Godzilla Trilogy (Netflix)

We're talking anime now, baybee. While Attack on Titan was an adaptation of manga/anime, it was a live action film. So the first time we're talking about anime. In fact, this is our first animated film covered on this entire blog. This one is a bit complex as it is actually a trilogy of films rather than just one, but these are so closely connected that it felt weird giving a different post to each. When learning this existed I found myself confused about why it had never been done before: animation seems like the perfect medium for Godzilla (and all kaiju, really). So we're here to see if animation is indeed a good fit for the main man Big G, with a series of films directed by Kōbun Shizuno and Hiroyuki Seshita. This is going to be an extremely long synopsis since it is 3 films, so let's get to it!

If You Haven't Seen it Before

- Humanity has been away from planet Earth after being chased away by Godzilla, all of humankind living on a space colony alongside the alien races the Bilusaludo and Exif.

- The Exif are a religious species which worship an unnamed God and have advanced technology which allows them to glimpse the future, while the Bilusaludo are a hyper-logical and pragmatic species who have given up most of their culture and material comfort for the sake of accomplishing their goals.

- Main character Haruo Sakaki (human) desires nothing more than to return to Earth and kill Godzilla.

- With no viable options for another habitable planet, the Coalition decides to return to Earth but know they will have to contend with Godzilla. Upon arriving back on Earth, they discover they've been gone for 10,000 years due to relativity.

- Sakaki has developed a plan to kill Godzilla using EMPs, and it actually appears to work when they kill Godzilla shortly after making it back to Earth. They then realize that the Godzilla they've killed is basically Baby Godzilla, and the real one has no awakened again and kills nearly everyone on the planet.

- Sakaki swears revenge and is rescued by a group of humanoids who now live on Earth: the Houtua. The Houtua worship Mothra, and Sakaki's get involved with the Shobijin twins.

- The Houtua introduce the Coalition to nanometal, an incredibly advanced material created while developing MechaGodzilla and that can be shaped into functionally anything and they believe can be used to kill Godzilla once and for all.

- Despite being warned by the Houtua that the city is poison, the Coalition embraces the nanometal that has consumed a segment of the planet and dub this area MechaGodzilla City. They use the resources of the city to prepare to finish Godzilla.

- With the showdown with Godzilla impending, the Coalition is running out of time to finish their preparations and Sakaki learns that the Bilusaludo are fusing their bodies with the nanometal to serve as neural processors to increase the speed, efficienct, and power of the living city.

- Despite being told by the Bilusaludon commander that the process was strictly voluntary, when Godzilla wipes out most of their weaponry the commander orders the nanometal to forcibly absorb their remaining troops to make one final offensive and is guaranteed to work.

- Sakaki, having had his injuries treated by the Houtua and therefore immune to the nanometal (if he wants to be), makes the hard decision to destroy MechaGodzilla City rather than kill Godzilla, as the city itself would continue to absorb the rest of the planet after finishing the current task.

- While Sakaki's fate is being considered by his superiors, he is being treated as both hero and villain by the Coalition while he has taken refuge with a group of Exif led by the priest Mephties. 

- The remaining Bilusaludo functionally force the Coalition's hand, and remove their resources from the greater unit to demand that Sakaki is punished or even executed for destroying MechaGodzilla City.

- The Houtua have a philosophy that making life is "winning" and dying or disappearing is "losing," so the Shobijin twins offer to mate with Sakaki (on separate occasions, don't be weird) to ensure that he "wins" by continuing into the future. He eventually accepts one of their offers.

- The God of the Exif is revealed to be Ghidorah, who consumes almost all of the Exif as he manifests through an amulet in Mephties' eye.

- Unbound by the rules of physical reality, Ghidorah lays waste to Godzilla while remaining completely invulnerable to all weapons either human or kaiju.

- Sakaki is told he is key to the Exif's plan, who worship Ghidorah because of his unbridled and unstoppable power: Sakaki's hatred of Godzilla will be an anchor for Ghidorah to take permanent hold in this universe, allowing his destruction to be unimpending and no longer requiring summoning rituals.

- WIth the help of the Shobijin and some others, Sakaki decides to fight back and shatters the amulet in Mephties' eye, now binding Ghidorah to the physics of this universe and allowing Godzilla to fight back.

- Godzilla kills Ghidorah relatively easily and Sakaki, told that Ghidorah would be watching him as long as he lives, decides to provoke Godzilla into killing him so that Ghidorah will not be able to take hold in the world using Sakaki ever again, as he cannot give up his hatred of Godzilla.

- With both the Bilusaludo and Exif now extinct as a result of Ghidorah's actions, Humans and the Houtua live together happily on Earth, with Sakaki's descendants being among them. The difference is that they treat Godzilla as a natural unstoppable force rather than an enemy to be overcome.

Kaiju Notes 

- The baby Godzilla from part one is a chunky monkey in this one. Mah boi has big legs, big thighs, big chest, and big eyes. It looks much like Legendary Godzilla, being a little chonkier than most of the other versions.

