The Kaiju Boom

[PitchBlackProgress]

History has repeated itself, giant monster movies are cool again!
It seems ever since Pacific Rim hit the screens in 2013, we’ve had a sudden surge of giant monster flicks with Godzilla, Colossal, Kong: Skull Island, Pacific Rim: Uprising, Rampage, and the many more in the upcoming years, I thought we could get a topic going for this “Renaissance of Kaiju Films”. It’s truly a great time to be a fan of the genre, let’s hear what you have to say about this.

[KaijuCanuck]

Inevitably, some Debbie downer is going to comment and explain that “frankly”, anyone who thinks it’s a ‘renaissance’ is going too far and is stupid.

All I can say though is that it truly feels like the best time to be a kaiju fan. Maybe not since even the 60s has there been this much going on, particularly in the west.

[Ivo-goji]

I prefer the expression "Kaiju Boom"; that's usually how we describe the surge of tokusatsu related media that kicked off in the 60s.

[PitchBlackProgress]

I prefer the expression "Kaiju Boom"; that's usually how we describe the surge of tokusatsu related media that kicked off in the 60s.

Who’s “we”

[Ivo-goji]

I prefer the expression "Kaiju Boom"; that's usually how we describe the surge of tokusatsu related media that kicked off in the 60s.

Who’s “we”

Users on this discussion board, other discussion boards, professional authors, and most notably Minoru Kawasaki, the director of the second Guilala movie.

[GodzillaFan1990's]

History has repeated itself, giant monster movies are cool again!
It seems ever since Pacific Rim hit the screens in 2013, we’ve had a sudden surge of giant monster flicks with Godzilla, Colossal, Kong: Skull Island, Pacific Rim: Uprising, Rampage, and the many more in the upcoming years, I thought we could get a topic going for this “Renaissance of Kaiju Films”. It’s truly a great time to be a fan of the genre, let’s hear what you have to say about this.

What the MCU did for superheroes. Pacific Rim and the MonsterVerse did for giant monsters/kaijus.

And folks here thought kaiju were a stigma to the general audience. Besides like that mattered anyways if the general audience could find a gun-wielding talking raccoon and humanoid tree cool, then why not kaiju?

See what happens if you never try? Look what it accomplished.

[Komenja]

I agree with Ivo-Goji and think Kaiju Boom is a more appropriate term. Giant monsters have a cycle of becoming popular and getting media consistently cranked out for several years, before falling out of fashion for a while where releases are fewer and farther between, then eventually re surging again. Boom! decline, Boom! decline, Boom!

But besides that, it's obviously a great time to be a fan of the genre! So many good films, shows, books, and comics over the past couple years, and I'm very excited for some of the stuff on the horizon! Definitely gonna enjoy it while it lasts.

[MechaGoji Bro7503]

Shin Godzilla is still my favorite film overall to come out of this "Kaiju Boom", with Kong: Skull Island being my favorite modern American monster film of this decade.

[Maritonic]

Shin Godzilla is still my favorite film overall to come out of this "Kaiju Boom", with Kong: Skull Island being my favorite modern American monster film of this decade.

Same.

[eabaker]

Sorry, did the title of this thread get changed because of someone arguing that the description of a previous era (which could not have been called a "renaissance" to begin with, since it was the genre's first boom) should also be applied to the current one?

If we had "the kaiju boom" in the 60s, it hardly makes sense to refer to the current crop of movies as "the kaiju boom," too.

[Zarm]

If we had "the kaiju boom" in the 60s, it hardly makes sense to refer to the current crop of movies as "the kaiju boom," too.

Indeed; 'The Kaiju Boom, Two' would be much more appropriate.

[LSD Jellyfish]

Sorry, did the title of this thread get changed because of someone arguing that the description of a previous era (which could not have been called a "renaissance" to begin with, since it was the genre's first boom) should also be applied to the current one?

If we had "the kaiju boom" in the 60s, it hardly makes sense to refer to the current crop of movies as "the kaiju boom," too.

Yeah I agree with this, seems a bit weird.

I’m just curious if beyond all the Godzilla and Legendary stuff if more companies will step up to the plate.

[Billzilla1974]

Shin Godzilla is still my favorite film overall to come out of this "Kaiju Boom", with Kong: Skull Island being my favorite modern American monster film of this decade.

Same.

I prefer Skull Island to Shin, but i do think both films were the two best kaiju films made in the past 10 years.
It feels strange living in this "kaiju boom", I wonder how long it will last.

[eabaker]

I’m just curious if beyond all the Godzilla and Legendary stuff if more companies will step up to the plate.

They might well assume that the market is stretched about as far as it'll go.

As it stands, I don't see this as any bigger a boom/renaissance than we got in the 90s, with Toho doing a a kaiju movie per year (as well as Yamato Takeru), Daiei doing to Gamera trilogy, and TriStar putting out their G-flick.

[KaijuCanuck]

I’m just curious if beyond all the Godzilla and Legendary stuff if more companies will step up to the plate.

They might well assume that the market is stretched about as far as it'll go.

As it stands, I don't see this as any bigger a boom/renaissance than we got in the 90s, with Toho doing a a kaiju movie per year (as well as Yamato Takeru), Daiei doing to Gamera trilogy, and TriStar putting out their G-flick.

I think the difference is the degree to which it’s being embraced by mainstream American studios, and the amount of money that some Hollywood productions are willing to put in now - in the 90s, there was no western embrace beyond GINO. You had to wait to get the Heisei Godzilla and Gamera films on VHS.

[Maritonic]

I’m just curious if beyond all the Godzilla and Legendary stuff if more companies will step up to the plate.

They might well assume that the market is stretched about as far as it'll go.

