Well, not really! But typically upbeat Japanese pop music somewhat incongruously accompanies this just-released trailer for Shinkaijû Raiga [aka Deep Sea Monster Raiga] (Japan, 2009; dir. Shinpei Hayashiya). Clearly we’re dealing with a comedy here. But don’t worry! After what appears to be a pop-romance-style beginning the trailer reverts to the sort of colourful suitmation destruction we’ve been hanging out for since Godzilla retired!
It’s the director’s follow-on to Shinkaijû Reigô [aka Deep Sea Monster Reigo; Reigo vs. Yamato; Reigo the Deep Sea Monster vs. The Battleship Yamato, A-140F6] (2008 [2005]; dir. Shinpei Hayashiya), his alternative history film about a sea battle between Japan’s tragic mega-ship, Yamato, and a sea monster. More information on Reigo here and Raiga here.
Synopsis:
The film is set 60 years after the director’s earlier kaiju film, Deep Sea Monster Reigo, in modern-day Tokyo. Global warming causes the southern polar ice cap to gradually melt, disrupting the ecosystem and luring ancient sea monsters to Japan. Eventually an enormous sea beast called Raiga enters Asakusa via the Sumida River and begins wreaking havoc on the buildings there.
Thanks to io9.com, we can tell you that the parody element is deliberate as the opening text indicates:
The intro text says, roughly: if there are only two kinds of movies in the world, monster movies and non-monster movies, then director Hayashi likes monster movies much much better. And then each character is introduced by their stereotype: the heroine who wants to become a teen idol, the reliable mom-like older sister, the naughty little sister… and so on. (io9)
- Source: Previous Backbrain article; Nippon Cinema via Quiet Earth via Kaiju Search-robot Avery
