All Monsters Attack: A Revaluation

All Monsters Attack (1969), known internationally as Godzilla’s Revenge, is considered to be one of the worst Godzilla films by both fans and critics. Directed by Ishiro Honda, the tenth entry in the Godzilla franchise has a plot that at best feels overly ambitious and at worse can be interpreted as an attempt to make Godzilla appeal to small children. All Monsters Attack is about a young boy named Ichiro, who escapes his bully Sanko and the dreary world of adults through a dream-like odyssey to Monster Island. On Monster Island, Ichiro befriends Godzilla’s son Minilla. The pair witness Godzilla battling many monsters before fighting off Gabara, a monstrous bully. Dreams and reality intersect when Ichiro is kidnapped and forced to fight off bank robbers, in moments that parallel Minilla’s actions against Gabara. Learning from his experiences, Ichiro makes amends with Sanko, who he has nicknamed Gabara, while adults reflect on the difficulty of the situation. It’s a film that at first appears to be ridiculous and bizarre for attempting to clumsily combine childhood folly with monster action.

Although All Monsters Attack has gradually grown a small but earnest group of defenders recently, there’s no denying that the film has faced immense criticism and stigma throughout the years. A glance at older reactions towards All Monsters Attack—movie critic blogs, forum comments, and comedic video reviews— will show immense ridicule and animosity towards it. Nothing exemplifies this sentiment more than pop-culture critic James Rolfe’s assessment on the film during his “Godzillathon” review series: “There is nothing more sad than a grown man all alone wallowing in his sorrows watching Godzilla’s Revenge!”. Rolfe’s unflattering statement here is representative of how people in the Godzilla fandom have felt for years on the film. All Monsters Attack has been immortalized as both a punching bag and a source of great shame for many in the Godzilla community.

It’s not surprising that people have this perception of the movie. Through a simplistic lens All Monsters Attack has several qualities that make it stick out and not in a particularly positive way either. The film is notorious for its rampant use of stock footage; much of the monster action in the movie is portrayed through via clips from previous films such as Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966), Son of Godzilla (1967), and Destroy All Monsters (1968). The Japanese poster features Minilla and Gabara surrounded by a legion of monsters, such as Kumonga, Ebirah, and even Gorosaurus, none of whom have any new footage produced for the film. There is never a scene where Godzilla or Minilla are fighting off multiple monsters at once, with the exception of reused footage of Godzilla vs. the Kamacuras trio from Son of Godzilla. Those who are looking for a big clash between Godzilla, Minilla, and an army of monsters may, justifiably, feel misled towards the actual tone and contents of the movie.

In contrast to previous Godzilla films that featured adults as protagonists, All Monsters Attack is the first piece of Godzilla media to almost exclusively focus its narrative on children: a schoolboy named Ichiro and Godzilla’s son Minilla. Gabara, the film’s primary monster antagonist, poses little threat to Godzilla and is intended more as a foe for Minilla. Likewise, in comparison to stopping a worldwide alien invasion, defeating world hunger, and ending monster rampages, the stakes are comparatively lower. The film doesn’t end with its climactic showdown of Minilla and Godzilla vs. Gabara either. The last fifteen minutes are devoid of any appearance by Godzilla. To date, it’s the only Godzilla film to have its climax end on something completely untethered to monsters and instead focus on a very human story. Further making it seem like the odd one out, it is heavily implied and generally accepted, that All Monsters Attack does not share continuity with any of the other Showa-Era Godzilla films. It appears that in the Japan of All Monsters Attack, Godzilla is a fictional entity that Ichiro worships. This leaves the film to be viewed as somewhat inconsequential by some.

All Monsters Attack has also been subject to some moral critiques about the film’s perceived lesson for children, “fight your own battles and beat up your bullies”. In the post-Godzilla climax, instead of making amends with his bully through words, Ichiro stands up and attacks his tormentor physically. This has been viewed as an inappropriate message to give to children that doubly makes Ichiro look poor in character. Without full consideration towards the time period the film is made in, the scene where Ichiro attacks his bully isn’t exactly a compelling or admirable image to end the film on.

It doesn’t help that to date, Gabara, the film’s new monster, hasn’t made a reappearance in any other major Godzilla media since its debut. With the exception of influencing the design of the monster Sarunga from the television anime Godzilla Singular Point, Gabara seems to have mostly been forgotten. From video games, comics, and even toys, the monster has very sparse appearances in extended Godzilla media. Gabara isn’t a popular Godzilla foe compared to the likes of King Ghidorah, Mechagodzilla, or even Hedorah. Considering Gabara is a pathetic bully it’s easy to see why the monster won’t be winning any popularity contests anytime soon. With his warty skin, bulbous eyes, and puffy snout, Gabara is not a pretty image to look at.

Speaking of images, All Monsters Attack, like many of the other Showa-Era Godzilla films, has had spotty home video releases in the US. Early VHS and DVD releases ruined the visual quality of the film. Like in older releases of Ebirah, Horror of the Deep, once vibrant and jungle sets turn into amorphous green blobs on older home releases of All Monsters Attack. Blue skies become dreary. Specific lighting choices by Honda become washed out and unnoticeable. The loss of visuals paired with an English localization that replaces the casts calm and reflective voices with high-pitched screeching and dopey enunciation. While not the sole reason, it’s clear that this history of poor releases has impacted how people view the film negatively.

When all of these criticisms are taken into consideration it’s easy to understand why many viewers have lambasted All Monsters Attack for years and view it as the black sheep of the franchise. It frequently ranks as one of the worst films in the Godzilla franchise. A simple google search of the film will reveal reviews that refer to the movie as a quick and shallow cash grab and an annoying waste of time. Just this year an article that ranked the Godzilla films best to worst cautioned to, “avoid it at all costs”. Many people online share this opinion. Is it that bad? I don’t think so. I can rationalize why and how people rank it low. But, the way people endlessly dunk on All Monsters Attack is unwarranted. There’s a lot to like about the film. Worse, because of the way that the film has come to be viewed in a memetic and insincere fashion, people tend to form their opinions on the film based on those of others. This has led to a situation where a lot of the things the film does wonderfully go unnoticed and uncelebrated.

I hope I can change that.

The point of this article is not to make All Monsters Attack your favorite Godzilla movie, nor just refute common criticisms of the movie. Rather, I want showcase why the film is deserves praise and sincere analysis: All Monsters Attack is worth a serious watch for any Godzilla fan. It doesn’t deserve to be viewed in infamy as media that should be avoided. Despite its shortcomings, the film does a lot of unique things with theming and visuals. Some of it is Honda’s best work and contrary to popular opinion and is consistent with his overall quality as a director. All Monsters Attack isn’t a lazy attempt at having the Godzilla veer towards appealing towards children, but rather a sincere effort by Ishiro Honda engaging with and trying to understand them.

 

Part 1: Industrial Hell and Monster Island, the World of Adults vs. Children

Let’s discuss the setting of All Monsters Attack and how it plays a large role in the film’s themes and impacts the characters that reside in it. But first, we need to acknowledge what came before.

Many Godzilla films take place in cities and focus on the lives of working professionals. From the newspaper reporters in Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964), to the police in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964), the majority of Godzilla films show Japan’s large cities as the foundation of civilization where people, specifically adults, live and work. They are also places to meet friends or have fun, like in Godzilla Raids Again (1955). This structure is ruined when monsters interrupt that flow, when civilization and city is put in peril by destructive creatures or scheming aliens. Often the dangers to cities are external. Godzilla destroys Tokyo in 1954. Rodan attacks Fukuoka in 1956. Aliens attempt to conquer Earth in Destroy All Monsters (1968). Most early Toho Godzilla films begin with an inciting incident that warns of this external threat encroaching.

How does All Monsters Attack begin? After a rambunctious opening theme that celebrates Godzilla and the other monsters the audience is introduced the primary setting: Kawasaki. Opening establishing shots show factories, some new, some rundown, emitting smog and pollution. In contrast to previous films showcasing the wonderful progress has made in interplanetary travel, a strong typhoon revealing a monstrous egg, or even Godzilla simply appearing, it’s a rather low-key moment to open the film on. But, it perfectly sets up one of the main problems of the film: Ichiro, the films protagonist, and the other children, including his friend Sachiko and his the human Gabara, live in dirty and harsh reality. This world is not the idealized Japan that is rapidly progressing in the space age that is promised in Honda’s other films. Ichiro’s opening chant in Japanese reflects this; the world is so polluted even monsters like Godzilla can’t stand it!

