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Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Thank You And Happy New Year!


As the year comes to a close I look back to see all the cool kaiju stuff that has happened this year. We got a great movie Pacific Rim and now we are ramping up for another with Godzilla. We have had a ton of toys from X-Plus, S.H. MonsterArts, and NECA of so many kaijus. We have continued to get some great Godzilla comics from IDW. And then there is this blog, viewership has been incredible well over 10 times last year and growing with hopefully more cool goodies to come. I want to thank you all, wish you all a Happy New Year, and I look forward to another great year of kaiju greatness! - Mike aka Godmera: Champion of the World.

Monday, December 30, 2013

The World Ends, Godzilla Begins


A Japanese banner revealed the tag line unsure if it's just for Japan or for other markets as well.

Sunday, December 29, 2013

CREATURE FEATURE : Deep Sea Monsters Reigo And Raiga


Reigo appears in Reigo: The Deep-Sea Monster vs. the Battleship Yamato (深海獣レイゴー Shinkaijū Reigō) is a 2005 independent tokusatsu film by Shinpei Hayashiya. Veteran artist Keita Amemiya designed the titular monster. The film's original working title was Reigo vs. Yamato (レイゴー対大和 - Reigô tai Yamatô).
The film, set in World War II, depicts the story of the real-life Japanese battleship, the Yamato, which is confronted in the Pacific Ocean by giant monsters, including the most fearsome of them all, Reigo.


Raiga first appeared in the film Raiga: Deep Sea Monster. He resembles Godzilla, Titanosaurus and Zedus.
Nature, normally is fair and equal. It gives and it takes. Peaceful through and through. Only when gravely disturb does nature show it's destructive side. And when side is displayed, nightmares, manifest into reality...


Plot (Reigo)
In September 1942, Captain Yamagami (Susumu Kurobe) is ordered to rendezvous the Yamato with the Combined Fleet that is gathering at the Truk Islands (aka Chuuk Islands) in Micronesia, a key strategic point in the South Pacific. With beautiful clear blue skies above and surrounded by coral reefs below, this South Seas paradise became a strong base for the Combined Fleet and the front lines of the naval war; a place where many fierce battles were fought. Decades later, the sea bed surrounding the Truk Islands is still littered with the remains of more than 60 warships and airplanes.
Among Yamagami’s crew are the cantankerous Divisional Officer Noboru Osako (Yukijiro Hotaru) and the young Ensign Takeshi Kaido (Taiyo Sugiura). Unsure of what the future may bring, Kaido went off to war without declaring his intentions for his childhood sweetheart, Chie Kojima (Mai Nanami). He always carries her photo in his coat pocket, while Chie longs for his return to their seaside hometown.
When the Yamato arrives at Truk, the married Osako decides to ease his worries over leaving behind a pregnant wife by sneaking an island woman named Momoka (Yumika Hayashi) aboard ship for some private recreation. But to Osako’s annoyance, Momoka brings along her elderly grandfather (Mickey Curtis) who insists on telling him a local tale about monsters that has been passed down for generations. The disbelieving naval officer is told that the surrounding waters are home to man-sized, carnivorous Bonefishes…and, as dangerous as the fish are, they are nothing more than an “opening act” for an even greater menace; the legendary Hell King of the Seas called Reigo.

The next night, a lookout spots a massive shape half-submerged in the distance. Believing it to be an enemy submarine, the Yamato fires on it and scores a direct hit. Osako is shocked when the object emits a strange cry as it sinks beneath the waves. He reports the incident and the story of Reigo to his commander and shipmates. Unbeknownst to the crew, they have killed the offspring of Reigo.
Not long after that first encounter, a school of luminous Bonefish launch themselves from the water like flying fish and attack a group of soldiers standing watch on the Yamato’s deck. Kaido hears their screams and rushes to the rescue, but finds the men already torn to pieces.
Just as the old man predicted, the Bonefish herald the arrival of Reigo, a beast 80 meters-long and resembling a cross between Godzilla and a shark. Seething with rage at the murder of its cub, the monster attacks the Combined Fleet with incredible ferocity and awesome destructive power. The naval forces are caught off guard, and Reigo is able to destroy escort ships and damage the Yamato before returning to the ocean depths.
The crew quickly regroups and plans a counterattack, but when Reigo returns it manages to stay one step ahead of the Japanese forces. Almost as if it is aware that the Yamato’s main guns are long range weapons which are ineffective up close, the monster attacks at close range or blasts the ships from underwater with blue bursts of electricity.
Thoughts of family and lovers back home… fear at being confronted by an unknown enemy…conflict and confrontation explode among the officers and crew over the best battle strategy to use against the threat of Reigo.
Over Osako’s loud objections, Kaido suggests a last-ditch plan of attack that will either stop Reigo or sink the Yamato. Now the stage is set for a final battle to unfold between the world’s largest battleship and the mysterious dragon-like monster that glides through the seas at will.
Which one will prevail… Reigo or the battleship Yamato?


