1958)

The second movie in the "H" trilogy (starting with Half Human and ending with The Human Vapor), The H-Man is, by no doubt the creepiest of Honda's films. The H-Men themselves are quite impressive, and are sure to give at least 4/10 people to have nightmares.

One very impressive part about this film is that it is probably the only film of it's kind (except Godzilla) to be completely 100% serious. I can't think of any time in this movie where there is some goofiness (special effects scenes don't count). The ending words are very chilling "maybe the next ruler of our world will be an H-Man".

OK, I lied a little bit earlier. There is one scene that is rather humorous. When the men are aboard the mysterious ship, one of them tries on some pants that he found saying "I like these pants!!" Fortunately, the next thing we see is him dissolving away after being caught by an H-Man.

Overall, The H-Man is a wonderfully frightening film. I have one tip though: DO NOT WATCH IT AT NIGHT!!!!

Rating:B

Gigantis: the Fire Monster (1959)

Just by looking at the title, you know that something is wrong here. You might be wondering: "who is Gigantis and is he even a Japanese monster?" To answear that question, Gigantis is as much as a Japanese monster that you will ever get (besides the name). But the sad part is: GIGANTIS IS GODZILLA!!!! Yes that's right, Godzilla. In fact, in an interview with the producer of Gigantis: the Fire Monster, Paul Scriebman, Paul said "I wanted to change the name to Gigantis so people would not get it confused with Godzilla". Ummmmm...OK. IT IS GODZILLA!!!!!!!!!!!

The dubbing for this film is to hard to describe. Instead of the haunting quote "it seems our darkest fears have come back to greet us", that was spoken by a scientist in the Japanese version, what is found here is "this is BAD! This is bad". Another thing is that not only does Godzilla's name become Gigantis, in one scene, the dubbed Dr. Yemanee shows a picture of "Gigantis" and calls it Anguirus! In fact, when Gigantis was released in America, Screibman said that the original name for the movie, Gojira no Gyakushu (Godzilla's Counter Attack) was Anguirus!

Not only are the people badly dubbed, but the monsters are to. Instead of "Gigantis" using his trademark roar, he uses Anguirus's for most of the film! But the most disturbing part of this film, is that they lightened up the tone by a LOT! For instance, the original, haunting music in the in the Japanese version is replaced by stock music that seems to jumpy to fit the movie.

Despite all of this, Gigantis: the Fire Monster is rather fun to watch. However, if you like your movies to be serious, avoid it at all costs!

Rating:B-

Varan: the Unbelievable (1962)

WHY!!!! I ask. WHY MUST YOU DO THIS TO ISHIRO HONDA?!?!?!?!?!?!?! HE NEVER TOOK ANY OF YOUR MOVIES AND MADE IT INTO CRAP!!! There really isn't much more that I need to say here, but if you like reading reviews for bad movies, please read on.

My complaints start with..I don't know where to begin! First of, they deleted almost all of Ifukube's fantastic score and replaced it with..with..UGHH!!!!!

Let's see here, they also deleted the scene where Varan flies. That's right, one of the best done scenes in the Japanese version is left on the cutting room floor. They also replaced Varan's bone chilling roar with a VACUUM CLEANER!

Lastly, THEY CHANGED THE WHOLE &%*$@ PLOT! THE MAIN CHARACTERS IN THE JAPANESE VERSION ARE JUST RANDOM PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!

PLEASE do yourself a favor and get ahold of the original version. You will be very happy you did.

Rating:D

King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

This movie should really be called The Adventures of the highly Insane People Episode One: Attack of the Zipperback Gorilla (Episode Two would be Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster, Episode Three would be Son of Godzilla, Episode Four would be Godzilla's Revenge, Episode Five would be Godzilla vs. Hedorah and Episode six would be Gamera: Super Monster. Hah... it even leads up to Star Destroyer from Star Wars exploding (Gamera would play Luke).