After these establishing shots the camera follows Ichiro and Sachiko’s perilous journey home as the children cross dangerous intersections. Honda is quick to emphasize the largeness of the industrial trucks to the children. It’s not just one shot, there’s multiple. In moments, it seems as though the trucks are monsters themselves, almost roaring at the kids like the monsters featuring later in the movie. Based on other thematic connections throughout the film the intent is clear: Ichiro and the other children exist in a world that isn’t made for them. They live in a world made for adults. Like the bank robbers that appear later, the danger is not from a fantastical giant creature rampaging but very real problems that exist in real life all around them.

It’s important to note that young children traveling without adults to and from school is not shocking or controversial in Japan. While this is a generalization, Japan is considered a safe country where violent crime is often rare compared to other nations. It’s important to mention there is nothing unusual about this, because Honda, most likely, was not condemning Japanese society or the harsh realities of being a child in Japan, but rather simply acknowledging it. Ichiro and his friends live in a world that isn’t built from them. They make do with their own social hierarchies and imagination. Ichiro compares the voices of cars and machinery to monsters. Children still play and interact with other children. They live in this world. This is emphasized by how Ichiro repeatedly
encounters his bully, Sanko, who is playing along his way home. Likewise, Ichiro spends a good portion of the movie exploring the industrial suburbs around him, which leads him to exploring a mysterious abandoned office building. Ichiro and the other children are a part of this world, one where things are constantly occurring around them.

Ichiro’s exploration isn’t aimless either, it all has clear intent. Ichiro collects discarded machinery in order to complete a machine that allows him to travel to Monster Island. Aided by his own imagination Ichiro escapes from the industrial hell of Kawasaki to Monster Island throughout the film.

Monster Island is, well, an island where monsters live! In All Monsters Attack, Godzilla, Minilla, and an assortment of other monsters like Anguirus, Kamacuras, and Kumonga are shown to live here. In contrast to the city Ichiro grew up in, Monster Island is an island filled with luscious jungles and nature. Instead of the smoggy skies of Kawasaki, Monster Island has blue skies. There’s no
buildings, and save for possibly Godzilla, there aren’t any adults. The island in All Monsters Attack most likely does not exist outside of Ichiro’s imagination. Based on how eager Ichiro is to list off the monsters, it appears that Ichiro is basing this dream-like Monster Island using Godzilla films he has seen in the real world prior as reference. One can debate the agency Ichiro has over this world as it’s not explicit if these are lucid dreams or an active fantasy, but he generally travels to the location in moments where it appears he has fallen asleep. Despite brief moments where Ichiro is fleeing a monster, he is excited to be there and repeatedly returns to Monster Island.

The only bad thing about Monster Island are the monsters! That might seem like a deal-breaker, but remember, this is Ichiro’s fantasy and a place he actively chooses and wants to go to. Ichiro has a Godzilla toy, and based on the way he speaks about the monsters throughout the film is a massive Godzilla fan. While monsters terrorize Ichiro at points in the film, Godzilla is there to defeat them. Ichiro, like viewers in the audience, are excited to see monsters like Manda and Gorosaurus. Monster Island is a total fantasy, the opposite of the real world. One can interpret Ichiro’s Monster as a world to escape to, but also one where his own problems exist and intrude upon.

Here is something that doesn’t get enough acknowledgement: All Monsters Attack is Monster Island’s first canonical appearance in the Godzilla franchise. While there were islands with monsters on them before, such as Solgell Island from Son of Godzilla and Monsterland from Destroy All Monsters, this is the first appearance in a Godzilla film where Monster Island appears and shows that monsters co-exist without any outside control. It’s a locale that has become a mainstay of the franchise and referenced throughout other Godzilla media. It’s a small piece of Godzilla history that All Monsters Attack doesn’t get enough recognition for introducing.

How does Ichiro even travel to Monster Island? In a lesser film it would be represented by simply falling asleep and waking up. While Ichiro does do that, the film often uses unique imagery to show this transition. The first time Ichiro and the audience travel to Monster Island is through a plane.

It’s not a simple cutaway of stock footage of a plane flying either. There’s a rather elaborate sequence where Ichiro sits on a seat of an airplane, complete with other passengers. After a brief moment, all of the adult passengers disappear, leaving Ichiro alone. An illuminated “No-Smoking” and Seat-belt sign, goes from a bright red to a dull color. We then receive an announcement that the plane will soon stop at Monster Island. Ichiro then gets up and enters the cockpit, before discovering that the cockpit is empty. Ichiro then wakes up on Monster Island.

Adults Disappear and Ichiro Smiles (12:50)

While it’s up to interpretation exactly what the sequence is supposed to mean or represent due to its dream like quality, it does show that Ichiro is entering a world where adults cannot travel to. Adults and rules do not exist on Monster Island. Later this is reinforced when stock footage from Ebirah, Horror of the Deep is reused. Minilla states that the planes attacking Monster Island are humans trying to invade Monster Island. Monster Island is a land free of humans, and by extension adults.

The film is careful to keep this consistency. When Godzilla fights Ebirah there is a moment when Godzilla deflects a bolder that was tossed to him by Ebirah. In Ebirah, Horror of the Deep this boulder lands on an observation tower controlled by the films primary human antagonists, the Red Bamboo. In All Monsters Attack this boulder lands into the forest to the surprise of Minilla and
Ichiro.

It’s a seemingly nonsensical change but makes a lot of sense when the themes of the film are considered. It’s important that Monster Island is completely uncorrupted by humans. If All Monsters Attack was as lazy as some detractors make it out to be, the shot could have been kept in unedited, or erased entirely. In other words, we can consider and recognize that Honda and the crew of All Monsters Attack made deliberate editing choices to reinforce that division between the world of children and adults or humanity and monsters. It’s a theme that is consistent throughout the movie.

Even if this is the case, does it make All Monsters Attack “good”? And more importantly, what was Honda’s impetus to do this?

 

Part 2: Honda, the Toymaker

Ishiro Honda, along with special effects director Eiji Tsubaraya and producer Tomiyuki Tanaka, is considered the father of Godzilla and by extension the entire kaiju/tokusatsu genre. To grossly oversimplify things, Honda directed many films for Toho that were critically and commercially successful, particularly ones that featured lots of monsters. Godzilla (1954), Rodan (1956), The Mysterians (1957), Matango (1963), Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964), and many more. Many of these films are classics. It is unquestionable that Honda was a master of his craft and an expert at what he does.

It makes Honda’s decision to direct All Monsters Attack and his love for it all the more strange. Why did Honda choose to make a film about the separation of the world of an adults and children the main focus of his follow-up to Destroy All Monsters? Why focus on children? Is it just because of the assumption that showing kids in these films will make them more popular amongst the youth? Possibly, but this choice to hone in on the lives of Japanese children in the 1960’s makes the film somewhat revolutionary.

Unlike modern media, the landscape for children’s media or even their contemporaries in the sixties was much less plentiful than today. Outside of All Monsters Attack contemporaries like the Gamera series, media that specifically considered the perspective or followed the lives of children was rare. Specific examples, of child-perspective oriented media which predate All Monsters Attack are the children’s novel Where the Wild Things Are (1963) by Maurice Sendak and Good Morning (1959) by Ozu Yasujiro. Both Where the Wild Things Are and Good Morning are held in high regard in their respective mediums and it would not be surprising to find that Honda was deeply influenced by both of these works. Like his other films, it’s obvious that Honda put a lot of thought into All Monsters Attack.

It’s not solely thought that went into the final film though. Genuine effort went into it as well utilizing the same techniques and styles that matched contemporary and previous tokusatsu films. This extends into the cast and wealth of characters. Even if the film’s primary audience was children it doesn’t mean that less effort was put into the movie.

