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Showing posts with label Baragon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Baragon. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

GODZILLA, MOTHRA, and KING GHIDORAH: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack Review


Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-out Attack (will be abbreviated "GMK" for the rest of the review) has a rather interesting reputation among fans. Some claim it to be one of the greatest of the films, likening it to a "masterpiece." Some say after the Baragon fight it quickly deteriorates into mediocrity. There is some truth to both these claims to be sure. It's definitely a good Godzilla film. It has many great things about it. This is because TOHO got the director of the fantastic 90's Gamera trilogy, Shusuke Kaneko, to direct. Sadly, TOHO is not generally not very loose when it comes to the big G, and it shows how little creative control the director had here. Still, it's one of the more notable entries in the franchise.

 Fifty years ago, the Japanese Defense Forces killed Godzilla or so they thought. When a series of terrifying natural disasters begin to plague Japan, including the inexplicable offshore sinking of a U.S. submarine, a mystic old man warns his nation that Godzilla has come back to destroy Japan as revenge for all the souls lost in the Pacific War. When mere military might cannot squash the monster, the mystic man awakens the Holy Beasts of Yamato — King Ghidorah, Mothra and Baragon, sleeping giants that protected Japan in ancient times. These untamed mammoth beasts take on Godzilla with frightening supernatural brute power that has been 2,000 years in the making. Tradition and technology collide in this chilling high-tech, cutting-edge fable.

The most unique aspect is Godzilla himself. While previous Gs range from villain, hero, to anti-hero, never has he been displayed as pure evil before. He has never purposely targeted humans before, just buildings and nuclear plants. Interestingly, while there's so much destruction, very rarely do we actually see people dying in the movies. We see them running around, but rarely actual death. Here it's different. The most powerful scene is when after hearing a lady's scream, G turns around and gives her and the rest of the fleeing people attention. He then precedes to unleash his atomic blast on them. The film then cuts to a classroom where students and the teacher can see the explosion, which looks like the aftermath of a bomb. (With Japan's and Godzilla's history, it's even more powerful.)

The film has some of the best city destruction scenes in all of the franchise. In fact, it could be fair to say this might have the best and most thematic destruction since the original film. Godzilla's emergence is grand, and he continues on to be one of the most engaging Gs created. The design itself is fantastic, with the white eyes and no pupils further giving the impression that he's pure malice. The reason why he's evil is intriguing. Apparently he has the collective souls of World War II within him. How that works and Hirotoshi claiming that G is "still an animal" is quite an interesting and confusing thought. This spiritual aspect is representative of Kaneko's work on "Gamera," and it's a shame it wasn't explored more. Nonetheless, despite intriguing but too little explored concepts, this Godzilla remains one of the best.

Of course, it couldn't be called "Giant monsters all-out attack" if Godzilla was the only kaiju. Here's perhaps the most infamous thing about this movie: the inclusion of Mothra and King Ghidorah. You see, Kaneko originally wanted to use Anguirus and Varan to join Baragon. But TOHO decided that Mothra and Ghidorah, being much more popular, would be better for the film $ wise. From a business standpoint it makes sense. Still, it would have been great seeing those two monsters re-imagined. (Sadly Varan is still confined to only one movie and two flying cameos in DESTROY ALL MONSTERS.) Some say having Angurius and Varan would have made it made better. After watching it again, I don't think it would have made much of a difference in the overall quality. Once you get past the fact that Ghidorah is a hero, the two actually aren't that bad.

Before diving into the two aforementioned monsters, let's talk about Baragon. (Who sadly wasn't popular enough to make it into the title) This is his first appearance since "DESTROY ALL MONSTERS" (33 year difference!) and his redesign is easily one of the best parts. It looks great, and his burrowing ability is used to great effect. The fight against Godzilla is probably the most well-done aspect of the film. Since Baragon is a non-beam fighter here, the battle was more traditional than compared to the climax. The viewer also greatly feels for Baragon, as he tries to hopelessly battle the evil Godzilla. In fact, this is one of those rare times when the viewer is rooting against Godzilla. When the director can pull that off, you know this is truly something else.

Mothra's redesign is truly beautiful. While Larva could have appeared more, the emergence of her Imago form makes up for it. (That, and the fact the Larva actually attacks a bunch of lawless teenagers in her one scene!) While Mothra makes sense as a guardian monster, Ghidorah does not. Still, Kaneko makes the best of what is given. While it may be appalling to see a version of the "King of Terror" who is basically a weakling when compared to G, (he wasn't even the one that finished off G in the end) it nonetheless makes for an interesting "what if." That, and one can't deny how realistic the suit looks. When it emerges in the city it just looks good. The climax with it being given wings thanks to Mothra's sacrifice (very well-done) scene makes for an exciting final battle. Underwater sequences can be very boring in kaiju films sometimes, but it's utilized well here. (The CGI for Godzilla swimming looks incredible. In fact, almost all of the CGI is fantastic, especially Ghidorah's transformation and then blast attack)


While the monsters are of course what make the film at the end of the day, the human characters either bring up the rating...or down. While not bad, the characters here aren't particularly too notable either. The main one is Yuri Tachibana, a reporter for a mockumentary show. She's okay, not particularly interesting but not bad either. I must give credit to the subplot with her father, Admiral Taizo Tachibana. It was quite emotional since she had the knowledge he was going to be the one attacking Godzilla head on. A lot of the side characters however need desperate help. There's some silliness that bring down the rather grim tone. For example, the owner of the Mt. Myoko park comes to force out Yuri and her crew, but is soon enticed by her saying that tourists will come. This is not bad, but he way over-acts. Another thing is Yuri's boss. Kaneko is no stranger to odd characters (Kurata in GAMERA III) and like that guy he's rather too unrealistic. A no-name character apparently wants to hang himself...and we're given no reason why. Another thing is the bathroom scene. It's just unnecessary and awkward. (But, I suppose the scene redeems itself when Godzilla's foot smashes the house, which was well-done.)

