Godzilla vs Megalon or Godzilla vs Gigan?

For the discussion of Toho produced and distributed films or shows released before 1980.

Which film do you prefer? (Not necessarily better)

Godzilla vs Gigan
41
72%
Godzilla vs Megalon
16
28%
 
Total votes: 57

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Godzilla vs Megalon or Godzilla vs Gigan?

Post by Voyager »

I had a very hard time choosing because I realize that Gigan is the better film but I enjoy Megalon a lot more.

But ultimately, I chose Megalon. I like the so-bad-it's-good feel to it and the Gigan and Megalon dynamic is very charming.
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Re: Godzilla vs Megalon or Godzilla vs Gigan?

Post by GojiDog »

Godzilla Vs. Gigan for me.

My biggest issue with both of them is the over-reliance on stock footage, which is a pet peeve of mine.
..
However, Vs. Gigan scores major points for the use of Ifukube's music (which even though its stock music, it does add a lot), having a wild violent, and dramatic climactic fight (I legit thought Godzilla was going to die when I watched it as a kid). I'll always remember how shocked I was when Gigan made Godzilla bleed, a thing I didn't even know was possible at the time. Gigan himself is a wonderful addition to the Toho Monster Menagerie. Great and unique design, and he makes a huge impression. Also, this is the movie that made me fall in love with Anguirus and appreciate him as a tenacious ball of fury that takes a licking but keeps on ticking. And despite some of the human scenes dragging, I do kind of like the "Scooby-Doo" gang of mains that they put together for this. The hippie, the cartoonist, the karate butt kicking girlfriend...they're a memorable bunch.

There are plenty of issues with Vs. Gigan. For example, the Godzilla/Anguirus "talk" scenes are awkward, and the aliens are probably the least remarkable in the series (Granted, the Xileans and Kilaaks are tough acts to follow). All that combined with the aforementioned use of stock footage drag the film down considerably, but there is enough good stuff there to keep me coming back and I've actually gained more appreciation for this entry over time.

Vs. Megalon...yeeeeeah. Aside from the obvious cheapness of the film, I think my biggest issue with it is that the movie is just boring. It feels like I'm watching a bad, poorly made pilot to an Ultraman knockoff. Megalon never quite worked for me, and the main cast of characters rank among the weakest in the entire series (having an annoying kid doesn't help either). Gigan sadly doesn't add much as it feels like he is there for the sole purpose of reusing footage from the last film. I also found the ost to be obnoxious, as it largely sounds like a guy playing rubber bands.

What did I like about this one? There is a goofy charm to Jet Jaguar. He looks like he belongs in a completely different franchise, but he's so silly, I can't help but have a soft spot for him. And fortunately, the final battle is good cheesy ridiculousness. Its one of the sillier fights in the series, and its fun. Unfortunately, it is a long road to get there (or at least it feels long).
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Re: Godzilla vs Megalon or Godzilla vs Gigan?

Post by HedorahIsBestGirl »

Godzilla vs. Gigan wins by a landslide. The human cast in Gigan is quite enjoyable, where Megalon's human cast is probably the worst in the entire franchise. No manga artists, no corn-eating hippies, no karate chicks (or women of any kind), just two dorky guys, one annoying kid and a screaming white guy in a toga. The stock Ifukube score in Gigan is excellent where Megalon's original Manabe score is mediocre. I'm in the minority that actually enjoys his Hedorah score, but the Megalon score is another matter. While both films are heavily reliant on stock footage, Megalon is the worse offender for using its stock footage so egregiously. As far as monster casts go, Gigan definitely wins again; the titular villain is an excellent addition to Godzilla's rogues gallery, Anguirus gets his meatiest role yet and it's nice to see Ghidorah one last time. By contrast, Megalon is a middling kaiju baddie and Jet Jaguar is lovably goofy, but by no means one of the franchise's better characters. The one area in which the two films are pretty even are their climactic battles, as both go for something very different. Gigan's final battle is downright brutal; Godzilla and Anguirus bleed profusely and both almost die. Megalon's final battle is the peak of tag team kaiju wrestling and has some pretty awesome choreography, as silly as it is. Ultimately, though, Gigan is a fun movie throughout while Megalon is an hour of bad and then twenty minutes of fun. Gigan is one of my favorites in the franchise, Megalon falls pretty low on my list even though I am somewhat fond of it.
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Re: Godzilla vs Megalon or Godzilla vs Gigan?