Powers and Abilities
Lightning: Reigo is capable of summoning vast amounts of lightning from the sky, often using it to supercharge itself or strike its enemies.
Adaptive swimmer.


Plot (Raiga)
With Global warming causing the southern polar ice cap to gradually melt, the effects bring results. Monstrous results. With the disruptance of the ecosystem, sncient descendants of the nightmarish sea beast Reigo, a monster mankind had went into battle against dating back 60 years, are unleashed upon the modern world.
The only instinctive desire in mind was to survive, and take the world that they were reawakened into, establishing their reign as the dominate ruler. Mankind could only watch in horror as these ancient nightmares send their world into the abyss of extinction. Buildings crumbled, citys burned, and lives were torn from loved one. Among the chaos, Defense Corps tried to fight back against the timeless creatures. However even through military means, Defense Corps could not match against such power. Thus their resistance only cost more innocent lives. Though with luck, they were close to stopping one Raiga, however in that Raiga's place, more showed up. Each Raiga finding one another as a threat and enemy, for they all shared the same goal in mind. The battles raged on greatly, fighting relentlessly for territory and dominant rule.
With every battle, human or monster, any other species, there's a selection. The strong, and the weak. The Raigas who fought greatly but were crushed out of existance, were the weak. As the numbers lowered down to just two, the final battle for complete rule began. The Strong versus The Powerful. (Blue) Raiga, vs. The Great Raiga. The battle between the two titans was unnatural, crushing blow after blow, both sides dished out equal punishments to which they had receive from each other. Though after taking hellish attacks from The Great Raiga, it would seem that Raiga would be next to fall. However, summoning the inner strength to continue the fight, Raiga managed to turn the tide with more power than expected. The battle tore away the battlefield, shaking the very foundation of Japan. For the most part, both monsters appeared to be equal in strength, and power. But in the end of all great battles, only one winner can remain standing.
Both ancient demons unleashed their greatest attacks, and within a godly display of power, the fate of the battle was decided. Raiga, had remained. The new god and tyrant of the world. Returning back to the aquatic realm to heal its wounds, Raiga would return one day, return to establish it's reign. Until that time, mankind exhaled a light sigh of relief, the bad dream was over....But the nightmare had only just begun.


Powers and Abilities
Can fire streams of lightning blasts from its mouth.
Able to maniplate and control lightning and electric properties at will.
By raising its electric output from its body, it can create a massive thunderstorm and rain down lightning bolts upon it's desired target.
Able to create and fire a ball of compressed electirc energy from the orb conductor within its palms.
Able to unleash a channeled compressed stream of electricity through the use of both orb conductors within its two hand.
Adaptive swimmer.







Saturday, December 28, 2013

SATURDAY SHOWCASE : Cool Artwork By Tuomas Koivurinne From deviantART

Anguirus

Godzilla

Gorosaurus

Ghidorah

Rodan

Check out all his art here.

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Tuesday Toy Flashback : Godzilla Destroy All Monsters Battlezone


With Christmas tomorrow many fans will have visions of kaiju dancing in there heads in hope that good old St. Nick will bring them some. And while there are a number of kaiju goodies that fans will get, X-Plus, S.H. MonsterArts figures among other things, there is one collectible that I personally wish we kaiju fans would have gotten, the completed Godzilla Destroy All Monsters Battlezone set. The set which was being produced by Far East Monsters Ltd., back in the late 2000's, was a statue series that was to include the battle scene from Destroy All Monsters where all the Toho monsters team-up to battle King Ghidorah, but unfortunately it never happened.
We did get Godzilla and King Ghidorah but never got the rest as Far East Monsters apparently went out of business. It would have been an awesome set each piece was designed to fit together to make one giant scene with lights and sounds for each piece.

There was a prototype for what was going to be the next piece Rodan and a Mothra larvae and a layout showing five more sections after that. But without any word the company disappeared along with hopes of a completed set. I hoped over the years someone would have finished this but no one has, to bad too because it would have been great. Godzilla stands about six inches tall (not counting the base), Ghidorah stands about eight inches tall with a fifteen inch wingspan, both are nicely detailed right on par with figures like S.H. MonsterArts. It could almost be possible to use those to "finish" the display, granted you would need to make bases and finish the Destroy All Monsters logo which parts of came with each section. Maybe hopefully Santa or someone else will give us the rest of this cool set, we can only hope.




