Monster Zero x SciFi Japan - Archive Only

When Godzilla died in 1995, and then Tomoyuki Tanaka died a few years after, do you think it was truely the end for Godzilla? like I know it wasn't the official end, but Tomoyuki Tanaka lived and breathed Godzilla.

When Godzilla 2000 hit, it didn't have that same "feel" to it as the others did... if anybody knows what im talking about. I wasn't the biggest fan of G2000 or Megaguirus, but I did like MG, SOS and starting to come around w/ FINAL WARS (had to watch it a few times to actually like it).

But, if Tomoyuki Tanaka stayed alive long enough, do you think he would've continued the heisei series and would've seen Godzilla (Jr) vs. Gamera or something perhaps replacing Final Wars?

Just my opinion. I think Godzilla vs. Destoroyah was Tomoyuki Tanaka's greatest masterpiece to officially end the heisei series for a while, and then start with Junior in later years... still would've been interesting w/ the original plan in 2001 where Jr would fight his own father "Godzilla vs. Ghost Godzilla". I was in love with that rumor, but it was shot down and scrapped after a while, then G2000 came along...

Thoughts? opinions?

I don't think Godzilla has lost his spirit, essence, or core self just because Tanaka has passed, if that's what you're asking.

I think Tanaka would be proud of Godzilla 2000. If he were still alive, he obviously would have been disgusted by GINO98, so that would have likely gotten him to embrace G2K even more. Godzilla vs. Megaguirus, meh. Godzilla is his old self, but I think Tanaka would recognize that Godzilla went downhill with that movie. Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah would have undoubtedly pleased Tanaka, as it's truer to Godzilla's essence than any sequel since G54 (that, and it's also a damn good movie). The Kiryu Saga, I don't know. It's a matter of opinion. I liked them, and Godzilla is awesome in them. But I think Tanaka might have been displeased with the severe lack of originality in those two movies. Godzilla: Final Wars, as entertaining as it is for many fans, is a very, very different kind of Godzilla movie. And considering that the movie seeks solely to entertain and not to be a critically well-made movie by any means, I'd put hard money on Tanaka hating it just as much as he hated Godzilla vs. Hedorah.

I think there may have been some stumbling after Tanaka died, mainly because he was such a big part of Godzilla movies. Which isn't unusual, I've not seen GFW yet but the other millenium movies seem to indicate that Toho's movie-makers are finding their 'kaiju-feet' at a rather nice pace.

I guess I'd have to say that G2000 and GXM are solid mid-range movies. They could certainly have been better but there is still plenty of good points that both movies can be entertaining.

GMK - well I consider it a step above the previous 2 entries in the series. GMK has a nice solid 'human' story that meshes well with the 'monster' story, and plenty of thrilling monster battles.


GXMG and Tokyo SOS. In my opinion, Toho hit the ground running with these 2 movies. I think GXMG is great and I just recently watched Tokyo SOS for the first time and loved it. Again, I think the 'monster' and 'human' parts of the story are well connected to each other. Sometimes I get the impression that if someone had thought to make the two movies during the Showa era of Godzilla films they would've. The 2 movies feature a 'force of nature' Godzilla but I think it's nicely balanced with some of the 'fun' if Godzilla's Showa movies. And perhaps Kiryu being constructed from the original Godzilla's skeleton gives us a glimpse into what a 'Godzilla vs Ghost Godzilla' movie might have been like, it's an interesting story concept at the very least.


To conclude - no I don't think that Godzilla died with Tanaka. It's just taken a little while for folks behind the Godzilla movies to regroup and form a cohesive vision for Godzilla that Tanaka would approve of. I think Toho has done a good job so far, and I hope that it proves to be true with GFW [when I finally see it].

It's important to remember that Tanaka’s failing health forced him to take a less active role in the Godzilla series following GODZILLA VS BIOLLANTE, and it was Shogo Tomiyama (who had been personally chosen by Tanaka) who oversaw the day-to-day filming for all of the remaining Heisei movies.

I'm glad I'm getting peoples views about my topic, it's appreciated, but im just saying in my opinion that i think since Destoroyah, it just hasn't "felt" right... idk if it could be because of the more lizard sleek and huge ass dorsal fins or Akira Ifukube not returning or the storys, I dunno what it is... but hey thats just my opinion.

For me, personally, the Heisei series was the low point of the Godzilla films (excluding GINO, of course). The Heisei series was OK and had its bright spots from movie to movie, but often the films in the series took themselves too seriously and, as a result, were often dull and (in my opinion) VERY overrated. My fave of the 3 series will ALWAYS be the Showa films, with my 2nd fave being the Millennium series. No, the Millennium films aren't perfect and they, too, can be dull at times, but I find them to be far more entertaining and fun to watch than the Heisei films. Here's my rating out of 4 *s:

Godzilla 2000 **1/2
Godzilla Vs. Megaguirus **
Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack ***
Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla **
Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. **1/2
Godzilla: Final Wars (although I have yet to see it, I have a feeling it will be receiving a ***1/2 rating)

I'd say the 2 weakest points for the Millennium series are the fact that there really isn't much...if any...continuity between the films (aside from "Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla" and "Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.") and the lack of original monsters for the series (even though Megaguirus...aside from the connection to "Rodan"...was a fairly dull and unoriginal concept for a kaiju, I think Orga absolutely KICKS ASS!). Other than that, overall, I'd have to say that the Millennium series is one heckuva a ride!

The last film on which Tanaka really 'hands-on' was G84, and he also did a fair amount of work on Biollante. His failing health significantly reduced his role after that and Shogo Tomiyama actually became the guy in charge. Tanaka was still around for the the 90s films and did appear on the set from time to time, but his role was much more honorific than active by then. Whatever you may think about the 90s films, Tomiyama is the one who is mainly responsible for them.

As for the Milenium films, my speculation is that something like GFW and its weak marketing campaign would never have occurred on Tanaka's watch. Whatever you may think of his style, Tanaka was a good promoter and would never have let an event like the 50th Anniversary pass by with such a whimper of advertising and merchandising. And I can't believe he would have ever let the top executives force something like GFW on him for the anniversary as they did on Tomiyama. Maybe at any other time he may have given it a shot, but certainly not for an event like the 50th anniversary.

Ed G.