Talkback Thread #20: Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993)

For discussion of Toho produced and distributed films or shows released from 1980 up to 1998 (includes Gamera 3)
Post Reply
User avatar
Terasawa
Xilien Halfling
Posts: 5841
Joined: Tue Jun 07, 2011 10:06 am

Re: Talkback Thread #20: Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993)

Post by Terasawa »

ShinGojira14 wrote:Unfortunately I haven't seen the original Japanese version of this film, so I can't give a definitive answer on how I feel about the original version due to not knowing how different it might be.
It's the same film, only in Japanese.
寺沢. He/him/his, etc.

GojiDog
G-Grasper
Posts: 1223
Joined: Thu Feb 15, 2018 6:16 pm

Re: Talkback Thread #20: Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993)

Post by GojiDog »

In comparing the Japanese language version with the International Dub, the English speaking characters (Blonde karate lady MechaG pilot and old scientist man) are SOMEHOW worse in the original version.

The International Dub, which is awful, somehow improved those performances. I don't know how that is even possible, but it happened.
White Male Genocide is necessary.

Kill all white men.

User avatar
Terasawa
Xilien Halfling
Posts: 5841
Joined: Tue Jun 07, 2011 10:06 am

Re: Talkback Thread #20: Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993)

Post by Terasawa »

^ Probably because the foreigners hired by Toho were usually not professional (or even amateur) actors. They got those parts because they were foreign and could adequately speak English. The export dubbers might not have always been good actors, but they had more experience.
寺沢. He/him/his, etc.

User avatar
GodzillavsRayquaza
Site Staff
Site Staff
Posts: 6254
Joined: Thu Dec 01, 2016 1:39 pm

Re: Talkback Thread #20: Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993)

Post by GodzillavsRayquaza »

I love this movie, definitely one of my favorite of the 90s Godzilla movies, if not just my favorite outright. Kazuma Aoki and Asuza Gojo are solid and interesting characters, Miki has much more of a purpose here than she did in the previous two movies and is also as solid of a character as she was in GvB. Godzilla has character beyond just mindless rage, and you feel bad for him as Mechagodzilla cripples him and tears him apart. The kaiju fights here are super good. Godzilla vs Rodan is a tense and brutal bout. The final battle is amazing from start to finish and never gets boring. Effects are super good (mostly, Rodan flying leaves a good bit to be desired).
KWC Co-Operations Manager
KWCE Administrator


ShinGojira14 wrote: Neither. Hideki Anno wins because he writes a hilarious comedic satire movie where Shin and Legendary have to team up to destroy a grotesque crap-monster created by the constant toxic bickering of Shin fans and Legendary fans.
SoggyNoodles2016 wrote: Yup, my dad works at Legendary, the Nebulans are gonna be in the next movie and they're gonna get beat because Madison throws coffee in the leaders face.

User avatar
LSD Jellyfish
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 14248
Joined: Fri Jan 23, 2015 11:57 pm

Re: Talkback Thread #20: Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993)

Post by LSD Jellyfish »

The manga adaptation has something which fixes the big issues the movie has. Mainly, in the final act, a virus from the MKG components, makes MG go berserk after incapitcating Godzilla. it proceeds to run amok....hmmm wait, haven't seen heard this somewhere before?
Image

Anyways, MG starts to violently torture Godzilla, and the manga is pretty clear this is horrible. MG proceeds to kill Godzilla, straight up, and then Rodan tries to save Godzilla and baby but is horribly killed too.

Image

Image

Like usual, Godzilla is revived from Rodan, but the battle plays out differently. MG is about to murder Baby. And:
Image

Image

Mg keeps fighting, and despite being continually wrecked, keeps getting up! A berserk shell of MG continues attacking. It's final attack is latching onto Godzilla in desperation, and exploding, though Godzilla survives:
Image

I thought the manga had a better idea of how to have an actual villain. Sure Godzilla and Rodan are pests in the first half, but they're clearly just interested in the egg. The way MG is portrayed when it becomes berserk, makes it clearly out to be the final villain. Additionally, the way it fights back against Godzilla after being revived is more interesting than what the movie does.
Spirit Ghidorah 2010 wrote: Sun Dec 03, 2023 4:54 pm Anno-san pleasures me more than Yamasaki-san.

