'Shin Godzilla'- American Theatrical Dates Announced!

Funimation has announced the full details of the theatrical run of 'Shin Godzilla'! Check out the press release and the american poster below! 

“SHIN GODZILLA” STOMPS ACROSS NORTH AMERICA THIS OCTOBER

LOS ANGELES, CA – September 2, 2016. The iconic science fiction monster Godzilla makes land fall in the U.S. and Canada this October with the North American theatrical release of “SHIN GODZILLA” from Toho Company, Ltd. Fans have been clamoring for news of the film’s theatrical dates ever since Funimation® Films made its surprise acquisition announcement in July at San Diego Comic Con 2016. And today, the company revealed that “SHIN GODZILLA” will roar into theaters for a limited engagement on October 11 – 18. The movie will screen in more than 440 theaters across the U.S. and Canada. Tickets for “SHIN GODZILLA” will be available for prepurchase on the official film website beginning on September 9.

“We are thrilled to bring ‘SHIN GODZILLA’ to theaters across North America this October,” said Gen Fukunaga, CEO and President of Funimation. “Toho established Godzilla as one of the most iconic monsters in science fiction history and we’re honored to now be a part of that history with the theatrical release of this new movie. Fans will not want to miss this limited theatrical event.“

Co‐directed by Hideaki Anno (creator of “EVANGELION”) and Shinji Higuchi (director of Toho’s 2015 “ATTACK ON TITAN” live action movies), “SHIN GODZILLA” is the 29th Godzilla film produced by Toho and represents a brand new chapter in the 62‐year history of this celebrated movie monster. The film stars Hiroki Hasegawa and Satomi Ishihara — both also from the “ATTACK ON TITAN” live action movies — as well as Yutaka Takenouchi.

“Movie audiences can look forward to a great time watching ’SHIN GODZILLA’ this October,” said Mike DuBoise, EVP and COO of Funimation. “A larger than life monster like Godzilla has to be experienced on the big screen. And we expect this movie to sellout in numerous theaters so we encourage fans to purchase tickets in advance.”

SHIN GODZILLA has been a big hit in Japan since its opening on July 29, 2016, which garnered a box office of ¥ 845,675,500 and total audience of 564,332 during its first three days. To date in Japan, the movie has grossed ¥5,302,014,700 at the box office and 3,637,748 in total attendance.

In advance of the movie’s opening, Funimation will be hosting two premieres of “SHIN GODZILLA” — on October 3 in Los Angeles and on October 5 in New York before opening day of New York Comic Con 2016. Additional details on these two events to be announced.

To purchase tickets to or find more information on “SHIN GODZILLA,” visit funimationfilms.com/shingodzilla.

Like us on Facebook at Facebook at facebook.com/funimation, and follow them on Twitter at twitter.com/funimation and Instagram at instagram.com/funimation.

This is of course super awesome news and we here at Tokyo Lives can't wait to see the new film on the big screen. We aren't 100% sure on our plans yet but we will be keeping you all posted and will be happy to talk to our fans at whatever screening we end up going to. Keep an eye on Tokyo Lives for further updates!

'Shin Godzilla' Bits: Box Office Results, Behind The Scenes Clip, and More!

This has been a whirlwind couple of weeks for us here at Tokyo Lives, and we are attempting to stay on top of the major news items as they happen. We have been going through some changes on the back side of things but please bear with us and make sure you stay tuned to the site for everything Giant Monster related (including a new podcast episode releasing later this week) . Now that I have gotten the disclaimer out of the way let's talk more about 'Shin Godzilla'! I know that most of the internet is trying to avoid spoilers for the new Godzilla film, so I will be staying spoiler free until the very end of this article where I will very clearly mark that you are heading into some spoiler-ish territory. Let's get started!

First up I'd like to share some Spoiler free reactions to the film that have come from a variety of sources. 'Shin Godzilla' has been very well received in Japan and is even being hailed as a masterpiece by some. Other however were not so impressed.