Post by eabaker »

This is the first of these polls that's been incredibly easy for me. Gigan has an extremely charming and compelling human cast, the direction of the human drama and the photography of both the human drama and the monsters scenes looks better, I love the way the manga theme is weaved into the movie, and the cockroach villains are supremely unnerving.

And I'm a goddamned Angilas fantatic.
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Re: Godzilla vs Megalon or Godzilla vs Gigan?

Post by Major sssspielberg! »

Gigan wins out easily for me.
It seems like everyone who touts Megalon as 'underrated' had it as one of their first Godzilla movies, but it was one of the last I saw when I was younger.
My first three were Mothra vs Godzilla, Monster Zero and Gigan.
By the time I saw Megalon at like age 9 it did literally nothing for me.
However I do enjoy Megalon much more as an adult, oddly enough.
Gigan still wins as the better picture though. My only wish would be a shorter version that excised some of the stock footage from Ghidrah.
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Re: Godzilla vs Megalon or Godzilla vs Gigan?

Post by Crazy Jim Films »

Yeah, easy choice for Gigan. Though it does rely on stock footage and recycled music cues, it weaves them in a way that gives it a larger feel and reminds me of the more fun aspects of the series. Megalon, by contrast, feels cheaper and smaller scale to me. I enjoy the title villain but Jet Jaguar and the human characters just weren't enough to carry the bulk of the film.
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Re: Godzilla vs Megalon or Godzilla vs Gigan?

Post by Terasawa »

eabaker wrote:And I'm a goddamned Angilas fantatic.
And this was the last time he was "Angilas". :(
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Re: Godzilla vs Megalon or Godzilla vs Gigan?

Post by Showa Gojira »

Godzilla vs Gigan by a country mile. Godzilla vs Megalon has an awesome final fight that makes up for the rest of the movie. Godzilla vs Gigan likewise has a great titanic tag team throwdown but it's not the only really good thing about the movie. The goofy but fun cast of characters, the re-used Ifukube music, and the better cast of monsters all make the 1972 film shine over it's sequel. I actually got to see both of these on the big screen last year!
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Re: Godzilla vs Megalon or Godzilla vs Gigan?

Post by CrimsonBloodX »

Yeah, Godzilla vs Gigan wins by a long shot.
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Re: Godzilla vs Megalon or Godzilla vs Gigan?

Post by onerichman »

Godzilla vs Gigan is way better.

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Re: Godzilla vs Megalon or Godzilla vs Gigan?

Post by LSD Jellyfish »

Gigan has really memorable characters, and at points a really unique stylization with the comic book art. Sure it’s goofy, and uses stock footage, but all the new footage makes up for it and can be super dark when it needs to be. Godzilla vs Megalon is entertaining, but I think there’s an argument to be made that Godzilla vs Gigan is a fantastic genre film, while Megalon is a hastily strung together series of stock footage with a decent final show down.

Gigan by a mile.
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Re: Godzilla vs Megalon or Godzilla vs Gigan?

Post by szmigiel »

I'm not really a fan of Godzilla Vs Megalon, its a harmless fun 70's pro-wrestling style film. However Godzilla Vs Gigan is such a mess I think it is one of the worst entries in the whole franchise. The human storyline is the only thing that even remotely saves the film. The action is ruined by the constant cutting to day/night footage that doesn't even remotely match up. Then there is Anguirus swimming to Japan, being attacked, and swimming back. Why was it there, other then pointless Kaiju filler.

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Re: Godzilla vs Megalon or Godzilla vs Gigan?

