The King of the Monsters has his cinema dominance challenged by hit anime Your Name, and it won’t be the first time he’s been defeated by a movie with that title.

Following the highly anticipated theatrical release of Shin Godzilla in late July, the King of the Monsters is getting more media and popular attention in Japan than he has in decades. While he never completely went away, the heavy, mature approach taken by new-to-the-series director Hideaki Anno has made Godzilla pop culturally significant in a way that’s reminiscent of his 1954 debut.

Just how successful has the movie been? As of September 4, 38 days after its release, Shin Godzilla has pulled in six billion yen (US$58.2 million) in box office revenue, more than any other domestically produced live-action film this year. The final tally is expected to break 7 billion, which would be more than 2016’s top earner so far, the newest Detective Conan anime movie, which was released in April and took in 6.4 billion yen in ticket sales.

And yet, it’s looking doubtful that, when the dust settles, Shin Godzilla will be the number-one domestic movie in Japan for 2016. Your Name, the newest theatrical feature from anime director Makoto Shinkai, debuted on August 26. In just 10 days, the film has raked in 3.8 billion (as of September 4). In other words, Your Name has made almost two-thirds as much as Shin Godzilla despite the kaiju movie having a one-month-plus head start.

▼ The trailer for Shinkai’s Your Name

With that sort of momentum, analysts are saying the anime could break the eight or even nine-billion yen mark, so it looks like Godzilla is going to be defeated by Your Name. Really, though, kaiju historians should have seen this outcome coming, since it’s almost exactly what happened 62 years ago.

Back in 1954, when Godzilla was rampaging on the silver screen for the very first time, the Japanese film industry didn’t measure box office revenue. It did, though, keep track of the distribution fees that movies earned, and the original Godzilla produced an impressive 1.6 billion yen for its studio. Still, that was less than half of the 3.3 billion yen for 1954’s top domestic movie. And what was that movie’s title?

Your Name.

While the Shinkai anime has no official connection to the 1954 live-action hit (which was the culmination of a trilogy), the two films have the exact same Japanese title, Kimi no Na ha, which translates to “Your Name.” Both movies to bear the Your Name title also focus on a trepidatious romance between a man and woman who feel an undeniable attraction, yet can’t easily be with one another (although it’s the chaos of World War II-era Japan that gets in the would-be lovers’ way in the live-action Your Name, as opposed to science-fiction body swapping in the anime).

Historic precedent or not, 2016’s increasingly likely surprise upset has to be a little vexing for the Shin Godzilla team, since for a while it looked like nothing was going to steal their thunder. On the plus side, both the new kaiju movie and Shinkai anime come from distributer Toho, so in a lot of ways, the situation is really a win-win. Still, if Godzilla’s handlers want the big guy to reign over all domestic competition at the box office, they might want to make sure that any sequel plans they have don’t overlap with yet another movie called Your Name.

Source: Asagei Plus via Jin, Anime News Network (1, 2)
Top image: YouTube/東宝MOVIEチャンネル
Insert image: Hulu Japan

Amazing Kaiju mini-statue costs a king of the monsters’ ransom.

While director Hideaki Anno is a vocal fan of old-school, practical effect-laden kaiju movies and tokusatsu TV shows like Ultraman, his most recently completed project, Shin Godzilla, uses plenty of CG, especially for the titular star himself. That’s just the nature of film-making these days, as a guy in a rubber suit isn’t going to jive with audience expectations and standards for a big-budget, mainstream motion picture.

That said, even traditionalists will have to admit that the King of the Monsters looks pretty impressive in his latest movie, thanks to the hard work of its team of computer animators. And if you’re still sad about the newest on-screen Godzilla not having a physical body, perhaps buying this awesome jumbo-sized figure will fill the kaiju-shaped hole in your heart.

Based on the CG model used for the production of Shin Godzilla, the resin figure stands 52 centimeters (20.5 inches) tall. The figure is monotone (like the CG render), but the choice of a lighter color than Godzilla’s typical dark green helps highlight the extremely intricate details of his scales, spines, teeth, and skin.

The figure’s creation was a labor of love on the part of Anno, who not only served as product planning supervisor for it, but asked the manufacturers to sell it for, in his words, as low a price as possible. While that’s a heart-warming gesture to fans, this level of craftsmanship doesn’t come cheap, though, and the figure is priced at 993,600 yen (US$9,650).

It’s actually a little surprising that they didn’t just round that off to a cool million yen, since any fan willing to drop that much on Godzilla figure is hard-core enough that he or she would have undoubtedly been proud to own a seven-figure piece of merch. Either way, domestic preorders are being taken through the Evangelion Store (Evangelion being Anno’s other big hit) here between now and September 30.

Source: Kai-You
Images: Evangelion Store

Screenings this month to allow shouting, cosplay, and glow sticks.

Like a lot of pop culture phenomena in Japan, there’s a bit of a dichotomy behind the success of hit movie Shin Godzilla. On one hand, the film, which is largely the baby of director Hideaki Anno, treats the implications of a kaiju attack with more weighty realism than any other Godzilla film in recent memory. On the other hand, it’s still a giant monster flick, making it part of a genre that has a certain viscerally entertaining excitement to it, plus arguably a touch of inescapable silliness.

It’s those latter qualities that distributor Toho is indulging in with a series of special fan-oriented screenings of Shin Godzilla, which encourage moviegoers to come in cosplay, shout at the screen, and wave glow sticks inside the darkened theater. In the past, other film companies have tried to get Japanese crowds involved, sometimes with disappointing results, but that doesn’t look like it’s been a problem for Shin Godzilla, with this in-theater video full of all sorts of audience participation.