SHIN GOJIRA was an amazing film. The city rampage sequences are SPECTACULAR. This incarnation of Godzilla is the most terrifying version since the original. The story is heavy on dialogue between the various agencies and governments trying to deal with the threat, and I could not make out many key moments due to language limitations. There were many surprises, and it was not predictable by any means. There were aspects of the film that will be controversial, and it is definitely an entry in the series that will divide fans. I do like the film and what it adds to the overall mythos of Godzilla.   

Next:

After a few hours of sleep and thinking it over here is my spoiler free take on Shin Gojira…..this is a very unique spin on the character. It’s hard to make a full judgment on the film without seeing it subtitled and a chunk of the story I didn’t understand. It’s a film that is heavy on dialogue. There are some wonderful nods to the original film and fun Easter eggs. However I need another viewing of the film.
I can only say that I enjoyed the film. Was it my absolute favorite, not at all, but it isn’t a mess either. With that being said, this film will definitely be divided among fans much like G2014 and final wars was.
There is some wonderful tension in the movie and very unexpected elements. Visually; the cinematography is some of the best in be series in my opinion. The filmmakers get artistic with shots and camera movements and that was something great to see. It also helped engage the audience during the dialogue scenes. But expect things you never saw before for the franchise.
Overall the special effects are good and Godzilla is just this walking death machine. He is massive and you really feel his presence.
There are things about the film that drive me nuts especially with the way he moves but I won’t get into those due to spoiling the film. My major complaint is that the ending is anti climatic. Though the film ends on what is very symbolic shot but it is certainly creepy.
I could go more in depth on the film but I hate the trend nowadays on social media with spoiling films for the mass majority. Movies are meant to be experienced together and to surprise it’s audience. In a culture full of instant gratification we need to take a step back and relinquish that. Shin Gojia either you love it, hate it, or are middle of be road, you should view it for yourself as the filmmakers attended.
The experience of seeing this film is something I won’t ever forget.  

And finally a brief comment from a Japanese fan on 2chan: 

This is a great movie, but I'm not sure if it's a Godzilla. I could accept 2014, but not this. Also, while I was worried about it, I didn't think he'd ACTUALLY stick Evangelion in.                                                                                                                       

These are just a few of the great reviews that can be found around the web, but be wary because it is hard to talk about a lot of the film without getting into spoilers. It really seems like this Godzilla film needs to be seen in order to form a full opinion. 

The positive reaction from Japan has resulted in huge box office numbers, which is good news for everyone involved. 'Shin Godzilla' has already raked in $22.9 million as of Tuesday 8/9 -  a huge amount of money for the Japanese box office. It may seem tiny by american standards but keep in mind that reports are saying this film only cost around $10 million to make, so it is already on it's way to making a good profit for Toho. Even if you are not that excited about this specific film, this profit will allow Toho to make another film after this and truly start a new era of Godzilla films.

 There was also a new behind the scenes clip released that shows how the CG model of Shin-Goji was created and added into the real footage. This is really impressive when you consider that Japan has never really had the infrastructure for CGI effects before, but clearly they are well on their way to establishing it. I severely doubt we will be getting another fully Suitmation Godzilla film (especially with how well received the effects in 'Shin Godzilla' are).

  Now for the fun stuff...

 

WARNING! SPOILERS BELOW!

 

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One of the more controversial aspects of the new film is that Godzilla has two additional forms in before he evolves into the final form that we have seen in all of the trailers. We had a couple images of the Bandai vinyls but no concrete look at their actual designs in the film itself. Just yesterday some fairly high resolution images of the maquettes used for the CG creatures made their way online. Check them out:

I definitely am getting a Baby Godzilla ('Godzilla Vs MechaGodzilla 2') vibe from the second form which is cool and really hits that nostalgia button. The first form, which has been dubbed "Turkey-zilla" by fans, is strange and I don't really like it. I do really like the gills on both of them, but I hate that Shin-Goji's tiny arms are even smaller on both of these designs.

