The Monster Island Film Vault

Episode 36: The MSTies vs. ‘Gamera vs. Gyaos’ (feat. Michael Hamilton and Damon Noyes)

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Hello, kaiju lovers!

Nate and his guests, MIFV MAX members Michael Hamilton (co-host of Kaiju Weekly and The Kaiju Groupie) and Damon Noyes, reach the peak of the Showa Gamera series—which isn’t as high as Nate wants it to be. (Or does he just want to get high?) Once again as part of the Board-mandated “Year of Gamera,” the Tourists get to watch the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode featuring this film while Nate must view the original Japanese version to compare notes. Even so, Nate riffs his way through the episode so the Stockholm syndrome doesn’t set in. Michael sighs almost as much as he talks with all the jokes Nate and Damon drop about “gassy Gyaos nipples” and “plane murder.” You’d almost think Nate was enjoying himself. It’s a great act.

The Toku Topic for this episode is the Sanrizuka Struggle, which was a movement against the construction of Narita Airport. It inspired a key plot element in this movie and helped Nate prove to Michael and Damon that there was a social commentary in the film. It’s also the last social commentary in a Gamera movie for years, so enjoy it while it lasts.

Before the broadcast, Nate tries to tell his intrepid producer, Jimmy From NASA, how he plans to be a small thorn in the Board’s side only to be interrupted by Raymund Martin, the head of the Monster Island Legal Action Team, who promptly tells Nate why he can’t do that.

Raymund Martin was created and voiced by Damon Noyes.

Prologue written by Nathan Marchand with Damon Noyes.

Music:
-“Perry Mason Theme” by Buddy Morrow
-“Phoenix Wright – Pursuit Cornered | Epic Rock Cover” by Friedrich Habetler
-“Here We Go” by Chris Classic

Sound effects sourced from Freesound.org.

We’d like to give a shout-out to our MIFV MAX patrons Travis Alexander and Michael Hamilton (co-hosts of Kaiju Weekly); Danny DiManna (author/creator of the Godzilla Novelization Project); Eli Harris (elizilla13); Chris Cooke (host of One Cross Radio); Bex from Redeemed Otaku; and Damon Noyes! Thanks for your support!

You, too, can join MIFV MAX on Patreon to get this and other perks starting at only $3 a month!

Check out Michael podcast, The Kaiju Groupie, and Damon’s puppetry work on AllThingsZ.

This episode is approved by the Monster Island Board of Directors.

Timestamps:
Prologue: 0:00-4:45
Intro: 4:45-13:04
Entertaining Info Dump: 13:04-22:03
Toku Talk: 22:03-1:13:10
Ad: 1:13:10-1:14:09
Toku Topic: 1:14:09-1:47:19
Housekeeping & Outro: 1:47:19-end

Podcast Social Media:
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram

Follow Jimmy on Twitter: @NasaJimmy
Follow the Monster Island Board of Directors on Twitter: @MonsterIslaBOD
Follow the Raymund Martin and the MIFV Legal Team on Twitter: @MIFV_LegalTeam
Follow Crystal Lady Jessica on Twitter: @CystalLadyJes1

www.MonsterIslandFilmVault.com

#JimmyFromNASALives #MonsterIslandFilmVault

© 2021 Moonlighting Ninjas Media

Bibliography/Further Reading:

