#I used the Showa as my point of reference.

[astoundingbeyondbelief]

Kaiju Week in Review (December 31, 2023-January 6, 2024)

Episode 9 of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters was a huge one, wrapping up the flashback storyline with gut punch after gut punch and dropping half the cast into a new realm of the Hollow Earth, Axis Mundi. I'm being vague because there's a very big twist at the end. Chomping at the bit for the finale.

@quazies has graced us with another animated Godzilla short, this one focusing on Rodan and wringing surprising emotion out of the daffy bird. And I continue to get a kick of out this Animal Crossing-esque Monster Island. This is their fourth Godzilla video; if you're unfamiliar with them, correct this immediately.

The new issue of TotalFilm has a sizable article on Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. My notes:

Trapper (Dan Stevens) is a sort of Titan veterinarian.

Emphasis on filming in real places; the Hollow Earth is a mixture of Greenland, Iceland, Hawaii, and Australia. Also mentions some sort of physical Kong prop and another full-sized HEAV.

Apex isn't in this story "in a literal way," but Monarch seems to have copped some of their tech; Kong's B.E.A.S.T. Glove is implied to be one example. Sort of disappointing that the Monsterverse continues to avoid having a recurring human villain, but then it would've been hard to keep Apex in the picture, between the Mechagodzilla scandal and all their key members dying.

Rome is mentioned as a location in the film, which was reinforced this week with a Japanese trailer showing Godzilla astride the Colosseum prior to his evolution. As a half-Italian, I'm thrilled.

Wingard is aiming for late-Showa Godzilla vibes. Not possible on a nine-figure budget, says I, but I'm curious to see what he comes up with. Adds that he "wanted the color palette of the film to resemble the experience of what it was like to walk down a toy aisle in the 1980s[.]"

Wingard on Skar King: "[He's], in a way, the closest that the human threat has ever been juxtaposed onto a titan itself. The Skar King almost represents an upscaled version of the worst parts of humanity, just as Kong represents some of the best parts of humanity."

Now, about that cover... they're doing the bisexual lighting on purpose at this point, right?

The new Godzilla Battle Line units are Orga and Kiryu Kai (Heavy Arms Type). Orga's pretty fun, dropped into the arena by the Millennian UFO and respawning with half health once defeated. The new Kiryu is a major addition, dealing 30% more damage to units that cost 7 energy or more.

This is my first Kaiju Week in Review covering 2024; for a look back on all that happened in 2023 in kaiju film, television, and video games, I'll refer you to this excellent video by @zagorudan. @vintagehenshin has one out on indie tokusatsu as well.

This is a year ending in "4", so a lot of Godzilla movies have big anniversaries on the way. The biggest, of course, is Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, turning 50 on March 21. Toho wasn't celebrating golden anniversaries in earnest when the other non-Godzilla members of the Big Five reaches theirs, so expect a Full Weapon Strike of merch, comics, and short films. We already know Mechagodzilla's in the next Godzilla Rivals issue, though not top-billed. Ultraman Leo, ESPY, Evil of Dracula, and Prophecies of Nostradamus also turn 50 this year.

#kaiju week in review #monarch legacy of monsters #godzilla x kong the new empire #godzilla vs. mechagodzilla #godzilla #kaiju

[averageartistamber]

GI-GANG RISE UP!

Okay, so Gigan came in first place, so naturally here he is. The take here mostly takes from the Final Wars design, since it's my favourite of the two canon looks for him. It's so Edgy and...Gigan-y, also I like the idea of him having different weapon options. (I also have a toy of so there was easy reference material).

Since these monster designs aren't supposed to be workable suits, they can get a bit more out there and exaggerated with the body types and limb arrangements. In this case, Gigan would be like, super tall and gangly with long arms, to the point of uncanniness if you catch him standing still (a rare occurrence). I almost imagine he fights like a figure skater with a bunch of knives strapped to them.

There's two things I'm not sure on. The first is that buzzsaw. I thought it'd be more functional as a weapon if it actually came out (on an arm in this concept art, but maybe it could be a flying drone?).

Second is his colour palette, so I made two. First is based on Showa.

Here's the second one, based on Millenium/Final Wars.

Last thing, I dunno if I'm still gonna give my Godzilla designs canon sizes, since I was originally using Heisei scaling, but thinking of switching to Monsterverse sizes.

Also don't have much in the way of lore for most characters, but that might be something I could get into if I expanded this project (which is a big maybe considering other stuff I have going on.)

#godzilla #godzilla au #toho monsters #toho kaiju #kaiju #toho #gigan #Bro is ready to RUN AWAY from a fight as usual #fan art #godzilla battleworld au #creature design

[ifuckinglovedinosaurssomuchjesus]

GODZILLA MOVIE MARATHON: Godzilla vs Megalon (1973)

Oh hey, remember when I was doing this? I am at the whim of my hyperfixations and, luckily, I'm in a Goji mood again. So it's time to pick up right where we left off a year ago and keep this marathon going.

We're deep in the champion series, where Godzilla movies were made every year for Toho's annual movie festivals, which meant cookie cutter scripts and shoe string budgets.

The script is pretty standard by this point, except with the aliens replaced by hilariously incompetent Atlantians. It gets the job done ok, it keeps itself relevant and is relatively entertaining, even if you're still spending most of the runtime waiting for a rubber suit monster to show up.

Speaking of monsters, the plot mainly revolves around a little robot by the name of Jet Jaguar. He spends most of the movie getting yanked around by whoever is in control of him till he inexplicably against consciousness and joins the battle for good. He's an obvious Ultraman rip-off, but he's also a cult favorite for his goofy design and his antics. He gets a lot of love from fans, Evangelion even references him in the Jet Alone episode, and it's easy to see why. He's not the strongest, but he's got spunk, character, and a catchy theme tune. You can't help but love him.

The same goes for the other debut creature, the titular Megalon. The Kaiju in this movie have so much personality, Megalon especially is super expressive. I love his child-like personality, where he gloats and taunts when he's winning but throws a tantrum when he isn't. He cackles and claps and slaps his butt, and despite having no facial expressions, he might as well be talking with how well the suit actor portrays his thoughts. My favorite is his obvious "what the hell" pose when Jet Jaguar and Godzilla escape his fire trap. He's also ridiculously pathetic, dumb as bricks, he ultimately gets knocked down by swallowing one of his own bombs. I love how he just lays there while Goji and JJ just stare at him with contempt. Even his final departure is hilarious with him face planting into a hole as it collapses onto him.

Gigan also makes his return, as cackling and sadistic as ever, and he matches Megalon's energy perfectly. They really do make a perfect duo, real team rocket energy of bumbling bafoons thinking they're badder than they actually are. Gigan's justification for being here is the best, the Atlantians straight up just call the cockroach aliens from the last movie and ask to borrow their monster. Sure, why not?

And of course, Godzilla is here too. He's a full on children's hero, accentuated by the goofy circus music that plays as he walks up to the battle. He's got some cool moments, like singlehandedly stomping both Megalon and Gigan when he first arrives and of course the iconic tail-slide kick.

Overall, many people lump this movie in with vs Gigan as the bottom of the barrel when it comes to the franchise, which I think is unfair. They're both similar movies in that they both live and die by the final battle. While vs Gigan had a really slow, boring fight that really didn't justify having to sit through the rest of the movie, vs Megalon has one of the most fun final battles in the series. If you can sit through the rather tediousn, but not all bad first hour of human plot, you get 20 minutes straight of some of the most expressive and enjoyable Kaiju action of the Showa era.

Interestingly, for some reason a US executive decided this was going to be the Godzilla movie to grab that American demographic, and it was marketed and distributed far more than nearly any film before it. While not an immediate success, it did result in this easily becoming the most common Godzilla outing in video rental stores and late night TV reruns. It shaped Godzilla's image in America more than any other film, for decades the name was synonymous with cheap costumes, goofy effects, and bad dubs. Even to this day, the Monsterverse's take on a heroic Godzilla fighting evil monsters has its roots going back here. Some people may hold resentment towards it for that, but for me personally, I really enjoyed it. It's not the best the Showa era has to offer, but it's certainly up there, so 7/10 seems fair to me.

