The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies Vol 2: 1984-2014 (Big Book of Japanese Giant Monsters)

While I enjoyed Volume 2 I was nowhere near as enamored with it as I was Volume 1. This is likely due to my fondness of the vintage dai Kaiju movies, and it seemed that LeMay needed to have an editor take another couple passes at this volume as there were many textual errors (to be fair they were there in the first volume but it was easier for me to overlook). Regardless of these criticisms I can still wholeheartedly recommend this tome as it provides the same service as the first volume did for a greater variety of Japanese giant monster (and pseudo-giant monster) fare, quite a bit of which has been hard to find on the shores of North America. The obvious entries of the Godzilla (up through 2014) and Gamera series are covered as are quite a few of the Ultraman theatrical releases (I saw one once, not being a fan or anything of it, and can say it was quite good) and a slew of smaller and lesser known monster movies such as Gehara, Reigo, Demeking and Death Kappa.LeMay's format remains the same as the first volume and it works very well. He starts off with the movie title and a brief list of performers, gives a truncated movie synopsis, gives a longer and often very interesting background to the film, a brief final word, and finally notes of interest to fans of each film. IMO it feels just a little rushed compared to Volume 1 but it's a labor of love and I appreciate that LeMay has shared it with us.

As in the case of a motion picture sequel which is inferior to the original, so it is with this second volume in the author's series on Japanese giant monster films. Even though I also rated the first volume three stars, this volume comes across feeling like it was written all in one sitting, supported by several pots of coffee. It has a very rushed feel to it, and this, combined with the fact that it suffers from exactly the same problems as the first volume: misspellings (e.g. he spells lepidopterans 'leopedeprians' and consistently misspells character Miki Saegusa's name 'Seguesa') , bad grammar (his sentences sometimes are incomplete, go in circles or occasionally make no sense at all) , vocabulary (he calls a funeral dirge a 'barge'), and a feeling sometimes that the reviewer is not familiar with the material (his reviews seem lacking or incomplete, missing several opportunities to make comparisons with other scifi films, or different genres), all makes for an often disappointing read. Again, as with the first volume, this is a shame, as it is obvious that the author has done a lot of research for these books, but the end result is less than desired. With it's smaller size and fewer number of films, one could even wonder why it just wasn't added on to the original volume. One feature which the author should strike from his format is the 'Final Word' section, as this amounts to little more than his personal opinion as to whether he likes or dislikes a film, often with little or no reason, and displays his personal bias toward or against other films or series. As mentioned in my previous review, this gives an unfamiliar reader a false notion concerning films that he may be inclined to see or try to find. With the release of 'Shin Godzilla' and 'Kong-Skull Island', and the prospect of more giant monster films looming in the future, perhaps we will also see a revised and expanded edition of this volume, hopefully sans the problems that bring this edition down. For books on Godzilla, Toho, or Japanese scifi in general I recommend any of the following: 'Japan's Favorite Mon-Star' by Steve Ryfle 'Mushroom Clouds and Mushroom Men' by Peter H. Brothers 'Monsters Are Attacking Tokyo!' by Stuart Galbraith IV

A great guide through the Heisei and Millenium era Kaiju movies. Particularly for its inclusion or many of the rarer and lesser known non Godzilla adn Gamera offerings. Some I had never heard of (such as Toho's banned films). It's only flaw is the actual story synopses of the movies themselves tend to be short and erratic. But lets be honest nobody reading this book really needs that. The behind the scenes information is fantastic and well researched. Good stuff!

The description says 1984-2014. The product picture shows 1984-2017. Figured I'd get the 2017 re-revised edition, but nah I got less book with the 2014 one.

Great read. No pics but lots of information.

A decent follow up that could only have been better if it included Shin Gojira. Hopefully, the author will update it.

As good as the first volume. No pics but plenty of info and includes less known films or films that are not exactly kaiju but of interest to a kaiju fan.

Wonderful sequel to the wonderful original!

Both volumes are worth owning. Full of details, technical info, gossip and personalities about the Godzilla films. A must for any kaiju fan.

A great follow-up to the previous Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies.

Entweder man mag Godzilla und Co. Oder man hasst sie. Im Ersten Fall sollte man dringen dieses Buch lesen um alles an Hintergrund-Info zu bekommen als möglich ist. Sehr zu empfehlen.

I enjoyed this book. I did not know that there could be so many monster films in exsistence. I thought the reviews were well done.

Great introduction to the Kaiju genre with interesting facts sprinkled throughout and an efficient, chronological look at the films.