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Category: Mini-analysis

Episode 17: ‘The Last War’ (Mini-Analysis)

Published May 27, 2020

Hello, kaiju lovers!

Except today’s episode isn’t about giant monsters. Heck, it’s barely about tokusatsu. Nathan is analyzing the criminally underseen 1961 antiwar drama The Last War. While most of the creative team behind the camera aren’t the ones usually followed by kaiju/toku fans, there are several familiar faces in front of the camera: Frankie Sakai (Mothra), Yuriko Hoshi (Mothra vs. Godzilla, etc.), and Akira Takarada (too many to list). This film depicts a middle class Japanese family navigating everyday life interspersed with Japanese government officials and foreign soldiers trying to avoid World War III. It is a perfect snapshot of the Japanese national spirit at that moment in time and, Nathan argues, is the precursor to 1984’s The Return of Godzilla. As part of his analysis, Nathan reads the Bible passage quoted in the film (plus the following two verses that would’ve offered some hope) and a John Bradley poem that would’ve been perfect for the end of the film.

All this plus Nathan opens the mailbag to answer some listener feedback!

This is meant to supplement this episode of Kaijuvision Radio, which featured the fantastic Danny DiManna: Episode 43: The Last War (1961) (NATO) (The North Atlantic Treaty Organization).

I’d like to give a shout-out to our Patreon patrons Travis Alexander (host of Kaiju Weekly), Danny DiManna, and elizilla13! Thanks for your support!

Read Jimmy’s Notes on this episode.

Please donate to David Marshall and his family on GoFundMe.

Podcast Social Media:
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Follow Jimmy on Twitter: @NasaJimmy

#JimmyFromNASALives

© 2020 Nathan Marchand & Moonlighting Ninjas Media

Bibliography/Further Reading:

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Episode 13: ‘The Three Treasures’ (Mini-Analysis)

Published March 25, 2020

Hello, kaiju lovers!

The unintentional “epic films month” continues with 1959’s The Three Treasures (aka The Birth of Japan), but thankfully this episode doesn’t cross the “Kurosawa threshold.” This is a religious epic in the vein of Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments except it’s about Shinto. It tells the tale of Prince Yamato Takeru (played by the always awesome Toshiro Mifune), the legendary 13th emperor of Japan (who’s being covered in our 13th episode…oh boy…). Interspersed throughout the film are vignettes depicting stories from Japanese mythology that parallel the prince’s life. Nathan zeroes in on several of the film’s story elements, including the Japanese creation myth, the Imperial Regalia of Japan, and Yamata no Orochi the eight-headed dragon. There’s so much that could be said about this film, Nathan may have to do a follow-up with Rev. Mifune (no relation to Toshiro Mifune) or the guys at The Kaiju Apostle.

Nathan then reads yet more feedback clarifying the Batman Meets Godzilla story treatment—or rather, the Twitter war that almost broke out over it.

Speaking of which, Batman Meets Godzilla, one of the craziest yet most intriguing lost projects made famous by John LeMay’s book, The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies: The Lost Films (which now has a new “mutated” edition), is being adapted into a fan-made comic book miniseries!

T-SHIRT GIVEAWAY: Everyone who shares the Facebook and/or Twitter posts for this episode (or tags the show when they share it themselves) will be entered for a drawing for a Batman Meets Godzilla T-shirt. (One entry per person per social media). Entries will be taken from March 25 to March 31 at 11:59pm (EST). The winner must then send Nathan his/her shirt size, shirt color, and mailing address to be forwarded to the team at Batman Meets Godzilla. Here’s a link to the Tee Public site with this epic shirt.

Here’s the KVR episode: Episode 41: The Three Treasures a.k.a. Nippon tanjo (The Birth of Japan) (1959) (Shinto)

This episode featured the songs “‘BATMAN’ [OG Theme Song Remix!]” by Remix Maniacs & “ULTRAMAN” by Nobuko Toda and Kazuma Jinnouchi.

Join the Kaiju Quarantine Discord server!

Here are Jimmy’s, er, Nathan’s Notes on this episode.

