Mega Monster Madness

So, everyone pretty much knows I'm a Japanese monster junkie. I love Godzilla and all his kin-- but I'm finding more and more that I like Ultraman more than almost anything else. I've only ever seen the first series of Ultraman-- I watched it in reruns as a kid, and I bought the recent release of the series on DVD from Mill Creek Entertainment (you should definitely go pick this up... it is a steal at $9 from Wal-Mart or $9.49 from Overstock.com). There have been about a bazillion Ultraman series since the original, but each one tries its best to stay in continuity-- there are flubs here and there, but what over 40 year old franchise doesn't have a few glitches? I am only recently learning the history of the series and about the many heroes and monsters that have popped up over the years. I make mention of this for a very specific reason.

I just saw the most EPIC Ultraman movie ever made.



This is Daikaijū Batoru Urutora Ginga Densetsu Za Mūbī

Which translates to Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy Legend The Movie. Try saying that fast ten times.

My first exposure to this film was when my good friend Spencer told me about a rather interesting Ultraman character by the name of "Belial." I had heard the name Belial before, in reference to a demon in the Bible-- he's supposed to be one of the princes of Hell. When I heard there was an Ultraman monster named after a prince of Hell, I was kinda freaked out! I had to find out more about this thing! Spencer tipped me off to this YouTube video trailer of the movie:



Needless to say, after seeing that trailer I HAD to track down a copy of the movie. Doing so wasn't easy, because it hadn't had a wide release at the time we were yacking about it, so i kind of put it on the back burner for a long, long time.

And then, just last week I found it. Bandai Visual released the movie with English subtitles, so i could finally see this crazy movie so many people on the internet were gushing about.

What did I think of it? Well, let's see...


The plot's pretty simple: When an evil exiled Ultraman named Belial returns for his vengeance against the society that cast him out, there's hell to pay. Belial takes the artificial sun that gives the Ultramen their power, and only the combined efforts of a few remaining Ultras, a plucky bunch of humans, and another exiled Ultraman can prevent Belial from ruling the universe with his army of 100 giant monsters.

Sounds kinda fun? Well it is a BUTTLOAD of fun... with some conditions.

1. You must understand that Japanese sci-fi movies are budgeted far below even the average Hollywood action movie. This means that special effects are usually done on a comparative shoestring, and studios often use cheaper CGI stuff that doesn't look as sophisticated as the stuff most American audiences are used to seeing. That said, what they did with what they had was pretty darn great. One thing I love about Japanese movies is the enthusiasm they have for just going out and making a darn movie. "We don't have the budget to make a mechanical dinosaur monster that is 30 feet tall and breathes flames." "No problem! We'll just spray paint some trash bags green and slap them on Dan from accounting! The kids will love it!" You gotta love that can-do spirit!

2. This movie is ALL OVER THE PLACE. If you're one of those unlucky saps who can't keep up with a movie that flips from location to location rapidly, this movie is definitely not for you.

3. This movie is ALL OVER THE PLACE. No, I'm not repeating myself... in this instance I'm referring to the plot. It doesn't go into a lot of back story initially, so you kind of have to roll with the punches for a while. Eventually they give you a crasher course in all things Ultra, but sometimes it's really easy to get lost. It helps to know a bit about the Ultraman universe before you watch the movie, because there are literally a billion Ultramen in this movie. Seriously. There are even Ultra chicks in this movie. And Ultra children. If I'm lying, I'm dying. And because they all pretty much look like the same guy, it's REALLY hard to keep up with who is being beaten to death by Belial at any given moment. (And yes... I know that you, just like me, will look in EVERY scene to see if the original Ultraman is in there.) It helps to go online and do a bit of research as to who everyone is. It's not necessary to the enjoyment of the movie, but when you start griping to me about not being able to tell one guy from the other, don't say I didn't warn you.

4. Japanese actors are REALLY enthusiastic. This is one of those things you either love or hate. I love it-- I would seriously hug anyone who worked on this movie, because they looked like it was about the most fun thing in the world to do besides farting in the bathtub. I know you do it. No need to lie about it... sinner.

5. Japanese movies are more about themes than the details. This pretty much means that if you watch a Japanese movie and get the main idea behind it, you had a successful viewing experience. If you sat there and tried to figure out every little detail and tried to figure out the science behind this and that, you have just achieved epic fail. It's like trying to watch Alvin and the Chipmunks and then write a thesis on the adverse effects of cinnamon on the livers of Chipmunks. Translated: Japanese movies are really weird and kinda goofy, and you'll get nowhere trying to figure out all the quirky stuff. Get used to it.

