Gojira ゴジラ - Blender Animation - A Look Beyond Godzilla and Into Indie Tokusatsu

Welcome to the corner of my blog, A Look Beyond Godzilla and Into Indie Tokusatsu. Here, I explore the world of independent tokusatsu films, talking about stories and filmmakers in the genre. Links to the films will always be at the bottom of the page.

Tokusatsu, a genre known for its special effects that bring gigantic kaiju and heroes to life, has been thriving lately with big-budgeted, CGI-saturated movies like Godzilla X Kong.

However, the indie scene in Japan, which produces some of the most innovative work, is keeping the true art style of suitmation (スーツメーション), miniature models, and hand-crafted sets alive. Unlike the previous short films I have written about, this one is entirely in CGI, but it is how it is animated that sets itself apart from almost any other short film.

In this series, I’ll talk about various independent tokusatsu films and their creators. Looking at how the new generation of toku films maintains traditional effects techniques while telling new innovative stories.

I believe many of these young filmmakers will become the future directors of the Godzilla, Gamera, Ultraman, and Kamen Rider series.

This is part of my ongoing series; if you want to read more, check out “『狂気！怪獣生中継』Insanity! Kaiju Livestream!” the third entry in the series.

*Disclaimer*

Remember, if you go watch one of these indie kaiju films I cover, most are made by non-English speakers, so if you do leave a comment for them, make sure you say something short and nice. Also, please don’t say anything like, “Show more kaiju” or “Need English subtitles.” Independent films are almost always shot on a tight budget, and they do their best, given the constraints of time and budget. That said, I hope you learn something new and enjoy the blog.

Gojira ゴジラ - Blender Animation

Today, I’m reviewing a short film with a modest name, considering its achievements. Released just over a month ago, it was created by a YouTuber known as TAIYAKI. Despite being a university animation student, TAIYAKI is already blowing minds, reminding me of a young George Lucas.

Stop-motion, Puppetry, and Suitmation, All Done in Blender, Is Insane. Is this the Future of Toku?

Throughout the short, TAIYAKI uses animation to mimic old-school practical effects like stop-motion, puppetry, and suitmation. Old Godzilla films used these techniques I listed to bring their films to life.

Suitmation and miniatures allowed the actor in the Godzilla suit to look giant. Early Godzilla suits lacked the ability to emote, so puppets were made for close-up shots of Godzilla’s face roaring or biting things. Stop-motion, although it was the first choice to bring Godzilla to life for Toho, it was too expensive, and suitmation was used. However, they did manage to fit some quick stop-motion scenes in the early Showa Era films.

Suitmation in Blender

Here are some scenes that look so similar to some of the suitmation used in the original Godzilla film that it is hard to tell apart.

Puppetry in Blender

As mentioned above, due to the lack of movement and movability in the monster suit the actor was in, a puppet was made for close-up shots. The problem with these puppets they hardly ever looked like the suit. Even worse, they have a goofy expression from some angles.

Stop-Motion in Blender

When the idea of Godzilla was first conceived, the producer wanted stop-motion to be used like he saw in the original King Kong and The Beast From 20,000. However, with the studio's current talent and abilities, it was estimated it would take the company seven years to make.

It was obviously too long for a movie to be in production, so suitmation was chosen, but they did have a few short stop-motion scenes.

I assume this is why TAIYAKI created the animated faux-stop-motion scenes. Their animation mimics stop-motion so well that it’s hard for me to believe it’s all made in Blender.

TAIYAKI’s Godzilla Design

In this short, the 3D model used for Godzilla is based on one of the first Godzilla concept clay sculptures. Once a concept was chosen, it was used as a reference when designing the actual suit that the actor would be in.

Gojira ゴジラ - Blender Animation

A Test: Which is Toho and Which is TAIYAKI?

Final Thoughts

Seeing so many new ideas as I watch these independent tokusatsu films shows me that this genre is growing and will continue to surprise me with its bold new ideas. I’m excited to see what they do next.

This review is part of my ongoing series "A Look Beyond Godzilla and Into Indie Tokusatsu," where I talk about my favorite indie tokusatsu films. If you want to read more, check out “『狂気！怪獣生中継』Insanity! Kaiju Livestream!” the third entry in the series.

I hope you enjoyed this amazing film as much as I did. Until next time, later!