Rebirth of Mothra

The Heisei era of Godzilla ended with a bang in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, but Godzilla and Gamera were not the only famous kaiju who enjoyed a revival in the 90s. Today, we're talking about the Rebirth of Mothra, which is aptly named. This first film in the trilogy, directed by Okihiro Yoneda, sets the stage for an entirely new version of Mothra: a male. Named Mothra Leo, it seems that like the Godzilla film that began the Heisei era, all of Mothra's previous adventures still happened at the onset of this movie. But maybe not, who really knows? Because Mothra has always been a puppet, we have no suit actor for either Original or Leo Mothra, but the villain Desghidorah is played by Mizuho Yoshida, who we might remember from being the actor for Legion in Gamera 2.

Let's cut to the chase.

If You Haven't Seen it Before

- We watch a forest be destroyed by construction worker types and it's very sad. One of the workers finds a coin that he digs out of a rock, and this is felt by the priestesses of Mothra (called the Elias in this film). He gives the medallion to his young daughter Wakaba.

- The Elias go to the site and realize the sacred seal has been removed, allowing a dangerous monster into the world. They hope it was simply a human who did it, and not the apparently evil Belvera.

- Wakaba is visited in the night by Belvera, who recovers the seal from her and apparently grants little Wakaba superpowers. Her brother, who often bullies her, is beaten up by her new telekinetic abilities and runs away. He's attacked by Belvera, who reveals she's controlling Wakaba now.

- Wakaba is eating junk food while her mom is tied up on the floor, when the brother and the Elias come in to try to stop Belvera's antics. This is a children's movie, and this scene makes it clear while two small flying creatures with tiny women shoot lasers at each other and wreck the house.

- Once Belvera flees (with the seal/medallion), the Elias explain that the seal was used to contain a horrible space monster which landed on Earth 65 million years ago called Desghidorah.

- The family flies to the island where Desghidorah is to try and stop Belvera's plan to resurrect the creature. They are too late and Desghidorah rises again, beginning to suck the energy from the Earth.

- One of the Elias decides they have to summon Mothra, but the other objects because Mothra is too old and weak to stop Desghidorah. But with no other choices, what are they going to do.

- The old Mothra does get her butt whooped, but the Elias manage to awaken Mothra Leo from his egg, and the larval Mothra Leo rushes to attack Desghidorah. He arrives in the morning and aids his mother, but ultimately is almost killed by the beastly Desghidorah. His mother dies in the process of evacuating him to safety.

- In preparation for avenging his mother, Leo wraps himself in a cocoon and emerges are Imago form. He immediately heads toward Desghidorah.

- The two kaiju have an epic battle, with Leo's opening salvo being bascially every power he has and overwhelming Desghidorah. When he starts to fight back, Mothra Leo flies overhead and finishes him off with some sort of circular laser death attack. He actually made this look exceptionally easy.

- The Elias seal Desghidorah away again, so now he cannot return. The children fly away on Mothra's back in celebration.

- The movie concludes with the human characters lamenting the destruction of the environment and a hope that it can be restored in the future. But Mothra Leo shows off one more power, bringing life back to the area.

Kaiju Notes 

- Desghidorah is really just ugly King Ghidorah. This isn't a bad thing, in itself, but is a disappointment as the choice for the villain in Mothra's first solo movie since the 1960's. His abilities are also very similar to King Ghidorah's, though the colors of his breath weapon and the like are all different.

- Larval Mothra Leo and Old Mothra are nothing to write home about, looking pretty much the same as they have in previous films.

- Imago Mothra Leo, on the other hand, is at least different. Still looking very much like older version of Mothra, the color scheme is very different, and he basically just appears to be a masculine version of classic Mothra, including a pitched down roar.

- Mothra Leo seems to have some enhanced powers from the older versions of Mothra. It's a little messed up that the only male Mothra we've ever seen is way more powerful than the others, but what can you do about the gender politics of the 1990's?

- Leo's abilities include silk that gives off energy, the ability to transform into a swarm of energy butterflies that explode and then reform into Leo, sparkly green dust with an indeterminate effect, razor sharp wings, and an array of lasers and other energy attacks.

Above all else, Rebirth of Mothra is a movie for children. This isn't a bad thing, necessarily, and Mothra is definitely one of the kaiju who is most children-friendly in concept and design, so it makes a lot of sense. That said, it does make my personal enjoyment of the film suffer. While I don't think children's entertainment has to be or inherently is less good, the first hour of this movie is a great example of how it can be. The battle between the Elias and Belvera in Wakaba's home is long, tedious, and goofy in a way that is surely meant to appeal to children but did very little for me. The intertwining of the two small children in the main plot with the parents shunted off to the side is another great example, causing the appeal to adults to likely suffer a bit but equally likely to make the kids in the audience quite happy.

None of this is to say that the movie is by any means bad... it simply suffers from the weight of its audience. The kaiju action is relatively good, managing to shoot for a sense of pathos and importance despite the movie being relatively light-hearted in nature. When Mothra Leo attempts to save his mother from dying but instead watches her drown, it's brutal. When he then cries himself into a cocoon so he can metamorphose into a creature with enough power to destroy Desghidorah, it seems the obvious choice. And when Leo bursts from his cocoon in a rush of power, his counter-attack seems fueled by exploration of his newfound power as much as it is rage and revenge. It works! The only downside throughout the movie is that it takes so long to get there. But it does get there.

As far as Heisei era films go, they have been very good overall. Rebirth of Mothra is, for me, the weakest link so far. It's not bad, at least not bad enough to be remarkable, but it's the worst reboot in the Heisei era (I think by far). Very entertaining once it gets moving, it just takes a really long time to get moving.

Next: Godzilla (1998)!

Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris

The last two movies in the Gamera series have been excellent, so we're going into Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris with the hope that this final entry can be the spectacular finale the previous two deserve. Of course, as mentioned at least twice now, director Shusuke Kaneko returns to cap off the series. The plot in this one basically ties into both previous films, looping in the semi-confusing ending of Attack of Legion and the connection Gamera had with a human girl in Guardian of the Universe, as well as other loose threads through the previous two. The Gamera suit actor from Attack of Legion, Akira Ohashi, returns to the series but this time as the villain Iris. Hirofumi Fukuzawa takes over as Gamera for this one, and it's not the last time we'll that name on this blog.

There's not a lot of background work to explain for this one, as it seems to be the finale of planned trilogy and things have gone according to plan. So now all there's left to do is watch the movie and see if it's worth the buildup.

