It’s been five years (crazy, right?) since I updated my podcast appearances for y’all. Being that I’ve (co-)hosted three in almost five years, there are a lot more to discuss! Before I add some more, be sure to read my previous posts here and here and here for my first lists. I’ll do my best to include every appearance, but I may miss one or two. If I do, let me know.
Strangers and Aliens GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS – SA315 June 7, 2019 Just a few short months before I started my own kaiju podcast (again), I was featured on Strangers and Aliens to discuss the second entry in the MonsterVerse.
STAR TREK II: The Wrath of Khan and William Shatner Live – SA401 February 21, 2023 Official description: “Recently, Ben joined his friends William and Nathan Marchand to see a theatrical showing of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, which also had William Shatner do a live stage performance that was sort of a Q&A session. But it was really just an excuse for Shatner to tell some hysterical stories from his long career. For over an hour.”
X-Men: The Audio Drama Season 3, Episode 10: “The Trial of Magneto” March 23, 2023 After playing Rito Bandora for most of season 3 of Scyther’s Power rangers: The Audio Drama, I make my debut on their X-Men show as, of all people, Deadpool. I’m a post-credit gag.
This past Sunday, I was interviewed by Kaiju Kim, who makes the most wholesome kaiju content you’ll see on YouTube. It was Father’s Day, so the chat was relatively quiet, but we still had a good time discussing kaiju literature–including books and short stories I’ve written and published myself. Give it a watch!
Enjoy the latest episode of my kaiju/tokusatsu podcast! In this one, I discuss the divisive Godzilla anime trilogy from netflix.
Hello, kaiju lovers!
Welcome to our first minisode! (Well, our second, according to my intrepid producer, Jimmy From NASA). This is the first of a series of episodes where I’ll be analyzing films I was unable to cover on my previous podcast. In this one, I’m discussing the divisive Godzilla Anime Trilogy. Fans either love it or hate it. Me? I like it—a lot. I debunk some of the unfair criticisms of the trilogy, but the meat of my analysis is focused on how each of the four races in the trilogy—the Humans, the Bilusaludo, the Exif, and the Houtua—each exemplify different philosophies and how most of them take their worldviews to the extreme.
There’s a lot of material here—so much that Monster Island’s Board of Directors calls to say I violated my contract! Listen as Jimmy acts as my agent to keep me from being shot into space (he deserves a bonus for practically being my agent).
Here are the podcast episodes I mentioned in the episode. I recommend listening to them—especially the Redeemed Otaku episodes—if you want to hear a review of this trilogy from me.
After a year of prep and a summer of hype, my new podcast, The Monster Island Film Vault, premiered today. You can listen to it on several podcatchers, but it’s also on YouTube. The video version is below. Click here for the audio version.
Enjoy!
Hello, kaiju lovers!
Listen as Nathan Marchand, co-creator and season one co-host of the Kaijuvision Radio, regales you with the origin story of his new podcast. It includes a vacation to a resort on the fabled Monster Island (formerly Monsterland), where he met his intrepid producer, Jimmy From NASA (who miraculously survived the infamous War in Space), and got a new job as the curator of the Island’s film vault. Between bantering sessions with his detail-obsessed, fact-checking interrupter of a producer, Nathan explains the podcast’s philosophy of film appreciation and lays the groundwork for the upcoming episodes.
And what will Nathan, Jimmy, and their many guests be discussing first? The filmography of Monster Island’s other most famous resident: KING KONG!
Hold onto your butts!
The Monster Island Film Vault: A podcast seeking entertainment and enlightenment through tokusatsu.
After nearly a year of escalating
hype, Godzilla: King of the Monsters
dropped in theatres this weekend. It was one of my most anticipated films of
2019. As a fan of nearly two decades, the co-creator of Kaijuvision Radio, and a
raging nerd, I went into it excited
but cautious. I remembered another American-made Godzilla movie from 20
years ago or so that had just as much, if not more, hype, and it failed to
deliver.
I walked out of my local
IMAX theatre with a huge smile on my face. Most fans did.
Critics didn’t.
All this week the
Godzilla fan community (in America, anyway) has been in a tizzy. As the critics
score on Rotten Tomatoes dropped (it sits at 40% currently) and the
audience score remained high (it hovers around 90%), the fans got defensive.
They became the latest fandom to declare critics “hacks” who didn’t know what
they were talking about, who just didn’t understand the genre or Godzilla.
While many fans—including myself—said King
of the Monsters wasn’t what critics claimed it was, others stamped their
feet, crossed their arms, and said, “I like because it’s bad like all the other
Godzilla films!”
