Toho Kingdom

JAGzilla wrote: traditional kaiju are simply meant to be suits. The suit look is just what they're supposed to look like, and anything else is an outlier.

goji89 wrote:I prefer practical FX like suit-matation and stop motion than CGI. I just love those mediums much better as they convey much more emotion and skill....(Not taking away from CGI creators as Im sure those can be really difficult to pull off as well)....Just that I grew up with those movie art effects.

To me, there's so much more artistry there, too. A major achievement in a kaiju effect, or an impressive stop-motion moment (such as those I laud the original King Kong for, or the astounding skeleton swordfights of Jason and the Argonauts) are a feat of mechanical innovation, of building a device or conceiving of a way to trick the camera by pushing the boundaries of what had ever been conceived of before, in order to make it see (and show others) something impossible.

The newest advances in CGI are some guy creating a shader or a new subsurface scattering simulation. Which is still an achievement, sure; but it's still standing on the shoulders of giants, introducing the next generation of a piece of software... not breaking the incredible new ground that so many practical effects innovators were.

I have not yet seen a single bit of footage for KotM and I'm not sure I want too. Trying to go in as blind as possible.

Tyrant_Lizard_King wrote:I have not yet seen a single bit of footage for KotM and I'm not sure I want too. Trying to go in as blind as possible.

Brother the odds are against you. You can avoid a lot online, but out there in every day life, sooner or later you'll get caught.

I mean I've seen a few stills and things but nothing major. Besides once TV spots start it woon't be much of a problem as I won't have to wait long for the film to come out. Still I made it through pretty much all of G14's promotion without seeing a single trailer or TV spot. Only bits I saw were the SDCC concept teaser and the Encounter footage, neither of which had any real bearing on the film itself.

-Godzilla Millenium series is the worst Godzilla series, and the only movies I liked were GMK and the Kiryu Saga.
-Also about the Millenium series, Final Wars is damn near close to being the worst Goji film.
-Super Mechagodzilla is lame af, and is only close behind Mechagodzilla City as the worst Mechagodzilla.
-GMKGoji, KiryuGoji are only tied as second best Godzilla designs behind the 54Goji. Don't @ me.
-Godzilla vs King Ghidorah is the only Heisei film I didn't like.
-Shin Godzilla is overrated, and I honestly didn't care for it much.
-I enjoyed Monster Planet over Godzilla 2014 and Shin Godzilla.
-Zone Fighter is painfully underrated from what I can see, and while not as good as Ultraman, is still a very cool character.

When I was a kid, I used to like Battle For Earth more than the original Mothra vs Godzilla because of the bright colors. At some point I accidentally rented the wrong movie and got stuck with the OG film, where I realized it was definitely better lol.

TheDolphinKaijuGod wrote:-Zone Fighter is painfully underrated from what I can see, and while not as good as Ultraman, is still a very cool character.

You have good taste, sir...

Zarm wrote:

TheDolphinKaijuGod wrote:-Zone Fighter is painfully underrated from what I can see, and while not as good as Ultraman, is still a very cool character.

You have good taste, sir...

If I haven’t said before dude, you’ve done an incredible thing with this Zone Fighter translation project. Anyone here who hasn’t, you should definitely sign on.

KaijuCanuck wrote:

Zarm wrote:

TheDolphinKaijuGod wrote:-Zone Fighter is painfully underrated from what I can see, and while not as good as Ultraman, is still a very cool character.

You have good taste, sir...

If I haven’t said before dude, you’ve done an incredible thing with this Zone Fighter translation project. Anyone here who hasn’t, you should definitely sign on.

Especially as we just hit a small shortfall for the end of the year. But, I'm happy to share them freely with anyone, whether they're contributing or not, so feel free to p.m. me! We are getting very close to completion now. Two episodes in progress, and another four to go, as well as revisions and finishing touches to the existing... then we'll have the whole series!

TheDolphinKaijuGod wrote:-Zone Fighter is painfully underrated from what I can see, and while not as good as Ultraman, is still a very cool character.

I remember YEARS ago I watched a Zone Fighter music video on Youtube
set to the MC Hammer track "U Can't Touch This" The footage featured
was of Godzilla "training" with Zone Fighter as well as scenes with Gigan.

I liked that video.

Grievous wrote:I remember YEARS ago I watched a Zone Fighter music video on Youtube
set to the MC Hammer track "U Can't Touch This" The footage featured
was of Godzilla "training" with Zone Fighter as well as scenes with Gigan.

I liked that video.

I guess this counts as a confession: I can’t help but feel some form of nostalgia for early 2000s Godzilla fandom videos. Most of it was objectively terrible AMVs (usually either involving that particular Blue Öyster Cult song or Linkin Park/Disturbed) or shoddy stop-motion involving old Imperial Godzilla figures and Legos, but it was fun in a way.

