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Tag: The Monster Island Film Vault

Jimmy’s Notes on ‘Episode 23: Atragon’

Published September 1, 2020

This week’s “Jimmy’s Notes” on episode 23 (Atragon) is short and sweet. Good, I say. Jet Jaguar and I have been very busy continuing to rebuild Mechani-Kong in my garage. I ordered mech parts from a Chinese company on eBay, and they arrived a week late. Then the shipment was delayed because the Board of Directors implemented more safety protocols for off-Island shipments. When I heard that I was more forgiving. I don’t think I’ll order from that eBay seller again, though. (Poor Nathan is still waiting for his S.H. FigureArts Ultraman figure to show up from China, though).

Along with that, our continued frustrations with a new condenser microphone in our recent broadcasts with Joe and Joy “How-Did-I-Not-Get-Scared-By-The-Dorats?” Metter has required that I procure a replacement. That’s arriving today, thankfully.

This intro is longer than usual because, to my surprise, I only have a few notes for this episode besides Nathan’s leftovers. Let’s get to them.

  • Keep denying the super-special Godzilla vs. Kong premiere will happen in November, Marchand. You’ll feel real lonely that night. Ozaki and the EDF Mutants will be the security detail that night, so don’t even think of sneaking in!
  • Nathan said, “expectation,” when he meant, “affection.” Your mouth does go faster than your brain, doesn’t it?
  • You called the Gotengo “Atragon” once, which is technically wrong, but it was how it was written in the subtitles. You get a pass this time.

Nathan’s Leftover Notes on the Film:

  • Starts “in media res.” Almost feels like a trailer. A little confusing.
  • Sekizawa humor. Swimsuit model sneezes because of cold.
  • Feels a bit like a Universal monster movie from 1950s, especially with half-melted diver.
  • I’d make an Uber joke, but the guy has a cabbie hat.
  • Man made out of vapor—wrong movie, dude! (“Human Vapor.” Haha. 😛 –Jimmy)
  • Kenji Sahara is almost unrecognizable with the chinstrap beard. (He looks like your brother. 😛 –Jimmy)
  • “Action Magazine.” What kind of mag is that? It could be taken a few ways—especially if they want photos of a swimsuit model. (How dirty is that mind of yours, Marchand? –Jimmy)
  • (Former Rear Admiral) Kusumi: represents modern Japan that has moved on from war to join world community
    • Was silent out of loyalty to Jinguji until situation was dire.
    • Doesn’t salute back to soldiers, only nods; evidence of his change?
  • Gotengo is derived from real super-subs supposedly developed by Japan in WWII. (Yep. I have several blueprints for those subs. And the Gotengo. –Jimmy)
  • Capt. Jinguji: represents old imperial japan and those who didn’t move on.
    • “Enslaved” natives of island?
    • Was going to be played by Toshiro Mijune. Would’ve been different. (It would’ve made the Island’s chaplain happy. –Jimmy)
    • Asks who made Japan renounce war in new constitution, but Kusumi is too shocked to answer. Then conversation moves on. Interesting. US isn’t mentioned directly.
    • He seems shaken by his daughter’s words, yet doesn’t chase after her.
    • Wears old field uniform during operation against Mu.
    • Takes action when Makoto is kidnapped. True change? (As someone who has met the man on two occasions—and survived—I’d say, “Yes.” –Jimmy)
    • “I think I was wearing rusty armor. I took it off and feel fine.”
    • “We will attack so long as you tell us to surrender! But we’ll listen to peace talks.” Indicates change. Empress refuses like Imperial Japan in WWII.
  • The Mu Empire is modeled Imperial Japan.
    • Sank 12,000 years ago. Atlantis. Related to Seatopia? 😛 (According to you and Danny DiManna, they are. –Jimmy)
    • Has a powerful navy with submarines.
    • Seeks to conquer surface because they believe it is rightfully theirs. Like Japan seeking to build pan-Asian empire.
    • Calls humans “people of the colonies.” “Return our colonies immediately!” Presumptive. UN building, London Bridge, Arch de Triumph, the Kremlin(?), Manhattan (bridge) shown. Worldwide threat. Says New York and Tokyo are first targets. Appropriate. Alliance between U.S. and Japan.
    • The Empress refuses to lower herself to undressing in front of foreigners (and men?) to change into diving suit. Pride that is broken.
    • Empress accuses Jinguji of defying them, and he says the Mu defied “us.” “Killing me cannot kill our empire’s heart!” He’s taken aback, as if it sounded like something he believed. (It’s a literal reference to the Mu power source, but it’s also an effective metaphor).
  • The Mu city looks, well, like a model. On the other hand, some shots remind me of Metropolis. (Except without the cool robot lady. –Jimmy)
  • Manda was added later, but he doesn’t feel shoehorned unlike Magma in Gorath. (Everything is less shoehorned than that walrus! –Jimmy)
  • An ultimatum on film: forerunner to Xiliens in Monster Zero. ( J -Jimmy)
  • It’s the satellite from The Mysterians! (24:00)
  • Red Satan is the name of world’s largest submarine. And it’s an American sub. Oh boy…. Could it be a commentary on nuclear power and not an anti-American sentiment? (I doubt it. –Jimmy)
  • H-bomb usage limited by water depth and “moral principles.” Japan’s anti-nuclear principles? (This was several years before those were codified. –Jimmy)
  • The UN wants Gotengo to be used. Requests it. International feel.
  • One of Jinguji’s men follows Makoto. Gets captured. Only gives ‘reservation number” (8561), a Navy tag to be used for Yasukuni Shrine. Very interesting. Only time I can think of that this was mentioned in a Honda film. Amano snaps to attention when he learns who Kusumi is.
  • True Stories magazine. Sounds more legit.
  • Mu leader called Hierarch. Interesting. Subservient to Empress.
  • “Transfer our hardships to the slaves on earth!”
  • 35:00: Lots of extras. Another sign Honda wanted to direct a musical. (I’d watch a musical of this film! But I’m strange. –Jimmy)
  • Protagonists are met by soldiers wearing well-maintained WWII Japanese military uniforms.
  • Has WWII-era “rising sun” flag. Not used now because of war connections.
  • The Gotengo is a crazy-cool vehicle. Flying sub with drill on front and freeze laser. Not unlike Nautilus in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Film spends several minutes showing it off. (Just like Robert Wise would do 16 years later in the first Star Trek film. –Jimmy)
  • 47:45: Thunderbirds are go!
  • Unusual for a Sekizawa script because of how political it is; but it wouldn’t have been appropriate for Kimura because he was too cynical. This is a story of moving on, redemption. It reflects his attitude. Kimura wouldn’t have been right for this story.
  • The second dance number makes me think of The Ten Commandments for some reason. The set and costumes, maybe?
  • Is Manda their god or the messenger? He’s called both.
  • Manda appears 63 minutes in.
  • Mt. Mihara. I associate that with G84/vs. Biollante.
  • The sinkhole scene is spectacular. Incredible effects. Horrifying.
  • The Mu ships with the dragon figureheads look great. I love how lasers fire from the mouths.
  • Now Jinguji has his white uniform?!
  • The Empress packed her clothes?
  • Manda looks like a Chinese dragon. Is that saying something? (Not everything is a hidden message, Nathan. Cool your English major jets. –Jimmy)
  • Manda is dispatched pretty quickly. Sign of being added last minute during short production.