To be honest, I’m not all
that surprised. These fans have spent years defending their enjoyment of giant
monsters—or perhaps even hid it—when many people relegated such fare to
schlock. That’d put a huge chip on anybody’s shoulders. While other “nerdy”
genres like superheroes have gone mainstream, the kaiju genre is still trying
to gain wide acceptance. I don’t know if it ever will. Regardless, I think much
of this pushback from Godzilla fans stems from their defensiveness. Like many
nerds, they’ve made their fandom a huge part of their lives, and when they think
it’s being attacked, they see it as an attack upon themselves.
This isn’t to say that
the fans don’t have valid points. Rotten Tomatoes has grown from a website that
helped moviegoers make an informed decision about what films to see to a cultural
force that studios think they must placate. “Tomatometer” scores can make or
break a film now. At least, that’s what many movie executives fear. An
aggregate of bad reviews could destroy the millions of dollars they invested in
a film. That’s why they brag whenever one of their movies has a high RT rating.
The problem is people aren’t engaging with the reviews; they’re just looking at
the score and not reading what was said. They don’t realize that RT’s
system a critic only has to answer a yes or no question—“Is it ‘fresh’?”—before
posting a review on the site. A
rating of three out of five will count as “fresh,” so even a “B-” or “C+”
review will count. In other words, the 90% fresh rating could all be average reviews.
As one fan pointed out, it has ruined film criticism by reducing it to mere
numbers. But these are numbers given tremendous weight and power by lazy often readers
who succumb to some form of groupthink, either in agreement or disagreement.
This, in turn, has led to some borderline conspiracy theories about studios
bribing critics for good or bad reviews as well as theories that studios are
censoring bad reviews from users. I’m not saying any of this is true, but it is
certainly possible.
Fans say critics are
prejudiced against the kaiju genre and don’t appreciate it. There’s some truth
to that as I’ve pointed out. Their scores and criticisms often seem
inconsistent, to say the least. Godzilla (2014)
was criticized for allegedly not having enough screen time for Godzilla or the
monster fights while focusing on human characters. Now the common complaint
from critics is there’s too much time given to the monsters (I disagree, but I
digress). Who wouldn’t pull their hair out? It doesn’t seem possible to please
them.
But do fans know what
makes a great kaiju film? I’ve often heard fans say that they want a film that’s
nothing but kaiju fights. This has led to an image of the fandom that is, well,
less than flattering (one Twitter user said it made the fandom look like “knuckle
draggers”). In some ways it seems hypocritical. They fight against non-fans
labeling the films “trash” while advocating for movies that are empty spectacle.
As one YouTuber put
it, fans like the “social commentaries of the Japanese films, but when it comes
to American films, they just want Godzilla to eat buildings and punch monsters.”
I’ll be the first person to argue that there is substance—often profound
substance—in these films. Even the so-called “silly ones.” That’s why it vexes
me to hear such talk from fans. It’s especially annoying because they’re
basically saying, “This movie is nonstop action with human characters I don’t
care about, so I love it for the reasons critics hate it! Boo-yah!” It’s kinda
childish, honestly.
Ultimately, whether the reviews
come from critics or fans, they are simply opinions, and as a crude old saying
reminds us, everyone has opinions. It’s just that, for whatever reason—be it
experience, education, position, or whatnot—we have elevated the opinions of
critics. They are the dwellers in the ivory towers who know what true art is
while fans are the unwashed, ignorant masses. (Insert “sarcasm
sign” here). While fans have wanted to drop Oxygen Destroyers in
critics’ laps this week, if their reviews had been positive, I have no doubt
they would’ve celebrated and shared them as validation of themselves and their
fandom. But do these critics invalidate the opinions of fans? No. They are
allowed to like things other people don’t. They enjoyed it based on their own criteria.
One man’s trash is another man’s masterpiece. Many people watch Godzilla vs. Gigan and see a silly low-budget
kaiju film. I
watch it and see a meta-commentary on pop culture and globalism. Opinions
often change with time. When Citizen Kane
was first released, it has rejected by critics as too unusual. Now it’s regaled
as the greatest film ever made. The
Empire Strikes Back, which is commonly considered the greatest Star Wars film, was dismissed by critics
upon release. I say all of this to remind people that while there are objective
criteria for what makes a good story, the evaluation of art is still largely
subjective.
It’s been a while, hasn’t
it, True Believers? I know I say this a lot, but please accept my apologies. I
was hard at work finishing my first year as a graduate student. If you’ve been following
me on social media, though, you know that I’ve picked up on writing Hope’s War and editing my novella for Children
of the Wells. That and a secret project will be my primary works this
summer. Stay tuned for more!
Speaking of summer….
A few months ago I wrote
that I would be going to G-Fest XXVI but as a panelist and not a vendor. I’ll
once again be part of “The Art of Kaiju Writing” panel and joining the panel
discussion of the upcoming Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
More importantly, though…
I’M HOSTING MY OWN PANEL!
