SciFi Japan

    The Konami SF Movie King Kong Collection. Photo by John DeSentis. © 1933 RKO Pictures, Inc./ © 2006 Konami

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    A look at King Kong toys from Japan Author: John “Dutch” DeSentis Special Thanks to Kevin Frederick A SciFi JAPAN RETROSPECTIVE Japan has always been renowned for the great wealth of collectibles and toys that have been manufactured there over the decades. While the United States is certainly not lacking its own heap of quality items, there is one character that the Japanese have lately seemed to get right when the US has dropped the ball considerably: King Kong, or more specifically the 1933 incarnation of King Kong. What is most surprising about this is that King Kong is an American icon that frequently rivals Godzilla in popularity among fans. That is not to say that there haven’t been serviceable attempts to produce good likenesses of Kong in America. The release of Peter Jackson’s KING KONG remake in 2005 saw a great amount

    In 1966, the Daiei Motion Picture Company released three films about the angry god Daimajin. © 1966 Kadokawa Pictures, Inc.

    Kaiju - Monsters

    Author: Ed Godziszewski Revised and Updated from Monster Attack Team #7 (1997) 1966 was a vintage year for Japanese fantasy and science fiction films- the Golden Age of Toho was still in full bloom, with THE ADVENTURES OF TAKLAMAKAN (Kiganjo no Boken), WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS (Furankenshutain no Kaiju: Sanda tai Gaira), and GODZILLA VS THE SEA MONSTER (Gojira, Ebira, Mosura: Nankai no Daiketto) all seeing release. Rival studio Daiei was likewise enjoying a Golden Age of its own, following up the success of GAMERA (Daikaiju Gamera, US title GAMMERA THE INVINCIBLE, 1965) with GAMERA VS BARUGON (Daikaiju Ketto-Gamera tai Barugon, aka WAR OF THE MONSTERS) as well as a unique trio of period fantasy films in which the title character was a giant statue called Daimajin. MAJIN (Daimajin), THE RETURN OF MAJIN (Daimajin Ikaru) and MAJIN STRIKES AGAIN (Daimajin Gyakushu) all followed

    The gathering of good yokai brings together (from l to r) Tenoume, Kasabake, Bakenekko, Noterabo, Shojo, Kawataro, Snow Woman, Zashiki, General Nurarihyon, Furu Furu, Lamp Oil, Namahage, the Long Necked Woman, Mitsume Kozo, Kawahime, and Kamakiri. Photo courtesy of Horizon Entertainment. © 2005 Kadokawa Pictures, Inc.

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    Media Blasters and Tokyo Shock bring the acclaimed Takashi Miike film to American theaters and DVD Source: Media Blasters, Inc. New press release: Check back with SciFi Japan in the next few days for additional information on THE GREAT YOKAI WAR and the American Cinematheque`s Japanese Giant Monsters Festival.

    The Miroku 2nd Prototype robot battles NEGADON: THE MONSTER FROM MARS. Photo courtesy of Central Park Media. © 2005 Jun Awazu/CoMix Wave

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    The Highly Anticipated Animated Short Premieres in New York City Author: John “Dutch” DeSentis Special Thanks to Peter Tatara, Tom Wayland, and Central Park Media A SciFi JAPAN EXCLUSIVE This past Tuesday, May 9th 2006, Central Park Media held the official New York City Premiere of NEGADON: THE MONSTER FROM MARS at the wonderful ImaginAsian Theater on 59th Street. Central Park Media, a small New York based distribution company that takes much pride in finding great Japanese animated films that would go unnoticed by bigger companies, became interested in NEGADON after they acquired the independent CG horror short KAKURENBO: HIDE AND SEEK last year. That film was received very well and was even shown on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim. NEGADON is the product of director Jun Awazu, who left his 9-5 job in pursuit of his kaiju dream. In

    Dustin Winslow and Matt Horwitz, student instructors for KAIJU CINEMA: AN INTRODUCTION TO JAPANESE GIANT MONSTER MOVIES.

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    UC Berkeley Offers Class on Japanese Monster Cinema Author: Bob Johnson It was a cold and rainy night as I made my way to the UC Berkeley Campus to give a talk on Japanese superheroes. Who would have thought that in a place of higher learning, a prestigious California University, that a group of 55 students would be gathering to hear a talk about Ultraman, Kamen Rider or Kidaida? How did it all come to be? How did it all start? Two students at the school, Matthew Horwitz and Dustin Winslow, through a program that allows students to develop and coordinate semester-long courses, got together to offer KAIJU CINEMA: AN INTRODUCTION TO JAPANESE GIANT MONSTER MOVIES. What started out to be a humble, 35-student class soon swelled to an amazing 55 students, with another 20 or so turned away for lack of classroom space. Students gather

    Gamera, the giant turtle, from GAMMERA THE INVINCIBLE. ©1965 Kodakawa Pictures.

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    Author: Sean Kotz of CreatureScape Sources: •Chevalier, Jean and Alain Gheerbrant. A Dictionary of Symbols. Blackwell Publishers: Cambridge, Mass. (1994). •Cooper, J. C. Dictionary of Symbolic and Mythological Animals. Thorsons: London (1992). •MacKenzie, Donald A. Myths of China and Japan. Gramercy Books: New York (1994). Beginning with 1965’s GAMMERA THE INVINCIBLE, American audiences have had a hard time getting over the fact that, obviously, Gamera is a giant turtle. In fact, in the Harris Associates Incorporated/NTA release for American viewers, devotes no less than five minutes of film time to debating this “hallucination.” Every English speaking character who hears the story scoffs and dismisses the premise as silly. In other words, even the Americans in the film can’t believe in a “giant turtle” and initially Gamera’s only defender is a rather eccentric (but genuinely comical) Dr. Contrare. Part of the problem is that Godzilla, Gamera’s more

    NEGADON: THE MONSTER FROM MARS goes back to school! Central Park Media presents a free preview screening of the new CG kaiju film next week at Ithaca College. Photo courtesy of Central Park Media. © 2005 Jun Awazu/CoMix Wave

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      Source: Central Park Media, CoMix Wave Official US Site: Negadon Attacks Official Japanese Site (in English): Wakusei Daikaiju Negadon New press release: For more information and photos for NEGADON: THE MONSTER FROM MARS, please see the earlier coverage here on SciFi Japan.  

    Gamera is back next month… and SciFi Japan is pleased to present an exclusive sneak peek at the fire-breathing turtle’s latest adventure, courtesy of Kadokawa Pictures! Large photo courtesy of Ed Godziszewski. © 2006 Chiisaki Yusha-tachi Gamera/Kadokawa Pictures, Inc.

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    Gamera is back next month… and SciFi Japan is pleased to present an exclusive sneak peek at the fire-breathing turtle’s latest adventure, courtesy of Kadokawa Pictures! Large photo courtesy of Ed Godziszewski. © 2006 Chiisaki Yusha-tachi Gamera/Kadokawa Pictures, Inc. The Giant Flying Turtle Celebrates His 40th Anniversary with a New Film Author: Keith Aiken Translations: Oki Miyano Source: Kadokawa Herald Pictures, Inc., Kadokawa Pictures USA Official Movie Site: Gamera.jp Special Thanks to Ed Godziszewski and Daisuke Ishizuka A SciFi JAPAN EXCLUSIVE Over the past four decades, the giant monster Gamera has been called “Invincible”, “The Friend of All Children”, “Super Monster”, and “The Guardian of the Universe”. Now, the popular kaiju returns with a new title; “The Brave”. Six years after Gamera’s last big screen appearance; Kadokawa Pictures announced that they would be bringing the monster back in an all-new motion picture.

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