Anigoji becomes more enjoyable!　Lecture on the movie "Godzilla" - Part 3: "Godzilla Final Wars" (2004) - Humanity's challenge to the monster

Godzilla, the world's great monster star of the Japanese film industry, was reborn as a science fiction animated film in a new guise in 2017. GODZILLA: PLANET OF THE MONSTERS" is the first chapter of a trilogy of animated films (also known as "Anigoji") that depicts mankind's epic battle against the giant monster Godzilla, which reigns on Earth 20,000 years later.

Although the 3DCG-animated Godzilla looks completely different from conventional live-action images, it retains the elements of the "Godzilla" that most people are familiar with, such as its distinctive cry and the actions of its huge back that emits heat rays from its mouth, making it another variation of Godzilla. This is another variation of Godzilla.

There are rumors that not only Godzilla, but also other popular characters from the past will be "resurrected" with different settings and attributes in the second chapter, "Godzilla: Crusade on Mars," which will be released on May 18, 2018. All of this will become clear the moment the movie is released, but in this column, we have selected a number of films from the past Godzilla movie series that seem to be closely related to "Anigoji" as a "preview" before the new movie is released. I would like to introduce some of the most noteworthy points and famous scenes from the past Godzilla film series that are closely related to "Anigoji".

The new animated film "GODZILLA: CASE MULTIPLIED CITY" is a passionate drama in which humans try with all their might to stop the onslaught of "Godzilla," the largest and most powerful creature that reigns on the earth. From the first "Godzilla" in 1954 to "Shin Godzilla" in 2016, so-called "monster movies" with live-action special effects have basically depicted a battle between "monsters" with the power to destroy human civilization and "humans" who dare to fight against the monsters and attempt to subdue them. In this section, we will take a look back at the history of the fierce battles between these monsters and humankind, using several films as examples.

In "Godzilla" (1954), the origin and pinnacle of Toho monster films, the story begins with a ship sailing over the Pacific Ocean that catches fire and sinks for unknown reasons. Eventually, an unimaginably huge creature is confirmed to have landed on Odo Island and is dubbed "Godzilla" based on the island's legend. In order to destroy Godzilla, which is believed to be lurking in the seas around Japan, the Japan Coast Guard mobilized a frigate (military) fleet to launch an undersea bombing attack, but it was unable to repel Godzilla, which has an amazing life force that does not die even when exposed to the energy of a hydrogen bomb.

Eventually, in order to prevent Gojira from coming ashore in Tokyo, barbed wire mesh was stretched along the coast, and a strategy was adopted of passing 50,000 volts of high-voltage electric current through the barbed wire mesh. However, Gojira managed to break through the barbed wire mesh without difficulty and finally made its way into the city center. ......

In "Godzilla," the storyline emphasizes "realism" in that Godzilla, initially an unknown creature (monster), turns out to be "real," and mankind eventually exerts all its power to fight Godzilla off by launching a series of maneuvers. Godzilla, awakened by the effects of the hydrogen bomb tests and harboring feelings akin to hatred toward "light," lays waste to the center of Tokyo, defying the bombardment of tanks. Godzilla's mouth emitted radioactive exhalations (radioactive heat rays), turning the surrounding area into a sea of fire. The young chemist Dr. Serizawa invented a chemical called "Oxygen Destroyer," which ended Godzilla's life at the bottom of the ocean.

The first battle with a giant monster experienced by mankind was not so much a victory for mankind as a triumph achieved by a genius who overcame a conflict (he could not disclose his invention under any circumstances as long as there was a fear that it might be used for war purposes) and achieved victory through a spirit of heroic self-sacrifice. The "Godzilla" movie was a huge hit in the East.

The success of "Godzilla" prompted Toho to produce monster movies in which Godzilla and other similar beasts roamed the cities, and science fiction special effects movies in which human super-mechanics were used to fight invaders from outer space, at a rate of about one a year. This led to a series of "monster movies and science fiction special effects films" such as "Godzilla Strikes Back" (1955), "Radon, the Great Monster of the Sky" (1956), "Earth Defense Forces" (1957), "Daikaiju Baran" (1958), "Space Wars" (1959), "Mothra" (1961), "Goras the Monster" (1962), "Undersea Warship" (1963) The "monster movies and science fiction special effects films" of Here, I will focus on "Godzilla Strikes Back," "Radon, the Great Monster of the Sky," "Baran, the Great Monster," and "Mothra," all of which emphasize the spectacle created by giant monsters.