User avatar
shadowgigan
Futurian
Posts: 3089
Joined: Fri Feb 24, 2012 12:11 pm

Re: Talkback Thread #20: Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993)

Post by shadowgigan »

I love that Manga. The fights are so intense and it feels like the stakes are much higher than in the film.

User avatar
LSD Jellyfish
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 14248
Joined: Fri Jan 23, 2015 11:57 pm

Re: Talkback Thread #20: Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993)

Post by LSD Jellyfish »

shadowgigan wrote:I love that Manga. The fights are so intense and it feels like the stakes are much higher than in the film.
One of the few times the violence works in service of the narrative. You feel bad for Godzilla, and see it's complete overkill. The movie itself is still sympathetic towards Godzilla, but has him rampage a lot more. It allows for MG to become the definitive villain.
Spirit Ghidorah 2010 wrote: Sun Dec 03, 2023 4:54 pm Anno-san pleasures me more than Yamasaki-san.

User avatar
JAGzilla
Sazer
Posts: 11816
Joined: Mon Apr 18, 2011 6:45 pm
Location: Georgia

Re: Talkback Thread #20: Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993)

Post by JAGzilla »

Ripping Godzilla's plate in half like that is straight messed up. That's Ultraman-level whatthefuckery. I'd kind of like to see some sick villain (it seems right up Destoroyah's alley) try that in a movie, only to have Godzilla charge up his ray and release it explosively through the damaged plate and into the villain's face.
"Stop wars and no more accidents. I guess that's all I can ask." -Akio

edgaguirus
Keizer
Posts: 8559
Joined: Wed Jul 28, 2010 1:25 pm

Re: Talkback Thread #20: Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993)

Post by edgaguirus »

That sounds like something a future MG would face while fighting Shin Godzilla.
I've got a good mind to join a club and beat you over the head with it.

Then expect something that's fiercer, more cruel, and deadly than anything that's walked the Earth.

User avatar
godjacob
Futurian
Posts: 3439
Joined: Mon Mar 12, 2018 6:16 am

Re: Talkback Thread #20: Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993)

Post by godjacob »

So basically the Manga Heisei Mechagodzilla was Kiryu before Kiryu was a thing?

I'll admit if this brutal side of Mechagodzilla or the callous nature of it was displayed in the final fight with Godzilla I would have liked it more. Rather than finding it one of the most boring "antagonists" in the history of the franchise.
Image

User avatar
eabaker
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 13758
Joined: Tue Aug 21, 2012 6:16 pm
Location: Portland, OR

Re: Talkback Thread #20: Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993)

Post by eabaker »

I dunno, one of the things I actually really like is the ambiguity of the final fight not having a distinct "good guy" and "bad guy," and that our allegiance shifts to Godzilla more because of a sense that G-Force is going too far despite basically good intentions.
Tokyo, a smoldering memorial to the unknown, an unknown which at this very moment still prevails and could at any time lash out with its terrible destruction anywhere else in the world.

edgaguirus
Keizer
Posts: 8559
Joined: Wed Jul 28, 2010 1:25 pm

Re: Talkback Thread #20: Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993)

Post by edgaguirus »

We can basically thank Miki for that impression. Her reluctance to target the sacral brain makes the order to attack Godzilla seem cruel.
I've got a good mind to join a club and beat you over the head with it.

Then expect something that's fiercer, more cruel, and deadly than anything that's walked the Earth.

User avatar
H-Man
G-Grasper
Posts: 1326
Joined: Fri Aug 30, 2013 7:43 am
Location: São Paulo, Brazil

Re: Talkback Thread #20: Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993)

Post by H-Man »

My 12-year-old daughter and I watched this movie last. She thought Baby was just darling and kawai and all sorts of adorable. She found the film on the whole to be epic. She even said that she almost cried at the end as they're trying to get Baby to leave with Godzilla. The music was just magnificent and even with the dubbing, my daughter felt the emotions conveyed by Azusa and Baby.

My question: Where exactly is the climatic battle set?

User avatar
Terasawa
Xilien Halfling
Posts: 5841
Joined: Tue Jun 07, 2011 10:06 am

Re: Talkback Thread #20: Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993)

Post by Terasawa »

H-Man wrote:My question: Where exactly is the climatic battle set?
Makuhari, a business district within Chiba.

Image
寺沢. He/him/his, etc.

