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Tag: Soft-Bodied Humans

Jimmy’s Notes on ‘Episode 35: Prophecies of Nostradamus (feat. John LeMay)

I’m happy to report that episode 35 got off without incident between myself and my former flame war nemesis, John LeMay. Not only is it difficult to fight a flame war when you’re on two different social media platforms, but Mr. LeMay is such a chill guy, flame wars don’t last long. That being said, I do have notes:

  • Mr. LeMay, you have no Twitter because of me? Have you seen what happens on Twitter? I practically have to fight a new War in Space every day!
  • Nate, you said, “Prophecies of Japan,” when you meant, “Submersion of Japan.” I don’t think you want to combine these movies. I shudder to think of it.
  • I do know who killed JFK:
  • Yes, I fixed Venus, and let me tell you, fixing a planet isn’t easy. It’ll be a whole chapter in my autobiography.
  • The Walking Dead comic started in 2003 and the show started in 2010 (on Halloween, I might add), which puts 2007—the supposed date of Nostradamus’ zombie apocalypse—right in the middle. Maybe he was off by a few years? That seems to be a common excuse believers in his prophecies give.
  • According to Gojipedia: “The Soft-Bodied Humans get their name due to how they are described as looking like ‘humans with peeled back skin’ following the events of a devastating nuclear war.”
  • I let John win on finding the Soft-Bodied Humans’ designer. I didn’t want to bruise his ego…again.
  • Maybe I want you to get shot into space, Marchand. Then I could take over the show for real. 😛

And now for Nate’s leftover notes (with my commentary, of course):

  • There was going to be a sequel, but it never materialized. A sequel to the novel it was based on was released in 1991, though.
  • Leonard Maltin’s reviewers jokingly said it was “presented, perhaps, by the National Enquirer.”
  • The scene with the slugs is one of the few with “kaiju.” It reminds me of a classic Doctor Who story, “Doctor Who and the Silurians.” (And funny enough, that predates this film by four years! –Jimmy)
  • They talked about overpopulation in Japan when it has dropped drastically. Argues that large population centers lead to stress and death. Arguing against civilization? (Sounds like something Alan Jonah would say. These people aren’t eco-terrorists, are they?  –Jimmy)
  • The young guy’s father wants to give up on life because the fish are all dying so he offers himself to the sea. The scene that follows is a bit like Submersion of Japan with the daughter and the boyfriend discussing how the sea is full of death but there’s still hope. They make love on a boat but aren’t interrupted by disaster.
  • Now we get to deformed children being born. One in three in Kysushu. Tamura’s colleague has a dead grandchild. He described it as if it was a thing and not a child.
  • The little girl wants to be an actress when she grows up but she’s acting now! (#Irony. –Jimmy)
  • A rare Japanese Christian who brings up Revelation. (Rev. Mifune would be proud. –Jimmy)
  • Does Tamura realize how crazy he sounds? Proposing that all but essential factories be closed, population kept in check, the old and weak dying, strict diets. It feels like COVID-land.
  • So, there’s snow in Egypt and the Hawaiian islands are freezing.
  • This does take the disasters happening only to Japan and applies them to the whole world.
  • Those seriously look like the same radiation suits from Mothra (1961).
  • It’s Audrey II! (Or Three? –Jimmy)
  • These bat props have the advantage of quick cuts. The editing helps them. If you look at them too long, they look terrible.
  • Of course everything goes wrong as soon as they take their helmets off. (Did these people not see Prometheus? –Jimmy)
  • The English acting is terrible. Even by English speakers. (Again, #irony. –Jimmy)
  • How do they even know if any of the people in the cave are alive? They looked pretty dead to me. And yet this is supposed to be horrific that they shoot all of them.
  • Like in The Last War, the Bible is quoted. In this case, Psalm 23 during a funeral.
  • Over an hour in and we finally get some tokusatsu model work.
  • Mississippi River flooding. The worst ever. That happened in the ‘90s.
  • Why connect Nostradamus to the apocalyptic environmentalism? It seems like it was inevitable. Was it a warning? Could it be prevented?
  • The mother tells her daughter that she must care for the child no matter how bad things get. I appreciate the pro-life stance. (Me too. –Jimmy)
  • This highway scene looks cool, but it’s absurd. How could one exploding car make all of them go up? (Uh…action movie logic? –Jimmy)
  • There’s a sense of hopelessness as opposed to dread.
  • This uses stock footage from The Last War and Submersion of Japan. No wonder it looked familiar.
  • The PM says Japan must set an example. Japan-centric. He also says the government has little to no power without the support of the people.
  • Suddenly I’m wondering if any of this movie was “real.” There’s hope for future generations if people act, but wasn’t there already a bunch of apocalyptic things? Was it all an illustration of Tamura’s speech?
  • Story has it that (Nostradamus) bowed to Franciscan monk, referring to him as “His Holiness,” who in 1585—years after Nostradamus’s death—was by the College of Cardinals as Pope Sixtus V.
  • (Nostradamus’) practice thrived in large part because he saw his patients as friends and treated them as such.

