This summer was rather lonely with no major dinosaur exhibitions held in the Tokyo metropolitan area, but personally, I had a summer full of dinosaurs for the first time in a while. At the beginning of August, I went to the Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum with the Dinosaur Club, and later in the month, I visited the Kitakyushu Museum of Natural History & Human History on a performance tour. What's more, at the beginning of October, when this manuscript is published, I have a tour planned with the Dinosaur Club to the Nagasaki Dinosaur Museum and the Mifune Dinosaur Museum. Such a thing hasn't happened in the last 10 years. It's a reverse pilgrimage of dinosaur museums.

 

Both the Fukui and Kitakyushu museums were my first visits since their renovations.

In Fukui, the "Theropoda 2025" exhibition was being held. The Spinosaurus-related exhibits were meticulously curated (the swimming-style full skeleton suspended from the ceiling and beautifully lit was almost divine!), and seeing the Asiatyrannus for the first time was incredibly impressive. I went through the venue twice to fully appreciate it.

That night, there was also an added bonus: a lively exchange meeting between the local Katsuyama Dinosaur Research Group and the Dinosaur Club, for the first time in over 20 years.

The next day, I toured the permanent exhibition. My main attractions were the mummified fossil of Brachylophosaurus (the actual specimen on loan!) and the overwhelming number of full dinosaur skeleton replicas. Additionally, the collections of synapsids and archosaurs, which can't be seen elsewhere, were captivating.

However, it was disappointing that there weren't any affordable and novel original dinosaur goods. I settled for a few exhibition catalogs and a small Fukivenator plushie.

At the Kitakyushu Museum of Natural History & Human History, which I visited alone, the special summer exhibition "Bones2" was also being held, featuring skeletons from extant and ancient creatures. Although smaller in scale, there were many interesting exhibits that were very educational. After taking my time to view everything, I moved to the permanent exhibition where a parade of dinosaur skeletons awaited. The visual of the "Earth Mall," where full skeletons of dinosaurs and extinct mammals march in the same direction, was as impressive as I had hoped. Seeing Tyrannosaurus (Stan) and Giganotosaurus side by side is something you can't see elsewhere. Furthermore, it was a blessing to see Sue here, which, in addition to Stan, is the only permanent exhibition in Japan.

Here too, I wasn't blessed with souvenirs, only buying a small Pteranodon skeleton plushie.

 

Image 1

Spinosaurus from the Fukui Dinosaur Museum's "Theropoda 2025" exhibition. The aligned vertebrae are a restored model of the holotype specimen lost in World War II. Asiatyrannus is a tyrannosaurid that was only described in 2024. Apparently, it's a real fossil. *Other megaloraptorans were also well-represented.

The permanent exhibition featured a magnificent Brachylophosaurus mummy, the dinosauriform Lagusuchus (now Marasuchus, though the catalog still calls it Lagusuchus), the therapsid Massetognathus, a reconstruction of Shunosaurus, and small pareiasaurs.

From the Museum of Natural History & Human History's "Bones 2" exhibition, there was a disassembled full skeleton of the oviraptorid Anzu and the pelvis of a saltwater crocodile with a perforated acetabulum (Are you a dinosaur?!), and a very expressive echidna.

The permanent exhibition had a two-shot of T-Rex and Giganotosaurus, and the nostalgic Sue. There was also a swimming Spinosaurus, but its tail was based on an older reconstruction.

My spoils from both museums: a Fukivenator and Pteranodon skeleton plushie.

 

Now, another "reverse" this summer was, of course, "Jurassic World: Rebirth." (Original title: JW Rebirth)

I went to see the 2D subtitled version on the first day, and then the dubbed version in September for verification purposes. I was curious about the dubbed version, as it had angered Scarlett Johansson fans online, but for me, the unemotional dubbing didn't distract me from following the story, so it was actually better. As for the crucial story, it wasn't the B-grade foolish dinosaur movie I feared in the previous Secret Museum entry, but it still left me with a lingering sense of dissatisfaction.

