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Category: Film Discussion

Episode 22: The Metters vs. ‘Daimajin’

Published August 12, 2020

Hello, kaiju lovers!

Despite some recording/broadcasting issues with a new microphone (which will be remedied for future episodes), Nathan was joined once again by his friends Joe and Joy Metter, who were vacationing on Monster Island. They started the “Daimajin Days” by screening and discussing the first film in Daiei’s Daimajin trilogy from 1966. These films combine the kaiju and chanbara (“samurai”) genres to create some of the most unique examples of both. While Joe and Joy aren’t connoisseurs of kaiju, they are fans of samurai films. They, along with Nathan, connect this film to Rurouni Kenshin, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and of course Star Wars. (You can fill that space on your MIFV bingo card this week). Also making a return is their dog Teddy Kong, and he brought his friend, Bitzilla. You’ll hear them several times during the episode. Teddy really wanted to see Gamera for some reason. (Because he was hungry for turtle meat?) The only buzzkill—besides the recording issues—was MIFV’s intrepid producer, Jimmy From NASA, butting heads with Joy over sword fighting. Geez.

Since this is a period piece, the Toku Topics are the Sengoku Period of Japanese history and the coming of Christianity to Japan.

We’d like to give a shout-out to our Patreon patrons Travis Alexander and Michael “The Kaiju Groupie” Hamilton (co-hosts of Kaiju Weekly), Danny DiManna (Godzilla Novelization Project), Eli Harris, and Bex (host of the Redeemed Otaku) (who joined just before this episode was posted)! Thanks for your support!

You, too, can support us on Patreon!

This episode is approved by the Monster Island Board of Directors.

Read Jimmy’s Notes on this episode.

Timestamps:
Prologue: 0:00-2:34
Intro: 2:34-6:52
Entertaining Info Dump: 6:52-12:35
Toku Talk: 12:35-1:03:24
Toku Topic: 1:03:24-1:33:14
Outro: 1:33:14-end

MIFV Social Media:
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Facebook
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Follow Jimmy on Twitter: @NasaJimmy
Follow the Monster Island Board of Directors on Twitter: @MonsterIslaBOD

www.MonsterIslandFilmVault.com

#JimmyFromNASALives
#MonsterIslandFilmVault

© 2020 Moonlighting Ninjas Media

Bibliography/Further Reading:

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Episode 21: ‘Matango’ (Mini-Analysis)

Published July 22, 2020

Hello, kaiju lovers!

An artsy Japanese horror film about mushrooms based on a British short story?

That’s sounds insane enough to work!

Despite getting slapped with the schlocky English title, “Attack of the Mushroom People,” Matango ranks as one of director Ishiro Honda’s greatest achievements in tokustasu filmmaking. Screenwriter Takeshi Kimura considered it to be his magnum opus. It’s a story replete with subtlety and symbolism, an indictment of Japan’s newfound opulence and decadence in the early 1960s, and it’s as relevant now for any audience as it was back then. It’s such an important film, Nathan and his intrepid producer, Jimmy From NASA, interview the only scientist on Monster Island’s who’s brave and/or crazy enough to study the Matango—with frightening results! 

Featuring Daniel DiManna as the voice of Dr. Dante Dourif.

Episode image created by Michael Hamilton. Check out his podcast, The Kaiju Groupie.

This is meant to supplement this episode of Kaijuvision Radio: Episode 45: Matango (Attack of the Mushroom People) (1963) (Westernization and Globalization)

We’d like to give a shout-out to our Patreon patrons Travis Alexander and Michael Hamilton (cohosts of Kaiju Weekly); Danny DiManna (Godzilla Novelization Project); elizilla13; and Chris Cooke (host of One Cross Radio)! Thanks for your support!

You, too, can support us on Patreon!

This episode is approved by the Monster Island Board of Directors.

Podcast Social Media:
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram

Follow Jimmy on Twitter: @NasaJimmy
Follow the Monster Island Board of Directors on Twitter: @MonsterIslaBOD

www.MonsterIslandFilmVault.com

#JimmyFromNASALives       #MonsterIslandFilmVault

© 2020 Nathan Marchand & Moonlighting Ninjas Media

Bibliography/Further Reading:

  • “Attack of the Mushroom People: Ishiro Honda’s Matango William Hope Hodgson’s ‘The Voice in the Night’” by Anthony Camara (Monsters and Monstrosity from the Fin de Siécle to the Millennium, edited by Sharla Hutchinson and Rebecca A. Brown)
  • “The history and current state of drug abuse in Japan” by Kiyoshi Wada (Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, Jan 2011, vol. 1216, no. 1, p 62-72)
  • Ishiro Honda: A Life in Film, from Godzilla to Kurosawa by Steve Ryfle and Ed Godzisewski
  • “Ishiro Honda-thon Ep. 5: Matango (1963) Review” by Adam Noyes (AN Productions) (YouTube)
  • Kaijuvision Radio, “Episode 8: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)”
  • “Methamphetamine Solution: Drugs and the Reconstruction of Nation in Postwar Japan” by Miriam Kingsburg (The Journal of Asian Studies, Feb. 2013, vol. 72, no. 1, p. 141-162)
  • Mushroom Clouds and Mushroom Men: The Fantastic Cinema of Ishiro Honda by Peter H. Brothers

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Episode 20: Bex vs. ‘Rebirth of Mothra III’

Published July 8, 2020

Hello, kaiju lovers!

Twelve-centimeter girls, tiny robot dragons, and redemption—and we’re not talking about the movie!

After some shenanigans with Jimmy From NASA’s teleporter, Nathan and resident “Mothrian” Bex (Redeemed Otaku podcast) finish the “Summer of Mothra” with the surprisingly good Rebirth of Mothra III. Although, maybe they’re just riding high on Bex’s hyperbolic enthusiasm over this movie. But it isn’t hard to improve on the empty, fluffy whimsy of the second one. There’s a lot of meat (bubble) to chew on thematically. Not to mention it also features one of the best-looking King Ghidorahs ever, time travel, and dinosaur puppets. However, Bex gets so carried away with her newfound faith in Mothra, she gets a visit from Monster Island’s chaplain, Rev. Mifune! Uh-oh….

For the first time, we’re covering not one but two Toku Topics: the hikikimori and Aokigahara (Aoki Forest). The child hero, Shota, is likely a member of the former, and much of the movie is set in that infamous forest.

It’s an episode that spans the emotional gamut, that’s for sure!

BE SURE TO LISTEN UNTIL AFTER THE CREDITS!

Here are the Redeemed Otaku episodes Nathan (and his friend Eric Anderson) appeared on to discuss the Godzilla Anime Trilogy:

Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters
Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle
Godzilla: The Planet Eater

We’d like to give a shout-out to our Patreon patrons Travis Alexander (host of Kaiju Weekly), Danny DiManna (Godzilla Novelization Project), elizilla13, and Joejira! Thanks for your support! (And also to Michael “The Kaiju Groupie” Hamilton, who joined just before this episode was posted).

Read Jimmy’s Notes on this episode.

Timestamps:
Prologue: 0:00-2:20
Intro: 2:20-6:25
Entertaining Info Dump: 6:25-12:57
Toku Talk: 12:57-1:24:26
Promo: 1:24:26-1:25:16
Toku Topic: 1:25:16-2:10:53
Outro: 2:10:53-2:19:46
Epilogue: 2:19:46-end

MIFV Social Media:
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
Patreon

Follow Jimmy on Twitter: @NasaJimmy

#JimmyFromNASALives

© 2020 Moonlighting Ninjas Media (and Becky “Bex” Smith)

Bibliography/Further Reading:

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Episode 19: ‘Gorath’ (feat. Jack “GMan” Hudgens)

Published June 24, 2020

Hello, kaiju lovers!

Before Armageddon, before Star Trek: The Motion Picture, there was Gorath. Nathan is joined by the most loved and hated film critic in the kaiju community, Jack “GMan” Hudgens, to discuss this Toho classic that has been described as the lovechild of Mothra (1961) and The Last War. While it isn’t the most exciting film, Nathan and GMan explore how its theme of unity is a timeless message, and one that people need to hear now more than ever. Along the way, they compare this to Star Trek and H.P. Lovecraft stories and discuss how Maguma the giant walrus has done nothing but get shoehorned into stories he didn’t need to be in. Also, GMan gets into a bar fight with Jimmy From NASA. Yep.

This is meant to supplement this episode of Kaijuvision Radio: Episode 44: Gorath (1962) (Near Earth Objects/Science of Gorath).

I’d like to give a shout-out to our Patreon patrons Travis Alexander (host of Kaiju Weekly), Danny DiManna, elizilla13 and Joejira! Thanks for your support! (Forgive me for forgetting to say this on the air! I’ll make it up to you next time!)

You, too, can support us on Patreon!

Follow GMan on Twitter. Check out The Drift Space.

Read Jimmy’s Notes on this episode.

Podcast Social Media:
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Facebook
Instagram

Follow Jimmy on Twitter: @NasaJimmy

#JimmyFromNASALives

© 2020 Moonlighting Ninjas Media

Bibliography/Further Reading:

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Episode 18: Bex vs. ‘Rebirth of Mothra II’

Published June 10, 2020

Hello, kaiju lovers!

