Japanese Giants was a kaiju (giant monster) fanzine with an emphasis on Japanese monsters, such as Godzilla.
Japanese Giants was a kaiju (giant monster) fanzine with an emphasis on Japanese monsters, such as Godzilla.
Japanese Giants was inspired by the fanzine Japanese Fantasy Film Journal [1] (JFFJ), edited and published by Greg Shoemaker. [2] Shoemaker has been credited with founding American Godzilla fandom. [3] Japanese Giants was the second fanzine to be published on the genre. Fifteen year-old Stephen Mark Rainey published the first issue of Japanese Giants in 1974. [4] Rainey was also the editor. Offset printed, the 18 page issue revolved around the first half of a filmbook of Destroy All Monsters . Other articles included Ultraman , Johnny Sokko and his Flying Robot by Tom Murdock, as well photos and art by Rainey, Chuck Neely, and Robert Cox.
Japanese Giants issue one was a clear expression of Rainey's love of the genre, but was not financially successful. Bradford Grant Boyle took over the fanzine with issue two. [5] Also 15, he had previously published other fanzines including Sci-Fi. [6] Issue two had a more professional look but still obviously a fanzine. The cover was two-color offset on glossy paper, with Destroy All Monsters drawn by Tim Johnson. Boyle printed issue two at his East High School graphics class. A fanzine budget was often very small and bootstrapping was a necessity. The contents included the conclusion of the Destroy All Monsters filmbook by Stephen Mark Rainey, "The Day of Daiei" by Tony Picariello, "Kappa: Terror from the Deep" by Stephen Mark Rainey, and an Aurora Ghidrah Model review by Bradford G. Boyle. Like Rainey, Boyle took a financial bath until Famous Monsters of Filmland mentioned Japanese Giants in an issue.
Japanese Giants issue 3 [7] had a cover by Bill Gudmundson. Contents included film news, monster sizes by Bill Gudmundson, part one of the Mothra filmbook, by Tony Picariello, "Godzillla! Coincidence or Allegory" by Peter H. Brothers. The issue was 32 pages, offset printed.
Issue four [8] featured a cover of Mothra by Tim Johnson. The interior of the issue was printed with a Xerox machine. Published in September, 1977, the issue was 34 pages. Contents included an Editorial by Brad Boyle, readers' letters, monster footprint chart by Bill Gudmundson, Rodan model review by Peter H. Brothers, Yusha Raideen , an analysis of the cartoon series by Dan Briggs, Ultra 7 by Diego Agbayani, Godzilla vs. Megalon / Bionic Monster by Stephen Mark Rainey, reviews of the Marvel Godzilla comic issues #1–3, and the conclusion of the Mothra filmbook by Dan Murray.
Ed Godziszewski [9] took control of the fanzine after Boyle. Issue five's [10] cover of Godzilla was drawn by Godziszewski, and contained features on Revenge of MechaGodzilla , Latitude Zero , and The War in Space . Issue six was focused on Rodan with a cover by Gudmundson. The Japanese Giants webpage is no longer active but can be accessed via archive.org. A gallery of cover images of all the Japanese Giants issues may be found at original editor Mark Rainey's blog site: Japanese Giants Cover Gallery.
The fanzine ceased publication in 2004 with its tenth issue, marking thirty years since Rainey's efforts. Godziszewski carried his passion into writing multiple books, and contributing to several Classic Media movies' commentary. Because of the age and limited print runs, early issues are rare. The University of Iowa has issue four in their collection. [11]
King Kong vs. Godzilla is a 1962 Japanese kaiju film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd, it is the third film in both the Godzilla and King Kong franchises, as well as the first Toho-produced film featuring King Kong. It is also the first time that each character appeared on film in color and widescreen. The film stars Tadao Takashima, Kenji Sahara, Yū Fujiki, Ichirō Arishima, and Mie Hama, with Shoichi Hirose as King Kong and Haruo Nakajima as Godzilla. In the film, Godzilla is reawakened by an American submarine and a pharmaceutical company captures King Kong for promotional uses, culminating in a battle on Mount Fuji.