Taken at an early special screening in Tokyo’s Shinjuku, the audience makes itself heard the moment the movie starts, shouting “Show us what you can do, Hideaki Anno!” as soon as the lights go down at the video’s 0:34 mark.

In addition to cheering as their favorite characters make their initial appearances and face the challenges the movie throws at them, the audience plays off of specific lines, too. So when one character solemnly tells another, “I wanted to warn you” at 1:12, the audience calls out, “He warned you!”

And during the genre-mandatory scene, at 1:18, where a government official looks at shaky footage of a monster for the first time and incredulously asks, “What is that?”, the audience has the answer.

▼ “It’s his tail!”

Craft-oriented types even showed up with signs decorated with the lines they were prepared to shout, adding a surreal but stylish bit of punctuation to stern-faced disaster response meetings.

▼ “Give us your decision!!”

Even the glow stick use is color-coordinated, with red for when Godzilla is on-screen and green for the members of the Self-Defense Forces trying to stop him.

The video includes a reminder from distributor Toho that this is just how things went at one screening, so there’s no pressure to follow the examples. “We hope that at each theater the audiences will be able to enjoy it in their own way,” says the message concludes, and if you’d like to be part of that, the list of theaters for the next round of special screenings, to be held September 15 can be found here.

Source: IT Media
Images: YouTube/東宝MOVIEチャンネル

We have zero bones to pick with his artistic talent.

We’ve seen before that there’s lots you can do with KFC chicken bones after you’ve finished devouring all the delicious chicken meat, but one thing we never considered using them for is building a giant, skeleton monster.

And that’s exactly what Japanese Twitter “bone artist” and bone-lover @honeoyaji recently did, constructing a bone-chilling replica of Godzilla’s King Ghidorah:

▼ “Someone who asked if I could make a skeleton out of KFC bones wanted me to make King Ghidorah, so I did.”

ケンタの骨で骨格は作れるのか？ って奴で、キングギドラの骨格も作れる？って言われて 作ったのがこちらです。 三枚目はケンタ使用量 #骨格標本作りのススメ https://t.co/QlmNswU6hR

—
骨オヤジ×コダック (@honeoyaji) September 08, 2016

▼ “Hey right-head! And left-head!”
“Yes middle-head?”
“Why are three heads better than one?”
“We dunno, why?”
“Because you never get bone-ly!”
“…that is not humerus.”

▼ Remember, this thing is made entirely out of KFC bones.
Somehow, greasy chicken leftovers have been turned into art!

▼ The final tally of how much KFC it took to create this masterpiece.
And don’t worry, none of it was wasted; all the chicken was happily eaten.

It turns out that @honeoyaji is a professional bone artist, and the creation of the KFC King Ghidorah skeleton was requested by a TV station. He’s made a skele-ton of other bone sculptures, and here’s a small sampling of some:

▼ A skeleton chameleon that looks just as alive as if it had skin.

▼ A skeleton Sky Tree made just for fun
out of the leftover KFC bones from King Ghidorah.

これが、日の目を見なかったケンタ某ツリー。 https://t.co/O7UL2bQWs4

—
骨オヤジ×コダック (@honeoyaji) September 08, 2016

▼ And the curvy, alien-like skeleton of a boa constrictor.

If you want to keep up with all of @honeoyaji’s latest bone creations, be sure to give him a follow on Twitter. It’s the perfect way to bone up on your animal anatomy.

And if you want to see what’s under the skin of some of your favorite fictional characters, then check these out. If you don’t have the guts to do it though, we don’t blame you.

Source/images: Twitter/@honeoyaji

Now you can destroy Godzilla and his foes with your jaws in the heart of Tokyo!

To celebrate the continuing success of Shin Godzilla, the Namja Town indoor amusement park in Tokyo’s Ikebukuro district has decided to extend the kaiju monster-themed menu at its food court until 6 November.

Originally planned to run until 25 September, Tokyo-ites now have several more weeks to get their jaws around one of the stunning dishes on the menu.

▼ King Ghidora Golden Gyoza Curry Pilaf (880 yen)

▼ Mechagodzilla Mega Buster Tortilla (800 yen)

▼ Mothra Cornet Pastry Pie (830 yen)

▼ Godzilla Foot Gyoza (860 yen)

▼ Mothra Crispy Crepe (900 yen)

▼ Shin Godzilla Ice Cream (750 yen)

To celebrate the extension period, Namja Town will be releasing a new ice cream called the “Landing! Shin Godzilla Second Form Ice Cream”, which will be available at the theme park for 800 yen from 1 October. This dessert recreates the Shin Godzilla second form landing from the movie, and is made from a main body of chocolate, with fuselage chocolate shavings and coffee-flavoured ice cream, along with red raspberry sauce embellishments and two wafer buildings.

▼ The arrival of the Shin Godzilla Second Form Ice Cream, however, means the original Shin Godzilla Ice Cream will become obsolete after 30 September.

If you’re planning to visit while in Japan, you might want to go on 3 November, Godzilla’s birthday in Japan, when visitors can expect some extra special celebrations, including a one-day only “Birthday Plate” featuring all six desserts on the menu!

Theme park informaton
Namja Town / ナンジャタウン
Address: Tokyo-to, Toshima-ku, Higashi Ikebukuro 3-1-3 World Import Mart Building 2nd floor
東京都豊島区 東池袋3丁目1−3 ワールドインポートマートビル2階
Open 10:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m.
Website

Source, Images: Namco

Godzilla is known for making sudden appearances in Tokyo, but nobody at all expected him to show up here.

Shin Godzilla has been out in Japan for about two and a half months now, so it’s pretty safe to say most people who’re still making the trip to the theaters to see the movie are there for a repeat viewing. The proportion of dedicated kaiju enthusiasts is going to be even larger at one of the special screenings where the audience is encouraged to shout at the screen and wave glow sticks, since while that sounds like an exciting and fun experience, it’s probably not the ideal way to watch the movie for the very first time.

