Unpopular Godzilla Opinions

[MrGoji1999]

I agree with Maritonic on this. Every Godzilla fan should see all the films at least once, so everyone can have their own opinion about every film regardless of what we think about any films of the franchise, and that includes the anime trilogy, someone can find something in them that they love that I could not.

Heck, G14 is one of my favorites in the entire franchise and that film dosen´t have the greatest positive reception ever, there´s always going to be different opinions both on this forum and in many places, and that´s great! Even some Godzilla films that I don´t like (like the anime trilogy, or Godzilla vs Mothra: Battle for Earth) have some stuff that I like

[Desghidorah]

I understand why they are used, popularity, but I really wish we could get new incarnations of classic Toho monsters that weren't Mothra, Ghidorah, or Mechagodzilla. Rodan to a much lesser extent. Again, I fully understand the appeal, I just feel like they hog all the spotlight and we miss out on either original creations or new interpretations of other classic kaiju like Anguirus, Varan, Hedorah, or newer forms like Biollante. And before anyone says "They wouldn't make for good fights against Godzilla because they're not as powerful", might I note classic Showa Mothra didn't really have any special abilities at all and yet she put up a good fight against Godzilla and won via the two larvae. Ghidorah's certainly gained new powers with time and Mechagodzilla's arsenal might change but each version still has distinct weapons while still being a walking armory be it missile spam with force fields, beam spam with shock anchors, or freezing cannons and drill hands.

So why couldn't someone like Anguirus get some upgrades or Varan be scaled up to contend with the Big G in a more modern film? Honestly, some of my favorite opponents in the last 20 years have often been original kaiju with their own flairs, like Monster X's martial arts and skeletal design, Orga's distinct look and creepy roars, and the MUTO's almost alien appearance and distinctive calls.

[Maritonic]

I understand why they are used, popularity, but I really wish we could get new incarnations of classic Toho monsters that weren't Mothra, Ghidorah, or Mechagodzilla. Rodan to a much lesser extent. Again, I fully understand the appeal, I just feel like they hog all the spotlight and we miss out on either original creations or new interpretations of other classic kaiju like Anguirus, Varan, Hedorah, or newer forms like Biollante. And before anyone says "They wouldn't make for good fights against Godzilla because they're not as powerful", might I note classic Showa Mothra didn't really have any special abilities at all and yet she put up a good fight against Godzilla and won via the two larvae. Ghidorah's certainly gained new powers with time and Mechagodzilla's arsenal might change but each version still has distinct weapons while still being a walking armory be it missile spam with force fields, beam spam with shock anchors, or freezing cannons and drill hands.

So why couldn't someone like Anguirus get some upgrades or Varan be scaled up to contend with the Big G in a more modern film? Honestly, some of my favorite opponents in the last 20 years have often been original kaiju with their own flairs, like Monster X's martial arts and skeletal design, Orga's distinct look and creepy roars, and the MUTO's almost alien appearance and distinctive calls.

This is 1000% not an unpopular opinion. I think this is pretty much unanimously agreed upon.

[Desghidorah]

I understand why they are used, popularity, but I really wish we could get new incarnations of classic Toho monsters that weren't Mothra, Ghidorah, or Mechagodzilla. Rodan to a much lesser extent. Again, I fully understand the appeal, I just feel like they hog all the spotlight and we miss out on either original creations or new interpretations of other classic kaiju like Anguirus, Varan, Hedorah, or newer forms like Biollante. And before anyone says "They wouldn't make for good fights against Godzilla because they're not as powerful", might I note classic Showa Mothra didn't really have any special abilities at all and yet she put up a good fight against Godzilla and won via the two larvae. Ghidorah's certainly gained new powers with time and Mechagodzilla's arsenal might change but each version still has distinct weapons while still being a walking armory be it missile spam with force fields, beam spam with shock anchors, or freezing cannons and drill hands.

So why couldn't someone like Anguirus get some upgrades or Varan be scaled up to contend with the Big G in a more modern film? Honestly, some of my favorite opponents in the last 20 years have often been original kaiju with their own flairs, like Monster X's martial arts and skeletal design, Orga's distinct look and creepy roars, and the MUTO's almost alien appearance and distinctive calls.

This is 1000% not an unpopular opinion. I think this is pretty much unanimously agreed upon.

On here maybe, but not according to polls and filmmakers it's not apparently. Not salty mind you, I'm eager for KotM and PE, just an observation. Heck it even got its way into the Rebirth of Mothra series were after two original kaiju... yep, here comes King Ghidorah.