Viewers of All Monsters Attack tend to focus in on Ichiro and ignore that the film has a sizeable adult cast, many of them who are played by Toho Studio veterans. One of the most recognizable Toho actors of the era, Kenji Sahara, plays the role of Ichiro’s father. Sachio Sakai, who was the reporter Hanigawa in Godzilla (1954) and has worked extensively with Akira Kurosawa, plays the role of one of the bank robbers, Senbayashi. Yoshibumi Tajima, a man who is known for playing stern generals and ship captains, appears in All Monsters Attack as a detective who is hunting down the bank robbers. Other Toho actors appear and make brief cameos throughout the film.

Having a star studded cast does not make a film inherently good. However, it does challenge the idea that All Monsters Attack is a black sheep or less effort went into its production. Familiar faces are giving performances in line with their work in previous films. Still, this cast doesn’t take attention away from Ichiro. In order to be consistent with the films themes and premise, there are few moments in the film where we see any of the adult actors alone or have extended dialogue scenes.

Ichiro’s parents are barely in the movie. Ichiro’s mother is busy working, a symptom of a rapidly industrializing and progressive society. She leaves notes and instructions for Ichiro to follow, but of course Ichiro doesn’t obey them perfectly. Ichiro’s mother only appears on screen during a brief phone call and a scene at the end where she apologizes to Ichiro for all that he’s endured. Ichiro’s father appears briefly when Ichiro bumps into him on his way to and from school while he’s working on the train. Early on in the movie there’s a beautiful scene where Ichiro’s father relays the honest difficulty of being a parent in Japan during the 60’s:, “He tends to keep to himself. He needs someone around, but my wife works too…We want to save up and move to where the air’s clean. But when?”(5:44). The adults understand that these situations aren’t ideal and the world around them is polluted, but they can’t magically fix things. The parents, like Minilla and Godzilla,
are fighting their own battles daily in order to provide a life for Ichiro.

A balance is struck where the adult actors do have significant moments in the film, but do not distract Ichiro’s story or remove his agency. Ichiro, played by child actor Yazaki Tomonori, is the lead and we follow his perspective for the majority of the film.

Other than the bank robbers, who will be addressed later, there is one adult character who appears throughout the film consistently: Shinpei Minami, the toymaker. Minami is a neighbor of Ichiro’s who occasionally checks in and talks to Ichiro. Throughout the film Minami talks with Ichiro about his interests, treats him to food, and even checks to make sure Ichiro is asleep. He’s a little eccentric and there’s moments where he provides both comedic, insightful, and wistful reflection on the events of the film.

In the first scene with Minami the toymaker, Ichiro is collecting the key to his apartment. It appears that Minami has invented a fun way for Ichiro to get the key; a pop-up jack-in-the-box like key holder (8:39). It’s an inventive way to showcase the toymakers whimsical personality before introducing him onscreen to the audience.

When the audience and Ichiro first finally sees Ichiro he’s busy working on a computer he dubs the “chibi computer” or the “kiddy computer”. While modern audiences might not be impressed by Minami’s invention, the first personal computer, the Kenbak-1, was released in 1971. In 1969 this is would have been a momentous feat. Despite being busy, the toymaker takes time to show Ichiro the computer and ask him about his opinion on it. Ichiro is impressed, but quickly asks if he can see—or visit—Monster Island with it. The toymaker is confused, but rather than assume its childish nonsense, he begins to ask Ichiro about Monster Island.

This transitions into Ichiro revealing that he’s being bullied by Sanko whom Ichiro has dubbed Gabara. It’s a very relaxed and natural way for an adult to inquire about a child’s day. He tries to give Ichiro advice to stand up to Gabara more but it falls upon deaf ears. Clearly Minami is invested in what Ichiro has to say, as well as concerned about him. It’s a consistent character trait throughout the film.

It’s important to note that Ichiro has begun to construct his own sort of personal computer and begin to track down objects that aid in that process. He is most likely inspired by Minami’s endeavors. There’s a give and take relationship between them, where both the Toymaker and Ichiro learn from one another.

The toymaker, Minami Shinpei, is played by another Toho veteran Hideyo Amamoto. Genre enthusiasts may recognize Amamoto as the devilish Dr. Who from King Kong Escapes (1967) and various other minor, primarily villainous roles, throughout Toho’s history. In All Monsters Attack Amamoto plays a wise, but slightly comedic Minami Shinpei. Without a doubt he is the second most important human character in the narrative and plays a substantial role in the film.

I’ve seen poor-taste jokes that have tried to make the toymaker out to be some sort of predator. There’s nothing in the film that warrants this comparison. Based on his occupation the toymaker has very clear and justifiable motivation to want to interact with Ichiro. He learns from Ichiro what children are interested in. On top of that, the film makes it clear that Ichiro’s parents trust and ask the Minami to check-in on Ichiro. Given the time period and social norms, there’s no reason to assume that Minami is anything but Ichiro’s trusted confidant. This may seem like a pointless rebuttal, but cheap jokes over the years have led people to missing who and what the toymaker is: A self-insert for Honda.

Minami is nothing but kind to Ichiro and is curious how Ichiro views the world and monsters. In order to remedy Ichiro’s loneliness, he prepares a nice dinner for Ichiro. While eating, the toymaker suggests that Ichiro should be his assistant. When Ichiro asks why he says, “I want a kids honest opinion,” (28:30).

Honda is becoming aware of children’s interest in Godzilla, and tokusatsu media as a whole, and considers their opinions on the films sincerely. At the end of the movie, after Ichiro has been rescued from the robbers, the Toymaker reflects on everything he’s learned from Ichiro throughout the movie. Rather poetically he states, “Adults believe in gods, so why can’t children have their own gods too, like Minilla?” (All Monsters Attack, 1:06:27). It’s a nice way to cap off the film’s adult perspective and reflects that children are drawn and inspired by fictional characters and heroes. It’s a statement that is true today, and the way that Amamoto delivers it is wonderful. It really shows that Honda is well aware of the impact Godzilla, and movies as a medium, are having on children. Honda is a toymaker who inspires.

As an aside, a Godzilla toy actually appears in the movie. Ichiro has a Bullmark Godzilla that can clearly be seen. This is the first Godzilla film that shows a Godzilla toy and it wouldn’t be the last. Regrettably, this is something that is less noticeable in older transfers of the film. While some can interpret this as a strange form of product placement, it’s more of a direct visual to show that Ichiro is a Godzilla fan without him physically going to see one of the movies. It is also can be interpreted as a direct acknowledgement that Honda is aware of the commercialization and appeal that Godzilla had begun to have towards children in the late 60s.

Another common criticism of All Monsters Attack is that the moral it portrays is a bad example for children. “Fighting your own battles”, aka physically assaulting your bullies, is a reasonable thing for adults, especially parents, to take issue with. In my opinion, this criticism of All Monsters Attack in its full context is overblown and is anachronistic in nature. It assumes that the film endorses the actions of Ichiro towards the end of the film and not as a reflection of the fact that things won’t magically fix themselves. I’ll elaborate on this later, but for now let’s consider how it relates to Honda and Minami.

All Monsters Attack, and by extension Honda and Minami, are not interested in establishing rules or providing easy to digest lessons. They are concerned for the welfare and lives of children, but are not filling or optimistically trying to fill the role that a parent, teacher, or religious leader might. That’s important. The toymaker Minami is not claiming to have the answers, nor ignore that parents, like Ichiro’s, do not have an easy task set out for them. The toymaker looks after Ichiro but he is not a substitute for his parents.

In that regard, All Monsters Attack is a movie that reflects reality in an organic and natural way like Good Morning. Honda is able to accurately portray children and have adults reflect and interact with them naturally. Younger viewers can enjoy Ichiro’s adventure, while more mature audiences can enjoy the more mature and slightly gritty story of the adults trying to raise children in a difficult world. It’s an honest and sincere film. It’s no easy feat and if given an honest watch it makes All Monsters Attack’s one of the stronger and more character focused
works in the genre. There is a bit of an irony here, as its strengths are the focus on the real life and interactions of Ichiro despite the film’s wilder and fantastical
elements.

 

Part 3: Cops and Robbers

I’ve established that All Monsters Attack is primarily a film that focuses on the life of Ichiro and his interactions with Minami. There is another set of characters to focus on: the bank robbers. Unlike the caring and inquisitive Minami, the robbers are the exact opposite of him taken to an extreme. The bank robbers do not care about Ichiro’s life. They only view him as an annoyance and possible object to make a hostage out of.

