Say something positive about post-1991 Heisei

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Re: Say something positive about post-1991 Heisei

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I have never cared for G89 or 91, but I love G92,93, and 95. I find them much more interesting to watch, and superior than those earlier two. They also had higher box office sales which I find cool. (Not that it means those movies are better, I just find the author of this thread assuming we all “know” that post 1991 films are worse to be a bit..err..

Also, GVD has the highest IMDB score of any film in this series. Again, that does not mean the film is better, but that it is far from settled that post 1991 films are worse.
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Re: Say something positive about post-1991 Heisei

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Why do people talk about "post-1991 Heisei" like Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah was such a masterpiece? That movie is a total mess, easily the second worst of the Heisei series after Space Godzilla.

Anyway, positive things?
Godzilla vs. Mothra: The final battle is pretty great, I love the part where Battra takes Mothra's side and decks Godzilla with the ferris wheel. In fact, Battra in general is just awesome.
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla: I love pretty much this whole movie. The Godzilla vs. Rodan fight and the final battle are both excellent. The music is downright fantastic. Baby Godzilla >>> Minilla. And stop hating on the pteranodon guy, he's funny. This is my favorite of the Heisei films for sure.
Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla: ...Space Godzilla itself is pretty cool I guess? I admit it, this movie pretty much just sucks, but it's the only "post-1991 Heisei" movie that I think is truly bad.
Godzilla vs. Destoroyah: The death of Godzilla is a beautiful scene. Destoroyah is one of the coolest kaiju ever. The music is a fantastic swan song for Ifukube, debatably the best soundtrack of his career.
The wisest words ever spoken on TK: "When I Saw The Showa Movie's white My Friend's They seid WTF is This Your showing Me to Men Fighting In suit's they found At party city Butt when I Showed Them The Heisei film's they thoght They where pritty fun To Watch"

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Re: Say something positive about post-1991 Heisei

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HedorahIsBestGirl wrote:Why do people talk about "post-1991 Heisei" like Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah was such a masterpiece? That movie is a total mess, easily the second worst of the Heisei series after Space Godzilla.
Well, first off, I wildly disagree with your assessment. While the movie is a mess, is a narratively and thematically ambitious mess that gets some things wrong, but some things very, very right. If you judge it only by the hight of its highest moments, I'd say it dwarfs most of what followed in the Heisei series.

As for why it's a dividing point, I think there's a general sense that, while Omori was still writing and directing, and productions were not yet on a yearly basis, the movies were (up to a point, within obviously a very commercial framework) filmmaker-driven, as opposed to being more corporate-driven starting with Godzilla vs. Mothra.
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Re: Say something positive about post-1991 Heisei

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HedorahIsBestGirl wrote:That movie is a total mess, easily the second worst of the Heisei series after Space Godzilla.
Not possible when vs. Mothra, Mechagodzilla and Destoroyah exist.
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Re: Say something positive about post-1991 Heisei

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eabaker wrote:
HedorahIsBestGirl wrote:Why do people talk about "post-1991 Heisei" like Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah was such a masterpiece? That movie is a total mess, easily the second worst of the Heisei series after Space Godzilla.
Well, first off, I wildly disagree with your assessment. While the movie is a mess, is a narratively and thematically ambitious mess that gets some things wrong, but some things very, very right. If you judge it only by the hight of its highest moments, I'd say it dwarfs most of what followed in the Heisei series.

As for why it's a dividing point, I think there's a general sense that, while Omori was still writing and directing, and productions were not yet on a yearly basis, the movies were (up to a point, within obviously a very commercial framework) filmmaker-driven, as opposed to being more corporate-driven starting with Godzilla vs. Mothra.
I understand not liking the corporate-driven, film-a-year, profit-over-originality production schedule of the later Heisei films. There's no question that the Heisei series pales in comparison to the Showa series, in large part because of this.

That said, I'm always baffled by how many people love GvKG. The music and the King Ghidorah suit are the only redeeming qualities for me. Sure, it's narratively ambitious, but the plot makes no sense. What other highs do you think dwarf the rest of the 90s Heisei series?