- Godzilla's abilities have taken several levels in badass, including sending shockwaves with a flick of his tail and Atomic Breath which has evolved into something more akin to a sound cannon.

- Ghidorah being some sort of out-of-phase-of-time-and-space entity is a very great concept for the creature. Ghidorah has always been established as an alien and powerful entity, but the version we get here takes that aspect to 11 and it really works. The necks are also much longer than they've ever been, which is really only doable when the monster is not made using a suit, but am glad they decided to embrace what they could do.

So, the first thing to be said about this trilogy is that above all else they are truly sci-fi movies. We open in space, with aliens and advanced technology, and the kaiju are honestly minor elements in films that are primarily about exploring science fiction themes. The mystical religion of the Exif counterbalanced against the extreme logic of the Bilusaludo gives us "the two sides," and then we see the dangers in religion and technology in Ghidorah and MechaGodzilla, respectively. Combined with the other themes of nature's advance, the meaning of humanity, legacy, et cetera, this Planet Godzilla trilogy is really more a Future Planet featuring Godzilla trilogy. This isn't inherently a bad thing, but it does make it less interesting as a kaiju movie.

Let's talk about the kaiju in the sci-fi movie. Godzilla (and Ghidorah) is quite honestly just barely a character. Granted, this series is clearly going for the "force of nature" aspect of the character, especially when taking the ending into consideration, but it does become harder to really engage with any of the monsters in a series of movies that is named after one of those same monsters. In truth, MechaGodzilla doesn't even have a face and appears in one movie but is as much a character as Godzilla was throughout all three. Ghidorah gets an entire 5 minutes of screentime, so he too gets represented more as a force of nature. That, combined with how pretty much ever humanoid character dies, means that Sakaki is basically our only chance for emotional connection throughout. It's a bold choice, but honestly doesn't pay off in the end.

Sakaki is not a compelling main character. It really hurts the overall ability to enjoy these, because basically nothing that Sakaki does or says is interesting. He's like Forrest Gump in that every major event seems to revolve around him by some fluke of history, but he lacks the personality of Gump. Once we hit the third film and all of the other humanoid characters except Mephties and Sakaki are around, we basically lose any ability to really connect with anything going on. If one is super invested in Sakaki's genetic lineage, maybe it would work for them but I don't give a shit.

And that's really the conclusion of this series. While some elements are interesting and even fun, at the end of the day I found it really hard to get invested in this trilogy. I just can't really give a shit. I do appreciate some of the choices made (Ghidorah is pretty badass in this) and really embracing the sci-fi aspects of Godzilla movies, but the sci-fi movies they made around the kaiju just aren't awfully good. The 2nd one, City on the Edge of Battle, is the best one, by the way.

Next: Kong: Skull Island!

Shin Godzilla

We've entered yet another era of Godzilla movies: Reiwa. And with it comes another reboot in what is likely to be another series of movies about our favorite giant nuclear lizard, this time called Shin Godzilla. Blog favorite Shinji Higuchi directs this one alongside another absolute legend (in a different medium) Hideaki Anno. Higuchi is most noted (on this blog) for being the mind behind the adored trilogy of Gamera movies in the 90s (and the recently covered Attack on Titan film), while Anno is a legend in the anime world for being the mind behind Neon Genesis Evangelion. With those powers combined, and the knowledge that Shin Godzilla was considered by the Japan Academy Film Prize Association to be the best Japanese film of 2016, I'm looking forward to seeing this one like I should have 6 years ago. 

Since we are in 2016, there is no proper suit actor for the Godzilla in this film. Mansai Nomura was, however, the motion capture artist so we must give him credit. Like the Godzilla of the Reiwa era, the method of portraying him has changed as well. I suppose it's only fitting. But let's stop with the preamble and get to see what Anno and Higuchi have come up with this time.

If You Haven't Seen it Before

- Off the coast of Japan, an abandoned boat belonging to one Dr. Maki is found. While being investigated, it is destroyed and a flood happens in Tokyo Bay. Several other disasters occur and politicians gather to discuss their options and solutions.

- For quite some time, we watch public servants argue about what to do but actually decide (and do) very little.

- An enormous tail emerges from the sea, which confirms that the responsible party was some living thing. This prompts more arguments about the use of weapons on Japanese land or trying to capture the hitherto unknown creature alive for study.

- While more arguing happens, a horrible beast makes land and destroys part of Tokyo as it moves through the city. As a response to its environment, it seems to transform/evolve into a new form that at least has arms before returning to the sea. This is Godzilla and he's ugly as sin.

- The bureaucrats are now able to mostly agree on getting some sort of force ready to attack, so we watch more people in suits discuss the situation in closed door meetings.

- Despite finding out that Godzilla leaves radiation in its wake, the politicians begin to argue about whether evacuation is warranted (or legal) among many other things. They do ultimately settle on fighting back.

- Just in time, Godzilla returns to shore and now looks much more like the traditional version.

- Godzilla seems completely unharmed by an attack by the JSDF, so the US military aids with some special bombs that actually seem to do damage. 