That’s a wrap for this week!

Our next episode will be part two of the “Daimajin Days” with Return of Daimjain and the return of Joe and Joy “I-Don’t-Look-Like-a-Swordfighter” Metter. Then my former nemesis Michael “The Kaiju Groupie” Hamilton makes his first appearance on the show (remarkably) for a Board-approved extended mini-sode on Dogora, the Space Monster. I’ll be nice to him since he’s a Patron. He helps to keep the emergency evacuation system (EES) working properly in the radio studio.

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Jimmy’s Notes on ‘Episode 22: The Metters vs. Daimajin’

Published August 17, 2020

Episode 22 was beset by many-a-peril during its production, both in front of the mics and behind the scenes. It was late for our Patreon Patrons, but we did manage to get it published on time. We’re a stubborn and determined lot.

That being said, I have more notes on this than I usually do—mostly because Marchand was copy-and-pasting stuff from his research as opposed to writing paraphrases. I’ve spoken with him about this and convinced him it would be better for everyone involved—especially the Tourists on the show—to do that less from now on. He agreed.

So, after some copious editing, here are my notes.

  • Nathan, goofball that you are, you didn’t set up your new microphone correctly, which is why the episode doesn’t sound as good as it normally does. Live and learn. And research your mic next time!
  • There has actually been more kaiju films where the suit actor’s eyes could be seen than you think. I’m surprised Nathan forgot to mention these. Besides Daimajin and War of the Gargantuas, there was King Kong (1976) (how could he forget that?), Yeti: Giant of the 2oth Century (unfortunately for everyone besides Travis from Kaiju Weekly), and if you want to count him, the Snowman from Half Human. The Babylonian Demon from Yokai Monsters: Spook Warfare has a suit actor whose eyes can be seen. I was also told if you pause Ebirah, Horror of the Deep at the right spot when Godzilla rips off the crustacean’s claw, you can seen Haruo Nakajima’s eyes, although that’s a filmmaking mistake.
  • Haniwa weren’t so much guardians as they were grave markers and boundary markers, and later were believed to house the spirit of the deceased. Read more here.
  • Moses pleads for Israel in Exodus 32:11-14.
  • It’s pronounced, “Samanosuke,” Nathan. And Joe. Man, this name is a tongue twister for us Americans.
  • You don’t believe I have a lightsaber, huh? Just wait. Also, Disney can have it—when the Mouse pulls from my cold, dead fingers!
  • The line from Firefly Nathan was trying to remember was said by Captain Mal: “If I ever kill you, you’ll be awake, you’ll be facing me, and you’ll be armed.”
  • Joe and Joy are going to start saying, “You wants to take Teddy to see Gamera?” as a euphemism for a walk.
  • Nathan says, “Fascinating,” a lot in this episode. Is he Spock?
  • He also says, “Interesting,” a lot. Expand your vocabulary!
  • It wasn’t the Onin War you referenced in episode 13, Nathan, it was the Genpei War.
  • Joe didn’t say it was Portuguese missionaries, Nathan. He said it was Catholic missionaries.
  • Dainichi is the central deity worshipped in esoteric Buddhism. You can read more about him here.