If You Haven't Seen it Before

- In a village, the corpse of what appears to be a Gyaos is found. Shortly thereafter, on the ocean floor, a team of scientists find multiple skulls which appear to belong to Gamera.

- We meet Ayane, a girl who's parents were killed 3 years ago during one of Gamera's battles. In a cave, she finds a mysterious egg and a tablet inscribed with the image of Suzaku, the flaming Guardian Bird of the South. This is relevant because Gamera may be representative of Genbu, the Guardian Turtle of the North.

- Gamera and a pair of Gyaos' do battle, and the mysterious egg Ayane found seems to hatch while Ayane watches the news of Gamera's latest victory. She returns to the cave to find a magatama (curved jewel) which begins to glow in her hand. She hears something creeping behind her and finds the baby Iris, a small monster which she seems to take to as a pet. 

- Claiming she can understand Iris, Ayane also declares that she and Iris both hate Gamera and that Iris will take revenge for her. As it continues to grow, they eventually merge into one being.

- Separately, researchers begin to theorize that Mana has been fluctuating on the Earth and causing all of the recent monsters to appear. Gamera is one example, but seems capable of absorbing it and using it as his own power source. This explains the last minute powerup from the previous film.

- Ayane is eventually found and separated from Iris, and has clear physical damage from her time inside. While she's in the hospital, Iris goes on a rampage and slaughters a village as it seems to continue growing in size and power. The military attacks it, and are predictably slaughtered.

- After being attacked, Iris goes on offense and chases military planes through the sky. Fortunately, just as they run out of missiles to defend themselves, Gamera appears to confront Iris again. STUPIDLY, the military commander decides that Gamera should be targeted and destroyed first.

- The military's counterstrike is somewhat successful, knocking Gamera out of the sky. Of course this just means Iris is unopposed, and it lands in Kyoto. It is possibly searching for Ayane, as she runs away to join Iris as though they were calling to each other.

- Iris swiftly defeats Gamera, punching a hole in the turtle who now lays dying, and reabsorbing Ayane.

- Inside Iris, Ayane experiences its memories of slaughtering the village and realizes that she has driven Iris to be so aggressive due to her hatred of Gamera. Before she goes too deep into despair, Gamera forcefully rips her out of Iris because the big turtle monster isn't ready to quit yet.

- Gamera and Iris do battle again, culminating in a baller sequence where Gamera turns his arm into a flaming fist and punches a hole in Iris so hard it explodes (more on this below).

- Gamera saves Ayane, having already pulled her from Iris' body. She asks why he would do this after she's caused all of this trouble, but he simply roars semi-protectively.

- As this happens, a swarm of Gyaos approach Gamera's location. The military diverts their attention the Gyaos swarm as well, as Gamera stands in a sea of fire in Kyoto as the Gyaos swarm approaches, and his human companion explains that Gamera will always fight, even if he must do it alone.

Kaiju Notes 

- The battle between Gamera and Gyaos in the beginning features of the best kaiju movie effects and affects we've seen thus far. Besides Gamera's rocket legs (which make no sense) being cooler than ever, there's also several scenes of the toll these battles take. A group of humans are swept up in Gamera's flames, an office building explodes with people inside, and the body of Gyaos crushes the people underneath. It's all accidental, but is up there with Godzilla vs. Hedorah in demonstrating the human cost of giant monster battles. 

- Baby Iris reminds me a bit of Larval Mothra, in that it is both ugly and cute while being just the right amount of gooey. One could see why a human might want to care for this creature, but I am certainly not one of them. It just looks sticky for unknown reasons.

- (Adult) Iris' design somehow splits the difference between "predictable" and inspired. When it is in flight it is definitely at it's most striking appearance, but only because it's massive tentacles fly behind it. On the ground it retains the tentacles, making the creature seem even larger than it already is because its range of effect is so vast. Its actual body is akin to an armored bird, but the large lights in its chest give it some unique character. Overall, it's a good design but not a necessarily great one. it's a very 90s design aesthetic.

- When it comes to combat, Iris has the clear upper hand in regard to tools. Besides its massive tentacles, has a massive talon with which it can absord the power of its enemies. 

- The ending sequence in the battle between Gamera and Iris is a bit confusing, but allow me to explain: Iris has Gamera's right hand pinned to a wall as it absorbs his powers and begins to shoot fireballs (an ability it did not have before). Gamera, about to take fireballs to the face, decides to remove his own hand by firebreathing it off of his body. As Iris launches fireballs, Gamera uses his new stump to "catch" them and uses his new fire fist to literally punch Iris until it explodes. It's fucking great.

First things first: this movie has some truly stunning special effect work. While Attack on Legion was a great evolution of the special effects of the series, Revenge of Iris is some truly amazing work. Even Gamera's rocket legs are somehow awesome and incredibly stupid at the same time, and I love them every time I see them.

Let's talk about some individual aspects of the movie before we talk about the overall themes and the like. First thing, the corpses Iris leaves behind are genuinely upsetting, appearing like hideous (inanimate) zombies. Watching a young woman get attacked by Iris and turned into one of these elicited an audible "jesus christ" from me, because it was authentically upsetting. The battle between Gamera and Iris in the sky is epic in all the right ways. Even before Gamera arrives, seeing Iris in the sky versus fighter jets is very cool but when the giant turtle makes it to the scene it takes several levels in badass. Gamera spinning with his rocket legs and ramming into Iris somehow makes beyblade look incredibly awesome because he looks like a beyblade but this is still incredibly awesome.

Revenge of Iris isn't the most thematically rich kaiju movie we've seen, but it definitely has something on its mind. Revenge appears to be the primary theme, or more specifically the futility or "cycle of violence" it creates. Besides Ayane essentially creating Iris as we know it with her resentment and hatred of Gamera, Iris itself is said to be a creation of a civilization that seeks the destruction of humanity, as well as a tool of the Gyaos species to kill Gamera so that humanity can be killed. Basically, everyone but Gamera is out for revenge of some kind, and Gamera has to pay the consequences for all of it.

Now let's talk about the trilogy as a whole. Quite honestly, the 90's series of Gamera movies is fantastic. It's the most cohesive series we've seen thus far, even in the context of every Showa era Godzilla movie being in the same continuity, I don't recall any point where any 3 kaiju movies thus far worked so consistently well together. Better still, while a great trilogy as a whole, each film also works on its own and doesn't need any of the others to work. Even in the 2nd sequel, Revenge of Iris, prior knowledge of Gamera or the movies preceding it doesn't really matter in making it understandable. Each movie is definitely in the top 80% of the films we've covered so far, and then as a trilogy it's an impressive feat. If you're only going to watch a few kaiju movies for some reason, this is probably the best trilogy to start at. Check it out.