• Austin. Art by Aya Francisco. “Narita Airport’s Troubles Past” (Tofugu).
• Brasor, Philip. “Fight or flight: Narita’s history of conflict” (The Japan Times).
• Flower, James. “A Guide to English Language Gamera” (Arrow Video Gamera: The Complete Collection).
• Galbraith IV, Stuart. Japanese Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films: A Critical Analysis and Filmography of 103 Features Released in the United States 1950-1992.
• Gamera: The Complete Collection, Disc Two Special Features.
• Gamera vs. Gyaos Commentary by Stuart Galbraith IV (Arrow Video’s Gamera: The Complete Collection).
• Hayward, Justin. “The Sanrizuka Struggle: Why Farmland Exists In The Middle Of Tokyo Narita Airport” (Simple Flying).
• Kaijuvision Radio, Episode 14: Destroy All Monsters (1968) (Student Demonstrations of 1968, Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands)
• LeMay, John. The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies Volume 1: 1954-1982.
• Macias, Patrick. “A History of Gamera: Gamera vs. Barugon” (Arrow Video’s Gamera: The Complete Collection).
• Milner, David. “Interview with Noriaki Yuasa” (Arrow Video’s Gamera: The Complete Collection).
• “Sanrizuka Struggle” (Wikipedia).
• Wiki Articles on Gamera vs. Gyaos:
  • IMDB
  • Gojipedia
  • Wikipedia
  • Wikizilla

The post Episode 36: The MSTies vs. ‘Gamera vs. Gyaos’ (feat. Michael Hamilton and Damon Noyes) appeared first on The Monster Island Film Vault.

Special Report #1 – ‘Pacific Rim: The Black’ (Season 1)

In the first of what I’m calling “Special Reports,” I give my immediate thoughts on the new Netflix anime series, Pacific Rim: The Black. I was supposed to review it on Redeemed Otaku with my friend Bex, but that ended up not working out. As someone who adores the original film but hates the sequel (Uprising), I was surprised by how good this show was, even when it used some elements from Uprising. Be warned: about halfway in, I dive into spoiler territory, so avoid that if you haven’t seen the show.

Will I ever cover this as a regular episode? Only time will tell.

I put this episode together quickly, so it doesn’t have the usual polished and tight editing normal episodes have.

Podcast Social Media:
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram

Follow Jimmy on Twitter: @NasaJimmy
Follow the Monster Island Board of Directors on Twitter: @MonsterIslaBOD
Follow the Raymund Martin and the MIFV Legal Team on Twitter: @MIFV_LegalTeam
Follow Crystal Lady Jessica on Twitter: @CystalLadyJes1

#JimmyFromNASALives #MonsterIslandFilmVault

© 2021 Moonlighting Ninjas Media

The post Special Report #1 – ‘Pacific Rim: The Black’ (Season 1) appeared first on The Monster Island Film Vault.

Episode 35: ‘Prophecies of Nostradamus’ (feat. John LeMay)

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Hello, kaiju lovers!

Jimmy’s (former?) flame war nemesis, tokustasu scholar John LeMay, returns to discuss the second banned film to be covered on MIFV: Prophecies of Nostradamus. This infamous disaster film—which is as different from Submersion of Japan as night is from day—was Toho’s biggest hit of 1974 and features the last appearance by Takeshi Shimura in a Toho tokusatsu film, which only makes its banishment to the back of the vault all the more puzzling. Nate and John explain that the film was banned because of a 30-second scene (that wasn’t even real!) featuring “Soft-Bodied Humans” that was seen as offensive to atomic bombing survivors. Nate also gives a history lesson on who the popular but misunderstood French seer Nostradamus was and his book of prophecies, which inspired this bizarre film.

Yes, we know that this episode went over the Board-mandated time limit for “mini-sodes”—and we don’t care!

You can buy John’s latest books here and here on Amazon.

We’d like to give a shout-out to our MIFV MAX patrons Travis Alexander and Michael Hamilton (co-hosts of Kaiju Weekly); Danny DiManna (author/creator of the Godzilla Novelization Project); Eli Harris (elizilla13); Chris Cooke (host of One Cross Radio); Bex from Redeemed Otaku; and Damon Noyes! Thanks for your support!

You, too, can join MIFV MAX on Patreon to get this and other perks starting at only $3 a month!

This episode is approved by the Monster Island Board of Directors.

