Title
 Godzilla X Mothra X Mechagodzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.: Super Complete Works
Author(s)
 Naohiko Mamiya
Language: Japanese Release: 2003
Publisher: Shogakukan Pages: 58
Genre: Non-Fiction ISBN: 4091014933

Preview:  
Page 13 - Page 16 - Page 39 - Page 43
Back Cover
 
Comments
Anthony Romero

This book from Shogakukan is another entry in their "Super Complete Works" line, a series of books which has now covered Godzilla films for over a decade. The line is distinct for their unique covers, showing close ups of the monsters' faces in unique photos. That tradition, for whatever reason, takes a vacation for this particular entry based on Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. (2003). Instead, the cover here is a composition of various photos placed together and colorized. It gives the cover a retro feel, sort of like the Showa era posters for the Godzilla movies, but the look doesn't really gel well with the 2003 film and nor does it compare to the dynamic appearance of the other covers in this line of books.

Enough about the cover, though, what about the content? Well the inside of the publication lives up to others in the line. This includes a making of section, with behind the scenes photos of the suits and props being made, along with detailed looks at all of the monsters. This means the normal shots of the monsters from all angles, including Kamoebas. The book also has a variety of full color production stills shown in chronological order based on the scenes in the movie.

In the middle of the book there are 14 pages in black and white with features unique to this particular release. Shogakukan has always been good for delivering some "out of the box" content besides the staples like the making of segments, and this book doesn't disappoint. Some of the features in this black and white section include a map of where all the attacks take place and where Infant Island is relative to Japan. There is also a cutaway view of Kiryu found here, and additional information on both the Shobijin and Kamoebas in regards to their history. There is also a section on actor Hiroshi Koizumi from his role in Godzilla Raids Again (1955) to The Gransazers (2003). The most well remembered feature from this black and white section, though, are some drawings and concepts for a "fan fiction" style swing at extending the "Kiryu saga". The idea is fairly elaborate, using the DNA sequence from this movie's finale and the overall concept of Kiryu to create an army of mechs that include mechanized versions of Varan, Kamoeabs, Baragon, Kumonga, and others. Again, as it seems quite common for someone to see these images out of context and get the wrong idea, these concepts were never intended for an actual movie but more of a "what if" scenario for more ideas from this storyline.

Overall, this isn't the best of the "Super Complete Works" line. It does some stuff well, but the total loss of concept art and other things do bring it down compared to some of the other books. It is import friendly due to the graphic nature of the publication, as it's mostly pictures, and those fans particularly enamored with this entry in the Godzilla series will probably find enough about this book to like in the end.