While fleeing police after a bank robbery the two criminals Senbayashi and Okuda, capture Ichiro because he found their wallet. Based on the way that they bind him up it seems they will attempt to use him as a hostage if things go awry. They pose a direct danger to Ichiro’s life and at one point threaten him with a knife. In contrast to giant monsters, they are unfortunately a very realistic danger towards Ichiro. Alongside Gabara, both the fantastical and child bully, the bank robbers are the main antagonists of All Monsters Attack. What makes the film unique is how Honda portrays their story and the police trying to catch them.

The first time the audience explicitly learns about the bank robbers is when Ichiro’s father’s coworker reads about the bank heist in the newspaper (6:00). He notes that they stole 50 million yen and that they most likely have already changed cars. This is their first introduction, but there’s actually an earlier point in the film that may be an introduction to them. When Ichiro and Sachiko are first seen walking home there’s a suspicious red car they encounter. The car speeds and screeches across the road and screen before Ichiro compares it to Minilla’s roar (3:08). While this may be coincidental, there’s a high chance that this car being shown is the one that the bank robbers switched to before going into hiding. Ichiro himself first learns the news of the bank heist on television. Being a child, Ichiro is disinterested in an adult issue and changes the channel. This is a genius move by Honda to introduce the danger of the robbers while maintaining true to Ichiro’s character and story. The audience learns an important plot detail while reinforcing Ichiro’s childish demeanor.

The story of the bank robbers is unfolding in the background throughout the film in other ways as well. When Ichiro first explores the abandoned building other children follow. They are scared away by the sound of sirens (7:30). We then see police discuss the issue and their attempts to capture them. The events of the bank robbery and the police trying to catch them are a constant influence on All Monsters Attack’s narrative even if it’s not even immediately apparent.

By the way, have you ever noticed this?

Yes, the inspectors who will chase after the robbers appear early on the television screen. It’s a very easily overlooked detail. In fact, they appear in the background of the movie throughout. They appear in the background when Ichiro is talking to his mother on the phone. The implication is that the inspectors are going from house to house and workplace to workplace to warn people and gather information. While Ichiro is busy dealing with his own problems and fantasies a massive cops and robbers movie is unfolding.

It’s a small detail, one that I believe many viewers have missed. However, it’s something that upon noticing shows the care and thought that Honda put into
All Monsters Attack. Like much of the visual editing and attention to theming, it refutes the notion that the film is lazy or that Honda put less effort into it compared
to other films he has made. While Ichiro is having a childish adventure an adult crime drama is playing out unbeknownst to him.

Also, take the time to appreciate the framing and location of the camera in the shot with Ichiro’s mother on the phone. With her pink kimono the camera looks down upon her, and the other half of the frame is taken up by the police officers. It perfectly represents All Monsters Attack’s premise and theming of two wildly stories intersecting and overlapping. It’s perfect.

What about the bank robbers themselves? I’ve referred to them as a singular entity but there’s actually two of them, both with distinctive personalities. They are Senbayashi and Okuda. Senbayashi appears to the boss and of the two is far nastier. He also has a drinking problem. Throughout the film he’s shown to be drinking out of a small flask. The other one Okuda, appears to be subordinate to Senbayashi, listening to his every command and often being chastised by him. There’s still a lot we don’t know about the devious duo, but they have a bit more character than one might expect. Even if their motivations are simple, the bank robbers are fine as primary antagonists: They’re adult greed and nastiness personified in a way that is simple for children to understand.

The bank robbers also really aren’t the main primary antagonists. Unlike the human Gabara, Ichiro doesn’t have a personal connection to the bank robbers. Ichiro finding their wallet in the abandoned building is a complete accident. Ichiro is unaware of their existence until they kidnap him towards the end of the movie. It’s a fantastic moment because of how abruptly it happens. First time viewers might be startled like Ichiro when this happens.

It’s likely that Ichiro did not realize how much danger he was in. The bank robber story unfolds in the background of All Monsters Attack, before interrupting the primary story of Ichiro dealing with the struggles of loneliness and bullying with imagination and fantasy. Like the jets who attack Monster Island, the bank robbers are a literal example of the adult world invading the world of children and monsters. It once again fits the theming of the film.

With this in mind the final moments of the film make more sense. It may seem jarring to adults that the more objectively dangerous situation isn’t the climax of the film. The final few moments of All Monsters Attack consist of Ichiro fighting with his bully before being fully welcomed by the group of children that had seemingly been antagonizing him. Ichiro’s story is complete in that moment, not when he overpowers and escapes the bank robbers. It’s well-earned.

Intelligently, the final climaxes are also inspired by a kaiju brawl that happens much earlier in the film: Godzilla and Minilla vs. Gabara.

 

Part 4: More than Just Stock Footage

So far, I’ve discussed how Ichiro interacts and relates to the settings, Minami the toymaker, and the bank robbers. I’ve extrapolated how this all relates to the greater theming of reflecting on the lives of children in an honest fashion. What about the monsters? What about the action? That’s the primary reason why many tokusatsu and Godzilla fans watch kaiju films. Even if a film has beautiful ideas, if it doesn’t deliver the monster action a lot of viewers will be bored or disregard the rest of the film. Thankfully, in my opinion, All Monsters Attack delivers enjoyable monster moments and kaiju action.

If you’re in the right mind, the farcical battle between Godzilla, Minilla and Gabara is immensely entertaining. Like many things that All Monsters Attack does well, the battle is something that doesn’t get enough appreciation or analysis due to the films overall reputation. It’s very easy to generalize the fight as boring because the main combatants, Minilla and Gabara, aren’t the most powerful monsters in the greater Godzilla cannon. But, when viewed with an open mind there’s a lot of positives to see and appreciate.

To be clear, Godzilla and Minilla versus Gabara is not the most thrilling fight that Toho has ever shown on screen. But, it does have memorable moments. These include: Minilla getting shocked by Gabara’s lightning, Godzilla judo throwing Gabara overhead, Minilla catapulting Gabara using a rock, and Ichiro throwing a rock on Minilla’s tail so he can breathe atomic breath. They’re all exciting parts of a fun and farcical melee. While not as technically impressive as Ghidorah’s final battle in Destroy All Monsters, or as tense as Godzilla and Minilla vs. Kumonga in Son of Godzilla, there’s clear thought put into providing an entertaining bout. Despite the low stakes there’s a lot of movement and usage of monsters special traits.

The suit acting is also a lot of fun. Minilla, Gabara, and Godzilla are all very expressive. A favorite moment of mine is what happens when Minilla flees from Gabara after getting knocked over by him. Gabara turns to fight Godzilla, and Godzilla quickly commands Gabara to chase after Minilla instead (50:40). Gabara obeys. Later when Godzilla is fighting Gabara one on one, Minilla begins to try to assist Godzilla. Godzilla pushes Minilla back indicating that this fight is his (53:04). It’s clear the suit actors Haruo Nakajima (Godzilla), Masao Fukazawa (Minilla), and Yasuhiko Kakuko (Gabara), all had a lot of fun playing the monsters. This would be the third film Mr. Nakajima and Mr. Fukazawa would work in together (with Nakakima having a small role in Son of Godzilla) and being well seasoned the moments between Godzilla and Minilla feel much more intimate than one otherwise might think.

What makes the final bout even better great is it has narrative significance and a great flow to it. Remember, Ichiro is involved in the fight. He provides not only encouragement to Minlla but also advice. Ichiro is the one that tells Minilla to jump onto a large stone-like tree that will catapult Gabara into the air. At one point Ichiro pushes a rock onto Minilla’s tail so that Minilla can fire a full Godzilla-like atomic breath point blank at Gabara. All Monsters Attack does not fall into the same pitfalls that many other Godzilla films do of having their protagonists statically watching the monster brawl from a safe distance with little interactivity.

The fight also escapes the fantasy of Monster Island. When Ichiro is trying to escape the bank robbers in the films climax, Ichiro uses many of the same techniques that Minilla used on Gabara against the robbers. There’s that moment where he bites Senbaya like Minilla bites Gabara. Ichiro also grabs a fire extinguisher and sprays the robbers in the face just like Minilla does to Gabara.