Last thing I'll leave you with in this little spoiler section is a quick image and video showing off Shin-Goji's destructive atomic breath. Not much to say but this is going to be a spectacular scene to watch in full when the movie releases stateside.

LEAVING SPOILERS!

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Well what do you guys think of Shin Godzilla so far? Let us know in the comments below!

'Godzilla: Resurgence' - Behind The Scenes And Trailer 2 Footage Breakdown

Time for the honored tradition of taking screenshots from a trailer and over-analyzing them. 'Godzilla: Resurgence' has a new trailer (Watch it here) that released early this morning and they also had a short behind-the-scenes special on a morning radio show (Watch that one here). There is a ton of new footage and plenty to talk about so let's dive in.

We open the trailer with a nice low angle shot of Godzilla's head with his hand in the foreground. I think this is the only shot of his hand that it doesn't look like a little baby hand (yeah I'm not gonna let the size of his arms and hands go) and it's a nice shot to start us off with. We get a couple of reused Godzilla shots from the previous trailer after this, with one cool perspective shot of Godzilla and his tail peaking through the buildings as the crowd runs away. Afterwards we get to watch a group of people talking about something, but unfortunately we still have no idea what is going on. Just like the first trailer, this one is completely devoid of dialogue and that makes the middle of the trailer especially hard to get through. But I'll tell you what there is a lot of... I'll give you one guess...

Boardroom scenes! You get a boardroom and you get a boardroom! Seriously though, in this trailer alone there are four completely different boardroom sets/scenes and to be honest it worries me. To me, this makes it seem like the main cast members are going to be away from the action every time, which will definitely cause a major disconnect when we cut from one to the other. The best Godzilla attack moments usually come when we have a person on the ground is involved in the action, like a military commander that gets to be right at the forefront when the tanks and helicopters do their thing. Speaking of helicopters next up we have an awesome shot from the TV spots.

I love, and I do mean love, how much the camera is moving around with the military vehicles during the attack sequences we have seen. This juxtaposes well with Godzilla's overall lack of movement (other than his tail...man that thing is crazy!) and makes the scenes exciting to watch. This movie is definitely going to be visually stunning!

I know everybody loves the charging shot from later in the trailer, but this is actually my favorite shot from this new trailer. The mini-gun bullets are literally bouncing off of his face! It reminds me of one of the cooler scenes from 'Superman Returns' (some might say the only good scene) where the bullet bounces off of his eye and Superman doesn't even flinch. Speaking of not flinching:

We now see a group of shots where Godzilla is bombarded to the face and knees, all of which show off some pretty impressive CGI explosions. Godzilla takes all these hits and keeps on coming like a champ! I think that these scenes are actually helped by this Godzilla designs apparent lack of movement as it really gives you the feeling that this monster is unstoppable. If all that ordinance does nothing, then what will? How can they stop this immovable object?

Just like I said in the TV spot article, this design really shines in the night sequences. These shots are some of the few from which I actually feel the terror that the design is trying to portray. This shot reminds me of the scene in 'Godzilla 1985' when he arrives at the nuclear plant and steps on the hapless worker.

Man this shot is cool! It radiates demonic vibe, and that is a very good thing. Now this would be something that would fundamentally frighten me if I saw this from the rooftop of a building. Love the glowing red parts of his body at night (very 'Godzilla vs Destoroyah').

We end on the roar shot from the first trailer but it looks less awkward now that we can see the beginning and end of the roar. I don't know why they didn't use this slightly extended version in the first trailer, since it looks better with just 5 seconds more of footage. 

Now we get to the biggest talking point of the trailer, Godzilla's beam charges up purple! In my humble opinion, I don't think that we are actually getting a fully purple beam but the glowing purple images are extremely striking. I think that the beam is going to start out purple at the base of his mouth and then turn blue as it goes farther out from his mouth. The reason he charges up purple is of course because this Godzilla is constantly glowing red. Red+Blue = Purple. This would also make sense given that a purple chemical flame is hotter than a blue flame, so naturally the farther the beam is from the source (Godzilla's gaping maw) the cooler and less intense the beam will be.