Podcast Social Media:
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram

Follow Jimmy on Twitter: @NasaJimmy
Follow the Monster Island Board of Directors on Twitter: @MonsterIslaBOD
Follow the Raymund Martin and the MIFV Legal Team on Twitter: @MIFV_LegalTeam
Follow Crystal Lady Jessica on Twitter: @CystalLadyJes1

#JimmyFromNASALives #MonsterIslandFilmVault

© 2021 Moonlighting Ninjas Media

Bibliography/Further Reading:

• Complete Works of Nostradamus, The. Compiled by Arcanaeum (2003).
• “Furylfuramide” (Wikipedia)
• Galbraith IV, Stuart. Japanese Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films: A Critical Analysis and Filmography of 103 Features Released in the United States 1950-1992.
• LeMay, John. The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies Volume 1: 1954-1982.
• LeMay, John. The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies: The Lost Films (Mutated Edition).
• LeMay, John. Terror of the Lost Tokusatsu Films!
• LeMay, John. Writing Giant Monsters.
• Lost Films Fanzine: Movie Milestones #3, The. (John LeMay).
• Nostradamus: The Prophecies. Translated by Richard Sieburth. Introduction by Stéphane Gerson. Published by Penguin Books (Penguin Classics).
• Roberts, Henry C. (translator, editor, and interpreter). The Complete Prophecies of Nostradamus. Updated by Robert Lawrence. Published by Three Rivers Press.

The post Episode 35: ‘Prophecies of Nostradamus’ (feat. John LeMay) appeared first on The Monster Island Film Vault.

Episode 34: The MSTies vs. ‘Gamera vs. Barugon’ (feat. Joe and Joy Metter)

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Hello, kaiju lovers!

The Year of Gamera continues. (Yay?) Nate is joined by his friends Joe and Joy Metter to discuss the outlier of the Showa Gamera series, Gamera vs. Barugon. It’s the one that was actually aimed at an adult audience—and it flopped. As usual, the Tourists get to see the MST3K episode—which has Nate’s favorite line of those episodes—while Nate has to watch the original Japanese version. Even with Joel and the Bots’ riffs, Joe and Joy say they would’ve preferred to watch it subtitled! Thanks to a combination of a “monster mic” and the ORCA, Jimmy was able to get Barugon himself to interrupt a few times, but Nate thinks the ORCA’s translations were dubious, at best. The Toku Topic is the New Guinea Campaign because several characters in the film fought during that and the film takes place partly on that island.

Beforehand, Nate, Jimmy, and Jet Jaguar are visited by William H. George III, Esquire, the special envoy to the Monster Island Board of Directors (MIBOD). It is he, and not Ms. Perkins, who brings the Board’s latest press release for Nate to read on the air. He also makes it abundantly clear the Board didn’t appreciate Nate’s “shenanigans” at the Gamera: King of the Monsters Banquet a few weeks ago.

Read Jimmy’s Notes on this episode.

Featuring Michael Hamilton as the voice of William H. George III.

Prologue written by Nathan Marchand and Michael Hamilton.

Music:
-“Rondeau” by Jean-Joseph Mouret
-“Opening the Way” by Pablo Coma

Sound effects were sourced from Freesound.org.

We’d like to give a shout-out to our MIFV MAX patrons Travis Alexander and Michael Hamilton (co-hosts of Kaiju Weekly); Danny DiManna (author/creator of the Godzilla Novelization Project); Eli Harris (elizilla13); Chris Cooke (host of One Cross Radio); Bex from Redeemed Otaku; and Damon Noyes! Thanks for your support!

You, too, can join MIFV MAX on Patreon to get this and other perks starting at only $3 a month!

This episode is approved by the Monster Island Board of Directors.

