Category: Godzilla

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1954-75: Showa Series Godzilla

Terror of MechaGodzilla

GodzillaA submarine is conducting a fruitless search under the ocean for the scattered remains of Mechagodzilla, when it is suddenly attacked and destroyed by a mysterious giant creature. Meanwhile, a pair of aliens are plotting to take control of the Earth, in part because their own planet is falling into the black hole, and also because the people of Earth have not been very good stewards of the planet. They plan to enlist the aid of Shizou Mifune, who has been ostracized and vilified by the scientific community for his outlandish theories. The aliens want him to control the giant beast, the Titanosaurus. As an added incentive, the aliens will put the rebuilt Mechagodzilla at Mifune’s disposal. Meanwhile, biologist Ichinose is also looking for Mifune, who may have information on the beast that destroyed the sub. His daughter, Katsura, though tells him that Mifune is dead.

Katsura tells Ichinose via telephone not to lead another submarine expedition. He insists on going anyway. When she hangs up, one of the aliens shoots Katsura with a laser, and it’s revealed that she had died several years before in a lab experiment, and is now a cyborg. She has a device implanted in her to control Titanosaurus. The alien orders her to direct Titanosaurus to attack the sub. Trying desperately to contact headquarters, Ichinose and the crew turn on all sorts of electronic transmission devices. One, a supersonic beam, causes the monster great pain. The crew escapes and following thier report, government officials order construction of a giant Supersonic Beam Oscillator.

Mifune argues with his cyborg daughter about turning over the planet to the aliens. But he insists he is seeking revenge against all who have mocked him. He releases Titanosaurus on Tokyo. While the Japanese Defense Force wages a fierce battle against the beast, Godzilla arrives to challenge the monster. The aliens plan for the two monsters to fight, with Godzilla defeating the other, but too weak to battle Mechagodzilla. Instead, Titanosaurus retreats.

Ichinose investigates a mountainous area, and is captured by aliens who take him to their base. There he finds Mifune and his cyborg daughter. The aliens flee, taking Ichinose, Mifune and Katsura. Another team of Interpol agents breach the mountain, but not before the aliens unleash Mechagodzilla. The agents lead several captives away, escaping moments before the aliens destroy the base, moving their operations to Mifune’s home.

Mechagodzilla meets with Titanosaurus, and they begin a destructive rampage across Tokyo. Godzilla returns to face the two other monsters. He is knocked over by a strong wind created by Titanosaurus. As he gets up, he is blasted by the eye-lasers of Mechagodzilla. As he falls, Titanosaurus kicks Godzilla over a range of mountains. Not willing to give up, Godzilla continues the fight. But the pummeling and biting of Titanosaurus and the blasting by Mechagodzilla prove to be too much. He collapses in a heap and is dumped into a crevice. His adversaries bury him, and Titanosaurus dances a victory jig on the mound.

A helicopter carrying the just constructed Supersonic Beam Oscillator disrupts the alien control over the beast, confusing it. Mechagodzilla takes aim at the helicopter, but Godzilla rises again and blasts the metal monster with his nuclear breath. The two wage a fierce battle, with Godzilla managing to get within arms reach and begins to pound on the doppelganger.

Ichinose breaks free of his bonds as agents surround the house. Katsura holds him at gunpoint, but she is shot by one of the agents. As she lies wounded, Ichinose holds her in his arms and declares his love for her. But she confesses that the monster control device is inside her, and she must die to stop their rampage. She kills herself, causing Mechagodzilla to come to a stop. Godzilla rips its head, smashes Mechagodzilla, and drops it into a crevice. The aliens try to flee the planet, but their ships are blasted by Godzilla. The King of the Monsters blasts at Titanosaurus, who falls off a cliff into the ocean. The other giants defeated, Godzilla swims away.

written by Yuki Takayama
directed by Ishiro Honda
music by Akira Ifukabe

Human Cast: Katsuhiko Sasaki (Akira Ichinose), Tomoko Ai (Katsura Mifune), Akihiko Hirata (Dr. Shizou Mifune), Goro Mutsumi (Alien Leader)

Monster Cast: Godzilla, MechaGodzilla, Titanosaurus

Notes: Notes: The English language North American release includes a preamble about the origins of Godzilla, but removed a torture scene, the squishing of a couple of kids, Katsura’s suicide, and some sexual content. Most of these scenes were restored in the new DVD release from Classic Media, although the original English language cut can still be viewed at video.aol.com.
This concludes the Showa Era of Godzilla movies. No further Godzilla movies were produced until 1984.

LogBook entry by Robert Parson

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1984-95: Heisei Series Godzilla

Godzilla 1985

GodzillaA fishing vessel at sea is being battered by a fierce storm and is run aground on an island with an exploding volcano. The sailors hear a horrendous roar. The following morning, a man in a passing sailboat discovers the remains of the wrecked fishing vessel, finding a lone, shocked survivor. He relates his story of seeing a giant monster to authorities, who are certain Godzilla has reappeared.

After his story on the crashed ship is spiked due to national security issues, reporter Maki continues his investigation and visits Professor Hayashida. The scientist is studying genetic mutations, specifically Godzilla, who he says is indestructible and is a victim of the modern nuclear age. A sister to the survivor of the boat disaster is an aide to Prof Hayashida. Maki breaks the embargo on information about the ship, and tells Naoko that her brother survived. She runs to the hospital and cannot be restrained from reuniting with Ken.

A Soviet submarine makes sonar contact with a mysterious underwater shape. They fire torpedoes, but to no effect. The sub is attacked, explodes, and sinks. The sub disaster puts U.S. forces on alert. Japanese leaders report that Godzilla has reappeared, in an attempt to stop an escalation of superpower mobilization. The Japanese Prime Minister rejects U.S. and Soviet demands to use nuclear weapons against Godzilla.

Professor Hayashida speculates that Godzilla must feed on nuclear material, and will likely return to Japan soon. The military swings into action. Godzilla makes landfall at near nuclear power station. Feverish attempts are made to shut down the reactor. The beast rampages through the facility and consumes the radiation. He is distracted by a flock of birds and returns to the sea.

Steve Martin, who survived Godzilla’s first attack in Tokyo 30 years earlier, is summoned to Washington D.C. He tells the U.S. Commander that man-made weapons cannot stop Godzilla, he must be treated as a force of nature. Hayashida reports that Godzilla may be able to be lured to a volcano by using the same bird sounds that distracted him at the power station. Tokyo is evacuated when The King of the Monsters is spotted heading toward town..

Several war planes fire missiles at Godzilla in Tokyo Bay. He destroys a few of the planes, but continues onward. Ground based missiles are fired at the monster but he vaporizes the defense line with his nuclear breath. A Soviet ship captain, fatally wounded in the attack in the bay, sends a launch command to a nuclear missile on an orbiting platform. Godzilla enters the city and heads downtown, with the remaining citizens fleeing ahead of him. He presses on crashing into buildings and pulling a train off its tracks.

Watching at the U.S. Command Center, Martin says Godzilla is looking for something, and the key may be finding it. Meanwhile, the Japanese Defense Force begins its efforts to lure Godzilla to the volcano. As Godzilla passes their building, Hayashida, Mika, and Naoko use their bird-call device to distract Godzilla. The monster rips the lower floors of the building, forcing the three to escape to the roof. Laser cannons deployed by the army are unable to stop the beast from its rampage. A super-secret high-tech warcraft, the Super-X, is dispatched to battle Godzilla. It’s able to fire cadmium missiles into Godzilla’s mouth. He collapses into a building. But Steve Martin is not convinced Godzilla is dead.

The Soviet missile launches from orbit, and will explode over Tokyo in 30 minutes. The Japanese Foreign Minister asks the U.S. to try to shoot down the Soviet missile. As the nuclear missile continues on its deadly trajectory, Hayashida is rescued from the rooftop, but air turbulence is too strong to pick up the others. Mika and Naoko begin making their way to the street.

The American missile collides with the Soviet missile, causing a massive nuclear blast above the atmosphere. A radiation storm awakens Godzilla. The monster and the Super-X battle through the downtown. The ship uses its lasers against Godzilla while he unleashes his nuclear blast against the heavily armored aircraft. The ship is damaged and lands, but Godzilla drops a skyscraper on it. Having reached street level, Mika and Naoko flee through a burning city.