Destroy All Monsters is a 1968 Japanese epic kaiju film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects directed by Sadamasa Arikawa and supervised by Eiji Tsuburaya. The film, which was produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd, is the ninth film in the Godzilla franchise, and features eleven monster characters, including Godzilla, Mothra, Rodan, King Ghidorah, Anguirus, and Minilla. The film stars Akira Kubo, Jun Tazaki, Yukiko Kobayashi and Yoshio Tsuchiya.
Godzilla vs. Mothra is a 1992 Japanese kaiju film directed by Takao Okawara, with special effects by Kōichi Kawakita. Distributed by Toho and produced under their subsidiary Toho Pictures, it is the 19th film in the Godzilla franchise, and is the fourth film in the franchise's Heisei era. The film features the fictional monster characters Godzilla, Mothra, and Battra, and stars Tetsuya Bessho, Satomi Kobayashi, Takehiro Murata, Megumi Odaka, Shiori Yonezawa, Makoto Otake, Akiji Kobayashi, Koichi Ueda, Shinya Owada, Keiko Imamura, Sayaka Osawa, Saburo Shinoda and Akira Takarada, with Kenpachiro Satsuma as Godzilla. The plot follows Battra and Mothra's attempts to stop Godzilla from attacking Yokohama.
Kaiju is a Japanese term that is commonly associated with media involving giant monsters. A subgenre of science fiction, it was created by Eiji Tsuburaya and Ishirō Honda. The term can also refer to the giant monsters themselves, which are usually depicted attacking major cities and battling either the military or other monsters.
Rodan is a fictional monster, or kaiju, which first appeared as the title character in Ishirō Honda's 1956 film Rodan, produced and distributed by Toho. Following its debut standalone appearance, Rodan went on to be featured in numerous entries in the Godzilla franchise, including Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964), Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965), Destroy All Monsters (1968), Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993), and Godzilla: Final Wars (2004), as well as in the Legendary Pictures-produced film Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019).
Mothra is a fictional monster or kaiju, that first appeared in the 1961 film Mothra, produced and distributed by Toho Studios. Mothra has appeared in several Toho tokusatsu films, often as a recurring monster in the Godzilla franchise. She is typically portrayed as a colossal sentient larva (caterpillar) or imago, accompanied by two miniature fairies speaking on her behalf. Unlike several other Toho monsters, Mothra is a largely heroic character, having been variously portrayed as a protector of her own island culture, the Earth and Japan. Mothra's design is influenced by silkworms, their imagos, and those of giant silk moths in the family Saturniidae. The character is often depicted hatching offspring when approaching death, a nod to the Saṃsāra doctrine of numerous Indian religions.
King Ghidorah is a fictional monster, or alien, or kaiju, which first appeared in Ishirō Honda's 1964 film Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster. The monster was initially created by Tomoyuki Tanaka, Eiji Tsuburaya, and Shinichi Sekizawa as an homage to the eight-headed mythological Japanese dragon Yamata no Orochi. Although the name of the character is officially trademarked by Toho as "King Ghidorah", the character was originally referred to as Ghidorah, Ghidrah, or Monster Zero in some English markets.
Invasion of Astro-Monster is a 1965 kaiju film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. It is the sixth film in the Godzilla franchise and Shōwa period. The film was a Japanese-American co-production; it was the second collaboration between Toho Co., Ltd. and UPA. The film stars Akira Takarada, Nick Adams, Kumi Mizuno, Akira Kubo, and Yoshio Tsuchiya, with Haruo Nakajima as Godzilla, Masaki Shinohara as Rodan, and Shoichi Hirose as King Ghidorah. In the film, aliens plead with humanity to borrow Godzilla and Rodan to defeat Ghidorah, only to betray the humans and unleash the monsters on the Earth.
Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster is a 1964 Japanese kaiju film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd., it is the fifth film in the Godzilla franchise, and was the second Godzilla film produced that year, after Mothra vs. Godzilla. The film stars Yosuke Natsuki, Hiroshi Koizumi, Akiko Wakabayashi, with Haruo Nakajima as Godzilla, Masanori Shinohara as Rodan, and Shoichi Hirose as King Ghidorah. In the film, an extraterrestrial from Venus, possessing the body of a princess, warns humanity of the pending destruction by the alien-dragon Ghidorah, with Godzilla, Rodan, and Mothra being their last hope for survival.