Godzilla movies almost always have notable soundtracks. This one is done by Kow Otani. (Who also did the music for the Gamera trilogy.) There are no complaints to be had. From Godzilla's fantastic new theme to the King Ghidorah's transformation, the soundtrack is very solid. (It was ingenious to include the classic ifukube theme at the end, which the 2014 film should have done!) As far as pacing goes, the film does a solid job with that. The tension for Gozilla's first appearance is well executed, which is also thanks to the excellent choreography. The scene when Yuri is riding her bike and sees Godzilla in the distance presents a great ominous picture. One character who deserves mention is Hirotoshi. He added to the unique spiritual aspect, but sadly this was not explored further. The film has that mythical atmosphere which separates itself from all other Godzilla films, but I have a feeling TOHO didn't let Kaneko go as far with it as he would have liked.

Overall, GMK remains a very solid entry in the series. The little problems and unexplored potential stops it from being aligned with the "greats"such as Gojira, Return of Godzilla, MONSTER ZERO, and Mothra vs. Godzilla. But it remains a step above almost all the Heisei films and most of the Millennium ones. The main monster has one of his greatest appearances yet. The fights have a thematic quality, and it has one of the best final scenes in the series. While GMK could have been a masterpiece if somethings were tweaked, fixed, and explored, it will always be an entertaining watch.

4/5

Monday, August 12, 2013

Frankenstein vs. Baragon Review


The 60's were the golden years for TOHO kaiju films. It gave us some of the all-stars, such as Mothra vs. Godzilla, MONSTER ZERO, and DESTROY ALL MONSTERS. One slightly overlooked film in that era is Frankenstein vs. Baragon. (Known in the US as 'Frankenstein Conquers the World.') Directed by one of the best directors of kaiju films, Ishiro Honda, this vs. movie is a truly unique one. It grabbed an American monster, much like what they did with King Kong Escapes, and turned his story into a Japanese giant monster movie. Its sequel, War of the Gargantuas. is much more well known. This film however is superior in a few ways. It features a great cast, compelling story, and some fantastic monster action.

The story has quite a unique start, with the prologue taking place in Nazi Germany back in 1945, World War II. The heart of Frankenstein, (technically Frankenstein's monster but like always we'll refer to the creature as such) is transported to Japanese hands. It is lost however in the midst of the Hiroshima attack. The heart later grows into a being and as the movie progresses he grows at such an amazing rate, to the point where he himself is nearly the size of Godzilla! It's a necessary thing, because he's going to have to battle an underground monster called Baragon. What I found interesting about the beginning of this movie was the very tiny use of monster scenes. Baragon gets a very small appearance in the first 50 minutes, besides that it's all about Frankenstein's story. In fact, before the climax hits, you're going to think Baragon was just put in to say the movie has a giant monster with no real relation to the story. The final fantastic half hour will change that mentality. The film does such a great job establishing Frankenstein's story that when Baragon shows up it's all the more satisfying. The primary reason why that was so well done is thanks to the cast.


Nick Adams is the main star, portraying Dr. James Bowen. You'll know him from his fan favorite portrayal of Glenn in MONSTER ZERO. Kumi Mizuno also stars, as Dr. Sueko Togami. You'll know her as Miss Namikawa also in MONSTER ZERO. They have such great chemistry together, it's very natural. Interestingly, all this time I thought this movie came out after Monster Zero, but this actually predates it. They must have done such a great job that TOHO wanted them back for the next Godzilla movie. Adams is by far one of the greatest actors of that era. He has sense of likability, authority, and plain cool demeanor throughout. The only line that bothered me was in the final scene when he said, "Perhaps, the best thing would be for him to die. After all, he's only a monster." After Frankenstein delivered Dr. Ken'ichiro Kawaji to him and Miss Togami, you would think he would have said something nicer about him. Mizuno appears to be such a veteran when it comes to acting her role to her best ability. Her motherly nature to Frankenstein was great, it's a shame she wasn't in much kaiju films post Monster Zero.

Baragon is what makes this a kaiju film, and he doesn't disappoint. The simple design is very effective, and I'm not sure making him 'cute' was intended, but it's a nice touch. One of the best scenes is when it focused on a group of chickens then the next scene it shows feathers coming from Baragon's mouth. It's rare that we see kaiju eating other creatures, so that was pretty neat. Overall Baragon is one of TOHO's best classics, it's truly a shame he didn't get to do anything in DESTROY ALL MONSTERS.The climax of the film makes up for Baragon's lack of appearing, The fight is fun and satisfying. It's also unique, since it's basically a giant human battling a dinosaur. All of this is accompanied by Akira Ifukube's wonderful soundtrack.


Overall, Frankenstein vs. Baragon is definitely one of TOHO's best. The story is nicely developed with one of the best climaxes from any giant monster movie. The team of Nick Adams and Kumi Mizuno act beautifully on screen. The International version is the one to watch, only cause of the completely random ending with the giant octopus. This is a definite must-see for any kaiju fan.

5/5


Sunday, November 11, 2012

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fan Fic: 'Attack of the Giant Monsters'


Prologue

Another dimension. Another world. No ponies roamed around here, any were just simple animals on farms. It was midnight in the West. Somewhere far off the coast of Japan was an island. On it were many trees, bushes, waterfalls, pretty much everything an island in the middle of the ocean would have. In the center was a large ancient Rome-like structure. No sound was being made. Inside the structure were stone walls, stairs that led up, and a shrine. The walls had markings on them. Engraved in the center of the ground was a cross-like emblem. Standing on it were two tiny figures.

"Something is not right." One of them said.
"Yes. Why are they all disappearing?" The other asked.
"I do not know Moll. This is disrupting the natural order. The universe...reality itself cries out against the disruption. Things that belong here must stay here, or it could mean the end of everything."

The ladies looked at each other, they both we're thinking the same thing.

"We have to call Mothra."

