Gamera!
Hey there, fans! For the past month, I had a bit of a worrisome dilemma: how could I celebrate Fandomania’s Cryptozoology Month and yet remain faithful to the theme of this series of articles? As January ticked by, all I could do was post the usual array of anime previews and other fun stuff that has been happening that relates to Japan, thinking and trying to figure out exactly what I could contribute to this theme. What could Japan have that could rival the likes of Nessie, Bigfoot, or even the Wolpertinger? Then it hit me like falling debris: the earth-shaking, ground-breaking, sky-scraping Kaiju!
Okay, okay, okay, while not really being in the realm of actual cryptozoology (oxymoron?), gigantic creatures that continually roam the cities of Japan to cause havoc and destruction still sound relatively cool, no? Anyway, the web has been kind to me this past week, as I discovered that the people of Pink Tentacle have found cross-sections of the more popular city-destroying beasts that show the biological workings of these beasts if they actually existed. The site explains that the drawings were found from “a set of illustrations found in one volume of the Kaijū-Kaijin Daizenshū movie monster book series published by Keibunsha in 1972.” This is awesome on several levels, as these drawings can finally “explain” how Gamera can blast lava out of his mouth or how Viras actually has an organ that can create force fields. It’s like the best biology textbook ever!
Cross-section of Gamera
Cross-section of Viras
Cross-section of Guiron
So, here’s to the final week of Fandomania’s Cryptozoology Month, and here’s to all you monster fans out there! See you next week!
About the Author
After finding out that the school's library was a welcome respite from the heat of the tropical island he inhabited, Paolo Jasa found out that books were a whole lot better than being a constant target during P.E. class; so much so that he developed a love for them that would last him a life time. His first forays in Science Fiction were in the novels of the esteemed I. Asimov, R. Bradbury, and D. Adams, while his adventures in Fantasy took him to the realms of Discworld, Hogwarts, and a Chicago that houses the only Wizard-For-Hire found in the local Yellow Pages, Harry Dresden.
Then he found out about Gaiman's Sandman comics, Miyazaki's animé, Pixar's movies, and (almost) every single web-comic on the Internet.
This changed things a little bit. A lot, in fact.
Regardless, Paolo's currently enrolled in the College of William and Mary to get a Bachelor's Degree in ... something. Hopefully in English or in Education in order to become a teacher, and to bend the minds of the next generation towards all things nerdy. While not studying or reading, he enjoys playing the alto saxophone and singing unabashedly around campus when no one’s looking.