Toho: I don’t know, 4 different versions of Gojira? That seems a bit- Bandai: LUCRATIVE. MAKE IT NOW.

A fact about Shin: Since he was frozen and can’t be moved shin is still in there watching everything and anything going by and is always suffering.

This is the first time I have ever heard somebody say that the ending bit with the half-mutated tail was meant to show how close to annihilation we were and not just a reveal of what was to come, and that is honestly some positivity I could really use

I think the thing I appreciate about this depiction the most is that, despite being entirely CGI, by intentionally animating it to look and act like a suit, they actually made it look more realistic than if they had animated it to look like a living thing.

"As a tragic figure that doesn't comprehend what's happening to it as it rages and screams from a pain it can't define..." A line this fantastic is part of why I love this channel! Keep doing what you're doing, Mr. Draper.

Shin Godzilla is definitely one of the most terrifying versions of Godzilla.

What I really love about this film is how they’re really able to bring Godzilla back to being a destructive force of nature like in the original. Super excited to see what Anno will do with both Ultraman and Kamen Rider.

Turns out that Godzilla is way more scary when the JSDF are all great shots.

The scene where Gojira first uses his atomic death ray actually horrified me the first time I saw it. Gojira bending over and violently throwing up a pyroclastic flow made me feel its pain, it's like it was violently ill from radiation poisoning. When Gojira focused its beam and sliced through buildings, it actually scared me. The music, the imagery, everything about that scene is what makes Godzilla/Gojira. Not the epic monster brawls of the Monsterverse, not the campiness of the 60s, but the raw emotion of seeing such destruction. The feeling of helplessness as the world burns and people die all around. Being in awe of humanity's defiance in the face of oblivion and seeing them fight til' their very last breath, until the tortured creature that has caused so much pain and suffering is no more.

I feel like Shin will only become more appreciated with time. I still remember sitting in the theater and thinking this was exactly the kind of change Godzilla needs and deserves.

It's honestly really cool how Anno did this film while reinterpreting HIS own franchise with the Eva rebuilds. And both this one & the final Eva movie ended up being great.

To me Shin Godzilla is a story of a mind that wants to die, but a body that refuses to let it. I see it as a tragedy, and it is by far one of my favourite movies.

I was lucky enough to see this in Theaters. It quickly became one of my favorites. 54,84 and Shin I can watch anytime. I like my Godzilla solo, evil and dark.

Very happy to hear working on Shin Godzilla helped Ano with his depression, makes watching the movie that much better

This episode was everything I was hoping for, including Shin Godzilla as the best film. Shin Godzilla was the only Godzilla film to truly show me how frightening the concept of Godzilla could be, from the perspective of what an entity like that could truly do, to the true ineffectiveness of government in the face of such overwhelming disaster, to the utter helplessness we all know is there, but we try to fight and deny. I also am throwing my vote for an animation perspective-but do NOT forget the 70s cartoon when you do it. Yes, it is INCREDIBLY cheesy by today's perspective, but it played its part in bringing Godzilla to America's consciousness...even if they made many people assume Godzilla was green...

Such a creative redesign of Godzilla probably the coolest atomic breath sequence

I appreciate that you include Godzilla 98 in your list. It’s not a good movie and really only borrows the name to tell it’s own story, but it does exist. And I’m kind of bothered that so many try to retcon reality and pretend it never happened. It happened. And that’s okay.

While this movie has cemented itself as one of my favorites, I am glad that Toho kept him from going too far into making Godzilla/Eva 3. I feel that if they allowed Godzilla to evolve further then it would’ve ruined the impact and messages it had. But that’s my two cents on it. Also probably an unpopular opinion, this movie shouldn’t have a sequel, it’s in too much of a “razor’s edge of apocalypse” for it to continue for me. Also if a Kaiju was brought into a sequel then it have to somehow rival or briefly overcome Gojira, which has Dragon Ball levels of power creep all over it.

I got to see シン・ゴジラ at the Toho Cinemas theater in Shinjuku. Fans, spray, shaking seats, the works. It was AWESOME. Already familiar with Japanese bureaucracy, I caught all jabs and in-jokes. Was surprised when one of my friends started giggling as the creature knocked down an office building. Then she leaned over and whispered that she used to work in that building. Such is the realism of that movie, using then-current Tokyo as the setting. It definitely left an impression on me. Like you, I've seen all of the series and シン・ゴジラ is my favorite.