End of prologue


This dimension. This world. Equestria. Ponyville. Nothing was out of the ordinary, it was a peaceful day. Ponies walked around happily, shopping, talking, and just enjoying the nice warm weather. On the outskirts of the village was the cottage of Fluttershy. The door burst open as Fluttershy exited. She was very happy today. She turned her head around to say something to her pet bunny Angel.

"Now you be good, I'll be back in a couple of hours after going out with the girls."

And with that, she closed the door and was on her way to Ponyville.

If it's one thing Fluttershy liked doing, it was hanging out with her friends. Though not everything was dandy, she had a very throbbing headache. It had started in the morning, she couldn't understand what had triggered it. "Oh well," she thought, "it would go away while being with the others". As she entered Ponyville she noticed some strange cracks in the ground.

"Sewer or construction work perhaps?" She said to herself.

Getting to the spa was only a couple of minutes distance. As she walked deeper into the village, she could spot her friends in front of the building.
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"It's about time she got here, she's like ten minutes late!" Rainbow Dash said as she and the others spotted Fluttershy coming their way.

"Fluttershy's always on time, I'm sure she has a good reason for being late." The always positive Twilight replied.

"Sorry I'm late girls, one of my hummingbirds had a broken wing so I had tend to it." Fluttershy said as she walked toward them.

"See, what'd I tell you? A good reason."

Then the ground shook beneath their hooves, all the ponies in Ponyville felt it.

"What in tarnation was that?" Applejack asked.
"Oooooh, look!" Pinkie Pie said as she pointed to the sky.

The Mane 6 and all the Ponies that were outside looked.up. Something was forming, something large that kept circulating.

"It's a portal!" Twilight shouted.

The portal kept getting bigger, then stopped. Something fell from it and hit the ground in front of them. The portal closed. Standing was something very big, far bigger than the ponies and even bigger than some of the buildings. Its color was dark green. On its back were large and very spiky dorsal plates, and it had a very long tail. It's face was that of some kind of lizard. The thing that had fallen out of the portal was some kind of monster.

"Is it some kind of dragon?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"I don't think so. Look!" Twilight shouted.

The dorsal plates on the monster started to glow blue. Moments later it shot a blast of something powerful from its mouth. It struck the ground, making explosions. Any other ponies that were still there fled in terror.

"Did that thing just shoot a blast of fire?!" Rarity asked.
"That wasn't fire, don't you recognize it? That's atomic radiation! That's worse than fire, it's far more destructive!" Twilight said.

The monster roared.

"I...I can understand him." Fluttershy said quietly since she was surprised.
"What was that dear?" Rarity asked.
"I'll be right back." Fluttershy said and then flew toward the monster.
"Fluttershy!" Twilight shouted.
"I'll get her!" Rainbow Dash said as she was about to fly, but was grabbed by Applejack.
"Hold on there Rainbow, let's see what Fluttershy's going to do."

The Poines watched earnestly as Fluttershy flew toward the giant. She flew by the side of its head.

"Um, excuse me, mr. monster sir, is it alright if I know your name?"

The monster turned its head toward Fluttershy. It was surprised she could understand him.

"The humans call me Godzilla." He said.
"Well Godzilla, um, can I ask you to not destroy this village?"
"I'm not trying to destroy your village, I'm trying to attack the thing that's underneath it."
"Underneath..."

And then as if right on time, something jumped, or rather drilled out of the ground some distance in front of them. It was another monster about the size of Godzilla. This time however it looked really strange. Its head resembled that of a beetle, it was black and yellow and instead of hands it had drills. It roared at Godzilla, taunting him.

Its name was Megalon.

Godzilla roared and charged full speed toward the drill-beetle. The latter roared what sounded like laughter in anticipation. Fluttershy flew toward him.

"What is she crazy?" Rainbow Dash said back on the ground.

Before Godzilla could make contact, Fluttershy flew in-between them. Godzilla stopped running and Megalon stopped laughing as they both looked at her. Fluttershy didn't quite understand why she felt no fear, she guessed it was the realization of the fact that her headache had stopped and she could understand these creatures. She turned to face Megalon.

"Um, maybe you and Godzilla could not fight here? It's damaging our village, and-" Fluttershy never got to finish because Megalan sent her flying with a whack from his right drill.

"Fluttershy!" Twilight shouted.
"I got her!" Rainbow Dash said and then zoomed to catch her falling friend.

Back in the monsters' point of view, Godzilla watched Fluttershy go flying, then turned angrily to Megalon. He was mad that such a creature who was nice to him got whacked away. He roared and swung his tail. Megalon ducked. He stood back up and started laughing at the fact that he just dodged an attack from Godzilla. The latter on the other hand was not amused and tackled a surprised Megalon to the ground. Back with the Ponies, they all watched in awe at the two giant monsters when Rainbow Dash returned with Fluttershy.

"Are you alright Fluttershy?" Twilight asked.
"Yes, but I understood him! The one with the spikes on his back. He said the humans call him Godzilla."
"What are humans???" Pinkie Pie asked. Applejack shrugged.
"I don't think Godzilla's evil. I couldn't quite understand what the other one was saying, it came out as jumbled, as if he were mindless." Fluttershy stated.
"Or as dumb as a rock." Rainbow Dash chimed in.

Godzilla's roar was heard, breaking the conversation. The Mane 6 then saw Megalon go flying.

"Run!" Twilight shouted.

They all ran and jumped out of the way as a beaten Megalon crashed into the ground, taking down the spa with him. After the realization that they could have all died right there, Twilight stepped in front and turned around for another inspiring speech.

"We can't let these monsters destroy Ponyville, we have to contact Princess Celestia."

The other Ponies nodded and they all raced to Twilight's house, all the while with Godzilla's roar in the background.

End of Act 1


It was madness as the Mane 6 ran through town. Ponies were running and screaming, the whole village was trying to evacuate. It was a good thing Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were out of town on a school field trip. Finally they reached their destination. Twilight bolted the door open.

"Alright Spike, I need to write a letter and...Spike?"

Twilight and then the others noticed he was shivering under a table.