Hayashida turns on the bird-call machine. Godzilla hears the siren sound and stomps toward the volcano, which is on a nearby island. When he arrives, the volcano is reactivated by a series of explosions. With a mournful roar, Godzilla sinks into the molten lava.

screenplay by Shuichi Nagahara and Lisa Tomei
story by Tomoyuki Tanaka
directed by Koji Hashimoto and R.J. Kizer
music by Reijiro Koroku

Human Cast: Raymond Burr (Steve Martin), Keiju Kobayashi (Prime Minster Mitamura), Ken Tenaka (Goro Maki), Yasuko Sawaguchi (Naoko Okumura), Shin Takuma (Hiroshi Okumura), Yosuke Natsuki (Dr. Hayashida)

Monster Cast: Godzilla

Notes: After an absence of nine years, the producers brought Godzilla back to his roots as an unstoppable elemental force in a movie that ushered in the Heisei era. The North American distributor heavily re-edited 1984’s The Return Of Godzilla to create Godzilla 1985. There has not been a North American release on DVD of either The Return Of Godzilla or Godzilla 1985.

LogBook entry by Robert Parson

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1984-95: Heisei Series Godzilla

Godzilla Vs. Biollante

GodzillaGodzilla has fallen into a volcano, and Tokyo begins rebuilding following his onslaught. In the debris a research team discovers a chunk of Godzilla cells. But they are spirited away by a mercenary who delivers them to the Republic of Saradia. There, Dr. Shirigami plans on using the cells to create grains that can grow in harsher environments. A terrorist explosion at the lab destroys his hopes and kills his daughter.

Five years later, Shirigami is studying plant biology in Japan, believing the spirit of his daughter is in the roses. He is being assisted by Miki Saegusa, a clairvoyant. The Special Disaster Research Council- Godzilla Unit takes Miki on a helicopter tour over the volcano, who declares Godzilla is awake. A project is launched to create an Anti Nuclear Energy Bacteria, which would essentially eat nuclear material in the event of an accident. But they need some Godzilla cells. Shirigami agrees to help.

Rival biotechnology firm Bio Major sends a pair of thieves to break into Shirigami’s lab. They are interrupted by the mercenary from Saradia, who is also seeking to steal secrets. All three men are attacked by long, ropey strands that pull them away, but the mercenary is able to slip away. The creature disappears.

Bio Major demands the research on the bacteria, or it will set of explosives around the volcano containing Godzilla, causing his return. The Japanese government concedes.

At a lake near Shirigami’s lab, a creature rises. The giant stands on a thick tree-trunk like stalk, with long vines for arms, and is topped with a rose. Shirigami reveals he developed Biollante with Godzilla, plant cells, and DNA from his dead daughter.

Asuka and Sho meet a Bio Major agent to deliver several samples of the bacteria from Shirigami’s development, but are ambused by the Saradian assassin. The Bio Major agent tries to flee in a truck, but is killed by the Saradian, who takes the case containing the bacteria. Asuka and Sho are unable to stop the explosions on time and Godzilla rises from the volcano.

The Japanese Defense Force meets the King of the Monsters in the Pacific Ocean, and greets him with a barrage of canon fire and missiles. He destroys them without batting an eye. A newly rebuilt, more powerful Super-X is deployed against the advancing beast. It is able to reflect the nuclear blasts back to Godzilla. He retreats for a while, but Biollante calls out to him. Godzilla damages the Super-X and continues his path to Biollante.

The two monsters battle in the lake, with Biollante tying up Godzilla in its tendrils. Godzilla struggles against the bonds and unleashes a nuclear blast at Biollante that cuts like a scalpel and explodes the rose-head. Miki, who can still sense the bio-engineered creature, reports Biollante is dying. But in the inferno, Biollante releases pollen. Godzilla disappears into the ocean.

Miki is engaged by the military to find Godzilla, and finds him while in a helicopter. He appears to be headed to a nuclear power plant. A repaired Super-X is dispatched against the monster. With the Japanese Defense Force lying in wait at the power plant, Godzilla surfaces miles away at Osaka Bay. Using her ESPer powers, Miki attempts to contact Godzilla and delay his entry into Osaka.

Asuka and Sho snatch the Anti Nuclear Energy Bacteria from the Saradian business offices, just before Godzilla comes ashore. The King of the Monsters stomps through Osaka, leaving fire and destruction in his wake. The Super-X launches a barrage of missiles at Godzilla, but it only enrages the beast and he again destroys the Super-X. In several nearby buildings a team lead by Asuka and Sho use bazookas to fire the bacteria at Godzilla. Godzilla leaves, but the bacteria doesn’t seem to be working. His body temperature is too low to allow its growth. A plan is hatched to raise his temperature by using giant microwaves. Even that doesn’t work. It appears Godzilla is immune to the bacteria.

From out of the rain clouds, Biollante’s pollen falls, and a new hybrid creature rises from the ground. It is bulkier, and has more vines. Instead of a rose, Biollante’s head is more similar to Godzilla’s, only with a longer snout, with the vines ending in Venus Flytrap-like mouths. It advances toward Godzilla and stabs him in the shoulder and hands with its new blade-like tendrils. The two grapple. Godzilla stumbles away and falls into the ocean. The bacteria finally appears to have worked. Biollante disintegrates into a cloud of pollen, and Shirigami sees an image of his daughter in the rising pollen.

As he calls out to his daughter, Shirigami is shot and killed by the Saradian assassin. As he escapes, he steps into the microwave zone and is vaporized. Godzilla rises again. The water has lowered his body temperature, inhibiting the growth of the bacteria again. He heads off to sea.

screenplay by Kazuki Omori
story by Shinichiro Kobayashi
directed by Kazuki Omori
music by Koichi Sugiyama

Human Cast: Kunihiko Mitamura (Kazuhito Kirishima), Yoshiko Tanaka (Asuka Okouchi), Masanobu Takashima (Maj. Sho Kuroki), Megumi Odaka (Miki Saegusa), Koji Takashima (Dr. Shirigami)

Monster Cast: Godzilla, Biollante

Notes: As with The Return Of Godzilla (Godzilla 1985), Godzilla Vs. Biollante has not been released on DVD in North America. The VHS release can usually be found fairly inexpensively.

LogBook entry by Robert Parson

Categories
1984-95: Heisei Series Godzilla

Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah

GodzillaIn 2204, the remains of King Ghidorah, minus one head, are discovered beneath the ocean.

In 1992, Reporter Kenichiro Terasawa interviews World War II vet Ikehata, who claims his military unit was protected from U.S. forces by a dinosaur on Ragos Island. Terasawa beleives nuclear testing may have caused the dinosaur to become Godzilla. Industrialist and creator of Dinosaurworld Yosuki Shindo admits to seeing the dinosaur on Ragos Island when confronted by Tersawa.

A UFO is discovered in a glade. Japanese security and intelligence officials are greeted by it’s passengers. Wilson, Grenchiko, and Emmy Kano, who explain they are from the Earth Union of the future and will meet with the Japanese Prime Minister the following day. At the meeting, they say Godzilla will return, destroy nuclear power plants, and cause Japan to become inhabitable. They are there to stop the King of the Monsters. Emmy reveals a book written by Tarasawa about a massive battle with Godzilla, a book he has not yet written because the battle has yet to occur. The people from the future plan to return to Ragos Island and remove it prior to becoming Godzilla, eliminating the monster from Japan’s history. They take Terasawa, dinosaur expert Mazaki, and Miki Seagusa of the ESP Institute. Also on the trip is andriod M-11, and three bio-engineered creatures called Dorats, which look like large, brown bats.

In 1944, the time travelers arrive just as American ships begin shelling Ragos Island. The Japanese troops, including Shindo and Ikehata, are waging a losing defense against U.S. ground troops when suddenly a dinosaur appears. The creature destroys the American troops, but is seriously injured. The time travelers watch as the Japanese soldiers honor the Godzillasaurus. After the troops leave, the time travelers remove the monster using a teleport machine. The dorats are left in the island when the group returns to 1992.

There, Wilson and Grinchiko tell them Godzilla is no longer an historic figure, but King Ghidorah is. The nuclear explosions had merged the three dorats into one giant angry creature. Thier plan was to use the three headed monster to remove Japan from a future history in which it dominates the world economy. Ghidorah is laying waste to Japan. Feeling betrayed, Emmy flees.

Shindo agrees to allow his privately developed nuclear powered and nuclear armed submarine to turn the Godzillasaurus into the King of the Monsters, but is destroyed by Godzilla. A nuclear submarine that had sunk years previously irradiated the beast, turning it into Godzilla. Meanwhile, Ghidorah continues his attack. Godzilla makes landfall. He is much larger than before because he was subjected to a higher grade of nuclear radiation than in the previous timeline. Wilson orders Ghidorah to attack Godzilla. The three headed monster blasts at Godzilla with lightning-like bolts emanating from his mouths.

