The wind is getting chilly, and the dinosaurs that livened up the summer have left (though the Cambrian animals are still working hard at Ueno). It seems the general public wasn't as excited as I thought, but for me, it was a summer filled with dinosaurs. Let me look back.

First, "Jurassic World."
I watched it twice. I enjoyed it! The scene where the raptor sisters race through the forest with motorcycles was incredibly cool, and the part at the end where the T-Rex appears from behind the gate, roars, and strikes a pose was truly the main act arriving, making you want to shout "Finally!" The flare used to lure the T-Rex, the Gallimimus stampeding through, and the nostalgic ruins of the old visitor center (from the souvenirs on the shelves to that banner!) and abandoned jeeps, etc., offered plenty of fan service for those who remember the first movie vividly.

And some mysteries were solved.

Stegoceratops indeed appeared. I didn't notice it the first time I watched, but the novelization mentioned the scene, so I was prepared the second time. In the latter half of the movie, it briefly appears on a computer monitor in the visitor center lab, which is deserted after the staff evacuates. The screen quickly changes to Indominus, so it seems it was an image used to explain the hybrid dinosaur.

And the question about the scaly raptors was dismissed with a single comment from Dr. Wu. "The dinosaurs here were created by supplementing missing parts of their genome with DNA from other organisms. There is nothing natural here." Indeed, in "Jurassic Park," there's a line about "using frog DNA." In the novelization, Dr. Wu politely adds, "If we had obtained pure genetic information, their appearance would have been far different from what it is now." I was completely outmaneuvered. Hairless raptors, an overly giant Mosasaurus, a Pteranodon with teeth... anything goes now.

How the Mosasaurus DNA was obtained remains unknown. The claws on the raptor sister figures I posted last time seem to have just been a huge blunder. The gimmick-equipped sister series that appeared in September actually have claws. (I wish they had included those headgears too...)

This time, no figures were released by domestic manufacturers; they were all imported Hasbro products. As a result, the unit price was high, and despite the small number, I ended up spending quite a bit (Photo 1) (Photo 2).

For some reason, several items incorporated light-up gimmicks, such as the classic JP figures where wounds glow red. The large Indominus even has its entire back glow in two colors with a roar (is this supposed to be mimicry?). The small Indominus comes with a gyrosphere, the Mosasaurus with a submarine, and the Pteranodon with a helicopter. They all have a gimmick where wounds open up when attacked with their respective weapons, which is gruesome but makes you play with them over and over. The nostalgic Dilophosaurus, which only appeared as a hologram in the movie, shoots plastic sticks resembling venom.

(Photo 3) shows mini-figures, about 8-10 cm in size, exclusive to Walmart, a major American supermarket chain. There seem to be 12 types and their color variations, and I bought a 15-piece pack. The basic forms are scaled-down versions of Hasbro's regular-sized figures, but without the gimmicks, the sculpting is better. It's a shame the coloring is terribly sloppy. So, I repainted a duplicate Mosasaurus, and since I also had a great white shark (Safari mini-series) of just the right size, I cobbled together this diorama using a cardboard box lying around, made into a simple shadow box. (Photo 4)

The toyification of Hasbro's JP series figures has accelerated with each new work, and this time, comparing them to the realistic "KAIJU" action figures from the movie "Pacific Rim" that were displayed next to them at the imported toy shop made me sad (even though they cost about the same!). A sequel to JW has been confirmed, and while I'm curious if the Mosasaurus will survive in its small pool and reappear, I'm more worried about the future of the figures.

There were 24 dinosaur-related books published between July and September this year, but JW-related publications were limited to the aforementioned "Novelization," a "3D Encyclopedia" for children, the Movie Hihou special issue "Latest Dinosaur Movie Pictorial," and features in "Movie Hihou" and "Kinema Junpo," which was quite disappointing. There were no TV specials either. In contrast, the National Museum of Nature and Science's special exhibition "The Great Leap of Life," co-hosted by the mighty NHK, was lively, with special programs, the anime series "Pikaia!" and its mook, and related publications such as "The Beginning of Life - Paleozoic Era" and "Doraemon: More Mysterious Science (with an Anomalocaris model)."

The special exhibition "The Great Leap of Life" was the best exhibition of the summer. The TV program, however, introduced 30-year-old material, such as the Dinosauroid and Troodon without feathers, as if they were new hypotheses, making me wonder "huh???". (The footage of naked Troodons running around the feet of hairy Daspletosaurus, presented as modern, was quite surreal.) I was worried about what I would do if there was a Dinosauroid at the venue, but that fear was unfounded, and while dinosaurs were treated as secondary, the array of magnificent real fossils of the Burgess Shale fauna displayed right at the entrance of the venue was more than enough to satisfy me.

