The Monk and The Samurai The lives of two men, a monk and a samurai suffer unbearable loss. Heroic to the end their tales intertwine as they battle with the chaos, redemption, justice and vengeance within. Recently, I was approached with a review offer from Troy’s Team group located in Beijing. From what I know, they are a team of martial artists who worked on several big Chinese productions, such as Kung Fu Yoga (2017) or Ip Man 4 (2019), but they focus on movie production as well.
The latest result of their efforts is a short film called The Monk and The Samurai (2022). A 10 minutes long tale about two individuals influenced and moulded by a traumatic event. The film is primarily a collection of animated images intertwined with live-action clips. I am not an expert in editing, but the seamless transition between the effects made me think whether the filmmakers had use the popular rotoscoping technique to achieve the desired effect. All in all, the visuals are indeed pleasant for the eye.
With regard to the storyline, it is straightforward and easy to follow; this is mainly thanks to a skilful narration by John M. Shang. In fact, director Troy Sandford stated that the film was inspired by an idea to create a book “of short bed time martial art stories ideal for kids and adults” (source: presskit). Indeed, The Monk and The Samurai short feels very much like a bedtime tale to be enjoyed by parents and their children. The film perfectly encapsulates in a nutshell the spirit of ancient Asian myths about gallant warriors trying to do justice in the times of hardship.
All things considered, The Monk and The Samurai is a well-made short film, and I sincerely hope that more “episodic tales” like that will be made in the future by Troy’s Team. My respect goes to the creators and all the actors involved in the project.
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Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah; or, There Can Only Be One I nearly died on Lagos Island, along with my entire Garrison, but the dinosaur saved us all. Now, all of that prosperity I built is now being destroyed by the same dinosaur at this moment, and there’s nothing I can do about it. Very ironic, don't you think? It has been a while since Godzilla, the one and only King of the Monsters, was discussed on this blog. In view of the recent release of Shin Ultraman and the news that Toho is actually making a new Godzilla movie, I am back in the Tokusatsu mode again and decided it would be fitting to finally come round and complete my reviews of all Japanese Godzilla flicks. A daunting task for sure, and some reviewers I follow and respect already undertook this endeavour, but still, I feel I should explore the heart of Godzilla on my own and provide my personal take on the nearly 70-year-old franchise. For this reason, I would like to talk today about my favourite Goji-movie of all time, especially in view of the recent passing of director Kazuki Omori; that is, Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah.
Release Info
Directed by: Kazuki OmoriStarring: Isao Toyohara, Anna Nakagawa, Megumi Odaka
Language: JapaneseOriginal Title: ゴジラ対キングギドラ Runtime: 103 min
Synopsis Tokyo, 1991. An unidentified flying object appears on the Tokyo skyline. The Japanese government is afraid that this may be an alien invasion, but it turns out that the mysterious visitors are people who travelled back in time from the 23rd century. They claim that in their time period Godzilla led to total annihilation of Japan, and the only way to stop the monster is to prevent its origin. A joint research team comprised of Emi Kanno (Anna Nakagawa), an android M-11 (Robert Scott Field), a freelance journalist Terasawa (Isao Toyohara), Dr Masaaki (Katsuhiko Sasaki), and Miki Saegusa (Megumi Odaka) jumps in time to the year 1944 and carries out the difficult task. Godzilla has been wiped out from existence, but his monstrous reign has been taken over by King Ghidorah. Now, humanity's only hope is to bring back the Big G.
Days of Future Past After the release of Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989), the Toho Studios found themselves in a slump with the series. According to Steve Ryfle’s book Japan’s Favorite Mon-star: The Unathorized Biography of Godzilla (1998), Godzilla vs. Biollante was the most expensive production of the franchise at the time of its making, but modest box office performance ultimately made the studio loose 3 million yen on the picture. After two (if counting The Return of Godzilla from 1984) so-so attempts to jumpstart the franchise, producer Tomoyuki Tanaka made a decision to appeal to the fans’ nostalgia. Therefore, Godzilla was to be pitted against his arch-nemesis from the Showa era, King Ghidorah.
Scripting and directorial duties were once again given to Kazuki Omori, the man who cooked up Godzilla vs. Biollante. However, this time Omori put less emphasis on the human drama. Instead, he cranked up the science-fiction aspect to the max, and also added his personal commentary on (or rather critique of) Bubble Era Japan’s international relations.
Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah is often regarded by fans and ordinary movie enthusiasts as the underwhelming entry of the Heisei series, primarily due to its convoluted plot concerning time travel. Steve Ryfle obliterates the movie’s plot in his book in a very shallow and condescending way, repeating many claims from viewers who did not pay attention while watching the film. In fact, if you watch the film while having fresh in mind the events of other Heisei series instalments, the events of Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah do make sense, and the film adds more context to the mythos of the Big G and his arch-nemesis in a very bold and straightforward manner that was only outmatched by the grandeur of the original Gojira (1954) and Shin Gojira (2016).
What I am getting at is that I love in this movie all the elements that are oftentimes perceived by critics of this film as campy: time travel, a Terminator-like android, countdown to a big explosion, Godzilla originating from a dinosaur, King Ghidorah originating from kawaii squishy Gremlin-like creatures called Dorats, Mecha-King Ghidorah. The list goes on! Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah is a wild, escapist fun that takes itself seriously only at certain places.
These places are obviously Omori’s own thoughts about the leading role of Japan on an international stage. The period of the 1980s indeed seemed as the time of Japan’s economic dominance, but this prospect was clearly gone with the wind by the year 1991. Omori not highlights the ever troubling issue of Japan’s resentment of nuclear weapons (Big G actually destroys a nuclear sub to regain his strength), but the director also underlines heavy preoccupation of the Japanese with rampant consumerism and lavish lifestyle, which may ultimately lead to disastrous consequences.
This is perfectly reflected in an emotional confrontation scene between Godzilla on the loose and a war veteran Shindo (now a prosperous businessman who took part in rebuilding Japan). This scene alone is a wonderful stand out in an entire franchise, which not only ties Godzilla to the people of Japan, but turns the monster into a token of warning against authority power and mindless accumulation of wealth (see Godzilla’s destruction of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in the film’s finale).
Speaking about special effects, the practical stuff, miniatures, monster fights, and cell animation helmed by the late Koichi Kawakita are simply outstanding. The production design, especially of the Futurians’ ship, is beautiful to look at as well. One has to appreciate the dedication of the Toho team in the modern age filled with computer-generated images. What is more, Akira Ifukube himself was brought back to the franchise as the film’s composer after 16 years of break. I have already outlined my thoughts on Ifukube’s compositions in my series of blog articles last year, but allow me to say here that I adore the music score for Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah. Indeed, Maestro Ifukube may have reused a lot of old compositions, but these fit so well with this picture, especially the action themes reappropriated from Godzilla vs. King Kong (1962).
With regard to performances, Isao Toyohara does a decent job as the male lead. Megumi Odaka reprises her role of Miki Saegusa from Godzilla vs. Biollante. She already gained experience on the set of the previous film, so she perfectly knew how to react to monster fights that were added later in post-production. The late Anna Nakagawa is also memorable as Emi Kanno, the mysterious lady from the future who ultimately joins the good guys and becomes a pilot of Mecha-King Ghidorah. Robert Scott Field is a joy to watch as an android M-11 in action. The supporting role of Shindo played by Tokusatsu veteran Yoshio Tsuchiya is also a welcomed addition.
Contrary to some misleading info on the net, Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah did become a success at the Japanese box office and managed to reinvigorate an interest in the franchise. For a brief period of time, Toho even considered making a direct sequel to the film titled Counterattack of Ghidorah, but the plans fell through in favour of brining back another familiar monster from Godzilla’s lore (Mothra). Unfortunately, Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah was released on VHS and subsequently on DVD in the West with a crappy English dubbing that really sucked excitement out of the viewing experience. If you want to enjoy the film in its original, unabridged form, then you have to rely either on the Japanese DVD or Blu-Ray release.
Recommendations All things considered, I will never forget the time over 20 years ago when I sat down in front of TV and watched my first Godzilla movie: this movie. Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah may be bonkers to some, but still, it is positively charged with action and science fiction vibes. What is more, it is one of the few movies in the franchise that served as an inspiration for Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) blockbuster. The legacy of this Heisei era movie continues to live on. Please refer to an epic fan-made trailer below to experience the visuals on your own.
Overall score: 10/10
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Shin Ultraman; or, In the Tokuverse of Madness Some things are only clear when you are in between. I believe this is why I exist. Shinji Higuchi and Hideaki Anno, the creative duo behind Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995) and Shin Godzilla (2016) return once again to the Tokusatsu genre. Supervised by the Toho Studios and Tsuburaya Productions, the Shin Ultraman movie is the latest instalment in Higuchi and Anno’s so-called Shin Japan Heroes Universe, a marketing project that aims to reinvent the most popular Kaiju heroes.