Many long-time Jurassic fans online have expressed their complaints. In short, it's "Show us more dinosaurs!" They rightfully argue that if there's time to endlessly show an irrelevant family drama of a family joining mid-story, they should show at least one more dinosaur. This might have been a desperate measure to include children naturally in the story, but the explanation of family relationships—how the father and young sister suspiciously view the frivolous man about to marry the daughter, and other such unnecessary details—was a bit too long-winded.

The numerous recreations of past iconic scenes also became a bit tiresome. The opening scene, where a research assistant carelessly (I rewatched it twice and he clearly discards it intentionally) discards a snack wrapper and a catastrophe ensues, drew snickers. This might be an homage to the beloved villain from JP1, the snack-loving, slovenly Nedry. However, making the mutant monster perform the scenes from JP1 where the glass fogs up from raptor breath and the flare guides the T-Rex felt like a sacrilege against the Velociraptor and T-Rex, and I couldn't help but feel indignant! *I was moved by Rexy's flare scene in JW1, 20 years later, though...

Besides, the interactions with the Mosasaurus and Spinosaurus on the ship were blatantly reminiscent of "Jaws," and the snake-like creature lurking in the jungle swamp is a common trope. From memory, it's probably the Dagobah scene from "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back." If you watch the video, you'll probably find many more déjà vu scenes. It's enjoyable in a way, I suppose.

First of all, the premise that dinosaurs are once again on the verge of extinction because they can't adapt to the environment, and only inhabit equatorial regions similar to the Mesozoic era, completely negates the flow of previous series with a single sentence. This setting is far too sloppy and unconvincing.

Moreover, collecting blood from "giant Mesozoic creatures (at least in the dubbed version, even paleontologists called them dinosaurs) of land, sea, and air that have large hearts and live long lives" to create a cure for heart disease... isn't that too childish? Even if their DNA were effective, wasn't that DNA created by humans in the first place? And if they wanted to collect DNA from giant dinosaurs, weren't there Apatosaurus rolling around in the city?! I wish they had thought of a more plausible story... but there's no point in complaining, so I'll move on to my thoughts on the ancient creatures that appeared and the new figures I've purchased.

 

Aquilops

This is my top dinosaur pick from this movie. It's simply a rare species. I only learned about it recently when I was researching basal ceratopsians for New Secret Museum Vol.83. Before "Rebirth," there was only one figure released by a Chinese manufacturer (the same series as the Leptoceratops pictured in Vol.83), but thanks to the movie, the number has rapidly increased.

In the movie, it plays the role of a healing baby dinosaur, just charming everyone without doing anything active. The discovered fossil is of a subadult, about 60cm long, so it's a bit unreasonable to portray it as a baby character at that size. Perhaps because of this, only deformed figures and plushies have been released. The only scale model, besides the Ania one, is a figure by a Chinese manufacturer called DINO DREAM, which faithfully recreates the movie's design. This one is well-made with realistic backpacks and other accessories, but it's quite expensive, so I haven't bought it yet. 

Image 2

This is from FUNKO's POP! MOVIES series, a line of realistically deformed (?) movie characters. Despite being a deformed type outside my usual scope, I quite liked it.

The Gashapon "Jurassic World Goron to Sofubi" (Takara Tomy) is also well-made despite being deformed, so I tried painting it.

The Ania one is well-made, but it's only sold in a set with Mosasaurus and Spinosaurus, and since I had already bought both, I reluctantly bought it again.

I didn't really want the SEGA prize plushie, but it was cheap on Mercari, so I bought it. The medal is a souvenir from the movie theater.

Mattel also released a deformed toy that makes chewing sounds and jumps, but I refrained from buying it.

 

Mosasaurus

This time, the Mosasaurus is plump and even larger, but it seems to have completely transformed into a gentle giant. Its former ferocity, where it would jump out of the water to snatch sharks and humans, swallow pterosaurs and female staff whole, drag Indominus into the water, and overturn crab fishing boats in the Sea of Okhotsk, has disappeared. Even when it capsizes a yacht, it doesn't eat the people thrown overboard, and it simply swims alongside the protagonists' boat. It must have had its fangs removed after years of coexisting with humpback whale pods.

