Roma. La storia dell'arte

Byrd and Matt discuss Tsuburaya Productions' kiddie kaiju romp Daigoro vs. Goliath, which was distributed by Toho as part of their theatrical Champion Matsuri package in 1972.  In addition to our review, we debunk some common myths about the film as well as discuss Toho's still ambiguous part in the production, how it was the offspring of the infamous aborted Godzilla vs. Redmoon project, and more!  But first we have some news on the release dates for Godzilla: King of the Monsters and the upcoming Ultraman anime on Netflix.  Enjoy the show!

We are joined again by Kevin Derendorf (Maser Patrol blog, Kaiju For Hipsters) to discuss two futuristic sci-fi spectacles that Toho produced in the 1980s.  The first is Sayonara Jupiter, a futuristic space opera/disaster movie combo.  The second is the 1989 dystopian mech film, Gunhed.  We get into Sayonara Jupiter's long and troubled production history, Gunhed's genesis as a Godzilla script, manga adaptations and more!  These films bolstered huge budgets and international casts, but they've earned a reputation as two of the worst Toho science fiction films of all time.  Did we find that these movies lived up to their reputation?  Listen and find out!

Byrd, Matt, and Chris discuss Toho's alien invasion films of the 1950s, the Mysterians and Battle In Outer Space.  This pair of films show a huge growth period for Toho's genre films in the early days.  They've gone on to become influential classics of the time period.  How do these films hold up after 50 years?  We will dig into the history, the subtext, the good and the bad of both films.  We'll talk about why Battle In Outer Space is actually NOT a sequel to the Mysterians.  We'll also talk about the impact that these films had and their lasting influence.  Enjoy!

At long last, Netflix has released the third entry in Toho's Godzilla anime trilogy for worldwide viewing.  After the collapse of Mecha-Godzilla City, the evil Exif aliens use religious manipulation to summon Godzilla's arch-rival, King Ghidorah.  So how does Godzilla: The Star Eater compare to the previous two entries?  We are joined by our frequent guest host Tom to take a dive into the latest Godzilla film and dig right into the good, the bad, and the ugly!  Kick back and enjoy the conversation!

Byrd and Matt are joined by author/blogger Kevin Derendorf (Maser Patrol, Kaiju for Hipsters) to take a deep dive into the original Neon Genesis Evangelion anime TV series.  Hideaki Anno's colossally popular series was an inversion on classic mecha and tokusatsu, twisting the tropes of these genres into an abstract and existential examination of mental illness.  At this point, the show's reputation as a groundbreaking classic proceeds it.  Do we find the show worthy of its immense popularity?  Listen and find out!  But first, we talk about the early careers of Hideaki Anno, Shinji Higuchi and their cohorts and the birth of Gainax! 

On this special Thanksgiving episode of the podcast, Byrd and Matt take a look at the ultimate turkey of giant monster movies, 1957's The Giant Claw!  We'll get into the backstory of the movie and just why the titular creature looks so darn goofy.  But first we have a full review of the Thanksgiving episode of DC's Legends of Tomorrow on the CW!  This episode was a full blown homage to kaiju eiga as the superhero team went back in time and met with Ishiro Honda himself.  How did the episode pan out?  Is the Giant Claw really as stupid as everyone says it is?  Listen and find out!  Happy Thanksgiving!

Byrd and Matt are joined by special guest Chris Oglio (Genesis 54 Inc.) to discuss the King Kong stage musical, now on Broadway!  While your gracious hosts were unable to attend, Chris is here to review the play for us!  Chris has a love of Broadway theater and went with a group of friends to check out the King of the Apes Broadway debut!  We talk about the history of the production, the cast, changes made to the original story, and of course, Kong himself.  The rest of Chris' group sent us their thoughts as well.  So what did Chris and his pals think?  Listen and find out!

For our Halloween special, Byrd, Matt and Tom discuss four horror films by kaiju-fan favorite director, Shusuke Kaneko.  On the chopping block today are the Toho vampire comedy My Soul Is Slashed (1991), the HP Lovecraft anthology Necronomicon (1993), Toho's sci-fi mutant film Pyrokinesis (2000), and the Kazuo Umezu manga adaptation God's Left Hand, The Devil's Right Hand (2006).  Kaneko is one of the few kaiju directors to have a vast and successful career outside of the genre, so we took a look at his horror output.  Can Kaneko be considered a master of horror?  Listen and find out!

Byrd, Matt and Tom are back with another October horror special.  This time we will be talking about three horror films from Shochiku Studios; Goke, Body Snatcher From Hell, The Living Skeleton and Genocide.  Normally a studio known for family dramas and art house films, Shochiku made a run of genre films (also including their kaiju opus The X From Outer Space) to try and produce a hit in a time when the Japanese film industry was on life support.  How did this brief experiment go for the desperate studio?  Listen and find out!

Byrd, Matt and Tom are back with another October horror episode, this time talking about Japanese Invisible Man films!  We've discussed Japanese takes on Frankenstein and Dracula, so its time another classic Western monster gets the Japanese treatment.  We discuss two films from Daiei Studios, The Invisible Man Appears (1949) and Invisible Man vs. The Human Fly (1957).  Then we go to Toho for 1954's The Invisible Man (aka Invisible Avenger).  We talk about Eiji Tsuburaya's involvement in two of the films, the state of the studios at the time, and we even discuss our favorite Invisible Man films.  These films languished in obscurity for decades until finally making it onto the fansub circuit.  So how do these old school obscurities hold up?  Listen and find out!

