GODZILLA IN HELL Retrospect

GODZILLA IN HELL ended last week with its fifth issue. For a short review, it was definitely interesting. Dave Wachter wrote Big G well and the art was very good. The shocking thing was the ending.

Godzilla rises out of the ocean, in real time.

So apparently the entire series featured Godzilla not in the actual Hell, but in his own personal hell. Basically, he goes through inner demons and eventually...conquers himself?

I will admit the concept is pretty interesting. Godzilla never actually died...or did he? As I type this it becomes a little more confusing because Big G could have died but somehow came back to life after going through all this. I'm inclined to believe, based on the quote provided in the last issue, that he never actually entered Hell, but as started earlier, he went through hell in the mind, which is definitely interesting.

Still, it could also be a disappointment since the descriptions kept telling us different things. Sure, one could make an argument that all the summaries were talking about hell inwardly. But one description talks about King Ghidorah sending him there, while another instead shows us the world blowing up because of a battle with SpaceGodzilla.

As you can see, continuity wasn't consistent, making this the most confusing Godzilla related thing yet. Confusing doesn't equal bad, of course. There's too much unique storytelling for any fan to miss. The first issue established the tone with the "Abandon Hope all ye who enter Here." It was the perfect starter as Godzilla battled a nightmarish version of himself. The second issue might be my favorite, for Bob Eggleton's elegant writing and incredible art. (It was the first actual painted Godzilla comic!)

The third issue was perhaps the most strange. We had these Mothra angels trying to get Godzilla to enlist in battling the demons. As I said in my review, that was too cool of a concept to bring up and throw away. I was also not a fan of how it tried to depict these angelic beings as antagonistic. Considering the title, it would have been nice to see some angels aiding Godzilla out of the place.

(But if this is some kind of dream landscape, then technically none of this actually happened in real time.)

Issue 4 had Godzilla's two greatest enemies: King Ghidorah and Destoroyah. If this is a personal hell, then it's fascinating to see this since Godzilla himself considers battling these two together one of the most brutal things imaginable. The final issue sort of brings it all together. As already stated, it ends with him rising out of the water.

So looking back, when looked at from #5 ending's perspective, GODZILLA IN HELL offers a very unique view into the mind of the monster, which very few things have done in the past. We see G enter his hell in the first issue, fighting a nightmarish version of himself. At the end of Issue 2 he battles whom he considers his greatest adversary. In Issue 3 we see the world, his home, blowing up. Issue 4 we see a nightmare scenario: him battling his two greatest foes. And finally we see him literally being turned into a skeleton in the final issue which is the final hell, death. But it doesn't end there. He rises, beating death, eventually reaches the summit, and rises out of the water.

Still, there are those strange dialogue inconsistencies. The issues are 95% without dialogue, but there is some contradictory narration detailing the events. This makes me think that the original idea was to have G go through the actual Hell, but in the end was changed. Besides the inconsistencies, the story is a definite must read. The Big G has never been in a story like this, and probably won't be again anytime soon.

GODZILLA: One Year Later

It's amazing when you stop and think about how things come together over the years. I remember when the first announcement came that Legendary Pictures had acquired the rights to Godzilla to produce a new American film. After the 1998 disaster, many were rightfully skeptical. Four years later it arrived and put to rest any worries. Despite personal preferences, most agreed it was a well-made film.

The Godzilla fanbase is passionate. It's much like Star Wars when if you engage someone whom has years of knowledge, prepare yourself for an extensive conversation. Unlike Star Wars however, prior to the new film Godzilla was more of a niche in the States. Many associated G with being cheesy, a joke, and nothing to be taken seriously. That's why fans such as myself were looking forward to this movie, because with a new, serious adaption, the monster could finally have much needed respect in America. That, and the fact it would be the first G film since Final Wars back in 2004.

I was a bit skeptical when it was confirmed that Gareth Edwards would be directing. He had previously directed the independent film MONSTERS. That movie upon first watching was disappointing because the marketing portrayed it as a big monster flick. The alien creatures have very little screen time. It's essentially a drama with a monster backdrop. In retrospect it's a quality film, but at the time it was easy to see why many were skeptical. The Japanese Godzilla films pride themselves for its monster destruction, so there was some fear that Edwards would do the something like he did with MONSTERS. Thankfully, by the time the end credits had rolled, most viewers were convinced that the big G was in good hands.