Next: Rebirth of Mothra!

Gamera 2: Attack of Legion

I really enjoyed the last Gamera film (Guardian of the Universe) but did mention that this trilogy may be hard to write much about unless they made something a little more substantial than raw entertainment about a giant flame breathing turtle. With the same director, Shusuke Kaneko, at the helm for the entire trilogy, this seems more possible than in most circumstances, but who can really be sure until we watch the movie? So rather than waste a lot of preamble talking about the production, let's get to the meat. Gamera is played by Akira Ohashi while the titular Legion is Mizuho Yoshida. Let's get it on!

If You Haven't Seen it Before

- A meteor strikes Japan and in the title sequence a cross explodes before becoming part of the title card? It was... very weird.

- With no evidence of a meteor able to be found (except a very cool looking crash site), investigators conclude it may have just been ice that crashed to Earth (thereby being destroyed upon landing).

- At a Kirin beer warehouse, two guards see a crab or insect like creature destroy 10,000 cases before staring at them with its spooky eye.

- A subway is stopped by the spooky eye monster and the first person to see it is exploded in a gush of blood. The passengers seem to be victims next, as the area is cordoned off by police. The police go under to find the alien species Legion, who swarm and kill or injure the police as well.

- A giant plant/egg-looking thing manifests in the middle of the city. Simulations determine that it is set to launch itself into space toward a new planet, destroying at least a 6 kilometer radius around it. Green energy gathers into the object, causing an Aurora Borealis effect in the middle of Japan. Turns out this is all oxygen, making it risky to attack the plant/egg because of the resultant explosion, but when the object launches itself into space the resultant explosion will also be devastating.

- Gamera reappears, flying out of the ocean and toward the Legion hive. Being able to breathe fire, Gamera can also suck in the oxygen surrounding the hive. He damages it with one massive fireball before bashing it to death.

- The remaining Legion climb onto Gamera and engulf him while they seem to shock, bite, and stab him.

- Gamera takes off using his rocket legs, shaking off the Legion on his body as his furiously spins (and killing many). Having been wounded, he also splatters his green blood across the city.

- Following this, a giant Legion Queen bursts from the hive and flies away. Two direct hits by missiles don't stop it, and a new hive is set up in Sendai.

- Gamera appears again to destroy the hive, but the Legion Queen intercepts him and they do battle. She wins after stabbing and laser beaming him, but has to leave him for dead. Gamera uses the last of his strength to keep the hive/seed from making it into space, but it still explodes, destroying Sendai and Gamera with it.

- With Legion still active and Gamera dead, humanity prepares to make its final stand.  While hopeful, there seems to be little expectation that the JSDF can handle Legion on their own.

- Asagi, the girl with whom Gamera forged a bond in the previous film, goes to the body of Gamera with the expectation that he will rise again. As she does this, Legion and the JSDF begin their battle.

- Just as Asagi stated, Gamera is revived and immediately takes flight toward Legion. Apparently, now the military realizes Gamera is trying to stop Legion and decides to cooperate with him.

- Gamera and the JSDF work together to destroy both the Legion Queen and Legion Swarm. After Legion unveils a new trick, Gamera is nearly defeated before being saved in the nick of time by air support.

- Badly wounded and still not fully recovered from his near death experience, Gamera unleashes his final weapon: absorbing...the sun?... and the plates on his chest opening up to release a tremendous beam of fire/plasma. Legion is completely destroyed in the blast and Gamera is clearly exhausted.

- Gamera takes a final look at the JSDF troops below him before flying away on his rocket legs. The military is relieved, not only to have survived the battle with Legion but also that the obviously incredibly powerful Gamera appears to be on their side (for now).

- This final point is emphasized by the last line of the movie, with the main woman of the cast saying that Gamera is not the defender of humanity but of Earth, and if we keep killing the other life on the planet... "We wouldn't want Gamera against us, would we?"

Kaiju Notes 

- Baby Legion is just... crabs but with giant eyes. Baby Legion kinda sucks, though I do find their blue hues quite comforting despite their unimpressiveness.

- The Legion Queen, on the other hand, is a cool design. Retaining the crab like look but escalating it into a single scary beast, the arc of spikes/claws/legs surrounding it makes a dominating silhouette and an effective weapon. The giant horn on its head that can shoot lasers keep the Legion Queen threatening at distance.

- After confronting Legion in the third act, Gamera lands and seems to "skate" around at great speed across the city. It's actually incredibly cool to see, as very few kaiju move as quickly at any point. While the fireballs Gamera launches don't seem to have much effect, the novelty of the shot is notable (and badass).

- Gamera's final attack is clearly one of the most powerful we've seen in any kaiju movie thus far, but it goes almost entirely unexplained and is confusing. I am hoping or expecting it to be further touched on in the future, but I'm not sure I agree with the choice to have something so "deus ex machina" happen right when your hero seems to be defeated.

Right away, I want to touch on a strange direction choice made when the military/police were going into the train tunnel to rescue survivors: a brief photomontage begins right when they rush to the scene. The beginning and end of the montage is abrupt, making it look like a DVD skipping rather than an artistic choice. Because I literally watched it on DVD, I had to check a few times to assure myself that it wasn't just skipping through a scene (confirmed by finding a digital source). Though the dialogue and music maintain through the montage indicating that it's an intentional choice, the abrupt beginning, end, and briefness of the segment is quite jarring. Just a really strange directorial decision. On the other end of choices, there is the above mentioned scene near the end of the film where Gamera seems to floating through a city while he confronts Legion, either using his rocket legs to stay extra mobile or the sheer momentum with which he arrived on the scene, but either way it's an incredible sequence. So... the direction has definite pluses and minuses. The montage for the rescue will stand out as a strange choice, but Gamera basically roller-blading through the streets of Ashikaga is going to stand out even more because it rocks.

The destruction of Sendai is an affecting sequence, seeming to intentionally mimic the nuclear bombs that hit Japan 50 years before this movie. The screen goes completely white outside of seeing buildings be torn apart by the force of the explosion, and the blast radius grows before leaving a massive crater where Sendai used to be. If not for Gamera's body encased in stone, it would be indistinguishable from a devastated city as a result of war. It's an excellent example of how the series has evolved even being just 2 films into the Heisei era trilogy: using both new technology and a new lease on the life of Gamera to do things that are truly worth writing about. Whether it's just cool effects and fun monster fights or using the movie to speak on the horrors of violence, the destruction of Sendai is the most evocative but not the only example of this film using everything it has at it's disposal to make some of this feel like it matters.