Byrd, Matt and Tom kick off KT's October horror series with a double feature of obscure Japanese body horror short films.  Up first, we have Tsuburaya Production's Gakidama, about an unfortunate man who gives birth to a small gremlin (created by Toho monster maker Shinichi Wakasa).  Then we have the indie short semi-feature Henge (aka Metamorphosis) about a man who slowly transforms into a grotesque beast and turns into a giant rampaging monster (with effects by Ultraman vet Kiyotaka Taguchi).  But first, we have talk on our Halloween viewing plans, news on Godzilla: The Planet Eater, and Toho's involvement with the upcoming Monster Hunter film from Sony!

Byrd and Matt are joined by Kevin Derendorf of Maser Patrol to talk about the 1998 Godzilla animated series!  Serving as a sequel to the 1998 Tristar Godzilla movie, this animated television series upped the monster action and gave us a more familiar Godzilla.  But was it any good?  It seems as though the further we get from the 1998 film, the more this series falls into obscurity.  Is it best left there or is it an underappreciated gem?  Listen and find out what our take is!

Byrd and Matt take a deep dive (no pun intended) into three submarine-centric Toho science fiction films.  First we tackle two Ishiro Honda classics with the iconic Atragon (1963) and Latitude Zero (1967).  Then we fast forward to Shinji Higuchi's World War II sci-fi epic Lorelei: Witch of the Pacific (2005).  All three of these movies are loaded with subtext and messages that we will get into and compare and contrast.  Join us in the deep end of Toho waters!

Byrd and Matt are joined again by author John LeMay to discuss his new book The Terror of the Lost Tokusatsu Films!  John's new book is a sequel of sorts to his last book The Lost Films, once again diving into rare and lost tokusatsu films.  This book revolves around unmade and rare non-daikaiju Japanese genre films.  We talk about unmade projects like Frankenstein vs. the Human Vapor, Invisible Man vs. the Human Torch, Inter Ice-Age 4, Toho's Time Machine co-production with George Pal and more!  We also discuss some of the more rare Japanese sci-fi, horror and disaster films like the Last War, ESPY, Horror of the Wolf, The Final War, Lady Vampire, Conflagration, and more!  Tune in and enjoy!

Byrd sits in on the Prehistory: A Traveler's Guide Podcast to be part of a panel interview with the best selling author of the Meg novels, Steve Alten!  We asked Steve a variety of questions about topics such as his writing process, scientific accuracy in his work, each entry in the long running Meg series, the Meg movie's long journey to the screen and his thoughts on the final film, what to expect from future Meg books, the infamous "Nessie Tooth" controversy, the influence of Jaws and kaiju eiga and more!  Steve also makes the special announcement about a brand new limited edition hardcover of the Loch!  The panel also consisted of Prehistory hosts Greg Noneman and Scott Mardis, as well as YouTuber Ryan George Collins/Omni-Viewer, paleoartist Joshua Ballze, and Primitive War author Ethan Pettus.  Enjoy!

Byrd and Matt are joined by Maser Patrol blogger and author Kevin Derendorf, who has just released the new book Kaiju for Hipsters!  Kevin's book explores obscure and rare kaiju films.  We talk to him extensively about his book and the large variety of lesser known kaiju flicks out there.  Why have so many of these films fallen through the cracks?  We'll get into that.  We also discuss a wide variety of topics including kaiju in anime, Gamera's obscure direct to video life, weird Taiwanese co-productions, kaiju short films, our favorite obscure kaiju discoveries, and more!  Tune in and enjoy!

This past summer at G-Fest 2018 in Chicago, Chris Marti and authors Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski held a panel on the topic of Japanese nationalism in the Godzilla series.  From Godzilla (1954) to Shin Godzilla, the complex subject of Japan’s postwar identity and its relations with the U.S. and the world have periodically arisen in kaiju eiga.  This panel presents examples of how this issues are presented in the subtext of both new and old films.  Special thanks to Ed and Steve for letting us release this fascinating discussion.  Enjoy!

Byrd and Matt are joined by Eric and Trev to talk giant sharks!  We start with the recent Jason Statham blockbuster The Meg!  We talk about its years in development hell, comparisons to the book it was based on, and whether or not it was worth the wait.  Eric had to leave us after that, but it doesn't stop there!  Then we covered the Asylum's kaiju inspired Mega Shark series!  We also talk about our favorite and least favorite shark movies, including Shark Attack 3, Atomic Shark (Shin Jaws), Psycho Shark, and more!  Tune in!

Byrd and Matt welcome a very special guest, monster actor Alan Maxson!  Alan had the honor of being one of the three mo-cap actors to bring Legendary Pictures' King Ghidorah to life in next summer's Godzilla: King of the Monsters!  Alan gives us a taste of his experience on the film and discusses his life long love of monsters and his career as a monster actor working with Full Moon Pictures, Thankskilling 3 and more!  Enjoy!

In July of 2018, Byrd and Matt did a panel at the annual G-Fest convention on Ishiro Honda's 1958 classic sci-fi/horror film the H-Man!  We went in depth on the making of the film, covering the script, effects, cast, trivia, allegorical subtext, and the film's U.S. release.  We even left some time for audience Q&A!  Unlike our panel last year, we have nice, clean audio for this one!  So enjoy, as we take you through 50 years of blobby goodness!