Space Family Carlvinson v05 c058
OctonionicThis chapter is titled Virus, but it really has very little to do with that film. It's more about the then-latest Godzilla film, the effects of which Asari appears to have been quite pleased by. At this time, the effects director role for the franchise had just been passed from Nakano Teruyoshi (Shou) to Kawakita Koichi (Ko), who would hold it for the rest of the Heisei era, until 1999.
Other natives who show up:
“Dear old Dad”, whose name would probably be Ei, is Tsuburaya Eiji (English), the special effects director on the original Godzilla film (and some sequels), and the creator of the Ultraman franchise.
Kazu is Omori Kazuki (English), the director of Godzilla vs. Biollante and apparently a licensed medical doctor.
Yuu is Tanaka Tomoyuki (English), known as the principal creator of Godzilla. The kanji for “Tomoyuki” are often read as “Yuuko”, hence the alias.
The very old native is probably Honda Ishiro (English), director of many Godzilla films, including the original, for which he was also the writer.
For a rather different reference, there's a nonsense chant that shows up in this chapter. That comes from Tsutsui Yasutaka's story 熊の木本線, translated as “Bear's Wood Main Line” by Andrew Driver. Tsutsui is the author of several works that have made it over to the western consciousness, such as Paprika and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time.
The punchline of that short story is sort of assumed in this chapter, so I'd consider it a spoiler. So fair warning: if you've acquired a copy of Tsutsui's short stories and have been waiting for an excuse to read “Bear's Wood Main Line”, now's a good opportunity.
v05c058