TV Show Review: Pacific Rim: The Black Season 1 Netflix

Pacific Rim: The Black
Mar 4, 2021

Director: Hiroyuki Hayashi and Jae Hong Kim
Exec. Producers: Craig Kyle, Greg Johnson
Cast: Gideon Adlon (Hayley Travis), Andy McPhee (Shane), Calum Worthy (Taylor Travis), Erica Lindbeck (Loa), Victoria Grace (Mei)
Genre: Animation
Network: Netflix

No. of episodes: 7

No. of seasons: 1

There was a time when Kaiju rose from the Pacific Rim only to encounter gigantic robots, Jaegers, built to fight them back. That time has passed. Now, Australia has been overrun by Kaiju, forcing the evacuation of an entire continent. Left behind, teenage siblings Taylor and Hayley embark on a desperate search for their missing parents, teaching themselves to pilot a battered, long-abandoned Jaeger to help in their quest and give them even the slightest hope of surviving.

Pacific Rim: The Black is a Japanese–American adult animated TV show on Netflix, based on the Pacific Rim franchise. My husband and I are big Pacific Rim fans because ROBOTS VS MONSTERS! Really what more do I need?

This show is definitely for adults. Some pretty dark and violent things happen even though the protags, Tyler and his sister Haley are young teenagers. There are also moments of humor like any action/drama and a great use of music during the visually pleasing action scenes.

The animation is good, with lots of action. The plot is pretty predictable but so were the movies. In the first couple of episodes, it seems like all Tyler and Haley do is yell each other's names in distress, but it does get interesting. The kaiju have "evolved" in an unexpected way.

Each episode is about 25 minutes so you can binge the whole thing quickly. I'm hoping for a second season. If you enjoyed the whole Pacific Rim universe, and love animation, then check this one out.

My husband doesn't really like animation and said he would never rate one higher than a 4, so he gives this 3 1/2.

I give Pacific Rim: The Black 4 "Of course!" Sheep

SharonS

Massive Monsters - What is the Kaiju's Place in Literature? by John Baltisberger + giveaway

Massive Monsters - What is the Kaiju's Place in Literature?

by John Baltisberger

Godzilla is one of the most famous monsters in the entire world. He has reigned as the king of monsters on the big screen, cartoons, and comic books. (We won't mention the video games). But are Godzilla movies 'horror' movies. And how would a giant monster truly fit into the literary world?

Godzilla (1954) was an incredible film, full of despair and the full realization that the threat of radiation and nuclear weapons was ever-present. Godzilla, was terrifying because he represented the specter of Japan's powerlessness in the face of the nuclear bomb, as well as the crippling of their rights as a nation after WWII. It is about the dangers of an arms race and the loss of humanity that must go hand in hand with developing horrifying weapons.

Many of the movies that followed lost the nuance of these monsters as parables, either ignoring the idea altogether in favor of a giant monster melee, or being so obvious as to be cartoonish and garish (I'm looking at your Hedorah). These fights were are are much beloved, including by me, the spectacle of giant monsters fighting filling the silver screen fills me with adrenaline, it allowed Godzilla, and his cohorts in Gamera and the Ultraman mythologies to all flourish. Beneath these fights, there is always some sort of message. Some lesson to learn, but it's often drowned out by explosions and, let's be honest, for many of us, bad dubbing.

Shin-Godzilla changed that. The movie has action, sure, but Godzilla is the lone giant monsters, and spends much of the movie standing still and resting, or just moving forward. The action is on the red tape and panic of the Japanese government. The contrast between the older generation maintaining status quo and the younger who seek to make Japan better. All the while the rest of the world threatens Japan with nuclear weapons if they cannot stop the Kaiju. It is an amazing film and deserves every award it has received.

This is where the kaiju fits into literature. Yes, it's a set piece of action against which our protagonists can flee or try to fight. But to truly to the strange beasts justice you have to remember their original purpose: parable. Kaiju should be used to represent some implacable danger, something that man cannot fight with weapons or military. Something that, without some type of adaption. The kaiju is a force of nature that must be addressed by changing as a species. That, in my opinion, is the kaiju's place in modern horror.

Blood & Mud 
by John Baltisberger
June 20, 2020
102 pages
Genre: Jewish Kaiju Horror
Austin Poet and author, John Baltisberger, (ARTIFICE OF FLESH, THE CONFIGURATION DISCORDANT) makes his St Rooster Books debut with a powerful kaiju novella full of Jewish mysticism, death, and destruction.

When a good man is senselessly murdered during Chicago's Gay pride event, Satan summons a horrifying monster of old, releasing both his anger and the monster in defiance of Heaven and humanity.

BLOOD & MUD includes an essay on Jewish occultism and mythology, revealing the rich tapestry of mystery and history that inspired Baltisberger and this harrowing novella.

Goodreads-Amazon

About the Author:

Website-FB-Twitter

Instagram-Bookbub

Amazon-Goodreads 

John never thought he would write horror or darker fiction, he was planning on writing fantasy. But something about setting all of the occult and fantastical elements of fantasy just behind the backdrop of the modern world appealed to him, and he wanted to introduce the world to the incredible mythology of mythic Judaism.