#kaiju #godzilla #movie review

[sminny-wew]

OH YEAH I finished my refs for my self-insert and navi OC and her Double Soul!!!

Inkwoman can talk, but usually lets her actions speak for her, only talking either when she cannot avoid doing so or as part of a joke. Inkwoman's original operator, Teddy Tramp, was a silent performer, whose entire net battling gimmick was based around performance and making audiences laugh; their relationship was more akin to business partners than operator and navi. Somehow, at some point, the two wound up splitting, and depending on whatever I feel like using her for, Inkwoman either wanders the net as a solo navi or winds up with me. Though friendly to most other navis, Inkwoman has a uniquely bizarre relationship with Colorman: they regard each other as friendly nemeses, who refer to each other with cutesy nicknames like "Inky" and "Colorkins" as they engage in cartoonishly-violent net battles. They don't even have a past or any sort of history together, they're just Like That.

With Ink Soul, Megaman is able to utilize Inkwoman's stretchy limbs, affinity for hammer and bomb-based attacks, and knack for comedy!! Though in his case, a lot of it is rooted in Japanese humor and Showa-era anime, rather than 1930s American cartoons.

I also wrote up a one-shot of how he acquires Ink Soul!!

#megaman battle network #rockman.exe #rockman exe #megaman.exe #megaman exe #navi oc #double soul #doublesoul #fan character #self insert #toons #rubberhose #rubberhose oc #artsy fartsy

[bobcatmoran]

Shin Kamen Rider thoughts:

First of all, shoutout to the nerd who came with an OG Rider Belt and did the whole henshin pose sequence.

Opposite of a shoutout to the theater's air conditioning, which was not working, on a day when it reached 90°F outside.

Also, if you're going to the June 5th screening, stay for the credits! The few who remained from the otherwise mostly-packed screening (including myself) had a bit of a singalong to the theme song, and they show some clips from the original show that correspond to scenes from the movie.

FYI, the first half of the movie is very episodic (if you saw Shin Ultraman, it's kind of that sort of pacing), and the second half is more focused on a single plotline.

More spoilery thoughts under the cut:

First of all, loved the use of the Rider Showa Era Turn Into Foam And Dissolve Death™

Loved Wasp Aug's design, and also really liked Kamen Rider Zero's design, too, with the wings as the breastplate and the coiled-up proboscis on the helmet and the FLOWING HAIR.

Didn't love so much that they didn't have separate suit actors, but just had the face actors in the suits the whole time. There was a certain immobile expressionlessness to them, though that also kind of vibed with what I think Anno was going for, so…*shrug.* at least he didn't have them doing dangerous motorcycle stunts

Speaking of which, there is absolutely a reference to Fujioka breaking his leg, leading to Hayato being the sole hero for awhile, and I don't know how I feel about that (theater's reactions were mixed between audible shock and weird giggles. There were a lot of weird giggles a pretty inappropriate moments in general from the audience where I was).

Not a big fan of how it was a lot of mask on/mask off, which I suspect was a side effect of having the face actors also be the suit actors. It felt very MCU, with the characters pulling off their helmets/masks all the time so we could see their faces.

I really do see why most of the Japanese fanart I've seen for this movie depicts Hongo as, like, the human equivalant of one of those anxiety-ridden tiny dogs. OTOH, Hayoto, my beloved.

I might've made a NOISE when I realized that they were referencing the manga storyline where Hayato has a telepathic connection to Hongo's brain in a jar (yes, this actually happens, there's an official English translation of it, check it out).

I almost certainly made a NOISE when the Suit Guys said their names.

The motorcycle chase was awesome, and honestly the point where the movie finally managed to really grab me emotionally.

Overall, I didn't enjoy it as much as Shin Ultraman, but definitely worthwhile!

#kamen rider #shin kamen rider #shin kamen rider spoilers

[eirikrjs]

Correction about Raidou: The person Raidou saves from the curse is an admiral in the navy who got cursed since the navy was investigating the shady stuff the army was doing. This is a reference to the real-life conflicts between the Japanese army and Japanese navy which is considered one of the most notorious inter-service rivalries in history.

Okay, this one is complicated and I don't have a lot of time so I'm going to give the QUICK and probably useless version since it'll omit lots of details.

But basically, I won't deny what you say is correct but there are some odd things about the "important naval officer" scenario/scene, especially in the Japanese version. Much of my info on this is from a Japanese blog that goes into detail about nationalism in Raidou specifically. A healthy amount of it was summarized for me by @dijeh, who says much of it sounds a bit out there, lol. That said, there's still aspects about it that are conspicuous, but take with a grain of salt.

LP of the chapter (Episode 7: The Cursed Detective) here.

The Japanese version of this scene is available here.

If the cursed person were just an admiral, why the very coy, dramatic presentation at the Yatagarasu shrine? They could have easily created a fictional admiral character but instead chose to depict the cursed in silhouette and are talking around his identity despite his stated "crucial" role. This is just my observation.

The blogger emphasizes the following points (repeatedly, apparently, lol):

Atlus could not use Emperor Showa (Hirohito) because of his war crimes, thus they extended the Taisho era to a fictional year, 20; in reality, the Taisho emperor died of pneumonia and the era lasted only 15 years. Taisho was also a pre-war era and there is nostalgia for it.

The Yatagarasu organization is representative of the State Shinto of the period: the three-legged crow Yatagarasu was sent from the heavens to guide the first emperor, Jimmu, of Amaterasu's lineage, to military victory. State Shinto instituted the divine identity of the emperor, and the Yatagarasu organization is old and directly connected to the emperor. It specifically uses Japanese native religious imagery and names, not Buddhism.

The JP constitution says the emperor is the leader of the ground, sea, etc. forces, yet the game only names him the leader of the naval force because it's usually associated with heroic deeds, unlike the army which is associated with war crimes. (Personal anecdote: Japan still seems to be proud of its WWII naval forces and I visited a museum dedicated to the battleship Yamato near Hiroshima. I felt odd being there, since the Yamato was sunk by American bombers; I didn't feel the same way at Hiroshima, probably because its message is for global peace and total nuclear disarmament.)

The writer is also particularly bothered by the fact that you can't refuse to save this cursed person.

Last tidbit is that the god who curses the person is Hitokotonushi, who notably appears to Emperor Yuryaku in the Kojiki, where he says he can proclaim "good fortune in one word, bad fortune in one word," which the game seems to be quoting. This plays into the game's "Kunitsu seeking revenge on the Amatsu" plotline, so why would he curse someone who isn't also directly related to the Amatsu in some way?

#smt #raidou #raidou kuzunoha #soulless army #taisho #megaten #atlus

[flaim-ita]

Tsukasa for the ask thing because i miss him

favorite thing about them

Everything??? This is such a hard choice but I guess his multiple mass murder suicides is the thing I think of most, how he sees himself as a monster for wanting things for himself and therefore lets people despise him. Even though he is always doing hints for others or WANTING TO even if he doesn’t know how, doesn’t think it’s an option for him

least favorite thing about them

Tsukasa stealing Sougo’s food single-handedly set back fandom several years. It was funny before the jokes began.

favorite line

A tie between “I only bring destruction, that’s all I can do”, “my journey… is finally… over…” (yeah you can tell I love both his death scenes), and “Decade’s story starts here”

brOTP

Tsukasa and Shoutaro is my crossover friendship no one can take from me. Also fond of his relationship with Hive Queen in my rewrite

OTP

Decade ot4 are literally his soulmates, his world, his very LIFE…

nOTP

Sougo/Tsukasa

random headcanon

One of Tsukasa’s parents was a Kaijin and I know this in my soul. Ask Me About My World Of Decade Lore

unpopular opinion

If I see one more gag about other main Riders hating him I’m going to start biting people.

song i associate with them

Shinitai-Chan… mainly bc I have been working on an animatic about him with it for at this point several years. I will never finish it but I want to😔. It also references things I haven’t gotten to in Journey yet - like my reimagining of the DecadeStronger SIC that leads into why the Showas think Tsukasa is suicidal in Heisei Vs Showa

favorite picture of them

Now we know the horrors (affectionate) dvzvd had in store for us but watching weakly you have no idea what a chokehold these moments had on me

#replies #kamen rider #kadoya tsukasa #kamen rider decade #chancellorxofxtrash

[tofueggnoodles]

Saiyuki Reload Blast Drama CD 2 – Track 3: Free Talk

Summary: The voice actors talk about colors and superhero teams. As in the previous cast talks, expect a straight answer from Seki-san, unusual/unexpected ones from Hirata-san and Ishida-san, and well, Hirata-san trolling Hoshi-san about the latter’s answer.