Timestamps:
Prologue: 0:00-5:26
Intro: 5:26-10:10
Entertaining Info Dump: 10:10-19:10
Toku Talk: 19:10-1:07:27
Ad: 1:07:27-1:08:47
Toku Topic: 1:08:47-1:36:50
Outro: 1:36:50-end

Podcast Social Media:
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram

Follow Jimmy on Twitter: @NasaJimmy
Follow the Monster Island Board of Directors on Twitter: @MonsterIslaBOD
Follow the Raymund Martin and the MIFV Legal Team on Twitter: @MIFV_LegalTeam
Follow Crystal Lady Jessica on Twitter: @CystalLadyJes1

#JimmyFromNASALives #MonsterIslandFilmVault

© 2021 Moonlighting Ninjas Media

Bibliography/Further Reading:

• Duffy, James P. “No One Returns Alive” (American Heritage)
• Flower, James. “A Guide to English Language Gamera.” (Arrow Video Gamera: The Complete Collection)
• Galbraith IV, Stuart. Japanese Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films: A Critical Analysis and Filmography of 103 Features Released in the United States 1950-1992.
• Gamera: The Complete Collection, Disc Two Special Features.
• Gamera vs. Barugon Commentary by August Ragone and Jason Varney (Arrow Video’s Gamera: The Complete Collection)
• LeMay, John. The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies Volume 1: 1954-1982.
• LeMay, John. The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies: The Lost Films (Mutated Edition).
• LeMay, John. Writing Giant Monsters.
• Macias, Patrick. “A History of Gamera: Gamera vs. Barugon” (Arrow Video’s Gamera: The Complete Collection).
• Milner, David. “Interview with Noriaki Yuasa” (Arrow Video’s Gamera: The Complete Collection).
• “New Guinea campaign (January 1942-September 1945)” (History of War)
• “New Guinea: The U.S. Army Campaigns of World War II” (brochure)
• Stevens, Dr. David. “The naval campaigns for New Guinea” (Australian War Memorial)
• Wiki Articles on Gamera vs. Barugon:
  • IMDB
  • Gojipedia
  • Wikipedia
  • Wikizilla

The post Episode 34: The MSTies vs. ‘Gamera vs. Barugon’ (feat. Joe and Joy Metter) appeared first on The Monster Island Film Vault.

Episode 33: ‘Submersion of Japan’ (feat. Adam Noyes)

Hello, kaiju lovers!

Nate is joined by podcaster/YouTuber/filmmaker Adam Noyes to cover something a bit different this week: the original 1973 tokusatsu disaster film Submersion of Japan (aka Japan Sinks). Think of it as a kaiju film without a kaiju. It’s based a novel by Sakyo Komatsu, who Adam describes as “the Japanese Michael Crichton.” The novel was a blockbuster, and this film was an even bigger hit. You can tell this was what Toho invested most of their money into and not Godzilla vs. Megalon that year. Adam and Nate discuss the film’s better-than-Hollywood special effects, the horribly truncated and re-edited U.S. version called Tidal Wave made by Roger Corman, and the film’s wrestling with Japanese national identity, among other things.

Also, Nate’s “pseudo-sister” magical girl superheroine clone, Jessica, meets him just before the broadcast to let him know she just moved back to Monster Island. He’s…overjoyed.

Read Jimmy’s Notes on this episode.

Featuring Sarah Marchand as the voice of Jessica Shaw.

Prologue script by Nathan Marchand.

Music: “A weird thing” by Chiro.
Sound FX sourced from Freesound.org.

The episode thumbnail was created by Michael Hamilton.

We’d like to give a shout-out to our MIFV MAX patrons Travis Alexander and Michael Hamilton (co-hosts of Kaiju Weekly); Danny DiManna (author/creator of the Godzilla Novelization Project); Eli Harris (elizilla13); Chris Cooke (host of One Cross Radio); Bex from Redeemed Otaku; and Damon Noyes! Thanks for your support!

You, too, can join MIFV MAX on Patreon to get this and other perks starting at only $3 a month!

This episode is approved by the Monster Island Board of Directors.