He spends his time squirreled away fervently working on the next book or engaging in the 'Obliterate the Globe' project, only taking breaks to record episodes of Madness Heart Radio and Wandering Monster, or to eat, or to play with puppies. John lives with his patient and gorgeous wife Desiree, and maniacal and powerful daughter Aziza. You can find him and the project at www.KaijuPoet.com

Giveaway
Signed Copy of The Configuration Discordant - 5 winners 

Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Review: We Call It Monster by Lachlan Walter

We Call It Monster 

by Lachlan Walter

February 10, 2019
251 pages

Publisher: Severed Press
ASIN: B07NKW45C3

ISBN: 9781925840520
One ordinary day, an enormous creature dragged itself out of the ocean and laid waste to a city. In the months and years that followed, more and more creatures appeared, until not a single country remained untouched. At first, people tried to fight them. In the end, all they could do was try and stay alive.

We Call It Monster is a story of forces beyond our control, of immense and impossible creatures that make plain how small we really are. It is the story of our fight for survival and our discovery of that which truly matters: community and compassion, love and family, hope and faith.This book is about Kaiju monsters—Kaiju means abnormally large monsters—that come forth from the ocean onto land all over the world, causing destruction and death. 

The first chapter opens with people attending a party in the coastal city of Sydney, Australia, when they learn giant creatures are coming out of the ocean and attacking. They are baffled, frightened and even excited. There is one point where people come to watch two of the giant monsters battle each other, putting themselves in the middle of the destruction. In this current world where people take out their phones to videotape or snap photos of frightening events, it's not hard to imagine people would do exactly that. Through each chapter, time passes, and the reader learns the fate of humankind and the world after Kaiju appear. No place on the planet is safe from the behemoths as they come from the sea, come by air, and from under the ground. Human armies battle the things but are not effectual against them. 

Some places (at least we see how Australia changes) change, due to the monsters plowing through the land or coming from beneath the earth, bringing even new, terrifying plant, insect, and animal life. This isn't a novel with a set series of characters, this is more like short stories with different heroes and heroines.

If you enjoy watching Godzilla films and other Kaiju science fiction/horror ones, like Pacific Rim, then this book may interest you. Also, if you read apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, this might be a book to add to your TBR pile. But unlike those, we get more from the POV of the humans and how they handle survival in an increasingly changing, new world. And since the new Godzilla movie isn’t out until late May, this monsterlicious book will fit the bill for you.

I give We Call It Monster 4 sheep.

Reviewed by Pamela K. Kinney

About the Author:

website-FB-twitter

I am a writer, science-fiction critic and nursery-hand (the garden kind, not the baby kind), and the author of two books: the deeply Australian post-apocalyptic tale The Rain Never Came, and the giant-monster story-cycle We Call It Monster. I also write science fiction criticism for Aurealis magazine and review for the independent ‘weird music’ website Cyclic Defrost, my short fiction can be found floating around online, and I have completed a PhD that critically and creatively explored the relationship between Australian post-apocalyptic fiction and Australian notions of national identity.

I love all things music-related, the Australian environment, overlooked genres and playing in the garden.

Sheep Movie Review: Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018)

Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018)

March 23, 2018

Directed By: Steven S. DeKnight

Written By: Emily Carmichael, Kira Snyder, Steven S. DeKnight, T.S. Nowlin

Cast: John Boyega, Scott Eastwood, Cailee Spaeny, Burn Gorman, Charlie Day, Tian Jing, Jin Zhang

Rating: PG-13 (for sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and some language)

1h 51min

Genre: Action & Adventure, Drama, Science Fiction & Fantasy

Runtime: 111 minutes
Studio: Universal Pictures
Jake Pentecost, son of Stacker Pentecost, reunites with Mako Mori to lead a new generation of Jaeger pilots, including rival Lambert and 15-year-old hacker Amara, against a new Kaiju threat.

I was pleasantly surprised by Pacific Rim: Uprising. The movie is pretty true to the trailer. There were quite a few action movie troupes used but they did throw in a few surprise twists. The story focused on being a team player and there wasn't a romantic subplot like the first movie. Kids and adults will leave wanting to pilot their own Jaeger.

I thought the CGI was fabulous. John Boyega does a good job with the rebellious-son-of-a-war-hero character. You know the one that drops out of training program as a big disappointment with daddy issues but then forced back into the program to become the bestest hero ever. But my favorite was Spaney as the young hacker Amara. She kicked butt without acting like a brat. I didn't realize Scott Eastwood (Clint's son) was in the cast...that man is beautiful...I'm just saying...

The movie is full of action and best seen on the big screen. If you love watching big robots fighting big monsters you're gonna love this. You don't have to see the first Pacific Rim to appreciate the action, but I went with a friend who hadn't seen the first movie and they were a little lost. The movie doesn't explain things like drifting and where the Kaiju

There are no after-credit scenes.

4 "Jaeger pilot" Sheep

SharonS