As such, Japanese Twitter user @hakuou_nurakura knew she’d be in the presence of other Godzilla superfans when she attended one such screening on October 4 at the Wald 9 cineplex in Tokyo’s Shinjuku district. But even then, she was amazed by the amount of love one fellow moviegoer was displaying for the King of the Monsters.

御自分で作られたそうです。すげぇしか出ない… inバルト9 #シンゴジラ #発声可能上映 https://t.co/AIenJkyh91

—
YUE (@hakuou_nurakura) October 04, 2016

Perched atop the ear of another person waiting to get into the theater was Godzilla himself. Specifically, it’s the creature’s second form from his newest film, as seen when he terrorizes Tokyo’s Kamata neighborhood. Slightly smaller and, in relative terms, cuter than the fully developed Godzilla, this version has been dubbed “Kamata-kun” by fans.

Now, even though Godzilla is a major film who’s riding a wave of popularity in Japan these days, you can’t just walk into a Tokyo boutique and ask the clerk for a detailed Kamata-kun earring. No, that eye-catching accessory is handmade and sitting on the ear of its creator, Twitter user @kyooochang.

@kyooochang 蒲田くんついた〜(^-^)！！ #発声可能上映 https://t.co/WjywaqPtZK

—
凶☺︎耳掛け蒲田 (@kyooochang) October 04, 2016

@kyooochang 正面ぎみだとこんな。常にこの二重幅になっといてくんねえかな私の瞼はよ https://t.co/wWun12cIdR

—
凶☺︎耳掛け蒲田 (@kyooochang) October 04, 2016

In addition to crafting the piece itself, @kyooochang handled the painting, as it started out pure white, like an albino Godzilla.

背ビレ全とっかえしてもりもりした。ダイソーの樹脂粘土柔らかくていい感じ(^o^) https://t.co/Nu6tGDAN0e

—
凶☺︎耳掛け蒲田 (@kyooochang) September 30, 2016

同じような角度から撮ったら多少は開いてんのわかるかな(口が) https://t.co/o6vKTy93al

—
凶☺︎耳掛け蒲田 (@kyooochang) October 01, 2016

The project required not only an eye for detail and nimble fingers, but also some clever thinking. Those impressive-looking spines along Godzilla’s back? They’re actually plastic aquarium decorations from 100-yen shop Daiso.

@kyooochang でかい背ビレはこれ。枝を少し落として使ってる(^o^) グリーンポットのやつは歯にも使った。 https://t.co/3KW2vWpo8y

—
凶☺︎耳掛け蒲田 (@kyooochang) October 01, 2016

ひたすらに塗りづらい背ビレ。先端に向かってゴールド入れるゾ https://t.co/1VplUT53Lz

—
凶☺︎耳掛け蒲田 (@kyooochang) October 02, 2016

一旦クリア吹くのでおうち作った https://t.co/TPnDiRCDOw

—
凶☺︎耳掛け蒲田 (@kyooochang) October 02, 2016

蒲田くんイヤーフックできたヨーー✌️️✌️️(^-^)✌️️✌️️4日の発声上映につけてく https://t.co/9v5xzIIzcN

—
凶☺︎耳掛け蒲田 (@kyooochang) October 02, 2016

It just goes to show that when you find a film franchise you can really love, you won’t be afraid to wear that passion on your sleeve or your ear.

Source, featured image: Twitter/@hakuou_nurakura

There’s a special reason it’s so big, and no, it’s not just because it looks awesome.

Last month, we were impressed at the size and detail of a 52-centimeter (20.5-inch) figure of Godzilla, in his newest form from this year’s hit Shin Godzilla. But while that piece of movie-inspired art would tower over many lesser kaiju toys, now comes an even more massive recreation of the King of the Monsters, one which stands (inclusive of its base) 192 centimeters (six feet, four inches) tall!

Based on Godzilla’s appearance in 1991’s Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, the figure/statue is the first release in merchandiser Bandai’s planned Human Size Figure line. That might seem like a bit of a misnomer, seeing as how 192 centimeters is well above the average height of a Japanese adult, but the size of the figure was chosen to duplicate that of the Godzilla suit worn by the performer in the 1991 film. In other words, one could argue that this is a life-size Godzilla figure.

Lovingly crafted by the artisans at Design Coco, who previously impressed up with their giant figure of Momo from anime To Love-ru, the Godzilla 1991 Hokkaido Version, as the piece is officially known, is an uncanny match of the creature’s onscreen color and texturing.

As anyone who collects Japanese pop culture figures can tell you, high-quality examples don’t come cheap, and due to its extremely large scale, the Godzilla 1991 Hokkaido Version is priced at a staggering 4,482,000 yen (US$43,500). Add in the fact that only 10 units will be made, with the right to purchase the figure being assigned through a random drawing, and this looks to be one of the most exclusive bits of Japanese film memorabilia ever produced.

Bandai will begin taking applications through its Premium Bandai website starting November 7, with shipping scheduled for July of next year. If you’re not willing to part with enough cash to buy a nicely optioned-optioned car in order to buy the Human Size Figure Godzilla, you’ll also be able to gaze upon his majesty at the Tamashi Nation 2016 figure and model show in Tokyo’s Akihabara neighborhood from October 28 to 30, or at the Shinjuku Marui Annex shopping center across town from November 1 to 14, where a prototype of the statue will be on display.

Related: Tamashi Nation 2016, Shinjuku Marui Annex
Source: Toho press release
Top image: Toho press release (edited by RocketNews24)

Hay! Godzilla! Aren’t you a little far from home out here in the field?