Timestamps:
Prologue: 0:00-2:45
Main Discussion: 2:45-51:54
Outro: 51:45-end

Podcast Social Media:
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram

Follow Jimmy on Twitter: @NasaJimmy
Follow the Monster Island Board of Directors on Twitter: @MonsterIslaBOD
Follow the Raymund Martin on Twitter: @MIFV_LegalTeam

#JimmyFromNASALives #MonsterIslandFilmVault

© 2021 Moonlighting Ninjas Media

Bibliography/Further Reading:

• Galbraith, Stuart IV. Japanese Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films: A Critical Analysis and Filmography of 103 Features Released in the United States 1950-1992
• Galbraith, Stuart, IV (2008). The Toho Studios Story: A History and Complete Filmography
• Hammer, Joshua. “The Great Japan Earthquake of 1923” (Smithsonian Magazine)
• Kaijuvision Radio, Episode 54 (complete version): The Submersion of Japan (1973) (The 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake)
• LeMay, John. The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies Volume 1: 1954-1982
• Schencking, J. Charles. “The Great Kant ¯o Earthquake of 1923 and the Japanese Nation” (Education about Asia, vol. 12, no. 2, fall 2007)
• Schnellbächer, Thomas. “Has the Empire Sunk Yet?—The Pacific in Japanese Science Fiction” (Science Fiction Studies, Nov. 2002, vol. 29, no. 3)
• “Sci-fi writer got the continental drift” (The Sydney Morning Herald)
• “Submersion of Japan (1973)” (Wikizilla)
• “Submersion of Japan: Television Series” (Toho Kingdom)

The post Episode 33: ‘Submersion of Japan’ (feat. Adam Noyes) appeared first on The Monster Island Film Vault.

Episode 32: The MSTies vs. ‘Gamera the Giant Monster’ (feat. Nick Hayden and Timothy Deal)

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Hello, kaiju lovers! And welcome to MIFV season two!

Much to Nate’s chagrin, the Board-mandated “Year of Gamera” begins with the “freakishly mediocre” 1965 movie Gamera the Giant Monsters (or Daikaiju Gamera). So saddened by this is Nate that he visits the Monster Island Chapel and speaks with Rev. Mifune, the Island’s chaplain. The reverend suggests watching the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes that featured Gamera films so Nate could at least get a good laugh watching them. But when Nate meets up with his friends, first season two Tourists Nick Hayden and Timothy Deal of the Derailed Trains of Thought podcast, they receive a voicemail from the Board’s executive assistant, Ms. Perkins, saying the Tourists can watch the MST3K episodes but Nate must watch the original Japanese cuts so they can compare notes. Talk about a buzzkill! The first Toku Topic of 2021 is energy consumption in Japan because Nate read an essay that argues Gamera represents that in this movie.

Read Jimmy’s Notes on this episode.

Featuring the voices of:
-Nate Chen as Rev. Mifune
–Celeste Mora as Ms. Perkins

Prologue and voicemail scripts by Nathan Marchand.

Music: “A Maiden’s Prayer” by RebeccaETripp (OCRemix)

Sound FX sourced from Freesound.org, including “Running Loud” by dersuperanton.

The episode thumbnail was created by Michael Hamilton.

We’d like to give a shout-out to our MIFV MAX patrons Travis Alexander and Michael Hamilton (co-hosts of Kaiju Weekly); Danny DiManna (author/creator of the Godzilla Novelization Project); Eli Harris (elizilla13); Chris Cooke (host of One Cross Radio), and Bex from Redeemed Otaku! Thanks for your support!

You, too, can join MIFV MAX on Patreon to get this and other perks starting at only $3 a month!

This episode is approved by the Monster Island Board of Directors.