Monday, December 23, 2013

Pacific Rim Star Hints Second Film Could Be A Prequel


From Comicbook.com

In a new interview with Empire Magazine, Pacific Rim star Max Martini seems to have suggested that the next installment of the monsters-versus-robots franchise, currently being written by Travis Beacham and co-writer/director Guillermo del Toro, may turn out to be a prequel exploring the backstories of the existing characters, rather than a sequel as previously hinted.
“Working with Guillermo [del Toro] was a highlight, and the green-screen work was new to me,” Martini said of Pacific Rim, adding, “It’s funny, I fell in love with this character [Herc Hansen]. The key component was this relationship I had with my son, exploring the dysfunction and the loss, so where does Herc go from here? I don’t know. It’ll be interesting to see where Guillermo [del Toro] and Travis Beacham take it. I don’t know if it’s a prequel or a sequel, but if it’s a prequel you’ll learn more about Herc’s family history. But Guillermo has such a vivid imagination, it could go anywhere.”
Previous rumors had suggested that the next film could include a “mecha-kaiju,” an evolutionary abomination created by the sacrifice at the end of the first film. If the film were a prequel, that would presumably be off the table–although going a somewhat more character-driven route and reusing designs and concepts that have already been created might be seen as a cost-saving measure considering that the first movie wasn’t the massive hit everyone was hoping for.

For the full Empire Magazine interview click here.

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Muto Musings: Thoughts On Godzilla's Adversaries In The New Film


There has been speculation as to Godzilla's adversaries in next years film, early on director Gareth Edwards suggested there would be other monsters. There was hope for classic foes and new ones alike, then came the trailers and toy listings and we found out there would be a monster called Muto. Then of course we got the viral marketing that popped up, before the official teaser trailer hit, which opened up more questions.

Warning possible spoilers ahead!

I've been thinking about it and here is what I came up with, which may or may not be acurate, but there was a lot of "M.U.T.O sightings" at sinkholes around the world. What if these sinkholes are not just sinkholes but the spots where Mutos burrowed into the ground many centuries earlier. The toy listings state an 8-legged Muto, which like other arachnids, could have burrowed to avoid weather say the ice age. It's possible M.U.T.O discovered them and that could be what they are looking for in the viral pics that surfaced. But that isn't all the toy listings stated a winged Muto as well, could there be a transformation say like a certain other Godzilla foe. Mothra starts out in larve form and transforms into it's adult form, is it possible Muto does the same. While I have no proof any of this is what will happen in the film it does certainly fits the facts we have so far,well in less than five months we shall find out and I'm looking forward to it. 

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Godzilla: Heritage Fan Film

Godzilla Concept Art

There is a Godzilla fan film in the works called Godzilla: Heritage in been in the planning stages for a while but is now starting to take shape. A Godzilla suit is being created and a design for an updated Anguirus who would battle Godzilla in the film. Here is the info from there Facebook page about the project -
Godzilla Suit In Production
Description: From an initial idea formed in late 2009, Godzilla: Heritage's concept has drawn the interest of several talented artists and actors - non-fan and fan alike and is now entering pre-production status. The film seeks to return the Godzilla mythology to its darker roots and ground the character and some of its memorable kaiju in an altered continuity that explores a world where they have been a staple of everyday life for almost 60 years. The project will utilize traditional suitmation and miniatures as well as more contemporary effects. The film is a non-profit project . "Godzilla" and all related character designs are copyright Toho Company, Limited.
Plot Outline: Since Godzilla's first attack in 1954, mankind has been under constant threat from gigantic creatures known as "Superfauna" - animals mutated by the coming of the nuclear age and man's abuse of the atom's destructive power. Humanity was united against a common foe and for almost 60 years, worked collectively to study and combat the creatures as millions died, cities crumbled and the world's economy continued to collapse. Now in 2012, the world seems to finally be bringing the threat under control. Jack Martin is a correspondent for United World News and the grandson of Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Steve Martin, who's riveting coverage of the 1954 raid on Tokyo made him a legend. With his grandfather's shadow always overhead, Jack has spent his career attempting forge his own legacy and in the process, has severally damaged both his reputation and his marriage to family friend, Amaya Ogata. Before leaving the agency, Jack decides to travel to a small pacific island with his life-long friend Mitch Lawrence, who now owns United World News. While the two wait to attend a ground-breaking ceremony for a new UWN building, Godzilla suddenly reappears after nearly 30 years of absence...and he hasn't returned alone. With the King of the Monsters' threat looming, Jack must decide whether to flee or finally embrace his heritage and report the attack as it happens - risking not only his life, but the lives of his best friend and his wife.
Anguirus Concept Art


