08.10.2018: Showa-era Kaiju suit-maker Keizo Murase at G-Fest 25

Join us for a special interview with kaiju Keizo Murase from G-Fest 25!

I am thrilled to bring you this interview with Keizo Murase, a kaiju suit-maker from the showa era and beyond. I originally met Murase in 2016 when he was a guest at Monsterpalooza. I did a poor job of coordinating interview options and ended up not sitting down with him at all during that trip. Let me tell you, that was a huge regret for about two years!

Thankfully, the crew from the annual Godzilla convention, G-FEST, heard my kaiju prayers and brought this living legend to the show. Let me share with you just a portion of Keizo Murase’s monster roster: Daikaiju Varan (1958), Mothra (1961), King Kong vs Godzilla (1962), Gorath (1962), Matango (1963), Dogora (1964), Ghidorah the Three-Headed Monster (1964), Frankenstein vs. Baragon (1965), Gamera (1965), Daimajin (1966), Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975), Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991) and Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992) — the point is that this man’s career is vast! And because of that, we could only cover a small amount of it in this interview. Let’s all cross our claws that the Kaijucast has an opportunity to welcome Murase-san back to the podcast in the near future!

MURASE-INSPIRED MUSICAL MOMENTS:
1. Baradagi, God Of The Mountains by Akira Ifukube from Daikaiju Varan (1958)
2. Titanosaurus Attacks by Akira Ifukube from Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

SUGGESTED VIEWING:
I didn’t mention this in the recording, but make sure to check out the gallery of images from Murase’s prop room at the convention, featuring a number of reproductions that were made exactly as they would have been in the showa era! Thanks to David Eric Dopko for sharing his photos.

Keizo Murase Prop Room at G-Fest 25

DAIKAIJU RE-DISCUSSION REMINDER:
Don’t forget! We’re covering Godzilla vs Biollante for our Daikaiju Re-Discussion this month. If you’d like to send in your homework, please do so before August 24th to be included in the episode.