The period of time where Gamera is believed to be dead is another example of the above, less reliant on special effects to send the message. After spending incalculable time and expense in trying to destroy both Gamera and Legion, they are eventually left to realize that they've possibly doomed the world by hampering Gamera's clear goal of fighting against Legion. The hopelessness they feel without Gamera seems to be the only time they appreciate him, but it makes a degree of sense in the context of the film. Gamera continues to destroy cities and landmarks while he fights these monsters, and while he clearly intends to stop Legion it can't be argued that the collateral damage doesn't have its own incredible cost (in human lives). It's a situation where there's no good choices but the military makes the worse one, and the end of the movie reflects this. When they go to hopefully stop Legion the general tone is one of hopelessness, but with Gamera dead there's nothing else to do but try. And when Gamera awakens humanity cheers but remains fearful of him (because of course they should be).

The question at the very end of the movie is truly the theme here: "we wouldn't want Gamera against us, would we?" Especially after channeling some sort of energy at the end of the movie and launching a spectacular beam of energy, humanity has to confront the fact that Gamera is here to help and if he were not there would be very little hope for them. But he remains a force of destruction, even if he only appears when there's an even larger threat looming.  It seems to me to be an exploration of power and the appropriate use of it, ultimately unable to make a definitive statement but acknowledging both the necessity and terribleness that is power. Whether it be military or kaiju, Attack of Legion seems to lament that any of it is necessary at all, while making a truly entertaining giant monster movie at the same time. It's incredibly impressive.

Next: Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris!

Gamera: Guardian of the Universe

Gamera has had a rough go of it. Besides being constantly treated as a crappy Godzilla clone, apparently Daiei produced a series "the worst of all time movies" that came out in the late 70's starring the titular turtle monster. To demonstrate the point, in 1980 Daiei released Gamera: Super Monster and all of the Gamera footage in the film was stock footage that was simply reused. While I haven't seen most of these later movies in the original Gamera series, I can say that watching a kaiju movie with stock footage is genuinely unpleasant, and the Godzilla series is not immune to doing this for some of their worse efforts. Super Monster was the last film made in the Gamera series when it went on hiatus, like the more famous Godzilla series before it. But it's 1995 baybee, and it's time for the giant turtle to return!

Gamera: Guardian of the Universe is, effectively, a reboot of the Gamera series. It's interesting, as the last several Gamera films clearly intended to set Gamera up as a defender of the Earth (or universe) when the first several did not have this focus. At the best, Gamera was originally intended to be a vicious monster that was maybe less vicious to children, but eventually grew to be a defender of all. Right in the title of the reboot, Guardian of the Universe sets Gamera up as a monster which is designed and intended to be a protector rather than a destroyer. Naoki Manabe and Jun Suzuki portray Gamera, and Yuhmi Kaneyama comes to the series as the returning monster Gyaos. Shusuke Kaneko directs, taking over from previous director of the series Noriaki Yuasa. Let's talk about giant turtles!

If You Haven't Seen it Before

- A ship carrying plutonium crashes into some unseen force in the ocean, initially assumed to be a floating atoll. This is not the case, of course, and we discover this to be the ancient monster Gamera.

- Elsewhere, a different group of people are attacked by a "giant bird." These creatures are lured into a stadium and captured for scientific study. When one escapes, Gamera appears and kills the fleeing Gyaos.

- Worse than Gamera appearing on land and causing chaos while he killed the escaping Gyaos, the 2 which were captured manage to escape.

- Researching, humans manage to find beads/magatama made of legendary (and supposedly fictional) metal called Orihalcum. When Asagi touches the magatama, it is warm to the touch and glows but the effect fades.

- In another encounter, some Gyaos attack and are stopped by Gamera. He even defends humans on a bridge from their laser attacks, causing himself to be wounded. Both creatures flee after one of the Gyaos' is killed.

- Gamera is attacked by the JSDF. While he survives, he's clearly wounded before flying away using his rocket legs. Asagi passes out when his happens, and mentions that she and Gamera need rest. Her brother hypothesizes she has a connection to Gamera through the magatama and is now his priestess.

- The remaining Gyaos continues to grow, eventually becoming quite tremendous. Just like in its first appearance, the JSDF launches a sneak attack during the daytime since Gyaos seems nocturnal. This goes relatively poorly, and they realize they are totally helpless without Gamera.

- With Tokyo overtaken by the single surviving Gyaos, the JSDF plans to launch a final attack that will likely decimate Tokyo. Fortunately for them, Gamera has recovered and arrives just in time to fight his ancient enemy.

- After an epic kaiju battle, the two monsters ignite a refinery and land there. This is a strategic mistake on the behalf of Gyaos, as Gamera eats fire, and absorbs almost all of it here. He is empowered, and launches a final fireball at Gyaos' head to destroy it.

- Sharing a nod with Asagi and healing her wounds, Gamera journeys back to the sea where he can be at peace.

Kaiju Notes

- The new Gyaos is design is a step down from the first. The color and design is a bit more generic version of "giant bat" where the old design was goofy but distinct. An updated version closer to the original probably would have looked very cool. In contrast, new Gamera manages to maintain all of the major design elements but look more realistic, intimidating and yet more sympathetic.   

- Gyaos' first appearance is a lesson in restraint, initially simply showing the wave of force that follows after it dives. It is shown shortly after, but in passing. With even the small Gyaos able to knock people off their feet with an unintentional passing by, it helps elevate their power when they become large and powerful, which the later Gyaos does.

- Gyaos is also changed, of course, to be a species rather than a singular creature. This is a bold choice given kaiju movies obsession with single important figures and having never committed to monsters being one of many before. While Destoroyah and Hedorah are technically collections of smaller creatures, they've always worked as more of a single mind split amongst smaller pieces rather than actual separate entities. This pays off in multiple ways: being an easy explanation for why Gamera and Gyaos are enemies, allowing Gyaos to be a versatile threat which can be a nuisance or Gamera's deadliest foe, and paying homage to the classic version and allowing Gyaos to be in ever film if desired without necessarily needing to rely on the single popular Gamera opponent to  carry the weight of antagonist.

- Gamera's fire breath has taken a level in badass, and looks somehow more fiery or dangerous despite the fact that the earlier version of it (Showa era) was also just actual fire. It also can apparently cause Gyaos to explode, which looks hilarious.