Language: JapaneseOriginal Title: シン・ウルトラマン Runtime: 112 min
Synopsis Japan is known as the only country on Earth that is constantly plagued by kaiju monsters. For this reason, the government created a special team known as S-Class Species Suppression Protocol, so they could analyse the giant monsters and help the military in fighting them off. However, the recent attacks render the team helpless. All of a sudden, an extraterrestrial being called Ultraman appears and saves the day. Who is Ultraman? Is he a friend or a foe? The arrival of a mysterious alien sets in motion a chain of events that may lead to the annihilation of Earth.
Nostalgia Service Allow me to start my review by saying that I am not a massive fan of Ultraman. It is not that I dislike the franchise, but I never felt the need to check it out in full apart from bits and pieces on YouTube. As a result, Shin Ultraman is my first proper interaction with this series that has been around for over 50 years now.
At first, I was a bit weary of the movie given the fact that it was cooked up by Shinji Higuchi and Hideaki Anno. As I have stated in my review of Shin Godzilla, I did not greatly enjoy their NGE-charged take at the Godzilla mythos. I was afraid that the directors will repeat their fanboy mojo concerned with fatalism, depression, and bureaucracy in Ultraman, but nothing could be further from the truth.
Shin Ultraman is, for all accounts and purposes, a love letter to the original series that started it, Ultra Q (1966), and to the general spirit of good old Tokusatsu shows from the Showa era. When handing over his script for the film in 2019, Hideaki Anno stated that his intention was not to introduce Ultraman for a new generation of young spectators, but to adults who used to watch the show in their childhood (source). Shinji Higuchi also added that they purposely avoided repeating the bleak style of Shin Godzilla to avoid blandness.
In consequence, Shin Ultraman is light-hearted, special-effects charged spectacle that can be enjoyed by Toku fans across the globe, even those who are unfamiliar with Ultraman. In fact, I dare to say, the movie feels more like a miniseries rather than a feature due to its narrative structure. Every 20 minutes or so, we get new monsters, new threats, and action set pieces thrown at us. Brisk pacing of the film coupled with top-notch cinematography, tight editing, and the soundtrack evocative of classic Tsuburaya TV shows amounts to a more than entertaining viewing experience.
Evidently, Higuchi and Anno couldn’t help themselves and had to throw in their critique of Japanese authority, but this is not a prevalent theme of the picture. More interesting is the examination of human capacity to become an apex predator ready to destroy other species. The resolution of this problem in the finale is done in a very thoughtful manner indeed.
Speaking about performances, Takumi Saitoh obviously shines as the lead, Shinji Kaminaga. Masami Nagasawa does great as the partner and (a sort of) Kaminaga’s love interest, Hiroko Asami; however, Higuchi and Anno just had to fetishise her character in certain scenes (cue giant Masami walking hypnotised across Tokyo in high heels).
The SSSP team is composed of the always charismatic Hidetoshi Nishijima, nerdy Daiki Arioka, and funny Akari Hayami. In contrast to the neurotic protagonists of Shin Godzilla, the SSSP experts seem likeable and cheerful, even in the face of grave danger. The supporting parts of grumpy old politicians were done by veteran actors such as Tetsushi Tanaka, Kyusaku Shimada, Ryo Iwamatsu, and Yutaka Takenouchi (he also appeared in Shin Godzilla). What is more, motion capture stand-ins for Ultraman were the original suitmation actor Bin Furuya and Hideaki Anno. In addition, the film features voice appearances by Issei Takahashi as Ultraman and Koichi Yamadera as Zoffy, Ultraman’s superior.
Recommendations All things considered, Shin Ultraman is a wild, entertaining Tokusatsu ride. In the times of real-life hopelessness, people need more of this sort of light-hearted visual spectacle. Higuchi and Anno stated that the film is intended to be the first part of a new Ultraman trilogy of movies, but only time (and box office returns) will tell if we get the sequels. In the meantime, I look forward to Shin Kamen Rider which is due to come out next year. Shin Ultraman is going to debut on Amazon Prime in Japan next week on the 18th of November.
Overall score: 8/10
Note: All the pictures used belong to Toho Co., Ltd. and Tsuburaya Productions.
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