Shin Godzilla: Battle at Nagaragawa White Water Manjuu vs. Black Steamed Chestnut Youkan! Here is a Godzilla snack I can get behind. Like a good-natured fan-fiction, it imagines what would happen if the second form of Godzilla from Shin Godzilla (2016) faced off against the Mothra larva. I think of it as the Godzilla larva vs. the Mothra larva. How fun is that? The actual snacks, too, are traditional Japanese snacks, which, if alien to the Western palate, still seems appropriate for a Japanese monster themed snack. (more…)

Author: Thomas Eckert | Banner: Andrew Sudomerski

The island of Okinawa was shaken by the intrusion of several giant crystals protruding from the soil. None of the island’s inhabitants knew where these massive crystals came from. All they did know was they had spawned a terrible monster. The crystalline terror known as Krystalak transformed this island into his new domain and the perfect breeding ground for the crystals that brought him to life. Since his creation, Krystalak rampaged across Okinawa like a disease, demolishing temples and slaying the locals. Unknown to Krystalak, there was another giant living on the island and it was about to break out of its slumber. (more…)

Have you ever wanted to experience firsthand what it would be like to try to escape from Godzilla? As fans, I think there are a lot of folks who would love to experience (safely!) an encounter with Godzilla beyond just another video game or even yet another VR experience. People wish they could feel the experience, not just get dizzy with a heavy electronic headset blocking your vision. And that experience was sort of what was promised by Tokyo Mystery Circus in 2018 in their Godzilla-themed escape room. (more…)

Author: Hayes A. Jones | Banner: Landon Soto

Rural Greece bustled quietly with life. (more…)

Earlier this year I happened to go to the Shinjuku Godzilla Store near the time in which Godzilla King of the Monsters (2019) was in theaters, and I was thrilled to find—in addition to the Godzilla Store itself—a limited time special store had been put up specifically for the release of the aforementioned MonsterVerse film. While I was not wild about KOTM (much the opposite), it was still really fun to see the wide variety of goods that were for sale at the time—and I was able to pick up a wide variety of Godzilla-themed snacks. Oddly, at that time, the only snacks I found that were themed around the Godzilla King of the Monsters film at the store were these—the Godzilla King of the Monsters Choco in Sables, from Coms (again). Let’s take a look. (more…)

Along with the amazingly named Shin Godzilla: War of the Takoyaki crackers, snack company Coms also released the Shin Godzilla Crunch: Black Crunch vs. White Crunch. With incredibly cute art of Kamata-Kun appearing in Osaka, and a snack not dissimilar to the excellent Godzilla Ole Crunch Collection, we have another winner on our hands here—plus, another cute Godzilla diorama is included with the box! (more…)

Apparently there was an entire line-up of Mt. Mihara sweets made this year. In addition to the Godzilla Honey Pie,  the Godzilla Crunch Ole Collection, and the Izu Oshima Godzilla Curry, we also have the Godzilla Bar Cheese Cookie from the same company. This takes some of the same design aspects of the previous two snacks and creates something new and frankly delicious. (more…)

It’s been a long time since I wrote a review for a Godzilla curry—the last one was way back in 2016 with my review of the Yokosuka Godzilla Curry. Well, time keeps right on marching along, and along with the Godzilla Crunch Ole Collection, we now have a new curry from Izu Oshima—the Izu Oshima Godzilla Curry! And I have to say, as far as it goes, this one is much better than the Yokosuka Godzilla Curry. I would totally eat this one again.

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In 1947, a blossoming filmmaker at Toho named Senkichi Taniguchi started production on the crime thriller Snow Trail, his second directorial effort. Having previously helmed the star-studded musical Toho Show Boat (1946), he was ready to expand his creative spectrum, channeling his energy into a straight-forward caper about three criminals who rob a bank and then flee into the mountains with their loot. In what marked another significant difference from his first movie, Taniguchi was forced to fill his cast with lesser-known or even completely unknown actors—as the studio had recently lost most of its established “box office” talent during a labor union strike and, per the speculations of one actor, wasn’t keen on their remaining “big name” stars shooting on location in the rugged mountain wilderness*. Among the newcomers appearing in Taniguchi’s film was a vibrant young actress by the name of Setsuko Wakayama, whom the director married two years after the film’s release and divorced seven years after that. (more…)

To celebrate Godzilla’s 65^th birthday a celebration was held at HUMAX Cinemas in Ikebukuro Tokyo called “Godzilla Night” on November 2^nd, from 7:30 pm to 5:00am the following day. The event consisted of a showing of Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah, Giant Monsters All Out Attack, Mothra 3, and Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: The Greatest Battle on Earth (the edited down Champion Film Festival Version of Ghidorah: the Three Headed Monster). In addition to the movies, many people involved in the franchise, such as Shusuke Kaneko made appearances and talked about their experiences and involvement with the series. (more…)