Timestamps:
Prologue: 0:00-2:59
Intro: 2:59-14:05
Entertaining Info Dump: 14:05-23:42
Toku Talk: 23:42-1:03:01
Advertisement: 1:03:01-1:03:54
Toku Topic: 1:03:54-1:31:42
Outro: 1:31:42-end

Podcast Social Media:
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram

Follow Jimmy on Twitter: @NasaJimmy
Follow the Monster Island Board of Directors on Twitter: @MonsterIslaBOD

#JimmyFromNASALives #MonsterIslandFilmVault

© 2021 Moonlighting Ninjas Media

Bibliography/Further Reading:

• “Energy in Japan” (Wikipedia)
• Galbraith IV, Stuart. Japanese Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films: A Critical Analysis and Filmography of 103 Features Released in the United States 1950-1992.
• Gamera: The Complete Collection, Disc One Special Features.
• “Japan’s Energy: 20 Questions to Understand the Current Energy Situation” (2016 Edition)
• Kaijuvision Radio, Episode 31: Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000) (Energy in Japan, Prime Minister Mori’s Gaffe)
• LeMay, John. The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies Volume 1: 1954-1982.
• LeMay, John. The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies: The Lost Films (Mutated Edition).
• LeMay, John. Writing Giant Monsters.
• Macias, Patrick. “A History of Gamera: Gamera the Giant Monster” (Arrow Video’s Gamera: The Complete Collection).
• Milner, David. “Interview with Noriaki Yuasa” (Arrow Video’s Gamera: The Complete Collection).
• Rhodes, Sean, and Brooke McCorkle. “Chapter 6: Daikaiju Gamera: Consuming Natural Resources.” Japan’s Green Monsters: Environmental Commentary in Kaiju Cinema.
• Stockton, Nick. “Japan’s New Energy Rules Could Make It a Paradise for Renewables” (Wired).
• Wiki Articles on Gamera the Giant Monster:
  • IMDB
  • Gojipedia
  • Wikipedia
  • Wikizilla

The post Episode 32: The MSTies vs. ‘Gamera the Giant Monster’ (feat. Nick Hayden and Timothy Deal) appeared first on The Monster Island Film Vault.

Episode 31.5: MIFV Season 2 Promo – ‘The Year of Gamera!’

Next week–much to Nate’s chagrin–MIFV begins the Board-mandated “Year of Gamera”! Twelve months, twelve movies–but only four of them are good! Hear all about what to expect from MIFV in 2021 in this promo!

Music: “Gammera” by The Moons

The post Episode 31.5: MIFV Season 2 Promo – ‘The Year of Gamera!’ appeared first on The Monster Island Film Vault.

Bonus Episode 6: Power Rangers In Space – Countdown to Destruction, Part 2′ (feat. Chris Cooke)

Hello, kaiju (and toku) lovers!

Nathan has been mandated by the Board to archive episodes of Power Rangers in the film vault. Their executive assistant, Ms. Perkins, was particularly insistent on him starting with Power Rangers In Space, for some reason. So, as a special bonus episode to close out 2020 and season one, Nathan and Chris Cooke (host of “One Cross Radio”) recorded a pair of watch-along episodes for that series’ two-part finale, “Countdown to Destruction.” While Chris is a “Power Fan,” Nathan went into this two-parter relatively cold, so you’ll hear his honest reactions live. Chris and Nathan also mention fun factoids about this epic episode as well as the series itself and the Power Rangers franchise (including a possible relative of Nate’s who served as a screenwriter and story editor on it!) MIFV’s intrepid producer, Jimmy From NASA, pipes in a few times and accuses Nathan of having a crush on the show’s big bad, Astronema, which earns him some potent sass. Stay tuned after the credits to hear the return of MIFV’s mascots—and the introduction of another one!

To hear part one of this watch-along, check out the latest episode of One Cross Radio.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, kaiju lovers!

The episode thumbnail was created by Michael Hamilton.

We’d like to give a shout-out to our Patreon patrons Travis Alexander and Michael Hamilton (co-hosts of Kaiju Weekly); Danny DiManna (author/creator of the Godzilla Novelization Project); Eli Harris (elizilla13); Chris Cooke (host of One Cross Radio), and Bex from Redeemed Otaku! Thanks for your support!

