By Brian Scherschel
And the countdown begins.
Mark your calendars. Only 5 weeks until G-Day! The premiere of Episode 1 of Kaijuvision Radio will be on Wednesday, September 20th at noon (Eastern). We will release episodes weekly at the same time.
I tell the hosts of WonderBury, Dave Wonderly and Brian Keesbury, about our exciting plans as we approach our premiere day. We conducted the interview at Kaijuvision Radio HQ.
The WonderBury podcast can be found at www.wonderbury.com.
The Lucky Dragon No. 5 today. (Image courtesy of Wikipedia).
Every Godzilla fan knows the story of the Lucky Dragon No. 5 (Daigo Fukuryu Maru). It was a fishing vessel that was exposed to nuclear fallout from the Castle Bravo test. While it was outside the predicted danger zone, the H-bomb detonated by the U.S. on the Bikini Atoll was far more powerful than expected, and on March 1, 1954, the 23-man crew of the ship were contaminated by the radiation. All of them suffered radiation poisoning and one died.
This event was fresh on the minds of the creative team at Toho working on Gojira. It’s why the film opens with a scene of a fishing vessel being destroyed by a blinding flash, which turns out later to have been Godzilla, and why it was implied that Godzilla was awakened and mutated by American H-bomb tests.
The Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun was recently granted a rare chance to tour the inside of the now 70-year-old ship, which was decommissioned in 1967 and later moved in 1976 to the Yumenoshima district of Tokyo’s Koto Ward and preserved in a museum in the Daigo Fukuryu Maru Exhibition Hall. They took several photos and 360-degree images of the boat. You can view them here.
To this day, the ship remains a symbol of the anti-nuclear movement in Japan. Along with the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II, this was one of the most potent and palpable examples of the “nuclear curse” on Japan. It was a demoralizing blow to the Japanese psyche, which was suffering other repercussions from nuclear tests at the time, such as contaminated fish being caught in their waters. It wasn’t until the 3/11 disasters, which included the Fukushima meltdown, that Japan suffered as large a nuclear-related incident. These led to an increase in distrust of nuclear power and the shutdown of many nuclear plants. This is problematic given that Japan is in desperate need of domestic energy sources since, being an island nation, they have to import most of them.
You might think it’s crazy, then, that anyone in Japan would want to preserve a ship that reminds them of this “curse.” I think the Japanese do it for that very reason. It allows them a means to look back on their past and remember their convictions. These events have made indelible marks on their history and culture, and they can’t afford to forget them.
By Brian Scherschel
Our first G-Fest has come and gone! We had a great experience. Thankfully, there were two of us so we were able to split up and cover the panels and other events during the three-day show.
First, during the “Mothra Mania” panel on Friday, we were surprised by a great performance by two cosplayers who sang “Mothra’s Song” as the Shobijin, Mothra’s twin fairies.
There were costumes and cosplayers in abundance during the convention.
We attended the costume contests, which featured some really impressive entries.
It was fun to see all of the films at the Pickwick Theatre. Watching the movies with a huge group of fans was different than watching them with a general audience. They would cheer and applaud at key moments like when a kaiju or favorite actor first appeared, or when Godzilla defeated his foe.
The Pickwick Theatre, built in 1928 in Park Ridge, Illinois
The films offered this year were “King Kong vs. Godzilla” (1963 International Version), “Dragon Wars: D-War” (2007), “Godzilla X Megaguirus” (2000), “Godzilla” (2014), “Kong: Skull Island” (2017), and “Shin Godzilla” (2016).
The Pickwick Theatre marquee
Because I’m a violinist who has great admiration for her work, I opted to meet the very talented composer Michiru Oshima, who wrote the music for “Godzilla X Megaguirus” (2000), “Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla” (2002), and “Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.” (2003).
Brian Scherschel (left)
Composer Michiru Oshima (right)
Nathan met headlining G-guest Shinji Higuchi, the co-director and special effects director for “Shin Godzilla” (2016).
Most noteworthy, Nathan was also asked to join “The Art of Kaiju Writing” panel about writing kaiju fiction.
We also both met Robert Scott Field, who played the android M-11 in the film “Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah” (1991). Since he lives in Osaka, he was able to give fans, including myself, information about what’s been happening lately in his adopted country at his “Japan Update” panel.
Here are pictures from some of the G-Guests we saw. It’s awesome that they traveled to the U.S. to visit with us and tell us about their Godzilla experiences.
