[Matrixbeast]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ljacone

Godzilla 85/Return of Godzilla is unlikely to ever be officially released in this country ever again. The home video rights are tied up in litigation and have been for a long time. So a bootleg may be your only way to go.

The second Hesai Mothra film is better than the first, but's sort of faint praise as the first one was terrible. Just barely watchable. The daikaiju were neat but the never-ending stuff with the kids and the fairies was just awful.

Really? Damn, that sucks. I can't even find an older copy going for $50 like I did Vs. Mechagodzilla...

And it tends to be my luck to watch the best one first. Happened with Sentai, happened with Transformers, happening here :I
Still, it's really just a nagging feeling of completion.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ljacone

If you want to blame someone for the releases of Godzilla films in the west, it's Sony and their subsidiary Classic Media. They handle distribution of most of the Toho daikaiju films. It's Sony/Classic Media who determines what films they release in the US and how.

I figured it wasn't Toho's call. Sony tends to be terrible at this, if it's their decision, though. I know Godzilla and the daikaiju film is a niche genre and it won't make them truckloads of money, but it wouldn't kill or bankrupt them to release some of the harder to find a Godzilla movies...

[ShockerCon]

Rescue Fire 39. A goofy, sponsor plugging, clip show, but overall, it was surprisingly enjoyable. Looks like Ukaen goes off the deep end in the next episode.

[ljacone]

Ultraman episode 31 -- Who Has Come? Not to be confused with "Woo has come," which was the previous episode. The vamprific plant Keronia leads an army of plant-based life forms on a seige of Japan. Interesting premise and horror elements (Keronia starts out as a kaijin, wearing a double breasted suit... I always like monsters who wear sport coats), then segues directly into daikaiju insanity with little explanation, Keronia is a slim, humanoid monster who is not afraid to mix it up, so the fight with Ultraman is rather nifty. Also some great use of the stock Tsuburaya sound effects, which is always a treat to me, including one of my favorites -- the Planet X Flying Saucer sound!

EDIT:

Ultraman episode 32 -- The Endless Counterattack. While Hayata is escorting Pati, a member of the Science Patrol HQ in India on holiday in Japan, the team battles the monster Zambolar, who exudes enough heat to cause forests to spontaneously combust around him. The title is approprite as this is almost an entirely action-oriented episode, including a long battle between Zambolar and the JSDF & Science Patrol. Not much of a story but fun if you like daikaiju battling the military, and if you are watching this show, that may be a given.

Amazingly, at one point while destroying a chemical plant, the Zambolar suit itself actually catches fire! One of the many hazards of being an Ultra Kaiju!

Pati has the line of the episode, saying that even though her vacation was ruined, she did get to see three famous Japanese sites: Earthquakes, monsters, and Ultraman!

Ultraman Episode 33 -- The Mysterious Planet. Hayata, Fuji, and her brother Satoru are abducted by the alien Mephilas, who has designs on the Earth. Mephilas is sort of a Satan figure, trying to tempt Satoru into giving him the Earth by offering him a paradise planet, immortality, and the chance to rule a world. He also uses illusions to do his fighting for him. His name also comes from Mephistopohlese, from Faust.

Given the nature of the show, of course, he is turned away by Ultraman, but not killed -- not entirely unlike how Christ could turn away Satan by rejecting his offers of power.

There's one scene which seems to have a sort of tenous parallel between Christ and Ultraman -- Mephilas asks Hayata "Are you an alien or a human?" to which Hayata's reply is "Both." This made me think of the "fully human and fully divine" nature of Christ as expouded upon in the New Testament.

Metaphysical and religious aspects aside, this was an interesting counterpoint to the last episode in that it featured very little in the way of action but a lot more story. And the story itself is quite thoughtful. I dug it. We also get cameos from Baltan, Zarab, and Kemur -- the last one is odd because Kemur hadn't appeared since Ultra Q.

We also get a nice nod to all the giantess fans out there as Fuji appears as a giantess in her uniform. Mmmrow... if you're into that!

Ultraman Episode 34 -- Present From The Sky. The incredbly heavy monster Skydon falls to Earth, and the Science Patrol has to figure out how to lift him.

YOU ARE NOT READY FOR THIS LEVEL OF DAIKAIJU COMEDY.

At one point Ultraman tries his shoulder throw... and the music slows down... and stops... as Skydon collapses on top of him.

Later, Hayata goes to transform into Ultraman... except he is holding up a spoon instead of the Beta Capsule.

Silliness. Pure silliness.

