The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies - 3rd Edition by John Lemay (Paperback)

About the Book

From the 1950s onwards, far eastern filmmakers from Japan, China, and Korea-but mostly Japan-cranked out a bevy of dai kaiju ("giant strange beast") movies. This guidebook covers not only all the Godzilla and Gamera movies produced during Japan's Showa Era (1954-1989), but other Asian monsters as well.

Book Synopsis

From the 1950s onwards, far eastern filmmakers from Japan, China, and Korea--but mostly Japan--cranked out a bevy of dai kaiju ("giant strange beast") movies. This guidebook covers not only all the Godzilla and Gamera movies produced during Japan's Showa Era (1954-1989), but also offshoots like Yongary, Monster From the Deep (1967), Agon, the Atomic Dragon (1968), Daigoro vs. Goliath (1972), Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds (1977), and more! Also covered are a bevy of famous tokusatsu ("special effects") films like Invisible Man vs. the Human Fly (1957), Submersion of Japan (1973), and Virus (1980). From classics like King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) to obscure rarities like 6 Ultra Brothers vs. the Monster Army (1974), this book has got it all!

Review Quotes

"With The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies, LeMay takes a fresh look at the daikaiju genre, providing both critical analysis and interesting behind the scenes information on the making of these films. Fans of the genre will find all the usual Godzilla and Gamera films here, along with many lesser-known genre entries finally getting their due."--Martin Arlt, Editor of Mad Scientist Magazine

"John LeMay's wonderful The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies Vol. 1: 1954-1980 is a love letter to all those great Showa Era sci-fi, fantasy, and horror movies from the Land of the Rising Sun. LeMay's enthusiasm is contagious, his prose pumped, his insights enjoyable. And besides all that, LeMay offers great trivia about these movies, some of which even an oldster like me didn't know! Highly recommended nostalgic fun for new and old fans alike. Now I can't wait for Volume 2!"--Mike Bogue, author of Atomic Drive-In

"John LeMay has done it again! The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies is loaded with fun facts, well written reviews and loads of interesting historical footnotes and trivia. John has this informal yet formal writing style that makes the book a breeze to read and yet well layered as well. I kind of hate him for making it look so easy! I highly recommend this book, and hopefully it will come out in a nondigital edition for us old fogies that like to hold actual books when we read them!"--David McRobie, Editor of Xenorama Magazine

"A very readable and informative book on tokusatsu films (mostly kaiju) up to 1980. Synopses are brief and to the point, criticism is interesting and balanced, and there are lots of fun facts. Much research went into this book, and even people with well versed in kaiju eiga will learn new things and have an enjoyable read."--J.D. Lees, Editor of G-Fan Magazine