Here’s Nathan’s overabundance of leftover notes.

The Film

  • Eyeball at beginning is meant to symbolize Daimjain contentedly watching events.
  • I didn’t remember the scene of the kid being chased by the forest spirits. The hand was just a tree branch. What’s with the quick cuts of animals? Was this real?
  • The princess is pale, unlike the others. (Old timey view of feminine beauty. I preferred tanned girls, myself. –Jimmy)
  • The bullets don’t hurt Daimajin. Chains cannot hold Daimajin. Daimajin controls the elements, like fire.

Toku Topics

Sengoku Period

  • “The beginning of the Sengoku period witnessed the Onin War (1467-1477 CE) which destroyed Heiankyo. The fighting that followed over the next century would eventually reduce the warlords to only a few hundred in number as the country was effectively carved up into princedoms.” (https://www.ancient.eu/Sengoku_Period/)
  • “The Ashikaga Shogunate (1338-1573 CE) held control of the central part of Japan, and the bureaucracy at the capital was relatively efficient, but the outer provinces were left semi-independent as local warlords or daimyo ruled their own lands how they saw fit. Local officials and estate managers such as the jito found it much more difficult to secure the taxes the state was due from landlords who now had no fear of any government reprisals.” (https://www.ancient.eu/Sengoku_Period/)
  • “In the absence of a strong central government…the rule of law was very often replaced by the rule of force. The more powerful lords absorbed the lands of their weaker rivals and became known as sengoku daimyo. The warlords then passed on their position of strength to their male heir and so the position of daimyo became hereditary unless challenged by ambitious subordinate commanders. The wealth of the daimyo came from commerce, trade, and taxes imposed on those peasants who farmed on their estates. Daimyo may have been a law unto themselves but many of them did formulate law codes to better regulate the sometimes thousands of people under their command.” (https://www.ancient.eu/Sengoku_Period/)
  • “The Warring States period kicked off with the Onin War (Onin No Ran, 1467-1477 CE). This civil war – its name derives from the year period – broke out because of the bitter rivalry between the Hosokawa and Yamana family groups. By the end of the decade, though, the fighting had sucked in most of the influential clans of Japan. The conflict revolved around each side backing a different candidate for the position of shogun – a particularly pointless debate since shoguns, like the emperors, no longer had any real power. Rather, the war is seen by historians as merely a result of the overly aggressive warlords of Japan being rather too keen to put their samurai to some use – good or bad. Even when the war ended in 1477 CE there was no victor and no resolution to the inherent militarism that fractured Japan for the next century as warlords fought each other with no one in particular ever achieving any dominance.” (https://www.ancient.eu/Sengoku_Period/)
  • “The Onin War had sorted out who were the weak and the strong daimyo, who thus became much fewer in number (by 1600 CE there would be only about 250 of them in all of Japan).” (https://www.ancient.eu/Sengoku_Period/)
  • “The upheaval resulted in the further weakening of central authority, and throughout Japan, regional lords, called daimyōs, rose to fill the vacuum. In the course of this power shift, well-established clans such as the Takeda and the Imagawa, who had ruled under the authority of both the Kamakura and Muromachi bakufu, were able to expand their spheres of influence. There were many, however, whose positions eroded and were eventually usurped by more capable underlings.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sengoku_period)
  • “As a result of the constant threat of war and pillage in this period, castles were built with much greater frequency than previously in towns, at mountain passes, along vital roads, and on larger estates. The latter type, which could take the form of fortified mansions, was known as yashiki; Ichijodani (base of the Asakura family) and the moated Tsutsujigasaki (of the Takeda family) were excellent examples of this building trend. Some castles, such as Omi-Hachiman near Lake Biwa, caused an entire town to later spring up around them, the jokomachi. … Constructed on large stone bases, the wooden superstructures included walls, towers, and gates, which had narrow windows for archers and from which hung boulders on ropes, ready to be dropped on any attackers.” (https://www.ancient.eu/Sengoku_Period/)
  • “As trade with Ming China grew, the economy developed, and the use of money became widespread as markets and commercial cities appeared. Combined with developments in agriculture and small-scale trading, this led to the desire for greater local autonomy throughout all levels of the social hierarchy. As early as the beginning of the 15th century, the suffering caused by earthquakes and famines often served to trigger armed uprisings by farmers weary of debt and taxes.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sengoku_period)
  • “Towns and cities became larger, with many having a population of over 30,000, thanks to a boom in international trade (daimyo wanted foreign luxury goods like Ming porcelain to demonstrate their status), weekly markets, and the development of trade guilds. Measures, weights, and currencies were standardized in many domains to facilitate trade. Meanwhile, the fortunes of the many Buddhist temples scattered across Japan plummeted as no longer backed by the state they could not so easily extract contributions from local communities.” (https://www.ancient.eu/Sengoku_Period/)
  • “The Ashikaga Shogunate would be terminated by the warlord Oda Nobunaga (l. 1534-1582 CE) who finally brought some stability to central Japan. Oda Nobunaga had expanded his territory gradually through the 1550/60s CE from his base at Nagoya Castle as he defeated all comers thanks to his martial skills and innovative use of firearms. The Warring States period comes to an end with the seizure of Heiankyo by Nobunaga in 1568 CE. The warlord then exiled the last Ashikaga shogun, Ashikaga Yoshiaki, in 1573 CE. The unification of the country would continue under Nobunaga’s immediate successors, Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598 CE) and Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616 CE).” (https://www.ancient.eu/Sengoku_Period/)
  • “The Sengoku period ended when Toyotomi loyalists were defeated at the Siege of Osaka in 1615.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sengoku_period)

