'Godzilla: Monster Planet' - First Look at our Anime Godzilla revealed!

Well I've been saying for weeks that it has been way too quiet on the Netflix anime front. Today that changed in a big way as the official website was updated to include our first glimpse at the first ever anime Godzilla! Check it out below!

Wow definitely not the direction I thought they were going to go! It definitely evokes Legendary Goji quite a bit which I'm sure is not going to sit well with some fans but I personally like it a lot. Obviously this is a very stylized image and doesn't give us a whole lot to go on but it's cool we are getting more information regardless. Hopefully we'll be getting a trailer sooner rather than later.

What do you guys think? Do you like that they are using a tweaked legendary design?

Adam Wingard to direct 'Godzilla vs Kong'

Well this was unexpected! Relatively unknown director Adam Wingard has been chosen to direct 'Godzilla Vs. Kong.' Click here to read The Hollywood Reporter's exclusive announcement!

Kaiju News Bits - 'Rampage' plot, 'Pacific Rim: Uprising' Jaeger, and 'Shin Godzilla' release!?

Well these last few weeks have had an interesting peppering of giant monster news and we here at Tokyo Lives have been very busy recently, thus unable to cover these stories as they occurred (Sorry about that!). I know we'll be talking about most of these during our next episode of the podcast that will be releasing towards the end of the week but I thought why not release an article as well. Let's dig in! 

First up we got some juicy plot details for the 'Rampage' film from Dwayne Johnson's instagram account. Take a look:

Goin' primal. 🦍 Good to finally have boots on the ground here in Georgia for production of #RAMPAGE. I head up an anti poaching unit out of Rwanda. My best friend is a rare albino gorilla named, George. Very bad people infect George, an alligator and a wolf with a serum. All three animals grow at an unprecedented rate. Their size, speed, agility and violent aggression is off the charts. They go on a deadly rampage and want to destroy the world. George not happy. Me not happy. When animals like you, they lick you. When they don't like you, they kill you. I will hunt down the bad people who did this to my best friend. And when I find them, I will not lick them. We have the best VFX monster making team (WETA) on the planet. Our actors and crew have been working very hard to raise the monster genre bar. As always, let's have some fun. Let's shoot. 🤙🏾 #PrimalDNA #George #Lizzy #Ralph

There was also a nice plot breakdown that might be a little spoiler heavy so I will just link you to it here.  Overall there aren't too many surprises within these first plot details since they basically describe the plot of the games. Well technically in the later Rampage titles the creatures are actually humans that have been mutated into the monsters so I guess this does point out that they are basing the film on the first game. Interestingly enough, I feel like the humans into monsters angle may have been a bit more compelling for a film adaptation (maybe some horrifying transformations).  But anyways lets move on to the next news bit!

'Pacific Rim: Uprising' has finished filming and is currently deep into post production now which is great for us fans because now we will start getting gems like the above image. This schematic was spotted at a toy convention in Japan and it gives us the best look at a new Jaeger we have had so far. It looks like Gypsy Avenger (Gyspy Danger's replacement) will have a similar arsenal to the original Jaeger. This includes the return of the Elbow Rocket, Chain Sword, and the Plasma Caster. It seems like the turbine in it's chest has been upgraded to a "Dual Vortex Turbine" which kind of hints that maybe Gyspy Avenger is still a analog Jaeger. Cool stuff all around.

Last but certainly not least, it looks like we have a tentative release window for the american 'Shin Godzilla' Blu-Ray/DVD.  According to Blu-raydisc.de Germany is getting their 'Shin Godzilla' home release on August 8th. Now you may be saying "Kyle that's the GERMAN release not the American release" and you would be right in questioning this. But hear me out! One thing to note is that the English Dub is being put onto this version of the film. Also the time frame fits from all of the other live action Funimation releases that they have done (like Attack on Titan). So due to these pieces of evidence, I am predicting that we are looking at a July-September release for the film in the states.

Do these news bits excite you? Let us know in the comment section below! 

You Should Watch - Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger

Remember back in the early nineties, there was this show about teens with complicated feelings that got recruited by an interdimensional alien to wear dinosaur pajamas and punch monsters? Sometimes there were giant robots that combined into a "gianter" robot? What was that show called?

Oh right. Well, you may not know that the basic premise (and the action/monster scenes) were adapted from a long running Japanese tokusatsu series called Super Sentai. Mighty Morphing Power rangers’ first season specifically used footage and costumes from the 16th show in the series, Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger. 