The “Summer of Mothra” continues with Rebirth of Mothra II—the valley between two short mountains in the ‘90s Mothra trilogy. Once again Nathan is joined by Bex from the Redeemed Otaku podcast, and they try their hardest to do a deep dive on a shallow movie. While the first movie had an obvious environmental theme, this one barely gives 20 seconds of screen time to anything substantial. Even Belvera and Elias aren’t as exciting this time around. Then there’s Ghogo/Gogo/Go-Go (aka “Japanese Furby”), the “token cute thing” whose plushy Bex has no interest in buying because, well, magic urine. Yeah….

But nothing can prepare you for the Shyamalan twist at the end of this episode. Nathan and his intrepid producer, Jimmy From NASA, never saw it coming.

Also, Jimmy introduces his new garage assistant, who’s either popular or infamous, depending on who you talk to.

Here’s the Kaijuvision Radio episode Nathan mentioned: Episode 19: Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974) (The Reversion of Okinawa: History and Culture).

Here are the Redeemed Otaku episodes Nathan (and his friend Eric Anderson) appeared on to discuss the Godzilla Anime Trilogy:

Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters
Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle
Godzilla: The Planet Eater

We’d like to give a shout-out to our Patreon patrons Travis Alexander (host of Kaiju Weekly), Danny DiManna, elizilla13, and Joejira! Thanks for your support! (Sorry we didn’t mention you on the air, Joejira. You signed up after the initial broadcast).

Read Jimmy’s Notes on this episode.

Timestamps:
Intro: 0:00-3:57
Entertaining Info Dump: 3:57-8:44
Toku Talk: 8:44-1:17:00
Toku Topic: 1:17:00-1:40:01
Outro: 1:40:01-end

MIFV Social Media:
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
Patreon

Follow Jimmy on Twitter: @NasaJimmy

#JimmyFromNASALives

© 2020 Moonlighting Ninjas Media

Bibliography/Further Reading:

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Episode 16: Bex vs. ‘Rebirth of Mothra’

Published May 13, 2020

Hello, kaiju lovers!

Today we’re giving you something you perhaps didn’t know you wanted—a deep dive into Rebirth of Mothra, the first of a trilogy produced by Toho after retiring Godzilla (again). Depending on how you feel about this movie, you may love or hate this episode. What you will love, though, is the Tourist joining Nathan this week is none other than Bex from Redeemed Otaku. Since Nathan appeared on her podcast to discuss the Godzilla Anime Trilogy, he’s having her on three episodes as part of the “Summer of Mothra” while we all await the release of Godzilla vs. Kong (yes, much to anime-loving Bex’s chagrin, she’s filler). Their spirited discussion references and compares this film to a multitude of unrelated media, including The Lion King, Power Rangers, The Neverending Story, Sentinels of the Multiverse (a card game), and Panzer Dragoon(a video game). It’s quite meme-tastic with catchphrases like, “lightning and lasers,” and Nathan’s favorite, “Deus ex Mothrica” (he has issues with the movie’s ending). The Toku Topic is deforestation in Japan. While that may not sound exciting, it has deep connections to the movie and the Japanese national spirit. All this plus some Jimmy From NASA antics and more in the latest episode of MIFV!

Here are the Redeemed Otaku episodes Nathan (and his friend Eric Anderson) appeared on to discuss the Godzilla Anime Trilogy:

Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters
Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle
Godzilla: The Planet Eater

ANNOUNCEMENT: We now have a Patreon! If you’re able to support the show in these crazy times, please do. There are three levels, each with its own perks. Here’s a link. Shout out to our first Patron, Travis Alexander (co-host of Kaiju Weekly), who pledged at the Day Pass Tourist level! Thanks, man!

Read Jimmy’s Notes on this episode.

Timestamps:
Intro: 0:00-5:11
Entertaining Info Dump: 5:11-11:55
Toku Talk: 11:55-1:29:31
Toku Topic: 1:29:31-2:09:11
Outro: 2:09:11-end

MIFV Social Media:
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram

Follow Jimmy on Twitter: @NasaJimmy

www.MonsterIslandFilmVault.com

#JimmyFromNASALives

© 2020 Moonlighting Ninjas Media

Bibliography/Further Reading:

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Episode 15: ‘Battle in Outer Space’ (with Luke Jaconetti)

Published April 22, 2020

Hello, kaiju lovers!

