Godzillathon #2 - Godzilla Raids Again (1955): A lackluster sequel

Before we start, I wanna say something that I totally forgot to mention in the last review. Godzilla (1954) was the start of the Showa series, which contains the first 15 Godzilla movies. The Showa series starts with Godzilla (1954) and ends with Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975). There are more series after the Showa series, but I’ll talk about those later. Now, onto the review!

Plot: Two fishing scouts and close friends discover that not only Godzilla is back (just kidding, it’s a second Godzilla from the same species), but also a new monster called Anguirus. Godzilla and Anguirus are both seen fighting before falling into the ocean. The two fishing scouts rush to warn the authorities, and come up with a plan to blackout the city. Well, this works for Godzilla at first, but some escaped prisoners ruin everything and now Godzilla’s coming for the city. Anguirus shows up and fights Godzilla as the city of Osaka watches…

Characters: While the characters is this movie are not as memorable as the ones in the original, the characters make the movie feel boring at times. The only character that comes back from the original is Dr. Yamane. One thing that I don’t understand about his scene is that he points out that Godzilla is enraged by bright light, so that’s where they come up with the plan to blackout the city. Okay, where did he come up with that? And it’s kinda stupid since Godzilla breathes fire, and fire is normally bright.

Tone: While I do appreciate the tone from the original is back, it feels like it’s not as deep as the original. A good example would be the aftermath of the fight between Godzilla and Anguirus in the city. The city is in ruins the next day and everyone is sad, but then they start making jokes for no reason. Come on, your city just got demolished and you think now is appropriate to say something funny?

Music: Like I said with the tone, I appreciate how the music sounds dark at times, but it still sounds hopeful at the same time. “Main Title” sounds like a disaster is about to happen, while still giving the impression that everything will be alright.

Godzilla and other monsters: Godzilla is back in his second movie with a new design. He is still as entertaining as he was in the original movie. The same can be said for Godzilla’s opponent, Anguirus. For his first movie, Anguirus is a pretty worthy opponent against the Big G, and his design is pretty cool. The only complaint I have with Anguirus is his roar. When I was younger, it got on my nerves, but over the years, I’ve gotten used to it. The monster fights in this movie have been sped up for some reason. Every time I watch one of these fights, I imagine a cat screeching while the two monsters are fighting.

Fun fact about the American version: When it came to the USA, it was renamed to Gigantis the Fire Monster. Okay then. At least they referenced it in the PS4 Godzilla game by saying that Anguirus fought a monster called “Gigantis”, and “Gigantis” has been banished ever since.

In conclusion, this is definitely one of the weaker entries in the Godzilla franchise, but at least the monster fights are cool.

Rating: 3/10

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