"Did you hear them? They're not dragons Twilight, they're something a lot bigger!" He said in a frenzied state.
"Spike, get out of there, I need to write a letter to Princess Celestia."
"I already wrote to her, four times! She never got back to any of them!"
"What?"

Then Spike shouted in horror and pointed at the window. The Ponies looked behind themselves and gasped. A huge yellow eye was looking at them.

"Incoming!" Applejack shouted as the largest monster hand they ever saw appeared.

It crushed part of the house clean off. The monster then lowered its head so it could see. It had a crocodile like head, gigantic hands, and a hole in its left shoulder for some reason.

Its name was Orga.

Twilight noticed that the hole started to glow.

"It has a built in shoulder canon, run!" Twilight yelled.

She grabbed Spike and ran outside with the rest of the Ponies as a large yellow beam went clean through the house. Once they were outside they saw just how big Orga was, he looked like a monster that would do amazing in a wrestling competition.

"Can you believe it? That thing had a shoulder canon, what monster has a shoulder canon??" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Apparently these kind Pinkie." Applejack stated.

They were running but then out of nowhere Orga jumped in front of them.

"How can that brute of thing jump so high?" Rarity asked.
"Oh dear." Fkuttershy said as Orga charged up his shoulder canon.

The Ponies backed away, but there was no way for them to escape. Twilight couldn't believe this is how it would end. Orga was about to fire, but then some kind of spiky circular object smashed into him, making the beam hit the sky. The circular object went onto the ground and stretched itself from a ball. Turns out it was a four legged creature with a back full of spikes and could go into a ball form.

"That thing looks like an Anylosaurus!" Twilight said.

Indeed, for its name was Anguirus.

Orga was caught off guard, but once he saw how little Anguirus looked, he roared.

"Such a bully, he's laughing at him because he's so small!" An angered Fluttersay stated.

Anguirus growled, while Orga raised his hands to attack him. But before Orga could, something knocked him down from behind. It was a brown flying monster with a beak. It was on top of Orga, pecking at him before the later slapped him off. The flying monster got up and stood next to Anguirus.

"That's a giant Pteranodon!" Twilight shouted.
"The flying one and the spiky one are friends. Look, the he's telling him a plan and-"
"It's great you understand them Fluttershy, but we all should probably use this opportunity to get out of here." Applejack interrupted.
"Agreed. Let's go the other way." Twilight said.

Then they heard a familiar noise of a portal opening behind them. They turned around not knowing what they would face.

"What is that thing?!" Spike said.

Now this was a very odd looking monster. It had one eye like a Cyclops, except it was red and looked like it belonged on some science fiction robot. On its belly was a buzzsaw and instead of hands it had large blades. It was green and yellow. Gigan had arrived.

"Ooooh, it's a giant chicken!" Pinkie Pie said.
"Pinkie, how can you see a chicken in that thing?" Applejack asked.
"How can you not? Look at its head and beak and..."

Pinkie was interrupted by Gigan's high pitched shriek. None of the Ponies knew what he said, only Fluttershy, and it was something she wouldn't be forgetting anytime soon.

"I WILL CUT YOU OPEN AND CHOKE YOU WITH YOUR OWN INTESTINES!"

Fluttershy was shocked at how cruel something could be, she had never heard something so vile. Normally she would have start tearing up at something so mean, but not today. She instead flew so she was face-to-face with the red eye.

The rest of the Mane 6 looked at each other then back up to see what Fluttershy was going to say.

"Do you think just cause you're big you can say such cruel things to us? Listen because I know you can understand me, I..."

Fluttershy never got to finish her speech because Rainbow Dash flew in and tackled her away from Gigan's eye laser which would have fried her.

"Fluttershy, what is wrong with you?! You can't stand up to a monster like that!"
"But do you know what he said? It was so mean."

All of a sudden the flying monster crashed into Gigan, knocking them both down. The Ponies were standing by an onslaught of large bushes, where they heard a familiar voice say,

"Ponies, come in here, hurry!"

So they jumped inside the bushes.

"Zecora!" Twilight said.

"You ponies know not what you get yourselves into. These aren't just monsters my friends, they are daikaiju." The lady zebra said.
"Dai-what?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Daikaiju. Magical beasts. They are legendary creatures that are more powerful than the monsters around here, kaiju are planet threatening." Zecora said.
"And how do you know about them?" Spike asked.
"I've been to many places young dragon, there are some things you ponies should never have to face."

A few monster, or rather kaiju roars were heard. The Ponies including Zecora poked their heads out of the bushes. That area of Ponyville was completely destroyed, and there were still monsters fighting it out. And in the midst of it all, another portal opened, dropping an overly large shrimp.

"Chaos. Absolute chaos." Zecora said.
"Chaos...wait a second." Twilight said. She took her head out of the bush, as did the others.
"What are you getting at Twi?" Applejack asked.
"Don't you girls see it? Don't you think it's a little convenient that a monster or kauji or whatever popped up directly outside my house when we were there? Do you think it's a coincidence that one popped up behind us right after we were saved? It's almost like someone, or something is toying with us. Chaos. That's what it is, and this could only be the work of one being...

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"Ohahahhahaha. You are so bright Twilight Sparkle, always one step ahead of the competition, it makes toying with you all the more fun!" Discord said.

He was in a large dark, circular room capable of holding quite a few of the monsters. In the back was a  barred window. He was looking at an image of Twilight and friends through a little cloud he had conjured up.

"This is just marvelous. Wouldn't you agree my crystal-shouldered friend?"

He didn't receive a response from the monster on the other side of the room. It had its back turned, which was filled with dorsal plates. On its shoulders were two large crystals sticking out.

"Such fun, I could do this forever. I wonder what monster I should send next...oooh, perhaps this one, this one looks like a monster made of smog." Discord laughed at his own words.

The other monster didn't answer. Truth of the matter is it didn't care about any of that. It was only concerned with the thing it was watching through a crystal ball. Godzilla.

"You won't get away with this Discord!" A voice yelled from the right side of the room.

