Godzilla: The Encyclopedia: Shinji Nishikawa Unravels the Depths of Godzilla

This book is amazing. As a lifelong Godzilla fan, I can honestly say I learned a few things I hadn't been aware of. For instance, I wasn't aware that on the original suit, the left arm connected to the body at the elbow while the right arm was attached at the armpit. The book is like a timeline throughout the Godzilla franchise. Starting in 1954 each rendition of Godzilla is illustrated along with some of his cohorts. Details and differences between suits are noted on each page. The book includes all versions of Godzilla up through Singular Point. The art is exceptional and includes some more cartoonish illustrations as well. One thing to note: There is an illustration of bare breasts on one page, which in my opinion isn't necessary, however it refers to the cyborg Katsura from Terror of Mechagodzilla. In that film Katsura's breasts (fake) are shown in one scene while being she's being operated on. Aside from one picture on one page, this book should be enjoyed by any age fan. A wealth of information!

Tldr a great godzilla encyclopedia that every Goji fan should own. It reminds me of the old Godzilla compendium book that I reread religiously as a child. Regarding the negatively reviewed female nudity in the book, the original Japanese cut of terror of mechagodzillas android operation scene had the actress wear a synthetic nude top. This was edited in the American release that not many people knew this existed. The book makes a commentary about how this was quite daring for its time and draws a small Manga inspired version of it. The book originally released for Japanese audiences and then was translated in English for global release. Clearly they're indifferent to such things so please keep this in mind. Other than that, the book is masterful and I'm very glad to own it as an adult godzilla fan.

This is a really fun book, thaybdo3snt take itself too serious. It' lists every Godzilla suit. Y year, and even throws in some of the other monsters as well.Pages are well illustrated, and offer obscure details and information. References to the creators, their styles, and varying results with the suits.I am thoroughly enjoying this book, and I highly recommend to any fan of the original Godzilla movies, and newer ones as well.

This softcover book basically follows the many incarnations of Godzilla and his friends and foes from the first movie back in 1954 to the animated Netflix shows of the past few years. This release is translated to English from the original Japanese language book from last year.It's very well researched and illustrated in color by Shinji Nishikawa who goes through every suit/appearance variation through the entire series except the latest movie, Godzilla Minus One. Each illustration points out specific details and factoids about every version of Godzilla, Mothra, Rodan, etc with a welcome dash of humor and whimsey. The art is accurate to the monsters and each versions' peculiar variations. There's even a couple pages in the back to show how to draw the various versions of Godzilla.An interesting omission, Nishikawa doesn't include any Toho movie that doesn't have a direct connection to the Godzilla series, so no pages on the Gargantuas, the original Mothra and Rodan films, and so on. There are no photos or stills from the movies, it's all pen and ink color illustrations.A fun book to browse through, recommended for both the hardcore Toho Kaiju fan as well as any kid looking for an easy to digest, well illustrated compendium of the Godzilla movies.

This is the greatest Godzilla book. It’s done by Shinji Nishikawa and has facts and illustrations detailing every form and film of Gojira’s as well as info and art of all the other kaiju that have graced the Japanese Gojira films.It also includes synopses of all the movies, a tutorial on drawing godzilla’s head, heroines of godzilla and a glossary of Gojira-related terms.The book covers all the eras up to Shin Godzilla and includes animated films.I love all the art and have learned so much.Full marks and i recommend this book to anyone who possesses even a smidge of interest.

This Godzilla Encyclopedia is top notch. The detailed info on each Kaiju covers a full gambit of designs and behind the scenes info. The skillful illustrations are quite historically accurate, informative and fun. This book is truly a top notch for any Godzilla fan, both noob and purist. Right on!

Excellent resource and great art.

First, this is not an encyclopedia with photographs which I was sort of expecting, but it also wasn't super expensive and I did find it interesting and useful enough. It's definitely a "one person's explanation of the changes in the look of the Godzilla-Verse monsters, with cartoons rather than photos. However, to some degree the rendering of the cartoons makes it even easier to see the changes in the various monsters over the different eras.One of the charming/clever touches is that the author/illustrator includes a cartoon of themself at the bottom right if each two-page spread. The self-cartoon reflects the changes in the appearance of Godzilla or some of the other monsters, which was a nice humorous touch.On the whole, it was very helpful to have this simple explanation of both when each monster came in during the decades, as well as the stylistic changes and whether the character was a hero or a villain (since some of them flip-flopped. The simplicity and the artoon style made it a lot easier for me to understand the overview. I will definitely keep it. :)