There are plenty of ways to show your love for Godzilla. You can watch the new Shin Godzilla movie or any of the old classic monster films, you can pour out a drink in honor of your favorite metaphor for the nuclear bomb…

…or you can gather over one hundred of your friends and build a seven-meter-tall (23 foot) straw statue over the course of four months.

筑前町！！！！！！😮😲 ここまでリアルとは……笑笑 あんま気合入れすぎやろ😳💥👏 https://t.co/MoIGFSLPJV

—
大輝 (@daiki10916) November 01, 2016

▼ Godzilla always has time to stop and smell the flowers.

筑前町のシン・ゴジラ １１月５日６日にある　かがし祭 今日は、テレビ局？も来て、目も光らせてた 目の点灯は前夜祭から　という事だった https://t.co/MF0lTFYT4N

—
関 (@longlongago_JPN) November 01, 2016

This monster of a straw sculpture stands tall in Chikuzen, Fukuoka. In order to finish it for fall, a massive amount of volunteers used the straw from rice fields in order to fashion this giant homage. With its height, the statue is already a fearsome image on the horizon, but the tail is an additional 10 meters (32.8 feet) long and at night the eyes, fins, chest and tail are lit up with LEDs.

▼ Check out this tower of power, nearly as tall as the electrical transmission towers behind it.

筑前町かがし祭の藁で出来たシンゴジラ、予想外の出来に驚いたわ 自衛隊まで来てるし #シンゴジラ　#ゴジラ https://t.co/3NxmkquWCw

—
としあきたろぅ (@ohbinder) November 01, 2016

▼ Closeups of some of Godzilla’s ex-straw-dinary appendages.

朝から　筑前町のシン・ゴジラ　巨大ワラカガシを撮ってきました！！ #筑前町 #シン・ゴジラ https://t.co/feqoxFpnEX

—
  (@VALKEN_ZERO) November 02, 2016

▼ Remember, Godzilla doesn’t need the emotional comfort from physical contact, do not touch!

LED点灯まで粘ったけど寒すぎる 目が明るすぎる気がｗ #シンゴジラ #ゴジラ #筑前町 #かがし祭 https://t.co/L2iCDOl1l9

—
としあきたろぅ (@ohbinder) November 01, 2016

Every year for the Kagashi Matsuri (Scarecrow Festival) in Chikuzen, a gigantic straw statue is one of the main highlights. With the success of Shin Godzilla in Japan, it only makes sense to build this year’s terrific structure as a tribute to the famous kaiju. 

Hay is for horses, but clearly also for badass Godzilla statues. When it’s time for them to remove the sculpture, hopefully they set it ablaze in a glorious tribute to Burning Godzilla.

Source: J-Cast News
Top image: YouTube/筑前町地域おこし協力隊橋本優

After hearing about it last week, you bet we went to check out Japan’s gigantic straw Godzilla for ourselves, and it’s way more imposing than we’d anticipated.

The world’s largest ball of rubber bands. Dino World. The friggin’ “Convict Robot Exhibition” (actually a thing). We’re all familiar with rural roadside tourist traps and how underwhelming and kind of sad they usually are. The whole point of them is to lure bored road trippers in with the promise of a big spectacle, then pull a bait and switch and present them with something low-cost and invariably disappointing, like, say, a cobwebbed animatronic Elvis salvaged from a dumpster behind a Las Vegas pawn shop.

One rural Fukushima town, however, has spent at least a few years entertaining the townsfolk and passing tourists alike with enormous, painstakingly crafted statues that cost thousands to build and are truly awe-inspiring despite the fact that a strong wind could potentially destroy one of these pieces for good… because they’re made entirely out of straw.

This year, the good people of the city of Chikuzen, riding on the massive domestic success of Shin Godzilla, went with something a little different in the form of a huge straw replica of perennial Tokyo frienemy and titular monster of the franchise, Godzilla. Pictures of the creation started floating around the Internet a few days ago, but we just had to take a look for ourselves.

Amazingly, Straw Godzilla is visible from basically anywhere in town, due to the area’s relatively flat topography and the overwhelming size of the creature. Obviously, it doesn’t come anywhere near the 118.5 meters the monster stands at in the recent Japanese film, but at a height of seven meters (23 feet), it absolutely dwarfs human tourists and much of the nearby architecture.

More impressive is the incredible attention to detail in the straw behemoth’s design. It’s complete with claws, teeth, weird exoskeleton rib cage thingy, joints, musculature and, of course, several-million-too-many-squats-at-the-gym thighs. Straw Godzilla, while not as terrifying as his film counterpart, was truly a sight to behold.

▼ “Don’t touch me, please” Godzilla politely requests.

The statue is built as part of the small town’s Kagashi Matsuri festival, which takes place annually on August 5 and 6, but the Godzilla display is projected to stand at the Yasu no Sato Kouen park until early December before being taken down either by the townspeople or Mother Nature’s wrath.

Images ©RocketNews24

“Big” is looking to be the operative word for next year’s Japanese pop culture themed attractions.

As we already know, Universal Studios Japan in Osaka is busy preparing their Nintendo themed section of the park which is sure to be a hit. However, in order to continue the wave of success the amusement park has been riding recently, they certainly aren’t going to rest on Super Mario alone.

Recently USJ unveiled their line-up of “Cool Japan” attractions for the upcoming year. These are all based on iconic anime, video game, music, and manga titles produced in Japan over the years such as Resident Evil and Kyary Pamyu Pamyu. And it looks as if, aside from a few exceptions, 2017 is going to be the year of the giant monster.

Sengoku The Real at Osaka Castle

To kick things off, USJ is going to be taking their show on the road. Sengoku The Real is one of those extravagant stage shows USJ has been know to put on, only this time its set against the backdrop of Osaka Castle for an even more authentic feel.