OK... so.. was the movie good? YES. The movie made me feel like I was 5 years old again. It's not a particularly original or deep story, but it's done really well for what it is. Like I said before, the CGI is not great CGI (there are shots of spaceships and stuff that look like bits from video games), but they never really try to pretend that it is... it's just another way they have of telling a larger than life story. Once you get into the movie it's really not distracting, because you start digging the heroes right away. If you have a beef with moral absolutes, this movie isn't going to be your bag, because the Ultraman code is all about right and wrong. But in that service to justice, these big guys are willing to give their all. The movie deals with themes of honor, justice, sacrifice, respect, family, and redemption. I really didn't expect that going in, after having read several reviews online. Most people get hung up on the fact that the movie is 90 minutes long and has a lot of fighting. Well, duh, Sherlock... it's a freaking Ultraman movie. Ultraman fights monsters... it's his day job and his part time job he keeps on the side. Did people honestly expect a 2 hour rom-com with Ultraman trying to woo Jennifer Love Hewitt while simultaneously trying to impress his boss at his new office job? (admittedly, this is a movie I'd probably watch).

Yes, the movie is a long, relentless battle, but that's kind of the point. The Ultras live to protect the innocent. They'll die doing that. They don't care who it is they are protecting either, as long as they are unable to defend themselves. When you take up the job as the defender of the universe, you never get a vacation. Heck... you don't even rate a staycation.

There's an underlying theme in the movie about the allure of absolute power. I really like how they deal with the fact that the actual power itself isn't the corrupting part... it's the willingness to disobey everything one knows to be good and true to obtain it. It implies that the problem was with the seeker in the first place as opposed to the sought after item. The power in this case has the potential to be extremely positive-- it is just the decision of the user as to which ends he will use it.

Nothing in the movie really seems like a throw away item... all the parts make sense to the story, and even the humans, who normally make monster movie fans groan, play a significant and welcome role in the film. They are our ticket to understanding what the heck is going on. When the main human character stands there slack jawed like we are when we watch the movie, you can bet there's about to be a helping portion of exposition. But it's always right at the time you need it... it never becomes annoying or unwanted. That's a tough feat to pull off.

There are some things that don't really make sense timing-wise and a few things that happen way too conveniently, but anymore that's the norm in movies. I'm not saying it's a good thing... it's just there. I'm sure someone could explain to me why a certain character pops up EXACTLY when he's needed in one particular scene, but I know that person would be pulling the explanation right out of his butt. It's just one of those things, I guess.

Would I recommend this movie? Not to certain people. If you're looking for an Oscar-worthy film, I'd tell you not to watch it. If you are looking for a kick-butt, sci-fi action movie that has lots of cool looking good-guys, crazy looking bad-guys, some of the most insane martial arts wire-work you've ever seen, and a really good moral -- then YES. I couldn't recommend it any higher.

You know... a twisted, freakish lump in my brain kinda wishes that a big Hollywood studio would take the Ultraman franchise and make a really nicely-crafted special effects masterpiece, but the rest of my brain went on a bloody rampage and killed that malignant pustule for having a really bad idea. Hollywood would suck the very life from Ultraman and spit out a shiny, polished, industrial-strength turd of a movie starring Ryan Reynolds as the wise-cracking, foul-mouthed Ultraman, who, of course, looks like Ryan Reynolds with a silver CGI costume.

You laugh... that's exactly what it would look like.

Give me my goofy old Ultraman any day of the week!

Best part of the movie? When Hayata (played by Susumu Kurobe, the actor who played him in the original Ultraman series) lifts the Beta Capsule into the air and the Ultraman theme music plays for a brief few seconds. I was literally squealing with geek joy.




You know... it really doesn't take much to keep me happy does it?

Mixed-up Monsters!!!

A lesson about eBay and carefully researching the items up for bid:

I won an auction for a 7 inch tall "Bandai" Godzilla from Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack. The only similar sized figure of the GMK Godzilla that Bandai put out in Japan was the 9 inch standard scale figure. It looks a little something like this:



That particular figure is pretty darn popular among Godzilla collectors. The fact that I won it for a lot less than it was currently worth tickled me pink. When I got the package in the mail today... I noticed it was a good bit smaller than I expected. I figured the guy was guestimating the size when he said 7 inches... he was. Turns out he was guestimating that it was made by Bandai as well.

