Godzilla: The Monster That Defined Japan’s Pop Culture

Above, Godzilla peers over Shinjuku buildings in Tokyo. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Japan's pop-culture has numerous characters to choose from.

They run the gamut from giant monsters, anime, Pokemon, Hello Kitty, Ultraman and others. But the one character that started it all was the King of the Monsters: Godzilla.

According to an article by Takashi Nagaya at Vocal Media's Geeks website, Godzilla defined Japanese pop-culture starting in 1954. Last year, Japan celebrated Godzilla's 70th anniversary.

The article begins with:

How a Nuclear-Age Beast Became a Global Icon

Few movie monsters are as instantly recognizable as Godzilla. For over seven decades, the towering kaiju has stomped through cities, battled rival creatures, and captured the imagination of audiences worldwide. But Godzilla is more than just a movie monster—it is a cultural phenomenon that reflects Japan’s history, anxieties, and creativity.

Above, yours truly with the Godzilla statue at Toho Studios in 2010.

To read more, go here. 

Movie Indoctrination

Above, the poster for Love & Mercy, one of my suggestions.

Diane, my "honorary sister" and I were having an email chat on movies after I mentioned that I watched My Cousin Vinny (one of her favorites, since she's an attorney) yesterday. Her daughter is about to enter a police academy and she wants her to see some movies for some pop culture "education". She listed a few movies she wants her to see and asked me for some suggestions.

She said:

Any others you can think of that she must see to round out pop culture?  I have never seen most of the classics, including Casablanca and others like that, so I suppose I'm lacking also.  Dad certainly got me indoctrinated with every possible western though ;-)  

My response (after they came to the top of my head):

Pop culture? Hmm.

I saw Airplane with Caddyshack with a friend. We had a full house at the theater (I think it was Del Amo in Torrance) and everyone was roaring. I would recommend Caddyshack and Animal House (that one I can relate to since I was in a frat).

Naturally, the first 2 Godfather movies are a must, with a plate of spaghetti. The first three Dirty Harry movies. Casablanca would be a good one as would Gone With The Wind. Apocalypse Now and Taxi Driver. Bullitt with Steve McQueen. Easy Rider. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.

Seven Samurai or its western remake, The Magnificent Seven. For horror, the original Japanese Ringu (The Ring). For classic horror, the 1931 Frankenstein, The Bride of Frankenstein and Son of Frankenstein. After seeing those, Young Frankenstein, so she would be able to understand the jokes. Another Mel Brooks classic, Blazing Saddles.

I watched Red River last night. Since your dad indoctrinated you into westerns, I'm sure you've seen She Wore A Yellow Ribbon and The Searchers? McLintock! The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. 

For something more recent, Love & Mercy (about Brian Wilson and my 2015 favorite) and Gran Torino.

These would all be a good start. 

Her response:

Great list!  Some of those I haven't seen either.  I definitely have to round out her education with some of these though.  One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is one I had forgotten about, but she should be familiar with it.  

I'm sure I missed a few, so I am looking to friends to make some suggestions. I didn't mention any Godzilla movies as she is well aware of my "fondness" for them.

If you happen to have a kid who is not all too familiar with the "more important" movies, I would recommend these to get him/her started.

Tokyo Otaku Mode

In the never-ending search for sources for action figures, toys, books and everything else fans want for their collections, fans sometimes find dealers who may have something they've been looking for but were unsuccessful.

Today, I went to the website of Tokyo Otaku Mode. They have just about everything fans of Japanese pop culture will want.

Here's how they describe themselves:

Tokyo Otaku Mode™ (TOM) shares with the world the latest Japanese pop culture news through its Facebook page, which has over 18 million likes, and sells products related to Japanese anime, manga, games, music, and fashion through its website, the Tokyo Otaku Mode Premium Shop. TOM strives to be the fastest source for delivering world-famous Japanese pop culture content around the globe. That is TOM’s mission. 

TOM also strives to support top creators in expanding overseas. This is achieved through translation support of creators’ products and profiles, creating portfolios for creators geared toward overseas viewers, increasing their overseas exposure through interviews, exhibiting their works at overseas conventions, and more. TOM aims to be a platform on which creators can post and sell their works to a worldwide audience.

Founded in 2012, they are based in Portland, Oregon and have a branch office in Tokyo.

Do they have Godzilla goods? Yes, they do!

Back in 2014, I wrote up an article on their partnership with the Japan Tourism Agency. I looked through their site back then and found nothing kaiju-related. However, they have since added Godzilla goods. Maybe they saw my blog post and did a u-turn, realizing that kaiju fans also have money to spend? Well, I am pleased that they joined our ranks.

To go to their website, go here.

Tokyo Pop Culture Events This Summer

Above, one pop cultural event will be held at Tokyo City View at Mori Tower in Roppongi Hills. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

If one is planning on visiting Japan and is also a fan of Japanese pop-culture, then this summer is the time to go. There are several pop-culture events that are going to be held in Tokyo this summer. One or more may be of interest.

According to Tokyo Cheapo:

Summer is quite the eventful season in Japan. It’s a season of festivals, and we don’t just mean traditional ones with fireworks and Bon dances. If you like pop culture (be it anime, manga, games, cosplay, J-pop, or even Western fandoms), have we got good news for you! This summer is shaping up to have a number of events for pop culture enthusiasts, and here are some of them. Note that we’ve limited the events to those in and near Tokyo, so we didn’t list the World Cosplay Summit in Nagoya.