Post by LSD Jellyfish »

szmigiel wrote:I'm not really a fan of Godzilla Vs Megalon, its a harmless fun 70's pro-wrestling style film. However Godzilla Vs Gigan is such a mess I think it is one of the worst entries in the whole franchise. The human storyline is the only thing that even remotely saves the film. The action is ruined by the constant cutting to day/night footage that doesn't even remotely match up. Then there is Anguirus swimming to Japan, being attacked, and swimming back. Why was it there, other then pointless Kaiju filler.
I think the Angruius scene is just supposed to be a way to give Angurius something to do independently of Godzilla in the film. It’s also there to show that Angurius and Godzilla are good monsters, because Angurius sort of politely waits and heads back.

Yeah the day and night swapping is an issue though. I’m still always of the opinion that Godzilla vs Gigan’s stock footage doesn’t hurt it it too bad. Cut it out and you still are left with more than enough new footage and action.
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Re: Godzilla vs Megalon or Godzilla vs Gigan?

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LSD Jellyfish wrote:I think the Angruius scene is just supposed to be a way to give Angurius something to do independently of Godzilla in the film. It’s also there to show that Angurius and Godzilla are good monsters, because Angurius sort of politely waits and heads back.
He swims to Japan, gets sent packing by masers, then swims back to monster land, only to turn around and swim back with Godzilla, and Godzilla is yelling at him to hurry up.
LSD Jellyfish wrote:Yeah the day and night swapping is an issue though. I’m still always of the opinion that Godzilla vs Gigan’s stock footage doesn’t hurt it it too bad. Cut it out and you still are left with more than enough new footage and action.
The footage where the Godzilla suit is literally falling apart on screen? Strangely motionless King Ghidorah, which is made worse when KG is moving all the time in the stock footage. Every time it jumps between new and old just total ruins the flow for me.

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Re: Godzilla vs Megalon or Godzilla vs Gigan?

Post by Terasawa »

szmigiel wrote:
LSD Jellyfish wrote:I think the Angruius scene is just supposed to be a way to give Angurius something to do independently of Godzilla in the film. It’s also there to show that Angurius and Godzilla are good monsters, because Angurius sort of politely waits and heads back.
He swims to Japan, gets sent packing by masers, then swims back to monster land, only to turn around and swim back with Godzilla, and Godzilla is yelling at him to hurry up.
I mean, you're right that it's mostly just filler and an excuse to have another monster sequence, but it does serve two narrative purposes:
  • 1. Godzilla sends Angilas out to reconnoiter the area. That's what happens.
  • 2. More importantly, the JSDF action directly informs the aliens of the kind of force they'll have to deal with once they begin the invasion.
It's sloppy, but it's not like it happens totally independent of anything else in the movie.
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Re: Godzilla vs Megalon or Godzilla vs Gigan?

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Terasawa wrote:More importantly, the JSDF action directly informs the aliens of the kind of force they'll have to deal with once they begin the invasion.
So Godzilla actually helps the aliens by sending Angurius on a pointless errand?

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Re: Godzilla vs Megalon or Godzilla vs Gigan?

Post by eabaker »

Just realized that nobody has mentioned how thoroughly Gigan wallops Megalon with regard to production design.

God, it's just so much better looking overall...
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Re: Godzilla vs Megalon or Godzilla vs Gigan?

Post by edgaguirus »

I like vs Gigan better as well. I suppose it comes down to the fact that It came on more often than Megalon on television, so It has nostalgia value. It's also the more enjoyable of the two. Vs Gigan has an odd batch of heroes, but they make a good team. The fight is entertaining, and I love how the aliens are defeated.

Vs. Megalon isn't bad, and JJ is a memorable robot, but the film just doesn't have the feel of vs Gigan.
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Re: Godzilla vs Megalon or Godzilla vs Gigan?

Post by miguelnuva »

Gigan is ranked a lot higher for me then other showa films as it is was the first time I had seen Godzilla and Angurius team up and they are my two favorite kaiju. Honestly felt to me as a kid that Godzilla had a brother in this film not just an ally. Angurius running head first into Gigan to try and save Godzilla is still one of my favorite moments in the series.
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Re: Godzilla vs Megalon or Godzilla vs Gigan?

Post by MekaGojira3k »

Gigan hands down. For me it comes down to not only having cool suits involved - love the 68 Godzilla/Angilas and Gigan is <3- but the cast is so much fun. Megalon tries my patience because it has some cool ideas but it just feels so lifeless compared to vs. Gigan.

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