"Ohahahaha. My dear Princess Celestia, this is why I've missed you, always so heroic and trying to stay positive. Such drama is always fun to watch." Discord said as he walked toward the right side of the room.

There was a cage made by him, imprisoning both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.

"Do you truly think that monster is going to work with you? He'll sooner betray you once he has fulfilled his desire, whatever that may be." Celestia said.

Discord laughed once again and lowered his head so only the Princesses could hear him.

"You see, I already have plans. After I'm done using his resources and the monsters from his dimension destroy all of Equestria, I'll go drop him off somewhere, perhaps Tartarus, hahaha."
"You don't understand Discord, I sense great evil in that creature, even greater than your own evil."
"My sister is right." Luna said.

Discord raised his head back and laughed once again.

"Ah my poor princesses, so honorable. Why don't we see what's happening now with our little ponies?"

Discord made a cloud appeared.

"What's this? I don't remember sending that monster."

The crystal shouldered creature turned around and started walking toward Discord. His face was similar to Godzilla's, with its head having some kind of yellow star, it looked like he had a crown on. He stepped next to Discord and looked into the cloud. He roared, the sound was deep and high pitched at the same time.

"Alright alright, keep your crystals on my fellow chaos-maker. I will send the Smog Monster, hahahahha."

On the other side of the room, the Princesses looked at each other, they were both thinking the same thing.

They didn't know how Twilight and her friends would win this battle.

End of Act 2


"Discord? The Elements of Harmony made that guy a statue!" Rainbow Dash said.
"Yeah, I mean, it's not like he can just get up and start walking!" Pinkie Pie added.
"I'm sure this is all his doing. Can't you see it? There's a system, he's toying with us. He's--"

Twilight didn't get to finish cause they heard a roar, though it was softer than the ones they've heard today. They looked behind. Something huge was flying toward them. It had wings, big blue insect-like eyes, and antennae.

"Ooooh, a butterfly!" Pinkie Pie said.
"It's a moth Pinkie." Fluttershy said.
"And she is just glamorous!" Rarity popped in.
"Uh Rarity, how do you know that's a girl?" Applejack asked.
"Can't you see her colorful wings? Only a lady could have such style!"
"Be careful my ponies, she is landing." Zecora said.

The giant moth landed on the ground some distance between them. For a few moments nothing happened, then suddenly Spike spotted something.

"Something's coming! Something small for a change."

In the distance a much smaller version of the moth was approaching. Riding on it were two little ladies, one dressed in blue and one in red. The little moth went directly in front of them.

"We are the Shobijin." The little figures said.

The Ponies looked dumbfounded at them. The ladies looked at each other, then the one dressed in red spoke.

"My name is Moll, this is my sister Lora "

The one dressed in blue smiled at them.

"And she is Mothra." She said pointing at the large moth.

"You are all aware of the monsters attacking your world?" Moll asked.
"Very much so, what do you-"
"Alright, that's it! What do you two little things know about this?" Rainbow Dash said, interrupting Twilight and confronting the Shobijin.
"Rainbow! Take it easy." Applejack said.
"She is right, an explanation is needed. But a quick one since we're running out of time. The monsters, they are not from here, your world, your dimension. They come from a much different world than this one. Hours ago we noticed a disturbance, something was messing with the natural order of things. The monsters were disappearing. Lora and I knew something had to be done. You see, a very powerful and evil monster known as SpaceGodzilla has been brought here, we fear he has a part in this."
"SpaceGodzilla? Would he be related to Godzilla?" Fluttershy asked.

The two sisters looked at each other, then Moll answered.

"We see you have already met Godzilla. Our main goal is to find him and the other Earth monsters. But first, SpaceGodzilla. He's a clone of Godzilla from outer space, when Godzilla's DNA merged with crystalline objects, it formed into him. Unlike the majority of monsters whose goal is to either survive or destroy, SpaceGodzilla wants to conquer. He is evil. He considers himself a god of destruction, he considers himself above everything else. But most of all, he wants to kill Godzilla in every way possible."

"That's horrible!" Fluttershy said.

The little moth flew in front of Twilight.

"We came to this spot because we sensed magical energies here, emitting from you six ponies. These energies are tied to the earth are similar to what Earth's monsters have. We need you six to find SpaceGodzilla and the other force we sense at work." Moll said.

Twilight thought about mentioning Discord, but decided against it for now. Suddenly the ground shook beneath them.

"Now what?" Rainbow Dash said.

Right in front of them a big creature emerged. It was dark red, had a horn on its head, big floppy ears, and walked on four legs. It was the complete opposite of the mean-looking Orga or insane Gigan.

"This is Baragon, a guardian monster." Moll said.

The red monster roared.

"Awwwwwww! He's saying hello, how cute!" Fluttershy said. She was already on top of his head, petting him. Baragon seemed to like it.

"So let me get this straight, these monsters or kaiju as Zecora calls them are from another dimension and this SpaceGodzilla is somehow involved? And a force around here is the source?" Rainbow Dash said.

"Precisely blue Pegasus." Moll said.

The little moth flew above them. This time they spoke together in sinc.

"We need your help, Ponies of this world."

Twilight stepped up to the plate.

"Of course we'll help. Introductions...I'm Twilight Sparkle, this is Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Zec-"

She interrupted herself because Zecora was no longer there.

"That's weird, she was there just a minute ago."

All of a sudden Mothtra roared. The little moth flew toward her. Fluttershy flew down to her friends.

"Mothra said we all should hurry since there's not much time." She said.

The two sisters went directly in front of Mothra.

"Mothra, go get Rodan and Anguirus, they are essential to the battle." They said.

Mothra nodded and she began to take off. Her glorious wings shined above as she flew over the bushes into the destroyed Ponyville. Baragon then lowered its head.

"Please get on, you'll travel much faster while riding on him." Moll said. The ponies hopped on Baragon one by one.

