I’m not a religious man—which may sound strange given that I work on an Island with a giant moth goddess—but even I was concerned about Bex after her sudden conversion to “Mothrianity.” Honestly, I was happy to see the good Reverend Mifune bring her to senses and Christianity by breaking Belvera’s influence on her. It was not unlike what Shota did for Lora in Rebirth of Mothra III.
Now if only Marchand will let me live down the whole female clone and teleporter business. It wasn’t my fault!
The things I put up with.
I kid (for the most part…).
Let’s get into my notes from the episode:
- Nathan and Bex never talked about Moll speaking in tongues to Mothra Leo. They discussed it briefly before the broadcast, so I’m surprised they didn’t bring it up given their religious backgrounds.
- So, back when I was a kid and growing up in japan for a bit, my best friend, Masao, fell into a deep depression after our scout master wouldn’t give him a monster rustler badge after we helped a certain famous kaiju defeat a certain space squid. He said it was discipline for “stealing” a yellow submarine. I was a Beatles fan, what can I say?
- I preferred Kilik myself in the Soul Caliber games. It drives Nathan crazy. Every time I poke his Siegfried to death, he keeps singing, “Kilik is cheap! Kilik is cheap!”
- Dinosaurs were wiped out twice. Or is it the “Power of the Retcon” again? It may have—according to Nathan—saved my life in the War in Space, but it’s scarier than the Infinity Gauntlet at this point. 😛
- As for my T-Rex and triceratops story, the long and short of it is it happened, I confess, while I was field testing the ORCA on Skull Island. That’s all.
- Gravity manipulation explains how Ghidorah can fly with one wing, but then why would be need wings at all? #sciencequestions
- It makes Mothra Leo 130,000,002 years old, Nathan! Duh!
- I anticipated Bex going from NEET to hikikimori. Miki’s powers might be rubbing off on me.
- Nathan didn’t make it clear that the Tower of Waves novel (which has several different title translations, as you’ll see in his notes) ended in Aokigahara.
- Sometimes I wonder, as unscientific as this sounds, if we have yurei wandering the jungles on the Island….
- Nathan’s description of Sea of Trees is almost right. Both the American and the Japanese man intend to commit suicide there. IMDB summaries it like this: “A suicidal American befriends a Japanese man lost in a forest near Mt. Fuji and the two search for a way out.”
And now, as per my contractual obligations, her are Nathan’s leftover notes but with my snarky commentary:
Rebirth of Mothra III Notes:
- This random dude is a Yankees fan. That’d make my alma mater’s b-ball coach happy. (Nathan told me he called Yankee Stadium “Mecca.” –Jimmy)
- “Old Tanaka”? A nod to the producer?
- Huh? Who’s the bust? Why are there lots of pictures of westerners in a Japanese classroom? (The increased westernization of Japan? –Jimmy)
- No one is panicking on the street as Ghidorah flies over at 18:35 or so. (This is Japan. Kaiju attacks are as common as thunderstorms. –Jimmy)
- Oh man! The sisters get sparkles this time! (And now so does your new “sister,” Nathan. 😛 –Jimmy)
- Mothra leo appears 20 minutes in.
- Some of these CGI effects—like the soccer ball hitting the membrane—look hokey.
- The classic wing problem: they don’t flap enough.
- Fairy shoots at Ghiddorah—and it does nothing.
- Of course Lora betrays Moll—she’s played by a new actress. 😛 (A great man once said, “And I thought my jokes were bad.” –Jimmy)
- Those CGI tentacles looked terrible.
- This is starting to remind me of Gamera 3, and this was a year before it! (I don’t know if that’s too nice to this movie or too mean to Gamera 3. –Jimmy)
- Oh no! Tiny grape Koolaide volcanos! (Sounds like my delicious science fair project. –Jimmy)
- The set design for the dome is cool.
- Hilariously, I think all three sisters wear go-go boots this time. (Do you have a thing for go-go boots, Nathan? This is the third episode you’ve mentioned them. 😛 –Jimmy)
- Now the dome walls don’t dissolve things?
- We still have 25 minutes to go, and thus feels like the end!
- Moll dies—and becomes a Tron animation. (I’m sad this wasn’t said on the air. –Jimmy)
- There’s a prehistoric Mothra. Because shut up.
- Oh whoa! Belvera rides Fairy!
- “Different opinions.” Yeah, on genocide, child murder, mind control. You know, small stuff. (You know, little things. –Jimmy)
- It would’ve been cooler if the sister had to stab Moll with the sword to resurrect her. (That sounds a bit sadistic. –Jimmy)
- Whoa. Did they actually have a bunch of child extras at the end or was it CGI?
- These might be my favorite kids in the trilogy, but they do disappear for a bit in the middle.
Big Book 2 by John LeMay
- There’s a photo of Tanaka in the parents’ house.
“Inside Japan’s ‘suicide forest’”
- “More than 100 people who were not from the area surrounding Aokigahara committed suicide there between 2013 and 2015, according to a local government report. Countrywide, suicides totaled roughly 24,000 people in 2015 alone, according to the country’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. These numbers do not include attempted suicides.”
- “One study found suicide death rates to be on the decline in many peer nations from 1985 to 2010, except in Japan and South Korea, where rates increased by 20% and 280%, respectively.”
- “Other studies and government materials have cited a number of risk factors, including academic pressures, depression, overwork, financial struggles and unemployment.”
- “Beyond that, there’s stigma around receiving mental health care, especially for men, and a greater tendency in Japan to view suicide as ‘a rational decision.’ One of the terms for suicide is ‘jiketsu,’ which means to decide for yourself.”
“Aokigahara Forest” (http://www.aokigaharaforest.com/)
- “Because the landscape is so similar, the brain is distorted and it is difficult to keep direction at any time.”
- “According to some Japanese spiritualists, the trees themselves soaked in themselves a malevolent energy accumulated over centuries.”
“What is Aokigahara? All About The Most Haunted Forest in Japan”
- “It all started with a mystery novel called “Kuroi Jukai” (translated as Black Sea of Trees) by Seicho Matsumoto in 1960. The novel ends romantically with the lovers committing suicide in the forest, which revitalized the Suicide Forest’s popularity among those who wanted to end their life.”
I have to give it to Nathan: he got through most of his notes. Mind you, it was our second-longest episode yet, but listeners seem to like it. He does have a terrible habit of over-preparing, though.
Next week Nathan is solo—well, unless you count me heckling him—next week when he does a mini-analysis of 1963’s Matango, which was directed by Ishiro Honda. Then next month we start the “Daimajin Days” when Joe and Joy Metter return to see 1966’s Daimajin.
Also, I have some juicy super-secret inside information about Godzilla vs. Kong. 😉
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