I and my friend/fellow
writer Danny DiManna of the Godzilla Novelization
Project will be presenting on Toho screenwriters Shinichi Sekizawa and
Takeshi Kimura, who wrote many of the studio’s tokusatsu films from the 1950s-1970s.
(You probably heard me talking about them a lot on Kaijuvision
Radio). The fandom talks a lot about directors, actors, and composers, and
rightfully so, but almost never about screenwriters, which is a shame. Danny
and I hope to fill in that gap.
Here’s the description of
the panel you’ll see in the convention program:
Most of Toho’s classic tokusatsu films started with scripts penned by the Showa era creative team’s unsung heroes, Shinichi Sekizawa and Takeshi Kimura. Join Nathan Marchand (professional writer and co-creator of Kaijuvision Radio) and Daniel DiManna (creator/author of the Godzilla Novelization Project) as they explain how these polar opposite storytellers revolutionized the kaiju genre.
Friday 12pm (Kennedy Room): Sekizawa and Kimura: A Tale of Two Screenwriters Saturday 3pm (Ballroom 1): Godzilla: King of the Monsters Saturday 4pm (Kennedy Room): The Art of Kaiju Writing
It dawned on me that I’ve been on a lot more podcasts since the last time
I indexed them, so I figured I’d update that list for all of you. For most of
these, I appeared as a guest or guest host, discussing everything from
storytelling to video games to Godzilla (no surprise, right? Heck, I’ve kinda
become the “kaiju guy” in most of my circles, and with good reason).
Admittedly, there are few not listed here. I recorded a podcast with
Zachery Oliver for “Theology Gaming” that was lost when he had computer
problems. The same thing happened with “The Bestselling Fiction Podcast” hosted
by Dan Dynneson.
Titles with an asterisk (*) were on the original list.
Happy listening!
Kaijuvision Radio
This is a podcast I co-created with Brian Scherschell on “the appreciation of giant monster movies and the discovery of their historical and cultural value.” I was the co-host for season one (episodes 1-36 plus two interviews), but sadly I had to step down before season two. I’m proud of the work I did on the show, so I obviously I’d love it if all of you listened to it. Even if you’re not into kaiju but enjoy learning about Japan, it’s a great podcast to listen to. Here’s the website.
Geek Devotions
(NEW!) This is a ministry headed by Dallas and Celeste Mora—“a pair of devoted geeks devoted to letting people know they are loved”—that uses nerd culture as outreach. They have a podcast, Comm Talk, a YouTube channel, and a website. Dallas was one of KVR’s first fans and promoters, so he invited us onto the YouTube channel for an interview as part of King of the Monsters Month in October 2017.
The Weekly Hijack* A “spin-off” podcast from “Derailed Trains of Thought” that discusses TV shows. -Episode 27: Doctor Who – The Magician’s Apprentice – I discuss the season nine premiere of Doctor Who with Nick Hayden, Tim Deal, and several others. (Scroll through the episode listing to find it).
Strangers and Aliens A show about faith, fantasy, and science fiction co-hosted by my buddy Ben Avery, who’s a comic writer
Theology Gaming University* A show about Christianity and video games.
–Podcast #58 – Video Games Inspiring Other Media – Theology Gaming – My friend Eric Anderson and I discuss video game adaptations to other media with host Zachery Oliver. –Podcast #62 – I discuss why gamers replay video games they’ve already played with host Zachery Oliver and TGU regular Bryan Hall. –TG Sessions #9 – Cheapness (I.e., You’re Not Special) – Zachery Oliver and I discuss what makes certain things “cheap” in both single-player and multiplayer video games. –TG Sessions #10 – Batman’s Fifty Shades of White Privilege – Remember when this video made me a troll magnet? I also incurred the wrath of trolls about an essay I wrote for TGU. Zachery Oliver and I discuss all of this. –Podcast #72 – One in a Mijinion – I join Zachery Oliver and Roberto Iraheta 20 minutes in, and in our ramblings we set out to solve a very important mystery: What the heck is an Infinity Mijinion? (In case you don’t know, that’s a Mega Man boss).
Forever Classic Podcast (NEW!) This is a show
that “seeks enlightenment through video games” started by my former colleague
Alex McCumbers (from my GigaGeek Magazine
days). Here’s their main website.
–Episode 11: Kaiju Games With Nathan Marchand –
Remember what I said about being the kaiju guy? Anyway, Alex invited me on to
talk about two of my favorite things: giant monsters and video games. We
discuss existing kaiju games—past and present—and what we think would make for
a great kaiju game.
Redeemed Otaku (NEW!) A podcast created and hosted by Bex Smith that seeks to “redeem your love for anime by turning to the truth found only in God’s Word.” Follow the show on Facebook and Twitter.