Anyway, this was a really fun movie. I was shocked when I recieved the original Japanese version how much better this is than the Japanese version. The music was rether memorable, battle scenes where thrilling and best of all, it was funnier than the American version.

What I found great about this film is that, unlike the American version it had no plot holes. The story behind why Tako was so mad about the publicity surounding Godzilla, how the idea of King Kong fighting Godzilla began, they are all gone in the American version and you are just left to wonder.

Overall, it's nice to see some comedy in the Godzilla universe and this was just the begining. Not oly that, but it is one of the most popular kaiju movies, even among non kaiju fans.

Rating:A-

King Kong vs. Godzilla (1963) (American version)

What a differance. While the original version at least had some (not much) seriousnes in it, this version drains it all out. Not that that's bad, of course. The real bad thing is that they deleted the incredible music and replaced it with Creature from the Black Lagoon music. While still exelent, it just doesn't fit Godzilla (King Kong of coure is a differant story). However, while many dubbed movies just threw in some non senseical lines, King Kong vs. Godzilla does it rather respectfully.

The American plot is rather interesting, as it explanes some of Godzilla's background. For example, it explains that Godzilla is actully just a dinosaur that is trying to figure out why the heck all of his little reptilian friends went (sort of), leaving some sympathy for him. Unforutunately, it replaces some of the Japanese plot, leaving a few holes.

While it's obviouly not as good as it's Japanese masterpiece, King Kong vs. Godzilla is one of the most enjoyable kaiju movies of all time.

Rating: B+

Atragon (1963)

Atragon is unique in terms of kaiju films, which is both good and bad. For one, the plot is incredibly original and comes together very well. I mean, it's not that every kaiju movie back then had a flying, drilling, freezing, (and of course, swiming) super submerine, right? Also, I think the character develpment is very well done and each character has a great deal of personality, which is always good.

I found the specail effects in this film to be one of the best of all the 1960s sci fi movies. The Atragon model is very convincing, and Eiji Tuberaya's work is once again top notch. Manda was animated very well, and the puppet is very cool looking (even if the strings are sometimes visible). I also love how you actaully think the movie was filmed in an underwater set, which adds to the overall realism.

There are some things about the film that not only I was dissapointed in, but many other fans. The first thing is the lack of kaiju action. Manda should have gotten more screen time, at least a shot of him coming out of the water and destroying a few buildings durring the Mu invasion scene. Another thing is that the film can get somewhat borring, although this is fixed durring the second half of the film.

Overall, Honda delivers yet another classic which still continues to be entertaining.

Rating: B-

last updated 4-18-08

Well I got Unleashed.....and it's great!! Read on for a review (soon to be added), as well as a rundown of the roster.

Roster:

Earth Defenders:

Godzilla 2000

Anguirus

King Caesar (Wii only)

Fire Rodan

Baragon

Varan (Wii only)

Godzilla 1954 (Wii only)

Godzilla 1990s

Battra (PS2 only)

Global Defense Force:

Kiryu

Jet Jaguar

Mecha-King Ghidorah

MOGUERA

Mechagodzilla II

Atragon (unplaybable)

Alien:

Gigan Final Wars

Megalon

King Ghidorah

Orga

Mechagodzilla (Wii only)

Gigan 1970s (PS2 only)

Mutants:
Destoroyah

Krystalak (Wii only)

Obsidius

Titanosaurus (Wii only)

Megaguirus

Biollante (Wii only)

SpaceGodzilla

Review:

Ever since January 2007, Godzilla fans awaited the release of the latest game in Atari's Godzilla series. Titled Godzilla: Unleashed, the game promised over 16 monsters including two brand new originals. Over time, monsters where reveald until the roster was officaily confirmed at 26 monsters, 24 of which where actually playable in story mode. However, the roster seemed to be the only thing going for the game according to some fans and everyting else was a total disater. I however, along with quite a few others thought it lived up to the hype. This review will tell you exactly what I thought of the game.