The fight between Minilla and Godzilla vs. Gabara actually therefore has a lot more thematic and emotion behind it than a bulk of other Godzilla fights. While not always the case, generally antagonistic monsters are merely an obstacle for Godzilla to defeat and overcome. Fights usually are the climax, not a piece of a larger puzzle. The two Mothra larva must stop Godzilla to end his rampage in Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964). In future films, Hedorah, Gigan, Megalon, and Mechagodzilla must be defeated to save the Earth. All Monsters Attack is unique in that regard: the final fight is something to be learned from, not the ending itself.

It’s easy to respond, “The final fight is interesting conceptually and has a few great moments sure, but that doesn’t excuse the rest of the film for showing fights that are composed of stock footage,”.

Fair enough. I know this will be viewed like an excuse for some people, but the reused footage is reframed in a way that makes it interesting. Most, if not all uses of stock footage are edited to feel different.

The best example of this is the fight between Godzilla and Kumonga that occurs midway through the film. This is for all intents and purposes a new fight. Yes, it is compromised almost exclusively of stock footage, but the footage is edited in such a way to be a completely different encounter. In Son of Godzilla Minilla, and an unfortunate Kamacuras, come across Kumonga. After a tense sequence of events, Minilla is rescued by Godzilla, before a fight between Godzilla and Kumonga begins. Godzilla has an easy time at first, before being stung, and then requiring Minilla’s explicit aid in defeating Kumonga.

The fight in All Monsters Attack is different, edited out of order. Most notably All Monsters Attack uses the moment when Kumonga plays dead to ambush Godzilla as the conclusion of the fight, whereas in the original it is the moment before Kumonga fakes Godzilla out and retaliates. Godzilla doesn’t need Minilla’s help to overcome Kumonga in this film. It’s a fact that is again consistent with the theming of the movie overall.

Other fights feature seemingly small changes that add up overall. The Godzilla vs. Kamacuras trio fight is trimmed down to be quicker. The Ebirah fight from Ebirah,  Horror of the Deep does much of the same. These small changes to these encounters change the tone and how the audience should view the monsters. While in Ebirah, Horror of the Deep and Son of Godzilla, Ebirah and Kumonga were suitable opponents, able to hold their own against Godzilla as main antagonist monsters, Godzilla can now sweep through them in All Monsters Attack.

There’s also a degree of interactivity with the stock footage. Minilla and Ichiro aren’t static commentators. When Godzilla fights Ebirah and the boulder lands nearby, Ichiro and Minilla are startled before the screen shakes (33:40). When Ebirah splashes Godzilla with water, Ichiro and Minilla are also covered with water before moving back to a safer location.

During the aforementioned fight between Godzilla and Kumonga there is a brief moment where Minilla joins the fray. Minilla blows smoke at Kumonga (36:56). It’s ineffective and in retaliation Kumonga sprays silk at Ichiro and Minilla.

These little moments make the stock footage feel a lot impactful.

The rest of the encounters have Minilla and Ichiro reacting to the fights. Impressively, there’s important continuity between the stock footage and new footage with them. The sequence where Godzilla fights off the jets from Ebirah Horror of the Deep exemplifies this. In lower quality versions of the film it’s easy to miss, but following the stock footage jet assault, the jets—now entirely new models, are repurposed by Godzilla as targets in new footage.

Like dreams and reality, stock footage and new footage intersect!

In summation, although All Monsters Attack uses stock footage, the stock footage is used in more interactive and entertaining ways than merely replaying sequences wholesale. They’re relevant to the film and chosen with care. Again, it still doesn’t make stock footage acceptable, but like other criticisms of All Monsters Attack fans and critics overblow and misconstrue the reality of the film in order to make it seem as though the film is an assault on filmmaking. This again creates a situation where people ignore the unique elements that the film should be praised for, like the Gabara vs. Godzilla and Minilla fight. While the film might not entirely live up to its title, All Monsters Attack still delivers a wealth of entertaining and varied monster action.

 

Part 5: Ichiro, the Painter, and Morality

It’s time to discuss All Monster’s Attack’s protagonist Ichiro. For some viewers he is a major source of ire. But first, I’d like to preference this that while I think that Ichiro and Minilla are acceptable in the English dub, they are better in the Japanese version which I have primarily been analyzing. In the Japanese version of the film both Ichiro and Minilla have much more softer and relaxed voices. It may be easier for certain viewers to take Ichiro’s plight more seriously when viewing the film in its original language.

Ichiro is a normal child. As a character in a film, and as a representative of a child, he’s fine. Believe it or not, this is a controversial statement. Other than what appears to be issues with socializing with other children and a slight hyper-fixation on Godzilla, there’s nothing wrong or odd about him or his behavior. There’s a few times in the film that he does things that he should not do. However, none of it is outside the normal boundary of what kids may do or are warning signs towards anything major.

All Monsters Attack gives clear and easily understandable reasons for why and how Ichiro is. He’s a child being bullied who spends a great part of his typical evenings home alone. He uses Godzilla and his own imagination in a healthy way to deal with his issues. He’s kind to his friend Sachiko and a good friend to Minilla. He’s curious and courageous, but also clearly a tad timid. He does various chores, like take the hanging laundry inside (27:43). Depending on your interpretation of the climax, Ichiro is forgiving. Ichiro is a fine character and a fine child.

This is a controversial because many people typecast Ichiro as a little monster. If you look at any All Monsters Attack reviews, particularly older ones, it’s not hard to find many people ridiculing Ichiro. This ridicule varies from mild ribbing to serious and dark commentary that stereotype or act as though Ichiro is some form of demon child. Some of it crosses boundaries into clear bullying of children. To be clear this is not representative of all criticisms towards Ichiro as a character and a child, but it is prevalent nonetheless. A lot of this criticism, in my opinion, comes from the pre-conceived notion that All Monsters Attack is a bad movie and then exaggerating Ichiro’s actions in order to skewer the film. For some viewers, presenting the film as morally dangerous or bankrupt, is a way to validate extreme hated towards the film by some.

The biggest transgressions Ichiro commits in the film are: Ichiro exploring an abandoned building and taking things from it, jumping onto the back of a car for sale, physically assaulting his bully Sanko, and causing a man to fall off a ladder. There are some other moments where Ichiro disobeys rules, but these points are the main ones people identify when criticizing the movie. I’d like to address that these one by one, specifically pointing out that these occurrences, while wrong, are often overblown in people’s minds versus what is on screen.

Ichiro exploring an abandoned building and taking things from it, while mildly dangerous, is nothing criticizing Ichiro for. Children like exploring places. Many people, myself included, explored buildings, forests, and other places we weren’t supposed to enter as children. It’s a nothing point. And it’s important to point out that Ichiro comes across the abandoned building initially after fleeing Sanko and the others.

The next big moment that people point to as a means to criticize Ichiro is when he plays around with a car for sale that is in front of his apartment building. Ichiro jumps on the front bumper for a moment and then attempts to open the door before a man begins to scold him for it. He doesn’t hit the car with a rock or try to purposefully damage it.

Like many other things in the film, people seem to have missed a joke here as well. Ichiro knows the car is a piece of junk. “If you break it anymore” is the line
used in the dub. In the Japanese version, a translation of this is, “Any worse and we’ll never sell it,”(All Monsters Attack, 26:38). The man scolding Ichiro for touching it isn’t the man selling it either, the car belongs to Minami. It’s a comedic moment that also emphasizes the rundown world of Ichiro and his neighbors.

Viewing the moment as solely away to criticize Ichiro misses that this is the introduction to the car that the robbers will attempt to use as a getaway vehicle in the final moments of the film. And of course, Ichiro is right. The car is junk. When the thieves try to steal the car it won’t start and it’s this fact that gives Ichiro the time to escape (56:30). Like the scene with Ichiro finding the hole in the abandoned building, which I’ll address later, this is another moment of All Monsters Attack’s excellent ability for set up and payoff.

