Battel perfect for fans of 'giant city-crushing monsters,' nerds

04/02/08 - Remember the crazy monsters that the Power Rangers fought? Imagine if those guys got together to form their own wrestling league. Take that and add a good amount of pop culture humor and parody, and you get the Kaiju Big Battel.Kaiju Big Battel: More Better Fighto Volume 1 was my first exposure to the wonderful world of Kaiju fighting and, as it's a very surreal and confusing world, I would have been lost without the book that was sent along with the DVD.

The book, "Kaiju Big Battel: A Practical Guide to Giant City-Crushing Monsters," is filled with all of the background information on the fighters you will ever need to have a basic understanding of Kaiju Big Battel. There is plenty of information on all four factions of fighters, from the evil Dr. Cube and his posse, to the protectors of Earth, the Kaiju Heroes.

These characters are what make the fights so enjoyable, at least to me. How can you not love a character like American Beetle? He's half American boxer, half Mexican luchador and he's decked out in red, white, and blue from head to toe.

Even the evil characters like Dr. Cube and the rogue characters like Call-Me-Kevin are developed and presented in amusing ways. Cube is the main villain and creator of many of the giant evil monsters. Due to a mishap while performing surgery on himself, Cube is horribly scarred. To cover up this fact, he wears on box on his head.

Call-Me-Kevin is a perennial loser who has never won a match according the announcers. He is not well liked by the fans, announcers, or any of the other fighters. The amount of scorn heaped on this oddly named extraterrestrial sea mutant is incredible and hilarious.

The two announcers, Louden Noxious and Beav Wallace, give a somewhat sincere play-by-play of what's going on, but more often than not, Noxious gets worked-up like Jim Ross, yelling "Oh my god!" frequently and coming up with pun-filled names for the most painful looking moves.

Noxious and Wallace also make very smart satirical references to pop culture and society at large. For example, during one of the aforementioned American Beetle's matches, the "Rucky Charm" battle, the beetle had been doused by toxic waste in a previous bout, causing him to become bloated and obese. At the sight of this the announcers start up with very witty comments about America's obesity problem.

Another constant gag in Kaiju Big Battel is the wealth of so-called "Engrish" used during the matches - as you can see by the name "Rucky Charms." Sure it may be slightly offensive, but it's still funny and there seems to be equal opportunity mocking on all counts.

Basically, Kaiju Big Battel is a much funnier and much nerdier version of professional wrestling. If that sounds good to you, then congratulations ... because you're just as weird and nerdy as I am.

The book is amusing on its own merits too, not just as a primer. It's a faux non-fiction book similar to "The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks." If you enjoyed that work, you're probably the type of person who'd enjoy a book about fictional city-crushing monsters.

The DVD features 10 Kaiju battles that are all buffered with the commentary and analysis of Noxious and Wallace. The DVD also contains bonus content that includes character biographies, fan art and an audio commentary track with the nefarious Cube.

Kaiju has live events as well, and there was an event this past weekend on Saturday at Lupo's. Kaiju Big Battel is based in Boston, so if you're interesting in seeing them live it's very likely they will be around New England often.