Ghidorah is getting the upper hand, when explosives in the time machine are set off by Emmy, Terasawa, and M-11, causing Wilson and Grinchiko to lose control over Ghidorah. The machine though is set to automatically return to the future in the event of serious damage. Emmy, Terasawa, and the android escape the ship by fleeing in a smaller time machine. Godzilla has managed to defeat Ghidorah and uses his nuclear blast to severe one of Ghidorah’s heads. M-11 uses the teleporter to send the larger machine to the creature’s battlefield. Moments before the automatic controls return the ship to the future, it is destroyed by Godzilla.

Sapporo prepares for an attack by Godzilla. Thier defenses are useless as he smashes through the city. M-11 and Emmy return to the future to “fix” Ghidorah and bring him back to the 20th century. This time, they’ll use the golden beast to stop Godzilla from destroying Japan.

Godzilla is attacking Tokyo. Shindo, though refuses to evacuate. The same monster that saved him 50 years earlier is now destroying all he built. Godzilla recognizes the industrialist when he finds him. Shindo is incinerated with a blast from Godzilla. He continues his rampage through Tokyo, but is met by Mecha-King Ghidorah. It has a new mechanical head, wings, and torso with Emmy piloting and M-11 as the computer brains. The two monsters wage a back and forth battle, with Godzilla finally blasting the refurbished monster out of the sky, knocking Emmy unconscious. Before he can deliver the killing blow, Emmy awakens and launches several thick cables that wrap around Godzilla. Mecha King Ghidorah carries Godzilla out to sea, both of the creatures falling when Godzilla blasts at his opponant.

The smaller time machine rises out of the ocean. Emmy reveals that Terasawa is one of her ancestors as she returns to her time. Godzilla, however, is still alive.

screenplay by Kazuki Omori
directed by Kazuki Omori
music by Akira Ifukube

Human Cast: Kosike Toyohara (Kenichiro Tarasawa), Anna Nakagawa (Emmy Kano), Megumi Odaka (Miki Saegusa), Yoshio Tsuchiya (Yasuaki Shindo)

Monster Cast: Godzilla, King Ghidorah, Dorat, Godzillasaurus, Mecha King Ghidorah

LogBook entry by Robert Parson

Categories
1984-95: Heisei Series Godzilla

Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle For Earth

GodzillaA huge flaming meteor splashes into the Pacific Ocean in the Ogasawara Trench, near Godzilla. It creates a typhoon that reveals a giant, rainbow colored egg. Takuya, Masako, and Kenji are sent to recover the egg on Infant Island. Meanwhile, another creature with red glowing eyes and a high pitched screech is awakened.

After several days, the team finds a cave with ancient paintings, one of which includes a butterfly and some sort of bat-like creature. The three press on and find the egg. Two women, less than a foot tall, calling themselves The Cosmos, tell the team the egg is Mothra. 12 thousand years earlier, and advanced civilization had created a weather machine, which had greatly offended the Earth. The Earth sent a monster, Battra, to destroy the humans. Mothra however defeated Battra, who had been sleeping in the sea. But pollution was threatening to bring Battra back.

The CEO of the Marutomo Corporation puts plans in motion to bring the egg to Japan. The Cosmos volunteer to go also. A larval form of Battra, however, is already on its way. Burrowing underground, Battra arrives in Nagoya and tears through the city. Lightning bolts from it’s eyes and a horn on its head easily render the Japanese Defense Force irrelevant. Battra destroys much of Nagoya, and burrows underground again.

The ship pulling Mothra’s egg behind it encounters Godzilla near the Philippines. As the King of the Monsters approaches, the egg hatches! The Mothra larva escapes before Godzilla can destroy it with his nuclear breath. Mothra distracts Godzilla in an attempt to let the ship slip away. Battra arrives and battles both of the other monsters. Battra and Godzilla fight underwater. Thier fight is interrupted by a volcanic eruption, and it’s believed they are killed in the molten rock. Mothra returns to Infant Island and the ship continues to Japan. Once there, Ando steals the Cosmos, with plans to exploit them for marketing purpose by the Marutomo Company. Locked away, the Cosmos sing out to Mothra, who begins the journey to Japan to rescue them.

Attempts to stop Mothra are useless. The larva destroys the Naval aramada sent against it. On its way to rescue the tiny girls, it is no respecter of property and smashes through the city. Takuya and Masako find the girls. Finding they are safe, Mothra leaves. But as it does, the giant larva collapses onto the capital building and encases itself in a cocoon.

Volcanic Mount Fuji explodes. Ando, who has had a change of heart, tells the CEO of the Marutomo company the Earth is getting its revenge for the damage caused by humans, and walks out.

Godzilla rises from the volcano and heads towards Tokyo. Back at the capital building, Mothra emerges from the cocoon as a giant, beautiful, rainbow colored butterfly. She spreads her wings and flies off to battle Battra. Meanwhile, out to sea, the larval Battra transforms into a giant bat and flies off. JDF units wage a fierce, but futile, battle in an attempt to change Godzilla’s direction.

As Godzilla approaches, Mothra and Battra meet in the sky over Yokahoma. Godzilla crashes through the city while the flying creatures do battle. Battra forces Mothra to the ground at a theme park in the harbor area. Godzilla finds the others and is attacked by Battra. Using it’s lightning blasts, Battra drops a building on the giant lizard. The King of the Monsters rises from the rubble, grabs Battra, and flings it to the ground. He blasts at it with his nuclear breath. Lightning from the injured Mothra stuns Godzilla. She flies to Battra, who gives her renewed energy.

Mothra rises to attack the approaching Godzilla. Using lightning blasts and glittery dander from her wings she appears to win the battle, but Godzilla is able to beat her back with a nuclear pulse. She crashes into a ferris wheel, but Battra grabs it before it can crush her. Battra slams the wheel into Godzilla, who falls to the ground. Both flying beasts blast at Godzilla from above. Godzilla tries to defend himself, but is confused by the onslaught. He struggles against the dander and the lightning before falling in a heap.

Battra grabs Godzilla, who bites into its neck. Mothra grabs onto Godzilla’s tail. The two carry the monster away from the battlefield. Battra is bleeding profusely from the neck bite, and Godzilla blasts at him with his nuclear breath, killing the giant bat. Mothra releases its grip on Godzilla’s tail and drops the pair into the ocean.

Keeping a vow with Battra, Mothra leaves the Earth to change the course of an oncoming planet-killing asteroid, a possibly deadly task that Battra would have performed if Godzilla had not reappeared.

screenplay by Kazuki Omori
directed by Takao Okawara
music by Akira Ifukube

Human Cast: Testuya Bessho (Takuya Fujita), Satomi Kobayashi (Masako Tezuka), Takehiro Murata (Kenji Andoh)

Monster Cast: Godzilla, Mothra, Battra

LogBook entry by Robert Parson

Categories
1984-95: Heisei Series Godzilla

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II

GodzillaLifting the remains of Mecha King Ghidorah from the ocean, Japanese officials begin work on Mechagodzilla, a robot they hope will defeat the King of the Monsters.

A scientific expedition on a remote island finds fossilized pteranodon remains and an intact giant egg. As they prepare to ship it to Japan, Rodan swoops down and destroys the encampment. Godzilla rises from the ocean and the two beasts taunt each other. While they battle, the humans escape on a helicopter with the egg.

The egg is taken to Kyoto for study. Kazuma Aoka, who is in a Mechagodzilla training program, checks out the egg as a pteranodon enthusiast, but is run off by Azusa, one of the researchers. Several days later, the egg hatches! Instead of a flying dinosaur as expected, a cute little (6 foot) baby Godzillasaur emerges and becomes attached to Azusa.

Following the path of the egg, Godzilla arrives near Kyoto. G-Force deploys Mechagodzilla.. They face off in a wooded hilly area. The metal monster blasts at Godzilla with several types of energy weapons, with little effect. Godzilla uses his nuclear fire against Mechagodzilla, but it just sheds off the diamond skin like water on a waxed car hood. Using a “Plasma Grenade” beam, the robot knocks Godzilla to the ground. More weapons are used against the felled giant, who writhes in pain. Just as it appears Mechagodzilla is going to defeat Godzilla, a malfunction immobilizes the robot. Godzilla continues his march to Kyoto, swatting away the conventional forces sent against him. Azusa and Kazuma suspect the baby dinosaur may be calling to Godzilla. When the King of the Monsters arrives at the building with Godzillasaur, he turns and leaves.

Repairs are being affected to Mechagodzilla. Meanwhile, Kazuma is performing maintenance on Garuda, a flying battle tank that was superseded by the robot. Officials decide to use the friendly monster to lure Godzilla into a trap.

Recovered from his wounds, Rodan flies in causing extensive damage. He apparently is also hearing the call of the Godzillasaur. The giant pteranodon grabs the container with “Baby” and and Azusa inside and leaves.