(Photo 5) shows gashapon figures exclusive to the venue and sister series gashapon "Paleozoic Era - Great Explosion of Life" arranged chronologically. Both are made by Kaiyodo and are wonderfully crafted. The same types are also available in Choco Eggs, but it'sさすが Kaiyodo that these are not rehashes.

*The Troodon is an unfortunate dinosaur, with only a handful of figures ever made, despite its well-known name. The only ones I own are the Stenonychosaurus from the British Natural History Museum (Secret Treasury Vol. 41) and the "Walking with Dinosaurs" figure (New Secret Treasury Vol. 16). (It seems a series called Jurassic Hunter has recently released some as well...)
And yet, of all things, I had a Dinosauroid figure in my house (Photo 6).

It's the "Dinosaur Human" from the 2001 snack toy "Mu Unidentified Animals / Mysteries of UMA." Even though I grumble, "That's not a UMA!", I still collect such things. Speaking of which, no one probably remembers anymore that Troodon was once called Troödon and classified as a pachycephalosaurid... (Photo 7) Korotan Bunko, Dinosaur Encyclopedia 1977)

The "Mega Dinosaur Exhibition 2015" at Makuhari Messe was misleading in its title, as the only mega dinosaur was Turiasaurus, and only its upper half. It seemed the theme was the giganticization of various animals, but it felt a bit disorganized. The new tyrannosaur, "Lythronax," which I was looking forward to, was overshadowed by the familiar "Stan" and didn't stand out... However, I got a good result from the venue-exclusive gashapon, getting all 4 types in 5 tries (and the only duplicate was a different color of Turiasaurus), so I left the venue in a good mood. Furthermore, being weak to limited editions, I naturally bought the Turiasaurus sculpted by Mr. Araki. It's impressive how detailed it is despite its small size, but honestly, I would have preferred a slender-faced tyrannosaur like Lythronax figure over an uncharacteristic sauropod (Photo 8).

On the other hand, the "Dino World 2015 Yokohama Dinosaur Expo" could have been subtitled "Morrison Formation Dinosaurs Galore," as it pleased enthusiasts by gathering rarely seen North American Jurassic dinosaurs, including four Allosauruses, three Ceratosauruses, Tanycolagreus, Barosaurus, newly discovered Camptosaurus, Dryosaurus, and Gargoyleosaurus. As a crowd-pulling centerpiece, the first public display of Torvosaurus was good, but the promotion of "the true star, Tyrannosaurus!" (Tinker) and a new species of Mosasaurus from Morocco (riding on the JW bandwagon?) was perhaps unavoidable. The problem was the inconsistent order of display, with exhibits simply placed haphazardly (Allos and Ceratos were scattered throughout the venue), and the lack of proper explanatory boards. Even more critically, there were no original goods or even an exhibition catalog, which was a huge disappointment. It was a truly strange exhibition, with woolly rhinos abruptly mixed in among the dinosaurs, and even shining ammonite jewelries that made you instinctively look for price tags.

Finally, let me introduce the items I obtained at the "Hakubutsu Festival!", where the "Dinosaur Club" also had a booth and members gathered for two days of great excitement (Photo 9).

The upper row features works by Dinosaur Club members. From left: a new work by Takao Ito, a ceramic artist living in Aichi who was introduced in New Secret Treasury Vol. 18, "Oviraptor Incubating with Eggs"; Masahide Nakayama's "Psittacosaurus with Proper Hairy Tail," from Sendai, who produces dinosaur models under the brand name "Dinosaur Island"; and "Japan's Dinosaur Park Guide 2015," a booklet edited by the director of the "Dinosaur Toy Museum." It introduces 200 locations across Japan, with information provided by club members nationwide, a must-have for any dinosaur fan.
The lower row features new works by Masanobu Asami, a paper-cutting artist of incredible skill who also exhibited last year: "Dimorphodon" and "Hallucigenia"; and a plaster replica of a giant moa's cervical vertebra (!). It's an antique item, rumored to have been displayed in some Southeast Asian museum. A complete set of cervical vertebrae from the skull was available, but I hesitated, considering the amateurish craftsmanship, its weight, and high cost. In the end, I only bought a set of three connected vertebrae (15th, 16th, and 17th) from the base of the neck for 1000 yen each... I wonder if I should have bought them all.