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UltramanGoji wrote:
HedorahIsBestGirl wrote:That movie is a total mess, easily the second worst of the Heisei series after Space Godzilla.
Not possible when vs. Mothra, Mechagodzilla and Destoroyah exist.
Oh, you mean three movies with plots that actually make sense? I get liking KG better than Mothra, because that movie is totally derivative, but I think MG and Destoroyah are both miles better in almost every respect.
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Re: Say something positive about post-1991 Heisei

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HedorahIsBestGirl wrote: Oh, you mean three movies with plots that actually make sense? I get liking KG better than Mothra, because that movie is totally derivative, but I think MG and Destoroyah are both miles better in almost every respect.
I would rather have one movie with a nonsensical yet fun plot than two with bland and utterly meaningless ones.

Mechagodzilla tries so goddamn hard to be this "life vs artificial life" movie but it never fully commits. The movie takes so friggin' long to get going and meanders aimlessly until the final confrontation. Aoki is the worst protagonist in years. He's an unlikable tool. Rodan is thrust into the plot for no reason other than marquee value, his connection with BabyGodzilla is poorly written and conflicts with the Mechagodzilla plot. The only redeeming factor would probably be the amazing new Mechagodzilla theme.

Destoroyah is even worse. It's highlighted as this big fantastical finale for the character but it falls flat. The characters just stand around board rooms for half the movie and the main villain isn't even relevant to the true conflict of the movie. They hype up Destoroyah's connection to the Oxygen Destroyer but it's not even spawned from the same device, just a lame copy of it. Godzilla's death remains the core issue the film's story addresses and Destoroyah doesn't fit anywhere in it. It doesn't cause Godzilla's meltdown, doesn't aggrevate it, it just...exists. Oh, it killed Junior. That's about it. But aside from that, all it does is show up, cause a bit of havoc while Godzilla's fuckin' around in the ocean, and then gets killed by Godzilla. For a movie called "Godzilla vs. Destoroyah", Destoroyah's defeat doesn't even factor into the end of the movie. Godzilla's meltdown is the "star of the show" and has more importance. Destoroyah is a side attraction in its own movie.

I guess the worst thing you can say about GVKG is that the plot doesn't make sense? And I guess the white actors aren't very good? But the plot does make sense:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jl62gTm9qNI
And I guess your mileage may vary but the dorkiness of the white actors is charming in the same sense as the Saradian Agent in Godzilla vs. Biollante or Captain Gordan in GFW.

I just find GVKG to be a super fun ride. The characters do stuff, things are always happening and there's never any super dull moments in the film. Its a fun ride from start to finish.
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Re: Say something positive about post-1991 Heisei

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HedorahIsBestGirl wrote:That said, I'm always baffled by how many people love GvKG. The music and the King Ghidorah suit are the only redeeming qualities for me. Sure, it's narratively ambitious, but the plot makes no sense. What other highs do you think dwarf the rest of the 90s Heisei series?
The whole idea of paralleling Godzilla's transformation with Japan's post-war economic development, for better and worse, is a more interesting narrative and thematic core than I think any of the subsequent entries have.

Yoshio Tsuchiya as Shindo gives one of the best performances of the Heisei series, and his death scene in particular rank high among the most emotionally impactful scenes in the entire genre.

Overall, the staging and camerawork are more interesting than what would turn up in subsequent Heisei entries.
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Re: Say something positive about post-1991 Heisei

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UltramanGoji wrote:
HedorahIsBestGirl wrote: Oh, you mean three movies with plots that actually make sense? I get liking KG better than Mothra, because that movie is totally derivative, but I think MG and Destoroyah are both miles better in almost every respect.
I would rather have one movie with a nonsensical yet fun plot than two with bland and utterly meaningless ones.

Mechagodzilla tries so goddamn hard to be this "life vs artificial life" movie but it never fully commits. The movie takes so friggin' long to get going and meanders aimlessly until the final confrontation. Aoki is the worst protagonist in years. He's an unlikable tool. Rodan is thrust into the plot for no reason other than marquee value, his connection with BabyGodzilla is poorly written and conflicts with the Mechagodzilla plot. The only redeeming factor would probably be the amazing new Mechagodzilla theme.