You, too, can support us on Patreon and get this and other perks starting at only $3 a month!

This episode is approved by the Monster Island Board of Directors.

Podcast Social Media:
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram

Follow Jimmy on Twitter: @NasaJimmy
Follow the Monster Island Board of Directors on Twitter: @MonsterIslaBOD

#JimmyFromNASALives       #MonsterIslandFilmVault

© 2020 Moonlighting Ninjas Media

The post Bonus Episode 6: Power Rangers In Space – Countdown to Destruction, Part 2′ (feat. Chris Cooke) appeared first on The Monster Island Film Vault.

Episode 31: ‘Space Amoeba’ (feat. Giant Monster BS)

Hello. kaiju lovers!

The end has come…for MIFV’s first season, that is. It was supposed to be an epic episode on Godzilla vs. Kong…but instead Nathan is joined by Matt and Gratton from the “Giant Monster Ben Shapiro,” er, “BS” podcast to discuss Space Amoeba (aka Yog, Monster from Space), a weird lesser classic from the Toho tokusatsu library. Released in 1970, it marked a shift in the Showa era for Toho films. This was the year special effects wizard Eiji Tsuburaya died, the studio contract system was discontinued in Japan, and Ishiro Honda left Toho, just to name a few big changes. Jet Jaguar hung out with the intrepid Jimmy From NASA in the producer booth to act as a “dump button” in case the GMBS boys went full-tilt HBO on a family show. They along with Nathan discuss the film’s quirky characters and plot, its three well-executed but almost forgotten monsters, and the wonders of the “Weedmobile” before Jimmy is called away to quell a rowdy Godzilla and Kong with his newly rebuilt Mechani-Kong. That goes about as well as you’d expect, so Nathan, Matt, and Gratton have to pilot another giant robot to save his intrepidness.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, kaiju lovers!

Read Jimmy’s Notes on this episode.

Listen to Matt and Gratton’s episode on Space Amoeba.

The prologue and epilogue were written by Nathan Marchand.

This episode features sound effects sourced from www.FreeSound.org, Brand Name Audio, and the Pipeworks/Atari Godzilla video games.

The music tracks heard in this episode are “Global Defense Force: Moguera” by Heavy Melody Music (from the Godzilla Unleashed OST) and “King Kong 2 – Main Theme (Metal Cover)” by Sharp Rain Music.

The episode thumbnail was created by Michael Hamilton.

We’d like to give a shout-out to our Patreon patrons Travis Alexander and Michael Hamilton (co-hosts of Kaiju Weekly); Danny DiManna (author/creator of the Godzilla Novelization Project); Eli Harris (elizilla13); Chris Cooke (host of One Cross Radio), and Bex from Redeemed Otaku! Thanks for your support!

You, too, can support us on Patreon and get this and other perks starting at only $3 a month!

This episode is approved by the Monster Island Board of Directors.

Podcast Social Media:
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram

Follow Jimmy on Twitter: @NasaJimmy
Follow the Monster Island Board of Directors on Twitter: @MonsterIslaBOD

#JimmyFromNASALives #MonsterIslandFilmVault

© 2020 Moonlighting Ninjas Media

Bibliography/Further Reading:

• The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies Volume 1: 1954-1982 by John LeMay
• Ishiro Honda: A Life in Film, from Godzilla to Kurosawa by Steve Ryfle and Ed Godzisewski
• Japanese Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films: A Critical Analysis and Filmography of 103 Features Released in the United States 1950-1992 by Stuart Galbraith IV
• Kaijuvision Radio, Episode 53: Space Amoeba (1970) (Japanese Colonialism in Oceania)
• Mushroom Clouds and Mushroom Men: The Fantastic Cinema of Ishiro Honda by Peter H. Brothers
• Writing Giant Monsters by John LeMay

The post Episode 31: ‘Space Amoeba’ (feat. Giant Monster BS) appeared first on The Monster Island Film Vault.