Note: As @soto-translates pointed out, free talks aren't scripted, so the voice actors often interrupt each other, talk over one another, and mumble. I’m pretty sure I did not get everything right, so I’ll definitely appreciate any correction.

--------

Hoshi: It’s time for the cast round-table discussion of the second volume of the Saiyuki Reload Blast Drama CD. Thank you for your hard work, everyone.

The others: Thank you for your hard work.

Hoshi: Thing’s were really charged up in the second volume two too.

Hirata: Were they?

Ishida: Yes, we were excited about it, even if we were somehow forced into it.

Seki: That’s right.

Hirata: Wasn’t it fun? [referring to the recording]

Hoshi: No, no, I meant for the listeners. They must be charged up [while listening to the CD Drama.]

Hirata: Are they? Okay then.

Hoshi: Okay then? Well, let’s move on to the main topic of this cast talk. This time’s topic revolves around superheroes – we had a superhero-themed CD Drama in this volume, didn’t we? Each character is distinguished by their color, right?

The others: Yes.

Hoshi: So, in the context of superheroes, what color do you liken yourself to? Well, I’m not sure if it’s just in the context of superheroes–

Hirata: You’re not sure....

Hoshi: Okay, it should be fine even it’s not within the context of superheroes. What color do you most relate to? Seki-san, please do the honors.

Seki: This is Seki Toshihiko, who plays Genjo Sanzo.

Hoshi: Ah, yeah, you’d have to introduce yourself first.

Seki: Yes. I’ve always liked the Sailor Moon series. Sailor Mercury is my favorite, so my color is blue. When I was voicing superheroes series, it’d be characters with Ami-chan’s blue I would’ve loved to voice. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sailor_Mercury]

Hirata: You’re blushing.

Hoshi: So you like blue.

Seki: Yes. Sorry, aside from blue, what are the other colors in superheroes series?

Hoshi: Generally, you have colors like red, blue, yellow, green, pink... and there’s even white.

Seki: There’s even pink? And even white? [okay, he played a character in Kamen Rider but didn’t know that pink and white rangers exist?]

Hoshi: Yes, there are.

Ishida: Recently, they come in all colors imaginable.

Hirata: So it’s not just five members, but ten these days.

Hoshi: Also, recently, yellow rangers tend to be female. This means there are typically two girls in a superhero team.

Hirata: Is this to ensure equal employment with men?

Hoshi: Yes.

Ishida: The trend of yellow rangers liking to eat curry was referred to in the CD Drama in this volume, but it is no longer popular now. That was a thing of the Showa era [which ended in 1989].

Hoshi: It was one of the earliest trends, wasn’t it?

Hirata: It has probably gone away because yellow rangers are now played by female actors. Having a ravenous appetite for curry does not seem to be a trait that suits girls.

Ishida: That’s the feeling one gets.

Hoshi: Well, it’s blue for Seki-san.

Seki: Yes.

Hoshi: Got it. Then, will you go next, Hira-san?

Hirata: Er, this is Hirata Hiroaki, who plays Sha Gojyo. Thank you for your hard work.

Hoshi: Thank you for your hard work.

Hirata: In my case, there’s no color in particular.

Hoshi: Or rather, maybe you’d like to be invisible?

Hirata: Or maybe it’s red, like in the CD Drama. Since– (goes into a coughing fit)

Hoshi: What is it? Please tell us.

Ishida: Are you all right?

Hirata: Well, after all, the color that suits the kappa best is red–

Hoshi: Kappa? Shouldn’t it be green? [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kappa_(folklore)]

Hirata: A green kappa? I’m talking about the sort of kappa in the [Saiyuki] manga. Not the one in the folklore. Anyway, I was thinking that red suits Gojyo best, but in the CD Drama, it was stated that red is the color for the leader of the superhero team. On the other hand, Gojyo is obviously not a leader-like character. Therefore, the color [for him] would be a non-color. [He uses the Buddhist term Anatta which refers to the notion of "not-self."]

Hoshi: So it’s basically colorless.

Hirata: Either white or colorless. Ah no, you can still dye something white, right? Colorless it is, then.

Hoshi: Colorless means invisible, doesn’t it?

Hirata: Yes.

Hoshi: Doesn’t invisibility imply an underlying tone of indecency?

Ishida and Seki: Does it?

Hirata: How come?

Hoshi: Because of the Invisible Man.

Seki: Do you perceive the Invisible Man as indecent, Hoshi-kun?

Hoshi: Yes – because the Invisible Man is naked. If he were to wear clothes, he would be found out, wouldn’t he?

Seki: That’s right.

Hirata: Even if he’s naked, no-one can see that. I don’t see how he could be indecent.

Hoshi: His invisibility could fail at any moment. If that were to happen in the middle of a busy street, it’d be awful, wouldn’t it?

Hirata: Would you really tell him he’s being indecent in that situation?

Hoshi: Why not?

Hirata: If you ran into someone who’s capable of turning invisible, would your first thought be how indecent he’s being? **

Hoshi: Ah! That’s possible too, you know. So, let’s just summarize all that’s been said.

Hirata: Is there a need for a summary?

Hoshi: Alright, it’s colorless for Hira-san then. An indecent, invisible man.

Hirata: Being invisible does not equal being indecent, stupid monkey!

Hoshi: Well, over to you, Ishida-san.

Ishida: Yes, this is Ishida Akira, who plays Cho Hakkai. Flashy primary colors such as red, blue, yellow don’t really suit me.... Would you accept dark brown as the answer?

Seki: Why dark brown?

Ishida: Or what they call “ash color” these days.

Hoshi: Eco-color?

Seki: I see. A natural color.

Hirata: So it’s not brown brown, but dark brown. [a pun: brown brown = chacha, probably the dance; dark brown = kogecha]

Hoshi: It’s burnt. [koge = burnt rice]

Ishida: I want to lead a life close to nature – covered with mud, or rather, with my feet planted on the ground.

Seki: I’ve never seen superheroes with dark brown costumes though.

Ishida: They’ve not come up with a dark brown ranger yet, probably because that’d seem to go against the accepted practice.

Seki: But, I’ve seen that – a series featuring a character called Rainbow Man. He can transform into seven forms. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warrior_of_Love_Rainbowman]

Hirata: Listening to you, I just realized my ignorance [when it comes to superhero franchises].

Hoshi: That’s a fondly-remembered old show.

Ishida: Then, there’s only Hoshi-kun left.

Hoshi: This is Hoshi Souichirou, who plays Son Goku. I like the colors white, black and blue. Other colors don’t suit me.

Hirata: So which is it then?

Hoshi: Which? Yellow?

Seki: What’s the conclusion?

Hirata: You’re the one who decided the topic of the talk, so you should be able to give an immediate answer, shouldn’t you? **

Hoshi: Ah.

Hirata: ‘Ah’’s not it.

Hoshi: What about silver?

Hirata: A silver monkey? I’ve heard of silver bells, but silver monkeys?

