Kaiju Week in Review (November 26-December 2, 2023)

I wasn't over the moon when Toho announced that Takashi Yamazaki's Blockbuster Monster Movie was in fact the next Godzilla film. I had seen a few of his works—none bad, but none spectacular either. Well, I've set my sights on watching the rest in the new year, because Godzilla Minus One is an unqualified masterpiece. A tagline from the original Godzilla, King of the Monsters! comes to mind (as it often does when you're me): "Mightiest melodrama of them all!" A lot of the post-Showa films suffer from an abundance of characters who just spout exposition and look at monitors; here, almost everyone in the small cast gets at least one close encounter with Godzilla, and the monster's backstory is conveyed with extreme efficiency. This tale of a war veteran trying to rebuild his life in the ruins of Tokyo, stumbling into a family, finding fulfillment in blowing up leftover mines, and haunted by what he perceives as his cowardice in combat, would have been plenty compelling without Godzilla.

Since it does have Godzilla, it's high on my list of the best movies of the year, and I only need one viewing to call it one of the best installments in the almost-70-year-old series. Yamazaki patiently waited some 15 years after Always: Sunset on Third Street 2 for his shot at a Godzilla feature. You certainly get the sense, watching one of the most brutal, pissed-off incarnations of the monster ever to grace the screen, that he spent every day of it in preparation. Watch it often while it's still in theaters, and watch it big.

Godzilla Minus One will gross about $10 million in its U.S. opening "weekend", a third-place finish that beat expectations. For context, Godzilla 2000, the last Toho Godzilla film to receive a wide release here, made about $10 million during its entire theatrical run here. Ticket prices were cheaper then, of course, and Minus One was helped along further by almost half of attendees going to premium-format screenings. Conversely, it had to overcome Americans' subtitle phobia, and the first weekend of December is usually a slow one. I was pessimistic at the outset, but now I expect larger theaters to carry the film into the new year, especially with near-universal raves from critics and audiences.

Yes, a third section for Godzilla Minus One; it's well-deserved, I promise. MyKaiju is risking life and limb by hosting an English translation of the film's novelization, written by Takashi Yamazaki himself. It appears to be at least partially machine-translated, but the Japanese text is included for comparison. Haven't read it yet, as I want to see the film a second time first, but quite a breakthrough given how mysterious this sort of thing usually is.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters could never hope to compare with the opening of a stellar new Godzilla film; unfortunately, I also thought this week's episode was the weakest so far. It's bookended by Frost-Vark action, but the rest just drags. All's forgiven if the teacher and the hacker smooch though.

Toho and Legendary used to let each other's live-action Godzilla movies breathe; now the U.S. opening weekend of one is coinciding with the opening marketing push of the other. IGN released a trio of pics from Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, showing Kong with his axe; Dr. Andrews, Jia, and Trapper (Dan Stevens's character) in uniform; and Godzilla "evolving into a powerful new form." The same article included an interview with director Adam Wingard. Naturally, he didn't give away much... besides the return of Doug.

Earlier in the week, Legendary put out a trio of posters featuring Godzilla, Kong, and the film's antagonist, now christened Skar King. The taglines ("Unite" for our heroes, "Bow to Your King" for SK) sound like kaiju campaign slogans. Makes me wonder if, like Godzilla vs. Megalon before it, the movie will improbably capitalize on the presidential election next year. To steal a joke from Titanollante: Godzilla/Kong unity ticket? They'd have my vote.

Godzilla's new form, meanwhile, has already been spoiled by a T-shirt on Legendary's own site and some dire-looking Playmates figures. It makes sense that Wingard would want to have his own spin on the character after keeping the design from Godzilla: King of the Monsters for Godzilla vs. Kong. Hard to cast judgment without seeing the real design in full, but there's one particular detail I really like.

The film also has a booth at CCXP in Brazil, with a panel later today, so I think a trailer is incoming (the main reason I hammered out this whole post so quickly).

I missed this one last week: Tsuburaya announced an anime project called Ultraman: DARKNESS HEELS. The DARKNESS HEELS branding has been around for a while, spotlighting prominent evil Ultras—and, of course, Jugglus Juggler. No details on the anime yet, but if the Juggleman's there, so am I.

The big toy reveal this weekend was Super7's ULTIMATES! MaiGoji figure. Previous Godzilla figures from this line haven't lived up to the official photos, but hope springs eternal. It's $85 (much less than the MonsterArts); preorders started Friday. Other highlights: a Super7 ReAction figure of the original Godzilla's skeleton, which comes with a little Oxygen Destroyer, and a plush Mothra from Surreal Entertainment that can flip to imago form to a neck pillow-shaped larva.

Little Wins, February 2024

A few bits of good news from the Button Kin desk this month.

Dungeons and Flagons! I was astonished this month when a person unknown to me chose to run a game of Drama Llamas at my local gaming weekend, Dungeons and Flagons. It’s the first time this has happened with one of my games and I am beyond chuffed. If the mystery GM is reading: it means a lot that you did that, please do reach out and let me know how it went.

Caltrop Kaiju! Midlifegamergeek.com picked up a copy of my monstrous puzzle game at a convention recently and wrote a very thoughtful review. Short version: they liked it!

Solo But Not Alone 4! My perennially popular bee-based game Bumbling is available as part of a bundle of excellent solo games, the proceeds from which will all go to Take This, a nonprofit with the mission of destigmatising mental health issues and providing educational resources to the gaming community. There’s still three weeks left to support this excellent cause which is close to home for so many of us, myself included. It’s been fun to see new people discovering the game through the bundle, some even taking the time to share their play experience — which of course I always love to see!

Do you recommend FF16 at all?

I think I'm going to use this as a jumping off point for my FF16 review: TLDR: YES 5/5, 9/10, 17/20