Destoroyah is even worse. It's highlighted as this big fantastical finale for the character but it falls flat. The characters just stand around board rooms for half the movie and the main villain isn't even relevant to the true conflict of the movie. They hype up Destoroyah's connection to the Oxygen Destroyer but it's not even spawned from the same device, just a lame copy of it. Godzilla's death remains the core issue the film's story addresses and Destoroyah doesn't fit anywhere in it. It doesn't cause Godzilla's meltdown, doesn't aggrevate it, it just...exists. Oh, it killed Junior. That's about it. But aside from that, all it does is show up, cause a bit of havoc while Godzilla's fuckin' around in the ocean, and then gets killed by Godzilla. For a movie called "Godzilla vs. Destoroyah", Destoroyah's defeat doesn't even factor into the end of the movie. Godzilla's meltdown is the "star of the show" and has more importance. Destoroyah is a side attraction in its own movie.

I guess the worst thing you can say about GVKG is that the plot doesn't make sense? And I guess the white actors aren't very good? But the plot does make sense:



And I guess your mileage may vary but the dorkiness of the white actors is charming in the same sense as the Saradian Agent in Godzilla vs. Biollante or Captain Gordan in GFW.

I just find GVKG to be a super fun ride. The characters do stuff, things are always happening and there's never any super dull moments in the film. Its a fun ride from start to finish.
Our opinions about King Ghidorah and Mechagodzilla are completely reversed. I think KG takes forever to get going, while I find MG thoroughly entertaining. Why does everyone hate Aoki so much? I like him, personally. In fact, I like him much better than Terasawa. I think HE is a total tool. And I hate Emi, too. Rodan's connection to Baby Godzilla makes sense and I don't see how his role conflicts with the Mechagodzilla plot. In fact, he's instrumental to setting up the final battle. Also, Rodan's fight with Godzilla is one of the better battles in the Heisei series. At least we can agree that the Mechagodzilla theme is fucking fantastic.

I agree that the human characters in Destoroyah are boring (although I don't think they're any worse than the King Ghidorah characters). And yeah, Destoroyah's connection to the Oxygen Destroyer is pretty thin and very forced. But I guess I don't see how Destoroyah is any more of a "side attraction" than King Ghidorah is in this movie. Granted, MKG is used to defeat Godzilla at the end, but that could just as easily have been any other piece of Futurian technology. Basically, King Ghidorah was used in this movie to sell tickets. Both King Ghidorah and Destoroyah's only role in a Godzilla-centric plot is to throw in a couple kaiju fights. Nothing wrong with that, but both creatures could have been incorporated far more meaningfully.

I find the American actors cringeworthy, not charming. Same goes for the Saradian, though not quite to the same extent. I do enjoy Captain Gordon, though.

That video clarified the two Godzillas confusion, but it still doesn't explain:
1) How the Futurians knew that nuking three Dorats would create a three-headed monster under their control
2) How the Futurians could be so goddamn wrong about where Godzilla came from (was there really only one book published about Godzilla?)
3) Why the hell the Futurians bothered to travel to early 90s Japan before going back to 1944, thereby risking the exposure of their secret evil plan, as happens in the movie
All of these things bother me a lot, especially the last one. Despite these glaring plot holes, I DO think King Ghidorah is a fun movie overall. But there's a difference between a fun movie and a good movie. I place King Ghidorah in the same camp as Godzilla movies like Gigan and Final Wars that are very entertaining, but not very good movies.
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Re: Say something positive about post-1991 Heisei

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Plot logic is pretty low on my list of what determines a good movie. Character, theme and tone are much bigger concerns for me.

That said, I'm not sure where you get the idea that the Futurians were wrong about where Godzilla came from. The movie presents Godzilla as a historical inevitability; altering his history simply cannot prevent his eventual emergence.

EDIT: Unrelated, but it's kind of bumming me out that my previous reply kind of disappears between the massive posts above and below it.
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Re: Say something positive about post-1991 Heisei

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eabaker wrote:Plot logic is pretty low on my list of what determines a good movie. Character, theme and tone are much bigger concerns for me.
This.