God I loved this series of yours. Shin Godzilla is my favorite by a mile. Though this is 100% a product of the culture and country it was created it in, the incompetency of the government and the bullshit of bureaucracy is extremely relatable all over the world

An animated retrospective on Godzilla would be truly incredible. It’s ironic since when it comes to the 98’ Godzilla movie it’s widely considered one of the worst pieces of media in Godzilla history, while at the same time it’s animated counterpart is praised as one of the greatest interpretations of Godzilla by fans, and in my opinion surpasses any other animated Godzilla series.

The Masterpiece. I'll never get over the contrast between seeing Godzilla 2014 and Shin in theaters. When Godzilla whipped out the atomic breath in G14, it was the moment everyone in the theater cheered. As Shin Goji's back began to glow, I felt the audience of destruction-loving kaiju nerds all preparing to cheer once more...and then, nothing but gasps and hands over mouths in absolute horror as Goji's jaw split and a sea of smoke and flame engulfed the screen. Few times have I seen such a swift reversal of catharsis. As I've said in my comments on your other kaiju videos, I can't praise Shinji Higuchi's effects work enough. While the giant Hollywood effects and TJ Storm's performance were great at bringing the Monsterverse king to life, Shin Goji's CG monster is just as effective in an entirely different way, his motion capture playing much like a suit performer, or honestly even MORE limited in motion than a man in a costume...which makes the sudden moments of speed and power all the more shocking, like a coiled snake striking without warning.

I always found this movie relaxing to watch. If there was ever a way to get away with "Bureaucracy The Nail Biting Drama", this was it. Your interpretation of the film, especially how humanity collectively rising up to meet Godzilla as a god of its own is an interesting take.

This is, in my opinion, still remains to be the BEST modern Godzilla movie, in story, design and cinematography, *EVER*. I cannot wait to see what Anno and Higuchi have in store for tommorow's Shin Ultraman and next year's Shin Kamen Rider.

Shin Godzilla is the scariest Godzilla has, and maybe will ever be. I'm looking forward to Shin Kamen Rider even though I have no attachment to that character because I trust that Anno is able to make something special of it

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the 90s American animated series. I remember even as a kid not caring for the movie, but really enjoying the cartoon that spun off of it. Haven't watched it since, so it'd be cool to see if I just had weird tastes as a kid or if it really was a diamond in the rough.

I remember watching the ending to Shin Godzilla, thoroughly impressed. Yet also thinking I need to see Shin Ghidorah!

What I appreciate with the shin godzilla version is that it reminded people of how godzilla is a destructive titan and a representation of calamities. I really hope in the future shin gojira gets its sequel

Absolutely LOVE the Nakamura theme playing in the background....excellent touch

As someone who grew up with Godzilla, watched all the old movies as kid with my dad, found weird animated versions and still go on binges of Godzilla watching Shin Godzilla has got to be my absolute favorite He might look like a gross af lizard worm, but he's my gross af lizard worm.

Your Godzilla series is so great. I had no idea there was so much lore behind the creation of the kaiju and it's different incarnations.

Godzilla Vs Biollante being in the top 4 made me outright smile. Can't agree more with your full top 4.

Shin Godzilla is a pure horror film. Absolutely adored it!

This movie brought me to tears. The history woven in regarding the bombing from the U.S. was so impactful. You could really feel the weight of the situation. And Godzilla himself, wow. My favorite Godzilla movie by far.

What are your thoughts on Shin Godzilla and what are your favorite Godzilla movies?

hideaki anno is really something else. his push of reimagining and reinventing beloved series with an enormous bang is undeniable and impressive. shin godzilla is an incredible film.

This is my favorite versions of godzilla. The scene where he spouts fire and then it turns into the iconic beam was nearly perfect. The music was perfect for that scene and i absolutely goosebumped up.

Perfect timing for Shin Ultraman coming out this Friday in Japan.