Along with the show that features projection mapping of the castle, the surrounding area will be converted to a warring states period town with working food vendors serving sengoku themed Japanese dishes such as steamed meat or anko buns, takoyaki, and oden.

There are also several items featuring the six-coin family crest of Sanada Yukimura, a legendary general who defended Osaka against various sieges during the warring states period.

The event runs from 16 December, 2016 to 12 March, 2017 and admission varies from 2,297 yen to 3,223 yen (US$20 to $28) depending on the type of seat you want for the show. Check the official website (Japanese only) for times and dates.

Then, from 13 January until 25 June, the updated Cool Japan section of USJ opens featuring attractions based on Monster Hunter, Detective Conan, Attack on Titan, Godzilla, and Evangelion.

Monster Hunter The Real

At Monster Hunter The Real you will be a part of an airship crew transporting a monster hunter in search of the giant 30-meter (98-foot) elder dragon Amatsugatsuchi. Little does everyone know that an oxymoronically new elder drgaon, Barufaruku, is also lying in wait.

To give these massive monsters a realistic appearance, a huge 43-meter (141-foot) screen will be used at this attraction. This means that all the monsters, including 30-meter tall dragons, will actually appear at their true heights in front of you.

Surely all that monster hunting will work up an appetite, so the chef of Bherna village has prepared a special risotto with a spicy cheese and tomato sauce. There is also a huge chunk of Monster Hunter meat served with a Zinogre tail Churrito and also a hot Energy Drink which in true Monster Hunter fashion is made by mixing items together.

While you won’t be able to carry out any monster hides from your quest, there are some souvenir charms for sale.

Detective Conan The Escape

After that, you can head over to the Detective Conan escape game. Here you must solve puzzles to help Conan rescue hostages with bombs attached to their wrists held at an Osaka Prefectural Police seminar. Along with several actors playing characters from the manga series, you must solve this mystery within the 60-minute time limit, or else…

If you survive you can always replace your explosive wristband for a snazzy Conan watch and light-up pen. Don’t forget to wind down with some delicious chicken chowder soup bread too!

Attack on Titan The Real

From there it’s on to the Attack on Titan The Real 4D movie. Here you can watch an original Attack on Titan story exclusive to USJ and fully immerse all of your senses in the 3D titan mayhem.

You can preserve your visit to this attraction by getting a commemorative photo taken in the grasp of a life-sized 15-meter (49-foot) armored titan statue.

Then take a break with an authentic Trost District lunch made up of a bacon sandwich, potato, tea dessert, and water flask. And if your Wallet Maria can withstand the blow, you can pick up a Survey Corps jacket, cape, and Vertical Maneuvering Equipment.

Godzilla The Real 4D

Titans aren’t big enough for you? Well head over to Godzilla The Real 4D for some truly gigantic action. In this 4D theater experience you watch from the perspective of a fighter jet battling the iconic monster over Osaka City.

After saving the day, you can reward yourself with a USJ exclusive Godzilla figure with light-up scutes, or a souvenir Godzilla tin of snacks. If you’re hungry after your battle you can also grab a Godzilla footprint steamed bun with black sesame and miso filling.

Evangelion XR Ride

Last but certainly not least, we have the Evangelion XR Ride. This attraction combines virtual reality technology with the motion simulators that USJ is famous for, to provide an even more immersive experience. You’ll feel like you are completely inside the world of Evangelion (except with considerably less existentialism) as angels attack the city.

Then top off your brush with extinction by eating popcorn out of an eva’s head and drinking soda from an entry capsule.

And remember your time in Tokyo-3 by grabbing a NERV phone case and box of cookies with 3D art. Or why not get a commemorative picture of you running for your life?

That wraps up the Cool Japan line-up for the first half of 2017. Remember, all of these attractions are open until 25 June only (except Conan which closes on 28 May), so don’t dilly dally. After that, USJ will go back to the well of Japanese pop culture for future attractions.

I hoping for a Sazae-san The Real Egg-Peeling XR experience. Just imagine how trippy that would be….

Source: Universal Studios Japan via Conpetti (Japanese)
Images: Universal Studios Japan

Cute characters from Studio Ghibli, Pokémon and even viral videos have been emerging from the Japanese snow this winter.

One of the most famous winter events in Japan is the annual Sapporo Snow Festival, which features a collection of enormous snow sculptures so impressive that it draws thousands of visitors to the northern island of Hokkaido every year. This weekend’s heavy snowfall proves you don’t have to be up north to see some amazing sculptures though, as creative hands all around the country used the fresh snow to bring some of Japan’s best-known characters to life. Let’s take a look at some of the adorable creatures we’ve found!

Totoro from the Studio Ghibli film My Neighbour Totoro is one of the simplest yet most adorable snow creations, especially when he’s big enough to hold on to his own umbrella!

This Totoro takes up position next to a bus stop, just like the character from the movie.

Another Studio Ghibli creature creation was spotted, in the form of an enormous larva known as an Ohmu from Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.

No Face from Spirited Away was also seen emerging from the snow, this time in a pure white robe, as opposed to his usual jet-black garb.

The spirit’s sudden appearance outside a window would be enough to shock any fan of the animated film!

More friendly faces appeared in the form of characters like Winnie the Pooh…

…Pikachu…

…and a couple of Minions.

Everyone was blown away by the details in this likeness of Blastoise from Pokémon…

Baymax was another character perfectly suited to being turned into a snow creation.

Some of the more giant formations included this enormous figure of popular children’s character Anpanman…

…and the Colossal Titan from Attack on Titan.

There was also a mini version of Godzilla that had everyone talking.