I don't really care about "plot holes" in a film series about a giant radioactive dinosaur in contemporary times. Unless it's an absolute glaring issue (which nothing in GVKG is to me), it's not affecting my enjoyment.
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Re: Say something positive about post-1991 Heisei

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So, I just watched that video explaining the time travel in GvsKG, and I'm afraid there were four things in it that bugged me:

1.) Citing subsequent movies as evidence
2.) The emphasis being placed on the second syllable of "Ghidorah"
3.) "Biollante" being pronounced halfway between the Japanese pronunciation and the dub's pronunciation
4.) Okay, this is the really big one... Pronouncing ANEB as an acronym!!! That's just nauseating.
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Re: Say something positive about post-1991 Heisei

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UltramanGoji wrote:
eabaker wrote:Plot logic is pretty low on my list of what determines a good movie. Character, theme and tone are much bigger concerns for me.
This.

I don't really care about "plot holes" in a film series about a giant radioactive dinosaur in contemporary times. Unless it's an absolute glaring issue (which nothing in GVKG is to me), it's not affecting my enjoyment.
Really? To me, plot is just as important as character, theme and tone. In fact, those four things are the most important factors of a movie, and all equally important. Of course, a series about a radioactive dinosaurs is inherently farfetched, but I like the movies that ground Godzilla's existence with a solid plot more than those that have a plot that makes the already ridiculous subject matter all that much more ludicrous. Anyway, I think GVKG fails on all four of these levels. Plot is a mess. Characters are either unlikable or boring, and badly written (Shindo's the best of the lot and not as great as he's made out to be by this fandom). Theme of Japan's post-war growth is handled averagely well, but I don't think it's one of the stronger in the series. Tone is way off in this movie; some scenes are super serious, some are super silly, a lot of the time it's hard to tell if the movie's being self-aware, or really is just poorly written. And if we're talking about effects (which we should since this is a tokusatsu movie), I think they're pretty mediocre and a huge step down from Biollante. M11 running is pure cringe. Superimposing is pretty shoddy too. To me, GVKG is a decently entertaining movie with some damn good music and a couple of memorable scenes like the time travel (in good ways and bad) and the Godzilla and Shindo reunion scene. But that's all. I think it's on the same level as most of the other Heisei movies and, for me, the plot holes are problematic enough to rank it below most of the other Heisei films. At the very least, the two 80s movies are a lot better, despite their own flaws. In my opinion, MG2 and Destoroyah are also superior. Mothra is at about the same level, honestly, but I enjoy it more than KG. What it comes down to is that, good movie or not, I don't think King Ghidorah has earned its place on the same pedestal as movies like Gojira '54, Mothra vs. Godzilla and GMK, and I see a lot of other fans putting it up there.
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Re: Say something positive about post-1991 Heisei

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HedorahIsBestGirl wrote:To me, plot is just as important as character, theme and tone.
I didn't say plot, I said plot logic, which I tend regard as more a technical concern than an artistic one. That's just one element of plot. I absolutely want a distinctive plot that serves its function of providing rising and falling action that drives the characters to make meaningful choices which reaches a meaningful resolution. I just don't care much about fridge logic issues.
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Re: Say something positive about post-1991 Heisei

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Fans complain that this film doesn’t follow its own logic but I disagree, I think it does a good job setting up scenarios that play out exactly as they should according to the characters and what we know about the mechanics of the time travel.
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Re: Say something positive about post-1991 Heisei

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eabaker wrote:So, I just watched that video explaining the time travel in GvsKG, and I'm afraid there were four things in it that bugged me:

1.) Citing subsequent movies as evidence
2.) The emphasis being placed on the second syllable of "Ghidorah"
3.) "Biollante" being pronounced halfway between the Japanese pronunciation and the dub's pronunciation
4.) Okay, this is the really big one... Pronouncing ANEB as an acronym!!! That's just nauseating.
I usually hate to make fun of someone for their speech, but it almost sounds like it’s autotuned? Like geez, for something narration heavy, get someone that can speak clearly into the microphone.