I really like where the story ended up. I think the game kind of relishes in the warfare aspect of it at first, because after a certain point they include a map where you can look at what army is doing what during any part of the story. I wasnt huge on that and I didnt pay attention to it but it didn't matter anyway. There are some contrivances in the story but I was able to largely ignore them. some real Cinema Sins "ding" shit but it's there if you care about that kinda stuff. There's huge bombastic kaiju fights that act as really cool setpieces. I really liked the combat and after a ways into the game it gets very customizable. I think a critique I saw was that it's too easy, and I think yeah it's pretty easy. the hardest fights are all optional hunt bosses you can find and that was a lot of fun. the side quests are kind of not great, and there's little indication on if it's dumb bullshit or really cool lore shit. there IS indication if it gives you a really good upgrade which is pretty cool. It's kind of worth it to do all the side quests and hunts. I think one of the strongest aspects of the combat is how customizable your abilities are. you'll find a lot of ways to chain stuff together which is pretty great. the crafting system sucks. you have endless resources just by playing the game normally and fucking nothing to spend them on. You craft one sword and it's the best sword you'll have for 5 whole hours. no additional stats just strength and stagger. same goes for your armor. I crafted the Drakeslayer armor and I didnt change it until the ultimate Oroboros armor showed up 30 hours later. The best equipment options are the accessories which change actual stats and stuff. Reduces cooldown on moves, changes attributes of certain things, increases potion healing. The problem with that was I was pretty okay with what I had (auto torgal accessory, berserker ring, and potion healing increased by 40%) that I almost never changed it. I think the one time I did was some stuff that made it so I gained more EXP and Ability Points, and then back to normal after I finished what little grinding I wanted to do. Those are good shit though. the thing is you can't craft them, you buy/pick them up. so it's another reason crafting is useless and stupid. I think it's just fun. It's not a huge challenge, but it hit a sweet spot for me. Some people are saying it's piss easy but I had trouble in some spots. I dumped probably 60 hours into it and I usually don't play games that much. It was detrimental to my work ethic for like a week and a half. Great game. oh yeah it's also gorgeous and load times are almost nonexistent. the only time you notice a load is when you have to push a door open with a qte or when you fast travel. you select a different map and the screen goes black for 5 seconds and you're in a completely different map. that's the power of the PS5. Shit like this spoiled me because making games seamless like this just makes it more obvious when the temple opens up in zelda TOTK, and you walk into the hole and there's a loading screen. PS5 wouldnt do that. I'm so spoiled by PS5 shit it's fucked up. It's so fucked up we got a real playable game that has in-engine graphics better than fucking Final Fantasy: The Sprits Within. it's so fucked up. so so fucked up.

Year in Review for Rika

AND WHAT A YEAR ITS BEEN

Fighting paradoxes in Paldea

Nearly dies several times

PWT happens, Travels out of Paldea on her own for the first time in her life

Meets so many people

Gets knocked out of that tournament by her own Alt universe self

Mt. Silver erupts

Fights demons in Viridian forest (Never forget Team Star running it over with the Starmobiles)

Gets Radiation poisoning, saved by Red

Permanent weak immune system debuff from rad poisoning

Brings Red to Paldea to catch and contain a Slither Wing

Slither Wing gets fucking Pokerus and they stay up all night saving it

Giovanni pops over

FLORGES BALL 2023, Red catches a bullet and beats the shit out of Proton.

Proton decides to harass the Paldean E4, winds up living in Rikas walls for a while.

Rika red and Gio dive into Area Zero to destroy the Master Ball facility turning it into a Crystalline hellscape.

Suffers partial crystallization and temporary insanity because of Sadas ghost in the machine.

Therapist tells her to go on vacation

Travelled to Kanto for Hanami

Wound up couch surfing between Red and Protons place all spring long

Trained for multiple weeks just for a single point in strength

Reconciled her grief over her mom at the Moon festival

Became Moon Maiden, inherited a bit of power

Climbed Mt. Silver

Fucking died and was quickly brought back

Threw the whole Paldea in the trash and emigrated to Kanto

Started working for Sabrinas Silph Co.

Scarlet mansion happened

Found out she has actual magic

Went back into Area Zero with Proton and Sabrina, found Neo Rocket trying to salvage the Master Ball facility

Caught Koraidon

Mt. Silver 2: Electric boogaloo

Fought so many horrors

Made nice with Blue (???)

BA

Killed a Kaiju, stopped the storm

Black Fog????

Got chosen to represent Silph in the Sinnoh New Years Race

Weird marks appearing on her body

The God children of Ana Q&A

Fun facts I never got a chance to share

I always imagined Locolichi civilization and infrastructure to look something like slave zero and Bogleech’s mortasheen. A world irreversibly polluted and covered in sprawling ungodly huge several mile high cities.

Melalo’s two heads are actually false heads, as his central brain and mouth is located between them, and the false heads have ganglia instead of actual brains. They are also boneless and move much like octopus arms and elephant trunks. They’re really closer to arms or eyestalks in function!

Tcaridyi doesn’t look too hairy but that’s because she’s covered in a layer of more normal sized hairs! Admittedly I should have illustrated it like that.

In the original legend Poreskoro is a self fertilizing hermaphrodite, and I kept the hermaphroditism in the god child version (minus the self fertilization), but I also took the opportunity to insert some more lgbtq rep. So I also made them an enby. So diversity win! The giant biological god of disease who has caused unfathomable suffering is non-binary. Poreskoro is also probably the least horrible person of the god children, as they don’t actually want to cause harm and were essentially roped into their circumstances after their creation.

This entire thing was actually inspired by @evolutionsvoid’s 2022 kaijune! I really liked it and thought “I wanna do a kaiju short story about disease generation monsters of Romani legend”, so I did.

Q&A

Anonymous asks: “How come the art for the Locolichi and Keshali is shaded, but you didn’t you shade the god children?”

I technically could have, but didn’t for 2 reasons. I was already putting a ton of effort into the illustrations with the line and color work and wanted to get one done at least once a week (before the huge break after part 6). The second is that guardians are luminescent, and I don’t know how to illustrate colored light reflecting off bodies or how that would impact normal shading.

Anonymous asks: “Why do all the god children have stuff in their eyes?”

They were meant to sort of be eye trails to convey movement like Nargacuga, and I made them slightly electric by making them wavy and have sparks to convey power. In hindsight I should have just stuck to a tapering line. Oh well.

Anonymous asks: “I was reading the guardian doc and I got to the one about strength so I’m wondering how powerful are the strongest guardians?”

Have you seen that clip of Omniman setting the Flaxans back to the Stone Age? Or One Punch Man?

Anon asks: “The story isn’t very subtle.”

Well I’m not one for subtlety in my writing. I live in America and critical thinking and media analysis are skills that are very hard to come by here, so unless you beat the audience over the head most Americans aren’t going to realize stuff. So that’s what I do. The audience WILL understand the message I’m conveying. They don’t have a choice.

What’s next?

I’m mostly going to be taking things slower now that I don’t have a self imposed deadline anymore. Just slowly chipping away at a to do list of mine, and once it’s done I can actually start writing a book. I’m still of course going to be providing art and occasional comments to Unnatural History Channel, and being a writing consultant for some of my friends like @dappercritter. I also might do a few commissions soon too.

As for what specifically I’m going to do next. I’m going to write a short story and post it to my patreon, revisit and redo character overviews for Gigabash, read a book I promised a follower I’d review, and then maybe make a Humans B Gone fanart.

Anyways thanks to the like 10 people who read the god children!

2023 Book Reviews: Science Fiction, Part 1

Third round-up of books I've read this year! This time we're diving into sci-fi, with again a pretty mixed bag (although I loved The Kaiju Preservation Society!)