兄弟達が雪だるまを作ったんだゴジラだってよ https://t.co/NCzuR5H1jE

—
げぜるんは2月福岡家宝 (@gezerun) January 15, 2017

Surprisingly, Piko Taro didn’t make an appearance on social media this weekend, despite this creation made just two weeks ago. We have a feeling we’ll be seeing plenty of these at ski resorts around the country in the near future, though!

With the world’s best snow comes some of the world’s best sculptures. Given that these types of wintry creations were also seen during Tokyo’s blizzard of 2014, we can only hope that snow sculptors around the country will soon be blessed with even more fresh natural materials to work with!

Source: Net Lab
Featured image: Instagram/xiakea

No standard error message as Nintendo unleashes its latest cute creation: Nin-Godzilla

When the My Nintendo Store opened on the 23rd of January, to allow orders of the new Switch console (due to be released in Japan on the 3rd of March), it soon crashed due to heavy user traffic, leaving agonised fans unable to access the store. By the afternoon, the store was still inaccessible but, instead of just the default error message, visitors to the site reported seeing an image of an oh-so-cute Godzilla-like monster caught mid-rampage in the city of Kyoto, where Nintendo are based. The image was quickly christened Nin-Godzilla by Internet users.

Last year saw the hugely successful release in Japan of the latest Godzilla incarnation, Shin Godzilla. In making the film, director Hideaki Anno said he wanted to reinvent the classic black-and-white era Godzilla for a new generation. The similarity between Shin Godzilla and Nintendo’s error screen offering “Nin-Godzilla” captured the attention of Japanese Internet users. Fans, denied the chance to pre-order the new Switch console, decided to express their newly formed love for cute new kaiju, and it wasn’t long before it was being used in animations, moving or blasting Kyoto with fire.

マイニンテンドーストアが全然繋がらないので、エラー画面の恐竜に火を吐かせてみた。 https://t.co/Exo8Edoizl

—
にょにょんば太郎@サンクリ Ｐ-05a (@nyonyonba) January 23, 2017

マイニンテンドーストアのゴジラから動かないので動かしてやった #マイニンテンドーストア https://t.co/aKoQuqftw3

—
Xaero (@xaero_moe) January 23, 2017

▼Others have gone so far as to make their own Nin-Godzilla items, such as this cute hand towel.

可愛かったからハンドタオルに刺繍しました。 #ニンゴジラ #マイニンテンドーストア #ニンテンドースイッチ #刺繍 https://t.co/VOxZRucYRn

—
きゃべし (@cabeshi) January 23, 2017

While the site is, at time of writing, now functioning properly, I hope we’ll be seeing more of Nin-zilla and its adorable rampage of destruction again.

Source, top image: My Nintendo Store

A fearsome giant is no match for a powerful travel spot in this impressive video.

In between Japan’s main island of Honshu and the southern island of Kyushu lies a stretch of water with a current so powerful it has the ability to save its seaside residents from the might of a towering monster. That’s the theory behind a new awe-inducing promotional video created to draw attention to the area, that is.

The impressive clip, produced by the Kitakyushu Sightseeing Association, features some amazing visuals from the creative team at Shirogumi, who recently provided visual effects for the blockbuster film Shin Godzilla (also known as Godzilla Resurgence).

Take a look at the awesome new kaiju monster they created for the sightseeing association below:

The clip begins with a couple of youngsters who lose their ball into the Kanmon Straits. The two find out they’re in for a huge surprise when a swirl of water spits the ball back at them and a giant, terrifying monster suddenly emerges from the waves.

The giant crab-octopus-poisonous-puffer-fish monster hybrid towers over the Kanmon Bridge, terrorising nearby residents, who run for safety.

As the frightening monster lurches towards the residents, there’s a stumble and a moment of confusion before…

▼ The giant is swiftly toppled and defeated by the natural power of the Kanmon Straits!

Accompanying the new promotional video is a special campaign website, which outlines the official stats for the new monster they’re calling “Kaisendon“, which is the same name as a popular rice bowl containing fresh sashimi on sushi rice. Kaisendon weighs in at a hefty 120,000 tonnes and stands at 229 metres (751 feet) tall.

According to the association, the body of water between the islands is 650 metres (2,132 feet) wide at its narrowest point and has a powerful tidal current topping 9.4 knots. We can’t help but wonder how Shin Godzilla would’ve fared had he tried to come ashore in this area instead of emerging from the sea in Kamakura, south of Tokyo!

Source: Net Lab
Images: YouTube/北九州市観光協会

The man who wore the 100-kilogram (220-pound!) suit in the first 12 films talks about his experiences.

Haruo Nakajima, now 87 years old, is not a scary-looking man, but in the role of the eponymous monster in the Godzilla films he terrified and amazed cinema audiences for decades. Great Big Story, the same outfit who took us on a tour of the world of dekotora (decorated trucks), managed to conduct an interview with the man himself.

With dreams of becoming an actor, Nakajima joined the Toho cinema company and featured in a number of samurai films, including Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai (the director whose work heavily influenced Star Wars creator George Lucas) and Eagle of the Pacific before landing his biggest role.

▼ Haruo Nakajima, sans suit

Without any direction as to how the monster should move or act, Nakajima took it upon himself to do some research. This involved watching the animals at a Tokyo zoo, observing the way in which they moved and interacted with each other in what must be one of the earliest examples of monster method-acting.

In the interview, Haruo Nakajima also explains why the suit weighed as much as 100 kilos. With valuable commodities like rubber in short supply after the Second World War, it became necessary to construct the suit out of ready-mixed concrete. Not a material I’ve ever considered using for my Halloween costume and presumably not the first one the director thought of I imagine, but still.