"Alright I gotta admit, this is pretty cool." Applejack said.
"What's the plan now?" Twilight asked.
"We sense powerful magical items, they will be essential in the fight. Do you know what they are?" Lora asked.
"Magical items...the Elements of Harmony!" Twilight said.
"We must obtain these Elements, once my sister and I can feel them, we'll know where SpaceGodzilla and the malevolent force behind this is." Moll said.
"They're at the library, or what's left of it." Twilight said.
"Please, tell Baragon how to get there from here." Moll said.

Twilight nodded to Fluttershy, who then said a few things into Baragon's giant ear. The monster's eyes widened. He roared, then started stomping toward their destination rather fast, forcing the surprised Ponies to hold on. Moll and Lora followed.

End of Act 3


There wasn't much of Twilight's library left. Moll and Lora were outside, and Baragon was sitting down. Some moments later the Ponies came out with Twilight holding a book. She put it on the ground. The little moth came toward it.

"That robot thing still creeps me out." Fluttershy said, looking at Gigan's severed body next to the library.
"It's more of a cyborg than robot." Twilight corrected.

Before Twilight opened the book, the roar of Mothra was heard. Everyone looked up. Coming from the distance was the colorful moth herself, and flying beside her the giant brown Pteranodon. In a few moments they landed on the ground next to Baragon. And then a large rumble was felt. Something was rolling toward them. A spiky ball emerged, then unwrapped itself. It was Anguirus. He stood next to the Pteranodon and roared. The former nodded.

"Excellent. Mothra has brought Rodan and Anguirus. Now, let us..." The two ladies were interrupted by a familiar noise coming from the sky. A portal started to open.

"Not again!" Spike shouted.

The portal kept getting bigger and bigger, then stopped. And then the craziest monster the Ponies had ever seen emerged from it. Its body was hard to make out, it was as if it were covered in smog. It had large diamond-shaped eyes. Its scent was pretty awful.

"That is the ugliest monster I have ever seen!" Rarity shouted.
"Hedorah." Moll and Lora said at the same.
"Who?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"A monster from another planet, it is highly dangerous and powerful." Moll said.

Hedorah roared, or rather made a strange sound. Rodan was the first to roar back, then flew toward the Smog Monster. Anguirus started to run toward it, followed by Baragon and Mothra. Rodan was going to attempt an attack, by flying straight into the Smog Monster. Before he could make contact, Hedorah swatted him away with its right hand, or whatever you could call it. Anguirus rolled into Hedorah, making pieces of smog go all over the place. Rarity yelled as a piece almost hit her. Anguirus tried tail-whipping, but it was ineffective. Baragon claw-swiped, but it didn't appear to phase Hedorah. Mothra shot a few beams, which seemed to annoy it, making it turn his attention to her. It stretched its arm out, slapping a surprised Mothra to the ground. By this time Rodan had gotten up and flew toward Hedorah. Instead of going for the body, this time he went for the legs, knocking down the Smog Monster. It got back up and made a sound. Then another sound was heard in the distance. A thump on the ground was heard, and another, and another. Then silence. And then a blue beam came from the distance, blasting a hole straight through Hedorah!

"Godzilla!" The Shobijin shouted.

Indeed, for the King of Monsters, Godzilla, had arrived. He walked into the area. Rodan roared in anticipation and flew by Godzilla side, and Anguirus did the same.

"Those three are very good friends." Fluttershy said to the rest of the Ponies.

Baragon roared a sound of alert. Hedorah was starting reform. Mothra shot a few beams, halting the reformation in time for Godzilla and his two friends to come. Godzilla plucked his hand into Hedorah, taking out its odd looking heart. He blasted it with atomic radiation, ending the Smog Monsters menace. Godzilla, Angurus, and Rodan roared in triumph. The Shobijin sighed. Then Moll spoke.

"Quickly! Open the book!"

Twilight opened it. The Elements of Harmony shined so brightly that it even got the monsters' attention. The ladies went toward them. They felt Twilight's Element and closed their eyes.There was silence for a few moments. Finally they opened their eyes and spoke in sinc.

"We know where SpaceGodzilla and the other malevolent force is. Somewhere hidden in a place called Everfree Forest. We will guide you."

Then they flew up to the side of Godzilla's head.

"Godzilla," they began, "we need your help. SpaceGodzilla is here."

Fluttershy noticed somdething in Godzilla's eyes, anger and determination. The later nodded. Then the ladies came down to the Ponies' level in front of Twilight. Moll spoke.

"Please, put on your Elements. You all will be needed in this battle."
"Pardon my asking, but with so many of these giant monster kaiju things, what can we do?" Applejack asked.
"We sense you six will play a major part in this battle." The ladies said.
"That's good enough for me!" Rainbow Dash said.

The Ponies put on their elements, which instantly re-energized them. Godzilla roared.

"He says we should get moving." Fluttershy said quietly to her friends.

The ladies flew next to Mothra.

"Follow us." They said.

Mothra roared the same thing so the other monsters could hear it. Baragon lowered himself so the Ponies could hop on him. Then everyone started to follow the Shobijin and Mothra into the Everfree Forest.

End of Act 4


While it was daytime, it felt like night in Everfree Forest. The Shobijin flew ahead, with Baragon and the Ponies on top of him in back. Godzilla and Anguirus followed, with Rodan and Mothra flying overhead.

"Is it me, or have the trees really grown?" Rainbow Dash quietly said.
"It's not just you Rainbow, the trees really have grown." Applejack replied.
"Ooooooh, look!" Pinkie Pie shouted.

In front of them all was a large door, big enough for a monster to go through. It was a normal wooden door, except the knob was missing.

"This is where the malevolent force is, now we must figure out how to get-" Moll was interrupted by something charging from behind her. That charge belonged to Godzilla who smashed into the door, breaking it down. Inside was total darkness. Godzilla turned around and motioned everyone to follow.

"I love this guy!" Rainbow Dash said.

The Shobijin went in, followed by the rest of the monsters. It was pitch black all around them, like they were in a void or had fallen into a black hole. The sound of lightning was heard, and slowly things started to appear. Far away a window appeared, and above them a roof. They were in a very, very large room. A familiar laughter was heard.

"Bravo, bravo!" A voice said.