© 2020 Nathan Marchand & Moonlighting Ninjas Media

Bibliography/Further Reading:

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Episode 11: ‘Varan the Unbelievable’ (Mini-Analysis)

Published February 26, 2020

Hello, kaiju lovers!

In Nathan’s continuing series of mini-sodes on films covered by Bran Scherschel on Kaijuvision Radio after Nathan left the show, he examines Ishiro Honda’s overlooked 1958 kaiju film Varan the Unbelievable (or Daikaiju Baran). While Honda didn’t think much of it (especially after its tumultuous production when the American TV network co-producing it pulled out), it was the first kaiju film written for Toho by the fabled Shinichi Sekizawa. The second half is a by-the-numbers monster movie, but the first half is intriguing because it touches on then contemporary issues with the burakumin, a discriminated social class in Japan. Their name means “village people” (no, not the disco band!), and they were essentially the “untouchables” of Japanese culture for centuries. When seen through that lens, this film offers more than a cool kaiju.

After that, Nathan reads some listener feedback, including a letter from someone who offers some clarification on the (in)famous Batman Meets Godzilla script.

Speaking of which, Batman Meets Godzilla, one of the craziest yet most intriguing lost projects made famous by John LeMay’s book, The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies: The Lost Films (which now has a new “mutated” edition), is being adapted into a fan-made comic book miniseries!

T-SHIRT GIVEAWAY: Everyone who shares the Facebook and Twitter posts for this episode (or tags the show when they share it themselves) will be entered for a drawing for a Batman Meets Godzilla T-shirt. (One entry per person per social media). Entries will be taken from February 26 to March 4 at 11:59pm (EST). The winner must then send Nathan his/her shirt size, shirt color, and mailing address to be forwarded to the team at Batman Meets Godzilla. Here’s a link to the Tee Public site with this epic shirt.

Here’s the KVR episode: Episode 40: Varan (1958) (Hisabetsu-Buraku) (Discriminated Communities)

This episode featured the song “‘BATMAN’ [OG Theme Song Remix!]” by Remix Maniacs.

Be sure to read Jimmy’s Notes on this episode.

(c) 2020 Nathan Marchand & Moonlighting Ninjas Media

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Episode 9: ‘The Mysterians’ (Mini-Analysis)

Published January 22, 2020

Hello, kaiju lovers!

Nathan covers yet another film discussed on his former podcast, Kaijuvision Radio, by Brian Scherschell: Ishiro Honda’s 1957 tokusatsu classic, The Mysterians. While Godzilla (1954) singlehanded created the kaiju and tokusatsu genres, this film arguably ushered in Toho’s “golden age,” which would last for a decade. While Nathan does touch on Moguera, the special effects, and the film’s many influences, the bulk of his analysis is focused on Japan’s relationship with the United Nations, which the nation joined just a year before the film was released. The Mysterians expresses Japan’s—and Honda’s—postwar ideal of “proactive pacifism,” which it saw in the U.N. Throw in a few snarky interruptions from the podcast’s intrepid producer, Jimmy From NASA, and a random cameo from a psycho-powered dictator, and it’s a typical Wednesday at The Monster Island Film Vault.

After that, Nathan dumps out the mailbag to read several iTunes reviews and e-mails from listeners.

Speaking of which, be sure to check out the upcoming fan project, Batman Meets Godzilla, one of the craziest yet most intriguing lost projects made famous by John LeMay’s book, The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies: The Lost Films (which now has a new “mutated” edition).

T-SHIRT GIVEAWAY: Everyone who shares the Facebook and Twitter posts for this episode from the podcast’s pages will be entered for a drawing for a Batman Meets Godzilla T-shirt. (One entry per person per social media). Entries will be taken from January 22 to January 28 at 11:59pm (EST). The winner must then send Nathan his/her shirt size, shirt color, and mailing address to be forwarded to the team at Batman Meets Godzilla. Here’s a link to the Tee Public site with this epic shirt.

Here’s the KVR episode: Episode 39: The Mysterians (1957) (Normalization of Japan-USSR Relations)

This episode featured the song “‘BATMAN’ [OG Theme Song Remix!]” by Remix Maniacs.

Read Jimmy’s Notes on this episode.