One thing that struck me about the government wasn't straight up incompetence. He displays their ineffectiveness, but it comes across as very understandable. I honestly felt sorry for the old guys struggling to come up with a rapid response, estimate the damages, try and fail to get decent info on the monster, etc. A big standout was how fast everything moved compared to how fast those characters wanted it to move, and the unwillingness of many of the initial people they reached out to to give definite analysis. They felt like politicians who were genuinely trying to be effective once definite evidence of it being a creature emerged, but were left high and dry initially, and never recovered.

Shin's my favorite of all because of the design, concept, and execution, but what I appreciate the most is it goes back to what Godzilla originally was, a representation of natural or human disaster (and not big monsters 1v1)

Yes, definitely do more!: Earth Trilogy & Singular Point Evangelion & Rebuild ALL Gamera movies!! 😁

I said it before, but I’d love to see a retrospective on animated Godzilla series

I love shin godzilla.. Even got to see it in the cinema a couple of years after it released..

I remember going to Alamo Drafthouse to watch this subbed in my city back in 2016. I thought it was spectacular and my opinion of it gets better as time goes by. This is definitely on of my top 3 Godzilla movies. I can't wait what Hideaki Anno does with Shin Ultraman!! (my other favorite tokusatsu franchise)

I find it somewhat terrifying that a god would be born into such agonizing pain and confusion, and almost immediately attacked by humanity as he attempted to get a grip on reality. It’s such an understandable position for a massively powerful being to lash out.

Excellent finale to an amazing retrospective Hope to get that Evangelion video! Takes from new viewers to Neon Genesis Evangelion is always interesting.

Great analysis! Shin godzilla is easily one of my fave movies ever. You mentioned that godzilla is utterly emotionless however, and I just have to bring up the split second shot of godzilla closing its eyes right before unleashing its atomic breath. That tells me It knew the destruction it was about to bring, and didn't want to see it. That one moment showed so much emotion.

Hearing you talk about EVA with Gunship playing in the background felt right. Excellent video.

absolute top-tier movie and i'm never going to forget the lidless, happy look on gojira's face as he rumbles down the road on his tummy saying hi to all his new friends

Fantastic retrospective. My all-time favorite Godzilla film, and one of my favorite movies. Saw it opening night here in Japan and it blew my mind. Going to see Shin Ultraman tomorrow night! Cannot wait!!!

Hi from Japan. Thank you for this great video explaining what this film was like to us!!!

Shin Godzilla is what the actual debut movie would have looked like, had the monster not been thought of until 2016 which is why this is my number #1 pick of the franchise. The second half of the movie was jaw-dropping across the entire theater. The sheer power and agony displayed were incredibly well done and worth the LONG wait from Toho.

I was lucky enough to see Shin when it dropped in a limited event here in US, I have watched the blu ray more times than I can count too. It is really one of the single most impressively realistic and horrifying interpretations of Godzilla I could ever have imagined. I would love to see Toho continue to let true visionaries run wild with their interpretations of Godzilla while still allowing Legendary to continue with the Monsterverse.

As we've had Shin Evangelion, Shin Godzilla, now Shin Ultraman and coming later is Shin Kamen Rider... I am very much expecting a full on Shin-Universe of franchises. Maybe a multiple dimensional thing to explain why these Shin-characters haven't heard of each other. Yes, I know the owners of the rights might not be as willing to put all of these things in one storyline. But still. One can hope. It may not even be good. It might be the worst thing ever filmed. I just think it would be an interesting experiment.

Love these long form essays about things you passionate about, good work. 👍

This is the most in-depth review of this movie I have seen to date, especially appreciate the mentioning of related music, anime and short films. Good job 👍

Shin Gojira was an amazing interpretation of the classic Japanese monster. I don't even compare it to the Legendary films, which I, honestly, equally adore. Let's hope there's more Shin in store for the near future.

i NEED a sequel to this film, i really hope they revive it

Shin Godzilla was honestly the first interpretation that genuinely disturbed and scared me. Hes nightmare fuel in this movie...

I’ve really enjoyed your Godzilla videos and your ranking of all the films. This series was great to watch!

An animated retrospective would be really nice! I love the 90's spinoff cartoon, it has its heart on the right place :3

I love Anno's more unique take on Godzilla. Can't wait to see his adaptations of other classic toku series with Shin Ultraman and Shin Kamen Rider.

I just re-watched all your Godzilla retrospectives. I love your ranking and your love for Biolantte. And the end of this video gave me goosebumps. Thanks so much for the content MD.