As far as reboots go, Guardian of the Universe is a very good one. There's an emphasis on giving Gamera a clear character, as well as introducing Gyaos as both a potential major and minor threat (to Gamera) which allows the new series to pay homage to the older villains of Gamera while building new ones alongside the homage. It's a good strategy, functionally playing the old hits while mixing in some of the new stuff. While the new design of Gyaos is not a fun or interesting as the old one, Gamera's design is also a good example of how to do a reboot the right way: keep the good, trim the fat, add some new elements that work. On another note, the budget gap between Gamera and Godzilla films is less obvious now. While I have no doubt that Gamera was a cheaper movie, it looks as good as any rival kaiju flick from the era and so no longer appears to be the little brother of the industry.

Beyond a good example of an entertaining reboot, however, there's not much interesting or exciting about the movie. I do enjoy it, I do think it's entertaining and fun, but I'm having trouble coming up with anything substantial to sink my teeth into. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, any reader of this blog knows that I can enjoy a movie for raw entertainment value, but it does make writing an essay about the film difficult. Gamera saves the Earth from Gyaos. What's next? It's a substantial upgrade from the movies from the Showa era, but what else can you say about that? It's worth seeing and sets a good stage for sequels, but is Gamera always going to be an "entertainment only" series or was this more an attempt to see if the character was still viable?

Guess there's only one way to find out.

Next: Gamera 2: Attack of Legion!

Orochi, the Eight-Headed Dragon

Orochi is a legendary monster from Japanese myth. In the realm of kaiju movies, it makes perfect sense that one of the monsters should be either based on Orochi or simply be the monster itself. Orochi, the Eight-Headed is an example of the latter (King Ghidorah is an example of the former). Based almost entirely around Shinto mythology, this is a kaiju movie featuring legends, gods, folklore, and other Japanese traditions. The main character, Ousu, is a semi-legendary figure from roughly the year 75 AD and the premise, twins being considered bad luck and one being exiled as a result, is based in (mostly outdated) Japanese folk beliefs.

Directed by Takao Okawara between Godzilla movies (vs. MechaGodzilla II and vs. Destoroyah specifically) and still produced by Toho, it's an interesting exploration of what a Toho kaiju film looks like without being tied into the greater Godzilla mythos. Heisei era suit acting veterans Kenpachiro Satsuma, Hurricane Ryu, and Wataru Fukuda also feature in this film as the titular Orochi, Kumasogami, and the entirely awesome Utsuno Ikusagami, respectively. Let's get to talking about the adventures of Ousu before it's too late.

If You Haven't Seen it Before

- I'm gonna simplify the shit out of this, because the first version of it was incredibly long because this plot is... complex.

- The 2nd born twin of a pair of princes is considered an ill omen by both the Emperor and his advisor Tsukinowa. Saved after being thrown off a cliff by the White Bird of Heaven, Amano Shiratori, he returns to the palace as a grown man and fierce warrior. In his youth, he picked up a magatama (jewel/trinket) from a mystic cave.

- When he returns to the palace, his mother grows ill and dies. Blamed for this, his twin brother attacks him and the magatama activates mystical energy to protect Ousu and kills his brother.

- Exiled for the crimes of killing his mother and brother, Ousu must defeat the Kumaso people. He is joined by a woman named Oto on this quest, who can shoot fireballs using magic.

- After defeating the leader of the Kamaso and a literal god, Ousu is then told he will have to defeat the evil god Tsukuyomi in the form of a giant eight headed monster named Orochi or the world will be destroyed.

- On their quest to stop Orochi they are attacked by giant sea monster Kaishin Muba, and Oto dies while saving Ousu's life. 

- While lamenting Oto's death, Ousu sees his dead mother on the beach. This is Tsukinowa in disguise, and he stabs Ousu through the neck. Before Ousu passes out from blood loss, Tsukinowa confesses that he killed Ousu's mother and brother (finishing him off after the magatama knocked him out).

- An eclipse blots out the sun as Tsukinowa summons Tsukuyomi, allowing the evil god to return to earth after having been previously imprisoned in space.

- Ousu wakes up back in the mysterious cave from his youth, coming face to face and being tested by the god Susano'o. They fight briefly before Ousu pulls a glowing, lightsaber-like sword from a stone.

- Revealed to be part of this greater destiny because she possesses the spirit of the goddess Amaterasu, Oto is revived by Susano'o and the two are sent to the moon to confront Tsukuyomi/Orochi.

- A sword fight ensues, and so far there has been very little kaiju in this kaiju movie.

- Though Tsukiyomi is defeated, he transforms into the kaiju Orochi. Unable to defeat him as they currently are, the White Bird of Heaven appears and gives the two heroes a ride so they can attack Orochi properly. The sword Ousu carries manages to damage Orochi, but the eight heads are too powerful and he is thrown from the Bird.

- Oto blasts Orochi with her magic which provides Ousu an opportunity to launch himself onto one of the heads and repeatedly stab it with his sword. This heroic turn doesn't last and Orochi throws all 3 of his attackers into space.

- Oto dies, again, but this time her spirit flows into Ousu and he now has the "three lights' he's apparently needed the whole time. He transforms into a giant warrior, able now to match Orochi blow for blow. He demonstrates this by literally ripping off one of Orochi's heads.

- Summoning his sword again, Giant Ousu quickly slices off each of Orochi's heads before lasering him to death.

- Oto is revived when Orochi dies, and the two head home on the back of the White Bird of Heaven. Tsukuyomi is captured inside Ousu's magatama and sealed away after Ousu throws it into space.

- The eclipse ends and the Emperor finally accepts his son Ousu, realizing he's saved the world.

Kaiju Notes

- Kurasogami, the god of the Kuraso people, is a weird creature. He's too small to be a proper kaiju but is at least large and spooky looking. He has the power to transform his body into weapons, which proves pretty devastating against his mostly human enemies.

- Kaishin Muba is more accurately kaiju sized but also sports no particular abilities. While he's based in the ocean so is already dangerous, he's basically a classic kraken: tentacles and rage, not much else.

- Orochi is the titular kaiju, and is a pretty impressive looking beast. He's basically incredibly souped up King Ghidorah without the wings, and the 8 heads all look consistently pissed off and powerful.

- Giant Ousu looks like a goddamn Megazord in the best way, and one could easily be forgiven for thinking he's a robot. I watched the movie and am not entirely sure he's not. But either way, Giant Ousu is cool as hell and I want one.

- Giant Ousu's abilities include force fields, lasers from his forehead, a giant version of his Sword of Karasai, as well as bad ass wings along his back which don't do anything but are very cool. Orochi is mostly giant and angry and also breathes fire.