Hoshi: It gives a sense of luck.

Hirata: Luck? Why not gold then?

Hoshi: I’d feel guilty if I were to choose gold.

Hirata: Toward whom?

Hoshi: It’d be going too far.

Hirata: Okay, but you won’t feel guilty if it’s silver.

Hoshi: Well, it’s not really like that–

Hirata: So you wouldn’t feel guilty if all of the silver from the whole country were to be used up.

Hoshi: By whom?

Hirata: I have no idea. I’d feel sorry for the silver though.

Hoshi: I’d be glittering [with all the silver].

Hirata: You’d be glittering....

Hoshi: What is it? You don’t seem convinced somehow.

Hirata: No? Why not.

Ishida: I think his answer’s fine.

Hoshi: Well, I’ll go with silver and probably make an appearance after everyone else. The superhero who appears last would be a bit stronger than the rest.

Seki: Why make a late appearance?

Hoshi: To stall for time.

Hirata: Something like the boss character?

Hoshi: No, as the comrade who appears at last to save his fellow superheroes.

Hirata: So you’ve been ignoring their predicament for a while and taking your time to appear.

Hoshi: Okay, I’ll reduce the waiting time then.

Hirata: Why are you talking as if you’re the show runner?

(The others laugh.)

Hirata: What are you thinking with this leisurely attitude to life? **

Hoshi: Ah, that’s something Hira-san likes, isn’t it?

Hirata: Something I like? What’s that? I won’t shout anymore this time. The pattern of Gojyo shouting at the end–

Seki: That happens a lot, doesn’t it?

Hoshi: That’s already established as his lot, isn’t it?

Hirata: This is the second volume already, right?

Hoshi: We’re near the end already, aren’t we?

Hirata: Rather than being near the end, it feels like–

Hoshi: A thing of the past already?

Hirata: A thing of the past, huh. My throat feels tired these days. I don’t feel like shouting.

Hoshi: Do you?

Hirata: No, I don’t. What do you think about this–

Hoshi: That’s so, isn’t it. Well, in today’s talk, we’ve discussed a lot about superheroes. Following this, there’s the third volume as well. Everyone, make sure to listen to it carefully, ah, I mean, with your undivided attention. Yes, until next time, goodbye, everyone!

The others: Goodbye!

Hirata: Thank you!

Hoshi: Bye-bye! So long!

Hirata: We’re done.

--------

Link to translation of the Drama CD track referred to during their conversation.

(Round brackets): actions and sound effects. [Square brackets]: translator’s notes and clarifications. Double asterisks **: Stuff I am really not sure of.

#最遊記 #saiyuki drama cd #ishida akira #hoshi souichirou #hirata hiroaki #seki toshihiko #translation #saiyuki

[virovac]

Since I doubt Toho would let you raise Godzilla, here’s the kaiju I’d expect

If we did get a crossover DLC with a Ultra Kaiju Monster Rancher sequel, I’d expect like Ultraman he would unplayable as Godzilla “cannot be tamed”. 

Still I think you could have fun by making Godzilla a special errantry trainer., able to teach kaiju techniques from the movies such as

(a support move that alters stats, obviously)

and the  Energy pulse punch (Gabara and Godzilla Vs Spacegodzilla inspired).

Now here’s my ideas for trainable monsters, and how I would justify them to Toho.

I would imagine unlike the Ultra Kaiju subbreeds would be less texture swaps and more new textures with similar themes to other fusion component, and a naming system with new adjetives in front of monster type. So  subbreeds, if allowed would probably reference past toy releases with colors that differed from film.

Godzilla Jr

The adolescent or young-adult  form of Godzilla’s less mutated (at first) adopted kid from the 90s film. Spent days in imprinting on humans lab so thematically better for being raised than a full-blown Godzilla while still letting players have some sort of Godzilla.

Could have Holly note it resembles a cross between Godzilla and a Dino from monster rancher.

And could use his “atomic bubbles” from his “Little Godzila” stage of development as a withering attack

And their psychic telepathy powers (shown by eyes glowing red) in their appearance as baby could inspire support-techniques

Titanosaurus

[my translation from  Definitive edition Godzilla Monster Illustration Super Encyclopedia (TV Magazine Deluxe 28)]

A human controlled Kaiju from the 80s , said to have been a peaceful creature prior to the mad scientist researching them turned abusive and teamed up with aliens and sent the mind controlled sea monster to attack Japan alongside Mechagodzilla.. A mirror to Godzilla, a natural prehistoric creature turned into a rampaging beast by malice rather than negligence. 

Can create electromagnetic whirlwinds with tailfan giving it range, something that one of my other runner up choices, Anguirus, was lacking.

Those antennae by the way, are implied by some possible concept art as being artificially implanted into the brain, or at the very least have mind control implants inserted into their bases. So some transmission-icon support techniques as well maybe

Jet Jaguar (Singular Point)

Fits very well in “raising a monster”” thematically, being a product of experiences,. And the A.I system it uses was intended for more than just robot piloting, and always demands a name from its owner once installed.

There also color variants as basis for sub-breeds from an old puppet show called Godzilla Island.

Anguirus (added)

Anguirurus of the showa era is one of the most easy monsters for humanity to deal with despite his power and fighting spirit, the two individuals in the Showa Era can be lured away by flares or repelled with military just making clear not welcome.

So works well having a human “coach”

Could be given a trait that gives a chance of causing recoil damage when pushed away by other kaiju to represent spikes.

While no projectiles, Anguirus has range with a relatively harmless sonic howl in Godzilla Raids again that can slowly destroy wooden buildings, could be a withering attack that lowers the Guts/Fighting spirit of the opponent..  For other long range attacks see his  jumping attack from when fought mechagodzilla, and the backwards leap used against Ghidrah in Godzilla vs Gigan.

Spikes could be represented a trait/cookie that sometimes causes inflicts recoil damage when pushed back by the opponent

Longer reaches

Mothra (Monsterverse ) - Kinda reaching

Hardest to fit in actually do to the “Mothra does not rage” stance Toho has taken in past videogames. I feel giving Mothra Imago a “never rampages” trait might be potentially gamebreaking. And they might state that the adult form of Mothra having tantrums is out of character for a creature meant to be mature and wise.

Still this incarnation has most easy version of Mothra to fit into the combat system, and implied to have human priestesses/caretakers in past.

Metamorphoses system similar to Wurm in Monster Rancher 2. 

(Honestly wondering if new designs combining personality and features of multiple iterations rather than being faithful to the screen like the Ultra Kaiju might be the best bet for the crossover. Because Showa Mothra could definitely tantrum,  but lacks a larval form  that’s upright enough. And Angui)

Mechagodzilla (Showa)

Feels less likely, but I feel like it could also be a story event villain you unlock by defeating

Gigan and Megalon

I oddly  suspect these two would be the hardest to get approval for despite fitting the tone well. Gigan is alien-controlled and Megalon despite being worshipped as a god is well, directed  like a toddler by worshippers. They wave shiny thing in his face to get him pointed in the right direction  

However, unlike the others they don’t really have name changes and have pretty much always been unique individual rather than a species name or going through name changes from developing and growing. (Gigan Miles and Gigan Rex from the 2022 short film feel unlikely as a justification )

#godzilla kaiju #ultra kaiju monster rancher #gigan and megalon #chitanosaurus #mothra monsterverse #anguirus #mechagodzilla showa #godzilla jr

[grad604-kannonhen]

mid sem objects 4

Choker Necklace from great-grandmother:

My great-grandmother was born in the 15th year of the Taisho period in Japan, the very last year of that period (1926) before it changed to Showa. She unfortunately passed away at the end of last year but I heard many stories about her from my grandfather(her son). I did my research paper in my first year about Taisho design and learned about how design in Japan was revolutionised. In short summary, Taisho era art and design was significant as it was when Western culture started to become widely popularised and mixed with Japanese traditional culture. This created a unique style referred to as Taisho Roman in current days to point to the characteristic balance of the merging of Western and Japanese culture where it has a retro yet modern look. Side note, it is also crazy to think that she was alive at the same time as some of the significant Japanese Bungo novelists (mentioned in Kenshi Yonezu's section)...