1. In the Quick by Kate Hope Day: 3/5

Pitch: philosophical SF; girl searches for a missing space ship crew with her uncle's former student

Review: This was recommended to me by the Storygraph algorithm, and it sounded really good! Unfortunately I liked the beginning part of this book more than I liked the end, and two weeks later most of my thoughts were confusion about why the relationships were handled the way they were, and I'd forgotten most of the rest of it. Not a hit, but it had its moments. (Current me stepping in to say that I've almost completely forgotten this now, to the extent that I have no idea what I liked about the beginning anymore...)

2. The Million by Karl Schroeder: 3/5

Pitch: a million people take care of Earth so that every thirty years the other ten billion humans can wake up & party; definitely-not-supposed-to-be-there teen has to solve his "father's" murder without revealing his identity

Review: This was interesting, but it didn't end up being more than that for me. Although I found the concept interesting, I found the ending felt very rushed, and the big character decision didn't feel like it made sense emotionally or that there was enough textual basis to set up it being necessary.

3. The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi: 4.5/5

Pitch: guy looking for a new job ends up signing up to protect kaiju on an alternate-Earth

Review: In his author's note, Scalzi describes this book as a pop song - catchy and fun - and I'd definitely say that's an apt comparison! I had a great time with this, loved reading it, but I doubt it'll stay with me for a long time. I'm likely to recommend it though on the strength of the worldbuilding and fun science shenanigans!

4. Tell the Machine Goodnight by Katie Williams: 2/5

Pitch: quick fix machine can tell you what you need to be happy - but can it really???

Review: Once again, proof that my taste in books in 2018 is not up to snuff anymore. I had moved this up to the top of my TBR in 2018 and never made it to it, and I finally got around to it, only to be disappointed. This didn't feel profound, just stupid, and while there were a few storylines I enjoyed, there were a lot that I didn't care about or that actively annoyed me. I'm sure the ending for Pearl is supposed to be profound somehow, that everything in this book is supposed to be a meaningful discussion of capitalism or the alienation of man or something but honestly I just couldn't care less. Not my kind of book

5. You Sexy Thing by Cat Rambo: 4/5

Pitch: retired Admiral in sketchy galactic empire just wants to run a restaurant and stay retired, but ends up running for her life again

Review: It's got a fabulous concept, and this was definitely fun - I liked a lot of the characters in this, and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens down the line for them. However, the constantly bouncing perspectives didn't work well for me, and I was clearly supposed to feel more about some of the events of the book than I did, probably because I wasn't attached to the characters as much as I was supposed to. Ultimately, this was fun and I'll definitely read the sequel, but it also isn't a new favorite.

Publisher is estimating first week of August, maybe sooner, for Harboring’s release.

In addition to literary outlets I’ll be looking into, what Kaiju-related or Japan-focused outlets might be cool for like interviews, podcasts, reviews, etc.?

Would really appreciate any pointers or connects! I’m a pretty personable guest and am happy to talk to a variety of people ☀️

Hiatus Time

I have four entire papers to write in the next 23 days, so I’ll be staying off tumblr for a while. The weekly wrap-ups, Chainsaw Man, Kaiju No. 8, Gokurakugai, and Show-ha Shoten reviews for the next 3 weeks are all cancelled, see y’all in May

-- 𝑼𝒍𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝑫𝒚𝒏𝒂 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘 -- Alongside Kamen Rider, this was my latest rewatch of this current batch of shows being reviewed, and a well worthwhile rewatch it was. Ultraman Dyna is in many ways the perfect sequel to Ultraman Tiga, with the real sense of the crew going “bigger” in terms of concepts explored, sets produced, suits constructed, stakes, and cast. It truly feels like the world of Neo Space Frontier has expanded, we’ve now touched space travel and with the expansion of Super GUTS now we discuss the concept of militarization and even a degree of imperialism. The show adds onto Tiga by showing how the events of the previous show affected the world after and even the way our central cast has to live up to. The cast of Dyna is filled with colorful characters, much like Tiga, but now with a larger roster in Super GUTS we get not only a sense of a bigger budget for TPC but as well as a greater excuse for the writers to explore the characters in ways that Tiga may not had even explored. The is especially prominent in our lead dork: Shin Asuka. Asuka benefits from having a show that has a very clear overarching narrative rather than a more episodic format of the previous season, so the viewer really does see Asuka grow as a person and as an Ultra in real time as he learns that he does deserve the power bestowed upon him and that he doesn’t need to BE like his father but rather be himself. In some way, you can interpret this as a way of the show saying that it isn’t trying to be like Tiga, and we learn that the strength of Dyna is its power as its own show and not just being the successor to Tiga. Dyna is a show that isn’t without its flubs, some episodes during its early run can drag and some elements don’t fully work but despite it these do not bring it down in the slightest. -- 𝑼𝒍𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝑻𝒊𝒈𝒂 & 𝑼𝒍𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝑫𝒚𝒏𝒂 𝑴𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒆 -- A movie that takes place during the show’s pre-final ten episodes, I always prefer watching it around the middle of the show to use it as a “halfway checkpoint” for the higher stakes of the second half. Returning GUTS members appear and help the Super GUTS team against the larger threat of the latest monster of the week, a huge kaiju that towers over Dyna and easily overpowers him. Tiga makes a return as well, reborn through the will of the people who want to help Dyna in a vein not dissimilar to Tiga’s finale and even when the TDG movie does it. The movie is a fun time, but newcomers expecting something that feels deserving of a true feature length entry may feel underwhelmed by the fact it is an extended episode (as all the Ultra films beside Next, Super 8, Zero era, and R/B movie were). -- 𝑼𝒍𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝑫𝒚𝒏𝒂 𝑮𝒂𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏: 𝑹𝒆𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝑯𝒂𝒏𝒆𝒋𝒊𝒓𝒐 -- The 45-minute special is a sequel to the Farewell Hanejiro arc, and should be watched immediately after considering the events would contradict the three part finale’s events. The special essentially is a tribute to an Ultraseven episode and it shows in many aspects of the plot and the MOTWs, with an android woman. It’s good.

Everything old is new again! This anime season has seen the return of classics like Urusei Yatsura and Bleach, so we thought…why not cover the latter as a throwback by a reviewer who has never read it? We’re also looking at the first volume of another classic that’s soon to receive a reboot, Trigun: Maximum. They join a host of other releases this week, including a romcom full of imagination and the 12th and final review for Shortcake Cake!