User avatar
H-Man
G-Grasper
Posts: 1326
Joined: Fri Aug 30, 2013 7:43 am
Location: São Paulo, Brazil

Re: Talkback Thread #20: Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993)

Post by H-Man »

Terasawa wrote:
H-Man wrote:My question: Where exactly is the climatic battle set?
Makuhari, a business district within Chiba.
Thanks!

One thing I liked about the Heisei series is that they generally went with different cities for each film:

G'1985 - Tokyo
GvsB - Osaka
GvsKG - Sapporo, Tokyo (justifiable by the time travel stuff)
GvsM - Nagoya, Tokyo, Yokohama
GvsMG - Yokkaichi, Kyoto, Sendai, Chiba
GvsSpG - Beppu, Yamamoto, Kagoshima, Fukuoka
GvsD - Tokyo, Hong Kong

User avatar
Terasawa
Xilien Halfling
Posts: 5841
Joined: Tue Jun 07, 2011 10:06 am

Re: Talkback Thread #20: Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993)

Post by Terasawa »

Yeah, that's definitely something I prefer about the Heisei Godzillas compared to those that came later. The final battle in every Millennium Series movie took place in some ward of Tokyo, except GMK, where the final battle is only a little further away in Yokohama. The geography nerd in me has always appreciated when these movies show monsters in more than just the same few large cities, and I think the Millennium Series kinda failed in that regard.

GvKG and GvSG are notable, geographically speaking, for having monsters attack cities in Hokkaido, Honshu, and Kyushu. I'm pretty sure those are the only two Godzilla films to do that. It also took 21 movies to get Godzilla to Kyushu. I don't think he's been back in any movie since, either.
寺沢. He/him/his, etc.

User avatar
H-Man
G-Grasper
Posts: 1326
Joined: Fri Aug 30, 2013 7:43 am
Location: São Paulo, Brazil

Re: Talkback Thread #20: Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993)

Post by H-Man »

Terasawa wrote:Yeah, that's definitely something I prefer about the Heisei Godzillas compared to those that came later. The final battle in every Millennium Series movie took place in some ward of Tokyo, except GMK, where the final battle is only a little further away in Yokohama. The geography nerd in me has always appreciated when these movies show monsters in more than just the same few large cities, and I think the Millennium Series kinda failed in that regard.

GvKG and GvSG are notable, geographically speaking, for having monsters attack cities in Hokkaido, Honshu, and Kyushu. I'm pretty sure those are the only two Godzilla films to do that. It also took 21 movies to get Godzilla to Kyushu. I don't think he's been back in any movie since, either.
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing as I typed my previous post. "What about the Milen--oh, Tokyo almost every time."

gfan84
Samurai
Posts: 86
Joined: Sun Nov 22, 2020 3:05 pm

Godzilla vs mechagodzilla 1993 opinion

Post by gfan84 »

Does anybody in the fandom actually like Godzilla vs mechagodzilla 1993, which I think is very underrated. Adding to this, does anybody own the actual Japanese region 2 dvd with accident subtitles from sumogorilla, monsterislandtoys, or gmk toys? I think it is a much better viewing experience with accurate subtitles.

User avatar
eabaker
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 13758
Joined: Tue Aug 21, 2012 6:16 pm
Location: Portland, OR

Re: Godzilla vs mechagodzilla 1993 opinion

Post by eabaker »

gfan84 wrote: Tue Dec 22, 2020 9:30 am Does anybody in the fandom actually like Godzilla vs mechagodzilla 1993, which I think is very underrated.
Yes, I'd say the movie has a pretty enthusiastic following among Heisei fans. It doesn't have the enthusiastic following that it did in the mid-90s, when it was hailed as the second coming of Mothra vs. Godzilla, but it is definitely still much beloved by a not-insignificant portion of the fandom.
Tokyo, a smoldering memorial to the unknown, an unknown which at this very moment still prevails and could at any time lash out with its terrible destruction anywhere else in the world.

User avatar
godjacob
Futurian
Posts: 3439
Joined: Mon Mar 12, 2018 6:16 am

Re: Talkback Thread #20: Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993)

Post by godjacob »

I hate Mechagodzilla (Heisei) with a passion but the film itself is fine enough, liked Godzilla Jr.'s story and the Godzilla/Rodan stuff was fine. Plus the Garuda guy seemed like a likeable underdog.
Image

Post Reply