Earrings from grandmother:

My grandmother on my father's side gave this to me when I was in Japan for year 9. At that point, I hadn't pierced my ears. This reminds me of my ancestors as I heard stories about her and her marriage with my grandfather who was a Korean man. My grandfather passed away when my father was 14. At her time marrying people from a foreign country was still not welcomed and I heard briefly that this led to a lot of difficulties. It astounds me that whilst all that trouble they still married and their three children led to more children like myself and my cousins. It also reminds me that my family is the only one that moved overseas and I always feel disconnected from my family in Japan. It makes me think of the miracle as well as the fragility of family relations. Now my ears are pierced and this is one of my favourite accessories to wear. I don't know what my grandmother felt giving this to me back then, I hope someday I get to know her a bit more.

Kenji Miyazawa bookmark:

I got this when I went to the souvenir shop at Geibikei Gorge in Iwate prefecture. Geibikei Gorge is one of the locations in the 100 Landscapes Japan selection from 1927 as well as being designated the National Place of Scenic Beauty and Natural Monument since 1923. This location and Kenji Miyazawa are incredibly significant for the culture of my born prefecture in Japan. The image depicted on the bookmark is perhaps his most famous work, the Night of the Galactic Railroad. At first I was simply interested in Miyazawa because he is from the same prefecture as me, but through many other influences such as Hayao Miyazaki, Kenshi Yonezu, or Yorushika, I started taking an interest in Japanese literature. Miyazawa's works have a dreamy children's book type of atmosphere, while also being mysterious and almost creepy. His unique world in his works speaks to both children and adults. It definitely fueled my love for beautiful, nostalgic world-building and the unique atmosphere of Japanese literature.

Key of the old house in Japan:

Before I moved to New Zealand in 2010 I used to live in a tiny house located above a restaurant in Japan. This key reminds me of my grandfather whom I never met. I understand this is a sensitive topic for a lot of people if I really dig into it, but ancestry and culture is a crucial part of my creativity. My grandfather on my father's side as mentioned is Korean, and he was one of the people taken to Japan through war. We were quite poor and the house that we lived in was old and broken down. My grandfather had built the place when he was younger as he worked in a factory, the restaurant was his brother's Korean food restaurant. It's sad that I can't go back to that place anymore as the restaurant has taken over. I got this key when I was in Japan in year 9 and it was perhaps one of the hardest times of my life being in a small town as a foreigner who could barely read textbooks at school, but it's also when I started learning how to learn, to work hard for myself, and do things without being told. It's also when I actually got a chance to communicate with my family members and it felt special being back in my childhood home once again.

Picturebooks?

Other than drawing one of my favourite activities as a child was reading picture books. I've had these since being in my old home in Japan, and it's clear that I was very introverted all my life. One of the first examples of creative illustration and storytelling I had was through these picture books and I think it shows through my current interests and works the impact picturebooks has on me. Some of these are Japanese, but some are translated from foreign countries. My mother is very interested in overseas culture and arts especially those from the UK area. I think her collecting these works for us to see has fed our creativity in a unique way.

The clock on the right-hand side is from my mother who had this since she was a student. It depicts Alphonse Mucha's work on the clock face. Again, my mother was really into art culture from a young age and her influences are very prominent in my upbringing. It is said that Mucha was fond of Japanese art, backed up by the point that Art Nouveau has references to the flat, curved, and decorative nature of Japanese traditional art. Likewise, Japanese art during the Meiji era was also influenced by the style of Mucha. His style had a lasting impact on Japanese manga comics as well.

[thezanyarthropleura]

March 15 (1967)

Happy 56 years to Gamera vs. Gyaos, the third film in the Showa era. Strange coincidence that in going by release dates, we’ve hit the three most Gyaos-centric movies in reverse chronological order.

We’re getting into the ‘mainline Showa’ films now, a term I’m using to refer to the first 7 Showa era films produced contiguously every year from 1965 to 1971 (excluding Gamera: Super Monster, which was produced nine years later in 1980 and in my eyes, is distinct enough in its story and characters to have earned its own category).

These are the earliest Gamera films, often regarded as bottom-of-the-barrel Kaiju cinema and almost always originally produced for a target audience of exclusively children. The storylines tend to have relatively little depth, and you aren’t going to find many women in these movies beyond the mothers and occasionally sisters of the child protagonists – and later, scary space villains (there are a few notable exceptions I’ll mention when we get to those particular films). Thus, I’m left with ranking these ones on very different merits than the later films, usually coming down to how much Showa Charmᵀᴹ they have or how entertaining I find the giant turtle antics. And personally, I do find that these films are a whole lot of fun once you’ve committed to them.

With all that said, I’ll admit I’m someone who, up until now, has only bothered to watch the Mystery Science Theater 3000 versions of these movies (with the exception of Gamera vs. Viras, the sole mainline Showa film to have eluded the MST3K treatment as of 2022). However, the film versions presented on MST3K are usually heavily edited for time and utilize some of the infamously subpar Sandy Frank English dubbing, so for this month I’ve made it a point to track down and watch more complete versions of all of them – something I have in fact done for this movie here, and in my opinion, it’s definitely a worthwhile kaiju film to see in full.

First of all, Gamera vs. Gyaos is a very, very interesting film to watch as a fan of Guardian of the Universe, since that film takes many of its beats from this one – Gyaos taking foot damage, Gamera burrowing up from underground in an ambush, the inclusion of a sports stadium, etc. I’ll bring special attention to Gamera healing an arm injury underwater, because this scene fades back and forth in a surreal manner with scenes featuring child protagonist Eiichi, who even is shown to be sleeping at the same time Gamera sleeps, implying possible subtext of some kind of mental link that would be made definitive text with Asagi in the later film.

Unlike that film, however, this one’s only female character of note is Eiichi’s older sister Sumiko, who doesn’t get to do much besides chaperone Eiichi around military conferences and dutifully defend the men in her family from wholly legitimate criticism.

Aside from scientists’ and the military’s (ultimately futile) efforts to combat the monster, which is the main staple of quite a few of these movies, the bulk of the human story surrounds the conflict between a road construction crew and a group of villagers refusing to sell their land – not because they have any particular attachment to the land or objection to the road, no, they want the road to be built, but Eiichi’s grandfather has convinced them all to hold out for a higher buying price. This comes back to bite them when Gyaos attacks, the work is halted, and the company starts considering an alternate route for the road. The villagers turn on him, but despite the film’s release date, do not in fact stab him twenty-three times on the senate floor. Instead, Sumiko intervenes with an impassioned speech from the heart and gets them to leave. Eiichi’s grandfather realizes his error, has a moment of reflection inspired by his grandson, and decides to… burn an entire forest down so the fire attracts Gamera, framing this as a sacrifice of his townspeople’s resources for the greater good of stopping Gyaos. And I have to imagine this probably worked better as an Aesop in the 1960s than it does today.

Now, it’s no secret that these early Gamera movies were made to cash in on the trend started by Ishiro Honda’s arguably more famous and enduring kaiju films, even if Gamera eventually shifted the goalposts and styled itself for a younger audience. I bring this up because Gamera vs. Gyaos is one of only two films in this series that I feel successfully replicated Ishiro Honda’s work both thematically and stylistically, the other being the previous film Gamera vs. Barugon. While Barugon has a moral center that works better today than Gyaos’ does, I feel Gyaos has better pacing, with three monster encounters spaced well throughout the film and a captivating narrative woven in between to great effect. There are, of course, moments where it errs toward the ridiculous (for instance, the military using a fountain of fake blood to lure Gyaos onto a giant merry-go-round to try to make it dizzy) but it’s nowhere near the extent of the later films, and there’s a certain quiet ambience to the village scenes (especially the film opener you would have missed by only watching the MST3K edition) that brings to mind the similar atmosphere in some of Honda’s greats.