Christianity Comes to Japan

  • “The Portuguese land on Tanegashima, becoming the first Europeans to arrive in Japan, and introduce the harquebus into Japanese warfare.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sengoku_period)
  • “In 1543 the first Europeans arrived in Japan. Two (maybe three) Portuguese merchants aboard a Chinese ship were blown off course and forced to land on the island of Tanegashima, just south of Kyushu. Only six years later, the first Christian missionary came to Japan. What followed was, what some historians call, Japan’s ‘Christian century.’ Despite 100 years of Christian dominance, today only about 1% of the Japanese population is Christian. … Those first Portuguese men to arrive at Tanegashima also brought the first guns to Japan. Today’s article will focus on the sixteenth century, during which time guns and Christianity were often entwined. Both had a heavy impact on Kyushu and Japan at large during this period, known as the Warring States period (sengoku jidai), a century where central authority in Japan had lost its sway and samurai clans vied for dominance.” (https://www.tofugu.com/japan/history-of-christianity/)
  • “The Shimazu family who ruled Satsuma also controlled Tanegashima, the island where the first Europeans had landed. The Shimazu had been impressed by European firearms and were quick to reproduce them. So, when Xavier arrived they respectfully welcomed him, curious to see what he might have brought along. They gave him permission to speak to their subjects and, through translators, they began to preach. Xavier and his Spanish colleagues began studying Japanese, and soon were attempting the occasional sermon in Japanese, transliterated into the Roman alphabet for them. For the most part, Xavier and European missionaries who followed were quite impressed with the Japanese people.” (https://www.tofugu.com/japan/history-of-christianity/)
  • Ten months after Xavier’s arrival, the Shimazu changed their stance towards the Christians, prohibiting proselytizing and further conversions. This was probably prompted by the landing of a Portuguese ship at Hirado, in northern Kyushu and outside of Shimazu territory, which dashed Shimazu hopes of securing European trade through the missionaries. … (he went several journeys and preached, winning some converts).” (https://www.tofugu.com/japan/history-of-christianity/)
  • “Nobunaga never converted, and it doesn’t seem that he ever believed in the Christian message, but he certainly had no love for Buddhist institutions either. A number had been thorns in his side. He burned the great temple complex on Mt. Hiei, killing roughly 25,000, and spent eleven years fighting the ikko-ikki, a type of militant Buddhist group. … Unfortunately…in 1582 Nobunaga was betrayed by one of his generals, and chose to kill himself rather than be captured. … Nobunaga had been a source of hope for the Jesuits, and with his death there were even harder times ahead for the Christian mission in Japan.” (https://www.tofugu.com/japan/history-of-christianity/)
  • “Just before leaving Japan in 1551, Francis Xavier met with Otomo Sorin (1530-1587), lord of Bungo (in eastern Kyushu). … In 1578, he converted to Christianity, taking the name Francisco in honor of Xavier. Actually, a marital problem led to his conversion. Sorin had married a woman in 1550, who was staunch in her traditional religious beliefs and shared a contentious relationship with the Jesuits. She is known only as Jezebel, the name the Jesuits used to refer to her. In 1578, Sorin became ill, which the priest Luis Frois claimed was Jezebel’s fault. He was nursed by one of her ladies-in-waiting, with whom he fell in love. Sorin had his new paramour spirited away to a seaside villa where they were free to hear Christian instruction. First, she converted, taking the name Julia. Later Sorin also converted. They soon married, and Jezebel, as a pagan, was no object. To many observers Sorin’s behavior was scandalous, but to the Jesuits he was a hero. Sorin’s happiness did not last long.” (https://www.tofugu.com/japan/history-of-christianity/)
  • “…in 1582, (Sorin) and two other Christian lords sponsored the first official Japanese embassy to Europe. The embassy was the brainchild of Italian Jesuit, Allesandro Valignano (1539-1606), who had been preaching in Japan for three years. The Tensho Embassy (named after the reign-name of the time) consisted of four Japanese converts. … The embassy arrived in Lisbon in 1584, and from there went on to Rome. During their European tour, they met several kings and two successive popes. In Rome, one of the converts was made an honorary citizen. They returned to Japan in 1590, after which Valignano ordained them as the first Japanese Jesuit fathers.” (https://www.tofugu.com/japan/history-of-christianity/)