Discord emerged from the shadows, clapping his hands. He looked exactly the same, except he was far bigger, the size of a kaiju.

"Discord!" Twilight said.

Godzilla got ready to charge, but Mothra looked at him, as if telling him not yet.

"You are the force bringing the monsters here!" The Shobijin said.
"Oh are these the little ladies?" Discord asked.
"You know not what you do creature, you are disrupting the natural balance."
"I know! Such disharmony, such chaos, it's really astounding."
"I knew it was you all along Discord!" Twilight shouted.
"Ah, always the resourceful one Twilight Sparkle. It's why I decided to toy with you ponies so much, sending out random monsters at the worst possible times, and sending a fake Zecora to explain things."
"No wonder Zecora disappeared, she was just an illusion!" Spike said,

Discord laughed.

"Of course, none of this would have been possible without my crystal-shouldered friend."

An area was lighted in back of Discord, showcasing a monster. It looked like Godzilla, except it was bulkier, had two large crystals sticking out of its shoulders, and had some kind of yellow crest on its head.

"SpaceGodzilla." The Shobijin said.

SpaceGodzilla roared, but did not move.

"Strange, I can't understand him." Fluttershy thought.

"Wondering why you can't understand, Fluttershy? You see, to make things even more interesting, I gave you the ability to make you understand these wonderful creatures!" Discord said, then laughed again.

SpaceGodzilla stood motionless, he looked bored.

"Now that you're all here, which I'm honestly surprised about, it's time I send out something I've been wanting to send out for awhile. Behold, even I'm about to be impressed."

Discord shot some kind of beam into the roof. A very large portal, the largest anyone had seen, started to open. SpaceGodzilla had been motionless the whole time, but now he seemed alive. He roared which almost sounded like a roar of panic. He shot a Corona beam into the portal, but it was too late. Something was falling from it. The thing struck the ground. It was the largest monster the Ponies had ever seen. It was red, purple, and black. It had two large bat-like wings, which was pretty astonishing if they actually worked because of the creature's size. On its shoulders a horns stuck out, and a very sharp one on its head. There was nothing but red in its eyes. The creature looked liked something straight out of Hell. Fluttershy noticed something in Godzilla's eyes. No one else would have noticed, but since she knew animals and creatures very well, she saw a slight sense of fear in his eyes.

"Destoroyah." The Shobijin said.

"Yes, isn't he just magnificent? The perfect monster aside from my crystal-shouldered friend." Discord said.

SpaceGodzilla didn't say anything.

"Now my demonic friend, why don't you go take care of our guests?" Discord said.

Destoroyah didn't do anything for a moment. Then he turned his head toward Discord.

"What, what are you doing?"

Destoroyah grabbed Discord by the neck. Godzilla roared and took this opportunity to charge toward SpaceGodzilla. Anguirus and Rodan followed. Baragon let down the Ponies and went to join himself.

"Well not much we can do at the moment." Twilight said.

The Shobijin came toward them.

"While you cannot combat them, you are all still needed, look." Lora said, pointing in the distance.

A barrier was there and in it two familiar figures.

"Princess Celestia, Princess Luna!" Twilight said.

Mothra shot a beam, breaking the barrier. The Ponies ran toward the Princesses. They look bruised and battered.

"My dear Twilight Sparkle, I knew you and your friends would come." Princess Celestia said weakly.
"My sister, it's time we send these monsters back to where they come from." Luna said.
"Yes Luna. Despite the crystaled one draining us of our power, combined we should be able to open a portal." Celestia said.

The sisters locked horns. Energy started to appear. They shot a beam passing right by Discord and Destoroyah. The beam opened up a portal. Unlike the other portals, this one had a sucking wind.

"That's my cue." Discord said.

He snapped his fingers and disappeared from the grasp of a surprised Destoroyah. The later started to get sucked in. He fought against it, being one of the strongest monsters in existence. He got ready to shoot a beam, but Mothra stopped him with a beam of her own, striking Destoroyah and sending him into the portal. She called to Godzilla and the other monsters fighting SpaceGodzilla. They responded by backing off and walking back toward the group. SpaceGodzilla didn't follow, rather he was curious of what they were going to do. Then he found out. The Princess moved the portal right in back of him. It started to suck him in. He lifted up his right hand and all of a sudden everyone was lifted off the ground. The portal's sucking wind ceased.

"His gravity powers were never this powerful, his power has grown." Moll said.
"It is because he has been stealing our power." Celestia said.

SpaceGodzilla stood observing, as if he were thinking of what to do with them.

"Please, you your Elements, they are only things that can stop him now." The Shobijin said.

Celestia noticed for the first time that the Ponies had their Elements on.

"Yes my little ponies, concentrate." She said.

Twilight looked up at her element, then nodded.

"Alright girls, concentrate."

All the Ponies closed their eyes, they slowly levitated out of SpaceGodzilla's hold. The latter roared in shock and observed. Twilight opened her eyes, it was filled with nothing but light. A barrier went around them, then a beam combined from the Elements fired. SpaceGodzilla roared and fired his own beam to counter. The beams collided. Due to his concentration on the Ponies, his hold weakened, and Godzilla broke free. He charged up and fired his own beam, striking SpaceGodzilla. The later was too stunned to continue countering and the beam from the Elements struck him, sending him into the portal. The Ponies fell to the ground, tired but relieved.

"Skreeeeeeonk!" Godzilla roared in victory.

End of Act 5


Epilogue

The evening had come, but it was still pretty bright out. Ponyville laid in ruins, but it was over. In the center stood everyone, the monsters, the Mane 6, the Princesses and the Shobijin.

"Thank you, thanks to you Ponies and Princesses the balance has been restored. We shall take our leave now. Farewell!"

Mothra's eyes turned green. From them she shot a beam. It opened up a portal. The Shobijin started to fly in, followed by Mothra, Baragon, Rodan, and Anguirus. Godzilla looked down to see Fluttershy, whom was looking at him smiling. He nodded and preceded into the portal. It closed.