These two transgressions are minor compared to what happens in the final three minutes of the film when Ichiro fights with Gabara and then plays a bad prank on a painter. Before doing that though, I’d like to preference that I am not attempting to deny that these things happen, nor dispute people taking issue with the events that unfold on screen. Unlike previous sections that dealt with visuals, stock footage, actors and setting, this by far is the most subjective thing to analyze and one’s morality plays a factor in how it should be viewed.

First, let’s discuss Ichiro and Gabara’s (Sanko) fight. The fight between Ichiro and Gabara unfolds like this:

• Gabara and his gang appear to block Ichiro from going to school on a public road.
• Ichiro states he’s not scared of Gabara before tackling him to the ground.
• Ichiro once again rushes towards Gabara and the two grab each other by the clothes and schoolbags. This part of the struggle is portrayed through a series of stills and lasts roughly thirty seconds.
• Finally, Ichiro tackles Gabara once more and Gabara falls to the ground.
• Dejected, and with a visible scrape on his right wrist, Ichiro triumphantly walks past Gabara and the other kids, before turning around and smiling.

To once again be absolutely clear, Ichiro is in the wrong for physically attacking Gabara. But in wording, the situation comes across much direr than it actually is portrayed screen. People like to exaggerate this fight into something it’s not. Not a single punch is thrown. At worst, Ichiro tackles Gabara twice and the two grab each other by the clothes. It’s nothing more violent than a childhood scuffle.

In addition, many have commented on how the choice to portray the fight with a bunch of stills is rather bizarre. Some of called it “seizure inducing”. Like other thoughtful decisions by Honda, it’s something that people ignore the genius of. Through this editing choice, Honda has avoided depicting any actual violence between kids. It’s a safe and unique way to portray their battle. Had the film actually featured a literal fistfight between children, even if well-choreographed and safely rehearsed, I’d be less defensive of this moment.

There’s another moment that people point towards regarding Ichiro’s poor behavior: at the end of the film, after defeating his bully, Ichiro honks a horn on a motorcycling belonging to a main painting the sign. This leads to the painter falling off a small ladder. Many people incorrectly report this as Ichiro startling the painter with his horn, which causes to him to lose balance, but in reality it’s the action of him swiping at the air with his brush. It’s not Ichiro’s fault, although based on the comments earlier in the film it’s obviously the intended outcome.

My point here is that like many things in All Monsters Attack this criticism makes people overlook why this is a great moment and an amazing visual:

It needs to be said, the way that the rabbit is looking directly at the painter with his arm extended is hilarious. It looks as though the rabbit is mocking the painter. This has to be intentional and it makes one wonder why Honda chose this specific sign.

My interpretation relates to the sign he’s painting. I don’t blame any non-Japanese speakers for noticing this, but he’s painting a sign to advertise a “children’s land”, a theme park with presumably attractions and animals. I concede it’s possible I’m overthinking this, but I believe it’s a subtle jab towards adults who try to monopolize children’s media without trying to understand their interests organically. Exemplified through Ichiro honking the horn, children find their own amusement in seemingly random things. What adults think children like and do is often different from reality and not realistic. There is a contrast of advertising of this moment and the painter trying to appeal to children with cartoon animals and a cute play land versus Minami who tries to truly consider Ichiro’s thoughts, beliefs, and reality.

Viewing this moment as solely an example of why to admonish Ichiro also ignores what happens after. The action of honking the horn is dangerous and wrong but it also allows for a final character moment from a character that has been in the background of the film: Ichiro’s father.

It’s a way the film finishes a small arc he has in the movie. Ichiro’ father, who has been absent from protecting Ichiro from the robbers and Gabara, steps in to defend him from a bigger threat. It’s similar in concept to how when Godzilla steps in to defend Minilla from Gabara when Gabara gains the upper hand.

Of course Ichiro’s father doesn’t deck the painter, he apologizes to him. But, it’s a way of showing that his father always cares and will protect him from danger. It’s a climax for the father and his story, akin to the small arc that is completed after by Ichiro’s mother when she cries after apologizing to Ichiro. For a moment, Ichiro’s father completely stops and working and gets to be a real father. He’s no longer playing the role of a dutiful father that solely provides, but sticking up for his son.

I’ve seen people interpret the moment Ichiro honks the horn Ichiro giving into peer pressure. I have my own interpretation. It’s Ichiro trying to show he forgives Sanko and make amends with the group. Ichiro has never shown anything but kindness towards other children and the people immediately around him. It’s in character for him to suddenly turn around and be friendly to others. At this point he already proved to the other children he isn’t scared of Sanko so he honks the horn with his own agency.

I defend Ichiro’s actions because All Monsters Attack is a fictional film and Ichiro is a fictional character. Ichiro’s actions have clear character and plot-driven cause and they also make sense within the context of the film. They fall in line with Honda’s realistic depiction of children dealing with problems around them and interacting with an unideal world. It is not senseless violence, but rather purposefully chosen actions that contribute to the films overall theming and vibe.

This final sequence of events, while short and seemingly tacked on, completes Ichiro’s story and arc. Ichiro stands up to his bully, forgives them, and is then rescued by his new friends and father. Triumphant, the kids go off to school. It’s one of the few Godzilla films that ends on a shot that isn’t Godzilla and it’s powerful.

Ichiro is a good character who has clear reasons for his problems as well as clear motivation to solve them. More than anything else, he never does anything too extreme or unlikely compared to other children. He’s a fine and realistic portrayal of children during the time and its unfortunate how people view him. In a genre that critics are too eager to label human characters “paper-thin” Ichiro is a shining example of a well-fleshed out character who is deeply entrenched in the film’s narrative. Ichiro is a great and well-written character who, like the film he resides in, is triumphant in the end.

 

Part 6: Sunset, Time, and Visual Motifs

To dial things back a bit, allow me to speak about my personal experience with All Monsters Attack before discussing what led me to change my mind on the film.

It was the early 2000s and I was young. In a media store in a mall I found a DVD of the American release of All Monsters Attack, titled Godzilla’s Revenge, released by Classic Media in 2002. Outside of a few perplexing screenshots of Gabara on the early internet, I had never seen All Monsters Attack. I looked at the back of the DVD box, and was greeted by stills of Ebirah, Godzilla, Minilla, Ichiro, and Kumonga from the film. Based on the description of the movie, it sounded like a monstrous romp. I was excited!

I remember going home, plopping the disc into a portable DVD player—as I wasn’t allowed to use my parents television set at the time, and eagerly sat down to watch Godzilla’s Revenge. As Godzilla popped up and marched forward on the main menu screen, a normal flourish of early 2000s releases, Crime Fiction—a jazzy and psychedelic in Godzilla’s Revenge began to play.

I was disappointed. I remember being disinterested in Ichiro’s story and that much of it felt strange. Compared to growing up in the late 1990s and early 2000s in Northeastern America, the idea of a child being left on his or her own was a bizarre prospect. The idea of Ichiro playing in abandoned factories was unappealing and although I had been in my own childish skirmishes I couldn’t understand Ichiro’s struggle. I found Ichiro overcoming Sanko satisfying, but also took issue even as a child to how Ichiro solved his dilemma. It felt opposite to what I had been taught in school and I never tried to emulate it. I didn’t recognize the stock footage as much as I might do these days, but even back then I found it strange that Godzilla routinely changed appearance and something felt off.

I didn’t like it. I didn’t revisit it until the re-release in 2012 of All Monsters Attack by Classic Media that included the Japanese version. I had a more positive opinion of the Japanese version, but I still didn’t appreciate it for what it was. It remained one of my least watched Godzilla films growing up. Films such as Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001), Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974), Godzilla: Final Wars (2004), and Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000) were all in constant rotation for rewatches. All Monsters Attack collected dust. It wasn’t until years later that I got more involved with online Godzilla films and learned of All Monsters Attack infamy and like many others I began to parrot how people felt about the film. Each time I’d re-watch the film during a ritualistic viewing of the entire franchise before a new movie release my heart would sink when I realized it was sandwiched between two of my favorites, Destroy All Monsters (1968) and Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971). For the longest time, it was the easiest Godzilla film to label my least favorite and the worst in the series.

