Toho Kingdom

Godzillian wrote:Was there ever an official reason given why we got new characters rather than the cast of this movie?

Someone at G-Fest around 10-15 years ago told me Akane's actress was very popular in Japan and could only sign on for one film. For whatever reason I just took it as truth.

It seemed like during the Millennium era a big part of each movie's publicity centered around making a big to-do about the latest young starlet they'd cast. Keeping Yumiko Shaku in the lead would have meant no chance to publicize casting Miho Yoshioka.

Shaku might have been too busy on the Sky High series and movie to participate in Tokyo SOS in more than a cameo.

I have a lot of nostalgia for this film and that is a factor in why I like it so much.

What is the whole logic behind renaming Mechagodzilla?

I really like Shin Takuma in this movie, except when he's "flirting" with Akane (way too broad). Except in those moments he has good chemistry with Yumiko Shaku and Kana Onodera (Sara).

Like most Wataru Mimura scripts, there are some really good ideas that don't pan out. I'm all for some ambiguity, to force the audience to think, but I can't help but think it was a mistake to leave Godzilla's motivation mostly unvoiced. Sure, we find out why Godzilla's been attacking in the next film, but when GxMG was produced and released in 2002, there wasn't any plan for a sequel. In other words, if there was an explanation for Godzilla's appearances in 2002, it was left out of this movie. I can think of no good reason for that.

With Godzilla vs Megaguirus (GxM), Tezuka was only interested in entertaining the audience: there, the drama plays second (or third...) fiddle to everything else. I think with this movie, however, he wanted to elevate the drama to the forefront. But IMO the dramatic elements are ill-conceived. Akane allows her demotion over no mistake of her own, instead taking all the blame for the death of the troops in the jeep. Hayama continues to be a prick just because he blames her for the death of his brother and their C.O. doesn't do anything substantial to stop it. Hayama's only in the movie to give Akane a (lousy) reason to question her purpose, but this thread is contrived and trite.

One thing that stuck out to me watching this last night was Akane's apathy for her life: she tells Sara that she's wished she hadn't been born and that she lives a useless life, but this doesn't really go anywhere. I realized, however, that they needed to have Akane pilot Kiryu from the inside throughout the movie, so that she'd be onboard --helpless-- while Kiryu goes on its rampage. This could have amplified her self doubts more than the hackneyed Hayama stuff and potentially given her a opportunity to voice her feelings of uselessness in a more compelling way. If she believes she's useless then what better way to express it than allow herself to be endangered by the JSDF's actions to stop Kiryu?

There's also quite a bit of groan-worthy faux heartfelt moments: Sara's relationship with her plant is the most pervasive, but we also have the Kiryu Group member throwing his hat to Akane ("You're one of the team!"), Sara extending her hand to Akane prior to the final battle, etc. These moments should have come off as appropriately sentimental but Mimura's script and Tezuka's direction renders them simply mawkish. Nearly every emotional moment in this movie feels way too artificial.

I have a lot more thoughts but I don't wanna drone on longer than I have, so I'll be brief. There are at least three sequences copied from GMK, and all pale in comparison. Yuichi Kikuchi's special effects are conceptually interesting and occasionally dynamic but often executed poorly. No wonder he wasn't brought back. On the other hand, Michiru Oshima's score is awesome, and towards the end of the movie I realized I had been humming along to most of it.

LegendZilla wrote: ↑Mon May 25, 2020 1:06 am What is the whole logic behind renaming Mechagodzilla?

I can only speculate, but its probably one or more of the following reasons.

1) To differentiate it from other versions of Mechagodzilla.

2) To establish this version of Mechagodzilla as a character. Previous versions were pure lifeless robots. The 70s one was basically a remote controlled war weapon and the 93 one was basically a fancy war vehicle. By naming this version, it feeds into the idea that this version of Mechagodzilla is actually a living thing.

3) A branding idea to sell more toys and merchandise. If you call it something different or give it some differing quality from previous releases, it gives collectors and kids more reason to get the merch.

4) Building off of 3, it was probably conceived as a way for Toho to get an additional trademark on the character that they could use.

^Building off on #1, why not give this new Godzilla a different name as well?

LegendZilla wrote: ↑Thu Nov 12, 2020 10:41 am ^Building off on #1, why not give this new Godzilla a different name as well?

Because he's GODZILLA!

Ah yes, my second Godzilla film, first MG and MG film, and my second favorite Godzilla design/suit of all time. I actually prefer SOS to this though, since it has Mothra. Still, great film! Love nearly everything about it

This is a very solid movie imo. Its strongest aspect is definitely the human characters and their development throughout, very emotionally engaging, as while the action is fun and tense, it’s nothing spectacular. Only true complaint I have is Godzilla himself, as he has all the personality of a brick and is just a plot device for the heroes to overcome. A highlight of the Millenium era, not at GMK’s level but that’s certainly not a dig against Against

Second best Millennium film IMO behind GMK, of course. Way better than Cringeguirus, Tokyo KYS and Final Flop.

shadowgigan wrote: ↑Mon Feb 17, 2020 4:55 pm

Godzillian wrote:Was there ever an official reason given why we got new characters rather than the cast of this movie?

Someone at G-Fest around 10-15 years ago told me Akane's actress was very popular in Japan and could only sign on for one film. For whatever reason I just took it as truth.

And I thought the reason was because of the story direction they wanted to take in Tokyo SOS, that actually makes quite a lot of sense if it is true

Voyager wrote: ↑Fri May 21, 2021 3:31 am Tokyo KYS

LOL I would love to see a movie with this title.

This is my second or third least favorite film in the Millennium series but I still think it's a relatively good film because of the character perfomances and Kiryu who is my favorite version of MechaG just barely edging out MV MechaG. Godzilla really lacked emotions in this film and despite being a great design the suit was stiff and the fight wasn't as entertaining as the other films. Still a better film than Tokyo SOS

Rewatching this, before I found this film boring, now I love it. I guess the first time I didn't like the film because I had watched it on my phone. I still prefer Tokyo S.O.S, but now I have another great Godzilla movie to rewatch time and time again.

The absolute gem of the millineum series. A ten out of ten like the 1993 MechaGodzilla movie, too. A human story that isn't a joke and a kid worthy of a kaiju, unlike Kenny from Gamera. More than military and kaiju action.

Absolutely gem of the Millennium series? Absolutely. No argument there. Love this one.

Ten out of ten? Just like the 93 film? Don't think I'd go that far.

My favorite Millennium movie, with GMK/G2K tied for second. It's just good.

I really appreciate what this movie does in terms of its human drama, but I find that the kaiju side is insufficiently fleshed-out and feels inconclusive. I also don't dig its aesthetic nearly as much as I like the looks of both G2K and GMK. Still a solid, entertaining entry, and one that's grown on me with time and repeat viewing, but in the end it just doesn't quite come together for me.