To see what they are, go here. 

8 Things To Look Out For In Akihabara

Above, some of the advertising that adorn businesses in Akihabara. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

If you've never been to Japan or have been to Japan but never stepped foot in Akihabara, Tokyo's "electric town," Inside Japan Blog has an article on 8 things for visitors to look out for while in the district. Akihabara is known as a mecca for otaku of varying Japanese pop-culture.

They begin their list of things to look out for with:

Akihabara is truly the Japan’s capital of “otaku” – often translated as ‘someone who has obsessive interests in video games, manga, anime, electronics and the like’. There’s more manga and anime in this little district of Tokyo than exists anywhere else in the world. But whether you consider yourself a fan of such things completely misses the point; this neighborhood is a traveler’s dream because it is unlike anywhere else any of us have ever been and will ever go to. And isn’t that why we travel in the first place? 

In a simple stroll through “Akiba” (as it is commonly and affectionately known by most Tokyo-ites) there are more things to point out, talk about and be astonished by then would ever fit in a single blog post so instead I’ve chosen 8 things that I love about this quirky part of town. If you are coming to the area be sure to keep an eye out for the following!

To read more, go here.

Philippines: Legacy of Godzilla Comes Alive

Above, the giant Godzilla poster-sign at Warner Bros. in Burbank. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

With the new American production of Godzilla hitting theaters in a little over two weeks from now, the excitement is becoming more palpable worldwide. It is interesting to read different countries' take on Godzilla.

The Philippines, who suffered under the wrath of the Imperial Japanese military in World War II, is the latest country to weigh in on the return of "the King of the Monsters." Their opening day for the movie is May 15, a day earlier than the U.S.

The Philstar.com, the online version of Manila's Philippine Star, has an article on the movie and it begins with this:

MANILA, Philippines - Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures unleash the epic-action adventure Godzilla, a powerful story of human courage and reconciliation in the face of titanic forces of nature, when the awe-inspiring monster rises to restore balance as humanity stands defenseless. 

Godzilla stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Oscar nominee Ken Watanabe, Elizabeth Olsen, Juliette Binoche, Sally Hawkins, with David Strathairn and Bryan Cranston. 

In 1954, Japan’s Toho Co., Ltd., released Ishiro Honda’s groundbreaking monster movie Godzilla in a country still reeling from the devastation of World War II. The film became a massive hit in Japan, and 60 years later, continues to resonate around the world for distilling the fears and horrors of the atomic age into an awe-inspiring force of nature...Godzilla.

And, recognizing Godzilla's impact on pop-culture around the world, they said this about the original 1954 movie's impact:

Partially reshot, softening some of its metaphorical bite and dubbed into multiple languages, the film was released abroad two years later and a legend was born. For the past six decades, the towering “King of the Monsters” has cut a swath through pop culture, spawning numerous sequels, an army of toys and incarnations in everything from comic books to video games. A whole new genre of movies emerged — kaiju eiga — and Godzilla became one of the most beloved and recognizable movie heroes of the 20th and now, 21st centuries.

 To read the full article, go here.

Tokyo Opening Ceremonies: What Will They Do?

Source: BBC News

Now that Tokyo has won the 2020 Olympics Summer Games, what will they do to "wow" the worldwide audience during the opening (and closing) ceremonies?

Last year, during the opening ceremonies of the 2012 Olympic Summer Games in London, James Bond 007 parachuted with the Queen from a helicopter. What will Japan do to top that?

Will they do something with a manga or anime character? Will it involve Hello Kitty? Will Godzilla peer over the stadium? Will Mothra or Rodan do a fly-by?

Whatever they do, they should involve a pop-culture icon that is well-known to the rest of the world for it to have an impact.

Any suggestions?

Japan's Giant Robots

Above, the Gundam display at the Bandai Museum.
Photo by Armand Vaquer.

To the outsider, Japan seems to have a fixation on giant robots. Some of their pop culture focuses on mechanical giants from Gundam to Mechagodzilla.

The Japan Times has an interesting article on Japanese giant robots, "Dōmo Arigatō, Giant Robotto."

It states, in part:

But how, exactly, did giant robots come to be synonymous with Japanese pop culture? Anime director Shinji Aramaki, who designed transforming vehicles for the 1980s “Transformers” and “Robotech” series, believes they represent a natural flip side to Japan’s obsession with miniaturization. 

Robots came to the literal rescue when Japan began rebuilding its shattered infrastructure in the late 1940s and early ’50s. Retooling what had been weapons factories into toy factories turned out to be a quick way to jump-start the economy. Tin robot toys, the earliest made out of cans discarded by the Occupation forces, represented some of Japan’s first exports abroad after the end of the war.

To read the full article, go here. 

Anime News Network's "Scene To Seen" Announcement

As I was busy getting things ready for my presentation Friday night at Monsterpalooza* (by the way, today's the last day for the show), I did not scout around the Internet on any related articles.

This morning, I found that the Anime News Service (ANN) carried an announcement of my presentation, "Scene To Seen" on April 1. The presentation was based on The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan, the travel guide to Japan tailored to fans of Japanese science-fiction and fantasy films.

The Anime News Network is the Internet's biggest and most complete news source in the world of anime and Japanese pop culture. They have an enormous reach with feeds to other websites in the world of anime and Japanese pop culture.

To view it, go here.


*Speaking of Monsterpalooza, here's a great write-up on the show by Elisa Ward on her blog, The Fan Girl Files.