Monster Zero x SciFi Japan - Archive Only

Yo so... that's it (._. ).

Gonna start out here with Teruyushi Nakano. Love the man's works, he's truly at his best when he actually has a budget. His miniature work in Submersion of Japan, High Seas Hijack, and Return Of Godzilla are probably the best I've ever seen in Japanese tokusatsu productions. I don't think a lot of today's traditional tokusatsu productions can match it. Oh and he LOVES EXPLOSIONS. Tons of them. I thought his most impressive miniature work was in Return Of Godzilla. The Shinjuku district looked pretty damn good. Lifelike. And he did a decent job with the composite shots whenever he did have the money.

Hmm... my second favorite would be Yuichi Kikuchi actually. I really liked his work in the two Kiryu films. The composite shots were surprisingly well blended for the most part, and I really liked the miniature work in both films.

Well, Tsuburaya is obviously a pioneer and a giant in the field, and was breaking so much ground that it's unfair tot ry to compare his work 1:1 with that of the effects directors who followed him.

I am a big fan of Sadamasa Arikawa. I'm a sucker for a well-composed shot, and his experience as a cinematographer served him very well when he took over effects direction. Simply taken as still images, I'd say he's responsible for many of the best looking frames the genre ever produced. I suppose I'd single out Son of Godzilla for praise, as the compositions are beautiful, the monsters display a lot of personality, the various wire-works creatures come off as very lifelike, and there are some really cool optical effects as well.

Yeah, I'd have to agree there. I thought the composite shots in SOG were beautifully matted. And the wirework is probably the best of the Showa era. Kumonga, the Kamakuras gang and Godzilla and Minya's tails must have been tough to get.