[Maritonic]

I understand why they are used, popularity, but I really wish we could get new incarnations of classic Toho monsters that weren't Mothra, Ghidorah, or Mechagodzilla. Rodan to a much lesser extent. Again, I fully understand the appeal, I just feel like they hog all the spotlight and we miss out on either original creations or new interpretations of other classic kaiju like Anguirus, Varan, Hedorah, or newer forms like Biollante. And before anyone says "They wouldn't make for good fights against Godzilla because they're not as powerful", might I note classic Showa Mothra didn't really have any special abilities at all and yet she put up a good fight against Godzilla and won via the two larvae. Ghidorah's certainly gained new powers with time and Mechagodzilla's arsenal might change but each version still has distinct weapons while still being a walking armory be it missile spam with force fields, beam spam with shock anchors, or freezing cannons and drill hands.

So why couldn't someone like Anguirus get some upgrades or Varan be scaled up to contend with the Big G in a more modern film? Honestly, some of my favorite opponents in the last 20 years have often been original kaiju with their own flairs, like Monster X's martial arts and skeletal design, Orga's distinct look and creepy roars, and the MUTO's almost alien appearance and distinctive calls.

This is 1000% not an unpopular opinion. I think this is pretty much unanimously agreed upon.

On here maybe, but not according to polls and filmmakers it's not apparently. Not salty mind you, I'm eager for KotM and PE, just an observation. Heck it even got its way into the Rebirth of Mothra series were after two original kaiju... yep, here comes King Ghidorah.

King of the Monsters was a rights thing; Legendary can only use what they have. And when it comes to that, seeing Rodan, Ghidorah, and Mothra in a US film is pretty amazing. So I give them a major pass with that.

One of the many balls dropped with the anime series was their lack of kaiju. The prequel novels had an insane amount of kaiju that I'm sure most of us would have loved to have seen back on screen. But they went with what they went with.

Filmmakers do what will sell. Historically, the "Big 5" sell. They don't like taking risks. Having said that, we'll see what this whole "World of Godzilla" brings. Maybe we'll see some old faces come back.

[Zarm]

I understand why they are used, popularity, but I really wish we could get new incarnations of classic Toho monsters that weren't Mothra, Ghidorah, or Mechagodzilla. Rodan to a much lesser extent. Again, I fully understand the appeal, I just feel like they hog all the spotlight and we miss out on either original creations or new interpretations of other classic kaiju like Anguirus, Varan, Hedorah, or newer forms like Biollante. And before anyone says "They wouldn't make for good fights against Godzilla because they're not as powerful", might I note classic Showa Mothra didn't really have any special abilities at all and yet she put up a good fight against Godzilla and won via the two larvae. Ghidorah's certainly gained new powers with time and Mechagodzilla's arsenal might change but each version still has distinct weapons while still being a walking armory be it missile spam with force fields, beam spam with shock anchors, or freezing cannons and drill hands.

So why couldn't someone like Anguirus get some upgrades or Varan be scaled up to contend with the Big G in a more modern film? Honestly, some of my favorite opponents in the last 20 years have often been original kaiju with their own flairs, like Monster X's martial arts and skeletal design, Orga's distinct look and creepy roars, and the MUTO's almost alien appearance and distinctive calls.

This is 1000% not an unpopular opinion. I think this is pretty much unanimously agreed upon.

On here maybe, but not according to polls and filmmakers it's not apparently. Not salty mind you, I'm eager for KotM and PE, just an observation. Heck it even got its way into the Rebirth of Mothra series were after two original kaiju... yep, here comes King Ghidorah.

And one of those 2 was a Ghidorah variant to begin with.

Yeah, actually, I agree. I think for the Monsterverse and Anime, it makes sense, because they're trying new riffs on established monsters- that wouldn't work so well with originals. But I also think that, in some way, every director/new series or reboot wants to do this, and for Toho, they should draw the line somewhere and say 'Let's try something new.'

But realistically, I think it's mostly down to box office. Known names draw bigger crowds; when profits flag, they turn back to that well. Hopefully the success of Shin and the Monsterverse will give the series some staying power in terms of draw, which will free up the creative teams not to shoehorn in known entities to try and recoup their budget.

[KaijuCanuck]

I feel this is one way the World of Godzilla can shine - even if they don’t necessarily get their own movies or starring roles, there is a lot of opportunity for various classic kaiju to at least make an appearance.

[edgaguirus]

Another thing to remember is that kaiju liked by American audiences don't always get love in Japan. Anguillas is a favorite of mine, but I've heard that he's not popular in Japan. We may not like it, but Toho is going to keep using Kaiju that they know will bring people in.

[Gojira-Fan]

Which movie is the one getting shat on, out of curiosity?

Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah

I used to not like that one, but watching the Blu-ray (and in Japanese) really changed my opinion on it. I understand why some people don't like it (the time travel plot is messy and confusing), but it is definitely a fun thrill-ride of a movie.

I agree with Maritonic on this. Every Godzilla fan should see all the films at least once, so everyone can have their own opinion about every film regardless of what we think about any films of the franchise, and that includes the anime trilogy, someone can find something in them that they love that I could not.

Heck, G14 is one of my favorites in the entire franchise and that film dosen´t have the greatest positive reception ever, there´s always going to be different opinions both on this forum and in many places, and that´s great! Even some Godzilla films that I don´t like (like the anime trilogy, or Godzilla vs Mothra: Battle for Earth) have some stuff that I like

I agree with this 100 percent. I am not equally enthusiastic about every Godzilla movie. However, I understand that Godzilla is a film series that has gone through various creative teams over time and the films are all part of the character's history. Also, I just really don't care if someone doesn't like a Godzilla movie that I love. Like, I think sometimes we as fans get too heated about this topic. These are opinions about movies, not something we should really get upset about.

Also, if you are a true fan of the character you will watch them all.

[MikeSTZillak]

I think Michiru Oshima's theme for Godzilla is better than Akira Ikafube's

[KaijuCanuck]

Godzilla vs King Ghidorah is the second weakest heisei film, behind only Godzilla vs. Mothra II.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot to love about it - the thematic parallels to Japan’s post-war recovery and the economic recession of the early 90s, the resurrection of Godzilla, the ww 2 scenes, the Godzillasaurus concept in general, some great Godzilla action - I just get consistently stuck on how lame the Futurians and King Ghidorah are in this movie.

First of all, the Futurians are supremely inferior in, I dunno, just general coolness to all of the Showa aliens. Just two assholes in colourful suits. Not that a regular human villain can’t be great in a Godzilla movie - but why bother with the future thing. Just make them corrupt foreign agents or genetic scientists or something, who somehow get a hold of time travel technology so they can go to ww2. Cut out all the future stuff. They just really, really SUCK. The only scene with them I like is when Godzilla blows them up.

Secondly, King Ghidorah is an inappropriate kaiju choice for this concept, wherein Godzilla is just this runaway badass train of destruction. I understand the reasons they picked him - Biollante tanking at the box office, blah blah blah - but it would fit with the themes and story of the this movie so much better if it was an original kaiju rather than Godzilla’s generally-by-fans-agreed-upon-nemesis. The bad guys should have created this other new kaiju that the movie positions to be the next word in total unstoppable kaiju juggernaught - only to have it fail miserably against Godzilla like KG does. That would have worked so much better thematically than using this classic adversary we all remember as being a badass. It really diminishes the KG character in my eyes.

[Maritonic]

Godzilla vs King Ghidorah is the second weakest heisei film, behind only Godzilla vs. Mothra II.

[Spuro]

Godzilla vs King Ghidorah is the second weakest heisei film, behind only Godzilla vs. Mothra II.

Holy shit THIS.

Well. I'd personally replace vs Mothra with vs Spacegodzilla.

But otherwise, I agree completely. I remember being so disappointed when I first saw it. It was hyped up as the best of the Heisei movies along with Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla 2 (which was also disappointing, but notably less-so), but I don't think I've ever cringed as hard as I did first watching GvKG.

[KaijuCanuck]

Ahhh! You guys post too fast. I edited in some actual reasons to back this up.

[eabaker]

Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot to love about it - the thematic parallels to Japan’s post-war recovery and the economic recession of the early 90s, the resurrection of Godzilla, the ww 2 scenes, the Godzillasaurus concept in general, some great Godzilla action

To my tastes, all of this carries far, far more weight than the reasons you give for not liking it.

[DirektorSplennic]

I genuinely like Godzilla Raids Again. It isn't nearly as good as the original, but I think it's a solid popcorn monster flick.

[Zarm]

I genuinely like Godzilla Raids Again. It isn't nearly as good as the original, but I think it's a solid popcorn monster flick.

You have good taste, sir.

[Mecha-SpaceGhidorah]

I genuinely like Godzilla Raids Again. It isn't nearly as good as the original, but I think it's a solid popcorn monster flick.

Same. And I actually quite like the human characters and their arc. I wish that they story wasn't so muddy at times, their's could have been a really great one.

[DirektorSplennic]

I genuinely like Godzilla Raids Again. It isn't nearly as good as the original, but I think it's a solid popcorn monster flick.

You have good taste, sir.

I also hate Godzilla 2000. Boring as hell. (The suit's cool though)

You can revoke my good taste card if you want.

[Zarm]

You have abysmal taste, sir. (Unless you're talking about the Japanese cut; then I kind of agree...)