Post Godzilla Parody: Why Now?

[Matolen]

[AVERY GUERRA]

[Legion]

[kiryugoji04]

[MouthForWar]

Because the genre in general is seen as a huge joke in Japan.

[Reaper G]

[armandv]

[kiryugoji04]

[Benjamin Haines]

Let's break this down:

Shinpei Hayashiya is a die-hard kaiju enthusiast. He made his own fan film called "Godzilla vs. Seadora" and followed that up with "Gamera 4: Truth," which drew some support from Daiei/Kadokawa. After that, he worked on his first studio-financed kaiju film with Reigo, an apparently "serious" take on the genre (I'm judging by the trailers and such that I've seen, but I haven't seen the film yet so I may be wrong). Now he's moved on to Raiga, and for a change of pace from his previous work it seems to be a more satirical take on kaiju eiga.

Jun Miura helmed the made-for-TV short Long-Haired Giant Monster: Gehara for the NHK network. Based on the fact that the poster design is a throwback to the Showa era in every way, I think it's a safe bet that Miura is a fan of the genre.

And of course, Minoru Kawasaki, another longtime kaiju fan, recently offered his own spin on the genre with Guilala Strikes Back. Considering that this is the guy who made The Calamari Wrestler and the superhero who is able to grow giant by drinking a refreshing beer, the fact that his kaiju film was done as a parody makes sense.


I don't think this is a matter of kaiju eiga being universally seen as a joke in Japan. I also wouldn't say that kaiju being parodied or satirized is a widely accepted trend in Japan, because to my knowledge, Guilala Strikes Back was just as much of a box office dud as the "straightforward" Gamera the Brave. I think the Japanese public in general just aren't biting for giant monster flicks right now, so a few fans like Kawasaki, Miura and Hayashiya are getting creative and doing what they can to try and keep the genre alive.

[kiryugoji04]

Right now the most straight-forward kaiju stuff has been from Tsuburaya and they're actually doing pretty well seeing how Ultra Galaxy got two (and a half) series and The Super 8 Ultra Brothers was the highest grossing Ultraman film of all time.

Such a pity Ultra Galaxy has such low production values (fun as it is) and the past two Ultraman films have simply been "event films," as it were (though Super 8 still blew my mind).

[mekakong]

[godziwolf]