Archie Waugh (left)
Assistant film director Kazuhiro Nakagawa (middle)
Actor and translator Robert Scott Field (right)
Actor and translator Robert Scott Field (left)
Suitmation actor, actor, and stunt performer Ryuki Kitaoka (middle)
Host of Kaijucast Kyle Yount (right)
It’s only been a few days since the convention, and Nate misses it already, while I’m getting caught up on rest.
Now my mind is buzzing with ideas about how to continue to make this podcast even better after all we learned and experienced last weekend.
by Nathan Marchand
If a kaiju appeared in a city, I bet it’d make you more likely to visit it. Any self-respecting kaiju fan probably would.
Crazy, right?
Well, that’s what the cities of Kita-Kyushu and Shimonoseki in the Yamaguchi Prefecture have been doing for several months. To promote tourism to their cities, they released an online video featuring a kaiju emerging from the Kanmon Straits, which separates the islands of Honshu and Kyushu. Here’s the video:
The bizarre creature is composed of local specialties found in nearby waters, like pufferfish and octopuses, and is supposed to be a reincarnation of the Heikegami, a Japanese crab, which is said to be possessed by the fallen warriors of the Heike clan defeated at the Battle of Dan-no-ura in 1185. (This sounds easily similar to Godzilla’s origin in GMK, doesn’t it?) In other words, it’s packed full of local flavor. (Personally, in distant shots, I think the creature almost looks to have an unmasked Predator face).
The video was originally done in English so as to draw international attention, but it was also subtitled into several other languages.
The creature is humorously defeated by the water current because the Kanmon Straits have one of the fastest tides in the world, with speeds up to 10 knots (about 12 mph). Not only that, but the special effects team that worked on Toho’s latest Godzilla film, Shin Godzilla, created the effects in this promotional short.
While this technically isn’t Godzilla, it’s certainly a byproduct of the longstanding kaiju tradition started by the original 1954 film Gojira. So, these cities are vicariously tapping into Godzilla to promote tourism. It’s also an expression of Japan’s “gross national cool” (or “Cool Japan”). This was a term coined by Douglas McGray in Foreign Policy magazine in 2002. As Japan’s pop culture—J-pop, manga, anime, etc.—has infiltrated other nations and exploded in popularity, it has created an appealing image for its native country while also being quite profitable. The Japanese government has sought to use this “soft power” (indirect influence through cultural or ideological means) for economic growth. To bring it back to the kaiju video, the fact that this short was intended to be seen internationally shows how prominent and widespread the kaiju culture is and how closely it’s tied to “Cool Japan.” In other words, it’s an international cultural touchstone. Godzilla and kaiju still remain relevant.
You can learn more about the short film here.
by Nathan Marchand
Brian and I will be attending G-Fest XXIV July 14-16 in Rosemont, Illinois at the Crowne Plaza Hotel O’Hare Chicago. We won’t be in the dealers’ hall, though. We’re technically going as regular ol’ attendees, but we’ll be talking up the podcast and getting to know everyone. We’re not sure if we’ll have episodes posted by then, but we’re hoping to meet future listeners while we’re there.
What’s G-Fest? Well, as the convention’s website puts it:
G-FEST is the largest regular gathering of Godzilla and Japanese monster fans in the world. Held each summer, it typically attracts more than 1,000 attendees, but has seen a gradual increase in attendance over the past few years. G-FEST 2014 was the most successful convention to date, bringing in about 3,000 Japanese science fiction and fantasy film fans!
In other words, it’s a “comic-con” that’s strictly for kaiju fans.
This year’s guests include composer Michiru Ōshima, who scored several Millennial Godzilla films including Godzilla x Megaguirus; director and special effects director Shinji Higuchi, who most recently worked on Shin Godzilla; actor Ryuki Kitaoka, whose many acting credits include Godzilla: Final Wars; assistant director Kazuhiro Nakagawa, who also worked on Shin Godzilla, among other things; director Kiyotaka Taguchi, who directed the special effects on many Millennial Godzilla films; actor Robert Scott Field, who played Android M-11 on Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah; and comics industry veteran Tony Isabella.
Along with the many panels and events going on that weekend, there will special screenings of six kaiju films at the nearby Pickwick Theatre, though most of those will be July 13, the day before the convention kicks off. Watch the trailer below to see what films will be playing.
It’s safe to say that Brian and I will be taking as many opportunities to see these films in a theater since most of these we haven’t experienced that way. Feel free to hit us up before, after, or between screenings!
I’ve been a regular con-goer for a five years now, but this will be Brian’s first time at such an event and the first time either of us have attended G-Fest, so we’re excited.
You can learn more about the convention on its website here.
See you there, G-Fans and kaiju lovers!