Rewatched what everybody including myself thought was the worst Godzilla movies ever this past week and... You know what?
So, right off the bat, yeah when I first watched these I had extremely immature opinions about Godzilla, anime, and life. I also watched these during a low point in my life, so I can't say I was in the right headspace either. I won't dwell on it, but let's just say family situations and being under the impression of a certain worldview didn't help.
But it's been long enough I figured it was time to rewatch as an Adult ™ and see what's really up.
Well, that and after a kaiju youtuber I used to enjoy gave a prolonged review of Singular Point that was just regurgitating the same immature complaints(e.g. "not enough Godzilla, too complicated, needs more monster fights") I suddenly remembered that this is not the most intelligent side of the fandom.
I'm no expert critic myself, but I've spent enough time studying art and bias to realize that no matter the context, you can't expect art to conform to your expectations. You need to be willing to engage with it on its own terms. Even when you're just coming for Godzilla.
Plus I just wanted to give the directors' work in kaiju-eiga another shot after being pleasantly surprised by Gamera Rebirth.
Anyways, pre-amble out of the way, I do think these movies are overhated but they're also not that great. I'll say up front I'm not Urobuchi expert and I kind of wish I tried more of Urobuchi's stuff (EXCLUDING FATE/ZERO) just to see if I could get a better read on his whole deal for context.
I will say that expecting another Kamen Rider Gaim was a massive fallacy but that's another discussion that crosses over into dissing another brand
Anyways, pre-amble out of the way, I do think these movies are over-hated but they're also not that great either. ("Uh-oh, here comes nuance in fandom discourse!")
I could go on and break down each individual movie, but that would risk make this an overly long post, and I feel like there are people more qualified and mentally available to do a proper retrospective. I mean I could if I ever start a youtube channel, but I'd rather focus on writing. And jobs. Rather I want to give a general summary/argument that discourages the mythology that these were the worst ones to ever do it.
The most important thing to gain a redemptive view of these films, I think, is to abandon the idea that "Godzilla anime" should live and die by the cliched western definition of anime as a hyperactive quirked-up genre. Instead, take the filmmaker at their word and view it as a high sci-fi re-imagining of Godzilla mythos. Something completely new that explores new territory for people who want more than the same old city smashing and titan tussling.
The biggest problem I think was ditching the original 12-episode anime plan and going straight to movies. Urobuchi's more favored works are the ones that have longer run times, and I do think that the concepts it explores in the context of Godzilla are interesting!
It's a unique setting where Godzilla has not only won but surrounding kaiju mythos has been elevated to godhood. Not as mere mutations or weapons but higher beings that embody entire concepts.
And on its own, it's not bad sci-fi either! The attention paid to the science of the monsters' abilities is impressive and there's a healthy emphasis on tactics fitting a story about captains and manipulators.
...but I also don't really think it would have been my new favourite or that Urobuchi's other issues (i.e. an inherently pessimistic view of humanity and a unbelievable capacity to disrespect women when not backed into the Magical Girl genre) wouldn't have ruined the taste for me anyways.
Honestly I feel like they work well enough as movies, but as a story that discusses philosophical conflict at length with a large cast, the longer run time would have suited it better.
Also this might be a little crazy of me to say, but maybe if they were a side-experiment instead of feature length films, the die-hards wouldn't been so upset about something totally different ruining their "Sacred Film Canon".
Because really, I think that's their greatest sin against the franchise (if you even want to go that far): They just look weird sticking out next to the other movies.
Another thing I think is worth mentioning is that Toho deserves to catch some heat too.
If you ignore the "no monster wrestling mandate" rumours, the fact is Shin was a smash and the next movie wasn't coming out for 3 years after that. Toho is a movie studio, at the end of the day. One that wasn't afraid to slam the yearly release button in the past and that's exactly what they did with this trilogy.
Even if what we got didn't look half bad for a Polygon production, the fact is, Toho went and rushed out another crop of Godzilla movies to strike while that box office iron while it was hot. ("Old habits die hard, eh?")
That's my defense of the films' existence anyways. The next matter is the great clown of this circus himself: Haruo Sakaki.
Haruo Sakaki isn't the worst protagonist. Not really sure I like him but I have more appreciation for what Urobuchi was trying to do.
Dude loves to destroy the idea of what a hero is, and he definitely commits to the bit. Haruo is a deconstruction of the determined monster slaying action hero, but he's not Eren Yeager. The narrative doesn't trip over itself to keep him alive or humour his nihilistic spiral into villainy, nor is he pure spite.
He grew up with extreme grief in a high stress situation, groomed by a doomsday cult (bruh, same), and was desperate to restore humanity's will to live. He tries to minimize casualty, he calls the committee's bluff for sending the old people to die first, and becomes increasingly broken as the casualties pile up while his closest friends spell out how he's at fault. But ultimately he tries to live and regain his own sense of humanity. It's just a shame that his hatred of Godzilla is his defining trait and that Urobochi's ending is Like That.
(Look, I get that the dude writes tragedies, and you can't tell a tragedy to have a happy ending and expect it to read better, but Urobuchi sure loves his solemn sacrifice endings.)
(Also he walked out on his pregnant wife without saying goodbye. To end the cycle of violence. And maybe prolong the inevitable end of all life. Yeah ok, buddy.)
The women really do make me sad tho. They are there to admire Haruo, long for Haruo, get sad when Haruo is with another one of them, and to make him upset.
The Houtua's are a genuinely interesting reimagining of Mothra's people, but the twins don't sit right with me. They're easily confused and the big twist feels unearned. It's just which one ends up with Haruo. And I'm not really sure I feel like dropping your drawers is necessary to getting the militant basket-case to reconsider his lifestyle.
But it's Yuko upsets me the most. She has a lot in common with Haruo and shares a lot of history with him, but her motivations are ultimately getting him to notice her. She gets jealous of some new girls just for getting near her crush to land her in trouble and drive her own conflict with Haruo, and then dies an uncomfortably drawn out death. And then she's a braindead corpse who's there to trigger Haruo's ultimate sacrifice.
Man. I know Godzilla has never had a perfect feminist record, but seeing women reduced to longing, jealousy, and/or suffering like this feels upsetting.
Anyways, this post is too long already so here's some final nice things I have to say:
-Metphies is a pretty well executed manipulator villain. I feel bad keeping it short but I honestly think he and the rest of the film's philosophical aspects deserves proper dicussion. (He is uh. Kinda pretty too ngl.)
-Voice acting is phenomenal. While I preferred the Japanese version (which admittedly was my choice for the rewatch), both are well acted and everyone does a great job with their parts. Especially Mamoru Miyano as Haruo.
-Those movies are surprisingly beautiful at times. Polygon staff is at their best when they have time to cook.
-The Godzillas and Ghidorah do have a commanding presence whenever they're onscreen. It's good kaiju filmmaking, which ain't easy when there's no buildings to use for scale!
-The sound design is spectacular, plain and simple.
-Takayuki Hattori's score helps elevate these movies from drab sci-fi with cramped storylines to a sweeping epic tinged with tragedy and terror; I'd even say they're his finest work in the series! XAI's songs are bops. Both deserve more appreciation.
I see SO many mixed opinions on this guy, which is fine, but sometimes it shocks me to see a lot of the dislike is coming from other Gabara enjoyers.
At first I was just saddened by the fact that his name wasn't Gabara. It quickly changed when I watched the series back in 2021. He had my full attention when he was on screen. He's such a little shit. I love him.
I love his design. He's kinda cute.
He basically gets stabbed and he doesn't give a fuck