- Orochi, moreso than any other creature in the film, seems like a vicious beast. Besides having eight flame breathing heads, he moves with a certain sense of destruction and insistence on victory which Satsuma can be almost recognized by at this point. How the crew and cast managed to make the eight heads seems to work in relative unison given all the moving parts is pretty impressive, considering that it can often fail to come across that way with the three headed King Ghidorah. The battle of Orochi vs. Utsumo Ikusagami (Giant Ousu) is very cool, Orochi never backing down or being anything less than ferocious despite clearly being on the losing side versus the giant flowing warrior.

Every fight against a kaiju in this movie is hilariously unsuccessful, even when the humans eventually win. Kurasogami nearly kills everyone in the room until Ousu's magatama takes over his body and starts shooting lasers at it. Kaishin Muba almost kills Ousu, and does kill Oto, who sacrifices herself to take him out (and while she doesn't seem to know it at the time, she's got the spirit of a god in here). Orochi is also fought while Ousu and Oto are still in human form and get their shit wrecked again, being thrown into space where they would have died had Oto not given her spirit to Ousu so he could transform (a plan she did not have).

The frequent use of folklore and mythological elements makes this movie very inaccessible and also hard to accurately describe. Not the use of gods, necessarily, but the legendary figures like Genbu and Seiryu. I took them out of the description above because it was difficult to explain why they were there while also adhering to a (relatively) simple plot summary. It would be like if Paul Bunyan and Johnny Appleseed appeared in a random American blockbuster: not necessarily out of line but very strange and definitely unnecessary. When you combine this with literal gods it becomes a movie that's honestly more dragged down by its folklore and mythology than helped. While I'm not Japanese so cannot truly speak for the significance of Genbu appearing, I can say that it doesn't seem very useful to have him appear for all of 3 scenes and then never be heard from again.

All of the above makes this movie sound pretty bad, and it is, but still manages to be relatively entertaining. The actual battles are fun, and the movie comes together in a certain way in the second half. Until getting to Kamusogami, however, it's entirely disposable. After clearing Genbu and Seiryu from the story we get to focus on the quest of Ousu and Oto and the narrative is strengthened by it. On the other side, Oto doesn't get a chance to shine as much as she should, really being a tool to empower or motivate Ousu rather than the badass goddess that she literally is.And Ousu is a pretty reactive character, essentially leaving us with a tail of two humans (reincarnated gods?) being led around by everyone around them but rarely making a decision for themselves. Orochi is a badass looking monster and Giant Ousu is like everything I want in a kaiju movie wrapped up into one fierce looking warrior, but it's hard to rescue such a weak story in the final 10 minutes.

Next: Gamera, Guardian of the Universe!

Godzilla vs. Destoroyah

Godzilla vs Destoroyah ends the Heisei era of Godzilla, and is an important movie in the series for more than this reason. Originally advertised as the movie where Godzilla dies, we're here to see if stories of Godzilla's death have been greatly exaggerated. 

With the last two films being unsatisfactory to the studio in regards to financial success, it was decided that this was meant to be the last Godzilla movie until the 21st century. This movie was made in 1995, so that really only means a 5 or so year break. The break between the Showa and Heisei eras was 9 years, so taking a 5 year hiatus isn't exactly a long time, but it's something. Further still, the next Toho made Godzilla movie was released in 1999 so they didn't even make it past Y2K. For some reason that's just funny to me.

Additional context! This movie was originally conceived to be Heisei Godzilla versus the ghost of the original Showa Godzilla. Destoroyah's name is supposed to be Destroyer, but Toho was not able to trademark the name Destroyer. So adding a couple extra letters seemed to do the job. I'm going to use Destoroyah throughout this post, but it's pronounced Destroyer. Takao Okawara returns to the director chair (after vs. Mothra and vs. MechaGodzilla II), Kenpachiro Satsuma returns as Godzilla, Hurricane Ryu returns as Godzilla Junior, and Ryo Hariya plays our villain Destoroyah.

If You Haven't Seen it Before

- Godzilla attacks Hong Kong, notable because he appears to covered in red splotches and seems more powerful than before. He was exposed to a uranium deposit explosion in a natural disaster.

- A device similar to the Oxygen Destroyer is created, called Micro-Oxygen. Though this is not intended to be a weapon, it immediately worries people because of its similarity to that dreadful invention.

- Godzilla is hypothesized to be powered up but also be on the verge of exploding from the growing radiation contained in his body, an explosion which would be powerful enough to destroy the Earth's atmosphere entirely.

- It is discovered that Micro-Oxygen has given rise to dangerous crustacean like monsters, named Destroyers/Destoroyahs because of their origin.

- The newly built Super X3 is sent to stop Godzilla from exploding, using cryo missiles to temporarily stave off his impending nuclear meltdown. Despite this effort, it's estimated he will explode in under 3 days (possibly within the next 24 hours).

- The mini Destoroyah's being fended off by human weaponry they combine into one Destoroyah, the living embodiment of the Oxygen Destroyer.

- The humans want the two monsters to fight, as the Oxygen Destroyer power within Destoroyah should be able to stop Godzilla before he goes nuclear. They decide to use Baby (now Junior) Godzilla as bait to make Godzilla be in the same space as Destoroyah.

- Destoroyah, now able to switch forms as it desires, injects Junior Godzilla with Micro-Oxygen, which will kill him. Junior Godzilla manages to hit him directly with an Atomic Breath attack, which repels Destoroyah temporarily but is too late to save himself.

- Godzilla finally arrives. Destoroyah changes one more time, this time into his "Perfect" form. As Junior and Papa Godzilla reunite, Destoroyah flies over and hauls Junior Godzilla off before killing him. Godzilla cries, having lost his only companion in life.

- Wasting no time, Destoroyah interrupts the grieving Godzilla and attacks. Despite Destoroyah's raw power, Godzilla manages to eventually fight back and seriously injures it.

- Being wounded, Destoroyah changes strategy: It breaks down into individual monsters again and swarms Godzilla. After some difficulty he fends off the individual monsters, who retreat.

- Approaching the body of Junior Godzilla and reaching his meltdown point temperature again, we get a moment of Godzilla attempting to help Junior Godzilla before the Perfect Destoroyah ambushes him once more.

- Godzilla gets his ass kicked, but reaches such a temperature that he literally begins to melt and give off powerful radiation. This empowers him even further, allowing him to fight back against Destoroyah despite literally being in his final minutes of life.

- As Destoroyah attempts to fly away, he is attacked by the Super X3 and JSDF and his wings are frozen. He crashes into the ground and is destroyed in a chain reaction. Unfortunately, Godzilla also reaches meltdown point and is moments away from destroying the entire Earth.