Mothra vs. Godzilla is a 1964 Japanese kaiju film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd., it is the fourth film in the Godzilla franchise. The film stars Akira Takarada, Yuriko Hoshi, Hiroshi Koizumi, Kenji Sahara, and Emi and Yumi Itō, with Haruo Nakajima and Katsumi Tezuka as Godzilla. In the film, humans beseech the aid of the insect god Mothra to stop Godzilla from destroying Japan.
The War of the Gargantuas is a 1966 kaiju film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Referred by film historian Stuart Galbraith IV as a "quasi–sequel" to Frankenstein vs. Baragon, the film was a Japanese-American co-production; it was the third and final collaboration between Toho Co., Ltd and Henry G. Saperstein. The film stars Russ Tamblyn, Kumi Mizuno and Kenji Sahara, with Yû Sekida as Sanda and Haruo Nakajima as Gaira. In the film, scientists investigate the sudden appearance of two giant hairy humanoid monsters that culminates in a battle in Tokyo.
Kōichi Kawakita was a Japanese special effects director, cinematographer, and optical photographer.
Mothra is a 1961 Japanese kaiju film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd, it is the first film in the Mothra franchise. The film stars Frankie Sakai, Hiroshi Koizumi, Kyōko Kagawa, Jerry Ito, and The Peanuts. In the film, an expedition to an irradiated island brings civilization in contact with a primitive native culture. When one sensationalist entrepreneur abducts two doll-sized priestesses for exploitation, their ancient deity, known as Mothra, arises in retaliation.
Godzilla is a Japanese monster, or kaiju, media franchise consisting of films, television series, novels, comic books, video games, and other merchandise. The franchise is centered on the fictional kaiju Godzilla, a prehistoric reptilian monster awakened and powered by nuclear radiation. The franchise is recognized by the Guinness World Records as the "longest continuously running film franchise", having been in ongoing production since 1954, with several hiatuses of varying lengths. The film franchise consists of 38 films: 33 Japanese films produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd., and five American films; one produced by TriStar Pictures and four films by Legendary Pictures.
A monster movie, monster film, creature feature or giant monster film is a film that focuses on one or more characters struggling to survive attacks by one or more antagonistic monsters, often abnormally large ones. The film may also fall under the horror, comedy, fantasy, or science fiction genres. Monster movies originated with adaptations of horror folklore and literature.
Godzilla 2: War of the Monsters is a video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System published exclusively in North America by Toho in 1992. It was the second game based on the Godzilla franchise to be released for a Nintendo home console, following 1988's Godzilla: Monster of Monsters; and the third overall game to be released on a Nintendo platform, after the 1990 handheld game for Game Boy.
As an enduring and iconic symbol of post-World War II cinematic history, the fictional giant monster Godzilla has been referenced and parodied numerous times in popular culture. Godzilla and other atomic monsters have appeared in a variety of mediums, including cartoons, film, literature, television, and video games.
Godzilla is a series of novels written by author Marc Cerasini, based on the film series of the same name produced by Toho. While all set within the same continuity, each novel has its own plot and storyline, with Toho's kaiju featured as the stars.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters is a 2019 American monster film directed and co-written by Michael Dougherty. Produced by Legendary Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, it is a sequel to Godzilla (2014) and the third film in the Monsterverse. It is also the 35th film in the Godzilla franchise, and the third Godzilla film to be completely produced by a Hollywood studio. The film stars Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga, Millie Bobby Brown, Bradley Whitford, Sally Hawkins, Charles Dance, Thomas Middleditch, Aisha Hinds, O'Shea Jackson Jr., David Strathairn, Ken Watanabe, and Zhang Ziyi. In the film, eco-terrorists release King Ghidorah, who awakens other monsters known as "Titans" across the world, forcing Godzilla and Mothra to surface and engage Ghidorah and Rodan in a decisive battle.
Toho International, Inc. is an American company that is a subsidiary of Japanese film company Toho Co., Ltd. Founded in May 1953, the company was initially created to sell films by Toho in North and South America; amongst their first features to export overseas were Seven Samurai and Godzilla. Toho International currently manages the licensing, marketing, and distribution of Toho's movies and other products and are headquartered in Los Angeles.