Over the past few years various reviewers and fans, both on platforms like YouTube and Toho Kingdom forums began to offer more positives opinions on the film and pushback against the negativity aimed at the film. While the needle moved slightly more positively, it was still easy to be labeled a heretic or some kind of crazy person for liking All Monsters Attack. Up until very recently, I held the opinion that went with the still current general consensus: All Monsters Attack is one of the worst Godzilla films and is a lazily made film that isn’t worth serious consideration.

What changed? What led me to write a gigantic article about what is commonly accepted to be the worst Godzilla film? What led me from considering a film I was apathetic towards to considering it one of the best?

The sunset.

That’s not a non-sequitur. I recently watched All Monsters Attack on a streaming platform in Japan. Early on something stuck out to me that I hadn’t noticed before, the gradually shift in daylight that occurs in the first chunk of the movie. There’s a consistent in lighting from when Ichiro leaves school in the afternoon, to when he explores the factory, to when he gets home. It’s something that is difficult— if not downright impossible— to notice on older releases of the film with poorer visual quality like the 2002’s Classic Media I saw when I was younger. It’s a detail that once you notice makes it evident that Honda, like his edits to the stock footage, was giving it his all when making All Monsters Attack. A lesser film might make the lighting uniform with the vague timeframe of “afterschool”. But All Monsters Attack goes above and beyond.

Rather than explain it, let me show you still by still. The following are presented in sequential order:

It’s unclear where some of the lighting is artificial or something that Honda managed to capture in the moment. Either way, it’s impressive. Intent was shown towards consistency in both timing and lighting. A hallmark of lesser movies is rapid and sudden transitions between night and day with little consistency. Worse offenders are movies with flat lighting that never changes. All Monsters Attack avoids this.

But this consistency does more than just avoid bad filmmaking, it leads All Monsters Attack to having a very unique quality trait amongst not only Godzilla films but cinema overall.

All Monsters Attack might be one of the easiest films to understand the time frame it takes place in. Not just the vague idea of how many weeks or days, but down to the hour. The entirety of All Monsters Attack likely takes place in under 14-18 hours. The film opens with Ichiro on his way home from school, which generally would be around two to three pm. Ichiro walks home, dozes off for a bit, and then explores the abandoned building. Given the vegetation grown outside of the abandoned building and the children’s attire, All Monsters Attack takes place in the late summer. In that time frame, the sun sets around five to seven in the evening. Ichiro and the Toymaker eat dinner and then Ichiro goes to sleep. It’s a normal evening until Ichiro is kidnapped and rescued. Largely uninjured and scrappy, Ichiro returns to school the following morning, sometime between 6-8 am. Sense of time might be broken for the viewer due to Ichiro’s voyagers to Monster Island but the film strictly adheres to this schedule.

Even neater is that the sunset is pinkish. While beautiful, it’s worth noting that pink sunsets in these shades are typically indicative of polluted skies and air.

Upon realizing these seemingly insignificant details, I paid much more attention to all of the films visuals details and little oddities here and there. It was when I recognized the fact that the inspectors make a brief appearance during the telephone cutaway or how many unique transitions and moments the film has. It’s the moment I realized that All Monsters Attack is a beautiful movie.

It’s not just the visuals or what some might see like a time-based gimmick either, it’s the camera work and cinematography. Take this moment when Ichiro first explores the abandoned building. He looks up:

And the camera looks down:

Like the sunset it’s easy for a detractor to say, “So what?”. Some experimental and possibly random camerawork doesn’t make a good film. This serves a purpose; it’s foreshadowing the robbers. They’re upstairs hiding in a locker. The robbers themselves will also briefly notice this later and try to step over it.

These small moments are all set ups to a later payoff. This hole is that Ichiro will later cover with newspaper to trick and injure one of the robbers. It, like other moments in All Monsters Attack, is a moment that blurs the reality between Ichiro’s imagination and reality. When Ichiro first travels to Monster Island he falls down a hole while escaping a hungry Kamacuras.

Most likely this moment inspires what happens later. Dreams and reality intersect, overlapping and inspiring each other. Like Godzilla teaching Minilla, and Minilla’s efforts inspiring Ichiro, there’s a heavy degree of interaction between the two worlds. Ichiro’s fantasies are not inconsequential or unimportant just because they are fantasy. It’s also important to recognize that that shot of Kamacuras is the only moment where the monster is portrayed through new footage in All Monsters Attack. In other words, a lot more effort went into this tiny moment than it initially seems. It also indicates that to Honda and the staff, this visual has significance. Without careful consideration it’s another moment that goes woefully underappreciated because of the film’s reputation.

Another visual, that may seem unimportant, is the establishing shot of the abandoned building that Ichiro explores and will eventually encounter the bank robbers in. It’s one of my favorite images in All Monsters Attack and it’s only in the film for a second.

For those that don’t know, this isn’t a real building. I believe it’s a matte painting. It being a matte painting raises questions though. Why not just use an establishing shot of an abandoned building? The opening is filled with establishing shots of factories and other such places. It shouldn’t have been difficult to find an abandoned factory, right?

Like the stock footage and the other details present in All Monsters Attack it’s an example of Honda’s close eye towards detail. It’s impossible to speculate which came first, the sets that Ichiro explores or the matte painting, but it’s easy to note consistency between the two.

You can see here the front that Ichiro enters with blown out glass windows. They’re present in both the matte painting and the set that Ichiro is exploring above. Likewise you can see the small windows that Ichiro will pass by on his way to the second and third floor in the matte painting.

A lot of effort went into this small moment.

What about the imagery here? The building looks imposing and ephemeral, a lone structure in a sea of green. Interestingly, the building doesn’t have any smokestacks, or any other discernible features like signs. It’s mysterious nature raises a lot of questions. What was this building’s original purpose? Why has it been abandoned?

It’s easy to come up with some wild and imaginative theories or speculation on the building itself. Like Ichiro, the imagination can run rampant; “It’s an abandoned military structure after World War Two,” or “It was a hospital that burnt down!”. However, each easy answer comes with its own contradictions. If it was a military base that was attacked, why does it seem there’s no external damage to the structure? If it was abandoned in a fire, how do you explain the massive hole through the concrete floor Ichiro sees in the first image?

Thankfully, there is one clue. Based on the directions and signs of the second and third floor, which have what can be translated as “company” or “all company”, we can assume it’s an abandoned office building. That doesn’t make it any less strange or mysterious. It’s a fantastic location to set many important scenes of the movie in and it’s great how the film maintains an atmosphere of mystery with it without making it explicitly dangerous.

And lastly, I’d like to point out one of the more unique transitions out of Monster Island. At one point Ichiro is watching Godzilla’s battles with Minilla. Suddenly Minilla disappears and the screen begins to dim:

Ichiro is awoken from his fantasy by the telephone ringing. It’s a call from his mother. Again, this could be done with a simple cut away, but All Monsters Attack continually has unique and elaborate transitions.

Like the detail of the inspectors appearing early in the film, the small touches added to the stock footage, or the careful attention to theming, All Monsters Attack has a wonderful sense of visual design and detail that is consistent throughout. Although what is being shown is not as immediately exciting as visuals throughout the Godzilla films, like fiery explosions or miniatures being destroyed, it’s still an enriching film to look at. All of its visuals are purposeful. All Monsters Attack is a wonderful film to just take in and look at.

Part 7: Ganbatte Gojira: The Start of the Championship Era

What about Godzilla? It seems a bit strange that I’ve ignored discussing Godzilla in an analysis of a Godzilla film. I’ve analyzed Ichiro, Minilla, the Toymaker, the Bank Robbers, the films visuals, editing—basically everything! Where is Godzilla? Is it because All Monsters Attack sidelines Godzilla as well? A common criticism of the film is that it is not a good Godzilla film because of the film’s seeming shift towards focusing on Minilla and Ichiro as the protagonists instead of Godzilla. There’s talk that Godzilla has been shafted or pushed to the wayside.

In reality, All Monsters Attack never ignores Godzilla. Godzilla is a constant focus. Godzilla is the first monster Ichiro sees on Monster Island and is also the last. During the last transition off of Monster Island Godzilla reaches forward to grab Ichiro bookending the fantasy. Like the best Godzilla films, even when he isn’t on screen his presence can be felt. He is a source of inspiration for both Minilla and Ichiro who spend the bulk of the scenes on Monster Island learning through observation. Even in the real world of Kawasaki, Japan, Ichiro has his bullmark Godzilla watching over him.