This is what I got in the mail:



Turns out that this is the X-Plus rotocast GMK Godzilla figure.

It's not a bad Godzilla figure at all... as a matter of fact, it's a VERY nice figure. It's just not the one I had hoped I had won. I went back and looked at the auction and realize that the figure in the picture is the one I got in the mail... it just wasn't a very clear picture, and I was excited to find it at such a low, low price. Turns out I paid exactly what this figure usually runs for on clearance at most stores. So I'm not horrible disappointed... I'll eventually find the Godzilla figure I was looking for, but i hope this is a lesson to all those folks who are hunting for deals on eBay: know your stuff and assume the seller doesn't. I don't think the guy was intentionally trying to scam anyone. He didn't seem to be a Godzilla expert or anything, and he had a lot of other Godzilla figures for sale that were Bandai figures. I think he just assumed it was the same thing.

The figure is a nice, well-sculpted piece that looks JUST like the costume in the movie. The paint apps are extremely nice-- a LOT nicer than the paint apps on any of my Bandai figures. It's not so much a figure as it is a statuette... it has 1 point of articulation that isn't really a joint... he comes with his tail detached and the junction allows for a tiny bit of rotation. Overall a very nice addition to my shelf, and at the price i got him I can live quite comfortably with him. He fits right in with my smaller scale Godzilla figures.





A shot comparing him with the other 6 inch figures:




I'll still wind up giving the seller a positive, because he packaged it well and shipped it out as fast as humanly possible. I'm going to send him an email and let him know there was a mistake in the listing, though, because I know some collectors are not as easy to please as I am, and he could get damaging feedback in the future for similar mistakes. I know it was his responsibility as a seller to know what he was selling, but I just don't feel like he deserved a negative. I know what it's like being a seller.

So let this be a lesson... be aware of what you are bidding on and don't be afraid to ask questions!!! I usually do, but I let excitement get the best of me.

Godzilla gets his nails did.

Regular readers will recall that I recently purchased a bootleg Bandai Godzilla figure.



I was torn about the figure: the vinyl color and the paintjob were goofy and very "bootleggish," but the sculpt was exceptional. If it had a goofy looking sculpt, I would have kept it as is for the LOL factor. As it was, I couldn't stand to see such an awesome sculpt go withought a better paintjob. So... well... here ya go:






I tried my best to bring out the sculpt with some drybrushing and washes. I hope I did the Big G justice.[/quote]

Godzilla's big, "special" brother...

So I went to the mailbox today, and jammed into the box was a manilla envelope that was tied shut with a string.

A string. You heard me correctly: a string.

No adhesive on the flap.

Minimal padding inside the envelope.

Nothing but a badly beat-up envelope with something I have been waiting three weeks to get.

Let me backtrack a bit. Three weeks ago I found a seller on Ebay who was selling 8 inch (standard size) Godzilla figures. He had a lot of them, and they were CHEAP. That only means one thing: BOOTLEGS!!! I did some research and figured out that this was a rather common bootleg that has been popping up now and again from China. It is based on the Godzilla from Godzilla: Tokyo SOS, the movie where he has a rematch with Mechagodzilla and fights Mothra in the process. Great flick. Great Godzilla design. You can tell it's that specific one, because he has the scarred-up chest from his first battle with Mechagodzilla in Godzilla against Mechagodzilla. Anyway, I'm not really a stickler for things being authentic as long as they look pretty decent, and there's no way on earth I'm going to pass up a standard scale Godzilla toy for 13 bucks (with free shipping).

Flash forward to today. Manilla envelope. String. No padding.

I'm honestly lucky I got my figure.



On to the actual figure itself: It is.... FANTASTIC. The mold is the exact same as the Bandai mold, so it's a really good-looking figure. When I got it out of the package it was flat. Flat as a fritter. Evidently the package had been under some boxes during its trip here. I wasn't too worried, because I had heard horror stories about warped vinyl and how to fix it. I whipped out a hair dryer and within about 20 minutes I had a fully restored Godzilla. He was packed in three pieces: the main body and two tail sections. I had to heat those up as well to make them fit the body. The first thing I noticed after getting him was that he was really freakin heavy! He's made out of hard vinyl, which I was not expecting at all. It's rock-hard-- a lot more firm than anything I've ever had. I have an older authentic Godzilla from Japan, and he's pretty stiff, but this guy is like a hammer. It might be crappy vinyl, but I'm not overly concerned. That just makes him more dangerous!





