Monster Zero x SciFi Japan - Archive Only

For true Godzilla fans that want to gain (correct) knowledge about the Big G and all of his films, but haven't yet learned how to read or speak Japanese, what are the "Must-Have" books on the subject.

So far the only one I keep hearing about is Japan's Favorite Mon-Star.

I have the Official Godzilla Compendium, and although it is visually nice, from what I've heard it's full of errors.

So could some knowledgable G-Fan out there with some time on their hands tell me what the best books are to hunt down, and give me a brief rundown on the info that they provide?

Thanks ahead of time!

is a nice hardback book with no pics, but stuffed full of info on all the G movies up to Destroyer. This guy knows his stuff.

haven't seen this one in person but it seems to be the one that everyone is most in awe of. Tends to shoot up into the 100's of $$$ on ebay whenever it shows up.

And Stuart Galbraith IV has a couple of good books as well. is a great book of quotes and behind the scenes stories from the actual godzilla production crews. And is a great overview of what it says right there in the title.

I have all the books Shonkin named and agree with his recommendations. I also strongly recommend Steve Ryfle's Japan's Favorite Mon-Star and Guy Tucker's Age of the Gods. The latter is available from Kaiju Fan Online at http://www.dalekempire.com/GStore.html

Thanks for the responses .

I just won Steve Ryfle's Japan's Favorite Mon-Star from ebay, so YAY for me.... but I've never even so much as seen a picture of the fabled Illustrated Encyclopedia of Godzilla.

Who does the artwork inside? Are they as talented as Art Adams (who is still the best kaiju artist that I've ever seen)?

I just ordered "A Critical History and Filmography of Toho's Godzilla Series" from amazon.com for $50. other than my collection of G-Fans and "The Official Godzilla Compendium", this is now the largest and most complete Godzilla Reference in my possession (or at least it will be on Wedensday )

It seems all the best Xmas days of my life have been spent on the couch reading new Godzilla books I got that morning.

At the time, Galbraiths "Japanese Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Films" book was absolutely incredible. I read it from cover to cover several times during my Xmas break in 1993.

I've had Kalat's book for several years and like it quite a bit, but it's not one of my favorites. He definitely knows his stuff, but there's not much there (except his own analysis) that wasn't already available elsewhere.

I personally think it doesn't come close to Ed Godziszewski's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Godzilla, Steve Ryfle's Japan's Favorite Mon-Star and Guy Tucker's Age of the Gods. Those three books are just packed with info I had never read before, probably because the authors did a lot of their own research. I've read and reread them several times and have used them repeatedly for reference or to answer a question about these films... which is something I rarely do with Kalat's book.

As for Galbraith's books; Legion79's description of Japanese Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Films is right on the money. I think Stuart has become a much better writer and researcher since then; Monsters Are Attacking Tokyo is great and his recent Kurosawa/Mifune book is absolutely amazing.

The Harmon book is okay as a "general overview" book. The book goes off on weird tangents; the section on RODAN barely covers the movie but devotes page after page to an old US radio drama called I LOVE A MYSTERY. Not exactly the sort of material I was expecting to see in a Godzilla book.

^^Guess that explains why I've never heard of it...lol...

I dropped $150 for mine, but at least it came autographed by Ed Godziszewski and Haruo Nakajima.