The first ever look we got of G, back in 2012

I remember when the first teaser came out, and only a select few were able to view it since it was Comic Con exclusive. Eventually it was leaked online and everyone in the world quickly absorbed it. It was quite ominous, presenting G as a rather horrific figure against the Oppenheimer "Destroyer of Worlds" audio. This is perhaps the most infamous thing about the movie. Almost all of the marketing portrayed G as a terrifying, relentless monster of destruction, much like the original 1954 film. The movie shocked me and many others when Godzilla emerged as a hero, with even the words, "King of the Monsters - savior of our city?" displayed near the ending. Many were disappointed that G wouldn't be returning to his horror roots, while others like myself enjoyed the portrayal. Personally, I find Godzilla's heroic days in the 60's/70's to be the most entertaining era of the Japanese films. Legendary's portrayal in my opinion was a perfect blend of the heroic Godzilla from that era and the destructive force seen in films like Return of Godzilla and GODZILLA 2000.

The design for G was kept under wraps for a very long time. Arguably, it was the most hyped aspect. When fully unveiled, no major complaints were had. Still, some didn't like the elephant-like feet, and how little his eyes were. Any complaints I personally had were rendered moot when he was in motion. Right when he entered the airport to battle the Muto the design quickly became one of my favorites.

Speaking of Muto, one of the most intriguing parts of marketing was its reluctance to showcase the antagonist monster. When the film finally arrived, viewers were treated to very unique and awesome creatures for G to do battle with. The fights in this movie to me were a bit more on the mixed side. When G first arrives to battle Muto, it looks like a grand battle was about to take place but instead it's reduced to being on the news for a few seconds. This was funny the first time around in the theater, but in subsequent viewings it's a disappointment. The second fight is also a tease. The climax is very exciting, but suffers a little from the fact that it cuts away to the soldiers too often. Still, it's hard to deny the greatness of such scenes like G using his tail to slap the male Muto into a building and the first time he uses his atomic blast. (Both scenes garnered great cheer from the audience in the theater.) While the climax could have been better, it nonetheless was one of the more thematic battles of 2014 and showed what a modern Godzilla brawl can look like.

Contrary to popular belief, there are many Godzilla movies with top notch acting performances. Films like MONSTER ZERO and Gojira have Oscar worthy portrayals. While the new film doesn't have any award winners, the cast is nonetheless solid. Many were dismayed when the film killed off Bryan Cranston's character Joe Brody early on, whom according to many was easily the best character. His son Ford took center stage from then on. Many said he was too dull, with little emotion. While I can agree, I think it's important to remember that could be his character as part of being military. Either way, I think if he comes back for the sequel he'll be better.

It's already been confirmed that we'll getting two sequels, one of which is coming in 2018. The awesome part is that Legendary has the rights to classic TOHO monsters Mothra, Rodan, and King Ghidorah for use. It's an exciting time for G fans, and will continue to be so as other companies capitalize. (TOHO themselves will be releasing a brand new film in the Japanese series next year!)

One year later has gone by, and every Godzilla fan remembers it like it was yesterday. It is unfortunate that the film only made $528 million worldwide. That may sound like a lot, but Transformers: Age of Extinction from that same year and the new Fast and the Furious both have made over $1 billion. GODZILLA doesn't rely on mindless explosions, sexual appeal, or sarcastic wit to tell a story. But, modern American audiences want the three things just listed rather than a serious adventure, which is disappointing. This doesn't change the fact that G was still a hit and will remain engraved in film culture. Now a fan can go around asking others, "hey have you seen Godzilla?"and get into good conversations, even though they might not have seen the Japanese films.

It was all thanks to this day, May 16th, last year that Godzilla has a resurgence of popularity worldwide. I look forward to seeing what Edwards and Legendary bring to the table in three years.

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

King Kong vs. Godzilla: A New Kind of Monster Fight

King Kong vs. Godzilla is one of the most influential kaiju films of all time. In some ways, it's the most influential. Sure, technically the original 1954 Gojira is, because without it, there would be no Godzilla sequels. (And if you want to go one step further, the original 1933 King Kong might be the most influential since it was the first cinematic giant monster movie, inspiring Godzilla to get made.) But 1962's King Kong vs. G is just as influential. For one thing, it gave Godzilla a personality. The previous two films had him just as the personification of the atomic bomb. Here we see his arrogant, loves-to-fight character. But the most influential aspect was the battle, namely the final battle between him and Kong. This introduced a new kind of fight style for kaiju films.

