Since [Godzilla-1.0] landed in North America, it has accumulated more than 56 million US dollars at the box office, plus 5.5 billion yen in the local area (still in theaters), and the high box office of [Godzilla vs. Kong 2: Rise of Empires] (750 million yuan in China), Godzilla has had another wave of new year, and I don't know how many times.
There are still questions about whether this big guy who spans movies, series, animation, games, comics and other multimedia fields is the strongest on the surface (King Kong has something to say).
At least, it's the most popular big monster on the surface.
This monster that came out in 1954 to "destroy the world" ushered in its 70th anniversary this year.
Compared to the huge film and television works, we still lack a film book that can match at least the amount of information.
The Official Guide to Godzilla: King of the Monsters may fill this important gap.
The last point in time of the book is frozen in [Godzilla vs. Kong], which will be released in 2021, and it goes back to the first [Godzilla] in 1954.
The six "labels" of Showa, Heisei (which was split into a separate chapter in the millennium), Reiwa, the United States, and other media are divided into six "labels", and the history of Godzilla production for nearly 70 years is dismantled.
The original version of the book was first released in the UK in September 2022 and made available in the US in November.
The publicity is the "big broadcast" of Toho materials.
From an introductory point of view, this is also a fairly fresh film book.
As an illustrated book, The Official Guide features the iconic full-color printing of the large format, and the hard cover also recreates the effect of the original's rough skin—it forms the image of Godzilla (taken from 2016's [New Godzilla]), making full use of the accessible properties of the physical book.
The only thing that made some "sacrifices" was Godzilla's small eyes, which were inconspicuous in the first place, and they were even more "secretive" under the existing process.
With more than 250 pages, the book is firmly locked and can be spread flat, making it an excellent "table read" book.
As we all know, Japan has always been quite strict when it comes to image protection.
Many famous directors, actors, movie set photos, stills, posters, etc., if you don't have a certain amount of experience in searching for pictures on the Internet, you can only find a variety of small pictures of worrying quality.
One of the greatest values of this resource book is to make those online pictures present to readers in a higher quality, and between the text and narrative of each work, there are pictures that match the large format.
Due to the times, the works of the recent years are well cherished, but the collection value of the printed version of the works of the Showa period since 1954 is self-evident.
Chinese, Japanese, English, red, black, gold, whether it is a rich mix of fonts, or a design that has been iterated, many details, all in the eye.
This has always been the biggest selling point of a printed large folio book movie book.
As with official guidebooks such as Star Wars, this compilation of information on the world of fictional cinema is often marked by errors and inconsistencies.
Some are simple spelling mistakes, such as Zorgel Island in [Son of Godzilla], which has spelling mistakes in the original English version;
Some of them don't match the plot of the synopsis.
For example, the young Yoshito Nakajo in [Tokyo SOS] (2003) is the nephew of Shinichi Nakajo, not the son...... There are also various symbol changes that occur when the Japanese version is converted to the American version, which are harmless.
In addition, at the very beginning of the book, the famous translation case is introduced, whether Godzilla is Gojira or Godzilla.
The original version chose the latter, and Chinese did not have this problem.
There is actually only one choice for this kind of problem caused by pronunciation and translation: the official prevails.
Toho himself has accepted "Godzilla", so there is no need to dwell on it.
And the title bias in the process of many days of the Godzilla series in the process of transferring from Japanese to English is often a pit of fake English.
It's just that compared to this kind of almost laughing thing, the 1998 American version of [Godzilla's] "Magic Change" is a fall in the American journey of the big monster.
In the book, we can also read about the first wave of magic changes to the film outside of Japan shortly after the birth of the 54th edition.
It was a time when it was impossible for Americans to read subtitles, and English dubbing was a must.
The new role of journalists makes it easier for American audiences to participate in this "big war".
Godzilla's image also took root in the overseas commercial film market early.
Considering that in the 1950s, many Japanese masters had just brought the characteristics of Japanese cinema to the world, and Godzilla, as another "business card", laid its lasting vitality.
Of course, the most magic change of the same period has to be the Italian version of [Cosla] (1977), which is a Japanese version, an American version, and coloring, which can be called a literal "special (other) filming (production)".
On the other hand, Japan is also faced with the problem of how to deal with the rich heritage and make breakthroughs in the development, expansion, and resurrection of Godzilla.
In fact, throughout the decades-long history of "Godzilla", problems such as small budgets, outdated technology, and outdated themes have also plagued the pace of its prospects.
These cannot be solved with a single "atomic breath", but can only be solved by the wisdom of generations of creators.
Its two timelines and those developed in the United States eventually converge into the "multiple possibilities" of the Godzilla Monster universe.
Ten years ago, in 2014, the American Godzilla, which showed its industrial prowess, and the Japanese Godzilla, which broke through the tradition, finally formed an interesting intertextuality.
This is not only an interesting landscape of the film industry and culture, but also a new page in Godzilla's rich history.
Whichever path it takes, Godzilla has not died out, but has become more and more famous, which in itself is a huge victory for IP management.
The above-mentioned parallel interweaving can be sorted out through the coordinate network composed of the horizontal axis of time and the vertical axis of the work.
In addition, the rich tidbits brought about by the specific historical background, shooting conditions, and technical changes of each film.
The text part of itself is the best primer for the audience to understand the special effects and the Godzilla "family".
Of course, just like we recommend all film books, there is a premise, the book is the medium, and the film is the end.
Released at the end of March, the popularity of the American blockbuster style [Godzilla vs. Kong 2], the legend of Godzilla will continue to continue, and the audience can also witness the new excitement.
According to the current momentum, King of the Monsters "Conquer for a Hundred Years" is stress-free, and there is still a huge room for the official guide to be added.