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Welcome to the world of Godzilla collecting. If you've never heard of Godzilla or have just recently re-discovered Godzilla then read on.
A very brief overview:
Godzilla, the product of the Japanese film company Toho, is a gigantic radioactive dinosaur who first appeared on the silver screen in 1954. Since then, he has starred in twenty-one sequels and appeared on a few television shows over the past forty years. Most of these sequels feature Godzilla in a massive brawl with other giant monsters such as King Kong, Mothra, Rodan, and Ghidorah. In addition to Godzilla films, Toho produced a number of other giant monster ( DaiKaiju to the �in-crowd�) films, such as Varan the Unbelievable and Frankenstien Conquers the World.
Many fans who grew-up with Godzilla in the sixties and seventies are surprised to discover that Godzilla�s adventures have continued into the nineties. Godzilla 1985 was the last of his films to have a theatrical release in the US. Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989) was released direct to video in North America. Since then five more Godzilla films, three Mothra films, and two Gamera films (the Gamera films were produced by Daie) have been released in Japan. Of these, Gamera the Guardian of the Universe was the only film to have a limited theatrical release in the US. Only now are some of the newer Godzilla films being released on video in North America. The new films have introduced many monsters such as Battra, Space Godzilla, and Destroyer. Some old favorites, Rodan, King Ghidorah, Gyaos, and Mecha-Godzilla, got a new look in the later films.
For much more information on Godzilla and friends, including film reviews, check out these web sites:
B's Tasty & Delectable Page of Godzilla
If you want to surf around for even more G-info, go to my links page.
Now that you have been brought up to speed about Godzilla and company, it�s time to discover the world of Godzilla merchandise. The first reaction of most people who see my collection is: �I had no idea there was this much Godzilla stuff available�. That�s how I felt when I started. Now I realize that there is more merchandise available than I can ever hope to collect. It comes in the form of videos, cds, books, magazines, toys (we collectors like to call them �figures�), models, almost anything imaginable. Most of this stuff is only available in Japan (that�s why many fans in the west have never seen a room full of Godzilla) and can only be obtained through specialty dealers.
Godzilla has gained more attention in the west in the last few years. In 1994, Trendmasters, a Louisiana based company, launched the largest North American Godzilla toy line to date. Their line-up included several different monsters in a variety of styles. Random House has published a series of Godzilla children�s books. The 1998 American Godzilla film ushered in a huge wave of Godzilla merchendise.
Gamera will also be getting more attention in the west. AD Visions has released the 1995 film Gamera Guardian of the Universe to video. Rumor has it that Disney owns the rights to Gamera 2 , The Advent of Legion. Trendmasters launched a limmited release of their line of Gamera figures.
The future looks bright for Giant Monster fans!!!
The following sites have more information on Godzilla collectibles:
Paopao Wonderland Godzilla Side
For information on where to find Godzilla collectibles go to the Godzilla Resources links page.