Godzilla and Godzilla Raids Again by Shigeru Kayama

Godzilla and Godzilla Raids Again by Shigeru Kayama

This book finally provides English-speaking fans and critics the original texts with these first-ever English-language translations of Godzilla and Godzilla Raids Again. The novellas reveal valuable insights into Kayamas vision for the Godzilla story, feature plots that differ from the films, and clearly display the authors strong antinuclear, proenvironmental convictions.

"At long last, the pathbreaking novellas by Shigeru Kayama that launched the Godzilla franchise are finally available in EnglishIt was well worth the wait: Jeffrey Angles’s lively translation captures all the action, emotion, and political edge of the original Japanese texts. This engaging volume will be a revelation for Godzilla fans, a rich resource for students of Japan, and a rewarding read for anyone who enjoys classic tales of science fiction and adventure."—William M. Tsutsui, chancellor of Ottawa University and author of Godzilla on My Mind: Fifty Years of the King of Monsters

 

"The contributions of Japan’s speculative fiction writer Shigeru Kayama to the Godzilla film franchise have long been overlooked in the West. Jeffrey Angles’s translation of Kayama’s Godzilla and Godzilla Raids Again novellas, along with Angles’s own afterword with a biographical sketch of the writer, correct this longstanding oversight. An invaluable addition to the history of Japanese science fiction cinema and literature."—Steve Ryfle, coauthor of Ishirō Honda: A Life in Film, from Godzilla to Kurosawa

 

"Angles’s contributions will be immeasurably useful to those interested in Shigeru Kayama and the beginnings of a pop culture icon. In an age where the vast majority of fandom clamors aggressively for overpriced plastic, Godzilla and Godzilla Raids Again is a treasure not to be missed."—Our Culture Magazine

 

"Fun novellas, a deeper understanding of the creature and the themes the original movie was trying to explore, and a glimpse into Japan of the 1950s."—The Irresponsible Reader

 

"Angles' Afterword, 'Translating an Icon', is useful and welcome supplementary material, both in giving a history of the different Godzilla-adaptations, as well as also offering some interesting observations about translating the novellas."—The Complete Review

 

"Translated by Jeffrey Angles, Godzilla and Godzilla Raids Again is a truly fascinating and historic release."—FilmJuice 

 

"There's undoubtedly a mythological heft to Godzilla, and to Angles' new translation of Shigeru Kayama's text. It's a wonderful new book with an extremely insightful afterword filled with information that's been largely unavailable in the West."—Movieweb

 

Shigeru Kayama (1904–1975) was a science fiction writer and scenarist whose early stories about monsters and mutated sea creatures attracted the attention of Tōhō Studios, which asked him to draft the first two Godzilla films. The film Half Human by Tōhō Studios was also based on one of his stories, and he contributed to the screenplay for the Tōhō film The Mysterians. 

 

Jeffrey Angles is professor of Japanese at Western Michigan University. He is author of Writing the Love of Boys (Minnesota, 2011) and award-winning translator of Orikuchi Shinobu’s The Book of the Dead (Minnesota, 2017) and Hiromi Ito’s The Thorn Puller.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781517915230
ISBN 10	1517915236
Title	Godzilla and Godzilla Raids Again
Author	Shigeru Kayama
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	University of Minnesota Press
Year published	2023-10-03
Number of pages	256
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.