For me, this movie ranks somewhere in the middle of the Showa films. There are others I’ve found to be more fun, or that get a slight edge from their characters and themes, and there are quite a few issues that weigh Gamera vs. Gyaos down, but purely as a classic tokusatsu film, it’s one that’s broadly enjoyable, and I suspect just about every kaiju fan who takes the time to watch it will find something to love.

Enjoy this movie with your favorite ballpark snack, Oreo cookies, and fruit punch.

#gamera #gamera vs gyaos #gamera vs gaos #gyaos #kanemaru sumiko #gamera march #a lesbian reviews all the gamera movies

[showamagicalgirls]

I Dream of Jeannie Sequel Films

There are two live-action TV shows from the US that I include as "related series" in my magical girl timeline -- Bewitched (奥さまは魔女) and I Dream of Jeannie (かわいい魔女ジニー). To my knowledge, none of the sequel material ever aired on Japanese television -- I don't even think the later seasons of the I Dream of Jeannie itself show did -- but I have still wanted to watch all of it in order to deepen my knowledge of their corresponding flagship series. So I recently watched the two I Dream of Jeannie made-for-TV post-series films. Here's what I jotted down about them after watching each...

I Dream of Jeannie... Fifteen Years Later (1985)

I’ve been diving into the I Dream of Jeannie sequels lately, in order to deepen my understanding of the original TV series that ended up being a big influence on the Japanese trope of the ‘magical girl.’ I have an inexplicable soft spot for a classic post-series made-for-TV movie and this one delivered many of the things I like. First of all, I enjoyed seeing the theme of gender politics from the series updated to 1985, even though, obviously, their take is still way off from my queer 2023 point-of-view. I also really enjoyed seeing Jeannie come out to her son as not being human. Now onward to I Still Dream of Jeannie!

I Still Dream of Jeannie (1991)

As with I Dream of Jeannie…Fifteen Years Later, this made-for-TV movie is very much up my alley, but I think I preferred the 1985 update to this 1991 version. Still, it was interesting to hear references to BDSM vis-a-vis the genie master thing for the first time, and it continued to be interesting to see Jeannie’s interactions with her son. I would’ve watched an entire sequel series based on either of these flicks.

Since I want to keep the central scope of the project of this blog ever in view, I will note that the first of these films occurred during the Showa Era and the second did not.

On Race...

I want to mention here that watching these today reveals so much about the racist conceptions of people from the Middle East-North Africa region that dominated US thought at the time. Both of these films contained a few Farsi language lines that bring that so clearly to the fore.

There is a part of me that, watching this from after 9/11, finds this kind of anti-MENA racism almost quaint compared to what we've seen more recently. But, of course, you can't have what we have now if the kinds of ideas about these parts of the world didn't come first.

#i dream of jeannie #i still dream of jeannie #かわいい魔女ジニー #i dream of jeannie... fifteen years later #race and racism #mena

[thekaijudude]

Naga Ghidorah Zarla (after using her Alpha Call) vs 10 Godzilla Earths. Who wins?

Also, for reference, the Titan-Class Kaiju I mentioned are all basically just more powerful versions of Showa Universe Ultra Kaiju that are styled after the Monsterverse’s Titans.

Anyway, as always, I’ve sent you Naga Ghidorah Zarla’s abilities in DMs.

Oh shi, this might be out of my field of expertise cause I didnt even bother watching City on the Edge of Battle and Planet Eater and only watched the first because I rmb that I felt so scammed that there wasnt any actual MG in the 2nd movie that I just didnt care about watching the rest of the trilogy in its entirety lmao (tho I did saw the fight scenes)

Tho since u specifically brought up Mebius PB for powerscaling purposes, Id urge you to be rather careful with using him for any sort of powerscaling. Cause in the only 2 instances we saw this fusion in canon, his demonstration isnt actually representative of his actual power level as it isnt a “pure” duo fusion as its amped by also fusing with the 5 other Crew GUYS members, giving a pretty ridiculous amp.

Cause even if we assume that Alien Empera has not grown in power since 30 000 years ago when he basically one-shot both Ken and Belial (whom were both ~130 000 years old at the time) using the same calculation, and essentially lowballing Alien Empera to 130 000 yo Ken + Belial, this gives Empera’s power level to be at least 2x10^36 NG, and rmb, this is a LOWBALL.

Thus, this means that PB is amped by 1.33x10^34 times since his base is just at 150 NG. (Ye im also accouting for the Specium Redoublizer here because ive seen people still include as part of PB's "feats" even tho they shouldnt, but it still dosent matter in this case since in the final battle of Mebius, everyone was literally wanked up to kingdom come)

So, I’m just gonna go ahead and assume that you’re referring PB base, at 150 NG cause otherwise you’re essentially asking whether something can essentially beat a 34-way ultra fusion, which for all intents and purposes, unless its the Legendary Ultras/Absolutian Lord/Reiblood himself etc, I’d say that no one can at this point. 

But otherwise, I think your Ghidorah’s abilities are still far too broad and too ambiguous. Lets just run over why with Alpha Call first. When you elaborated that the “Titan-Class Kaiju I mentioned are all basically just more powerful versions of Showa Universe Ultra Kaiju”, thats a pretty broad term yo. 

Firstly, you’re gonna have to be more specific cause the kaiju powerscaling in the Showa Era is still pretty broad. Like we have your standard Tier 2 kaiju like Gomora, Red King etc, which gets one shot by choju in Ace, which in turn, also gets one shot by kaiju shown in literally episode 1 of Taro. So where exactly are you referring to in the Showa Era kaiju scale?

And secondly, how much stronger compared to the actual Showa kaiju? Cause this would help to scale Godzilla Earth.

Since iirc, Godzilla Earth back in 2030 (when hes still around 50m), was already doing a Final Wars with the present earthian kaiju, which puts him at a reasonable choju level. But him awakening and causing kaiju on the same continent (sorta) to flee is also reminiscent to beings like Maga Tano-Orochi, Greeza etc but in their case, it was apparently a worldwide event. So, by that logic, would Godzilla Earth (50m) threat level is somewhere between a choju (Tier 2-3) to essentially a Tier 4 kaiju, which is still a pretty broad estimate, so I’m gonna try and narrow it further. 

As in the same comparison, you could argue that Earth (50m) was more of a threat than Ultroid Zero because the 5 standard kaiju that showed up still had the balls to try and destroy it before it inevitably became Destrudos. But idk how comfortable I’d feel if I try to classify Earth (50m) higher than a D4 Ray user that literally is able to rip apart a local AOE fabric of space-time, the damage of which would essentially spread. But the Zestium Ray from DRC was able to repair the damage (cant compare the D4 Ray launched by Destudos cause we wont have a fair comparison since DRC didnt do the same with him). So, can we somewhat narrow the estimate to from Tier 2 kaiju to a Super form of a NGH?

But then again, now that I think about it, Ultroid Zero was basically doing the same as Earth (50m) as even without using the D4 Ray, he was literally hunting down 7 standard kaiju which was gonna be used as components for Destrudos.

So at the end of all that, I’d say Earth (50m) would be around a choju level kaiju alr. Going from this base level, a single Godzilla Earth (300m) would easily obliterate standard Tier 2 kaiju.

Tho, if I were to assume that the summoned kaiju would be all be choju level (since you say they’re stronger), you’re essentially asking whether 10 Godzilla Earths (300m) can take on 70 chojus at once. Which tbh shouldnt even be a difficult fight even for a 1v70 imo due to the sheer potency of his physical capabilities alone (Tail Shockwaves that we saw cut through even solid rock formations), not to mention his EM shield + “Burning state” which is literally planet buster. 