- The Super X3 and JSDF now turn their attention to Godzilla, using their cryo weapons to cool him down. This barely works, managing to prevent Godzilla from destroying the planet and instead only melting away and being reduced to a skeleton. It's actually very gross.

- The radiation leakage from Godzilla renders Tokyo entirely uninhabitable but has also been absorbed by Junior Godzilla, who is revived by the energy. While alone, there is still a Godzilla in the world.

Kaiju Notes

- The little Destoroyahs are horrible in all the right ways. They constantly give off a lightning like effect which makes them seem dangerous and brimming with power and helps make them appropriately intimidating. All of that plus their gross faces (including xenomorph-like spear mouths) makes them very good monsters. The spinning ball of doom effect when they shoot a human is cool, though I would argue it doesn't get used to its full potential as the victims seem to just die (rather than have some wild shit happen to them).

- Perfect Destoroyah is a fine culmination of this. His wings become bat-like and even more intimidating, a large horn on his head is a sign he means trouble, a pincer tail, and large sharp spikes covering his body which he can use for both offense and defense. It's a good evolution for the creature, not reducing what they were as smaller creatures but merging into a giant version of them instead.

- Destoroyah is basically designed to be Godzilla's toughest foe ever. He's always had trouble against flyers, and Destoroyah can fly and fight on land, able to shoot Micro-Oxygen from his mouth, and having a horn capable of being used as a sword (it even generates a laser!). Add to that Destoroyah's sheer malevolence, similar to SpaceGodzilla in that it clearly acts in ways to intentionally upset and harm Godzilla, Destoroyah is an excellent "final monster" for the Heisei series and is likely only able to be overcome because Godzilla is powered up before his own death.

Before I get into the many merits of this movie and the Heisei era in general, let's talk about Miki Saegusa. She has been in 6 of the 7 Heisei era films and her psychic abilities have been growing and of varying importance throughout the entire series. She has formed some sort of connection with Godzilla as well as other kaiju (Biollante most noticeably) and her character arc has been to use her powers for the good of both humanity and kaiju alike, to potentially live in some type of harmony. After all of this work, in this movie she reveals that she is losing her psychic abilities. WHAT WAS THE FUCKING POINT OF THEM. She does at least appear her and there to give updates on the status of Godzilla and cry when he dies and "get work with Godzilla is complete," but why spend 5 movies setting her up as an important character and then just dismissing her in your finale? It's absurd.

Since we're in the finale of this era of Godzilla films, it seems relevant to mention the biggest differences between the Showa and Heisei films. Most obvious is Kenpachiro Satsuma's tenure as Godzilla: while he didn't go on as long a streak as the previous Godzilla actor, Haruo Nakajima, he did have a more consistent character. Showa Godzilla started off as a terrifying beast and slowly transformed into a friendly monster that children could enjoy before merging the two representations into one semi-heroic personality that could ultimately be convincingly portrayed at any point on the spectrum. Satsuma, however, played a monster. While there were moments of humanity or understanding for Godzilla through the Heisei series, Satsuma's Godzilla was never anything less than scary. While I do prefer the animalistic Heisei portrayal, it can't be argued that Showa Godzilla is not more "fun" as a character. Whether he's jumping around in celebration or animatedly talking to Anguirus, Showa G was entertaining. But the severe and unfuckwithable Heisei Godzilla brought some of the greatest moments in Godzilla film history. When he showed any emotion at all it was often the best part of the movie and when the beast was truly unleashed it typically made the kaiju action top tier.

On the subject of direction, I think the Showa era was a little more inventive and fun. There is nothing wrong with the Heisei era films from this angle, but it was often very "obvious." The Showa era directors, perhaps because they were almost literally inventing the genre, seemed to take more risks and try more unexpected things with portraying they're stories. This isn't universally true, of course, Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah was sometimes like a fever dream in all the best ways and the Showa series had plenty of "boring" direction in it's run as well. All that said, from a writing and production standpoint the Showa era was often more clear. Heisei era films, though I enjoy them quite a bit and more (on the average) than Showa films, are needlessly complex compared to the normally relatively simple Showa stories. It's a matter of taste, but ultimately I'd say that the Heisei highs are higher and the lows are not as low, while on the average Showa films were more even experiences throughout from a production and directorial perspective.

For his part, Destoroyah is notable because he is a true and very real monster. Besides being powerful, probably the strongest opponent Godzilla has ever had, it is also sadistic and cruel and brilliantly designed to strike fear. While SpaceGodzilla showed some of these traits as well, it was ultimately hampered by having one weakness and no method of working around it. Without it's crystals, it was ultimately nearly helpless when facing Godzilla. Destoroyah, on the other hand, shows more tactical thinking than any other kaiju before it, clearly playing to its advantages and even fighting Godzilla on a psychological level as well as physically. Killing Godzilla Junior was extremely easy and unnecessary, but Destoroyah did it out of spite, malice, and a clear desire to make Godzilla sad. It uses this to its tactical advantage when it later ambushes Godzilla while he mourns his friend, making it a perfect exemplification that it is exactly what it appears to be: a demon. Add this to its incredible power and (as noted above) almost perfect counter to all of Godzilla's abilities and you've got a monster which is possibly the most dangerous and powerful kaiju in any movie ever because it's a threat on an existential, physical, and emotional level.

Now, onto the specific of Godzilla vs. Destoroyah. This movie is raw entertainment over all else and it rules. I have been known to complain about a lack of proper monster action in my kaiju movies and this is not a film that has that problem. Once the stakes are set up, it is straight Destoroyah and/or Godzilla action throughout basically the entire film, setting up mini Destoroyah's to be evil and ugly to humans before moving to a duel between the two titular beasts. The fight itself is almost perfect, making it obvious that on a normal day Destoroyah would win (probably easily) but that on this day Godzilla is empowered in just the right way that he can overcome, though he may take the entire planet with him in the process. The human intervention in the film makes perfect sense rather than just being another instance in which they shoot themselves in the foot and later regret it, literally hoping to save the lives of everyone while allowing Godzilla to handle the threat of Destoroyah as only he can. Like Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla before it, upon seeing this film it has instantly become one of my favorite kaiju movies: it's excellent.

Next: Orochi, the Eight-Headed Dragon!

Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla

We're approaching the end of the Heisei era of Godzilla movies, this time we're discussing the evil clone of Godzilla in the appropriately titled Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla. And unlike my way of writing MechaGodzilla, there actually isn't supposed to be a space between the space and the Godzilla! Newcomer (to the series) Kensho Yamashita directs, and the main man is played by Kenpachiro Satsuma. The kaiju cast is rounded out by Ryō Haritani as SpaceGodzilla, and the same man who played MechaGodzilla II, Wataru Fukuda, is back as the machine M.O.G.U.E.R.A.