Banished from the Hero’s Party: I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside (Vol. 2) • Bleach (Vol. 1) • I Am Blue, In Pain, and Fragile • Imaginary (Vol. 1) • Kaiju No. 8 (Vol. 4) • Shortcake Cake (Vol. 12) • Trigun: Maximum (Vol. 1)

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Shortcake Cake, Manga Vol. 12

This ending of this amazing and heartfelt series only confirms to me that I will binge-read anything Suu Morishita writes (and legally gets translated/printed in English). Such a beautiful and fantastic ending! Seriously, I’ve reread this final volume at least two or three times now because it gives all the warm, happy feels and so deeply thankful that everyone can be together. Yes, we see in some of the bonus stories that certain characters went to different places, and aren’t altogether, but the way they keep in touch and the happiness they have when they are together is so beautiful given what has transpired over this series. I deeply loved Ten and Riku’s happy ending and how there was even a surprise happy ending for a set of side characters! It made me smile and laugh and feel it only continued until the final page. I think the cover honestly wraps up what this final volume conveys not only for the characters, but I think the reader too. I know it certainly made me smile! (The cover and the ending.) I think the only sad part is knowing that the series is indeed over. It’s been a beautiful and wonderful journey with these characters and thankful that Ten made the decision to live in a boarding house because otherwise we might have not gotten this touching and powerful love story of not only between friends, but between two brothers who found healing as well. Shortcake Cake is a series I highly recommend! ~ Laura A. Grace

READ: Shortcake Cake Reviews (Vol.1 // Vol. 2 // Vol. 3 // Vol. 4 // Vol. 5 // Vol. 6 // Vol 7 // Vol. 8 // Vol. 9 // Vol. 10 // Vol. 11)

Shortcake Cake is published by VIZ Media.

Imaginary, Manga Vol. 1

Imaginary is what happens when a mangaka combines the mundane with the fantastic, and has the skill and, indeed, imagination to back it up. The story begins with the most ordinary of manga romcom framing—boy (Takasu) reconnects with girl (Maika), and the childhood friends kindle what could become a romance. But this is where Imaginary separates from other romantic comedies, by how it lives in the character’s minds. For instance, as Mai rides home on the train after seeing Takasu, she spies a boy looking out a window, and remembers how she did the same as a child, imagining a ninja leaping from building to building across the quickly passing landscape. Mangaka Niiro Ikuhana illustrates these thoughts, and he depicts action and the fantastic more sharply than “real life”—which he’s quite good at depicting, too! He also excels at transitioning from scene to scene, with an unusual flow that keeps readers on their feet. Instead of portraying what happens when Takasu visit Maika’s apartment, for example, he shows the scene where the two finally decide to go over, shifts immediately to Mai reporting that nothing had occurred to a friend, and then shifts to that friend’s life. It’s a deft technique that makes the normal ebb and flow of life engaging, and when combined with the fantasy sequences, helps bring each of the characters to life. This includes Mai’s three friends, who receive intimate treatment and avoid becoming simple side notes to the main story. In fact, the friendship between the four girls is as central as the budding romance, and in volume one (perhaps as insinuated in the mangaka’s very interesting postscript) this is really the heart of the tale. The artwork is sharp, detailed, and unique, adding another engaging element to the manga. (Warning: an early illustration is quite vivid in its depiction of Mai’s body; it demonstrates the quality of the volume’s artwork and also some of the lesser, but still present, fanservice throughout the book). If there’s one negative, though, it’s this: I don’t know if I can be okay with traditional romcoms any longer—not when there’s something as creative, thoughtful, and fulfilling as Imaginary out there. What a remarkable piece of art! ~ Twwk

Imaginary is published by Seven Seas.

I Am Blue, In Pain, and Fragile, One-Shot Light Novel

Being a university student is hard. (And no, I’m not just saying that because it’s midterm season.) University is that time where society throws you and a bunch of other half-adults into the pressure cooker of classes and social groups until you somehow figure out your career and worldview and life. It’s disorienting, especially since university is often your first foray beyond the insular world of high school and family into a world that isn’t too kind to dreamers. And I Am Blue, In Pain, and Fragile gets this. Kaede and Akiyoshi, two university students who create a club dedicated to pursuing their shared dreams of universal peace and happiness, soon find themselves in over their head and questioning the practicality of those dreams. The book focuses on Kaede in particular, who reminded me of Kanae from I Will Forget This Feeling Someday—ambitious but single-minded, distant but fragile, and longing for healing and hope. And also like that book, this one focuses much on the passing of time, the pain we endure and inflict, the pressures of social life, and the possibility of reconciliation. What stands out here is Yoru Sumino’s piercing depiction of how institutions can careen out of the control of the people behind the wheel. It’s a relevant point of warning for college students especially. Don’t let your ambitions outpace your character. Don’t let yourself hurt others, even your enemies. Don’t use others as tools, even to take hold of the things that are meaningful to you. Those are timely messages, and they make the book shine—though I will say it shines a little more dimly than some of Sumino’s other works. While Kaede and Akiyoshi get their full stories told, the rest of the characters get shoved to the side after their time in the light. And despite all that, there’s never an explanation for why Kaede developed the worldview that he holds, even though Sumino drops hints at such an explanation throughout the book. But hey, the sky is still blue, even if a few clouds block the view. ~ sleepminusminus

I Am Blue, In Pain, and Fragile is published by Seven Seas.

Banished from the Hero’s Party: I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside, Manga Vol. 2

The way volume one of Banished from the Hero’s Party ended left me worried and disappointed. Would the charming fantasy and romance and engaging flashback structure displayed earlier in that work go the way of the birds? Thankfully, volume two proves my concerns unfounded. Rit and Red continue to grow more intimate with one another through their cute interactions and as the former powerful warriors set aside the sword to run a pharmacy. There are obstacles in the way, though, such as that many residents aren’t willing to let Red “abscond” with their beloved protector princess. But far more concerning is a looming threat that neither is considering—what the hero’s party has been up to and how it still may impact Red. This volume employs three different settings, and all contribute to making the story compelling. The current time frame and its cutesy goodness are much welcomed, but so is a flashback showing more about Rit’s initial meeting with Red, further developing the context of their friendship (turning more and more toward romance), and introducing another member of the hero’s party who is a key character. Actually, that member is briefly introduced earlier in this volume through another present-day scene that shows the readers that the hero’s party doesn’t devalue Rit as much as he believes them to. That opening adds an encouraging tone to the work while keeping the menace of the evil world looming large in the tale, ensuring that readers are rewarded with the conflict we desire while still being able to enjoy a story that’s mostly just heartwarming. ~ Twwk

Banished from the Hero’s Party (manga) is published by Yen Press.

READ: Banished from the Hero’s Party Vol. 1 Review

Kaiju No. 8, Manga Vol. 4

I am convinced that no volume of Kaiju No. 8 can be less than five stars because it’s just that good! This series continues to be my favorite ongoing shonen series and rightfully so! Every. Single. Time. I pick up a new volume, I am completely immersed in the story, with volume four being no exception. To echo Kafka’s thoughts in the beginning: “Everyone is so amazing!” This volume kicks off right where the previous volume ended with the vice-captain, Hoshina, battling one of the strongest kaiju we’ve seen thus far. Just when it appears that the Defense Force is victorious, the daikaiju launches a surprise that only Kakfa’s detection ability reacts to. How is he going to help fight, keep his comrades safe, and not reveal his secret? I have been eagerly anticipating this specific volume because I wanted to see more of Hoshina, and it did not disappoint! Granted, no volume in this series has disappointed me, but seeing Hoshina in action was absolutely incredible! His fighting technique is so engaging to watch, and I was almost giddy at seeing his backstory despite also being angry about what people told him. Ha! I was completely on edge throughout all of his scenes as he began to reach his limits—but just when I thought I couldn’t be more on edge, a situation unfolded that left me wondering as to what will happen to Kafka and everyone involved. If you’re a fan of the series, do not miss out on this volume! The stakes get higher the more the series unfolds, and I am extremely desperate for the next volume so I can know what happens next! ~ Laura A. Grace

Kaiju No. 8 is published by VIZ Media.