Anyways, I’m one of the very few people who holds GVkg in any high regard. I think the film has bad writing, that leads to the confusion, but I think it’s actually pretty wild and unique, compared to what we get later. It’s definitely out there, and has some interesting things to discuss, instead of MG2 and SG, which are just bland.
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Re: Say something positive about post-1991 Heisei

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LSD Jellyfish wrote: Anyways, I’m one of the very few people who holds GVkg in any high regard. I think the film has bad writing, that leads to the confusion, but I think it’s actually pretty wild and unique, compared to what we get later. It’s definitely out there, and has some interesting things to discuss, instead of MG2 and SG, which are just bland.
You are not one of the very few people who holds Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah in high regard. I'm starting to think I'm the only fan who doesn't hold this movie in high regard. What I want to know is why these forums hate Mechagodzilla 2. I don't think it's bland at all, it's one of my favorite Godzilla movies and I consider it one of the better Heisei films. Outside these forums, many other fans agree with me on that. I'm used to having to defend some of my unusual favorites like Godzilla vs. Megaguirus, but this is the first place I've seen a lot of fans throw MG2 in the "Heisei garbage pile" with Mothra and Space Godzilla.
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Re: Say something positive about post-1991 Heisei

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HedorahIsBestGirl wrote:
LSD Jellyfish wrote: Anyways, I’m one of the very few people who holds GVkg in any high regard. I think the film has bad writing, that leads to the confusion, but I think it’s actually pretty wild and unique, compared to what we get later. It’s definitely out there, and has some interesting things to discuss, instead of MG2 and SG, which are just bland.
You are not one of the very few people who holds Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah in high regard. I'm starting to think I'm the only fan who doesn't hold this movie in high regard. What I want to know is why these forums hate Mechagodzilla 2. I don't think it's bland at all, it's one of my favorite Godzilla movies and I consider it one of the better Heisei films. Outside these forums, many other fans agree with me on that. I'm used to having to defend some of my unusual favorites like Godzilla vs. Megaguirus, but this is the first place I've seen a lot of fans throw MG2 in the "Heisei garbage pile" with Mothra and Space Godzilla.
I don’t hate Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla 2 or any of the Toho Godzilla films to be honest. A lot of people criticize “beam wars”, and for the record I’ve always thought that was a poor criticism, as it ignores the first Rodan fight and a lot of other interesting moments throughout the fllm.

I think mainly the issue with Godzilla vs. MG2, is that the film has no idea if Godzilla is the Antagonist or Protagonist. It’s unclear if we are supposed to cheer when Godzilla beats MG2 at the end.

I think actually, I view Godzilla 91 and 93 both pretty equally. However, GVKG is way more bonkers and out there, then the pretty standard “humans make a mech to fight Godzilla approach”. It’s not a fault of Godzilla vs MechaGodzilla 2, but the subsequent appearance of Mougera, Other Heisei Superweapons/robots/the kiryu saga and the Dimension Tide, have always made me feel that this MechaGodzilla was the most standard thing ever. KG91 for its weirdness just stands out to me way more.
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Re: Say something positive about post-1991 Heisei

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LSD Jellyfish wrote: I don’t hate Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla 2 or any of the Toho Godzilla films to be honest. A lot of people criticize “beam wars”, and for the record I’ve always thought that was a poor criticism, as it ignores the first Rodan fight and a lot of other interesting moments throughout the fllm.

I think mainly the issue with Godzilla vs. MG2, is that the film has no idea if Godzilla is the Antagonist or Protagonist. It’s unclear if we aresupposed to cheer when Godzilla beats MG2 at the end.

I think actually, I view Godzilla 91 and 93 both pretty equally. However, GVKG is way more bonkers and out there, then the pretty standard “humans make a mech to fight Godzilla approach”. It’s not a fault of Godzilla vs MechaGodzilla 2, but the subsequent appearance of Mougera, Other Heisei Superweapons/robots/the kiryu saga and the Dimension Tide, have always made me feel that this MechaGodzilla was the most standard thing ever. KG91 for its weirdness just stands out to me way more.
This is where we disagree about the film. You're right, we don't know whether to cheer or not when Godzilla triumphs over Mechagodzilla. But I like that whether Godzilla is the protagonist or the antagonist is left ambiguous. I don't think the film is clueless about this, I think it was done deliberately to make you think. In pretty much every other Godzilla film, Godzilla is either the protagonist or the antagonist. Sometimes the lesser of two evils. But in MG2, which side he falls on is left to viewer interpretation, and that's one of the reasons I love this movie.

