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Category: Mini-sode

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 5: John LeMay Presents ‘King Kong vs. Frankenstein’ & ‘Continuation: King Kong vs. Godzilla’

Published November 27, 2019

(FYI: This was recorded before the news that 2020’s Godzilla vs. Kong would be delayed).

Hello, kaiju lovers!

In this special “side Kong Quest” ( 😛 ), Nathan is joined by author John LeMay (who is a gentleman and a scholar) to talk about two unmade King Kong films with connections to King Kong vs. Godzilla. The first was “King Kong vs. Frankenstein,” a project that special effects legend Willis O’Brien tried to get made in the late 1950s before it ended up at Toho. Then Godzilla and Kong almost had their rematch in the 1960s with Shinichi Sekizawa’s “Continuation: King Kong vs. Godzilla,” where the Eighth Wonder becomes a surrogate parent to a Japanese baby! Hear all about them in this episode! These and many other lost Kong films are covered in great detail in John’s book Kong Unmade: The Lost Films of Skull Island, which is part of Monster Island’s library and one of Nathan’s go-to resources for the podcast.

Jimmy From NASA is absent for most of this episode because Kong and Godzilla were upset that Nathan skipped their 1962 monster mash movie, so Jimmy left to calm them down with the ORCA. The thing is, Nathan covered that film on his previous podcast, Kaijuvision Radio. Here’s a link if you want to listen to it before the next episode:

Episode 8: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) (The Japanese Economic Miracle (The Golden 60s))

Also, Happy Thanksgiving from all of us here on Monster Island!

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

© 2019 Moonlighting Ninjas Media

#JimmyFromNASALives

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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Episode 1: Welcome…to Monster Island!

Published September 25, 2019

Hello, kaiju lovers!

Listen as Nathan Marchand, co-creator and season one co-host of the Kaijuvision Radio, regales you with the origin story of his new podcast. It includes a vacation to a resort on the fabled Monster Island (formerly Monsterland), where he met his intrepid producer, Jimmy From NASA (who miraculously survived the infamous War in Space), and got a new job as the curator of the Island’s film vault. Between bantering sessions with his detail-obsessed, fact-checking interrupter of a producer, Nathan explains the podcast’s philosophy of film appreciation and lays the groundwork for the upcoming episodes.

And what will Nathan, Jimmy, and their many guests be discussing first? The filmography of Monster Island’s other most famous resident: KING KONG!

Hold onto your butts!

The Monster Island Film Vault: A podcast seeking entertainment and enlightenment through tokusatsu.

Check out the epic three-hour KVR episode on Shin Godzilla:
Episode 37: Shin Godzilla (2016) (Great East Japan Earthquake/Tsunami/Fukushima Meltdowns)

Check out Jimmy’s Notes, the companion blog series to each episode of The Monster Island Film vault!

#JimmyFromNASALives

© 2019 Nathan Marchand/Moonlighting Ninjas Media

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