  • “Crucifixion was introduced into Japan during the Sengoku period (1467–1573), after a 350-year period with no capital punishment.[116] It is believed to have been suggested to the Japanese by the introduction of Christianity into the region,[116] although similar types of punishment had been used as early as the Kamakura period. Known in Japanese as haritsuke (磔), crucifixion was used in Japan before and during the Tokugawa Shogunate. Several related crucifixion techniques were used. Petra Schmidt, in “Capital Punishment in Japan”, writes:[117] ‘Execution by crucifixion included, first of all, hikimawashi (i.e, being paraded about town on horseback); then the unfortunate was tied to a cross made from one vertical and two horizontal poles. The cross was raised, the convict speared several times from two sides, and eventually killed with a final thrust through the throat. The corpse was left on the cross for three days. If one condemned to crucifixion died in prison, his body was pickled and the punishment executed on the dead body. Under Toyotomi Hideyoshi, one of the great 16th-century unifiers, crucifixion upside down (i.e, sakasaharitsuke) was frequently used. Water crucifixion (mizuharitsuke) awaited mostly Christians: a cross was raised at low tide; when the high tide came, the convict was submerged under water up to the head, prolonging death for many days.’ Crucifixion was used as a punishment for prisoners of war during World War II. Ringer Edwards, an Australian prisoner of war, was crucified for killing cattle, along with two others. He survived 63 hours before being let down.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crucifixion#Japan)
  • “Added to the fear of foreign conquest, one of the biggest concerns that Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu had always had with Christianity was the matter of loyalty. For a Christian samurai, did allegiance to the shogun or the pope take precedence? In 1612 there was a bribery scandal, involving a daimyo and a member of Ieyasu’s council, both Christians. This showed that ties between the faithful might be stronger than those to the central authority. In addition, at the execution of a Christian, a priest told the crowd that obedience to the Church should trump obedience to their daimyo. …Then in 1614 he issued the ‘Statement on the Expulsion of the Bataren,’ in which accusations against the priests were leveled. They were commanded to leave the country at once, and Japanese converts were ordered to renounce their faith. Most missionaries left the country, but some continued to operate in secret. Those who were caught were executed. Anti-Christian measures became even harsher under the third Tokugawa shogun, Iemitsu, who took power in 1623. It’s estimated that in 1612 there were approximately 300,000 Christians in Japan, but by 1625 there were half that or fewer.” (https://www.tofugu.com/japan/history-of-christianity/)
  • “The Tokugawa shogunate had begun to persecute Christians, largely out of a fear that Christianity would subvert the order and hierarchy that they had struggled for so long to create and maintain. In 1614, Tokugawa Ieyasu issued a proclamation expelling Catholic missionaries from Japan. Japanese Christians were forced to go underground, becoming known as Hidden Christians (kakure kirishitan). Under successive shoguns, persecution intensified. The final straw was to come in 1637, when a revolt broke out in Kyushu.” (https://www.tofugu.com/japan/history-of-christianity/)
  • “The Shimabara Peninsula lies on the western part of Kyushu, somewhat out of the way. … The life of a Japanese peasant was generally filled with a good deal of suffering. It wasn’t unusual for a lord to treat them poorly. Yet, Matsukura Shigemasa (the new lord as of 1610) was exceptionally cruel. He taxed everything, even births and deaths, and didn’t take kindly to those who couldn’t pay. Being thrown into a water-filled prison was perhaps the best one could hope for. His most notorious punishment was called the raincoat dance (mino odori), so named because the victim, wearing a straw raincoat, was doused in oil and set on fire, causing them to dance about. Sometimes the family members of those who failed to pay were taken hostage or punished as well. In 1637, when one of Shigemasa’s men assaulted a farmer’s pregnant wife the people finally snapped.”
  • “This led to a rebellion that holed up in Hara Castle, which was defensible despite the peasants only using farming tools since weapons were illegal for them.” 
  • “This young man was Amakusa Shiro (c. 1621-1638). Born on one of the Amakusa Islands, he was the son of a former Konishi clan retainer (the family’s Christian head, Konishi Yukinaga was killed for picking the wrong side at Sekigahara). He studied with Jesuits in Nagasaki, and according to local lore, made a name for himself preaching equality and dignity for the poor on the island of Oyano. Little else is known about him, but during the rebellion his followers began to think he was the one foretold years earlier by Father Marco Ferraro, a priest who worked in the area before being expelled. He said that, ‘After 25 years a child of God will appear and save the people.’” (https://www.tofugu.com/japan/history-of-christianity/)
  • “The rebels were able to hold out for a surprisingly long time. However, as the winter months wore on, hunger took its toll and the defenses were breached. The victors spent three days slaughtering the rebels. An estimated total of 37,000 were killed, including Amakusa Shiro, and as John Dougill points out, ‘It’s invidious to play the numbers game when it concerns the dead, but the number killed at Shimabara is almost identical to the 39,000 who died in the Nagasaki atomic bomb.’ 10,000 heads were staked up around the castle, and 3,300 were sent to Nagasaki for the same treatment: a clear warning to the people.” (https://www.tofugu.com/japan/history-of-christianity/)
  • Following the Shimabara Rebellion, the Tokugawa took the final step in guarding the country against foreign subversion by expelling all Europeans from Japan and banning their reentry on pain of death. The one exception to this was the tiny island of Dejima, just off Nagasaki’s coast, where an extremely limited number of Dutch ships were allowed to dock and trade. (https://www.tofugu.com/japan/history-of-christianity/)