READ: Kaiju No. 8 Reviews (Vol.1 // Vol. 2 // Vol. 3)

Trigun Maximum, Manga, Vol. 1

In the early years of my exposure to the expansive genre that is anime, Trigun was one of those top tier ones that I remember enjoying. I’ve only watched the anime, which I feel is still fun, but I have not read the manga and have only heard about Trigun Maximum. I bought volume one to see what it was about, as I assumed it would just rehash some episodes from the anime. In fact, it’s a continuation from a certain point in the anime and has a lot of new story that I was excited to discover. It starts off with Vash the Stampede in retirement after several rough battles. His friend Wolfwood finds him and pushes him to come back and help the people that need him. In the midst of this, the town Vash is staying at is attacked by a gang, so he jumps in to save them. Familiar faces return and the story continues to unravel as Vash seeks Knives, his nemesis. It’s great to get back to one of my nostalgic and favorite anime, and I’m glad there’s more that I haven’t read up on. So Trigun Maximum, even though it is an older manga, is fresh for me and I want to see what happens next! ~ Samuru

Trigun: Maximum is published by Dark Horse Comics

Bleach, Manga Vol. 1

I have a number of huge geek gaps when it comes to anime and manga. I have filled in some of those gaps over the years by reading all the Dragon Ball and One Piece manga, being fully up to date on both. As the new Bleach anime series dropped recently, I ended up deciding to try out that manga series. So glad I did. For those, like me, who were unaware, Bleach is set in a world where soul reapers come to help the souls of the dead move onto the next life. Some souls with unfinished business transform into monstrous forms called Hollows. Soul reapers should not be seen by humans. Enter our titular hero Ichigo, a human who can see spirits and also, apparently, Soul Reapers. Through an accidental moment where a Soul Reaper is injured, Ichigo transforms into both Soul Reaper and human to protect his family. The story is fast-paced from there, introducing new characters, new Hollows, and great action scenes in the first volume. Tite Kibo’s art is effortlessly cool and the Hollows are frighteningly monstrous in the best way. If you like action stories, this may be for you. And me, apparently. I guess my biggest complaint is that it took me this long to check it out. ~ MDMRN

Bleach is published by Viz Media under their Shonen Jump imprint.

READ: Bleach 20th Anniversary Edition, Vol. 1 Review

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“Reader’s Corner” is our way of embracing the wonderful world of manga, light novels, and visual novels, creative works intimately related to anime but with a magic all their own. Each week, our writers provide their thoughts on the works they’re reading—both those recently released as we keep you informed of newly published works, and those older titles that you might find as magical (or in some cases, reprehensible) as we do.

Kaiju Week in Review (January 21-27, 2024)

Godzilla Minus One made awards show history in both Japan and the U.S. this week. Its Oscar nomination for best Visual Effects is the first of the series (Godzilla [1998], Godzilla [2014] and Godzilla vs. Kong were previously shortlisted) and the first for any Japanese film. Small wonder Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya, and their team went berserk when the nomination was announced. The other nominees are The Creator, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Napoleon, and Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One. According to IndieWire, The Creator has the edge, but Minus One could very well win. And while it naturally made less headlines in the Anglosphere, Minus One also picked up a whopping 12 Japan Academy Film Prize nominations, exceeding Shin Godzilla's 10.

Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color is now in North American theaters. I was intrigued enough to make it my fourth theatrical viewing of this movie, but in the end it did basically strike me as a gimmick. Godzilla Minus One was shot digitally with sets designed for color, so making it actually look like a film from the 40s was always going to be an uphill battle. Even with the regrade, there wasn’t a ton of contrast in most shots, and some of the scenes taking place at night were quite hard to see. Still, apart from the Odo Island massacre, I found the Godzilla scenes as gripping as ever.

Thanks to Minus Color, Minus One made $2.6 million this weekend, crawling back into the box office top 10. Its total in the U.S. and Canada now stands at $55 million, third among all foreign-language films released in the U.S.

Brush of the God, Keizo Murase's directorial debut after a lifetime in movies, is finally complete. It'll play at the Osaka Asian Film Festival in March (link contains more images), and hopefully travel overseas very soon. Murase will also receive an Association Special Award at the Japan Academy Film Prize.

Clover Press shipped out copies of Godzilla & Kong: The Cinematic Storyboard Art of Richard Bennett to Kickstarter backers, myself included. It's an excellent art book, and there are plenty of deleted and altered scenes mixed in with more familiar sequences. Believe it or not, Bennett drew the panel above for Kong: Skull Island—they considered having James Conrad (Tom Hiddleston) flash back to an encounter with King Ghidorah in Vietnam. Not sure how that would've worked, as Ghidorah is generally not one to lie low for a few decades, but it's the first I've ever heard of it being considered. I'm hoping to post some more scans soon. Here's the order link.

Minecraft social media accounts teased a crossover with the Monsterverse, in what's likely to be the most high-profile of the Godzilla x Kong video game collaborations. The Mobzilla mod was created over 10 years ago, so this is long overdue.

The big toy news this week was Titanic Creations revealing the digital sculpt for its Yongary figure. This guy's had even less figures than Gorgo - I can only think of one, and very few of them were made - so expect massive demand. New Godzilla toys were also on display at London Toy Fair, both at the Playmates booth and among the plushies made by an unknown company.

