Godzilla no gjakušú
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Toho Studios followed the enormous success of the original Godzilla with this sequel, efficiently directed by Motoyoshi Oda as a straight-ahead monsters-on-the-loose drama. An underrated standout among the Showa Godzilla films, Godzilla Raids Again introduces the monster-versus-monster format that would dominate the remainder of the series, pitting Godzilla against the ferocious, spiny Anguirus as the kaiju wreak havoc in the streets of Osaka in a series of elaborate set pieces that succeed in upping the ante for destruction. (Criterion)
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2) GIGANTIS THE FIRE MONSTER - ORIGINAL SHOWA SERIES 1954-1974. Given that in the previous part of the franchise only the skeleton was left of Godzilla, this sequel has no direct continuity. They simply don't address Godzilla’s resurrection, and take it as fact when at the beginning of the film it’s discovered by a fishing company plane on a deserted island. There are several reminiscences of the first one, with excerpts from it, and the main general and the scientist are played by the same actors. However, unlike the first one, this one lacks a long explanatory exposition. The fighting takes place in Osaka, with a monster named Anguirus, who looks like a cross between a lizard and a hedgehog. The UN offers help to the Japanese, and given the fact that the film was produced by Americans, a shot of the front page of a Japanese newspaper with the inch-high headlines AMERICA OFFERS HELP was mandatory. Ten years after Hiroshima, this is what I call a moral gesture :o). While the first one was straightforward, here they find time for a love triangle.
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The final attack of Godzilla is truly a breathtaking demonstration of how real shots can be combined with animatronics. The Japanese also put quite an acceptable story into the movie outside of the battles, which may not be groundbreaking, but considering the age of the piece and the great effects, it is definitely forgivable. It is not forgivable in the case of films like "Pacific Rim," where the goal was to connect American-style with Toho studio films, but it turned out catastrophically. Granted, the Japanese could have spared themselves the voiceover, but that can be tolerated.
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