Yes, the previous film, Godzilla Raids Again had the first kaiju fight to grace the big screen. But it was basically just two animals going at it. To this day, no one quite remembers it as a series classic. The final battle in King Kong vs. Godzilla was the first kaiju movie to have two 'characters' duke it out. What I mean is that these weren't just overgrown animals fighting, they were thinking beings. Here's some examples: We have Kong, who literally grabs a tree and tries to shove it down Godzilla's throat. We have Godzilla, who literally jumps and double kicks Kong to the ground. We have Kong, who makes a strategy to hide from Godzilla and strikes at just the right moment. We have Godzilla, who claps his hands every time Kong gets knocked over. And then we have Kong, who back-flips Godzilla to the ground. Do you see what I'm talking about?

The fight as you can tell was fun. This is where Japanese kaiju battles get their inspiration from. This is what separates kaiju fights from American monster movies. Can you think of any American monster movie where it had a monster vs. monster fight as memorable as the one featured in King Kong vs. Godzilla? No, I didn't think so. Fast forward 45 years later, you can see in shows such as Ultra Galaxy Mega Monster Battle  where the kaiju dance around, grapple, and laugh at each other. Where do you think this type of monster battling comes from? It all dates back to 1962. While the original Japanese version of the film isn't available outside of Japan, you can still experience the magic with the recent Blu-ray release of the American version. 52 years later, and that final battle is still one of the very best. 

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

Exactly One Year Until GODZILLA Stomps into Theaters!

Wow, here we are. In one year from now, the King of the Monsters comes to theaters worldwide. It's a pretty surreal thought for a big fan such as myself. I mention Godzilla in one way or another every day, I've seen all the films. The thought of actually going into a theater and actually seeing him on the big screen is a pretty amazing thing. It had a few rough patches among development. Believe it or not, it was originally supposed to come out in 2012. Pretty insane, eh? For awhile there was virtually no news and people thought it would never come to be. Last year's Comic Con was big, because it unveiled a poster, release date, and teaser. (Which for some odd reason still hasn't been uploaded online.) Slowly the ball got rolling. Casting came later, and they're currently filming. It looks like the movie will be here in time for his 60th anniversary after all!

Godzilla getting the big screen treatment means a lot of cool things. For one thing, we can expect plenty of merchandise. How awesome would it be to walk into Wal-Mart and see some G shirts? A DVD section? A watch? And all the new fans which will come out of the cinema. The Avengers made the general public superhero fans, GODZILLA can and hopefully will do the same. This year will be important, because we can expect a trailer, more posters, a website, and marketing. Contrary to popular belief, Godzilla is a household name, you'll be hard-pressed to find someone who didn't know the monster. The 98 film did leave a stain on the franchise, but that was over a decade ago. This new film will wash that away.

I'm confident Gareth Edward's will deliver a film of quality and worthy of the Godzilla name. It's been said countless times already that it will be in the spirit of the original, so we can expect a dark movie. That won't stop it from having monster action of course, since we'll be having two other kaiju. The countdown begins!

S.H. Monsterarts Destoroyah Review

The S.H. Monsterarts Destoroyah is finally upon us. People whom had paid using EMS as their shipping should have received it earlier, and if not, tomorrow afternoon. Talking personally for a second, this was my most anticipated figure ever. Why? Destoroyah is my favorite Godzilla antagonist, I grew up with the 1995 movie. Now, let's talk about the character in question. Destoroyah, (kown in the dub as 'Destroyer') was the final monster Godzilla fought in the Heisei series. Godzilla vs. Destoroyah was a grand movie, having a very climatic fight and...G died. Destoroyah is famous first of all for his amazing design. He looks like a demon straight out of Hell. Combine that with his rather sadistic way of doing things, he became a fan favorite instantly. It has been argued countless times, but this demonic monster may just be the most powerful of Godzilla's adversaries. G never truly even defeated him! So here we have the Monsterart, completing the Vs. Destoroah set. We had the critically acclaimed Burning Godzilla, then came little Junior, and finally this guy. While Ghidorah will go down as the most anticipated figure of this line yet, at least there has been no disappointment with Destoroyah. It's pretty much everything you want with less risk of things breaking.