–42 – My co-author Eric Anderson and I are interviewed about our nerd/geek devotional, 42: Discovering Faith through Fandom. –Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters – Bex has me on to discuss/review part one of the Godzilla anime trilogy. Being that its kaiju and anime, it was the perfect crossover. –Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle – I return to Redeemed Otaku—this time joined by my fellow Godzilla fan Eric Anderson—to discuss/review part two of the Godzilla anime trilogy (that has a title weirdly similar to a class Star Trek episode). –Godzilla: The Planet Eater – In one of the best English-language analyses of the entire Godzilla anime trilogy, Bex, Eric, and I breakdown part three and put the other films into perspective. It truly is the best episode of Redeemed Otaku yet! (Don’t take my word for it—that’s what Bex said!)
This makes me miss having my own
podcast.
Do you have a podcast? What’s it
about? Would you be interested in having me on?
I
haven’t blogged in several months. Wow. Grad school (and other things) ate up
that much of my time. This shall be remedied!
I’m keeping it simple
today, but this is something I’ve been meaning to mention for a while. I have
several appearances scheduled for this spring and summer that I wanted to make
sure you knew about, True Believers. Keep in mind, though: This list is subject
to change. I could easily add (or subtract) more as the year progresses.
Regardless…
MuskeCon 3.0
A small and relatively
new comic and toy convention held in Muskegon, Michigan. I’ll be tabling there
next door to my friend/co-author Eric
Anderson. It’ll be a big deal because we plan to unveil our second
nerd/geek devotional, The New 42: God
Terraforms All Things, at the show. (More details to follow). The show will
be held March 23, 2019, from 10AM-6PM at
the Holiday Inn Muskegon Harbor.
You can learn more about
the show on its Facebook
page.
G-Fest XXVI
I plan to make my third trip to America’s premiere Godzilla and kaiju convention, which will be held July-12-14, 2019, at the Crowne Plaza Chicago O’Hare in Rosemont, Illinois. I won’t be tabling there, but I’ll be part of several panels, and I’ve applied to host my own (again, more details to follow). I’ll have books with me to sell, though, in case anyone wants to buy some.
Learn more about the show
on its website.
(Early bird pricing ends February 28!)
Gen-Con 52
It wouldn’t be summer
without a trip to Gen-Con! I make my eighth straight appearance to “the Four
Best Days in Gaming” Aug. 1-4, 2019, at
the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis. I’ll be tabling in
their Authors Avenue, selling and signing books, as usual, but I’ll be making
the rounds to some events throughout the weekend, too. Hopefully, Eric Anderson
and many of my other friends/writers will be joining me.
I may not have a new book out this year (yet), but I am making appearances at several events in the tristate area this summer. This will give you several opportunities to meet me, buy a book, and get it autographed. I’ll be participating in other events at these shows, as well, so you can see me outside the vendor hall and hang out.
This is the annual gathering of the kaiju nerds. I attended last year with my Kaijuvision Radio co-host, Brian Scherschel, to promote our upcoming podcast. (Although, I did get myself on a kaiju writing panel). Now that KVR is up and running, we’re returning. This time we’re on several panels throughout the weekend—including a live KVR episode recording entitled “Godzilla and the Japanese National Spirit.” I’ll also be on two kaiju writing panels and one for the recent film Pacific Rim: Uprising. I won’t be in the vendor hall, but I’ll have copies of Destroyer and The Worlds of Nathan Marchand available for purchase and signing.
Gen-Con 2018 When: August 2-5, 2018 Where: The Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, Indiana Website:http://www.gencon.com/
“The best four days in gaming” returns for another huge year. It’s become a staple of my summer and the biggest event I attend all year. I’ll be in Authors Avenue in the vendor hall with all my Gen-Con writer friends. I’ll be selling and signing my own books as well as the newest volume of Missing Pieces, which features a new short story by yours truly. I might slip away to a few events throughout the day, and I’ll be attending events in the evening for sure, so we can hang out, if you want.
This is a small one-day event I was invited to vend at thanks to my partner in crime and Nerd Chapel founder, Eric Anderson. It’s a free family event. I’ve never been to this comic shop before, but I’m always in the market for finding cool new nerdy hangouts. It’s appropriate that I’m vending at this event since I, like Stan “The Man” Lee, like referring to my fans as “True Believers.”
Me and my Kaijuvision Radio co-host, Brian Scherschel, were interviewed on Geek Devotions as the grand finale for their King of the Monsters Month. The show’s host, Dallas, is one of our biggest fans and has been name-dropping us all month in his videos and podcast. I’d also contributed to a video game stream he did as part of King of the Monsters Month a few weeks ago. Learn how and why we started Kaijuvision Radio as we geek out about Godzilla!
A Man from Another Time Exploring Another Universe