So in the end, the summoned 70 kaiju wouldnt even really make a difference in the grand scheme of things

(Also note that when im referring to choju level, im specifically talking about their physical characteristics like power output, strength and durability, not their hax like most of them have like time travelling, light speed based attacks etc)

But the above note is brings up another point of contention due to the ambiguity for Zarla because of your unclarified “stronger than Showa Era kaiju” powerscaling. Because if Zarla can outright mimic the choju or other kaiju’s hax abilities like time travelling etc, then its sort of already an easy win for her?

And I suppose that naturally also brings up the question of which kaijus specifically are gonna show up? It ranges anywhere from Tier 1 kaiju like simply giant animals all the way to kaijus beyond even chojus which a HUGE assortment of abilities, hax or otherwise.

Because there’s so many issues and ambiguity for Alpha Call, its more possible to examine just Zarla (without Alpha Call) against 10 Godzilla Earths.

Which tbh, seems like an overkill.

Because assuming Zarla dosent have an anchor (essentially plot armor) like the one we saw in the movie, didnt Void Ghidorah got clowned on severely? Like iirc a single tail swipe was already able to decapitate one of his heads, and Earth was able to rip off another using his bare hands. And I dont think even a standard Mebium Knight Shoot can compare to a planet buster Red Spiral Atomic Breath.

Tbh 1v1 might already be overkill since the Ghidorah was only ever a threat because he had the anchor? And since you didnt specify it being present with Zarla, nor any other durability changes compared to Void, wouldnt the battle end up pretty much the same???

But if we recall that her version of gravity beams are approximately around Mebium Knight Shoot, then it becomes sorta more competitive.

Recall that 1 NG is enough to completely one shot a Tier 2 fresh kaiju. And iirc, Earth’s EM shield and his base durability dosent really scale with his other prowess (Like Earth was severely wounded by the onslaught from MG city as well as being pierced by harpoons), so he’s essentially glass cannon in base. So I think its perfectly reasonable to assume that his durability isnt gonna stand against a gravity beam that is 150x stronger than an NGH’s finisher. Not to mention from 3 heads.

Unless he goes burning from the get go. But I dont believe we have seen the limits of his durability in this state. But considering that Void was also essentially a glass cannon without the anchor, its essentially down to the cliche glass cannon vs glass cannon battle result

It all falls back to who fires the first shot. Thats for 1v1 Zarla vs Earth (base)

And as said for burning state, while I can definitely agree that his durability has increased, we just dont know by how much exactly. And Zarla having up to a 150x multiplier is far too big of a margin to give the benefit of the doubt to Burning Earth’s durability being able to take the hit. So imo, its still the same glass cannon vs glass cannon matchup with the same result

Thanks for the question!

#godzilla #ultraman #asks

[bellafragolina]

Fun facts about the making of Makoto, and references I use

Did you know that when Legends Arceus first announced I made a lil' doodle of her, which was VERY different because I made her look EXACTLY like her current descendants (Skia and Damian) and her name was Verna

She used to wear a ninja-like attire plus a Gakuran cap, I liked her beta design but when it comes to backstory and her fitting into the setting of PLA I have difficulties, after knowing the stories PLA stored I finally made up my mind about this violent lady and here is Makoto

(Thinking back, I see Zinnia in Verna instead so that's another point to change her)

Now Makoto may not have very notable similarities with her descendants, except for her eyes, but in terms how she acts, yes, see 'em

How I upgrade my PLA OC was me looking at references, her motherly nature were mostly from Yor Forger, and combat abilities came from both Yor and Chuuya Nakahara beauties too. While bubbly personality and street smartness came from my own head, it also referenced to my other Pokemon OCs living in current time Pokeworld

Her origin before being yeeted to Hisui by Arceus is the equivalent of in between Taisho and Showa period, she may remember little to nothing about her world but her being good with kids was because she used to work as a caretaker in an orphanage

Orphans were treated harshly back in Showa period and she's the motherly figure any child could depend on. That's why in Hisui many children love her, on Akari's banishment she dared to taint her reputation and blurt out her origins of falling from the sky, it triggers her instinctive memories

-🦀 anon

God! That’s so interesting to yank her out of not a modern era to put her in hisui! I’ve never even considered that! And it’s making me wonder about her and Akari being sent back to modern sinnoh because that’s where Akari is from and suddenly Makoto is like “👀 what the hell is this shit”

But! What a cute backstory! I love that she worked at an orphanage before, but oh no! She’s disappeared, so what’s happened to those kids?? Do they think she abandoned them?? Are they worried she died or was taken?? Are they okay??

Also, I’d love to see any drawings or picrews(?) you have of her or her descendants!! Beta or otherwise!! She sounds gorgeous <3

~Renee

#OC Makoto #so cool #🦀 anon

[not-buggy]

Since I’m no art thief, I made my own avatar/logo for the streaming account I have planned.

It’s meant to be a cat mermaid. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Forgot to put the dorsal fin lmao.

#10 points to whoever can guess what my channel name is from this image alone. #I can promise it isn't creative. #personal #Fun fact: I learned there are over 20 different classifications of koi fish when making this. #I used the Showa as my point of reference.

[piduai]

Interview with Noda Satoru from the Golden Kamuy fanbook

sharing anywhere is fine, but please credit me.

Q: Tell me how you feel about passing 6 years of serialization. Noda: I was already serializing at the time of my debut, so I guess I’d be able to give a summary when I’m finished. I don’t really think about how many years it’s been, it’s merely a checkpoint.

Q: What made you decide to become a mangaka? Noda: I feel like I wrote it down as my goal in my yearbook back in middle school. I also wanted to become a movie director, but as a mangaka you can create the entire thing by yourself. 

When Golden Kamuy just took off I was living in a tiny apartment and the postman, a young fellow and a reader of Young Jump, realized that I’m Noda Satoru. The magazine was sending me a lot of things, so it was rather obvious. “Are you the author of Golden Kamuy?”, he asked in a surprised tone while looking around the cramped entryway. I could feel feel his confusion regarding the fact that that vast Hokkaido world of the manga was being created in this modest apartment. Or maybe he just expected me to be making more money and afford a better place. Anyhow, I just thought again about how a manga can be created in even the smallest room in the universe.

Q: Who is your favorite character and why? Noda: As always, it’s Tanigaki. But well, I love all of them. I want to showcase only the best parts of them, and it hurts when I fail. For example I’m very happy that there’s a character who stirs the pot as well as Usami. He’d be Katsuo in the world of Sazae-san.  

Q: Which characters are the easiest to draw, and which ones are the most difficult? Noda: Characters like Shiraishi, Tsukishima and Nagakura, they don’t have a lot of hair and even if they turn out a little ugly their faces are well-defined so it’s easy to draw. In general faces that are strongly distorted and resemble caricatures are easy. Meanwhile Asirpa, Kiroranke and Inkarmat have neat facial structures on top of wearing Ainu clothing, so they are a very high-calorie effort for me. Ogata and Kikuta are difficult too. Their faces are distinctive and I have to make them look cool too, which is wearing me out the most.

Q: Have you decided on all 24 convicts at the very start of the story? Noda: Wouldn’t I sound like a badass if I said that that I have? Anyway. There were the ones that were based off real-life Meiji era criminals, such as Shiraishi, Kumagishi Chouan or the lightning couple, and of course there was Hijikata.

Q: Tell me of a funny thing from the manga that you are fond of. Noda: Gansoku’s “Hah! ☆”. And also when Koito Jr. Was flapping his arms and legs around trying to keep himself in mid-air.

Q: Why did you decide on Otaru as the starting point? Noda: I am from Hokkaido, so I’m familiar with Otaru and Sapporo. Otaru is close to both the mountains and the sea. Sapporo used to be a swampland, it’s wide and flat and there is no sea. Otaru is a place where foreigners come and go, there are many criminals roaming around creating danger, and money is found. There aren’t many big cities in Hokkaido. There were Ainu living in Otaru but sources are scarce, however Nakagawa-sensei, the supervisor over the Ainu language, told me not to worry too much about the difference of location, so I figured it would be best to make it Otaru.