Firstly, it's important to mention that thing is massive. The Heisei monsters were complete opposites from the Show era's. In this era they were rather bulky and immobile, Destoroyah is an example. He's extremely slow, but insanely strong. The figure captures that wonderfully. If you pair him up with Ghidorah, it's quite the difference. (Of course Ghidorah is still the tallest because of the articulated heads.) Because Destoroyah obviously wouldn't be able to walk around much in his film, he was naturally given wings. They look really nice on the figure. Ghidorah still wins with having the most magnificent looking wings. (However, if we're talking which are more prone to break, that's a different story.) The face is done well, the horn on top looks fantastic. Minor complaint is the eyes, they look way too dark. The Bandai Vinyls has the eyes colored yellow, which I think is better since the dark red contrasts with the burgundy on the face. Everything else is superb.

WATCH OUT! When you open the box, (very nice box by the way) you'll have to manually insert the tail yourself, like with the Ultra Act Gomora. Only thing is that you have to be really careful when holding the figure and inserting. I made the mistsake of inserting and without a proper grasp. What followed was pretty much the entitre figure coming apart. (It was put back together after the great annoyance had subsided.) But yeah, be extra careful when inserting that tail, which is also beautifully sculpted. With such a massive figure, articulation wouldn't be as plentiful as some of the past figures. You can pose Destoroyah in a few different ways, some unique if you want to be adventurous. While there isn't too much articulation, I do like how the little claws can be moved, a very nice touch. Now for the accessories...wait a second, there aren't any. A problem with Burning Godzilla was the sad lack of accessories. Two little maser tanks doesn't quite cut it. Destoroyah has none! Where's his oxygen ray? It's pretty much a crime that it wasn't included.

Despite a lack of accessories, the S.H. Monsterarts Destoroyah is a fine figure, and easily the best Destoroyah out there. He scales perfectly with Burning Godzilla. Although if you were to pair him with SpaceGodzilla, the size difference is so severe it's sad. But in the end, the bigger they are the more bang you get for your buck. This Monsterart doesn't have any big flaws, it's a great figure to have. $130 may seem a bit much, but again, despite a lack of accessories, (where is that beam) I'd say it's worth it, especially for fans of the character.

4.5/5

The S.H. Monsterarts are Rolling Out

The SH Monsterarts line from Tamashii Nations is easily one of the greatest figure lines for Godzilla. Starting with the Heisei version of G two years ago, the line has pretty much covered the Heisei era. (The only ones without an announcement at the moment are Mothra, Battra, and Mecha King Ghidorah.) Last week another figure was unveiled, this time from the Showa era, Godzilla 1964.

This was pretty big. For quite a bit now fans have been wondering where would the Monsterarts go after the Heisei era. This figure seems to answer that question, the company is well on their way to the classic movies. In the meantime, we can look forward to my personal favorite figure coming up at the end of the month, Destoroyah.

Awesome, isn't it? We also have the the evolutionary set coming later in the year. (Destoroyah's aggregate and the long awaited Flying form.) We also have the first American monster, the Peter Jackson version of King Kong to look forward to.

But not too long ago, another hotly anticipated monster was unveiled. The thought of her getting a figure in this line was almost unthinkable.  Yes, her. She goes by the name of Biollante.

A couple of months ago this prototype was shown, mainly due to fans requesting her. That's right, the more people that post they want something made, the greater the chance. This prototype is an example of that. Many people kept requesting and it was made. Sadly since then there has been no info. She did get a mention in the latest issue of G-Fan, but that's it. So, once again, the fans must voice their desire to see her released. How? By going to Bluefin's Facebook page here. The more people that post, the greater that chance we'll see this rose of a kaiju sooner than later.

Stay tuned for my review of Destoroyah near the beginning of next month.

On the Recent GODZILLA News and Manga

I will admit that Legendary's GODZILLA is my moat anticipated movie ever. (The record holder use to Spider-Man 3.) Last year was a pretty good year for updates, at the San Diego Comic Con they showed a teaser (which still hasn't been released for the general public) a poster, and a release date of May 16th, 2014. (Can you believe this film was originally meant to come out last year?) 2014 technically makes sense for marketing, it is the big G's 60th anniversary after all. Since then updates have been scarce, but this past week was full of them. Warner Bros. is committed to a March start date, which is just in two months. Casting has begun, no one has been picked yet, but the shortlist includes Henry Cavill (hey maybe Superman will come and try to save the day) and it looks like Aaron Johnson is being sought after now. (Believe it or not Joseph Gordon-Levitt was in discussions but he declined sadly.) All that is minor to these pieces of news...