I love this channel it goes so In depth and talks about the symbolism and representation of morals and philosophical themes 😭

I watched Shin Godzilla last night because of this video =) I gotta say it's exactly what I would've wanted from "Godzilla but done by Hideaki Anno", his directing style is very his. It reminded me in particular of one of my favorite Eva episodes, Lilliputian Hitcher, with human intelligence and cooperation being the real weapon to save the day

Fan-flippin-tastic, thanks for making this. Shin scared me, deeply to the bone, more than any horror flick I'd ever seen. The music, the realistic incompetence of the people in charge, and above all that terrifying creature. Like you said, he was a walking reactor, almost dismissive in the way he causes harm just by existing. When he calls forth that horrifying beam in the darkness, while "Who Will Know?" plays in the background... I teared up, and legitimately had nightmares that evening. One of, if not the, best Godzilla movies ever made. Thank you so much for this incredible analysis and behind-the-scenes video, I loved every minute of it! Any possibility you could do a deep dive of Singular Point? As a theoretical physicist I really enjoyed the sci-fi of that anime, it was trippy and fun.

This was perhaps my favorite series of videos on your channel. Keep the love for the big G high

This is a powerful, insightful, and beautiful video essay! Well done.

Well said. Well done. Thank you.

Is putting Shin at the top of this list controversial at all? Serious question. I’ve been a Godzilla fan for, no joke, like 45 years, and when I saw Shin, it instantly become my favorite - and still is.

Yet another banger and a great way to cap off the Godzilla retrospective! When I first watched this, the fire breath scene is what truly stuck with me. When any new Godzilla film comes out, I get hyped when I see the spines start shining, my inner 12 year old going "oh SNAP, he's gonna do the THING". And then seeing the large-scale far-reaching destruction of his fire bomb breath followed by it being pressurized into the thin beam. I saw it tear through the city and I was... horrified. Buildings are splitting apart and entire city blocks are being charred, not because of any malice on Godzilla's part, but simply because of a natural process he has to do to expel energy. While I did know that this modern interpretation of Godzilla was a larger metaphor on the Fukushima disaster, I think that scene in particular is what made the helplessness of witnessing the destructive capacity of nature with no immediately apparent recourse very real.

Well done on this segment, it shows what the situation of Godzilla it's all about, thank you for telling us this

I love this movie and I saw this movie in theaters and so far is my favorite Godzilla even though I haven’t seen all the films, I might watch the whole series now…oh boy 😅

I think the recent Godzilla v Kong movie not giving Godzilla much of an arc worked well honestly. It made him feel sinister, and I'm shocked they let Godzilla be so much more powerful than Kong (I thought realistically he should be, but for merchandising reasons I thought they'd make them more even) as in pretty much all of his appearances Godzilla stomps hard, and from the very start he knew more than the other characters in the movie. Knowing exactly what the villain was trying to accomplish. It was a really interesting part for him to play I felt

great review ... im going to rewatch shin tonight. your clarity is appreciated

great analysis and commentary; Shin is probably my favorite Godzilla film though I've admittedly struggled to really get into the franchise.

I think I speak for all of us when I say “we’d adore a Gamera retrospective”. If not for everything, then at least the fantastically cheesy theme song from the classic films

closest thing we getting to an anime related analysis lol

Movie looks great definitely going to give it a watch. Thanks, the series has been amazing!

Shin godzilla. Some say hes in pain. Some say he merely acts. Some say hes a benevolent force. But he will always be.... The king of monsters, and nuclear power personified

Loved your Godzilla videos. Shin Godzilla is a modern sci-fi masterpiece. Weirdly it's so good that when I watched it back to back with Man of Steel last year it made me recontexulize that movie and its commentary on ecological collapse and the failures of government and military might as parallels in both. Anyways, Goji rules, I fuck with the original Gojira, Monsterverse GvK and KotM, and Godzilla vs Mothra. Heisei is still a blindspot for me. Would love to see more kaiju or Anno videos from you. Hell yeah, Godzilla.

Legit one of my fav movies of all time and def one of my fav Godzilla movies of all time. Last summer I did a Godzilla marathon and after so many movies, this felt like such a breath of fresh air in a great way and is such a cool version of the monster. Can’t wait for shin ultraman!!!

