KAIJU BIG BATTEL "Shocking Truth"
DVD Review
By: Eric Bresler, Director/Producer, Otaku Unite!

In Otaku Unite!, Kaiju Chief Officer David Borden stated that the in order to fully enjoy the KBB experience"...you really have to see the events live, even the videos don't put it across" and I agreed with him completely. Neither the KBB segment in OU! nor the first Kaiju DVD release, Terebi Sento, capture the excitement of a live Battel. But after watching their newest DVD offering, "Shocking Truth", I feel like that's becoming a moot point. As the public awareness of KBB has increased over the past few years so has the Kaiju universe itself. It has become a Japanese-styled Middle Earth whose inhabitants all have their own back stories and histories with each other, which are explored in-depth on their new DVD. Seeing the events live seems like a mere bonus in the wake of "Shocking Truth", which marks the apex of the Kaiju experience thus far.

First up on the DVD is the "What is Kaiju?" short, which serves as the perfect introduction for the uninitiated. This segment provides a history of the KBB universe as well as bios of its heroes, villains, and rogues. Its a perfect example of how the true source of KBB's humor lies not in the monster-wrestling concept itself, but in the writing behind it. This short is hilarious throughout its 11 minute runtime and is sure to make even the most jaded Kaiju fan smile. Moving on...

The DVD gets its name from the disc's main feature, which is amazing. Seriously, order it now. Its set up as a series of television programs (much like the opening sequence to OU!) that are linked together by an ongoing storyline featuring the great Dr. Cube who shines brighter than ever before. There are news programs, Battel clips, and a dead-on parody of Japanese sentai programs (the opening credit sequence of which is my favorite part of the DVD). There's even a J-pop video complete with English subtitles. Its a great, unpredictable watch that has my highest recommendation.

So there. KBB is big and its only getting bigger so jump on now while you still have the chance to say that you were there before they exploded.