The definitive book on Godzilla:
Final Wars (2004). The Super Complete
Works series is well known for going above and
beyond in relation to the amount of content present,
but their Final Wars edition is really something
to behold. Normally books in this series are around
60 pages in length, but this edition runs for
around 100 pages (104 according to Shogakukan's
numbering system, but they count the opening poster
as 6 pages). The added length really allow this
volume to stand out from others in the series,
and other books on Final Wars for that matter.
The book starts off by covering the numerous
monsters in the film, containing stats, descriptions
(in Japanese, of course), production shots, and
a multi-angle study for each. It should be noted
that Manda's multi-angle study breaks the monster
up into segments, due to his abnormal length,
while there is no multi-angle study for Zilla.
After covering the monsters, the book gives the
same type of coverage for the aliens and mechs
featured in the film. This entire segment runs
till about page 32, when it changes gears and
devotes a very long section to production shots
from the film. Following this, there is a rather
odd feature which is a mask one can cut out with
Godzilla's face on it. There are then 15 pages,
black and white, which take a more focused look
at the film. What can be expected from the black
and white section includes: a world map showing
the events of Final Wars, a rundown of the monsters
shown with stock footage during the film's introduction,
a brief overview of the history of all of the
Final Wars monsters, and a two page breakdown
on the past Godzilla movies. The book then concludes
with a long section focused on the "Making
of Final Wars", which includes concept art
and many behind the scenes production photos.
In summation, Godzilla: Final Wars: Super Complete
Works is a wonderful focus on Godzilla's 50th
Anniversary film, hitting all of the basics while
featuring more than enough pictures to keep importers
happy. |