Frank Darabont of THE WALKING DEAD has been hired to do a 'final re-write.' It's really quite scary seeing how many re-writes this thing has gotten, it definitely shows that TOHO isn't fooling around. It makes perfect sense, they've learned they can't fully put all their trust in us Americans when it comes to the big G. (And we all know why right? 1998 was an interesting year...) With Darabont re-writing, you can tell this film is going to put an emphasis on the gritty part. Now, we already know that Godzilla will fight another monster, but it looks like they'll be a second monster. And the key word here is 'new,' there will be two 'new' monsters. One of the age old questions for this movie was whether or not G would battle another monster from the TOHO universe. Well, it looks like we'll be getting two new monster creations. While I am disappointed that we won't see the likes of Rodan or Anguirus, it'll still be cool to get some new guys. I can't wait to see their official designs and names. 

The other piece of news and arguably biggest is the story will be about a soldier and that the film will be 'really different' than the TOHO movies. When I heard about the soldier part, Half Century War instantly came to mind. That mini-series follows a soldier as he narrates Godzilla's destruction over the years. This soldier will most likely narrate Godzilla's destruction too I would imagine. Now the second part, where it says it'll be 'really different' than the TOHO films is interesting. It might not have been the greatest thing to say, but I understand it. I do think this film should be its own unique thing, I'm not sure if it should be too different than the Japanese films, because we longtime fans still want to see the true Godzilla on the big screen. When they say TOHO they're most likely referring to the late 60s and 70s movies. They really want people knowing that this will be a very serious movie. With Gareth Edwards directing, I have a feeling we'll also have a strong human character. Unlike MONSTERS however, GODZILLA has to be about the title character, not just a plot device or an obstacle, but a character. I hope we'll see that.

While all that could be considered as good news, the bad news is that two producers have left the project, Dan Lin and Roy Lee. Now here comes the interesting part...they're actually attempting to stop the film from going forward. I've read the complaint and it doesn't look like they're going to win, but still a pretty intense thought. As you can see it's really all about the money, forget about the fans whom have been waiting since this was first announced four years ago. The case hasn't exactly happened yet, so it'll be interesting to see how much this sets back production.

Remember the Godzilla manga I talked about not too long ago? The one where it's set five years after Terror of Mechagodzilla? Well it turns out that it's actually a fan manga. It's a little un-surprising, since TOHO would probably never want to revisit the Showa timeline. Still, it's pretty impressive for a fan manga and shows there are still dedicated fans out there.

So Godzilla is Getting a New Manga

Whenever Godzilla gets something new, I always consider it to be a big deal. Right now the King is enjoying a revival in the IDW comic world...and that's pretty much it. We have the Monsterarts releasing, and not too long ago that Kaiju World Wars board game released. But, it is impossible to find any type of merchandise within stores. Once Legendary's film comes out next year, the ball will start rolling once more. Now this is interesting news I discovered on the TOHO Kingdom forums. Godzilla is getting a brand new, official manga series. he cool part is that it actually takes place in the Showa continuity!

What I can gather is that it takes place five years after Terror of Mechagodzilla. Now here comes the interesting part, Godzilla isn't the main character, it's Minya grown up. The story is that humanity has caused a nuclear war, leaving the Earth in a state of vulnerability. Intergalactic forces (aliens!) come, but Godzilla and the rest of the monsters of Monster Island force the threat to retreat. Apparently they get them to retreat at the cost of their lives. That's right, Godzilla, Anguirus, Rodan, among a few others die! (Godzilla is the only truly confirmed one, I'm just making an assumption since those other guys are part of Monster Island.) Ten years later, the same threat returns. Now Minya, whom has grown up to be the new Godzilla, and a whole new generation of monsters (?) rise up. So will Minya, now Godzilla, help the world or hold a grudge since they are the ones that started this mess to begin with and inadvertently caused the death of the only thing he could truly call family?

Technically this should be taking place after DESTROY ALL MONSTERS, since Minya is in that film. (DAMM takes place in 1999, while Terror takes place in 1975.) So I'm going to assume this will be an alternate timeline, unless they somehow explain things. First off, it's really quite interesting that this will actually take place within the Showa continuity, doesn't seem like something TOHO would do. This is pretty obscure news, I haven't been able to find out which magazine it's going to be in. I assume an official press release will follow soon. In the second picture which I'm most certain is Volume 1, the word 'Psychic' is there. I'm guessing the girl will be able to communicate with the monsters, or at least understand them. (Like Miki from the Heisei series.) I do wonder exactly what the 'new generation of monsters' is. If the old ones die, then will we see some new guys? Mothra appears as you can see, which makes sense. She is a timeless monster, there will always be Mothra. I think she will be the force that convinces Minya not to destroy the humans for revenge, with perhaps the girl. Of course, if we don't get an official announcement soon, this manga could just fade away from American news. It wouldn't be the first time, cool manga like these I and American fans will never get to fully read.