"Well that was quite possibly our coolest adventure yet." Rainbow Dash said.
"Discord is still out there." Twilight said.
"Yes, but let's not worry about him now. We have a lot of rebuilding to do." Princess Celestia said.
"I think a celebration is in order!" Pinkie Pie said.
"Right after we rebuild a bit Pinkie." Applejack said.
"Godzilla was such an amazing creature. He has a really tough exterior, but on the inside, he's really caring." Fluttershy said.
"I still can't get over that monster made of smog!" Rarity said.

Everyone laughed and preceded to get started on rebuilding Ponyville.

The End.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack Review



Godzilla vs. Megaguirus had one of the worst box office showings in the franchise. To keep things fresh and to bring back all those un-loyal fans, they decided to go ahead and step out of the norm for this film. First off, this is the only really fantasy based movie in the series, no science fiction here. Now how exactly were they going to make this a standout film? Why, hire the guy who directed the Heisei Gamera trilogy of course, Shisuke Kaneko. Now there was something to look forward to here. Originally the film was going to have Anguirus and Varan instead of Mothra and Ghidorah. TOHO decided that to bring back the people, they would use two of their most popular characters instead of The Unbelievable and Godzilla's sidekick. GMK on its first viewing is one of the greatest things you'll ever witness. Repeated viewings loses a little of its greatness, but it's still a step above the average Godzilla film.

The official description from Sony TriStar:
Fifty years ago, the Japanese Defense Forces killed Godzilla or so they thought. When a series ofterrifying natural disasters begin to plague Japan, including the inexplicable offshore sinking of a U.S. submarine, a mystic old man warns his nation that Godzilla has come back to destroy Japan asrevenge for all the souls lost in the Pacific War. When mere military might can not squash the monster, the mystic man awakens the Holy Beasts of Yamato - King Ghidorah, Mothra and Baragon, sleeping giants that protected Japan in ancient times. These untamed mammoth beasts take on Godzilla with frightening supernatural brute power that has been 2,000 years in the making. Tradition and technology collide in this chilling high-tech, cutting-edge fable.

This is one of the G films where you can actually picture sitting down in a theater and watching. It has that cinematic feel that 2000 established. The film succeeds in making Godzilla out to be an actual giant monster. Camera angles help that, great perspective. You can see Kaneko's elements from his Gamera movies here. There's a great fantasy backdrop here. Earth guardians, 1,000 year old dragon, stuff you'd probably find in some random anime. Whereas Megaguirus was a more fun science film with giant insects, this one is dark and serious. While not as depressing as the original Gojira, it's one of the darker ones. The cast here is pretty good for the most part, but wasn't as great as I remembered.

Yuri is our main character this around. You'll notice that a lot of the same actors keep appearing in these films. She was.....okay. Then there's her level-headed friend Takeda. He's basically there to give us the scoop on the Guardian Monsters. There's also Yuri's father, the best character in the whole thing. He felt genuine. Then there's the mysterious old man. His role is basically to warn the characters that "Godzilla is coming!!!!!" With that said, with his limited appearances, he was definitely one of the better characters. There are a bunch of side characters (Actor Yukijiro Hotaru from the Gamera trilogy appears with a very similar role, another sighting of Kaneko's take here) but the majority of them are about average. The cast overall isn't that great, but still pretty good. The monsters on the other hand are pretty spectacular on the other hand. (Well maybe not so much Ghidorah.)


Godzilla is really GODzilla here. They really wanted to show the audience how powerful he was, he's portrayed as practically invincible. First off, the suit. You'll notice how different it is. Obviously the standout feature is the eyes, it's all white, no pupils. It's awesome and makes G look just plain emotionless. Here we have him actually attacking humans, you can see the darker approach to his character already. It's good to see such a drastic version of G, it's interesting to see him on the complete evil side. That itself isn't the most shocking part, the big thing here is that Ghidorah is a guardian monster. What that means is that he's the good guy and we're rooting for him. This is one of the most controversial things in all of Godzilla. Ghidorah's a wimp in this film, there's no getting around that. He only becomes half of what he should be when Mothra merges with him. Before that, he's pretty much thrown around like a rag doll. While he looks like an ancient dragon, it's hard to see him getting beaten up so easily. You don't go from being the 'King of Terror' to this weakling. Mothra gets a different look here, a lot more insect-like. It's a unique take and fits the film, but I wouldn't want to see it in a future film personally. And now we have Baragon. He gets a major redesign, he looks fantastic. His portrayal is great, and he's just a fun little monster to root for. He looks realistic, one of the highlights of the film. You really do feel for him as he's getting pummeled by Godzilla.

The soundtrack is a highlight here. We get some very powerful themes here. It may be different than the iconic Ifukube themes, but different is (usually) good. There's the amazing intro theme, King Ghidorah's theme, it's all good stuff. One must admire at how great they made the destruction sequences here, the special effects are some of the best in any G film. The scene where Ghidorah transforms into King Ghidorah is awe-inspiring. Godzilla's dramatic first appearance was great, and the carnage he leaves in his wake is felt. The battles are pretty cinematic, G's battle with Baragon is a nice throwback to the earlier fights in the series. It was also cool to see the jab they did at the 98 film in the beginning, only Godzilla fans would get it. It was also a very nice touch to have the classic Godzilla theme playing over the credits. Such a great ending, and the final fight is pretty climatic.

Overall, GMK is a very solid film. It has that cinematic feel and scope last seen in 2000. Godzilla's dramatic portrayal was great to see. We also get Baragon, a monster that hasn't been seen since DESTROY ALL MONSTERS, which was over thirty years ago. Mothra gets a unique design and Ghidorah.....shouldn't have been here. Rodan should have been here instead. Now that I think about it, that actually makes a lot of sense. Anyways, what's done is done. The special effects are some of the best in any G film, the CGI and the monsters look great. Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack is one of the most high quality of the G films. After repeated viewing, you do however realize that the cast is just above sub-par. Still, this film is a highly recommened entry.

8/10.