With repairs attached, Mechagodzilla is deployed against Rodan, with Garuda deployed separately. Rodan is attempting to break open the container with the Godzillasaur when the two machines arrive. Garuda distracts Rodan, which forces Garuda to crash into a building. Mechagodzilla blasts at the flying monster with its Plasma Grenade, knocking it out the sky.

As Rodan lies bleeding profusely, a team from G-Force attempts to free the baby and Azusa from the container. Godzilla rises from the bay and again faces Mechagodzilla. The blast at each other with fire from their mouths. Godzilla stumbles, but renews his attack against a damaged Mechagodzilla. He picks it up, tosses it aside, and slams at it with his tail.

Kazuma has managed to repair Garuda and presses an assault against Godzilla. While he is distracted, Mechagodzilla uses a flying tackle to knock over the beast. With Godzilla lying stunned, Garuda attaches to the back of Mechagodzilla. Together they form Super Mechagodzilla, and continue their attack.

They advance against Godzilla, firing most the beam weapons simultaneously. The Plasma Grenade, now recharged, is used and knocks him down again. He rises again, only to be shot with a new weapon called the G-Crusher. It launches two spikes with power lines attached into Godzilla’s body. Incredible jolts of electricity are fired through the lines, causing him excruciating pain.

The Godzillasaur breaks out of the container and cries out. It awakens Rodan, who flies to Godzilla, only to be shot down by Mechagodzilla. It falls onto the King of the Monsters, but its life energy is transferred into Godzilla, who rises again with renewed strength. The same energy that brought Godzilla back to life also weakens the robot’s armor. Godzilla blasts at it again and again. Mechagodzilla lies broken and burning. The crew escapes.

With her heart breaking, Azusa flies off in a helicopter, leaving behind the Godzillasaur. The smaller monster swims off with the giant.

screenplay by Wataru Mimura
directed by Takao Okawara
music by Akira Ifukube

Human Cast: Masahiro Takashima (Kazuma Aoki), Ryoko Sano (Azusa Gojo), Megumi Odaka (Miki Saegusa)

Monster Cast: Godzilla, Mechagodzilla, Rodan, baby Godzillasaur

LogBook entry by Robert Parson

Categories
1984-95: Heisei Series Godzilla

Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla

GodzillaOn a remote island in the Pacific, G-Force members Koji Shinjo, Kiyoshi Sato, and Major Akira Yuki discover the baby Godzilla, and strange crystalline shaped formations. Shinjo and Sato are attempting to control the King of the Monsters, while Yuki plans on killing Godzilla. Meanwhile, telepath Miki Saegusa is contacted by Mothra’s familiars, the Cosmos, who tell her a monster has arrived to kill Godzilla, and then conquer the Earth.

A Godzilla-like monster, encrusted with crystals, is heading toward Earth. A giant robot, Mogera, is dispatched to intercept the SpaceGodzilla. Miki has joined the G-Force team on the island and contacts Godzilla after a telepathic amplifier is implanted in his neck.

In the asteroid belt, SpaceGodzilla easily defeats the robot, and Mogera spins out of control. Soon thereafter, it arrives at the same South Pacific island, and is energized by the crystalline structures. It attacks little Godzilla with lightning bolts from its mouth, but now faces Godzilla’s wrath. Godzilla’s fiery breath, though, is deflected by a forcefield. Spacegodzilla takes to the air and encircles the other two monsters, blasting at Godzilla until he falls. The alien beast uses telekenetic powers to send little Godzilla into one of the structures. It flies off, leaving Godzilla to lick his wounds.

A study of cells found near the battle indicate SpaceGodzilla was created by Godzilla cells that managed to get into space, where they grew and mutated.

Yuki heads a team with Shinjo and Sato and fly a repaired Mogera into battle against Spacegodzilla who has arrived in Fukuoka. Mogera attacks the alien beast, with limited effect, ending with the robot crashing to ground. Godzilla arrives and faces off against Spacegodzilla.

The alien beast quickly renders Godzilla unconscious, lifts him in the air, and throws him into a skyscraper. Godzilla picks himself up and approaches the other beast, but Spacegodzilla is floating in the air and attacking again with lighting. Godzilla blasts at the crystalline structures, weakening his opponent. SpaceGodzilla launches the missile shaped crystals at Godzilla, to slow the approaching King of the Monsters. Godzilla’s nuclear fire is glancing off the other’s force field.

The crew of Mogera separate the Star Falcon from the rest of the robot and close in for an attack while Godzilla attempts to destroy the alien’s power source. Mogera burrows underground, as the Falcon flies into battle. Separately they manage to sneak up on SpaceGodzilla and surprise him while his forcefield is down. The Falcon docks with Mogera, and the robot and Godzilla double team against the the space monster. Godzilla and SpaceGodzilla wrestle, with Godzilla thrown off. SpaceGodzilla turns its attentions to Mogera, severely damaging it. Shinjo and Sato abandon the robot, with Yuki staying behind. With SpaceGodzilla distracted, Godzilla gathers himself up and, with renewed strength, slams into the other monster. Yuki struggles to bring the robot back into the fray, but and manages to slam into SpaceGodzilla, causing it to fall. But the robot is spent and crashes into a building.

SpaceGodzilla rises up, and continues the battle. Godzilla is emitting energy, which will cause SpaceGodzilla to explode. Yuki escapes from Mogera moments before SpaceGodzilla explodes in a massive fireball. Little Godzilla is freed from his imprisonment.

Godzilla exits the battlefield, but there are hints that there may be another space monster.

screenplay by Hiroshi Kashiwabra
directed by Kensho Yamashita
music by Takayuki Hattori

Human Cast: Jun Hashizume (Lt. Koji Shinjo), Megumi Odaka (Miki Saegusa), Akira Emoto (Major Akira Yuki) Zenkichi Yoneyama (Lt. Kiyoshi Sato)

Monster Cast: Godzilla, SpaceGodzilla, Mothra, Mogera, Little Godzilla

LogBook entry by Robert Parson

Categories
1984-95: Heisei Series Godzilla

Godzilla vs. Destroyah

GodzillaGodzilla, with his chest glowing red hot, surfaces at Hong Kong. He destroys the harbor area, and returns to the ocean, creating massive amounts of steam. Godzilla is overheating. It’s quite likely an explosion of Godzilla caused by the nuclear fission taking place in his body could destroy the world.

A scientist has developed “micro-oxygen” with plans to use it to end world hunger. But it also turns out to be very similar in composition to the oxygen destroyer developed by Dr. Serizawa when battling Godzilla in the mid 1950s. Plans are made to use the new research to find a way to kill Godzilla.

A fish kill at a Tokyo museum is determined to have been caused by pre-historic microorganisms that reacted to the original oxygen destroyer. Several have now grown over ten feet tall and are infesting an industrial area. They look like giant ticks with long necks, and can emit a destructive heat beam from their mouths. With great loss of life, a Special Forces unit destroys some of the creatures, but is overwhelmed

Godzilla arrives in Tokyo, and is heading toward a nuclear power plant, in an attempt to get more fuel to feed the fission that is also killing him. G-Force dispatches the Super-X III against the King of the Monsters. They encounter Godzilla in Tokyo Bay and use freeze weapons to cool him down. The threat of explosion has been eliminated. Once he thaws out, Godzilla heads back out to sea.

Little Godzilla has grown substantially, and now resembles Godzilla, only shorter. It’s moving toward the Bering Sea, with Godzilla following. But Godzilla’s temperature is rising again. This time, though, instead of exploding, he would melt down, burning to and destroying the core of the Earth.

Several of the Destroyah break out of the industrial facility, and combine into one giant monster. It easily destroys the military units surrounding it and flies off. A reluctant Migi Saegusa agrees to use her psi powers to draw Little Godzilla to Destroyah. The plan is to use Destroyah’s oxygen destroying capabilities to eliminate Godzilla before he can melt down. Destroyah and Little Godzilla converge in downtown Tokyo.

Little Godzilla is taking a beating. Destroyah has him on the ground and is inserting micro-oxygen into the Little Godzilla, weakening him. Little Godzilla uses his nuclear breath to blast Destroyah off him. Godzilla, burning and smoking, arrives in Tokyo. He meets up with his younger name-sake.

Destroyah, emerges from a burning area of the city, mutated and much larger than before. Meanwhile, Godzilla’s temperature continues to increase. The Super X III is again sent to try to chill him down. Destroyah flies in and snatches Little Godzilla, dropping beast into a building and then blasting at it, killing Little Godzilla.

Destroyah and Godzilla face off. Destroyah gets the upper hand, and drags the other monster into the bay. Godzilla picks himself up and makes his way to the body of Little Godzilla. But Destroyah stands in his way. With his body overheating from the extra energy, Godzilla blasts at Destroyah several times. Destroyah dissaembles itself into several smaller monsters, but Godzilla smashes them.