I don't know the full story behind these, but see how cool they are? (Biollante + Ghidorah = Biodorah? Ghillante?) I mean, Mechani Kong and Mechagodzilla teaming up? Godzilla with a samurai sword? Lots of good stuff we'll never see here. But, in today's day and age, I wouldn't count out the possibility of it coming to American shores. Maybe with the upcoming film it'll create interest? You never know. But, if I don't hear anything in the next few months, we can assume it'll be another manga Americans will never truly get to read sadly. (Unless you somehow import it through Ebay or something.) Still, the fact that Godzilla is getting a new manga that is set in the Showa continuity is astonishing.

SH Monsterarts Godzilla (1995) Review

A year ago SH Monsterarts debuted the Heisei version of Godzilla. (And if you want to be technical, the one from the 1994 film, Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla.) Since then, the Monsterart line has become the new main line for Godzilla figures. It has faced controversy with some collectors, but for the most part it has been proudly praised. The last one was the highly anticipated King Ghidorah. In fact, I'd say it was the most anticipated one in the line. When it came some had the problem of 'fragile wings.' But for the most part people were satisfied with the buy. (The wings are rather weak, but my main problem is how easy the middle neck falls out!) The latest figure in this line was just released in Japan last week, the popular Burning Godzilla. (It's called Godzilla 1995 on the nice-looking box, but I will use the Burning title.) This figure is the start of the Godzilla vs. Destoroyah set. Junior is coming at the end of the month, with Destoroyah in February. Over the past few months I've acquired a few other Monsterarts, Godzilla, Fire Rodan, SpaceGodzilla, and King Ghidorah, so I know the line pretty well now. Burning Godzilla makes a fine entry and is easily the definitive figure of the character.

It would have been easy to just recycle the Godzilla figure and add the burning parts on it. But the company went the more favorable route, using a whole new mold. Burning Godzilla has a much more fierce face than his 94 counterpart. The figure captures that wonderfully. Upon playing around with it after opening is when I discovered how fierce it can look. So props to that. Articulation is very good, you can pose this guy however which way you want. However, due to it having better articulation than Godzilla, it sacrifices the more 'clean' look on the former. What I mean is that you can see the gaps of where to pose, especially in the left leg. (You can see the inside of the figure through the leg, upon first opening it was quite distracting.) Nothing really bad, it just looks more like an action figure in some areas than the rest of the figures do. Burning Godzilla is famous obviously for one thing...the patches of fire all over him. It looks quite awesome on the figure, done in translucent orange. They even got the eyes red like in the film, adding to the fierce look. The highlight is the dorsal plates. They look absolutely gorgeous, one of the best parts of the figure. Some were worried about the white dorsal plates on the side. It's really not that big of a deal, they're not as bright as they appear in some pictures online.

One of the famous things about this line are the accessories that come with each figure. Sadly the ones in this package are very lackluster. First off, it doesn't come with a beam. You can use the spiral beam from Fire Rodan's package, but if you didn't buy the bird, you're out of a luck. Seriously, it's almost a crime that it doesn't include a beam. However, it does come with two puny maser tanks. They're cool little things, but only two? At least four should have been included. But you know what else we get? Another pair of hands. A pair of hands. Instead of getting a beam, we get a pair of hands and two tiny maser tanks that could easily get lost. The accessories are the quite the letdown. Now, regarding scale. Burning Godzilla stands surprisingly above his 94 counterpart, and even SpaceGodzilla! On one hand, for all the money this thing goes for, I'm glad it's big. But for people that love 100% accuracy, it's too strange for him to be as tall as SpaceGodzilla. The real test is how he will stack up with Destoroyah.

Overall, despite lackluster accessories and showing some gaps, the Monsterart Burning Godzilla is a fine figure. It captures the fierceness of his on-screen counterpart really well. Even if it's a little bigger than it should be, it makes for a great purchase and will most definitely look great next to Destoroyah in two months. The burning patches look great, the face looks incredible, and the dorsal plates look fantastic. A great addition to the Monsterart line.

4.5/5

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.