(c) 2020 Nathan Marchand & Moonlighting Ninjas Media

Bibliography/Further Reading:

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Episode 7: ‘Half Human’ (Mini-Analysis)

Published December 25, 2019

Merry Christmas, kaiju lovers!

As part of Nathan’s continuing series on films covered in his absence on Kaijuvision Radio, this mini-sode examines Ishiro Honda’s 1955 film Half Human, which is infamous for being banned by Toho. Heck, it was stashed so far back in the Island’s film vault, it took Goji-kun and Bro Kong (the podcast mascots and possibly Godzilla and Kong’s “little” brothers) a long time to find it for Nathan to watch. Strange as it may sound, it’s serendipitous that this episode was released on Christmas Day because the film takes place partly on New Year’s Day. It follows a group of scientists and students investigating the appearance of the Abominable Snowman in the Japanese Alps, where they encounter a savage tribe who worships the Snowman. Nathan’s analysis focuses on the natives, their parallels to the Ainu (Japan’s indigenous people), and how this portrayal got the film banned. He argues that, despite possible insensitivities, Half Human is unfairly censored and deserves to be viewed by a wider audience.

All this plus our first listener feedback letters and the Monster Island Christmas party—wherein Nathan learns that kaiju can sing Christmas carols (or so his intrepid producer, Jimmy From NASA, tells him even though he hasn’t fixed the ORCA yet).

Here’s the Kaijuvision Radio episode on the film: Episode 38: Half Human (1955) (Genetic Origin of the Ainu People).

Here’s the blog with the rules for the Destroyer novella giveaway.

This episode featured “We Three Kings” by Jay Man (OurMusicBox on YouTube).

See you in 2020, listeners!

#JimmyFromNASALives

© 2019 Nathan Marchand & Moonlighting Ninjas Media

Bibliography/Further Reading

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Episode 3: The Godzilla Anime Trilogy (Mini-Analysis)

Published October 23, 2019

Hello, kaiju lovers!

Welcome to our first minisode! (Well, our second, according to my intrepid producer, Jimmy From NASA). This is the first of a series of episodes where I’ll be analyzing films I was unable to cover on my previous podcast. In this one, I’m discussing the divisive Godzilla Anime Trilogy. Fans either love it or hate it. Me? I like it—a lot. I debunk some of the unfair criticisms of the trilogy, but the meat of my analysis is focused on how each of the four races in the trilogy—the Humans, the Bilusaludo, the Exif, and the Houtua—each exemplify different philosophies and how most of them take their worldviews to the extreme.

There’s a lot of material here—so much that Monster Island’s Board of Directors calls to say I violated my contract! Listen as Jimmy acts as my agent to keep me from being shot into space (he deserves a bonus for practically being my agent).

Here are the podcast episodes I mentioned in the episode. I recommend listening to them—especially the Redeemed Otaku episodes—if you want to hear a review of this trilogy from me.

Read Jimmy’s Notes for corrections, riffs, and more info on this episode!

#JimmyFromNASALives

(c) 2019 Moonlighting Ninjas Media

Kaijuvision Radio Episodes

Episode 47 (1/3): Godzilla Anime Trilogy (2017-18) – General Reflections
Episode 47 (2/3): Godzilla Anime Trilogy (2017-18) – Main Discussion
Episode 47 (3/3): Godzilla Anime Trilogy (2017-18) – Bigger Than Human Existence

Redeemed Otaku Episodes

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

Bibliography/Further Reading

American Humanist Association: “Definitions of Humanism”

“Godzilla back as anime has human drama, fewer monsters” by Associated Press

Humanity +: “Philosophy”
–“Max More – Transhumanism and the Singularity” (YouTube)

Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: “Nihilism”

“There is no sharp distinction between cult and regular religion” by Tara Isabella Burton (Aeon Magazine)

“Transhumanist Values” by Nick Bostrom

“Updated Charts: Screen Time, First Appearance, Attendance” by Joker Cluster

“What is a Cult?” by James M. Rochford

“What is Transhumanism?”

Wikipedia Articles:
–Aum Shinrikyo
–Clarke’s three laws
–Humanism
–Jonestown
–Mass suicide
–Transhumanism

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