Q: Was there any real life experience you had while growing up in Hokkaido that you turned into a scenario? Noda: When I was about 19 someone I knew told me that there is a locust graveyard on a nearby mountain, which sounded so ridiculous I had to laugh in their face. Turns out it indeed was a heap of locusts and their eggs left after a locust plague, that place was the Teineyamaguchi locust mound (a real historical site). I realized I ended up using this in my story. I owe that person an apology.

Q: Was there any scene that was particularly difficult to draw? Could you elaborate on it? Noda: The time Sugimoto went against Nihei and Tanigaki. It gave me a very hard time. Who goes where and does what, how does Nihei carry Asirpa, stuff like this. I had no time to waste either, I just remember that sequence overall driving me insane. 

There was also the sequence with Wilk, Sofia and Kiroranke being at Hasegawa’s photo studio. It’s really frustrating to draw something that you know will bore the readers, the story flow becomes less exciting too. I was praying for everyone to have a little more patience and keep reading, because the twist was so good.

Q: If you were to take part in the gold hunt, which group would you like to belong to? Noda: It seems that Hijikata’s group doesn’t have funding problems, and because Kadokura is there the atmosphere is relaxed too. I’d go there.

Q: If you were to find all that gold, how would you use it? Noda: No idea. Had a couple when I was younger, though.

Q: Were you planning to eventually transfer the action to Sakhalin from the very beginning of the series? Noda: Asirpa and Kiroranke have roots there, so I anticipated that the story will eventually move to Sakhalin. I also expected to have to travel to Amur river myself, but couldn’t go after all, only went as far as Khabarovsk. 

I was thinking of making Sugimoto eat permafrost mammoth. There was talk of a research team or an ivory excavation team’s dog eating mammoth. However there was no reason to make Sugimoto and Co go as up north as needed for permafrost, so I scrapped the idea.

Q: Tell me something about the hardships you experienced while doing research is Sakhalin. Noda: It was tough, but fun. I was only able to understand the clear differences between Nivkh and Orok people by going there; I couldn't by only looking at records and materials while in Japan. 

Complete unrelated, but I was surprised by how many stray dogs wander around there. One time my cameraman and I ended up being chased by one while looking for a factory and we had to run for it. The beast was big, about the size of a German Shepherd. The guide also warned us about junkies, it was really scary.

I also went to the Japanese military pillbox over 50th parallel north and prayed at a cenotaph deep in the mountains. I met a group of Japanese people in the hotel by the place where it's said you can still find remains of Japanese soldiers and their driver, a Russian, seemed to help with collection of the remains on the regular. He said that he's doing it out of reverence, even as a former enemy. As a Japanese, I felt gratitude. The 7th Division are villains in my story, but I don't have any personal bias against either side.

Q: What were the biggest differences between drawing Hokkaido and Sakhalin? Noda: Well... it's Russia. Even though Sakhalin is so close, it's already Europe. The structure of houses is strikingly different. There's also the differences between Hokkaido Ainu and Sakhalin Ainu, and differences between Orok and Nivkh people. There is no manga that will conveniently lay the differences of those down for you. 

It seems that the Orok and Nivkh's relation with Japan only got more difficult by the beginning of Showa era, there is only one person in the whole of Japan who can supervise on the Orok language. The professors in cultural studies I consult for Golden Kamuy are truly top-level; not only are they tremendously knowledgeable, they also understand how important to me is to stay impartial.

The wildlife, as well. There's a biogeographical boundary between Hokkaido and Sakhalin, observing animals I would never be able to see in Hokkaido was riveting. 

Q: Did Sugimoto really have a hidden plan during the whole stenka business? Noda: No idea. Even if he used it as a pretext to get everyone involved, though... cut him some slack. He's only a man. Sometimes he just wants to fight and win. Not for Ume-chan or Asirpa-san, just for the sake of proving to himself that he's strong.

Q: Your art is dynamic and detailed. I think your style changed quite a bit with time, though. How would you describe yourself as an artist? Noda: I want to preface this by saying that in no way do I think of myself as more skilled than other mangaka, but if you're drawing everyday for more than 10 hours you're going to improve a lot eventually, whether you want it or not. People who are able to keep the same style for years without change are the ones who are impressive, because it means that they achieved the peak of their potential. Ageing and health problems influence your art a lot, you know. I try to draw by observing. I use a lot of references. Drawing by memory alone is not a good thing.

Speaking of other artists, I once had one of the assistants I had working for me for years draw me a door knob from memory, and the result was a truncated cone resembling pre-packaged pudding. The actual shape of a door knob has an intricately angular circular shape. It's the result of being unobservant in everyday life. Good art requires constant observation.

Q: What was the foundation for your style? Is there an artist you were influenced or inspired by? Noda: Araki Hirohiko-sensei, for sure. During my time as an assistant, many authors told me to not even try to be original when it comes to battle abilities, it's already been done in JoJo, it has it all. He's kind of the Beatles of this industry, isn't he? 

By the way, I usually have no intention of parodying JoJo in Golden Kamuy, but my friends will tell me that they identified this or that reference from time to time. I read Part 1 about 30 years ago but I was obsessed, so maybe some things were just left in my subconscious. I only did one obvious parody, during the stenka fight. Funnily enough that trope started in Fist of the North Star, though, not JoJo.

Q: What's one thing that gives you the most motivation to write? Noda: Fan letters. I know how straining it is to write long and neat sentences by hand, and am thankful for them. I'm happy that people go that far to share their thoughts about my work with me. I'm really grateful to the people who keep reading and supporting Golden Kamuy.

Q: Did you have an interest in Ainu culture before starting the series? Noda: I did not. I'll be glad if my work makes people interested in the Ainu. Prejudice is born out of ignorance, so if you want to learn about the Ainu, don't limit yourself to Hokkaido only; there are museums all around Japan, and they have knowledgeable curators. It's important to remember to take into account the time period and the occupation of the person on which the research materials are based when you're trying to learn about the subject.

Q: You showed us a lot of aspects of life during Meiji and Taisho eras. Tell us about what surprised or impressed you in the process of research. Noda: It's not that I was particularly knowledgeable, so having to check every single thing was quite exhausting. The Ainu, the military, katanas - all of these needed research on my part. 

There are more regulations and rules set for things out there than one could assume, and mangaka who base their works on real life need to be especially careful about this. You have to take into account things like the size of the buttons on a military uniform, how a tea cup is held, and and how different people talk in different ways. For movies there's staff working on costumes and props, there's the cast, there are screenwriters, but in a manga you are the one responsible for every single detail. I wish I had a time machine and travel back to those eras. There are things I couldn't get right here and there that I keep having regrets about.

Q: Golden Kamuy was the main visual in the British Museum manga exhibition between May and August in 2019. I know you went there in person. How was it? Noda: The trip felt like a reward for all of my efforts. The exhibition is jam-packed by opening time, but I got special treatment and they let me inside early in the morning so I could walk around the vast British Museum in solitude. I also travelled between Jack the Ripper's crime scenes at night by taxi.

The driver in a taxi I caught by chance was wonderful, she looked up photos of the crime scenes and surroundings taken at the time of investigation on her smartphone and showed them to me one by one, saying things like "the third victim was found here!". 

I've always had a soft spot for Jack the Ripper, back in middle school I even wrote a screenplay for a school festival stage and played him in it myself. It was done in very poor taste, like that one scene in the Addams Family movie where there are arms blown away and fountains of blood gushing out. The audience loved it. 

Q: Please leave a message for the readers. Or maybe some advice for the troubled youth. Noda: I want people to say that everyone in Golden Kamuy had a satisfying ending, and I want that for everyone involved more than anything. As for advice for the troubled youth, there's none. Life is survival of the fittest. The weak ones get eaten.

#golden kamuy #noda satoru #translation #i feel burnt out