Image 3

SEGA prize figure. The open mouth is well-made, but the proportions are too flat, making it look a bit strange. The part protruding from the water seems to be the caudal fin, but... its body couldn't possibly be that flexible!

The metal figure was sold at the movie theater for almost 5,000 yen. I hesitated for a moment, but then I felt a sense of mission and bought it. The craftsmanship is good, but it's a shame that the pose completely lacks dynamism.

The pin badge is a pre-order bonus. I bought it while grumbling that a limited-edition figure like in the previous work would have been better.

And to avoid wasting the duplicate Mosasaurus I got when I bought the Ania Aquilops, I ended up creating this diorama. The corrugated plastic sheet was something I had at home, but I bought the boat and figures, a fire lookout tower kit to modify the front and back of the boat, and instant color putty (clear blue), which ended up being quite a splurge. The boat is a fishing boat for N-gauge dioramas, to which I added a cage-like structure at the stern and a protruding part at the bow, and painted it to look authentic. I overlooked the fact that the shape of the hull itself is different. The person holding a gun at the bow is supposedly ScarJo.

 

Spinosaurus

This time, the Spinosaurus has been renewed to its latest form, as if JP3 never happened. This is a huge contrast to the first JW film, which deliberately avoided giving the JP series raptors feathers out of respect for them. Despite that, when the Spinosaurus is with the Mosasaurus, it gives off a feeling of insignificance. With a total length of 15m, it's less than half the size of the Mosasaurus, so it can't be helped. Dr. Loomis was happy, saying "It's symbiosis between Mosasaurus and Spinosaurus!", but I wanted the Spinosaurus to deliver the final blow to the weakened Mosasaurus, like a pod of orcas attacking a blue whale.

Nevertheless, the Spinosaurus is the most formidable dinosaur in this movie. In the human-eating rankings, it proudly takes first place (2 people), surpassing Quetzalcoatlus (1 person) and D-Rex (1 person).

Image 4

Bandai Plannosaurus JW version. The pattern on the body is applied with stickers, which was surprisingly tricky. I made 3 JW series models this time, and I regret not having brush-painted them. The bottom row shows one of the few original figures sold at the movie theater, a bottle cap mascot, and the surprisingly well-made Takara Tomy Gashapon "Battle Action Figure 2" series. And just like the flat Mosasaurus earlier, it's a SEGA prize figure.

 

Titanosaurus and Quetzalcoatlus

The Titanosaurus's tail is simply too long. While it may have been inspired by Diplodocus, a whip-like tail is one thing, but a wobbly, ribbon-like contortion is questionable. Did the director want a fantastical image? And the most disappointing scene in this movie is the herd of Titanosaurus stretching as far as the eye can see to the horizon. Setting aside the question of whether this island could sustain so many gigantic sauropods, none of the Titanosaurus raised their necks and remained still like backdrops. Or perhaps they actually were backdrops, but this is unacceptable in this day and age. What did the director want to convey? It was an inexplicable scene.

I thought the Quetzalcoatlus had a pretty good design. It's a bit disappointing that there were few flying scenes and its image clinging to rocks left a stronger impression.

Image 5

Plannosaurus Titanosaurus. Why is its nose so inflated...? I can't recall if there was such a scene in the movie. The downside of being a plastic model is that the tail can't be wiggled. Since the caudal vertebrae only go partway, it might have been better to make the rest of the tail a wiggling shape. To the right is a figure that came with cola lids at the theater. It's roughly made, but the feel is well-captured.

Plannosaurus Quetzalcoatlus

The Plannosaurus series, when covered with an outer skin, has a fairly limited range of motion. This Quetzalcoatlus, in particular, has poor movement within the series and can't take any pose other than the flying one shown above. It can't perform tricks like clinging to rocks as on the right, so I detached the shoulder joints and lightly fixed them, filling the resulting gaps in the image. The rock formation is from the Schleich "Cave Play Set," part of which was used in New Secret Museum Vol.82.