There's not a ton of interesting background information to share for this one, so let's get to the point and talk about the movie!

If You Haven't Seen it Before

- A giant crystal flies through space before landing on Earth.

- The psychic woman from the previous films, Miki Saegusa, is asked to assist the Godzilla destroying task force, G-Force, with one of their two new plans.

- The first plan is to build another Godzilla fighting robot called M.O.G.U.E.R.A., and the second is Project T: a plan to attach a telepathic conductor to Godzilla's head and use psychic power to keep Godzilla away. Miki thinks Project T is both immoral and impossible.

- Seeking guidance, Miki comes across Mothra's voice: the Cosmos, and is told that a terrible space monster is approaching Earth to kill Godzilla and that if Godzilla dies then Earth can be easily conquered. She is given the task of protecting Godzilla so that Earth does not fall as consequence. Miki joins Project T because of the proximity it will give her to Godzilla.

- On the island Godzilla appears to treat as some sort of home (or base), 3 soldiers come across Baby Godzilla, here called Little Godzilla, and set a trap for Godzilla.

- Godzilla appears on the island and falls into the trap set by the soldiers. While one was hoping to kill Godzilla and fails, the other two succeed in attaching Project T's telepathic probe to the back of Godzilla's head.

- Project T fails after Godzilla reasserts control of his mind.

- In space, Moguera meets SpaceGodzilla and they have a flying battle through space. Moguera loses and heads back to Earth with SpaceGodzilla giving chase.

- Back on the island, the soldiers prepare to kill Godzilla. Miki stops the soldiers from killing Big G just as SpaceGodzilla arrives.

- Baby/Little Godzilla is SpaceGodzilla's first target, being pelted with space lightning as he tries to escape. Fortunately for Baby Godzilla, his father arrives protects him from the space lightning attacks.

- Both monsters retreat, but Godzilla is weakened. G-Force dubs Project T a failure, leaving them with only Project M (Moguera).

- SpaceGodzilla begins to attack various cities, just as predicted by G-Force. Moguera arrives first to fight, with Godzilla cutting through several cities to confront SG as well.

- Moguera gets absolutely rolled, but Godzilla arrives in time to save the crew from death. While initially overwhelmed, Godzilla begins to destroy SpaceGodzilla's crystals which makes the fight more even. Moguera joins in to help, which allows the two to finally fight against SpaceGodzilla.

- After evening the odds Moguera is disabled, but SpaceGodzilla has been weakened enough that Godzilla is able to destroy him (and make him explode). In the process, the Moguera robot is completely destroyed.

- Godzilla leaves, going to spend time with Baby/Little Godzilla. The end.

Kaiju Notes

- Baby Godzilla is less cute than in his previous appearance. He is, however, still not as horrific as the original Minilla so we're still calling this a vast improvement. Also, intentionally designed to have been growing, it makes a degree of sense that Baby/Little Godzilla is a little more Godzilla like. His big soulful eyes still help balance out any more "monstrous" characteristics.

- M.O.G.U.E.R.A. is a cooler principle than design. Being able to split into different forms for different functions is clearly the brainchild of Super MechaGodzilla, but the design is underwhelming in comparison to that same MechaGodzilla. The design seems more juvenile than either MechaGodzilla.

- SpaceGodzilla is really just "edgy Godzilla" but I like it nonetheless. It's not the most creative, but his creepy cheek teeth and the giant crystals on his back do certainly create a distinct look, and that's one of the keys to good kaiju design.

- SpaceGodzilla's Space Lightning is apparently called Corona Beams. It is SG's version of Atomic Breath, so it's not really blowing any minds when it comes to SpaceGodzilla's abilities. His best ability is to create crystals, which he launch into the air or keep as traps on the ground and use as weapons. He seems to empowered by them, making them a crucial element of his battles. The crystals are awesome, and some real anime-type shit that works very well. SpaceGodzilla can also fly, making him probably one of the strongest Godzilla foes of all time.

One particular direction note, and one that I've always enjoyed: several shots establish Godzilla's scale, including a beautiful one showing Godzilla beside the island coast. This movie does a better job than many kaiju films in establishing the sheer scale of the problem. It's also a good example of how the balance of human/monster elements interplay in this movie: complementary, the best way to do it. The human elements are not overbearing or too frequent, and play into the kaiju story nicely. Whether it's the giant robot Moguera or the psychic Miki Saegusa, the two sides merge nicely in a manner which is actually rare for the series to pull off. Though on the aggregate the Heisei era has been better at balancing the two sides.

It's time to talk about Miki, the most prominent human character in Godzilla movies period. Due to her psychic abilities she is often used to provide insight into the various monsters mentalities, and this time is no different. Having been used as a weapon to target Godzilla's 2nd brain in vs MechaGodzilla II, Miki is back but with the explicit purpose of trying to help and even protect Godzilla. She's one of very few people in the series to acknowledge that Godzilla might have feelings that aren't just "destroy all humans" and work to help him (and therefore humanity) rather than just kill him and call it a day. She's also one of the few intelligent people in the series because there have now been several instances of Godzilla being necessary for the survival of Japan/the entire Earth but G-Force keeps coming up with plans to kill him rather than control.

SpaceGodzilla's origin is a hilarious bit of unnecessary explanation: When Biollante died and became particles, those particles were pushed into space by either force or attached to Mothra when she went into space. Those cells got into a black hole and absorbed cosmic rays from exploding stars before being pushed out as a white hole that is also SpaceGodzilla. I like the idea of SpaceGodzilla being all the evil parts of Biollante combined with a clone body of Godzilla, but that is...convoluted, to say the least. Which is a great description for this movie entirely: convoluted. So many elements are introduced, seemingly discarded, touched on, then concluded that it seems almost impossible to explain them all. Mothra is both in this movie and not, Project T is super important, then not. Miki's psychic powers have been a constant on-again off-again relationship through the last four movies and is primarily used to develop the human side of the story despite her being involved in some of the most important Godzilla plots as well. It's just very confusing, overall. Not so much in understanding what is happening but why.

In the end, given everything, Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla is a mixed but entertaining bag. As noted above, it's strangely convoluted throughout, but the kaiju action is some of the best we've seen so far if not only because SpaceGodzilla is a real force to be reckoned with and the battle has a genuine sense of strategy that has only truly come up a few times through the series. This isn't going to win any awards on basically any level, but for raw entertainment value and kaiju action it's certainly worth seeing.

Next: Godilla vs. Destoroyah!