After six months of grueling filming, Nakajima’s first portrayal of the now world-famous atomic monster rampaging through Tokyo hit cinema screens, and was so successful that it spawned a number of sequels including the recent Shin Godzilla. Nakajima himself wore the suit a further 11 times (one can only hope that the rubber shortage was temporary), with his last film 1972’s Godzilla vs Gigan.

Source, images: YouTube/Great Big Story via Laughing Squid

King of the Monsters claims new territory in science fiction anime Godzilla: Kaiju Planet.

After the expectation-exceeding critical and commercial success of last year’s Shin Godzilla, it seems like a given that filmmaker Toho will eventually be making another live-action Godzilla movie. But Toho also has an animation division, and this year, on November 17, the King of the Monsters is making his anime debut.

First announced in August of last year, the upcoming theatrical feature has been given the name Godzilla: Kaiju Planet (alternatively “Godzilla: Monster Planet”), and Toho Animation has just released its first teaser trailer.

If the art style looks a little familiar, it’s probably because the CG visuals are being produced by Polygon Pictures, the studio behind anime TV series Knights of Sidonia.

▼ Scuffed gray military outfits were also a common motif in Sidonia, whose director, Kobun Shizuno, is co-helming Kaiju Planet.

Ditching the present-day setting that Godzilla films are ordinarily set in, Kaiju Planet is a straight science fiction film, with a team of human operatives landing on a planet that, the title promises, is home to hostile giant monsters.

▼ The humans have combat mecha, giving Kaiju Planet just a bit of a Pacific Rim vibe.

Like all Japanese words, “kaiju” can be both singular or plural, but in the case of Kaiju Planet, it looks like it’s the latter, as Godzilla apparently isn’t the only kaiju around.

Aside from a tongue-in-cheek gag appearance on gag comedy Crayon Shin-chan, Godzilla has never officially appeared in animated form in Japan before. The shift to all CG may make it harder to communicate the creature’s destructive force, especially when he’s put in an alien jungle setting as opposed to a real-world urban one.

However, there’s also a major potential upside. A common, if not-universal, complaint about recent Godzilla movies is that there’s too much focus on uninteresting human interactions, and not enough monster-fighting action. That’s somewhat unavoidable, though. Whether produced in Japan or America, Godzilla movies are big-budget productions that hire big-name actors, and they want to keep those famous faces on-screen. Animation, though, is far less beholden to its human characters, and so maybe Kaiju Planet will finally serve up the heaping helping of kaiju-on-kaiju violence that some fans are hungry for.

Source: YouTube/TOHO animation チャンネル via Jin
Images: YouTube/TOHO animation チャンネル

April Fools Jokes coming out of Japan have a track record of becoming reality.

The largest example in recent years was the combining of Neon Genesis Evangelion and Shin Godzilla after both franchises shared director Hideaki Anno. One illustration led to over a year’s worth of art and crossover goods, and concerts enlisting the likes of Takashi Murakami and Yoji Shinkawa. This year’s monster joke was an unreasonably cumbersome Godzilla cellphone.

“蒲田くん”がスマホに「ゴジラ第2携帯」 - ケータイ Watch news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&… #スマホ・ニュース https://t.co/A4RjOpYaxh

—
スマホ・ニュース (@smahokun) March 31, 2017

Well, wouldn’t you know it, but that’s real too. The released design is tweaked from the original joke, but fans can carry their smartphones inside a stuffed Godzilla case. The product was prompted by the overwhelmingly positive response to the film staff’s joke back in April.

Pre-orders open on Saturday and the item is expected to ship in October. The case is not waterproof, but since it is a stuffed animal, it will dry if it gets wet. The case costs 2,800 yen (US$25).

Source: Animate Times
Images: GODZILLA STORE

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Haruo Nakajima portrayed the King of the Monsters for 18 years.

Considering that we never see the actor inside the Godzilla suit, one might assume that creature is played by whichever stuntman happens to be free when it’s time to shoot a scene. But such random work assignments won’t do when portraying the most famous of all kaiju, and for the first dozen films in which the King of the Monsters appeared, it was always actor Haruo Nakajima portraying His Royal Highness.

Following a severe case of pneumonia, Nakajima passed away this Monday at the age of 88, bringing to an end an incredible life full of contributions to cinematic history. The third son in a family of five children, Nakajima knew he wouldn’t be able to take over his father’s butcher shop, and after a brief stint as a truck driver for the occupying Allied Forces in 1947, he enrolled in an acting program at the age of 18 in 1947.

Nakajima earned a bit part in Akira Kurosawa’s masterpiece The Seven Samurai, but his big break came in 1954, when he was tapped to wear the 100-kilogram (220-pound) suit of the titular Godzilla in the 1954 film from distributor Toho that launched the franchise. The actor would go on to play Godzilla for the next 18 years, culminating in 1972’s Godzilla vs. Gigan, his final time to fill the role.

As you might expect, having “played Godzilla” on your resume opens a lot of doors when looking for other work playing kaiju, and over the course of his career Nakajima also served as the suit actor for Japanese movie monsters including Rodan, Baragon, and Mothra. He even played King Kong in the 1967 American/Japanese co-production King Kong Escapes and worked on television series Ultraman.

In 1971, after the production of Godzilla vs. Hedorah, Nakajima’s eleventh time playing Godzilla, Toho informed him that it would not be extending his exclusive contract for the part. Instead, Nakajima ended up working at a Toho-owned bowling alley, until the special effects staff for next year’s Godzilla vs. Gigan pulled enough strings to have the actor come back for his 12th, and final, time in the role.

Nakajima would only have one more on-screen credit, as a chauffeur in 1973’s Japan Sinks (also known as Tidal Wave). After that, he became the manager of a Toho-owned mahjong parlor.