 

T-Rex and D-Rex

The T-Rex in the movie appears on screen after eating a Parasaurolophus and taking a nap, and then merely chases a rubber boat. I would have preferred to see it hunt the Parasaurolophus. I think the biggest point of dissatisfaction in this movie was the absence of dinosaur-on-dinosaur battles. The only raptor vs. Mutadon fight was not shown on screen.

Mosasaurus vs. Spinosaurus, Quetzalcoatlus vs. Mutadon in an aerial battle, T-Rex vs. D-Rex (which was apparently planned), D-Rex vs. Ankylosaurus, or D-Rex vs. Mosasaurus to reminisce about JW1... Wouldn't you want to see that? If the family drama time slot had been used for dinosaur battles, it would have been much more exciting.

While the plump design of the T-Rex is acceptable, I wish it had at least evoked Rexy a bit more. After all, the Rexy-style T-Rex is the face of the Jurassic series.

In the movie's finale, the D-Rex bites down on helicopters and punishes petty villains, freely changing its size according to the scene and rampaging with full monstrousness. In reality, it's a deformed Tyrannosaurus created by a genetic engineering error, and should be pitied rather than feared. In the film, there's a scene where a doctor, hearing about the failed monster on the ship, questions, "Why didn't you euthanize it? It's pitiful." But the blunt reply is something like, "We invested a lot of money, so we can't easily kill it," and the matter is quickly settled. I think the work would have gained more depth if this aspect had been explored further.

Image 6

Tyrannosaurus Figure

SEGA prize figure. I wish its lower body was a bit sturdier and its tail longer.

The theater-exclusive original bottle cap mascot and the Takara Tomy "Battle Action Figure 2" series. Both are not bad.

The manufacturers of these three types are, coincidentally, the same as those mentioned for the Spinosaurus.

And the D-Rex from the Gashapon "Jurassic World Goron to Sofubi" (Takara Tomy). While Mattel has released larger D-Rex figures and there are several others available, I haven't bought them because I wonder how they would look displayed alongside other dinosaurs. For now, I'll just introduce this one, which I happened to get from a Gashapon. Like the Aquilops, I painted it.

Doesn't this pose embody pathos? The director says the D-Rex design originated from Aliens and SW's Rancor monster, but it reminded me of the Elephant Man. If it's fated to die in the next film, please let it have a peaceful death.

Not a single figure has been released for the other mutant monster, the Mutadon (which has a rather pathetic-sounding name). Is there some reason for this?

This makes me want to try making one. I tried looking for usable materials—terrestrial pterosaurs and long-faced theropods like Aliamos—that I had multiple of and wouldn't mind sacrificing, but unfortunately, I couldn't find any. 

*The formaldehyde-preserved specimen(?) in a corner of the laboratory in the opening scene, though not clear in the footage, is said to be a two-headed Mutadon, a deformity created during the Mutadon's development, according to online information.

Finally, one concern...

Captain Duncan saves everyone and smiles contentedly on the boat escaping the island, but he's lost his own ship, and if he learns that ScarJo has awakened to justice and won't get a reward... it's terrifying to even think about it...

  

Bonus: Imaginary Story

"How I would Rebirth it"

ScarJo leads a dinosaur welfare organization. They receive information that deformed species, created during illegal dinosaur regeneration and modification plans by InGen on the island, are still alive. To gather evidence of dinosaur abuse, they head to the island by boat. Naturally, a company spy is onboard, and Isabella, a dinosaur-obsessed girl, has stowed away. Thus, the group avoids attacks from Mosasaurus and Spinosaurus, which the company unleashed to protect the island, and lands. After much hardship, they reach the laboratory and find the horrifying yet pitiful D-Rex being abused. The group is also captured. However, one day, an employee named Nedry carelessly drops a snack wrapper, causing the D-Rex to escape. This marks the beginning of the D-Rex's revenge. The D-Rex devours all the employees and closes in on ScarJo's group. At that moment, the roar of our T-Rex echoes through the air.

The End.