If you read all of this, you’re my hero(es).

Join us next week when Nathan analyzes a film with one of the most beautiful ships ever constructed: Atragon. Maybe I’ll tell the story of how I took that ship for a joyride in my younger days. (Oh wait, I already did on Kaiju Weekly). Then the Metters return next month for part two of the “Daimajin Days” to discuss Return of Daimajin. I’ll be keeping my foil handy in case Joy tries starting anything with me. 😛

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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

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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.

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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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Jimmy’s Notes on ‘Episode 20: Bex vs. Rebirth of Mothra III’

Published July 15, 2020

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. 😉

Follow me on Twitter: @NasaJimmy

#JimmyFromNASALives
#WeShallOvercome

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

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KAIJU CON-LINE 2020 Promo

Published July 6, 2020

From the event’s official website:

MARK YOUR CALENDARS, MONSTER KIDS!
ON THE WEEKEND OF JULY 11 & 12, THE MONSTERS ARE IN REVOLT AS KAIJU CON-LINE TAKES OVER THE INTERNET!

WHAT IS KAIJU CON-LINE?
WITH THE CANCELATION OF THE ANNUAL GATHERING OF KAIJU FANS, A FEW MOTIVATED MONSTER MANIACS ARE REPLICATING A SMALL PORTION OF THE FUN WITH THEIR FELLOW FANS ON THAT SAME WEEKEND, LIKE A VIRTUAL CONVENTION.

OVER THE WEEKEND, A MYRIAD OF ONLINE ACTIVITIES ARE AVAILABLE FOR KAIJU FANS AROUND THE GLOBE TO ENJOY – ALL FOR FREE.

YES, KAIJU CON-LINE IS A FREE EVENT! WE ARE DOING WHAT WE CAN TO MAKE THIS SHOW AS AWESOME AS POSSIBLE AND REACHING OUT TO MEMBERS OF OUR KAIJU COMMUNITY TO HELP IN A NUMBER OF WAYS TO CONTRIBUTE. WE HOPE YOU HAVE A MONSTROUS TIME AT KAIJU CON-LINE FROM THE COMFORT OF YOUR OWN HOME!

(END)

Join Nathan Marchand and Danny DiManna (author and creator of the Godzilla Novelization Project) for their panel, “The Original MCU: Connecting Showa Era Continuity” Sunday at 2pm EST. They will connect the dots in the often loose continuity of Toho’s Showa era tokusatsu films.

This is all only some of the great programming being offered this weekend! Check it out!

Special thanks to Henry the Host of the “It Came from a Monster Movie!” podcast for this promo.

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Jimmy’s Notes on ‘Episode 19: Gorath (feat. Jack GMan Hudgens)

Published July 1, 2020

I still can’t believe that I don’t remember meeting GMan at the Monsterland Tavern when he visited. I’m starting to think the barkeep mixed some Faro Island red berry juice into my Jack Daniels. I especially would’ve remembered the emergency evacuation switch only launching the walls and ceiling and not the whole building. That was a fun recovery mission. The damn thing flew all the way back to the Japanese mainland and landed on a beach. Thankfully, it was closed due to COVID-19, so no one got hurt.