Godzilla again moves toward Little Godzilla. Super X III approaches Godzilla. The King of the Monsters bends down to transfer some of his life energy to the younger creature, but is interrupted by another attack by Destroyah. Using its tail, it lassos Godzilla and throws him aside. Godzilla is beginning to melt down, emitting concentric bands of energy as he does so. To keep Destroyah from escaping, G-Force units blast at it with freeze weapons, causing it to crash to the ground, dead.

Godzilla has now reached super-critical temperature and is melting. G-Force launches a constant barrage of freeze weapons to keep him from melting to the Earth’s core. The heat and the cold make his body unstable and it dissolves. The radiation increases to massive levels, but then subsides. It’s been absorbed by Little Godzilla, who rises from the ashes of Tokyo.

The King of the Monsters is dead. Long Live Godzilla.

screenplay by Kazuki Omori
directed by Takao Okawara
music by Akira Ifukube

Human Cast: Yasufuni Hayashi (Kenichi Yamani), Yoko Ishino (Yukari Yamane), Megumi Odaka (Miki Saegusa), Takura Tatsumi (Kensaku Ijuin)

Monster Cast: Godzilla, Destroyah, Little Godzilla

Notes: Momoko Kochi reprises her role as Emiko Yamani from the original Gojira. This ends the Heisei series of Godzilla movies. The next was the U.S.-made Godzilla. The next Godzilla movie produced by Toho Studios of Japan would be Godzilla 2000.

LogBook entry by Robert Parson

Categories
Godzilla Other

Godzilla

GodzillaLizard eggs are irradiated as a result of a nuclear test in the South Pacific. Years later, a commercial shipping vessel is attacked and sunk by a giant creature in the South Pacific. The only answer given by a survivor to a French agent is that they were attacked by “Gojira.”

Nuclear research scientist Niko Tatopoulos is pulled away from his worm research near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster to study giant radioactive footprints in Panama. He later investigates a ship that has been beached. It appears to have giant claw marks.

Off the Eastern Coast of the U.S, three fishing trawlers are pulled backwards and sunk by something caught in their nets. The military/scientific crew Tatopoulos has been drafter into receives word of the boats sinking. Tatopoulos suggests it may be a new creature never before seen.

A giant two-footed lizard trashes a fish market in New York City. It moves on to the interior of the city and pulls down a building near a speech by Mayor Ebert, and continues inward. The monster disappears.

Manhattan is evacuated as the military movies in. A search team finds discovers that the creature has entered the subway system and may have slipped out of the secure zone. A convoy of city trucks dump tons of fresh fish on Fifth Avenue near the flatiron building. The monster takes the bait, but is spooked by gunfire and flees. It’s chased by three armed helicopters. A pair of sidewinder missles are fired, but it dodges those and they explode into the Chrysler building. The beast manages to sneak behind the choppers and destroy them. It disappears again.

Tatopoulos collects some blood samples left by the monster, and discovers the creature is asexual, and appears to be nesting in New York. His former girlfriend (and Audrey is her name), who is an intern at a TV station, grabs a “Top Secret” video tape that, includes footage from other areas the monster has attacked, and the questioning of the survivor from the South Pacific sinking. Her boss takes credit for the information and mispronounces the monster’s name as “Godzilla.” Tatopoulos is removed from the project since he was the source of the leak, although his former girlfriend took it without his knowledge. He is snatched by the French agent, who convinces the scientist to help him find the nest. The agent reveals nuclear testing by the French government was the likely cause of the creature, and his team is trying to hide that secret.

Tatopolous and the French team are followed by Audrey and her cameraman into the New York underground. Godzilla crashes through some walls and moves through the subway before resurfacing near Central Park, where another fish trap has been set. Soldiers jump the gun, so to speak, and fire on Godzilla before it reaches the trap. It runs off and slips into the river, where a naval submarines are waiting. They fire torpedoes at the creature, but it swims around and dodges the torpedo, which explodes into one of the subs. As Godzilla attempts to come ashore, more torpedoes are fired. This time they strike the monster, apparently killing it.

Meanwhile, the French team, still followed by the reporters, arrives in a damaged Madison Square Garden. Inside the stadium are of hundreds of eggs over ten feet tall each. As the foreign soldiers are setting explosives, the eggs begin to hatch! And the baby Godzillas are hungry.

Several members of the French team are munched before they can finish setting the explosives. Tatopolous and the French agent manage to escape. Audry and her cameraman also escape the stadium separately. But the monsters are close behind. The four meet up as they are being chased by the babies.

They evacuate to the broadcast center and send a message that the monsters are at MSG and the building must be destroyed before the creatures can escape. The military dispatches three fighter jets. The four humans escape the broadcast center just as several of the creatures break on. They elude the monsters as they flee the building moments before it’s destroyed, killing all the baby Godzillas.

From the ruins of Madison Square Garden, the original monster crashes through the floor. Angered by the deaths of its children, it chases the humans through the city streets. They rush past an American military unit, which tunes into the cab’s radio frequency. They hatch a plan to lure Godzilla to the Brooklyn Bridge. It gets caught in the suspension cables and the fighter jets fire missiles into the monster, scoring several direct hits. But with the death of Godzilla, there is sadness. He is only a wild beast, just as a deer caught on city streets.

Back at Madison Square Garden, a lone egg hatches…

story by Ted Elliot & Terry Rossio and Dean Devlin & Roland Emmerich
screenplay by Dean Devlin & Roland Emmerich
directed by Roland Emmerich
music by David Arnold

Human Cast: Matthew Broderick (Dr. Niko Tatopoulos), Jean Reno (Philippe Roache), Maria Pitillo (Audrey Timmonds), Hank Azaria (Victor ‘Animal’ Palotti), Kevin Dunn (Colonel Hicks), Michael Lerner (Mayor Ebert), Harry Shearer (Charles Caiman), Arabella Field (Lucy Palotti), Vicki Lewis (Dr. Elsie Chapman), Doug Savant (Sergeant O’Neal), Malcolm Danare (Dr. Mendel Craven), Lorry Goldman (Mayor’s Aide), Christian Aubert (Jean-Luc), Philippe Bergeron (Jean-Claude), Frank Bruynbroek (Jean-Pierre), Francois Giroday (Jean-Philippe), Nicholas J. Giangiulio (WIDF Engineer), Robert Lesser (Murray), Ralph Manza (Old Fisherman), Greg Callahan (Governor), Chris Ellis (General Anderson), Nancy Cartwright (Caiman’s Secretary), Richard Gant (Admiral Phelps), Jack Moore (Leonard), Steve Giannelli (Jules), Brian Farabaugh (Arthur), Stephen Xavier Lee (Lieutenant Anderson), Bodhi Elfman (Freddie), Rich Battista (Jimmy), Lloyd Kino (Tanker Cook), Toshi Toda (Tanker Captain), Clyde Kusatsu (Tanker Skipper), Masaya Kato (Japanese Tanker Crewman), Glenn Morshower (Kyle Terrington), Lola Pashalinski (Pharmacist), Rob Fukuzaki (WFKK Co-Anchor), Dale Harimoto (WKXI Anchor), Gary W. Cruz (WFKK Anchor), Derek Webster (Utah Captain), Stuart Fratkin (Utah Ensign), Frank Cilberg (Utah Sailor #1), Jason Edward Jones (Utah Sailor #2), Roger McIntyre (Utah Sailor #3), David Pressman (Anchorage Captain), Robert Faltisco (Anchorage Ensign #1), Christopher Darius Maleki (Anchorage Ensign #2), Scott Lusby (Anchorage Ensign #3), Alex Dodd (Anchorage Sailor), Terence Paul Winter (Apache Pilot #1), Kirk Geiger (Apache Pilot #2), Pat Mastroianni (Apache Pilot #3), Eric Saiet (Apache Pilot #4), Burt Bulos (Apache Pilot #5), Robert Floyd (Apache Pilot #6), Seth Peterson (Apache Pilot #7), Jamison Yang (F-18 Pilot #1), Nathan Anderson (F-18 Pilot #2), Mark Munafo (F-18 Pilot #3), Dwight Schmidt (F-18 Pilot #4), Dwayne Swingler (Raven Pilot #2), Lawton Paseka (Officer), Greg Collins (Humvee Soldier), James Black (Soldier), Thomas Giuseppe Giantonelli (Soldier), Paul Ware (Soldier), Montae Russell (Soldier on Plane), Christopher Carruthers (Radio Technician #1), Daniel Pearce (Radio Technician #2), Mark Fite (Radio Operator), Craig Castaldo (Radioman), Eric Paskel (Rodgers), Lee Weaver (Homeless Man #1), Leonard Termo (Homeless Man #2), Joshua Taylor (Spotter), Al Sapienza (Taxi Driver), Stoney Westmoreland (Tunnel Guard), Gary Warner (Gun Technician), Ed Wheeler (New York Cop), Bill Hoag (New Jersey Cop), Joseph Badalucco Jr. (Forklift Driver), Jonathan Dienst (Field Reporter #1), Benjamin V. Baird (Field Reporter #6), Madeline McFadden (Reporter #1), Julian M. Phillips (Reporter #2), Raymond Ramos (Reporter #5)

Monster Cast: Godzilla, Baby Godzillas (over 200)

Notes: In fandom, this creature is affectionately known as “GINO,” or “Godzilla In Name Only.” Even though it has been rejected by Toho as part of the official Godzilla continuity, it has been referred to in later Toho films, either in sly remarks or by reproducing some of the visual effects. The monster design makes an appearance in Godzilla: Final Wars and is quickly dispatched by the real Godzilla. Here at theLogBook.com, we debated long into the night whether to include this as part of the episode guide. In the end we chose to do so, since this would be the “elephant in the room” (albeit a large green scaly radioactive elephant) if we did not.