I predict that Mr. LeMay—whose episodes are all in MIFV’s top ten most popular on iTunes right now—will return next season…because moments after this broadcast, Nate invited him back. For what movie? Wait and see!

Next week Nate welcomes MIFV MAX members Damon Noyes and Michael “My Other Former Nemesis” Hamilton to continue the Year of Gamera with Gamera vs. Gyaos. Buckle up for that one, kaiju lovers! Then to get everyone hyped for Godzilla vs. Kong, we’ll be joined by the biggest guests we’ve had on the show (so far): Ryan “The Omni Viewer” Collins and Brandon Jacobs, the host of Up From the Depths on YouTube. Ryan is bringing his sidekick, Snazzy, who will hang out with me in the producer booth. With Jet Jaguar in there, it’s going to be crowded!

Until then, remember: #WeShallOvercome

Follow me on Twitter: @NasaJimmy

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Episode 35: ‘Prophecies of Nostradamus’ (feat. John LeMay)

Hello, kaiju lovers!

Jimmy’s (former?) flame war nemesis, tokustasu scholar John LeMay, returns to discuss the second banned film to be covered on MIFV: Prophecies of Nostradamus. This infamous disaster film—which is as different from Submersion of Japan as night is from day—was Toho’s biggest hit of 1974 and features the last appearance by Takeshi Shimura in a Toho tokusatsu film, which only makes its banishment to the back of the vault all the more puzzling. Nate and John explain that the film was banned because of a 30-second scene (that wasn’t even real!) featuring “Soft-Bodied Humans” that was seen as offensive to atomic bombing survivors. Nate also gives a history lesson on who the popular but misunderstood French seer Nostradamus was and his book of prophecies, which inspired this bizarre film.

Yes, we know that this episode went over the Board-mandated time limit for “mini-sodes”—and we don’t care!

You can buy John’s latest books here and here on Amazon.

We’d like to give a shout-out to our MIFV MAX patrons Travis Alexander and Michael Hamilton (co-hosts of Kaiju Weekly); Danny DiManna (author/creator of the Godzilla Novelization Project); Eli Harris (elizilla13); Chris Cooke (host of One Cross Radio); Bex from Redeemed Otaku; and Damon Noyes! Thanks for your support!

You, too, can join MIFV MAX on Patreon to get this and other perks starting at only $3 a month!

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

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Follow Crystal Lady Jessica on Twitter: @CystalLadyJes1

#JimmyFromNASALives       #MonsterIslandFilmVault

© 2021 Moonlighting Ninjas Media

Bibliography/Further Reading:

  • Complete Works of Nostradamus, The. Compiled by Arcanaeum (2003).
  • “Furylfuramide” (Wikipedia)
  • Galbraith IV, Stuart. Japanese Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films: A Critical Analysis and Filmography of 103 Features Released in the United States 1950-1992.
  • LeMay, John. The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies Volume 1: 1954-1982.
  • LeMay, John. The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies: The Lost Films (Mutated Edition).
  • LeMay, John. Terror of the Lost Tokusatsu Films!
  • LeMay, John. Writing Giant Monsters.
  • Lost Films Fanzine: Movie Milestones #3, The. (John LeMay).
  • Nostradamus: The Prophecies. Translated by Richard Sieburth. Introduction by Stéphane Gerson. Published by Penguin Books (Penguin Classics).
  • Roberts, Henry C. (translator, editor, and interpreter). The Complete Prophecies of Nostradamus. Updated by Robert Lawrence. Published by Three Rivers Press.
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