Zyuranger was a landmark show in the Sentai franchise. It was the first show based on prehistoric animals, the first to have a Megazord composed entirely of animal mecha, the first to feature a sixth ranger, and the first to incorporate fantasy elements in place of the standard sci-fi fare. Oh, and it was the first to be adapted for international release. You know, as that one show. 

When I say adapted, I mean they dubbed over the scenes of the rangers in costume and fight scenes, and then spliced that with original footage. This is the key difference between all Sentai series and their Power Ranger counterparts: the American shows are a little more kid friendly, and the Japanese originals are completely insane. 

In Mighty Morphin’, the Power Rangers are 5 adolescents with agreeable outlooks are summoned by an ancient alien named Zordon and given superpowers and dinosaur robots to fight Rita Repulsa, the self-proclaimed Empress of the universe. This is, of course, awesome. 

The Zyurangers, however, are not high school students. They are the champions of the 5 tribes of dinosaur-evolved humans  who lived in peace alongside the regular dinosaurs. After 170 million years of suspended animation, they are awakened when their ancient nemesis, Bandora the witch, plops her palace/skyscraper down in Tokyo, and rides a flying pennyfarthing bicycle around the city to inform all the citizens that she hates them. 

Oh, also, Bandora got her powers from a deal she made with Satan. Not a satan allegory, not a character that just happens the look like Satan, but actual Satan. But that’s understandable, she just wanted revenge on the dinosaurs for the death of her son. 

In Mighty Morphin’, Rita is accompanied by an entourage of yes-monsters, including Goldar, a griffon-ish thing that looks scary, but is hilariously inept and mostly harmless.

In Zyuranger, however, Bandora is assisted by a mostly goofy team of comic relief monsters, with the notable exception of the commander of her armies, Grifforzer. He is incredibly strong, a brilliant tactician, and is one of the few monsters to withstand the Megazord’s finishing move. Goldar is a joke, Grifforzer is a big deal. 

In Mighty Morphin’, the rangers given the zords, powerful mecha based on prehistoric creatures, that combine Voltron-style into a mighty robot known as the Megazord. 

In Zyuranger, however, the champions combine the five guardian beasts to form Daizyuzin, the physical manifestation of the ruling god of the original tribes. He first appears to Tyrannoranger in a vision of the apocalyptic future Bandora will bring about if victorious. He instructs Tyranno to on how to summon his physical form which from then on they do all the time to finish off the bad guys with a sword slash that cuts lightning into monsters. Somehow. Who cares, they explode. 

Daizyuzin is also his own sentient entity, unlike his american counterpart. He often challenges and advises the Zyurangers to push them to their ultimate potential. Let me tell you a crazy story…

In Mighty Morphin’, Tommy Oliver becomes the green ranger after being kidnapped and brainwashed by Rita. The rangers clash with him over the course of a couple episodes, he beats them all up so easily, but eventually they’re able to destroy Tommy’s sword and free him from Rita’s mind control. 

In Zyuranger, however, Burai, the brother of Tyrannoranger, willingly joins Bandora to fight against his brother and the other zyurangers. He still gets a sword, but instead of brainwashing him to serve Bandora, it just drives him hideously insane. 

Tyranno tries to befriend him, but he’s insane now, so he says no. With a laserblast.

Daizyuzin steps in and orders Tyranno to kill Burai, Tyranno doesn’t want to, Daizyuzin says “Tough, I’m God, you have to,” and “punishes” Tyranno for his insolence. Meanwhile, Bandora traps the guardian beasts in lava and has a party on the moon. Burai gets rowdy at the party and is forcibly ejected through space and lands on Earth. He is met by a tiny person in white who drags him into a cave where time stands still, tells him he’s going to die in 32 hours, and gives him a magical flute-dagger that summons mecha-godzilla. 

Long story short, Burai joins the Zyuranger’s after a neat fight and half a season of opposition.

In Mighty Morphin’, the Power Rangers were doing this:

In the last episode of the first season of Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers, Bulk and Skull help Zack kiss Angela.

In the last episode of Zyuranger, They blow up the Devil and kill Bandora’s son. Again. And Daizyuzin captures Bandora and her crew in a vase and launches it into space. 

The series is the perfect introduction to the Super Sentai series, and if you can get your hands on it, call up some friends, and just let the sparks and spandex wash over you. 

