# Your favorite Japanese monsters **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 26, 2014, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-japanese-monsters/687017 "2014-04-26T03:23:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2014, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-japanese-monsters/687017/1 "2014-04-26T03:23:23Z")
Next weekend, in my city, I will be attending a fun event, the “Godzilla and Friends” film festival. It features movies, contests, and speakers on the subject. I’ve always liked these movies, and thanks to the festival have seen some good ones that were never released in the US, although I suppose you can buy the DVD’s. This year I want to see two especially. One is _Godzilla vs Biollante_, a sequel to the Japanese Godzilla 1985, that rebooted the franchise. There will also be the first Gamera film. I was always partial to Gamera, and four years ago saw the new _Gamera the Brave_ at this festival, and just ordered it from Amazon. No Mothra this year:( But there will be plenty of other Godzilla films, and a preview of the upcoming movie to be released on May 16th. So, do you have favorite Japanese monsters, or their movies? ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2014, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-japanese-monsters/687017/2 "2014-04-26T03:32:52Z")
I love the Gargantuas. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2014, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-japanese-monsters/687017/3 "2014-04-26T03:37:46Z")
Daimajin all the way. I would lovvvvvve to get the movie on DVD. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2014, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-japanese-monsters/687017/4 "2014-04-26T03:47:26Z")
Ghidira, because I loved the sound he made. ---
**Author:** ![MrKnowItAll](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrknowitall/32/87_2.png) [@MrKnowItAll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrKnowItAll)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2014, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-japanese-monsters/687017/5 "2014-04-26T03:55:35Z")
How about the Japanese version of King Kong? Since he’s about the same size as Godzilla, he’s much larger than the American version. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2014, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-japanese-monsters/687017/6 "2014-04-26T04:01:06Z")
I’m a Rodan man, myself. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2014, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-japanese-monsters/687017/7 "2014-04-26T04:08:40Z")
My ex 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2014, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-japanese-monsters/687017/8 "2014-04-26T04:11:09Z")
I’m a huge fan of the sound effects from those movies. Each one had a unique roar that I can still hear today. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2014, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-japanese-monsters/687017/9 "2014-04-26T04:17:23Z")
I remember seeing the first Mothra film on TV. A young actor, whose professional name was Frankie Sakai, played a reporter. Now I imagine these films were the kind of shows people “paid their dues” in. Before they got big roles. And I saw Mr. Sakai many years later in the TV miniseries Shogun, in which he played an important rold as Yabu-san, the noble who turned traitor on Toranaga, and has a good suicide scene. He was rotten to the core, especially as he had one of Blackthorn’s crew boiled alive. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2014, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-japanese-monsters/687017/10 "2014-04-26T04:29:26Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > Now I imagine these films were the kind of shows people “paid their dues” in. Before they got big roles. That’s certainly true for the films as the genre gets older, but Takashi Shimura was in the 1954 _Godzilla_ and in _Godzilla Raids Again_ after he’d already starred in both _Rashomon_ and _The Seven Samurai_. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2014, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-japanese-monsters/687017/11 "2014-04-26T04:36:50Z")
Gamera. A giant fanged turtle that flies by shooting fire out of its leg holes; somebody was high when they came up with that shit. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2014, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-japanese-monsters/687017/12 "2014-04-26T05:21:35Z")
Big Man Japan is my current favorite, but I’m a sucker for Godzilla as well. I’m jealous and hope you have a fantastic time at the festival. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2014, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-japanese-monsters/687017/13 "2014-04-26T06:25:21Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Gamera. A giant fanged turtle that flies by shooting fire out of its leg holes; somebody was high when they came up with that shit. My favorite moment in all of Japanese Monster Moviedom. Gamera gets down on the ground; withdraws head, tail and legs; shoots flames out of the resulting apertures; starts spinning, more and more rapidly until he’s effectively a burning disc; levitates and flies away like a flying saucer. As he flies off, a scientist who’s watched all this says… “An amazing adaptation!” ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2014, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-japanese-monsters/687017/14 "2014-04-26T14:04:55Z")
> [@treacherouscretin](#): > > my favorite moment in all of japanese monster moviedom. Gamera gets down on the ground; withdraws head, tail and legs; shoots flames out of the resulting apertures; starts spinning, more and more rapidly until he’s effectively a burning disc; levitates and flies away like a flying saucer. > As he flies off, a scientist who’s watched all this says… > > “an amazing adaptation!” science! ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2014, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-japanese-monsters/687017/15 "2014-04-26T14:12:50Z")
Another vote for Gamera. A gigantic, bipedal turtle who can fly both by spinning like a UFO or by shooting flames out of his rear extremities and shoots plasma out of his chest is truly inspired insanity, even for the Japanese. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2014, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-japanese-monsters/687017/16 "2014-04-26T15:14:56Z")
> [@scabpicker](#): > > I’m a Rodan man, myself. Yeah, Rodan! He’s so cool. He doesn’t every have to TRY to wreck things. He just flies over stuff and the shock wave from his passing knocks buildings over. It’s like Rodan isn’t working to fuck shit up. He just fucks shit up as a natural side effect of doing his day-to-day Rodan business. That’s cool. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2014, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-japanese-monsters/687017/17 "2014-04-26T19:53:48Z")
I’ll admit a liking for Gamera; he’s just so stupid a concept that you can’t help but liking it. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2014, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-japanese-monsters/687017/18 "2014-04-26T20:30:06Z")
Gamera is really neat! He is full of turtle meat! Also, Gamera is friend to all children! How can you not like that? ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2014, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-japanese-monsters/687017/19 "2014-04-26T21:52:09Z")
Yet another Gamera here. In addition, I couldn’t stand Jet Jaguar but it sure made for a great MST3K episode and parody song. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2014, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-japanese-monsters/687017/20 "2014-04-27T01:02:56Z")
I was never a Gamera guy, but the enthusiasm here for that big turtle has inspired me. I picked up a copy of _Gamera The Ultimate Collection_ in the bargain bin. I’ll take it with me to watch when I’m on the road next month and come back to post a review. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-japanese-monsters/687017.md?page=2)