Regardless, I have my notes to get into for episode 19 on Gorath:

  • Yes, Ryo Ikedbe died in 2010.
  • It’s “Kimura” not “Kimaira,” Jack.
  • Near as I can tell, it was Honda who decided to change Moguera into a robot in The Mysterians.
  • You said “Kimura” when you meant “Shimura,” Nathan. But considering how similar their names are—Takashi Shimura vs. Takeshi Kimura—that’s understandable.
  • Confirm with Danny that “Maguma” wasn’t in Ultra Q originally.
  • Yes. I like Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla. Fight me!

Now for Nathan’s leftover notes, which I must include to fulfill my contractual obligations:

  • Starts with two women stripping to go swimming before being interrupted by rocket launch. I don’t remember if we see them again.
  • Gorath is a rogue star with 6,000 Earth’s mass but is ¾ the size. Very dense. For perspective, the Sun has 330,000 times Earth’s mass and is 109 times the diameter. (You’ve made this NASA engineer happy. –Jimmy)
  • Explore Gorath like Columbus, huh? (Before or after his statue is torn down? –Jimmy)
  • Does gravity increase exactly in relation to mass? (Indeed, it does. Read about it here. –Jimmy)
  • Jun Tazaki is the captain of the JX-1. He says he’d tell his men if they were going to die to reassure them—then tells them they can’t escape a few minutes later. (Reminds me of my first training mission. It was a lot like the Kobayashi Maru. –Jimmy)
  • Would it be in poor taste for them to yell, “Banzai!” just before dying? (Not in Japan. But that might be why it was cut in the U.S. release. –Jimmy)
  • The zero G scene is pretty good.
  • A light, even comical scene in a Kimura script?! What?! For some reason, I feel like it belongs in M*A*S*H*. No subtitles for the song for some reason. It’s a singing joyride. Yet more evidence that Honda secretly wanted to direct a musical. Composed by Kan Ishi.
  • Over 11.8 billion yen invested in JX-1. (Chump change compared to the Gohten! –Jimmy)
  • Other ships are being built in other countries, but they say Japan’s ship is putting them to shame. Nationalistic? (Nope. Patriotic. –Jimmy)
  • Hey, it’s Dr. Who in the bar! (Let’s hope not. I’m not giving him his “Robot Kong” back! –Jimmy)
  • The wide shot of the ship fleet looks like models on a board.
  • The music during the construction scene almost sounds like Ifukube. The models look cool, though.
  • They have a 13th floor! (Good thing I’m not superstitious. –Jimmy)
  • The power core looks like the TNG warp core! (I know, right! –Jimmy)
  • The evacuation scene actually reminded me of G2014.
  • UN Gorath Countermeasures Center. They have a lot of countermeasures centers in the Heisei era.
  • They send Shimura to South Pole but won’t tell him why. Probably because Maguma looks stupid.
  • The composite shot with Maguma looks good.
  • I thought Tsuburaya didn’t want blood in his film? Maguma’s death is gory.
  • And staring at Gorath on a TV screen cures amnesia. Huh? (Yeah, I got nothing on this. –Jimmy)
  • They celebrate saving Earth at the end despite the fact it only cost the Moon and billions in damages. (Still better than being dead. –Jimmy)
  • Science and scientists are credited with saving the world. Another thematic statement.
  • They do at least talk about putting the Earth back in its orbit. (Which is good, because, well, I haven’t the time to list all the dire consequences of moving it. –Jimmy)

LeMay

  • Maguma was to come back for DAM but didn’t.
  • Kenji Sahara had a broken leg during production, but Honda insisted he be in the film.
  • Had more time and money given to it than other tokusatsu films.

Galbraith IV

  • Former military pilot turned sci-fi author Jojiro Okami’s story was the inspiration for this. As was Battle in Outer Space, The Mysterians, and Dogora.

Honda Biography

  • Released just six months after the USSR launched the first man in space, Yuri Gagarin. Embodies Honda’s twin ideals of international cooperation and science above politics.
  • It was made at the height of the space race. It borrows the plot of When Worlds Collide by Gorge Pal. Honda shows science being pursued ethically and positively, unlike in his previous sci-fi films.
  • Endo possibly takes a shot at Pal’s film: “Mankind [used to be] separated into white, black, and yellow races before the United Nations. Trust, honor, and cooperation were qualities that brought us together.”
  • “The common folk cannot be at the forefront of big problems, but there are so many of them…so, those scenes create depth for the story. These are the types of people that I want in my films. This is the very foundation of my films.” –Honda
  • There’s no panic because Honda thought that wouldn’t seem real.
  • Honda regretted letting the walrus Magma be added to the film. “That was definitely the human weakness of Ishiro Honda. That idea came from above. They make more profit with monsters [in the movie]. I think that left a scar on the film.” It was originally scripted as a “dinosaur-like creature,” but Honda didn’t want to remind audiences of Godzilla.
  • Ryfle and Godizewski argue that the controversial US-Japan alliance casts a shadow on the film. The “futuristic” 1980s Japan looks like post-Occupation Japan of 1961. Japan and America are above reproach, while fictional nations like Crenion and the USSO offer mild dissent before acquiescing. Japanese scientists are more advanced.