VERY well done, Matt. Really enjoyed your take on every Gojira movie.

Thank you so much, Matt. I've been a Tokusatsu/Monster movie fan for over a decade, and Godzilla has been with me my whole life since my childhood. I have been following your channel since your first Showa Era video and all the way to the end of your Reiwa Era video. Your Video Essay is one of the best movie review youtubers I have seen on KZfaq. Our ranking of the 33 live-action Godzilla movies so far has a lot in common. I'd love to see your video reviews of the Gamera, Mothra, Kong, and other Showa Toho monster universe movies (trust me, some of them are as good as the Godzilla movies themselves, many of the monsters in Destroy All Monsters came from those movies). Also, please to review the animated version of Godzilla, which I'm sure many of our fans would really love to see it. Thank you again for the wonderful video.

this video totally sold me on the movie. ive now watched it and it was fascinating and a bit goofy and some of the horror elements worked pretty well but the overall experience was pretty much ''eh it was pretty good, i dont feel i wasted my time.'' but damn did i love the design of gozilla, it was fanfuckintastic. unsettling mix of believeable and ludicrous, goofy and terrifying. (the second form is my absolute favourite that thing was a fuckin treat on the eyes) every time gozilla was on screen the movie came to life while in a very gozilla fashion it lost most of its steam when it cut from the monster and tried to have a story around the humans.

I heartily welcome ANY further Godzilla material you wish to cover...thoroughly enjoyed this.

Yes! Thank you for this. It’s the only worthy rendition of the classic story, in decades! Loved it when I saw it in theaters years ago, this made me seek it out to watch it again 🤌🏻

I've been looking forward for this... Thanks

You mean to tell me Godzilla vs Space Godzilla ain't number 1? No but seriously thank you so much for this video and all the work that went into it!

Is that Shinsuke Nakamura’s theme in the beginning?

man this is amazing, nice work!

This video was made literally the day i did my school report on this movie Fantastic video fam, did my favorite movie justice👌👌👌

Really well done video! As a longtime Godzilla/Gainax/Anno fan, I'd been looking forward to this video when you first started your Godzilla marathon and after I saw your glowing review of Shin Godzilla on Letterboxd. Here are some tidbits I wanted to share: - The photo of Goro Maki is, in reality, a picture of Japanese New Wave film director, Kihachi Okamoto. Anno has stated that Okamoto is his favorite film director and, at the Hideaki Anno Exhibition that started in 2021 and continuing currently in Japan, cited several of Okamoto's films as having influenced him (Westward Desperado, Fort Graveyard, Japan’s Longest Day, The Human Bullet, The Battle of Okinawa, and Blood Type: Blue). Anno even wrote the liner notes for the laserdisc release of The Battle of Okinawa and has claimed to have watched the film over 100 times. - Shin Godzilla's co-director, Shinji Higuchi, was also an uncredited special effects assistant for The Return of Godzilla (aka Godzilla 1985). - 23:01 - Speaking of that competitiveness, I thought it was interesting that both Legendry's Godzilla and Shin's had scenes where buildings are used to knock down Godzilla. Only in Shin, it doesn't actually work. Almost as if Toho were showing how their version of Godzilla was far more powerful or that a couple of buildings couldn't actually stop Godzilla. - 23:59 - Another small reference to the original 54' Godzilla film is that Shin also begins with a shot of a running boat. Thanks for all the hard work on these Godzilla videos! I'll be looking forward to your future videos, especially ones centered on Eva or any other Gainax/khara/Anno projects! Omedetō! ;)

This Godzilla is by far the most unsettling, I love how hopeless everything feels throughout the whole film.

I was happy to see Ebirah: Horror of the Deep so high on your list. I loved that one. There were a ton of human characters, and the script did a great job of giving them all something to do.

Oh hey a new video about my favorite Godzilla Movie! Going to see Shin Godzilla on the big screen is still one of my best time I have ever had in a theater

I just noticed the Nakamura entrance theme lol

Such a great movie. I can't wait for future movies from Toho and Legendary long live the king🤴

"Shin Godzilla" is an excellent film! Thanks for making this great documentary!

Thanks for the video Matt. Big godzilla fan. Much ❤