LogBook entry by Robert Parson

Categories
1999-2004: Millennium Series Godzilla

Godzilla 2000: Millennium

GodzillaGodzilla’s movements are being tracked by the Godzilla Prediction Network, a small private research group, lead by Yuji Shinoda and his daughter Io. They are accompanied by reporter Yuki Ichinose. As they exit a tunnel, they literally come face to face with the King of the Monsters. They escape by driving in reverse back through the tunnel. Godzilla continues inward from the sea, wrecking damage throughout the countryside. The three manage to stay ahead of the monster.

Meanwhile, the Crisis Control Intelligence, lead by Mitsuo Katagiri, is raising an ancient structure from deep under the sea. As they continue their studies on the ocean’s surface, Katagiri is called away to Tokai, where Godzilla is approaching a nuclear power plant. Shinoda and Katagiri have opposing goals: the head of the GPN wants to study Godzilla, the leader of CCI wants the beast killed.

The JDF arrives to defend Tokai. Officials declare that a new missile will cut through Godzilla “like crap through a goose.” Helicopters and tanks attempt to stall Godzilla with standard ordnance as he approaches the beach, but he continues to advance. The new missiles are fired at Godzilla, but have limited success. Meanwhile, the structure at sea zooms into the air. It flies slowly past Godzilla, but examines his DNA. It fires a massive energy beam at the monster, knocking him over. The two trade shots, with Godzilla using his atomic fire. He’s pushed back into the ocean, but his blast has shattered some of the rock covering the structure to reveal something metallic. Godzilla returns to the sea. It’s now believed the structure is some sort of space craft that crashed into the ocean millennia ago, and was awakened by the sunlight.

Shinoda asks Katagiri to use CCI labs to study Godzilla skin samples, and agrees to share information. He discovers that Godzilla has incredible regenerative powers and is virtually indestructible. He calls the new cell structures “Regenerator G1.” Shinoda hopes to put the information to medical purposes.

The following morning, the UFO breaks out of its stone shell and lifts off, landing at City Tower in Shinjuku. There, it downloads information about Godzilla. CCI plants bombs in City Tower, but Yuki is in the building trying to find out why the alien ship is interested in Godzilla. Shinoda dashes off to rescue her. They manage to escape as the tower comes crashing down.

The alien ship, though, is untouched. The aliens are planning on creating their own kingdom on Earth, using Regenerator G1 to help them take new form. Godzilla arrives to do battle. The aliens subjugate Godzilla and acquire G1 cells, and create a tentacle creature with a flattened head.

Godzilla recovers from his injuries and smashes the alien ship with a nuclear blast. The G1 cells have mutated the alien into a hunchbacked monster with giant claw arms and a vaguely Godzilla-like head. It knocks Godzilla into a building with an energy blast from its shoulder. Godzilla gets up and while he’s distracted Orga telepatheically directs the remains of the ship to slam into Godzilla. The King of the Monsters gets up and begins wrestling with the mutated monster.

Orga bites Godzilla and tries to absorb more G1 cells in an attempt to become a Godzilla clone. The space monster tries to swallow Godzilla, but with his head inside the alien’s throat he uses a massive blast to destroy the creature from within. He then turns and smashes his human nemesis, Katagiri, before stomping through the city.

written by Hiroshi Kashiwabara and Wataru Mimura
directed by Takao Okawara
music by Takayuki Hattori

Human Cast: Takehiro Murata (Yuji Shinoda), Mayu Suzuki (Io Shinoda), Hiroshi Abe (Misuo Katagiri), Naomi Nishida (Yuki Ichinose)

Monster Cast: Godzilla, Orga, Mutated Orga

Notes: This begins the “Millennium” series of Godzilla movies, and is the first following the U.S.-produced Godzilla. Although there is no acknowledgment to that movie as part of the Godzilla continuity, there are several visual references to the U.S. movie, the most obvious is a recreation of the giant eye used for much of the 1998 movie’s promotion. Otherwise, the U.S. version of Godzilla 2000 is roughly eight minutes shorter than the Japanese version. Many of the alterations, and the logic behind them, are described in the audio commentary.

LogBook entry by Robert Parson

Categories
1999-2004: Millennium Series Godzilla

Godzilla vs. Megaguirus

GodzillaAnti-Godzilla task force G-Grasper presses Hajime Kudo to help them develop a black hole weapon to suck in Godzilla and trap him inside. Three months later, a child is running to a friend’s house to show off his insect collection when he spots a super secret science experiment. He watches the test firing of the Dimension Tide. The cannon fires a black hole at an empty warehouse, imploding the building and trapping much of the mountainside as well. It also creates a wormhole. Later that night the boy hears a great rushing of wings and follows it to the wormhole just as a giant insect flies in. He also discovers some sort of egg and takes it home. It starts oozing and he dumps the icky egg into a storm drain.

Two construction workers and a pair of young lovers are the first to die violent deaths from a giant dragonfly- like creature. The Meganulon evolves into a Meganula and flies away. Godzilla is spotted by radar out to sea, with the Meganula nearby. The G-Grasper VTOL unit “Fighter Griffon” is sent to investigate. They find the carcass of the Meganula floating on the surface. As they take samples, Godzilla rises. Major Tsujimori attaches a tracking device onto the beast.

The completed Dimension Tide is launched into orbit. The plan is to launch the black hole at Godzilla from space.

Meanwhile destruction of much of the water system by the Meganulon has caused Tokyo to be flooded. Using some of their Godzilla tracking equipment, G-Grasper finds more eggs in the flood zone. A unit sent to destroy the eggs instead finds they have hatched into thousands of Meganula.

By angering Godzilla, the beast has been herded to a remote island where the Dimension Tide will be fired at him. But the Meganula fly around the island, confusing the targeting system. The black hole is launched anyway. It pounds into the island creating a giant hole and destroying most of the Meganula. But it has missed the King of the Monsters. The remaining insects flee the island. Godzilla leaves, apparently for Tokyo.

Back at the flooded city, the Meganula gather at a giant larva, transfer their life energy to it, and die. The larva splits apart. Megaguirus splashes out of the water and flies off, emitting a deafening and destructive high frequency sonic pulse.

Godzilla surfaces at Tokyo Bay and is attacked by Megaguirus, which is defending and trying to enlarge its territory. The mutated insect slams Godzilla to the ground. He gets up and blasts at the bug, but misses. It uses its sonic pulse in an attempt to disable Godzilla. The lizard grabs the Megaguirus and the pair wrestle. The insect jabs its stinger into Godzilla, sucking away some of his life force before he can break away. The flying creature sneaks around to attack, but Godzilla snatches its pincher with his tail and flings him into a building. It picks itself up for another attack and jams its stinger inside Godzilla again. This time, Godzilla rips it away from him and shoves his adversary’s stinger into the ground. With a mighty leap, he body slams Megaguirus from above. The insect slips from his grasp and flies off. As they face each other, the giant dragonfly unleashes a ball of energy that stuns Godzilla. It flies in for the fatal blow and aims the stinger for Godzilla’s face! There’s a horrible crunching sound as the world gasps! But Godzilla has grabbed the stinger with his mouth! He crunches down on the stinger like a soda cracker. Megaguirus, grievously wounded, backs away. The King of the Monsters blasts Megaguirus with his nuclear fire, bringing down the insect in a burning heap.

Godzilla continues his destructive path through Tokyo to the Science Institute. It’s revealed that secret Plasma Energy experiments have been conducted there. As he brings the building down, the Dimension Tide is falling out of orbit due to monster-caused damage to some land based components. It’s fired one last time before it disintegrates. Godzilla unleashes a nuclear blast at the incoming black hole. There’s a massive explosion and implosion that reduces central Tokyo to rubble. When the smoke clears, Godzilla is nowhere to be found.