He stands 8 inches tall and is 17.5 inches long from the tip of his nose to his tail. He's pretty darn impressive looking next to my 6 inch Godzilla figures.





He's articulated at the neck, the shoulders, the hips, and the tail. He has the standard side to side arm articulation that my friend Krakit likes to call, "Wiping the bar off." articulation! Hee hee!





The paint is just horrible. He's molded in a mint green colored vinyl and he has a VERY sloppy spray of Pepto-Bismal pink on his dorsal fins. His eyes are not as sloppy, but he has a bit of the Marty Feldman look going on. He has yellow teeth which are painted fairly well. His fingernails and toenails are sprayed bright white. He's so horribly cheap looking that I have to love him. I'll probably wind up painting him how I want him to look, but that's half the fun!



I love the figure, but I'm not very fond of how the packaging and shipping was handled.

I don't think I'll post the name of the seller on here, but if anyone wants to know who to avoid, ask me and I'll give it to you. The figure may be great, but it's a minor miracle I actually got it.

There are some more folks selling these bootlegs on Ebay in case anyone wanted to get one, as it's a very nice figure... with some work.

It came from Japan!

Aha! A box from Hobby Link Japan! I wonder what could be inside???? I better grab a knife to open it!


WHA???!!??!?!??!!!


What's going on????


NOTHING CAN CONTAIN THE MIGHT OF JET JAGUAR!!!!!


NOTHING!!!!!!!!!


JETTO JAGA!!!!!!!!!!!


One of my earliest memories from childhood was watching Godzilla movies on Saturday afternoons with my brothers. The youngest of my brothers is 13 years older than me, so I saw a lot of horror movies before I was old enough to even go to school. I loved every minute of it, and my parents would even let my brothers get me up late at night on Saturday nights to watch old horror and science fiction movies with them. I was a horror/sci fi junkie from day one!

One of my favorite Godzilla movies was Godzilla vs. Megalon. I loved Godzilla anyway, but this movie featured a new player on the side of the good guys: Jet Jaguar! Evidently Jet Jaguar was the result of a contest held by Toho Studios where kids could send in ideas for the next big Toho movie monster star. Jet Jaguar, originally called Red Arone, was the winning entry and Toho planned a movie called Jet Jaguar vs. Megalon, but added Godzilla to the mix, fearing Jet Jaguar didn't have star power enough to carry a movie on his robotic shoulders. I tend to disagree, because Jet Jaguar is AWESOME!!!!

I ordered this figure from Hobby Link Japan about two weeks ago, and he arrived yesterday. He's a 6 inch vinyl Movie Monsters series figure from Bandai. I've only ever bought one other Godzilla figure directly from Japan, but I don't plan on this being the last one. Japanese vinyl is just some of the cleanest, most well-sculpted vinyl in the world. At $7.64 this was a pretty good deal, considering the same figure regularly sells on eBay for around $20.00 before shipping.



Every detail is present, from the antenna port on the top of his head to the simulated folds in the fabric that made up the costume the actor wore in the movie!



He's articulated in 3 points-- his shoulders and his waist-- but kaiju figures aren't really known for their extreme poseability.



The paintjob is superb! Very little slop, and the areas where red transitions to yellow are blended with an airbrushing of color.



Overall I am very, very, VERY happy with my new addition to my small but growing kaiju collection!

Oh no, there goes Tokyo!

On the way back from DragonCon I stopped at Toys R Us to see if there were any good things on clearance. There weren't. >:(

I did, however, snag this extremely cool guy for 16.99:



MechaGodzilla (or Kiryu, as he's known to our Japanese friends) stands about 12 inches tall and is made of rotocast vinyl. He has 5 points of articulation (head, arms, waist, and tail), but makes up for lack of articulation with a neverending supply of solid awesome.



You really can't beat that price, as most 12 inch vinyl kaiju figures (that's what they call giant monsters in Japan) from Japan will set you back easily twice that price. Heck, some 4 inchers can run you 40 bucks. Import fees are a mohfoh!



He looks great on a shelf, and looks even better menacing tiny figures.



As you can see here, he has already made fast friends with Reverse Pheyden from Onell Design.



At any rate, I love my Mechagodzilla, and I now want the Godzilla to go along with him. Too bad I live pretty far from the nearest Toys R Us, because that's about the only place you can find these guys!