“Intergalactic star” (Wikipedia) (These are excerpts from that article. –Jimmy)

  • “Another hypothesis, that is not mutually exclusive to the galactic collisions hypothesis, is that intergalactic stars were ejected from their galaxy of origin by a close encounter with the supermassive black hole in the galaxy center, should there be one. In such a scenario, it is likely that the intergalactic star(s) was originally part of a multiple star system where the other stars were pulled into the supermassive black hole and the soon-to-be intergalactic star was accelerated and ejected away at very high speeds. Such an event could theoretically accelerate a star to such high speeds that it becomes a hypervelocity star, thereby escaping the gravitational well of the entire galaxy.[6] In this respect, model calculations (from 1988) predicts the supermassive black hole in the center of our Milky Way galaxy to expel one star every 100,000 years on average.[7]”

 “Star unlike any found in the Milky Way appears to be an intergalactic intruder” by Michael Irving (Again, these are excerpts from the article. –Jimmy)

  • “Astronomers have discovered a star in the Milky Way that doesn’t belong. Officially known as J1124+4535, the star has a chemical composition unlike any others ever observed in our home galaxy, suggesting it’s an intergalactic interloper that may have come from a dwarf galaxy that was swallowed up by the Milky Way.”
  • “Through LAMOST observations and a follow-up using the Subaru Telescope in Japan, J1124 was found to have a relatively low amount of magnesium and high levels of europium. This particular chemical composition so far seems to be unique to this star, compared to the rest of the Milky Way.”
  • “This kind of galactic merger happens all the time. The aftermaths of collisions between the Milky Way and smaller galaxies are visible all around us, and many more are predicted in the future – culminating in a spectacular merger between the Milky Way and Andromeda in about four billion years’ time.”
  • “J1124+4535 isn’t the first intergalactic star to be discovered in our neck of the woods. Stars traveling at hypervelocity speeds have been found to be hurtling towards the Milky Way from other galaxies, with the Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy that orbits our own, the most likely point of origin.”

“Lost in Space: Half of All Stars Are Rogues Between Galaxies” by Charles Q. Choi (Once again, these are excerpts from the article. –Jimmy)

  • “As many as half of all stars in the universe lie in the vast gulfs of space between galaxies, an unexpected discovery made in a new study using NASA rockets. These stars could help solve mysteries regarding missing light and particles that theory had suggested should exist, scientists say.”
  • “In the study, astronomers investigated the extragalactic background light, the sum of all light emitted by stars in the universe throughout history. Prior research had detected fluctuations in this light that did not appear to come from any known galaxies. Scientists had suggested these fluctuations might come from primordial galaxies, the very earliest galaxies, whose light has yet to be detected.”
  • “Instead, this finding of bright, blue light unexpectedly reveals these fluctuations may come from something called ‘intrahalo light,’ which is created by stars flung into intergalactic space during titanic collisions and mergers of galaxies. The researchers found that there was as much light from these intergalactic stars as there was from stars located in galaxies.”

“HUBBLE FINDS INTERGALACTIC STARS” (For the last time, these are excerpts from the article. –Jimmy)

  • “NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has found a long sought population of ‘stellar outcasts’ – stars tossed out of their home galaxy into the dark emptiness of intergalactic space. This is the first time stars have been found more than 300,000 light-years (three Milky Way diameters) from the nearest big galaxy.”
  • “The isolated stars dwell in the Virgo cluster of galaxies, about 60 million light-years away. The results suggest this population of ‘lone stars’ (Haha! –Jimmy) accounts for 10 percent of the Virgo cluster’s mass, or 1 trillion Sun-like stars adrift among the 2,500 galaxies in Virgo.”
  • “Intergalactic stars have been predicted to exist as a result of galaxy interactions and mergers early in a galaxy cluster’s history. These close encounters should have ripped stars out of their home galaxies and tossed them into intergalactic space, where they drift free of the gravitational influence of any single galaxy.”
  • “The stars are bright red giants – stars late in their lives. Presumably there are many fainter stars – perhaps as many as 10 million – in the same field but are below Hubble’s sensitivity.”

I wish they’d spent more time discussing rogue stars, but we were pressed for time thanks to our contracts. Jack understood that. Perhaps in the future MIFV could do “redux” episodes as Nathan as suggested once or twice. Then I could go nuts researching rogue stars (again)!

In the meantime, our resident “Mothrian” Bex from Redeemed Otaku returned to finish up the “Summer of Mothra,” which you’ll hear next week. Let’s just say things got…Star Trek-ian. Then Nathan does a mini-analysis of Matango as the second episode in July.

Be there or be square!

Follow me on Twitter: @NasaJimmy

#JimmyFromNASALives
#WeShallOvercome

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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.

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© 2020 Moonlighting Ninjas Media

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