Toho's Tokusatsu Apocalypse

 

Byrd and Matt are joined by Chris Marti to discuss two apocalyptic Toho disaster films. First up, we talk 1961’s harrowing The Last War, a story chronicling the events leading up to World War III and the helpless civilians stuck in the middle.  Featuring excellent performances by Akira Takarada, and Frankie Sakai and some of Eiji Tsuburaya’s very best effects work. We follow that up with the banned end of the world epic Prophecies of Nostradamus from 1974.  This bizarre film shows us giant slugs, nuclear explosions, food shortages, cannibals, mutants, giant bats, and everything in between!  We’ll discuss both films, as well as numerous real life nuclear scares throughout history, Nostradamus, aborted sequels, Toei’s rare apocalypse drama The Final War, and more!  Join us as we talk about the more depressing corners of Toho science fiction in this stacked episode!