Months later, though, questionable seismic activity is detected. Godzilla may have somehow escaped the black hole.

screenplay by Hiroshi Kashiwabara and Wataru Mimura
directed by Masaaki Tezuka
music by Michiru Ohshima

Human Cast: Misato Tanaka (Kiriko Tsujimori), Shosuke Tanihara (Hajime Kudo), Masato Tanihara (Motohiko Sugiura)

Monster Cast: Godzilla, Meganulon, Meganula, Megaguirus

Notes: As with several of the Millennium Series of movies, Godzilla vs. Megaguirus dispenses with most of the previous Godzilla continuity and creates its own. In flashback sequences, Godzilla appears in 1954, 1966, and 1996. Don’t leave your seats! There’s more action following the end credits.

LogBook entry by Robert Parson

Categories
1999-2004: Millennium Series Godzilla

Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All Out Attack

GodzillaJapanese naval experts are assisting the U.S. Navy in the search for a missing submarine near Guam. They spot Godzilla, who has apparently been reawakened after 50 years by the radiation released by the smashed sub.

A pair of earthquakes with moving epicenters rock the Mount Myoko region. At one, a terrified truck driver sees a monstrous face in the crumbling debris. Later at a beach party at Lake Ikeda, a group of drunken revelers are pulled underwater. A larval Mothra comes ashore.

TV Reporter Yuri Tachibana has been researching “Guardian Monsters” and decides to investigate the mysterious events. Baragon, Mothra, and Ghidorah are identified in an ancient book as being the protective creatures of legend. Meanwhile, Godzilla is described by an old man as having the collective souls of those killed during World War Two, seeking revenge against those who wish to forget the war. Baragon surfaces from underground and heads toward Gotenba. The red dog-like creature with a horn on its forehead is eliminated by Godzilla when they battle briefly at Hakone.

King Ghidorah awakens from his mountain slumber, while Mothra hatches from her cocoon floating on the lake. They converge in Yokohama. The butterfly and the golden monster wage a fierce battle with the King of the Monsters, destroying nearly the entire city. Godzilla beats back the three headed monster. As it lies wounded, he blasts at it with his nuclear breath, but Mothra takes the brunt of the blast. JDF forces launch an attack against the beast, only to face annihilation. Mothra rises again but as she closes in she’s vaporized by a point blank blast from Godzilla. Her life essence, though, is transferred to Ghidorah, who had been wounded. He rises and is able to fend off a brutal blast from Godzilla, pushing the blast back against the monster, who falls backward into the bay. The Guardian Monster presses the attack underwater.

Yuri’s father, Commander Tachibana, who witnessed Godzilla’s original attack 50 years earlier, pilots a small submarine armed with special mining explosives to attack the weakened lizard as Ghidorah holds fast. Godzilla blasts at the Guardian. The golden creature rises from the water, with Godzilla close behind. From the air it pelts the lizard with monstrous lightning bolts. Godzilla blasts at Ghidorah, who explodes in a massive fireball that fills the night sky. The fire forms into the shapes of Baragon, and Mothra before it engulfs Godzilla, who sinks into the water. Tachibana’s sub is swallowed up by Godzilla, who is regaining strength. He fires the missile from inside Godzilla, ripping the monster to pieces. Tachinaba manages to escape from the belly of the beast and is reunited with his daughter.

Deep in the waters of the bay, a giant heart lies beating…

screenplay by Keiichi Jasengawa, Mashiro Yokotani & Shusuke Kaneko
directed by Shusuke Kaneko
music by Kow Otani

Human Cast: Chiharo Niiyama (Yuri Tachibana), Ryudo Uzaki (Admiral Taizo Tachibana), Masahiro Kobayashi (Teruaki Takeda)

Monster Cast: Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah, Baragon

Notes: Once again, previous Godzilla continuity is eschewed in favor of creating a different mythology. GMKG is more mystical in nature and casts King Ghidorah against type as a hero. This is one of the more interesting entries with better character development, lots of monster action, and plenty of property damage.

LogBook entry by Robert Parson

Categories
1999-2004: Millennium Series Godzilla

Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla

GodzillaA heavily armed Anti-Megalosaurus Force is sent to protect Tateyama from an attack by Godzilla during a strong typhoon. The monster is believed to be a new Godzilla, related to the creature that attacked Tokyo and was killed decades ago. Maser gunner Akane Yashiro takes aim, but misses the beast. It retaliates and kills most of her unit. She is later busted down to a desk job.

Scientist Tokumitsu Yuhara joins a team at the Defense Agency, Science and Technology. Their goal: to find a way to use the skeletal remains and spinal cells from the original Godzilla to build a bio-mechanical robot to kill the new Godzilla. Three years later, the leader of the robot squadron enlists Akane to pilot the cyborg, known as Kiryu. She is not easily accepted by the other team members, who fear she will cost them their lives.

The Godzilla shaped robot is unveiled to the world, and its support aircraft, just in time for the reappearance of Godzilla. The White Herons lift Kiryu and carry it to Tokyo to face the beast.

Missiles are launched against Godzilla with minimal effect, but he backs away when blasted by the masers. As they prepare to launch the Absolute Zero weapon, Godzilla’s roar stirs the DNA memory inside Kiryu. It locks up allowing Godzilla to escape. The cyborg then goes berserk and rips a path of destruction through Tokyo, just as the real Godzilla would, until its batteries run out.

Efforts are made to repair the ‘bot, but there are concerns its Godzilla DNA may cause it to run amok again. Because of her actions to rescue squadron members during the tragedy, Akane is finally welcomed by most, but not all, of the unit.

Godzilla again approaches Shinagawa. JDF fighters are shot out of the sky by his nuclear blasts. Ground based weapons fare equally as well. After initial hesitation, the Prime Minister allows Mechagodzilla to be put into action.

The White Herons drop Kiryu into battle. It body-slams Godzilla before the monster can destroy the hospital. The lizard picks himself up only to be slapped by missiles. The two giants approach each other and grapple. Kiryu flies back and attacks with his maser, but it’s slammed back by Godzilla’s nuclear blast. The two wrestle again, with Kiryu jabbing a blade into Godzilla that stuns the monster with millions of volts of electricity. He snaps the blade using a pulse of his nuclear fire and knocking the robot away. As Kiryu lies damaged, Godzilla stomps in for the fatal blow. He is distracted when shots from a White Heron glance off his body. Kiryu gets up and presses the attack again. The cyborg seems to be getting the upper hand when it grabs Godzilla by the tail and flings him away. The monster lies injured and stunned. Kiryu is about to launch the Absolute Zero weapon when Godzilla knocks it over with a nuclear blast. The weapon misfires and vaporizes a pair of skyscrapers.

With much of the mechanism malfunctioning, including the remote controls, Akane decides to operate Kiryu manually from inside the robot. She lands her White Heron and enters the damaged machine. Mobile maser units distract the creature while Akane prepares the robot. She brings Kiryu to its feet, but is ambushed by Godzilla. She manages to get it up again. She snatches Godzilla and flies out to sea. With the robot and monster deep underwater, she fires the Absolute Zero weapon. There’s an explosion of ice with much of the ocean freezing over. From out of the quiet of the ice, Godzilla smashes free and swims away. Nearby, a heavily damaged Kiryu rises from the water. Even with the massive damage to the nation, the bio-robot is declared a success since it drove away Godzilla. There is hope the monster can be defeated.

screenplay by Wataru Mimura
directed by Masaaki Tezuka
music by Michiru Oshima

Human Cast: Yumiko Shaku (Akane Yashiro), Shun Takuma (Tokumitsu Yuhara), Kana Onodera (Sara Yuhara)

Monster Cast: Godzilla, Kiryu, Mothra, Gaira

Notes: Most previous Godzilla continuity is abandoned again, with this movie as yet another sequel to the original Gojira. In this timeline, the AMF was formed to repel attacks by giant monsters who have also appeared, but this is the first appearance of “another” Godzilla. Don’t leave your seats! There’s exciting character development after the credits!

WARNING! SOCIO-POLITICAL COMMENTARY FOLLOWS: most Godzilla movies have anti-nuke or “Give a Hoot, Don’t Pollute” messages. Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla, though, has a distinct Pro-Life viewpoint:

  • Kiryu is considered by many to be alive.
  • Kiryu refuses to deliver a killing blow to Godzilla in their first battle.
  • Several characters question their value but ultimately decide that all life has meaning.
  • This movie was produced and released during one of the periods in which stem cell research was hotly debated, although they side-step the issue by using “spine cells” from the 1954 Godzilla to create Kiryu.
  • Several facets of the abortion debate are referenced. In one case, Yuhara’s wife dies during the birth of their second child. In the English language dub, Yuhara says the “baby” also died, but the English subtitles state the “fetus” died. This may or may not have been an intentional reference to the preferred terminologies used by the Prolife and Prochoice movements.