Also: after becoming accustomed to using Showa and Heisei to describe the actual periods in Japanese history (Emperor Hirohito’s reign from 1926 - 1989 and Emperor Akihito’s reign from 1989 - 2019, respectively), I’ve come to dislike using the terms to in the sense the fandom often uses them, especially because they’re technically inaccurate (Godzilla ‘84 is technically part of the late Showa period, while the so-called “Millenium period” is technically part of the Heisei period, and no one knows how to really group Shin or the anime films or the World of Godzilla or even what Naruhito’s Imperial era name will be). I’ll occasionally use the names for convenience in places like this where everyone knows what I’m talking about, but I’ll usually just say things like “‘60s Godzilla films” or the “90s Gamera series.”

That sort of makes me wonder if in the future people might lump the “Millenium series” into the same “era” of kaiju films as the 80s-90s Godzilla films. There was only a four-year gap between Godzilla vs Destroyah and Godzilla 2000, and the Gamera and solo Mothra series both took place in the interim. There was a definite shift in tone and going from a clear continuity to a series of disjointed one-shots, but even still.

I've always seen the era names as not being closely associated with time periods (because, like you said, we get oddities like ROG) but moreso just the general style of the films.

The Showa era of kaiju films was the most creative with each major Japanese studio trying their hand at the genre and many different mainstays getting their starts here.

The Heisei era films were mostly influenced by changing technology in filmmaking with a dash of nostalgia from the Showa days.

The Millenium era furthers that technological advancement with CGI and other forms of digital imaging.

G2000 wrote:Also: after becoming accustomed to using Showa and Heisei to describe the actual periods in Japanese history (Emperor Hirohito’s reign from 1926 - 1989 and Emperor Akihito’s reign from 1989 - 2019, respectively), I’ve come to dislike using the terms to in the sense the fandom often uses them, especially because they’re technically inaccurate (Godzilla ‘84 is technically part of the late Showa period, while the so-called “Millenium period” is technically part of the Heisei period, and no one knows how to really group Shin or the anime films or the World of Godzilla or even what Naruhito’s Imperial era name will be). I’ll occasionally use the names for convenience in places like this where everyone knows what I’m talking about, but I’ll usually just say things like “‘60s Godzilla films” or the “90s Gamera series.”

That sort of makes me wonder if in the future people might lump the “Millenium series” into the same “era” of kaiju films as the 80s-90s Godzilla films. There was only a four-year gap between Godzilla vs Destroyah and Godzilla 2000, and the Gamera and solo Mothra series both took place in the interim. There was a definite shift in tone and going from a clear continuity to a series of disjointed one-shots, but even still.

It really only bothers me, and even then not that much, when people refer to the series/filmmaking cycles as the “Showa/Heisei era,” because it’s definitely not an era. In fact, the word era is better used to describe the actual historical Showa, Heisei, etc. periods.

I also prefer “cycle” to “series” as I think most fans get too caught up in defining a series as events that all belong to the same narrative or continuity. A “cycle,” on the other hand, can describe the movies made within a certain period, even if they don’t line up in-universe. (Like really, no one gives a shit if Atragon exists in the same universe as the Godzilla movies, but it’s clearly very much like its contemporary Godzillas.) But I also know the use of “Showa series” etc. is so ingrained in Godzilla fandom that I don’t expect it to change.

And I agree, very little truly changed from Godzilla vs. Destoroyah to Rebirth of Mothra to Godzilla 2000. I do think that the Godzillas of the ‘90s and 2000s at least represent different filmmaking attitudes though, so they should be grouped in different cycles. Or series. Whatever. (But hey! The same is true of The War in Space and The Mysterians, even though they’re both considered Showa movies.)

The only time I tried to watch Gojira I fell asleep on it. Mind you I was really tired that day.

G2000 wrote: I guess this counts as a confession: I can’t help but feel some form of nostalgia for early 2000s Godzilla fandom videos. Most of it was objectively terrible AMVs (usually either involving that particular Blue Öyster Cult song or Linkin Park/Disturbed)

I remember a music video for Godzilla vs. Biollante to the song Echelon by 30 Seconds To Mars...



And a FANTASTIC music video for Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla 74 to the song Won't Back Down by Fuel...



While both songs are fairly generic rock tracks...the editing of both videos was REALLY well done
& somehow actually managed to make the footage fit perfectly capturing the best moments of both
films during the perfect moments of both songs.

There was also...

War of the Gargantuas set to How Can I Live by Ill Nino...
Godzilla Raids Again set to So Cold by Breaking Benjamin...(This one was also edited near perfectly)
& one I can't seem to remember set to Get Up Again by Flaw...

Does anyone else remember those?

I vividly remember GMK being set to "Rock the Casbah" by The Clash in one video.

Also, THIS video turns 10 later this year and that's weird to me.

Nice footwork from Godzilla.

I haven't seen it lately, but I remember a video that featured Zone Fighter to the song Secret Agent Man.

I would rather the MonsterVerse end than have it continue on using cryptids or older Warner Bros. properties like Them or the Beast from 20,000 Fathoms.

UltramanGoji wrote:I would rather the MonsterVerse end than have it continue on using cryptids or older Warner Bros. properties like Them or the Beast from 20,000 Fathoms.

I agree with the cryptid part and somewhat with the older WB monsters. I think them could work, maybe beast but thats it