Toho is planning a new Japanese Godzilla movie. That’s exciting! But before you get depressed and start worrying if it’s going to stink or not, here’s some good news. The creator of Neon Genesis Evangelion is going to helm and write the picture. Ho ho ho ho!
That’s right, Hideaki Anno is slated to write as well as serve as the “chief director,” overseeing the entire project. According to Jiji Press, the news was announced on March 31. Reportedly, when Anno was first offered the picture, he turned it down, saying, “It’s impossible. I also have Evangelion to do.” However, he came around to the idea of doing the film, as a way to express gratitude for all movies that came before and to help bring back science fiction movies in Japan.
Anno, who is also known for animating one of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind’s most difficult scenes, will be working with Shinji Higuchi, a top special effects artist who is now directing the Attack on Titan live-action film. Cinra.net reports that for the upcoming Godzilla movie, Higuchi will be credited as “director” and “special effects director.”
This sounds like it will be a big project, so I imagine Toho is bringing both on to help divide the workload. These two men go way back, so hopefully, that will make for a smooth production for Japan’s first Godzilla feature film in well over a decade.
Higuchi has a wealth of special effects experience, cutting his teeth on 1984’s The Return of Godzilla and working on those wonderful Gamera movies Daiei released in the 1990s. He also co-founded Gainax, which created Evangelion, and if you haven’t guessed by now, his name, Shinji, was used to name the Eva character Shinji Ikari.
The upcoming Godzilla film won’t be Anno’s first turn at live-action directing. Previously, he helmed Love & Pop, which I liked, and Cutie Honey, which I thought was so-so. And then, of course, there’s all he has done on the highly influential Evangelion franchise. So, yeah, some of his live-action work has been spotty, but I feel like Godzilla is in good hands, and Toho is serious about making a great kaiju movie.
The next Japanese Godzilla film is slated for 2016.
Comments
11 responses to “Why The New Japanese Godzilla Movie Might Be Damn Good”
Because it’s not American.
Have you seen the original Japanese Godzilla films? Most of them are bloody awful.
While I do agree with that, the original was excellent, and those in the Heisei and Millennium era were very enjoyable, and compared to the two American films, which were awful (yes, even the 2014 reboot) they are decent films.
But yes. Every Godzilla film from after the original to the start of the Heisei era were god-awful.
The 2014 reboot was far superior to almost all of the original Godzilla films with the exception of the original and perhaps Godzilla Final Wars
I enjoyed the recent movie.
(Stabs you) Shh… It’s okay.
In all seriousness, though, the reason I utterly hated that movie, was because there was very little time dedicated to Godzilla, instead focusing on people I really don’t give a shit about. The only two good actors were underutilised, with Bryan Cranston being, well… you know, and Ken Watanabe saying nothing but “Let them fight.” The rest were rubbish, however.
I actually kinda liked it that way. Some people have drawn comparisons to movies like Jaws, and I agree with them. There’s that build up there for so long, that tension from what is unseen…and then you finally see the Monster and you get that “Holy Shit” moment. I really liked the way they did that.
He’s been snacking all this time he’s been away though. He was too fat for my liking. Sure he looked more real than a man in a suit, but I really enjoyed the cheese of the older ones. For me, a Godzilla film should have; Godzilla smashing shit, end. And the CGI. CGI everywhere.
The originals were the same, a lot of focus on the people reacting to Godzilla’s destruction.
At least when it came down to it, it showed Godzilla fucking something up, like a city or another monster. While the new one had that, it was very little screen time, they instead kept hiding him from the audience, which pissed me off hugely.
When it comes to Japan vs America, the new american Godzilla, and american mecha movie Pacific Rim LOOKED incredible.
I’ve yet to see a Japanese movie that’s up to par in the special effects and CGI category.