'Godzilla' Anime - New Title, Poster and Plot Synopsis Revealed

Well it's about time we got a real update on this! The highly anticipated Godzilla anime has received it's official title and full plot description and I couldn't be more excited. We also got our first look at the main character via a new poster. Check it out!

Anime news network broke the news when the main website godzilla-anime.com updated for the presentation to come within the next few days during AnimeJapan. Here is the translated Story details:

The last summer of the 20th Century. That day, the human beings learn that they are not the only ruler of the planet Earth.The appearance of the giant living creatures “Kaiju's” and the ultimate existence that destroys all monsters: Godzilla. Through the battle against kaiju's that lasted for half a century, human beings has experienced continuous defeat, and finally plans to escape from the Earth. And in 2048, only those who were selected by the A.I. managed under the central government boarded the inter-sidereal emigrant spaceship “Aratrum” to head for “Tau Cetus e”, the planet beyond the distance of 11.9 light-year. However, the environmental condition differences between that of the Earth and Tau e, which they finally arrived after 20 years were far beyond the predicted numbers, and was not an environment considered to be habitable by human beings.The young man on the emigrant ship: Haruo, who saw his parents killed by Godzilla in front of his eyes when he was 4 years old, had only one thing in his mind for 20 years: to return to the Earth and defeat Godzilla. Shut out from the possibility of emigration, as the living environment in the ship deteriorates, the group of “Earth Returnists” led by Haruo became the majority, and determines to head back to Earth through a dangerous long-distance hyperspace navigation. However, the Earth they have returned has already passed the time of 20,000 years, and has become an unknown world with the ecosystem reigned by Godzilla.At the end, will human beings win back the Earth? And what will Haruo see beyond his fate?

This sounds super exciting and matches up with all of the futuristic concept we have seen thus far. I like the idea of the humans leaving earth to avoid destruction by the Kaiju and then getting to the supposed savior world and realizing they could not live there. We haven't seen what this Godzilla looks like yet but if the plot description is anything to go off of, I foresee a super ancient look to him once they return. Maybe he'll have a super traditional look at the beginning though. We'll have to see.

Another big piece of news with this update is that the official full title of the film is 'Godzilla: Kaijū Wakusei (Godzilla: Monster Planet)'. There is also a tagline beneath the title on the poster that reads "We will definitely take back this 'Planet'". The poster also shows off some cool two legged mechs  so I can almost guarantee the main character will probably have a direct confrontation with Godzilla at some point in the film.

'Godzilla: Monster planet' will be released in November 2017 into Japanese cinemas but will arrive sometime later this year worldwide on Netflix. 

Does this new info get you excited for the film? Let us know in the comments below! 

Power Rangers - Boom! Studios Shows Us More Of Their Power Regime

We’ve never talked about the Power Rangers series from Boom! Studios, and Ranger Month seems like a good time to start, since it's actually really good.

The first issue picked up shortly after Tommy joined the original team after being freed from Rita Repulsa’s mind control. It explores Tommy adjusting to his new role as a hero, as well as a free man, while being haunted by the remains of Rita’s brainwashing. But none of that is news. What’s news is the designs recently released by Boom! showing off the designs for the additional “Sentries”.

 I’ll be vague to avoid spoilers, but Tommy and Billy have been transported to an alternate future where Rita, aided by the mysterious Lord Drakkon, has succeeded in conquering the world and established your typical evil Dictatorship, complete with statues of herself all over the dang place.

Oh, and Lord Drakkon looks like this:

Can you guess his theme?

Anywho, in issue #11, we were introduced to these guys.

There are a few of them, all dressed in the same Black Ranger armor, carrying guns reminiscent of Zach’s Axe. They are the Sentries, a kind of militarized police force that seem to patrol the streets and enforce the curfew that all dictators put in place after taking power.  

They’re super cool, and apparently there are more of them.

It looks like Rita got really into Destiny, but man, how cool! I’m really into the idea of there being a “corps” of each color.

Speaking of colors, Writer Kyle Higgins addressed why there were no blue sentry designs released

“All I’ll say is, there’s a reason there AREN’T Triceratops Sentries in our story at this point…"  

New issues are released monthly, with the debut of the new Sentries out now.

Love it? Hate it? Miss Billy? Me too, let’s talk about it in the comments.

'Kong: Skull Island' - Final Trailer Released

Well we are now only a week away from Kong: Skull Island's release date and what better way to celebrate than to release one final trailer! This one definitely shows off some big money shots so people who want to stay spoiler free may want to hold off on watching this trailer. But if you don't care...