Insanely enough, this bizarre comedy episode also features a man committing suicide by jumping from a building in Tokyo. No I am not making this up. *shrug* Still pretty dang funny though!

[ljacone]

The last post is getting too long so I am starting a new one. Sorry, Baltan.

Ultraman Episode 35 -- The Monster Graveyard. On a routine patrol of space, Arashi and Ide discover a Monster Graveyard, and shortly thereafter, the the monster Seabouz is struck by a rocket and brought to Earth. But all he wants is to go back to his peaceful graveyard. A pretty artsy episode, with a Buddhist funeral for the monsters, and Fuji using a version of Inoshiro Honda's "Monsters are born too heavy, too tall, too strong" quote. Like the Woo episode, does get a little metatextual about the nature of the Science Patrol and the monsters they fight. Seabouz is a nice skeletal design as well.

Ultraman Episode 36 -- Don't Shoot, Arashi! The monster Zarangas evolves every time he is attacked, so the Science Patrol is ordered not to engage him. When Arashi disobeys this order, he is stripped of his rank and forced to live the consequences of his decision. Good action episode, with a lot of good carnage from Zarangas. Good characterization ep for Arashi as well. Seems to me that DC Comics ripped off Zarangas' gimmick for Doomsday, huh?

Ultraman Episode 37 -- The Small Hero. The Monster Chieftan Geronimon plans on resurrecting 60 monsters to attack Japan, but doesn't count on of them being Pigmon, who tips off the Science Patrol. There's some funny bits early in this one with Pigmon in a department store (complete with some classic Bandai Ultra toys), and then an all out battle between the Science Patrol and the monsters Dorako and Telesdon. Ide gets the spotlight this time out; I feel like the show is really hitting it's stride from a character standpoint here near the end, and this continues on into Ultraseven.

Ultraman Episode 38 -- Space Rescue Order. Space Station V2 is disabled, and to retrieve the required part, the Science Patrol heads to mysterious Planet Q, where they tangle with the monsters Kiyla and Saigo. Heavy effects episode, with a space station, a new ship and tracked vehicle for the Science Patrol, an alien world, and 2 monsters. Is it any wonder the show ended because of budget? Still, it's all sorts of fun.

I am going to save the last episode for another time. Thanks for reading folks.

[ljacone]

VR Troopers episodes 4-7. I spent the last two afternoons working from home as one of my sons was home sick. So I watched a couple of eps of VR Troopers each day. This show remains a guilty pleasue because of it's out and out lack of inhibitions. Utilize the same footage of Grimlord transforming every episode? Check! Use the same shot of Vortex Command every time? Yup! Use the same piece of stock footage 4 times in 90 seconds? You got it! Talking dog doing a bad Jack Nicholson impression? OH YEAH!

VR Troopers is very easily consumable and digestable. It's fun and fast paced and silly as all heck. Watching it now, knowing what little I do about Spielban and Metalder, you can see some of the underlying plots, which only seems to increase my enjoyment.

So all I have to say in closing is "Forces of darkness, empower me! Take me back to my Virtual Reality!"

[ShockerCon]

Rescue Fire 40. Pretty good episode. It's really refreshing to see the commanders doing something besides being evil. Ukaen got some good development, and the commanders showed a level of camaraderie towards each other unlike anything seen before in the show. Aside from that, I find the use of so much real rescue technology in this episode and the next to be off-putting.

[ShockerCon]

Rescue Fire 41. Interesting, to say the least. Interesting in that they combined two episode traits into one episode(the "childhood friend" theme and the "cute animal with a sob story turned into a demon" theme). Whether or not this hodgepodge of filler episode outlines worked is debatable, but I think it made for a decent and different plot.

More interesting is that these Nagoya Hyper Rescue episodes look to be a story arc, with the temperature constantly getting suspiciously higher, until the climax where Jokaen returns. Huzzah!

[ShockerCon]

Rescue Fire 42. Is perfect.

[ShockerCon]

Rescue Fire 43. This episode had a little bit of everything. Jokaen being a badass, Hikaru showing up, robot stuff that rivals Go-Buster in terms of kickass originality, and a mind-flunk scene at the end that I did not see coming. Man, I never thought I'd say this when I was watching Rescue Force, but I'm gonna miss this series.

[ShockerCon]

Rescue Fire 44. Pretty much a giant Rescue Force tribute. It was good enough, and Cerberus Dragon was a good homage to God Striker. Next episode looks pretty silly, but I can't wait for the big finale story that starts in 47.