Godzilla Suit In Production
Production:
Started: 2009
Release Date: Pre-Production
Genre: Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
Studio: Graves Pictures, Empire Films, MTM Studios
Starring: Azumi Tsutsui, Tim Schiefer, Tyler Graves, Rashaad Santiago
Directed By: Gregory Graves
Written By: Tim Schiefer and Gregory Graves
Screenplay By: Tim Schiefer
Produced By: Gregory Graves, Tim Schiefer, Tyler Graves, Rashaad Santiago and Chris Elchesyn
Additional Credits:
Costumes: Kylie Joyner
Creature Concepts: Elden Ardiente (http://ldn-rdnt.deviantart.com/), Sean Sumagaysay (http://seansumagaysay.deviantart.com/)

Facebook pages:
www.facebook.com/GodzillaHeritage
www.facebook.com/gravespictures

Check it out!

Friday, December 20, 2013

S.H. MonsterArts Gigan 2004




Gigan well feature multiple heads and arms along with the usual S.H. MonsterArts features.

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Godzilla Website Updated For 60th Anniversary


The official TOHO Godzilla website has been update for his 60th anniversary with animation and sound, you can make him walk, roar, destroy buildings, and shoot his atomic breath with the right arrow key and "G" key. You can also make Mothra, "M" key, and King Ghidorah, "K" key, appear with sound. I tried other keys but none of the others don't appear to do anything yet. Check it out here.

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Kaiju Addicts Review: X-Plus 30cm Gamera 1999 Figure


With the recent release of X-Plus’ 30cm Series Gamera 1999 we now have all three Heisei turtles represented. And I think it’s safe to say that this is easily the most impressive of the bunch.

I have to admit I was surprised to see Gamera 1999 with such a small head. It didn’t look that way in the movie, did it? Yeah, it did. It’s just a lot more obvious on the figure with no fire and smoke and shadows from the film getting in the way. (This is why I’m worried about upcoming Godzilla 2014 figures with super obvious elephant feet.) Well, small head aside, this is one amazing vinyl!

Not only is this figure a good likeness, it’s pretty big! It stands significantly taller than the Gamera 1995 and especially the Gamera 1996. And without a crouched pose like the other two have to varying degrees, the 1999 figure looks… grand.

One thing I really love about the Gamera figures are the shells. They’re so un-Godzilla-like and shake up the status quo on the X-Plus shelves. The shell on the Gamera 1999 figure is especially impressive. I’m not talking about the sculpt but the suit itself. This time around those armor plates get more jaggy and radiate outward making for a more menacing appearance. And, yes, the sculpt captures that. It’s a shame the wall gets to see it more than I do.

Click here to check out the full review!



Tuesday, December 17, 2013

CLASSIC COMICS : Godzilla King of the Monsters #12

Godzilla King of the Monsters #12
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Date: June 1996

Cover: Bob Eggleton
Penciler: Brandon Mckinney
Inker: Andrew Pepoy
Letterer: Clem Robins
Colorist: Perry Mcnamee
Other: Mark Cox, Mike Richardson
Editor: Randy Stradley
Three hundred years from now there is no war, no conflict - only peace and brotherhood for all mankind. That is, until Professor Mason and his time-traveling army show up with Godzilla in tow! Mason has come to rob the future in order to rule our present, and he's brought the King of the Monsters with him to make sure nobody says different. The current story arc comes to a cataclysmic conclusion as Godzilla goes wild in a world he never made! - Comicvine 
In Harmony Cluster Nine, Mason's men are warned against descending below the 80th level and that they remain indoors after dark. After the futurian game show hosts who hired Mason agree to provide him with weapons of the future, mason agrees to secure Godzilla for them. Dixon arrives, being controlled by G-Force and asks Mason what his plans are. Mason receives the weapons. The mad scientist immediately transports Godzilla to the futuristic city. With the weapons, Mason plans to conquer Harmony Cluster Nine, perhaps transporting other monsters to the future in a bid to conquer the pacifistic and decadent futurians.
The imbecile futurians are unaware that Godzilla cannot be controlled as he smashes their city. Dixon argues with Mason that he cannot let Godzilla destroy the future, causing Mason to blast him with one of his new weapons, revealing Dixon to be a robot. The futurians impress on Mason to get his men to stop Godzilla, since the futurians are incapable of violence. As Mason leaves, G-Force emerges from the robot's head and returns to normal size. Elsewhere, Helzer and Meltev subdue mason as he addresses his men from a hovering platform. He falls into the armoury just as Godzilla arrives.

Before G-Force can capture Mason, he activates his time machine, but Godzilla swallows the mad scientist and starts to fade, headed for wherever Mason was going. G-Force leaves the future and returns to the present and tries to determine where in time Godzilla has wound up.