Welcome back to Hammer Drops, where we navigate the rocky waters of the collectibles biz with realized prices to guide us! Today we’re looking back a couple of years to make a point about notability, bubbles, and sustained value by answering the question “What’s the difference between $17.50 worth of Beanie Babies & $130 worth…
Welcome to Tokusatsu Gesundheit, back for Halloween with the final flick in the Godzilla’s Heisei Series, 1995’s Godzilla Vs. Destroyah! Plot Rundown Japan and the rest of the world have two major problems coming to a head at once: In the wake of a nuclear incident that obliterated Birth Island, Godzilla’s biological nuclear reactor has…
Highlights The use of “Titans” as a loose species name for the Kaiju of the Monsterverse, covering literally every creature of every morphology, sets it apart from its Japanese counterpart and most other franchises that use giant monsters. King Ghidorah, Mothra, and Rodan make their debut in American created media (well, other than the IDW…
Welcome to Tokusatsu Gesundheit, where we’re continuing our extended look at the Heisei-era Godzilla series with Godzilla Vs. Mechagodzilla II. Plot Rundown G-Force, the U.N.’s military answer to the ongoing Godzilla problem, has two super-weapon projects in final stages: Garuda, a high-tech fighter/bomber meant for fighting kaiju, and Mechagodzilla, a 100% robotic Godzilla based on…
Welcome to Tokusatsu Gesundheit, where we return to our regularly scheduled trip through the Heisei Godzilla series with 1989 feature Godzilla vs. Biollante. Plot Rundown Shortly after Godzilla’s 1984 rampage, agents of the American corporation Bio-Major and the Middle Eastern nation Saradia battle it out for control of Godzilla DNA samples (or G-Cells). This leads…
Welcome to Tokusatsu Gesundheit, where today we’re giving Toei a rest (though they are the most easily found Toku maker in America) and paying a visit to Toho’s Chouseishin franchise with Sazer-X: The Movie! Plot Rundown An ancient alien energy vampire known as Bosquito is menacing Earth! The creature is attacking Earth on two fronts:…
Welcome to Tokusatsu Gesundheit, where this week we’re looking at Japan’s newest Godzilla feature, Shin Godzilla! Plot Rundown A giant, radioactive creature enters Tokyo, causing plenty of damage even before it makes landfall. The Japanese government must come up with a solution to this unprecedented problem, as the situation (and the creature itself) rapidly evolves.…
Welcome to Tokusatsu Gesundheit, where we’re deviating heavily from the usual format to talk about an American feature film still in theaters right now. However, it’s not every summer that an American studio knocks it out of the park with a Kaiju picture, much less one set in the wider Godzilla franchise, so Kong: Skull…
Welcome to Tokusatsu Gesundheit, where even American monsters are seen through a Japanese lens. Today, in honor of the Halloween season, we’re watching the 1965 Toho/UPA coproduction Frankenstein Conquers The World. Plot Rundown In the waning days of World War II, the still-beating heart of Frankenstein’s Monster is given to the Japanese army by the…
Welcome to Tokusatsu Gesundheit, where your intrepid author was a bit busier than he expected to be this week. As such, we’re going to discuss the 1961 kaiju classic, Mothra! Plot Rundown A joint Japanese/Rolisican (stand-in for the U.S.A.) expedition to a mysterious island and atomic bomb test site in the South Pacific discovers a…