Another common complaint from Godzilla fans on All Monsters Attack is that the film is a poor representation of Godzilla. There’s a problem with this idea though. It isn’t true. Godzilla’s characterization is in line with a bulk of other appearances in films and media. There isn’t a moment where Godzilla is characterized as being silly or weak. Godzilla is revered, and slightly feared, by both Ichiro and Manilla. To Ichiro he is a hero, to Minilla he is a distant, but highly respected, father.

Godzilla is just as formidable as he is in other films, defeating Kamacuras, Ebirah, the Giant Condor, Kumonga, a squadron of jets, and Gabara with relative ease. While Godzilla has always been portrayed as strong, this may be the first genuine portrayal as a pure-powerhouse, a monster above other creatures. Prior films were solo-match ups that were the climaxes of their respective films, or ensemble movies where Godzilla was aided by other allies like Rodan and Mothra to overcome difficult foes. All Monsters Attack is the first Godzilla film where Godzilla tears through monster after monster, something that is rarely seen until the likes of Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001), Godzilla: Final Wars (2004), and Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire (2024). The point of noting this isn’t to say that Godzilla being powerful makes the film good, but rather show that the film doesn’t not ridicule or weaken Godzilla’s image at all.
Minilla is goofy, Godzilla isn’t.

Ichiro is goofy and immature, his father isn’t. Returning to the themes of parental figures, it’s easy to miss, but there are parallels between Ichiro and his father and Minilla and Godzilla. Godzilla, like Ichiro’s father, is shown to leave Minilla, to his own devices. In the monster climax of the film, when Gabara has an ugly second-wind, Godzilla steps in to defend his son. Something similar happens when Ichiro gets in trouble with the painter at the end of the film. Ichiro’s father steps in to apologize and defend him. It’s not an exact match, no metaphors are, but there does exist clear parallelism between Godzilla and Ichiro’s dad.

Alongside Minilla, Godzilla is the major focus and primary monster of the film. Anything not directly affected by Godzilla is inspired and he is a looming presence over both Monster Island, Minilla, and Ichiro.

Even if Godzilla is portrayed traditionally, that doesn’t mean the film surrounding it is any less of a black sheep. Because of its focus on children and psychedelic imagery it feels out of place in contrast to the grand spectacle of Destroy All Monsters. It may not count for some viewers, but through stock footage All Monsters Attack does try to keep up that spectacle and maintain that illusion. Like the canonization of Godzilla as a strong powerhouse, many monsters featured in Destroy All Monsters return and become mainstays of Godzilla’s entourage like Angurius, Manda, Gorosaurus, Ebirah, Kumonga, and Kamacuras. The film is also the third consecutive film to feature Godzilla’s son Minilla. All Monsters Attack really isn’t that different or out of place to what came before it in terms of monster roster.

While it’s similar to what came before it, how about what came after it? All Monsters Attack is the first Godzilla film made for the Toho Champion Festival. During this festival new Godzilla films were produced with younger audiences in mind and older trimmed down versions of previous entries were also displayed. In that regard, All Monsters Attack is the epitome of the Championship Era and a fantastic beginning.

The use of psychedelic visuals and editing will become a norm in the remainder of the Showa Series. Unfortunately, stock footage will become a norm too and subsequent films like Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972) and Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973) won’t utilize it as expertly as All Monsters Attack does. But many of the following films, especially Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971) will delve and use color visual choices and psychedelic motifs to make up for their lower scales and budgets.

And, in regards to the monsters, it’s easy to miss but Minilla actually fits a pivotal role in All Monsters Attack that Toho would attempt repeatedly during the 70’s. Minilla is a giant hero, or a creature that grows in size to save the day. Of course he’s primarily a kaiju, but in All Monsters Attack Minilla can change his size, similar to what Zone Fighter and Jet Jaguar will do. In fact, the way that Jet Jaguar grows in size is similar to how Minilla transforms.

Theming wise All Monsters Attack also sets the stage for the rest of the era. The focus on children and their interests would remain a consistent theme throughout the remainder of the Championship Era. Godzilla vs. Hedorah focuses on a child, Ken, who idolizes Godzilla in the same way as Ichiro. He has a similar Godzilla toy and views Godzilla as a powerful figure who will intervene in a major crisis. The focus of Godzilla vs. Hedorah is very similar for choosing to focus on the perspective of a child experiencing a polluted world that is unfriendly to him in the same way All Monsters Attack hones in on Ichiro and his perspective. Ichiro and Ken, despite both being children are also very different personality wise. This stands contrary to the notion that the children of kaiju movies or All Monsters Attack are all the same or not worth devoting individualized attention to. Ken and Ichiro are Godzilla protagonists in the same way Emi, Dr. Mafune, and Goro Maki are.

As the films in the 1970’s continue, while things shift All Monsters Attack influence can still be seen. Godzilla vs. Gigan, despite its return to focusing on adult protagonists, has its entire premise revolve around the interests of children: the M Space Hunter, like the painter and many adults in All Monsters Attack are trying desperately to appeal and understand children. One of Godzilla vs. Megalon’s protagonists is a child and there’s a focus on inventing toys for children that is consistent with the previous films. While Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla and Terror of Mechagodzilla are more somber affairs, there are brief moments where possible influence from All Monsters Attack can be seen, such as when Godzilla saves children, who are similar to Ichiro, from Titanosaurus.

Admittedly, some of this may be a stretch, but the point is that during the Championship Era the zeitgeist of being invested in what children think while having a worship of Godzilla as a character is consistent. It also more specifically embodies a specific theme and aspect of the Championship Era, the transition of Godzilla from an atomic horror into a role model. It’s what I’d like to term “Ganbatte Gojira”. Ganbatte in Japanese means literally, “Do your best” and is an inspirational and common phrase in Japan. Godzilla will fight to the best of his abilities and not give up. It’s a motif that exists throughout each of the late Showa films and even appears in some of the opening scores.

Despite it being difficult, Godzilla won’t give up fighting all the monsters on Monster Island in the same way that Ichiro’s father won’t give up working for his family.

When we consider everything in summation, All Monsters Attack should be viewed as a proper Godzilla film, even one that is worthy of praise. It has good and consistent theming on the disparity of the lives of children and adults, fantastic editing choices, and an all-around unique atmosphere. It introduced fan favorite location Monster Island and reinforced Godzilla as a super-monster, one above the rest. While not sharing continuity with the films before and after it, All Monsters Attack fits nicely as the beginning of a new Era for Godzilla. There are still reasons for not liking All Monsters Attack. Although I’ve defended the use of stock footage against assertions that it’s lazy, it is understandable that a viewer might be bored by seeing things they have already seen before. Likewise, with its setting All Monsters Attack is devoid of the city stomping miniature sets that kaiju fans are used to and excited to see. Barring stock footage in the opening credits, Godzilla, or any other monster, does not attack or interact with a human-built structure, something that makes it exceedingly unique amongst the franchise. The stakes are comparatively low, and regardless of whether or not the film has an interesting premise and story with Ichiro, it is understandable that some people might wish the focus was more directly on Godzilla.

However, this is no excuse to endlessly trash the film, or disregard anyone that has anything remotely positive to say about it. All Monsters Attack is as deserving of praise, criticism, and thorough analysis in the same way that longtime fans and critics have discussed other classics in the genre like Godzilla (1954), Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964), and Destroy All Monsters (1968). They are all different kinds of films, each with their own goals and focus. I firmly believe that All Monsters Attack addresses the complexity of childhood and parenting in Japan in the 1960’s in the same way that Godzilla (1954), is an artistic reaction to the destruction Japan faced at the end of World War 2. After showcasing all of the thought behind All Monsters Attack and it’s strengths as a film I hope that this doesn’t come across as a bold contrarian claim but rather one rooted in respectful analysis. It should make sense that Ishiro Honda has cited All Monsters Attack as one of his favorite films. Don’t take my word for it. In the same way that All Monsters Attack has been lampooned into a position of being one of the worst because people have parroted negative opinions on the film for years, I don’t want people parroting my views on the film. With a clear mind, and preferably in the best possible quality, give All Monsters Attack a watch.