Like Godzilla, Radon, Balan, and Mothra, all huge monsters far beyond human knowledge, have one thing in common: they cannot be damaged that much by conventional weapons. The key to each film is how to attack these monsters, which can never be defeated by forceful, head-on assaults.

In "Godzilla Strikes Back," Godzilla lands on the island of Kamikojima in the waters near Hokkaido after quickly KOing its rival, the rampaging dragon Anguirus, in the middle of the film. The plan was to bombard an iceberg with fighter planes and create an artificial avalanche to bury Godzilla in it. In "Radon, the Great Monster of the Sky," a missile was fired into the crater of Mount Aso, the nest of the Radon clan, in order to trigger an eruption. Because the monsters are beyond the power of human weapons, the method of repelling them by "returning them to nature" with the help of Mother Nature is extremely convincing, and it even creates a sense of melancholy for the vanishing race as they are swallowed by nature, enhancing the completeness of the film.

Incidentally, in "Baran, the Great Monster," the human race, having discovered the special habits of the monster Baran, was able to triumph through a miraculous plan of survival. In "Mothra," the evil man who brought Mothra to Tokyo was defeated, and a peaceful resolution was achieved by returning Mothra to his native island.

The first Toho special effects film to feature a monster showdown as the film's climax was "King Kong vs. Godzilla" (1962), where mankind had the option of smashing monsters against each other as one way to attack giant monsters. Of course, King Kong and Godzilla were both monsters that could have harmed mankind on their own, and mankind was doing everything in its power to destroy them, but at the suggestion of a pharmaceutical company's advertising manager, who was determined to use King Kong to boost the ratings of his company's TV program, the two threats to mankind collided at the foot of Mt. Fuji.

The monster showdowns that followed, "Mothra vs. Godzilla" and "The Greatest Battle on Earth" (both in 1964), continued, but mankind did not simply stand by and watch the monsters clash. In "Mothra vs. Godzilla," the Self-Defense Forces came within a hair's breadth of Godzilla with their discharge operation, and in "Dogora," the giant space monster (1964), the bee venom of the space cell Dogora, which reproduces by absorbing coal and diamonds, was successfully used to destroy the beast. As the giant monsters that attack civilized society become more and more powerful, mankind's ability and intelligence to fight them also become stronger and more developed.

If there is a milestone in the history of mankind's "battle" against giant monsters, it is the 20th Toho monster science fiction film, "Kaiju Soukyo Shoukou" (1968). The film opens with a scene in which as many as ten monsters that once existed as terror to mankind-Godzilla, Anguirus, Radon, Balan, Mothra, Manda, Baragon, Kumonga, Minilla, and Gorosaurus-are being bred and studied at the "Monster Land" on the Ogasawara Islands. The "monster march" is important because only Toho, which since "Godzilla" (1954) has been depicting the endless battle between giant monsters and mankind, could have produced such a film.

In "Godzilla" (1984), which was revived with a new setting in 1984, mankind's attack against Godzilla, a threat to civilized society, was carried on in a different form. In "Godzilla x Megaguirus: Operation G Annihilation" (2000), the ultimate super-weapon, the "Dimension Tide," created a micro-black hole and launched it at Godzilla in order to completely obliterate him from the face of the earth. In "Godzilla Final Wars" (2004), the Earth Defense Forces, formed by mutants far beyond the capabilities of humans, used hand-held weapons and superior mobility to take on the giant monster Ebira and destroy Manda with the undersea warship Todoroten, demonstrating their strength in the face of monsters and never backing down. He also demonstrated his strength by destroying the undersea warship "Manda" with his underwater warship "Todoroten.

Humanity has always maintained an attitude of not simply standing by and watching the rampage of giant monsters such as Godzilla, but sometimes exercising wisdom and sometimes courage to boldly take up the challenge. This attitude remains unchanged in "GODZILLA: CASE MULTIPLE CITY," the latest Anigoji film, and will no doubt be passed on in future films as one of the "real pleasures" of monster movies.

(Text by Hideo Akita)