Episode 30: ‘Latitude Zero’ (Mini-Analysis)

Hello, kaiju lovers!

This week’s episode is a “traditional” mini-analysis of Latitude Zero, an almost obscure 1969 Toho science fiction film directed by Ishiro Honda, who probably had to take a dip in the “Bath of Immunity” to endure the stress of making it. To say it was harrowing would be an understatement. This strange American/Japanese co-production has a troubled history full of clashing sensibilities and creative differences (which you can hear more about in MIFV episode six). However, the main topic of the episode is the concept of utopia because Latitude Zero seems to be a rare example in fiction of a successful one. Spoiler warning: Nathan doesn’t buy it.

Afterward, Nathan and Jimmy are visited by the Monster Island Board of Directors’ executive assistant, Ms. Perkins, who is the Island’s head of PR. She wanted to discuss recent “fake news” being spread by Jimmy From NASA and also announce the Board’s decision on Nathan’s proposals for season two of MIFV. All this plus listener feedback!

This episode features Celeste Mora as Ms. Perkins (Twitter: @VOCelesteMora).

The song heard in the episode is “Opening the Way” by Pablo Coma, which is a remix from the video game Shadow of the Colossus. It is from the OCRemix album, BadAss Boss Themes: Volume III.

The episode thumbnail was created by Michael Hamilton.

We’d like to give a shout-out to our Patreon patrons Travis Alexander and Michael Hamilton (co-hosts of Kaiju Weekly); Danny DiManna (author/creator of the Godzilla Novelization Project); Eli Harris (elizilla13); Chris Cooke (host of One Cross Radio), and Bex from Redeemed Otaku! Thanks for your support!

You, too, can support us on Patreon and get this and other perks starting at only $3 a month!

This episode is approved by the Monster Island Board of Directors.

Read Jimmy’s Notes on this episode.

Podcast Social Media:
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram

Follow Jimmy on Twitter: @NasaJimmy
Follow the Monster Island Board of Directors on Twitter: @MonsterIslaBOD

#JimmyFromNASALives #MonsterIslandFilmVault

© 2020 Moonlighting Ninjas Media

Bibliography/Further Reading:

• “The Ambiguous Necessity of Utopia: Post-Colonial Literatures and the Persistence of Hope” by Bill Ashcroft (Social Alternatives, Vol. 28 No.3, 2009)
• The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies Volume 1: 1954-1982 by John LeMay
• The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies: The Lost Films (Mutated Edition) by John LeMay
• “Dystopia: Who Needs It?” by Adrian Mourby (History Today; Dec 2003; 53, 12; ProQuest Research Library, pg. 16)
• Ishiro Honda: A Life in Film, from Godzilla to Kurosawa by Steve Ryfle and Ed Godzisewski
• Japanese Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films: A Critical Analysis and Filmography of 103 Features Released in the United States 1950-1992 by Stuart Galbraith IV
• Kaijuvision Radio – Episode 52: Latitude Zero (1969) (The South China Sea Disputes)
• Mushroom Clouds and Mushroom Men: The Fantastic Cinema of Ishiro Honda by Peter H. Brothers
• “News from Somewhere: Enhanced Sociability and the Composite Definition of Utopia and Dystopia” by Gregory Claeys (The Journal of the Historical Association)
• “Pragmatism, Utopia and Anti-Utopia” by Ruth Levitas (Critical Horizons: A Journal of Philosophy and Social Theory 9.1, May 2008, 42–59)
• “The problem with utopia” by Michael Shermer (This Week and Aeon)
• Utopia by Thomas More
• “Utopia isn’t just idealistic fantasy – it inspires people to change the world” by Heather Alberro (The Conversation)
• “Utopian Fiction as Moral Philosophy; Imagination and Critique” by Roger J. H. King (Utopian Studies, No. 3 (1991), pp. 72-78)
• Writing Giant Monsters by John LeMay

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