Oh man this is gonna be epic! So many cool things! I'm really starting to love the Skullcrawlers.

What did you think of the final trailer?

Analysis Complete - Kong: King of the Apes Season 1

Hello travelers and welcome to the first ever Analysis Complete! I hope your vessels are sea worthy because it's time for the first special report of Kong Month. Actually, scrap the vessels regardless of sea worthiness, because unlike every other version of Kong, this king is land locked.

Kong: King of the Apes is a Netflix original animated series that was released in April of 2016. Season one is made up of 13 episodes, using 3D models, and follows a “problem of the week” narrative structure. Set in the year 2050, the main plot of this show focuses on Kong and his band of environmentally conscious friends duking it out with an evil scientist and his army of robotic dinosaurs.

Spoilers from here on out!

The Above Picture is Deeply Inaccurate...

The Good:

• Environmental Messages: I really like that it seems the writing staff were all fans of Captain Planet growing up. Not an episode goes by without at least one ham-fisted message about protecting the environment and protecting wildlife. This is a pretty common theme with Toho's kaiju films, so it's nice to see it here. Also I support any media aimed at kids that tries to get them to love nature.

• Diverse Cast: Okay this is stretching it a bit. There are two Spanish speakers (...but one is the family maid) and a brother and sister of Chinese-American descent, though the brother is a huge missed opportunity. Oh, and they have an African-American guy who wants to bang a robot lady. Finally, robosexuals getting some screen time in a kids show. Speaking of banging robots...

• Strangely Attractive Robot Dominatrix: This is a kids show right? What's happening here? Her name is Botila, which, I think they only do to set up one Godzilla reference in the later half of the show. Also there is a weird relationship between her and the main villain of the show who built her. Why am I having these feelings?  Is this Stockholm Syndrome?

• The “Bionobot” Opponents: Richard, the evil brother, has an affinity for long dead creatures (mostly) and has created a fleet of pretty cool looking robot dinosaurs. Tyrannosaurus Rex, Triceratops, Pterodactyls, a few Megalodon, and a Giant robotic squid. While I do like the designs, I have to stress that they copy and paste the models all over making the impact of these monsters run thin pretty quickly.

The Bad:

• Overuse of Iconic Scenes: Every episode, and I mean every single one, has a reference to Kong hanging off of the Empire State Building. The thing is, this show takes place in San Francisco and on “Kong Island” which is just a re-purposed Alcatraz. The animators seem to only vaguely remember the 1933 movie and went off of that for the character actions of Kong.

• Everything about this Kong is Wrong: In the first episode Kong manages to speak (saying “Kong!” in response to what his name should be), then reverts to just monkey noises for the rest of the season. He grows in weird spurts that look like the animators randomly resized the model. His face is way too cute even though he's supposed to be frightening.

• “Problem of the Week" is Weak: I can't understand how they missed the opportunity to make this a “Monster of the Week” show. You have an evil scientist who can build robot versions of dinosaurs, clone dead animals, and fit living animals with control collars It really must come down to budget, and that's a real shame.

• Pretty Much Everything About the Animation After the First Episode:They use the same models, but Kong has a weird glide to him every time he runs and character models never directly interact leaving moments where people hover just above Kong's body. Mouths flap with little regard for what the characters are saying.

• Evil Brother is Evil Because...why?: The brother seems to have no real reason for being evil outside of the need for a villain. I don't need a complex layered antagonist, just some basic rational. Kid's aren't dumb, they can pick up on things if you put them there.

• The Animal Whisperer: Danny Quon, arguably the replacement main character after the first episode, is welcomed onto the team as a “certified animal whisperer”. This is ridiculous for so many reasons, but I'm going to stick to three.

1. That's not a real thing

2. Everyone can already understand Kong and Kong can understand them.

3. This one is more personal, but what a waste. If they wanted to have someone talk with Kong, why not have Danny teach Kong sign language. They are pushing an environmental angle and trying to have an inclusive cast of characters that speak different languages, so it would have been nice to have one more positive, inclusive message (and a reference to Koko the gorilla would have been nice for the kiddos).

• The Intro: In my 29 years on this planet I have never seen a lazier intro. It's a hyper cut of the very first episode with some of the show's low key background music. I've never seen a show skip out on the bear minimum of a intro credit song but we don't even get that.