Now finally we have some shots from the little behind the scenes morning show clip. All of the good images are super far away shots to show the scale of Godzilla as he comes ashore. Please excuse the poor quality of the images and the little bits of text that sneak their way into the images.

Unfortunately this design still looks extremely silly from the front. If I were Anno (the director of 'Godzilla: Resurgence') I would have avoided this angle at all costs but it actually seems to be one of his favorite shots for an approaching Godzilla. Which is weird when it is followed by the following beautiful image.

Now that is a Godzilla silhouette that I can get behind! This is the first long distance shot of the Shin-Goji design that I have actually been stunned by. He really looks like '84 Goji, and I (personally) love it.

There are two other really cool sequences that I couldn't get a worthy grab of from the behind the scenes: a shot of Godzilla walking and making shingles fall off a building, as well as a quick scene with one of the main actors seeing Godzilla's head (very similar to the 'Gojira (1954)' puppet shots) and speaking a line of dialogue. Both of these are very interesting and I can't wait to see them in better quality at some point in the future.

I can't wait to hear fans reactions to the full film when it releases in Japan on July 29th. What did you guys think of the trailer? Do you agree that the breath may still turn blue throughout Godzilla's beam? Let us know in the comments below.

'Godzilla: Resurgence' Trailer 2 - Purple?!

Well this week is officially awesome! First we get two TV spots and now we get a final trailer for 'Godzilla: Resurgence.' Check it out!

There sure is a lot of cool stuff in this trailer! The human side of the story does look a bit worrisome though (boardrooms galore!).

Keep an eye out for my full trailer breakdown later today!

'Godzilla: Resurgence' - New TV Spots And Images Revealed

Well, we are now only 9 days away from the late night showings of 'Godzilla Resurgence' premiering in Japan. Super exciting! Toho seems to have finally jumped on the marketing train with some new footage in the form of three 30 second long TV Spots and a couple of new promotional images.

The first of the three TV Spots is honestly nothing to write home about, as it only uses footage from the official trailer. The other two are a different story entirely. We get some really nice glimpses at never before seen action shots, and a few good profile shots of Shin-Goji's head. I think what really needs to be said about these three spots is that this film is going to have a really unique style, and the cinematography is going to be of a quality never seen before in a Toho released Godzilla film. That shot of him walking from the prospective of a car driving by is particularly great.

I have been very vocal with my dislike of the Shin-Gojira design as a whole, and unfortunately these spots really do not change my mind. Everything we have seen of the full body looks super awkward and stiff (which is saying something since this creature is created mostly through CGI), save for his tail which moves every chance it gets. The head looks pretty fantastic from a side profile but from the front it still appears goofy, since he apparently can't close his gaping mouth. The design does look like it is going to shine at night (pun intended), a true sight to behold with all of his glowing red spots. His eyes definitely still evoke 54, and that's fine by me (though I still wish they were about 10% bigger). I'm still holding out for some great body movement from Godzilla himself in the full film, but for now there is still a lot of awkwardness to this design. 

Toho has also been shoving 'Godzilla: Resurgence' articles into every magazine possible within the last few weeks, and, as such, we have gotten a few more glances at this design in action. Both of these covers give a nice look at what this design will look like when he finally turns his head.

I do wonder what Toho was thinking with the marketing of the movie. Why did they wait until the last second to do all this awesome marketing? I know they were probably trying to do something akin to 'Godzilla (2014)'s marketing which managed to keep a lot of secrets for the film, but I think they missed the mark. The thing that was so great about 2014's marketing was the constant trickle of new info. A new TV Spot here and a new poster there, it kept people talking about the film up until the release. I'm very interested to see how well the film does in Japan with this super last minute marketing blitz.

'Godzilla: Resurgence' releases in Japan on July 29th.