Today’s episode is a little different. Think of it as an extended “mini-analysis.” It’s also the first film MIFV has covered that features no kaiju. Luke Jaconetti, the host of the Earth Destruction Directive podcast (and owner of an impossible-to-spell surname), joins Nathan to discuss the film featuring everyone not working on The Three Treasures in 1959: Battle in Outer Space. The podcast’s producer, Jimmy From NASA, loves this film because it’s the second entry in what he calls a “pseudo-trilogy.” After Luke recounts his globetrotting adventure getting to Monster Island despite worldwide travel bans, he and Nathan discuss how what this film lacks in character it more than makes up for with showmanship and spectacle. It was a snapshot of the world at the beginning of the Space Race and the Cold War. They connect it to films like Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Earth vs. the Flying Saucers, Star Wars, and even Toy Story 2! They also discuss whether or not the invading aliens, the Natal, could be interpreted as an anti-American commentary.

Are you stuck in quarantine? Enjoy some quality entertainment and enlightenment through this tokusatsu epic!

This was made as a supplement to this episode of Kaijuvision Radio, which featured Danny DiManna as Brian Scherschel’s guest host: Episode 42: Battle in Outer Space (1959) (The Space Race between the US and the USSR).

Podcast Social Media:
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Instagram

Follow Jimmy on Twitter: @NasaJimmy

www.MonsterIslandFilmVault.com

#JimmyFromNASALives

© 2020 Moonlighting Ninjas Media

Bibliography/Further Reading:

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Episode 14 – Dallas Mora vs. ‘Kong: Skull Island’

Published April 8, 2020

Hello, kaiju lovers!

We’ve finally reached the MonsterVerse! After surviving in the wilds of Monster Island for two months, Dallas Mora from Geek Devotions joins Nathan to discuss the Eighth Wonder’s latest cinematic adventure, Kong: Skull Island. This pulpy adventure movie directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts took Kong in a whole new direction, dropping his lovesickness and making him a benevolent but savage protector. Nathan and Dallas dive headlong into the film’s rich backstory as explored in its comic book prequel, Skull Island: The Birth of Kong; discuss the colorful cast of characters played by a troupe of Marvel movie actors; and realize that Kong is the Batman of the MonsterVerse. The Toku Topic is the end of the Vietnam War, which leads to a poignant discussion that touches on pacifism, “just war” theory, and the treatment of war veterans (like the podcast’s intrepid producer, Jimmy From NASA).

A quick note: Due to Godzilla vs. Kong’s release being delayed to November, we’ll be taking a detour from the “Kong Quest” (ba-dum-ching) until then by covering films featuring other “kaiju kings.” Listen to find out who’s first!

Check out Jimmy’s Notes on this episode.

Timestamps:
Intro: 0:00-5:08
Entertaining Info Dump: 5:08-13:13
Toku Talk: 13:13-1:13:14
Toku Topic: 1:13:14-2:02:20
Outro: 2:02:20-end

Podcast Social Media:
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram

Follow Jimmy on Twitter: @NasaJimmy

www.MonsterIslandFilmVault.com

#JimmyFromNASALives

© 2020 Moonlighting Ninjas Media

Bibliography/Further Reading:

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Episode 12: Daniel DiManna vs. ‘King Kong’ (2005)

Published March 11, 2020

Hello, kaiju lovers!

It’s an epic episode for an epic movie! No, not that stupid parody film. Nathan is joined by Daniel DiManna, the creator and author of The Godzilla Novelization Project, to discuss Peter Jackson HUGE 2005 remake of King Kong. (Although, Danny had to survive a harrowing trip to Monster Island with the podcast’s intrepid producer, Jimmy From NASA, and a certain robot dinosaur to do so). Only Peter Jackson, who was fresh off of The Lord of the Rings, could’ve made a three hour film about a giant monkey, er, ape. Nathan and Danny do a deep dive into the film’s characters, themes, and story while struggling not to get Jack Driscoll and Jack Black confused. They freely admit this is the one giant monster movie that makes them cry. They also learn that the young man named Jimmy in this film may or may not be the podcast’s producer. (Confused? Join the club). The Toku Topic is vaudeville since Ann Darrow in this film is a vaudeville performer before getting work on Carl Denham’s movie.

Nathan promises to not make a habit of producing episodes that cross what Danny calls “the Kurosawa threshold.” 😛

Timestamps:
Intro: 0:00-6:08
Entertaining Info Dump: 6:08-15:29
Toku Talk: 15:29-1:55:52
Toku Topic: 1:55:52-2:29:43
Outro: 2:29:43-end

© 2020 Moonlighting Ninjas Media

Bibliography/Further Reading:

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