When one looks back at Destroy All Monsters for the GameCube, you see a small roster of merely 11 monsters. Over time, that expanded to 12, then 18, then finally 26 towering beasts ready to take each other on. Godzilla: Unleashed offers this roster, and it dissapoints few. Including new monsters such as Biollante, Titanosaurus, Varan, Godzilla 1954, even King Caesar, and two originals Krystalak and Obsidius, Unleashed excels in roster size, even if it lacks those monsters such as Zilla, Hedorah and Monster X. Each monster is well made and there are few "clones" (only three pairs in total). Unfortunately, not every monster is 100% true to it's movie couterpart. Some examples of this would be Godzilla 1954, who is much faster than he should be and is able to pull off a few un-fitting attacks, Mechagodzilla who instead of Rainbow Eyebeams has white and green beams, a flamethrower (something not seen in any incarnation of Mechagodzilla) and benable fingers (although fortunatley he can still use his finger missiles) and Titanosaurus, who while fun to play as still has a few un-fitting moves. Overall however, playing as each of the 26 monsters is very fun and will keep you buisy mastering each one's moveset.

When it comes to gameplay, there seems to be something missing. While in the last games you could pull off combos and airial attacks among other things, this game features a simple moveset that doesn't allow you to constantly be finding new attacks to pull off. However, there are some very fun new twists, such as unlimited burrowing and flying and the new feature called rushing, in which your monster will gain much faster speeds. You can also jump much higher, and while it doesn't really fit monsters of this size and weight, it's still pretty fun. There are some frustraiting things when trying to pull off an attack however, such as preforming the right attack (a swing to the left might be mistaken as a swing up if it's not done perfectly). Still, the gameplay is unique among the last game and while it lacks some things it gains others.

The graphics are easily one of the game's best qualities. The monsters look truly amazing, some of them looking nearly identical to how they where portaid in the movie (Godzilla 2000, for example). There have been some complains about Godzilla 1990s, but I think he looks great. Yes his dorsal fins do look bad, but at least he looks like Godzilla instead of that cat thing we got in Save the Earth. The critical mass effects are very well done and makes each monster look cooler than before. Another thing that looks great is the water effects. It actually looks like real water, and if it weren't for the not so great splashing effects, it would be perfect. The only very big complaint about graphics is that Monster Island looks somewhat unfinished (monsters go through the ground, not so much detail, etc) but overall the graphics really push the Wii to it's limits.

Music is another high point for Unleashed. Each monster has it's own theme, and each one is sounds just as good as the next. Selecting Mecha-King Ghidorah's theme for the menu music was a great choice and really gets the player pumped up to slug it out with some monsters. Overall, while it would have been nice to have seen some Toho music make it in, it's understandable why they where dropped and the music we currently have is great anyway.

While Unleashed is very fun to play and there are many good things to say about it, there is some bad to go along with the good. While many people tend to gripe about the many glitches found in the game, I personally are not bothered by them. What I really don't like is the AI. While some monsters have fairly good AI, most notibley Godzilla 1990s and Destoroyah, most monsters will just let you kick thier butts. One example of this is MOGUERA, who is constintly shutting down. Monsters will also never fly as well, which ruins the fun of fighting some of them (what's a battle against Fire Rodan if he can't fly?). Also, while some monsters never fight back, there are also such monsters who are dubbed "beam spammers", monsters in which are constintly firing thier beam (and example of this is Mechagodzilla). There are also some monsters who never fire their beams (Anguirus for example, although he generally has pretty good AI otherwise). Dispite this seeming very negitive, the rest of the game makes up for the lack of good AI.

Overall, while the lack of good AI and glitches will make some think less of the game, Unleashed was still a great effort and will keep you playing it for a long time. Here's to seeing G4 in the future!

Score: 7.5


last updated 4-21-08