The Return of Shin-kun.

Day 4 of Govember!

Because stateside it is still November 3rd, Godzilla Day was going strong. Cue the most influential of the movies, Gojira (1954), The Return of Godzilla (1984), and Shin-Godzilla (2016). Rewatching Gojira for the umpteenth time, though this time with subtitles, was a treat, the ending still crushes me. No poor dubbing and no Steve Martin (the Wild and Crazy Raymond Burr is only in the American version). Steve also shows up 30 years later in the American Return though the version I saw today he was absent from work that day. And as for Shin, that's a movie that you really need subtitles for. I had forgotten how long-winded this movie is, I shan't complain about the loquacious Minus One again.

Let's take a look at a couple of pictures of Shin-kun (my faithful pet) as he chows down on a temple.

Here Shin-kun tries to quench his thirst.

Check out these links as Shin-kun attacks the Statue of Liberty in what might be one of my most viewed shorts, and then he goes head to head vs. Gundam.

I'd photographed a whole bunch of Dai-Kaiju Plush but I'll show them off tomorrow. Instead here is a pair of Godzilla that I picked up for a decent price over a year ago. I noticed the same prize in a UFO Catcher the other day, so it may be making a comeback.

I was just ready to start doing something constructive when an AIP Movie I'd never seen showed up on my DKU channel.

Warning from Space (1956) is similar in tone to many many other sci-fi movies with the exception that the aliens actually ARE friendly. The DC Comic villain Starro owes a debt to this movie.

And then I watched Atragon, mainly because I wanted to see my favourite underwater Kaiju, Manda

A little more gruesome than I remembered.

I wonder how many more of those AIP movies I can watch before I fall asleep.

Believe in Godzilla.

This is not exactly the happiest day of the year, so at times like this, it's best to believe in something. I choose to believe in Godzilla. For those who need a bit of cheering up, here are some nifty-looking Kaiju from past Gojira movies to aid in your recovery.

Starting with the original from '54, it's Gojira himself.

   

Next his latest incarnation, Shin-Gojira.

   

His greatest nemesis, King Ghiddorah.

Our next guest is Mothra, a frenemey of the Big G.

One of the wackiest names for a giant robot has to be Jet Jaguar. He helped Godzilla battle the tag-team of Megalon and Gigan.

This psychedelic swarming swamp of sewage is Hedorah. I have a great fondness for it and this mini-keychain captures his essence well.

Here is Hedorah's butt.

Biollante was the first movie of the Heisei era that I was able to see and I instantly fell in love with this flowery clone.

This dancing pair of titans are the stars of War of the Gargantuas, Sanda and his more violent "brother", Gaira.

and here are their butts.

I was lucky enough to catch Atragon the other day on the tube. Here we have the serpentine dragon known as Manda embracing the vessel, Gotengo (轟天号 or Roaring Heaven). This is my favourite of this set of characters.

Sadly, I drained this particular Gatcha-Capsule machine of all its contents and was unable to acquire Mecha-Godzilla. If anyone ever sees one out there, please grab me one!

As you can see, the above are not your normal looking figures. That's because they were carved in the style of 墨絵 (sumie or ink paintings). I scammed a couple off the internet to show you the style in question.

Another Godzilla item that I picked up recently is this Face Mask. I didn't open it and apply it because I want to save it for a rainy day. (Also my beard gets in the way.) Once I do use it, you'll be the first to see it!

Cheer up everyone, put your faith in Godzilla!

A Cornucopia of Crap.

I've been tidying the old apartment lately and staying up late doing so thus accounting for an absence of posting these days. Last night I discovered a bag fool of goodies that was too juicy to pass up. Some of these items have been blogged about before, some will warrant a post of their own in the future. For now, I'll just show off all of this sweet booty. Starting with Manda from Mandai.

I picked that up for a buck at a Mandai in Morioka. Other Godzilla goodies follow. First up is the menagerie that was within the bag.

This is from '93 and is supposed to spin around. It does so only sporadically. Oh well.

A pair from the latest Godzilla movie.

 And Mr. and Mrs. Muto his nemesis.

Godzilla vs. Hedorah. I don't think I have this one already.

Mothra metamorphosis.

That's a Battra  Megaguirus* missing a wing and the tail of a Ghiddorah. The rest must be in another bag.

Gezorah, better known as Yog, the Monster from Space or the Space Amoeba.

Godzilla Jr. and Anguirus Varan* from the first Godzilla sequel, Godzilla Raids Again.
Revised thanks to a commenter.

Doubles of my Mothra- and Gojira-mobiles so I can play with them.

Mixing genres a bit, here is Gamera on a keychain and Rodan with a Mothra larva riding on his back.

This bat-dude is from a movie I've never seen yet its name eludes me at the moment* Latitude Zero, a movie I've never seen. You can see this bat-dude at the 1:55 mark on this preview. I wonder if they ever came out with a Griffin from the same flick.
*Revision thanks to the knowledgeable Stephen Sullivan, author extraordinaire.

 Catzilla!!

Some other Kaiju-related items.

Some Star Wars stuff, starting with some Stormtroopers and Yoda hanging around a JoJo AR can.

This Darth Maul came with some Cup Noodles and is designed to hold down the lid on the noodles without releasing the steam.

4/6 of the Darth Vader and Son mini-chains. I hope they release the series based on the Leia book as well.

 For some reason, I'd removed this Enterprise from my phone's earphone. Back it goes.

Dinosaurs, Disney and Dracula, oh my.

Pokemon and some other straps.

This disembodied head of Mao (figure skater) used to be attached to a body but fell off.

I finally found my Terminator skull so I can do something I've wanted to do for ages.

Alas poor Yorick, I knew him well.

An Evangelion/Kitty mashup.

A deck of Madoka Magika cards*.
*This will get a post of its own.

A couple of Koibito creatures.

John Stewart

A Spidey-cap from the first movie, a Joker from the second, and a Rocket Raccoon from the first.

Iron Man tats.

Finally a trio of Migi*.

*Also to get their own post.
More items to follow as the bags get opened and explored!