The Weird:

• This Series is a Sisyphean Nightmare: Every episode ends with a character saying that something is going to change, but at the intro of the next episode all character progress is forgotten. But, no one has it worse than Botila, the Robot Dominatrix. At the mid-way point the writers decide that the show should have her turn on Richard. They keep flirting with this idea over and over, ending each episode with a sequence where she says that she's going to do something about him. Then she's just back into the fold at the start of the next episode. To be fair, they do have one episode where she takes over Richard's evil empire, but they roll that back by the end of the day.

• Achievement Unlocked: As each episode plays you unlock these “Power Ups” that allow you to watch post-credit fight between Kong and an antagonist. These work like achievements in video games. If you get through the full episode, you get to unlock a special video with the power ups. I actually kinda like this gimmick? I would be down to see this in other Netflix shows, but instead of just a fight sequence maybe have it be tiny “Making Of” videos for the episode.

• Kong's Bevy of Merchandise Based Technology: While, to this point in time, there is no Kong: King of the Apes merch (other than some children's pajamas) it is pretty clear that the show was built to sell Kong toys and peripheral attachments. Over the course of the show Kong goes through several tech upgrades including: Laser proof wrist bracelets, a helicopter harness, a Jet pack, and an Invisibility cloak. I know this is just how kid's shows make money, but it comes off as poorly thought out when you see Kong (who is supposed to have the intelligence of a 3 year old) zooming around on a jet pack.

Final Thoughts:

So that's the show, a lazy poorly thought out mess. I'm having a hard time recommending it to anyone as it's not a good show, or even bad enough to be funny. As a kid's show it's visually entertaining enough to keep younger viewers distracted, so maybe it would work if you are a baby sitter taking a smoke break? I'm sure there are better ways to spend 7 and a half hours of your life, like watching any other Kong cartoons...

This has been Analysis Complete, and next time, we will be going back in time to the far off year of 2000.

'Power Rangers' - 3rd Trailer and Several New Posters Released!

Well here was another surprise this week! We got a new 'Power Rangers' trailer out of no where and of course with a new comes new posters. Take a look at all the goodies!

Man these last 2 trailers have really put the fun back into this movie! There are some cool new shots in here including Jason activating his power sword. Can't wait till March 24th!

These two posters are really cool and probably the best ones we have gotten so far. Too bad they are international posters and won't be seen anywhere in the US. Man why are the international posters always so much cooler than the US...

Lastly we got some new individual ranger posters which I prefer over the weird white background ones we got before.

What do think of all the new goodies? Did these new things get you more excited for the film?

Pushin’ ‘em for Summer Slam: Legendary Reveals The New Jaegers of 'Pacific Rim Uprising'!

Well ladies and gentleman, I’ve stopped squealing long enough to tell you all some wonderful news: Legendary has seen fit to finally show us the real stars of the upcoming Pacific Rim: Uprising.

Three of them even! I thought for sure we’d only get one as a little teaser once we got closer to the release date, but luckily I’m always wrong! Even though it's only one picture of what looks like concept art, they all look like extras from Super Robot Wars and I, for one, am thrilled. Let’s get to speculatin’!

This one is clearly a direct upgrade of Gypsy Danger, the main hero mech of the first movie. She’s a little sleeker, a little less top heavy, and I think a little less cartoony than Gypsy 1 (anime-looking, sure, but not as cartoony).

This skinny jim looks to be the quick striker of the group. I’m hoping that fin on the back means some kind of booster for Gundam-esque darting around. Big Red seems to be an analogue of Striker Eureka, the scrappy little Australian mech with the chest missiles and knuckle blades, and my second favorite mech in the movie.

This one’s my favorite. Let’s call her Zarya. She looks like a big slugger in the same vein as Cherno Alpha, Russia’s hulking, concrete garbage can. What’s really intriguing is what looks like a second cockpit in her abdomen. I have no idea what exactly that could mean, but a four person Jaeger sounds rad. As much as I love a good punch, a grappling mech would be a fun change of pace. And Rob and I would have a field day with Wrestlemania references.

So there they are. After seeing the pictures of John Boyega on set I was excited, but with these three I’ve officially crossed over into Fully Hyped. I can’t wait to gush about new pictures and promos until Uprising smashes into theaters on February 28 next year.

Love ‘em? Hate ‘em? Don’t feel anything? I’m sorry to hear that, let’s talk about it in the comments.