Lamia likes doing her hair in double buns, since it makes it looks as if she has Bepo’s ears. Being a daddy’s girl, her favorite ribbons are ones that match Law’s hat, or the “bestest most warmest thing in the whole wide world,” in her words ❤️ After Michelle showed Law how to make the hairstyle, he picked up the technique quite fast, being a surgeon with precise fingers, so from then on, father & daughter can be seen sitting on the floor of his office, in the medic bay during her check-ups, or in his chair trying out different ribbons or accessories, while he helps her review concepts he’s taught her that week, as she wants to be a doctor like her dad ❤️🌹🩺

-> (This was my learning-curve experiment drawing for Procreate, since I got an iPad as a late grad gift ✨Plus I had a conundrum with Law’s eye color, so I mixed both gold & grey, bc I frankly cannot decide which is better, with him being a paragon of badass attractiveness 😤)

🌹Tagging: @jazminetoad, @the-phoenix-and-the-witch, @friendly-kaiju, @undercoverweeeb, @gabrielasalazar18, @conchasweetheart, @lariflames

The Manga Review, 5/13/22

April sales figures are in, and manga continues to dominate the NPD Adult Graphic Novels list. Though the list includes some perennial favorites–Berserk, Demon Slayer, My Hero Academia—Spy x Family saw a big jump in sales after its anime debuted on Crunchyroll last month. ICv2’s Brigid Alverson points out that  “April marks the fourth consecutive month that manga has completely filled the chart of the top 20 Adult graphic novels in the book channel.” Manga sales aren’t quite as robust in comic book stores, but three titles made ComicsHub’s Top 20 Graphic Novels for April: Chainsaw Man (4), Kaiju No. 8 (16), and Spy x Family (20). For additional insights into the current state of the manga, check our Madeline Dunnett’s recent post at Anime News Network.

MANGA NEWS

Kodansha just announced the winners of its 46th annual Manga Awards. [Anime News Network]

With less than three weeks to go, Sam Sattin and Guruhiru’s Kickstarter campaign for Unico: Awakening has exceeded its pledge goal of $50,000. The story is “an homage to the God of Manga’s original messaging of social welfare and eco-consciousness.” [Kickstarter]

Good news for Moto Hagio fans: Fantagraphics will be re-printing the first volume of The Poe Clan this summer. While there’s no official release date for the new edition, the long-awaited second volume will be released on July 26, 2022. [Fantagraphics]

Drawn and Quarterly will be publishing Nejishiki, an anthology of short stories by Yoshiharu Tsuge. Look for it in stores in April 2023. [Drawn and Quarterly]

Earlier this week, Yen Press announced that it will publish Sho Harusono’s Hirano and Kaguira, a spin-off of Sasaki and Miyano. [Yen Press]

Brace yourself: Seven Seas just announced even more new manga licenses! Among the most promising are Polar Bear Café: Collector’s Edition and Ex-Yakuza and Stray Kitten, which is pretty much what it sounds like: a former mobster indulges his softer side by rescuing a cat from the streets. [Seven Seas]

Over at The OASG, Justin and Helen round up the latest anime, manga, and licensing news. [The OASG Podcast]

FEATURES AND INTERVIEWS

Patricia Thang takes issue with the marketing label “manga-inspired,” arguing that “To call a comic ‘manga-inspired’ is akin to me saying, ‘Here’s a painting I did! It’s art-inspired! You’d think (or at least hope) I was joking, right? Because what in the fuck would that even mean?!” [Book Riot]

On the most recent Manga in Your Ears podcast, Kory, Helen, and Apryl dissect two manga by Naoki Urasawa: Sneeze, a short story anthology, and Asadora!, his latest series. [Manga in Your Ears]

Andy and Elliot dedicate the latest episode of the Screentone Club to City Hunter and Goodbye-Eri. [Screentone Club]

Walt Richardson and Emily Myers review the April issue of Shonen Jump. [Multiversity Comics]

The Mangasplainers turn their attention to Kakegurui: Compulsive Gambler, “the smash hit seinen manga that pits trust-fund-teens against one another in battles that cause embarrassment and ecstasy, skirting the line between schadenfreude and sadism!” [Mangasplaining]

As the spring anime season kicks into gear, Silvana Reyes Lopez recommends fifteen “unmissable” manga adaptations, from Chainsaw Man to Kakegurui Twin. [Book Riot]

Wondering what to read after Black Clover wraps up later this year? Christian Markle has a few recommendations. [Honey’s Anime]

Brianna Lawrence argues that Death Note Short Stories is more than just a sequel or a companion to the original series; it’s a thoughtful exploration of “how the government would react if such a terrifying weapon was available.” [The Mary Sue]

In an interview with TCJ’s Alex Deuben, Ken Niimura discusses his latest work, Never Open It: The Taboo Trilogy, which re-tells three of Japan’s most famous folk tales. “What I like about these stories… is that they’re pretty open ended,” Niimura explains. “They can be interpreted in many different ways. For example, there’s what’s considered to be the standard version of ‘The Crane Wife,’ but there are actually different versions depending on the region, the era, with many differences to the characters, the ending, etc…” [The Comics Journal]

REVIEWS

Readers in search of “hallucinogenic” stories might want to check out Keiichi Koike’s Heaven’s Door: Extra Works. “In some of these stories, the scale is pure Akira, but the detail and fluidness of the line are absolutely Moebius,” reviewer James Hepplewhite opines. Speaking of over-the-top manga, Megan D. revisits one of the most ludicrous series Tokyopop ever published: The Qwaser of Stigmata. (No, really; this manga goes to eleven.)

After School!, Vols. 1-2 (Krystallina, Daiyamanga)

Apollo’s Song (SKJAM, SKJAM! Reviews)

A Bride’s Story, Vol. 13 (Sakura Aries, The Fandom Post)

Bungo Stray Dogs Wan!, Vol. 1 (Rebecca Silverman, Anime News Network)

A Centaur’s Life (Megan D., The Manga Test Drive)

Dead Mount Death Play, Vol. 7 (Josh Piedra, The Outerhaven)

Death Note Short Stories (Joseph Luster, Otaku USA)

Death Note Short Stories (Kate Sánchez, But Why Tho?)

Dissolving Classroom (King Baby Duck, Boston Bastard Brigade)

Dr. STONE, Vol. 21 (Marina Z., But Why Tho?)

Eclair Bleue, Eclair Rouge, and Eclair Orange (Jaime, Yuri Stargirl)

Hinowa ga CRUSH!, Vol. 6 (Josh Piedra, The Outerhaven)

Hinowa ga CRUSH!, Vol. 6 (Krystallina, The OASG)

I Want to Be a Wall, Vol. 1 (Danica Davidson, Otaku USA)

Little Miss P: The Fourth Day (Demelza, Anime UK News)

Love of Kill, Vol. 7 (Krystallina, The OASG)

Made in Abyss (Harry, Honey’s Anime)

Magic Artisan Dahlia Wilts No More, Vol. 1 (Justin, The OASG)

The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady, Vol. 1 (Sakura Eries, The Fandom Post)

Marionette Generation (Megan D., The Manga Test Drive)

Moriarty the Patriot, Vols. 6-7 (King Baby Duck, The Boston Bastard Brigade)

The Music of Marie (Krystallina, Daiyamanga)

Our Colors (Publisher’s Weekly)

Our Teachers Are Dating, Vol. 4 (Erica Friedman, Okazu)

Our Teachers Are Dating, Vol. 4 (Jaime, Yuri Stargirl)

The Royal Tutor, Vol. 16 (Sakura Eries, The Fandom Post)

Seimaiden (Megan D., The Manga Test Drive)

Spy x Family, Vol. 7 (Rebecca Silverman, Anime News Network)