As it stands, I don't see this as any bigger a boom/renaissance than we got in the 90s, with Toho doing a a kaiju movie per year (as well as Yamato Takeru), Daiei doing to Gamera trilogy, and TriStar putting out their G-flick.

While I agree, I think the people who are claiming this is a new "boom" were too young to really be adults when that happened (I COULD BE WRONG DON'T ATTACK ME). That, plus Rampage and Pacific Rim, is I think is what's causing this.

I just think it's a good time to be a Kaiju fan. Wouldn't claim this is some huge boom, but I'm not complaining either.

I'm just sitting here in the corner, waiting to hear a new Gamera get announced.

Added in 36 seconds:

I think the difference is the degree to which it’s being embraced by mainstream American studios, and the amount of money that some Hollywood productions are willing to put in now - in the 90s, there was no western embrace beyond GINO. You had to wait to get the Heisei Godzilla and Gamera films on VHS.

Good point. Didn't think about the accessibility factor either.

[eabaker]

I’m just curious if beyond all the Godzilla and Legendary stuff if more companies will step up to the plate.

They might well assume that the market is stretched about as far as it'll go.

As it stands, I don't see this as any bigger a boom/renaissance than we got in the 90s, with Toho doing a a kaiju movie per year (as well as Yamato Takeru), Daiei doing to Gamera trilogy, and TriStar putting out their G-flick.

I think the difference is the degree to which it’s being embraced by mainstream American studios, and the amount of money that some Hollywood productions are willing to put in now - in the 90s, there was no western embrace beyond GINO. You had to wait to get the Heisei Godzilla and Gamera films on VHS.

Yeah, in terms of mainstream American audiences, this is definitely a more visible phenomenon.

[Pkmatrix]

Sorry, did the title of this thread get changed because of someone arguing that the description of a previous era (which could not have been called a "renaissance" to begin with, since it was the genre's first boom) should also be applied to the current one?

If we had "the kaiju boom" in the 60s, it hardly makes sense to refer to the current crop of movies as "the kaiju boom," too.

I agree, which is why I prefer and have been sticking with the "Kaiju Renaissance" term.

They might well assume that the market is stretched about as far as it'll go.

As it stands, I don't see this as any bigger a boom/renaissance than we got in the 90s, with Toho doing a a kaiju movie per year (as well as Yamato Takeru), Daiei doing to Gamera trilogy, and TriStar putting out their G-flick.

I disagree, I think this one is noticeably bigger.

Arguably the biggest year of the '90s Boom (which was less a "Kaiju Boom" and really more a "Godzilla Boom" IMO) was 1995 and unless I'm forgetting something it really kinda pales in scale to now: three movies (Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: The Movie, Godzilla vs. Destroyah, and Gamera: Guardian of the Universe), Power Rangers and Gridman on TV in the U.S., the Dark Horse Godzilla comic debuted, and the Trendmasters toys were in stores. That was about it.

Compare to this year, which is the biggest so far of the current period: six movies (PR:U, Rampage, the two animated Godzillas, The Meg, and Ultraman Geed the Movie); shows in Japan and America (Power Rangers, Ultraman Orb, Mech X-4), Godzilla toys remain in U.S. stores along with Kong toys, PR:U, and now Rampage stuff; Kong comics are running, etc. (And honestly there's a few other movies out this year we could count here too if we stretch definitions, like Ready Player One, Atlantic Rim 2, and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.)

I loved the experience of becoming a fan in the '90s, but now is even more exciting IMO.

While I agree, I think the people who are claiming this is a new "boom" were too young to really be adults when that happened (I COULD BE WRONG DON'T ATTACK ME). That, plus Rampage and Pacific Rim, is I think is what's causing this.

I just think it's a good time to be a Kaiju fan. Wouldn't claim this is some huge boom, but I'm not complaining either.

I'm just sitting here in the corner, waiting to hear a new Gamera get announced.

Admittedly I was a kid when the '90s boom happened, but I remember it well. That was when I became a fan.

As I pointed out, though, the reason people keep calling this a "boom" or "renaissance" isn't just because it's following the post-GFW drought, it's also because there's been a noticeable uptick in content compared even to the '90s. The '90s was very much a Godzilla-driven period, with Gamera, Mothra, and Ultraman putting in appearances. Now is still dominated by Godzilla films, but what's exciting is how much NEW content we've gotten - Attack on Titan (all versions), Love & Peace, Kong: Skull Island, the Pacific Rim films and comics, Colossal, etc. The '90s was a good time to be a Godzilla fan, but looking back it was really limited to pretty much JUST Godzilla.

Thinking about it another way, I suppose it's possible to not see it as bigger than the '90s if you're looking at it from a more Japan-centric POV as this is in many ways a Western-driven boom

[tbeasley]

This is really interesting and funny to me cause I definitely remember that 'drought' period where certain people would go on about Godzilla being done and over for good. The idea of another big budget American version, or a super successful film from Toho, an animated trilogy, classic Toho kaiju appearing in American films, a new version of freaking King Kong vs. Godzilla, etc., etc. would've been all scoffed and eye rolled at.

And now those people probably hate all this new content and the new fans coming in so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Spuro]

I hope this boom lasts. It started off really strong (Pacific Rim, LPG, Shin, 10 Cloverfield Lane (if you count that)) but the quality in movies has taken a downwards curve, sinking from mediocre (Kong: Skull Island) to just plain bad (Monster Planet Part 1, Cloverfield Paradox, Uprising, probably Rampage and Monster Planet Part 2).

After enough bad movies people are going to start to take the hint and this "boom" will end as soon as it started.

Here's hoping KotM picks things up again.