Also, glad you commented on the fight with Rodan, one of my favorite parts of the film.
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Re: Say something positive about post-1991 Heisei

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I like the ambiguity surrounding Godzilla and the morality of G-Force.

I don't like the dull-as-dishwater middle section of the movie, nor do I find any of the human characters beyond Aoki and (at times) Miki to be remotely engaging.
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Re: Say something positive about post-1991 Heisei

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HedorahIsBestGirl wrote:
LSD Jellyfish wrote: I don’t hate Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla 2 or any of the Toho Godzilla films to be honest. A lot of people criticize “beam wars”, and for the record I’ve always thought that was a poor criticism, as it ignores the first Rodan fight and a lot of other interesting moments throughout the fllm.

I think mainly the issue with Godzilla vs. MG2, is that the film has no idea if Godzilla is the Antagonist or Protagonist. It’s unclear if we aresupposed to cheer when Godzilla beats MG2 at the end.

I think actually, I view Godzilla 91 and 93 both pretty equally. However, GVKG is way more bonkers and out there, then the pretty standard “humans make a mech to fight Godzilla approach”. It’s not a fault of Godzilla vs MechaGodzilla 2, but the subsequent appearance of Mougera, Other Heisei Superweapons/robots/the kiryu saga and the Dimension Tide, have always made me feel that this MechaGodzilla was the most standard thing ever. KG91 for its weirdness just stands out to me way more.
This is where we disagree about the film. You're right, we don't know whether to cheer or not when Godzilla triumphs over Mechagodzilla. But I like that whether Godzilla is the protagonist or the antagonist is left ambiguous. I don't think the film is clueless about this, I think it was done deliberately to make you think. In pretty much every other Godzilla film, Godzilla is either the protagonist or the antagonist. Sometimes the lesser of two evils. But in MG2, which side he falls on is left to viewer interpretation, and that's one of the reasons I love this movie.

Also, glad you commented on the fight with Rodan, one of my favorite parts of the film.
But considering how much damage Godzilla has caused in previous films, especially to objectively “Good” things like Mothra, it’s still not hard to have difficulty to find it weird that Godzilla is supposed to be a hero, or at least not a villain.

The Showa series was able to pull it off as the shift was gradual, introduced way bigger threats early on, and had character development. The Showa series also wasn’t intended, at least in the same degree the heisei series was, to have such tight continuity. In a span of a few years, many characters including Miki, saw Godzilla:

-Destroy Tokyo
-Destroy Osaka
-Destroy Tokyo again, a lot of Hokkaido
-Destroy Yokohama


It’s hard to sympathize with that mentality so quickly.
And Baby Godzilla is treated like a plot element and object, more then an actual character. He’s essentially a damsel for everyone to fight over.

I will say though, I like the final fight a lot. A lot of people give the latter Heisei Entries shit for their fights because “Godzilla doesn’t punch as much”, but there’s a lot of great moments; like Rodan pecking out MG’s eye, the whole G-Crusher Sequence, and how the final fight feels like one big tug of war. I think a lot of the Heisei fights get basically shit canned just for having more beams when there’s still a lot of interesting stuff going on.

Also one cool thing which I forget if anyone really ever talks about, is how Rodan and Garuda have a nice parallel to Godzilla and Mechagodzilla. Both are flying things, and have a sort of rivalry with their respective thing much earlier on (remember Garuda was cancelled due to MG). Both wind up landing on and combining with the bigger dinosaur and give it a power up. Garuda turns MG into Super Mecha Godzilla, and Rodan revives Godzilla and gives him a power boost. It’s not really directly spelled out and I do think it’s one of the coolest things the film does.
Spirit Ghidorah 2010 wrote: Sun Dec 03, 2023 4:54 pm Anno-san pleasures me more than Yamasaki-san.

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