I've noticed that a lot of people have become interested in learning Japanese because of their fondness for anime and manga. Are there many here who have become interested in Japanese because of kaiju eiga or tokusatsu? As a youngster I was obsessed with Kaiju like Gojira and Gammera as well as Tokusatsu like Ultraman and Giant Robo.
The first movie that really got me going was Godzilla, King of the Monsters. (Americanized Gojira with Raymond Burr) I recently watched the original Gojira and was fascinated with the completely different tone of the movie. The Americanized movie always seemed to be just a monster movie with a love triangle thrown in. Dr Sarazawa seemed to commit suicide because Emiko was in love with another man but, in Gojira it is very obvious that he is sacrificing himself to protect the world from the devastating power of the Oxygen Destroyer.
Godzilla: Monster movie with romantic complication
Gojira: A strong anti war. anti nuclear message.
So, I have been interested in japanese for a long time but since seeing Gojira I would like to be able to understand Japanese films as they were originally intended.
ジョー