The Transcendent One-Sided Love of Yoshida the Catch, Vol. 1 (Rebecca Silverman, Anime News Network)

Walkin’ Butterfly (Megan D., The Manga Test Drive)

By: Katherine Dacey

Gadzooki + Konky Donk: The Empire Magazine review

Oh shit I was supposed to post this weeks ago and forgot, oops. Anyway, having seen Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire a second time and solidified my opinion of it, yeah it's pretty good! Major glow-up from the previous entry. It's not perfect and is no less stupid than its predecessor, but it's the kind of dumb movie that I like, one that doesn't go out of its way to insult my intelligence or annoy me. The things that worked about Godzilla vs. Kong are here only way more, and the things that sucked are mostly not here. There's just enough substance that my adult self is happy, and all the mindless wild spectacle that makes kWo Junior cheer and want to bash action figures together. Adam Wingard said in an interview that his aim was to make a modern-day Toho Champion Festival movie, and I think he succeeded. I'm no longer nearly as worried about the future of the MonsterVerse as I was. 4 stars, check it out if you haven't yet.

There's the short version. Under the cut, I'll get into specifics of what I liked and what I didn't. If you're still wanting to see GxK and somehow haven't yet, I recommend doing so before reading on, because I spoil a lot of the movie here.

WHAT I LIKED

Big-time Inhumanoids vibes. The tone, the “journey into a subterranean world to stop evil monsters from taking over Earth” plot, Skar King being kinda like Metlar personality-wise and living in a horrible lava hell, the wacky pseudoscience and power armor (well, just a gauntlet but you get the picture), the gruesome violence…I half-expected the end credits to sound like this. GxK is the closest I think we will ever get to a big-budget theatrical Inhumanoids motion picture, unless a miracle happens and Hasbro decides to give a shit again and buys back the rights. For those who aren't familiar with Inhumanoids: get familiar with it, you’ll thank me later.

Rebecca Hall's new hairstyle. Yeah.

Bernie no longer sucks. Way less grating and unfunny, doesn't parrot fascist talking points every goddamned second, and the sense of wonder he shows upon seeing the Hollow Earth for the first time really won me over.

Jia. One of the previous movie’s strongest aspects in my opinion, particularly her dynamic with Kong, and that holds true in this picture as well. She gets a good deal more to do, shows off more range, and her whole emotional arc in this hits just right for me. Feeling alone even though you’re not, feeling like you don’t fit in anywhere, thinking there must be something wrong with you but you can’t put it into words…these are things I can relate to all too well. And I won’t lie, I choked up when she chose to stay with Andrews at the end.

Unfridging the Iwi. The previous film’s most egregious, unforgivable misstep has been walked back, and I couldn’t be happier. It’s also good to see the Iwi having a more active role in the story, instead of basically being window dressing like in Kong: Skull Island, which as much as I love that movie was kind of a problem. It helps that the Hollow Earth Iwi are just extremely cool. Love the crystal spears, the gravity pyramid and all their other Sufficiently Advanced tech. They’re like if Seatopia weren’t horrible assholes, or if the Nilai Kanai were in a better movie. I like 'em!

Dentist! A thing I love about the MonsterVerse is how it comes up with creative stuff involving kaiju that no other movie has ever really thought to do (e.g. Godzilla flashing Chellen-kov LIGHT from his spines as a threat display). I also like that it shows how the world has changed in response to the emergence of Godzilla and the others—how culture, the economy, politics, and general day-to-day life have shaped themselves around these creatures. Trapper exemplifies both of these things really well. I doubt I would ever have come up with the idea of a kaiju veterinarian, let alone written a scene showing how a dental procedure on a 300-foot ape would work, but I'm so grateful for that level of worldbuilding. He’s also just a goofy weird guy and I like him.

Golden Earring "Twilight Zone" needle drop. One of my favorite songs of all time is in this movie and I know it's kinda stupid to pop for things like that, but goddammit I loved it.

Kong’s arc. There’s just something really satisfying about finally seeing a King Kong who isn’t the last of his kind. Plus he gets a Trendmasters accessory robo-glove gimmick, which is just stupid enough that I'm into it.

Monster rasslin'. I do wish the fight scenes had more weight and scale to them, but goddamn, they're just so much fun and visually engaging. I can't dislike a movie where Godzilla does a vertical suplex.

Sucko. I love this horrible little ugly-cute weirdo/giant ape version of Rock Howard, and not just because “hehe funni mokney” or the bit where Kong uses him as a blunt object to clobber those other assholes. I got genuinely invested in him and Kong bonding, as he realizes that barely anyone in the Skar King’s domain ever showed him genuine kindness before. He is good and can stay.

The Skar King. Fantastic love-to-hate-him scumbag villain, chock-full of personality. You really want to see Kong and Godzilla kick this guy’s ass, and his cruelty and tyranny getting paid back in full at the end is so satisfying. The only thing that really sucks about him is his uncreative name. Like come on, “Hanuman” was RIGHT THERE, especially since the Whipslash can totally stand in for a tail.

Skar King’s soldiers. I love these Lost City of Zinj-ass motherfuckers. They're nasty and fun and I want action figures of them yesterday, so hey uh, Playmates, maybe get on that? Not like you'd have to spend a ton of money either, just reuse the Ferocious Kong and Skar King body molds and make a couple new heads, splash some red paint on em and voila, instant gorilla warfare. That one balding ape with the fucked-up eye who Sucko kicks off the pyramid to his death might require some new tooling, but nothing major.

Shimo. It's nice to have an antagonist monster who isn't evil, and is still alive at the end of the picture. We don't often get reptilian monsters not named Godzilla that are babyfaces, and ice powers are rare in Toho kaiju circles. She's just a breath of fresh air, with a simple but effective design and a genuine emotional hook; I really felt bad for her when the Skar King was bossing her around and basically torturing her, and the joy she feels at her freedom from his control transcends onto me, the viewer.

Mothra is so fucking back. She makes her presence felt, she doesn't die this time, and she gets a little more to do here than in King of the Monsters, which I appreciate. I still say she ought to have a solo spinoff movie; she's Strong and Cool™ enough to stand on her own, and there's so much more you can do with her than just being Godzilla's conscience and bestest pal.

Tiamat. It was nice to see her in motion finally instead of just being relegated to tie-in comics that the movies ignore 99.9% of the time. Shame we’re never gonna see her again.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE

Junkie XL's score. Soulless and unmemorable hackery, just like his work on Godzilla vs. Kong. The Skar King motif sounds like he started to compose something and then just gave up. He also has a Jimmy Hart version of "Mothra's Song" to accompany the previous movie's Jimmy Hart Godzilla theme, and it's just as lame. Bring back McCreary or Desplat, please and thank ya.