- The bad news: Godzilla seems to evolve again, now able to breath fire before it focuses into a powerful laser/Atomic Breath, which he also launches from his dorsal plates. Godzilla destroys every bomber, plane, helicopter, and bomb nearby before also slicing damn near the entire city in half with this incredibly powerful Atomic Breath.

- With many of the politicians either dead or missing (unconfirmed) following Godzilla's attack, new leaders are needed while Godzilla simply stands dormant in the middle of the city.

- The US, allied with the UN, commands Japan that a thermonuclear strike will be performed when Godzilla reawakens. The Japanese politicians are almost universally against this, not only because Tokyo will be completely destroyed but also... agreeing to a nuclear strike in Japan.

- Some of the bureaucrats work toward developing an alternate plan, but it has to be absolutely surefire to keep the nuclear strike from happening.

- Using Dr. Maki's decoded notes, the Japanese develop a plan to completely freeze Godzilla to render him helpless. After prodding, the UN/US agrees to let them try this first, but the nuclear strike is the backup plan.

- The Deep Freeze plan goes into effect, forcing Godzilla awake and making him deplete his energy by fending off more missiles and planes. Once he seems tired, several explosives are destroyed which throw buildings on top of Godzilla. Lastly, a group of trucks pump blood coagulant down his throat in the hopes of freezing him.

- Despite the number of deaths this all costs, it ultimately works and Godzilla is no longer a threat but remains frozen in the city.

- Japan is threatened with an immediate nuclear strike if/when Godzilla awakens again, but for now they take pride in their victory over Godzilla.

Kaiju Notes 

- Godzilla, at least initially, is horrible. He's always supposed to be scary and/or intimidating, but his first form is honestly just horrific.

- Once in his "final form," Godzilla is very recognizable but has some significant differences. First off, this is the ugliest Godzilla of all time. His teeth are jagged, his arms are weirdly short, and the red/black aesthetic is just wicked looking. He does look quite powerful (outside of his tiny t-rex arms), but this version of Big G is not nearly as approachable as the older versions.

- Godzilla's new abilities are simultaneous ridiculous and awesome. Shooting lasers/Atomic Breath from his mouth and back and tail and whatever else they could think of is absolutely absurd but truly awe-inspiring when it happens. Godzilla is a true nightmare: always changing and evolving into something more dangerous and more unstoppable as the military throws more might at him. It's great to see in the rare moments Godzilla is on screen and active.

Here's one major note about this movie, this is the first movie since 1954 to do away with Gojira. This is the first (Japanese) Godzilla movie since the very first one where Godzilla had never appeared before. It's an interesting decision and a real marker that this Reiwa era of Godzilla is supposed to be different. And if you read that synopsis up above, you might have noticed that that is certainly true.

There is one major theme of this movie: how useless bureaucracy is, first and foremost. Watching people argue about whether weapons can be used against a giant creature because the rules say that weapons can only be used against an attacking nation of equivalent is damn near perfect scripting when it comes to demonstrating how the people in charge of the most important things are often incompetent at best. There are several funny scenes where the bureaucracy is shown in operation by having about 12 characters all repeat the same order or information in a series. It's effective at demonstrating how utterly dysfunctional it all is. The downside of this theme being hammered home is that much of the film is spent literally watching politicians and strategists argue while actually doing very little. It's effective at getting the point across, but it is not effective at being entertaining.

And that's truly the greatest sin of this movie: it's boring as shit. Quite honestly, it seems so wrapped up in proving its point (which it does do, to be fair) that it fails to make any of it interesting or fun. There are precious few moments that are actively funny, but they don't manage to make up for the constant droning that happens throughout. Combine that with the almost total lack of Godzilla and we've got a Godzilla movie which doesn't really work for me at all. Not a joke, at one point in the movie Godzilla literally freezes for about 30 minutes of runtime before reactivating for about 3-5 minutes before credits. It's honestly bizarre.

I feel like I have to be missing something, as this movie was quite popular when it came out. Both Japanese and non-Japanese reviewers love this thing while I am lost in the woods. I'm confused, but this blog is about saying what's in my heart and in my heart I hate this movie. And I'm so confused by what everyone else is seeing. I might have to watch it again sometime with the hope that I "get it," but I was pretty hyped for this so it's not like I went in with a sour mood.

But, since this movie is so good at themes, let's talk about one more: sacrifice. When this film isn't exploring the true horror of bureaucracy the human characters are dying over and over again. Not in vain, however, as many of the folks who die are doing it knowingly. To stop Godzilla requires sacrifice and so many squadrons of humans volunteer to put themselves in the line of fire and be destroyed so that the plan to take down Godzilla might have a chance of succeeding. Adding this to the hard position Japan is forced into by the UN forcing a nuclear strike on it and there is the shade of something really special here. It's just surrounded by so much plodding dialogue in stuffy rooms in stuffy suits that it really made it difficult for me to enjoy it, because even the more interesting bits near the end of the film are surrounded (and preceded) by raw fun-sucking boredom.

Welp, I'm disappointed. Let's press on and see what happens next.

Next: Colossal!