That’s a lot of heavy lifting for light entertainment.

LogBook entry by Robert Parson

Categories
1999-2004: Millennium Series Godzilla

Godzilla: Final Wars

GodzillaThe alien Xilians tap into a genetic code known as M-Base to take control of most of the Earth’s giant monsters. Between their advanced technology and the attacks of the kaiju, much of the planet is laid waste, and remaining humans used as breeding stock for a food supply. The world is doomed!

Godzilla, though, has been trapped in ice in the Antarctic for 50 years. Since he does not have the M-Base, he would be free from the alien influence. A team of mutants led by rogue flying submarine commander Captain Douglas Gordon head to the South Pole to spring the King of the Monsters out of his suspended animation.

Gigan attacks the Gotengo as it awakens Godzilla. The beast evades Gigan’s attack and destroys the alien cyborg. Godzilla chases the Gotengo to the alien mothership. He faces a series of monsters on the way, but defeats them all.

The Gotengo approaches the alien ship and launches a full attack, but it cannot break through a force field. The mutant Kazama sacrifices himself by flying into the ship and crashing into the field generator. Gordon orders the Gotengo to ram into the ship. Before the masers can be fired a group of aliens materialize on the bridge, killing the crew and taking Gordon and Shinichi Ozaki into custody.

Monster X smashes into downtown Tokyo from space. In the ruins of the city, the monsters battle. Monster X brings Godzilla to his knees. Mothra arrives, but a new and upgraded Gigan clips one of her wings causing her to crash to the ground.

Xilian leader X reveals that the human mutants are related to the Xilians through the M-Base, but Ozaki is a Kaizer, more than human and more than mutant. Monster X and Gigan are getting the upper hand against Godzilla, but the wounded Mothra comes to his aid. She sacrifices herself and kills Gigan in a massive explosion.

With his newly awakened powers, Ozaki engages in a hand to hand combat with X. Godzilla blasts at the alien ship, allowing the humans to escape their captors. They also find the humans who had previously been replaced by aliens. They flee, with Ozaki staying behind to continue the fight.

The humans have to shoot their way past aliens on their way out, while Ozaki and X wage a fierce fight. Ozaki’s new powers give him the strength to defeat X. But the ship begins to self destruct. The destruct command also causes the death of the remaining aliens. The humans escape in the Gotengo as the alien ship is destroyed.

Godzilla and Monster X continue their fight. Godzilla’s nuclear blast interacts with the beams from the alien monster creating a massive explosion that rips through the countryside. The two monsters somehow survive, and Monster X transforms into the three headed Kaizer Ghidorah. They unleash fiery blasts at each other, with Godzilla falling to the ground. Ghidorah use his energy beams to thrash Godzilla about. It bites into Godzilla and starts siphoning off his energy. Ozaki channels his new powers through the Gotengo and reenergizes Godzilla. The King of the Monsters makes fast work of Ghidorah, blasting off one of its heads, and using the energy beam from another head to sever the third. He tosses the space monster around like a rag doll and throws it into orbit before destroying Ghidorah with a massive blast of his nuclear breath. He then turns and blasts the Gotengo, bringing down the flying sub.

Manilla, Godzilla’s son, convinces the monster that the time for fighting is over. Godzilla stomps away, with Manilla trailing behind. The few humans left begin the task of building a new civilization.

written by Wataru Mimura & Isao Kiriyama
directed by Ryuhei Kitamura
music by Keith Emerson

Human Cast: Masahiro Matsuoka (Shinichi Ozaki), Don Fry (Captain Douglas Gordon), Rei Kikukawa (Miyuki Otanashi), Kazuki Kitamura (Xilian Leader)

Monster Cast: Godzilla, Manda, Mothra, Gigan, Zilla, Rodan, Kumonga, Kamacuras, Anguirus, King Caesar, Manilla, Ebirah, Hedorah, Monster X, Kazier Ghidorah

Notes: A Monster Mash of Toho Proportions, Godzilla: Final Wars was the most expensive Godzilla movie produced at about $20 million. Despite its title, Toho has hinted they are only giving the series a rest.

Final Wars features a battle in Sydney, Australia between Godzilla and Zilla, which has the same design as the American-made Godzilla. Zilla is destroyed in short order. Generally speaking, the movie features some excellent scenes of global destruction by the aliens and the monsters.

Director Ryuhei Kitamura is new to the franchise, with Versus as his most well known movie prior to Final Wars. His entry in the Godzilla series is wildly different stylistically than any of the previous movies.

Don Fry is an American professional wrestler known as The Predator.

LogBook entry by Robert Parson

Categories
1999-2004: Millennium Series Godzilla

Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.

GodzillaShobijin, fairy twins from Infant Island warn that Godzilla’s bones, which are now part of Mechagodzilla, must be reburied. Mothra will protect Japan in Mechagodzilla’s place. Officials reject the offer.

The carcass of a Megalo Matamata, a giant sea turtle, is found washed up on beach. It’s believed to have been killed by Godzilla. Later, a submarine is attacked and sunk by the King of the Monsters. He is lured to Shinagawa district of Tokyo, the site of the last battle and still in ruins. He crashes through to the Minata district, where repairs to Mechagodzilla are continuing.

Mothra, in her butterfly form, arrives and confounds Godzilla by beating up wind and dust, then grasping him and tossing him aside. They continue to fight into the evening. Meanwhile, the Fairy Twins await the hatching of a new Mothra at Himago Island. The Prime Minister decides to launch Mechagodzilla, even though repairs are not quite complete.

Godzilla fires a blast at Mothra, striking one of her wings and causing her to crash to the ground. As he advances against the flying creature, Mechagodzilla arrives to press its attack. Lasers, masers, and missiles are fired at Godzilla with minimal effect. Godzilla fires a nuclear blast through a skyscraper, striking Mechagodzilla and slamming it to the ground. Before Godzilla can destroy his robot doppelganger, Mothra flies into him. Godzilla fires another blast, hitting it with a deadly blow. Back at the island, two Mothra larvae hatch from the egg.

Mechagodzilla gets to its feet and renews the battle. While there’s some initial success, the remote controls are sluggish and the monster again brings the ‘bot crashing down. The larvae arrive and confer with the dying butterfly. Godzilla uses his nuclear blast against the three, but the flying creature sacrifices itself and takes the full brunt of the blast, exploding in a massive fireball.

Yoshi Chujo volunteers to enter Mechagodzilla to make repairs. While on his way, the larvae press their attack against Godzilla. Yoshi manages to repair the remote controls, but battle damage jams his exit from inside the robot. He lies and says he has left in order for remote operators to control Mechagodzilla. The robot is again put into service and the pair wrestle near the center of Tokyo. Godzilla is thrown against the capital building. He gets up, but the robot uses a hand-mounted drill against the monster. Injured, he backs away, but Mechagodzilla’s Hypermaser is deployed against it. As Godzilla falls, the Mothra larvae spin a cocoon around it.

The Shobijin remind the humans that “no human being may touch the souls of the dead” and Godzilla should be returned to the sea, including the remains of Godzilla that are within Mechagodzilla. The Prime Minister agrees to scrap the Mechagodzilla project but orders it to destroy Godzilla. The cyborg refuses to kill Godzilla and instead carries it off to sea. Before it can sink Godzilla and itself into the Japan Trench, a White Heron is able to shoot a hatch open, allowing Yoshi to escape. The Mothra larvae return to Himago Island.

screenplay by Mashiro Yokotani & Masaaki Tezuka
directed by Masaaki Tezuka
music by Michiru Oshima

Human Cast: Noboru Kaneko (Yoshito Chujo), Miho Yoshioka (Azusa Kisaragi), Hiroshi Koizumi (Shinichi Chujo)

Monster Cast: Godzilla, Mechagodzilla, Mothra, larval Mothra, Megalo Matamata

Notes: The original Japanese language version of this is Godzilla, Mothra, Mechagodzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. This is the only movie in the Millennium Series to continue the continuity from a previous Millennium Series movie (Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla). The Megalo Matamata is also identified as Kamoebas from an obscure Toho movie Space Amoeba. However, this also appears to be an homage of sorts to Gamera, the giant flying turtle from Daiei Motion Picture Company. Gamera rivaled Godzilla in the 1960s and also experienced a resurgence in the 1990s with a trio of movies that began with the excellent Gamera: Guardian Of The Universe.

LogBook entry by Robert Parson