AVP-wi. As much as I like the Hollow Earth Iwi, I’m a little annoyed that the Iwi are now apparently the only ancient monster-worshiping culture there has ever been. It feels dumbed down, and limits what future stories in this setting will be able to do.

Godzilla Evolved. Boy oh boy do I kinda hate this, and have a lot to say about it. Godzilla's new look is way too busy and overdesigned with all these spiky greebles all over him that make him look more like a Monster Hunter boss than the King of the Monsters, and his proportions physically hurt me to look at. Where did all the internal organs in his torso go to make his waist that slim? What the fuck is up with his arms? Why are there dorsal spines growing out of his elbows and forearms? It just doesn't look right. I get that they're trying to evoke the Godzilla 2000 design with the giant pink spines and slimmer body proportions and the spikier and slightly greener skin (it's even got the same feet) but it just isn't done that well, and besides, if I wanted to see that design, I'd watch that movie. It’s just fucking up the cohesion of the Legendary Godzilla design and eroding its visual identity even more, dragging it further and further in directions it wasn’t meant to go in a cynical capitalistic move to sell new toys. I said it in 2019 and I'll say it again: if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Moreover, it's 100% cosmetic and doesn't actually affect the movie at all in any meaningful way, it's just Dragon Ball-style "new color = stronger" power creep. We keep being told how much more powerful Godzilla is now, but we're not shown any evidence that there's a significant difference. It doesn't feel like there's anything Evolved Godzilla does that regular Godzilla couldn't or hasn't before. He doesn't act any different or display new abilities. His new thagomizer and Batmanesque arm spines? Never uses 'em, they're just more surface greebles to clutter up the design. Why make changes like that if you're not gonna do anything with them? Hell, the only new trick Godzilla shows off in this, the classic blue Nuclear Pulse, is something he uses before he evolves! And then he never does it again after that! Even the atomic breath color change is meaningless. We're told it's stronger than before, but again, we never actually see that; it doesn’t seem to do any more damage to monsters or buildings than the old one did. Sure, it burns away Shimo's ice storm at the end, but Godziller burned a tunnel all the way through the fucking Earth with the regular blue breath in the last movie, so it doesn't really feel like something he needed a new form to be able to do. I don't believe for one second that Godzilla Evolved was necessary; there's not enough real difference between it and Original Flavor Godzilla to justify its existence. I realize that's probably unfair of me to say since I don't know if or how much anything that would've helped illustrate the difference better may have been part of the movie before but got cut for time, but to me at least, the effect on the finished film is that Most Powered-Up New Godzilla® just feels like a palette swap in a video game, and that's not great. Maybe instead, oh I dunno, you could have Godzilla have a rough time and just barely win against Scylla in Rome instead of wasting her in seconds, Final Wars-style? Maybe have a little flashback to the ancient war of Godzilla vs. Hanuman & 700 Big Gorilla, like show him barely surviving that, so we get an idea of what he's up against? Then when he powers up, we can buy that he's stronger now, like a sense of progression or something. Instead, what we get is basically a Hong Kong martial arts flick if it showed the hero doing a training montage and then beating all the bad guys, but didn't show any of why he needed to train in the first place, e.g. the bad guys kicking his ass. It's a payoff with no setup. I assume this is probably a side effect of Godzilla in New Empire being what immature people with bad opinions claim he was in Godzilla (2014)—a guest star in his own movie—so there might not have been a way to avoid this problem without significantly altering the pacing, but like…could they have at least fucking tried?

Ok, before you release your review of Blazar… I’m going to send you mine. Correction: I already have. I sent it to you before I’ve even finished writing the first paragraph of the qn.

Basically, I want you to tell me your thoughts on my review.

Additionally, I want you to tell me, in as much detail as possible, why you felt Blazar had a boring plot. Please try to give me at least 7 major reasons and 5 minor reasons why it was boring for you, and here’s the thing: not one of them can be just ‘it was episodic’. If you can’t do that, then I want you to tell everyone why you think episodic seasons are so bad, when the Monster of the Week style has plain and simply worked for Blazar.

(Also, I feel like I’m being overly aggressive. Just understand that I liked Blazar a heck of a lot and don’t understand how you were going ‘it’s a boring show’ the whole time.)

Oh hell nah I ain't reposting that whole thing here, I guess mainly your review kinda makes your standards kinda ambiguous? Cause you said it's better than Trigger, Decker and Mebius but how exactly? Or what even were the positives and negatives of the aforementioned series that you're comparing Blazar to, that Blazar did better neccessarily? That you're even giving a rating for in the end?

Something like what I did for RB here:

Otherwise the entire review was just you talking about Blazar as a series alone despite you trying to do a comparative analysis which was what you tried to do in an incomplete fashion in the beginning as the analysis never really came, so this bascially made your entire 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 7th paragraph entirely moot to begin with

As for your 4th paragraph, that dosent neccessarily make both of our stances mutually exclusive tho? Like of course most would prefer a clear and consistent theme, but you do realize that both an episodic and a non-episodic narrative can achieve that no? So that point was neither here nor there

As for your second question, i aint gonna do all that since ive done it oftenly prior, think I attached a link to an ask which I covered in the review, plus the said review itself.

Best I can do is link said post here for u to read yourself:

Plus, episodic series is essentially just a preference, it can "work" for ANY series, but what I said specifically, is because if its episodic, this puts a restriction on each (or 2) episode having to focus on something different, with little sense of continuity and more often than not, takes the focus away from the Ultra itself, which again, is another preference I have for series. It all depends on what story you chose to tell for an entire season, which I personally felt it could be better for Blazar since he comes from a new origin (M421) with a unique species characteristic that we've never seen before (Being able to fuse with entire kaiju + using kaiju powers on their own, unlike X, which has to go through an intermediary), so I felt that Blazar, having a unique character setting was utterly wasted in this series (again, focusing on the Ultra is my personal preference)

I think u can search for commentaries in the first 8 episodes where I went in detail into this and more, plus iirc, I got alot of asks about this from different followers giving their own perspectives on and raising this issue very early on as well if u want more context

Also I was asked quite a few times about my thoughts on Blazar even prior before that, can check those out via the #asks tag, which I created for purposes like these

Otherwise can just check out all of the commentaries I have for every episode throughout the series if you really want that much details cause ain't no way I'm gonna do that much just for an ask

Weekly Preview! Monica, DRCL, Al Capone, and more!

Weekly Preview! Monica, DRCL, Al Capone, and more! See what's coming to GPTV! #comics #comicbooks #manga #graphicnovel

There are a lot of comics coming out every week to be covered. Check out some of what we’ll be reviewing and this is only the beginning! This week’s reviews include: #DRCL Midnight Children Vol. 1 (VIZ Media) Al Capone (Black Panel Press) Look On the Bright Side (First Second) Monica (Fantagraphics) Zooni Tales: Keep It Up, Plucky Pup (Holiday House) Not shown: Kaiju No. 8 (VIZ…

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