Movie fans around the world are saddened by Nakajima’s passing, especially after having just seen him appear in a new interview a few months ago. He leaves behind an impressive legacy, though, and with the resurgent success of the Godzilla franchise both in Japan and the U.S., it’s a legacy that continues to grow.

Sources: International Business Times via Livedoor News via Otakomu, Yahoo! Japan News/Sponichi Annex, Wikipedia/中島春雄
Top image: Wikipedia/Mariomassone

Carnivorous kaiju-lookalike doesn’t yawn because it’s sleepy, though.

Japan has a reputation for being a very safe country, and that extends to the nation’s wildlife as well. Yes, there are bears and poisonous blowfish, but you’re unlikely to encounter either unless you venture far into the woods or out to sea. Heh, you might even say you should be more worried about Godzilla attacking, but kaiju aren’t real, right?

…right?!?

告知です！ 本日（9月24日（日））13時15分から水生物館のオオサンショウウオに餌を与えます。大きな魚を大きな口で丸呑みにするので、見ごたえあり、です。 お近くにお寄りの際には、ぜひご覧ください。 https://t.co/zQ1sw00G4q

—
井の頭自然文化園［公式］ (@InokashiraZoo) September 23, 2017

Relax. That scaly creature there isn’t a gargantuan city-destroying monster. It’s just an Andrias japonicus, or Japanese giant salamander, a reptile that can grow to 1.44 meters (4.7 feet in length). Hmm…actually, that’s still pretty terrifying.

Also chilling is the fact that the giant salamander is carnivorous. It’s a little reassuring to know they feed on bugs and fish, not unsuspecting humans, but we can put another mark in the scary column due to the toothless Japanese giant salamander’s practice of swallowing its prey whole.

オオサンショウウオの大あくびです。なかなか見ることが出来ませんが、2週間程度に1回のエサの時間の後には、腹ごなしのためかよく見られます。 https://t.co/HxQFykzuxq

—
井の頭自然文化園［公式］ (@InokashiraZoo) September 28, 2017

The animal, which can live to an age of more than 50 years, is at its most Godzilla-like when it yawns, but that’s something it does only about once every two weeks, in order to aid digestion, according to the staff at Tokyo’s Inokashira Park Zoo, which shared these photos.

Another unnerving thing about the giant salamander is that at first glance it appears to have no eyes…

目はどこでしょう？ オオサンショウウオを正面から見た写真です。 http://t.co/345QIzAocu

—
井の頭自然文化園［公式］ (@InokashiraZoo) July 26, 2013

…but the zookeepers have helpfully pointed out where they are, proving that the animal does not, in fact, navigate by sensing the fear emanating from anyone else in the vicinity (although its poor eyesight means it relies heavily on sensitive vibration sensors in its skin).

オオサンショウウオの目の場所に黄色の丸印をつけました。 目はあまりよく見えていないようです。目の前に近づいた魚やサワガニを食べています。 http://t.co/yBgbnuneTa

—
井の頭自然文化園［公式］ (@InokashiraZoo) July 26, 2013

In addition to Inokashira Park Zoo, the Japanese giant salamander can also be seen in Tokyo at Ueno Zoo. If you decide to stop by the latter, don’t forget to also check out the penguins for even more freak-mouthed animal fun.

Related: Inokashira Park Zoo
Featured image: Twitter/@InokashiraZoo
Insert image: Wikipedia/Throughthemind

And in doing so becomes a legend.

For a twitter user by the handle of Nikol, an everyday taxi ride took a turn for the surreal when his driver handed him a dissertation on last year’s Godzilla Resurgence (Shin Godzilla in Japan).

The older gentleman began some mid-trip small talk by asking Nikol, “Have you seen Godzilla Resurgence?” The question caught Nikol off guard as the film was released well over a year ago. His puzzled expression must have said it all.

“It’s just…” the driver continued, “I want to talk about it but no one has seen it. I think the things written about it online are a little off the mark, so I wrote out my own interpretation of it.” The man then handed Nikol a plastic clip-bound bundle of papers with a color printed poster of Godzilla Resurgence on the cover.

The brief but unusual story captured the attention of many on Twitter, resulting in over 56,000 likes and 37,000 retweets. The comments were pretty much unanimous.

“I want to read that!”
“Let me read that!!!”
“I really, really want to read it.”
“I’m surprised every one he talked to hadn’t seen it.”
“I don’t know why, but I’m dying to know what this guy thought of the movie.”
“I like the personal touch of that. It’s like way back when people made their own websites.”
“I have got to find that taxi.”

There were also many online who suspected Nikol of lying and covering up the fact that he had written the essay himself. Skepticism is also fueled by the fact that Godzilla Resurgence will be making its Japanese broadcast TV debut later this month.

It seems unlikely that Nikol is the author though, as he is not revealing the contents of the booklet aside from simply explaining, “It is the thoughts of the taxi driver about the movie.”

The timing of this incident does point to a piece of stealth marketing, but if that’s the case then it is one of the more ballsy attempts, as this tweet wasn’t especially attention-getting in the first place and could have easily gotten lost in the ocean of oddity on Twitter.

Assuming it is the real deal, to the many who are dying to read it, Nikol simply suggests that they try to bring up the subject of Godzilla whenever taking the taxi in Tokyo and hope they get the right one. Hopefully someone does and we can verify the existence of this self-publishing movie-analyzing cabbie with a second copy of his review.

If you do happen to find him, you may need this handy guide of Japanese taxi driver slang to help read his highly desired treatise and learn if he thinks Godzilla Resurgence is an obake or a nagare dama.

Source: Twitter/@nikoled14, Hachima Kiko
Top image, video: YouTube/tvasahi