GODZILLA: The Heisei Era Retrospective - A King Reborn & Transformed
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- Опубликовано: 11 май 2021
- Analyzing the Heisei Era of Godzilla, which spanned from 1984 through 1995 and encompasses 7 films, with a discussion of this era's societal and ecological metaphors, its shifting perspective on Godzilla, and the strengths of its more interconnected story, which ends with a tragic and beautiful climax.
This is Part 2 of an ongoing Godzilla series.
PATREON - / mattdraper
TWITTER - / mattdraperyt
#Godzilla
#Kaiju
#HeiseiGodzilla
Music:
"Return of Godzilla" Theme by Reijiro Koroku
"The Rising Sun" by WWE Music Group
"Monsters" by The Midnight
"Godzilla vs Biollante" Theme by Koichi Sugiyama
"Gojira" "Godzilla vs King Ghidorah" "Godzilla vs Destoroyah" "Godzilla and Mothra" and "Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla II" Themes by Akira Ifukube
"A Distant Quiet" by Traxx
Sources:
www.godzilla-movies.com/news/...
vantagepointinterviews.com/20...
vantagepointinterviews.com/20...
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• EXTRA: The Return of G... 
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What's your favorite Heisei Godzilla movie?
Godzilla vs. Biollante, I like the themes, the story, the monsters, etc.
Is all of them a valid option? Because that’s my choice.
Either Mechagodzilla or Destroyah for me. The way Mechagodzilla makes you switch who you're rooting for mid-battle was great and Destroyah was a fantastic ending for the era.
Godzilla returns started this series off with a bang and Godzilla vs Destoroyah ended it masterfully. In my opinion they're the best films of the heisei era
Godzilla vs Destroyah is my favorite Godzilla film within of the Heisei era films. In all honesty, The Heisei era Godzilla is the best series of Godzilla films in my opinion.
The Heisei was the best era of Godzilla. The dark tone, complex themes and the feeling of finality in the final battle against Destroyah.
Agreed but ngl no Godzilla movie from Any era will ever beat the OG 1954 movie
@@brotato2390 That’s a undeniable fact! But personal favorites can still be taken into account. Godzilla VS MechaGodzilla is still my personal favorite Kaiju movie!
*Godzilla VS MechaGodzilla II forgot to add the 2 lol
Destoroyah
@@SunshineStateCoasters lol yeah wasn't trying to say everyone has to like the OG movie the most, just my personal fav
I feel like calling Godzilla vs Ghidorah nationalistic is silly when the movie itself refuted the idea. For the whole movie, the veteran insists he understands Godzilla and that Godzilla is ultimately on his side because it saved his life in WW2. But Godzilla didn’t save them out of some sense of loyalty, he was fending off intruders in his territory.
The veteran getting blasted in the end by Godzilla is showing that it’s useless to prescribe will or agenda onto Godzilla. Cause at the end of the day, he’s just a force of nature. It’s like trying to say a natural disaster is “on your side”.
I think the guy wanted godzilla to kill him.
There is however sympathy in Godzilla's eyes. He remembers that face, even decades later. That's why Godzilla's eyes tear up, he's remembering a time from before he was a monster.
I never got that from that film with Shindo's character. yes, he does say that he and his men was saved by Godzilla on the island, BUT he doesn't have any fantasies about Godzilla being his best pal. l
I found the Japanese scene of his death scene and he acknowledges that the very same dinosaur that saved him back them is still destroying the land of prosperity that he had created and how ironic that is.
Shindo WANTS to die at this point as he had a hand in creating Godzilla- both times because he could have mercy killed Godzilla but didn't and left him to die peacefully in his habitat but that didn't happen. He even said "...The same dinosaur that I turned into Godzilla". In Shindo's mind, he damned Godzilla twice and as such...the nod his gives to Godzilla before being killed is more of a "Okay, go ahead" and Godzilla grants him his wish because he remembers Shindo during the scene and knows what Shindo wants, its why Godzilla soften his look with his eyes slowly closing, head tilting slightly before his eyes open again, hardening back into the way they were before.
but if he's fending off introders then why didn't he also kill the Japanese too
@@Algeriawindows69 pretty sure that he was so wounded that he couldn't go after the Japanese...or that the Japanese have been on the island long enough that he didn't see them as intruders. I'm more inclined to go with the first one.
My favorite era of Godzilla, with my favorite design of the King. I like the continuity and feel Godzilla's story in this era is tragic and deserves a bit more recognition.
I used to cry as a kid watching these with my brother lol, definitely a tragic story
Same but for some reason I didnt like Godzilla vs mothra when I was younger
Totally agree great period!!
Yeah, same here, heisei godzilla went through a lot of shit and it really makes you feel for bad him, especially when he dies.
I also love how it had reoccurring human leads too.
This was my favorite version of Godzilla before the Monsterverse. Heisei’s design is iconic and some of my favorite kaiju were introduced here with Biollante and especially Destroyah.
Agreed. This was my favorite too. Before the MonsterVerse......
this was my favorite before shin...
By far the best Godzilla suit designs of the franchise.
Yes! I love the 1989-1992 suits!
My favorite is the 2002 suit
@@evanmaldonado9799yea, I'll say 89-93, but all heisei movies Godzilla was his best designs thou
12:28
Simple answer to that question.
There's two Godzillas in the Heisei era.
The first (being the original incarnation) was irradiated by the H-bomb and proceeded to attack Tokyo in 1954 before ultimately being killed.
The second (being the Heisei incarnation) was a dinosaur living on the Pacific Island. The Futurians, thinking that this would be the same monster that attacked in 1954, teleported it into the Bering Sea, thinking it would die. It instead was irradiated by a nuclear submarine in the 1970s and mutated into the Godzilla seen from The Return of Godzilla to Godzilla vs. Destoroyah.
It's explained in vs. Biollante that Godzilla has a habit of evading the JSDF's tracking, as shown when he was expected to show up in Iso Bay, but instead appeared in Osaka Bay. So in vs. King Ghidorah when the characters come back and see he's gone, that didn't mean he was erased from history, he just simply moved without anyone noticing. Plus when a nuclear sub is sent to irradiate him, we see not the dinosaur the characters thought was there, but instead Godzilla as we know him, which resulted in him getting a power and size upgrade for the rest of the Heisei Era.
In short, the Futurians were idiots for believing the 1954 and Heisei Gojis were the same monster since they got their info from an unreliable book, and neither Godzilla were erased from history.
t h a n k y o u
Thank god for this comment.
Well said. This is pretty much what I thought myself. Bunch of dumb humans abusing technology they barely understood with a plan they did barely any research on beforehand having said plan backfire on them horribly.
they never said that the 1954 godzilla was the same godzilla as heisei godzilla. The only way that is represented is the cover of that guy's book having godzilla 1954, but godzilla 1954 is never brought up. Also it could be that the time travel slightly changed the present time, such as godzilla's location.
But yeah I don't know why people don't get the explanation given in the film.
Rest in peace, Satsuma-sensei.
I wish they'd put out a box set of this series.
Almost all of them have been released on Blu-Ray and DVD at some point, but Godzilla vs. Biollante is difficult to find and perpetually out of print/bootlegged. If you want a genuine copy, be prepared to pay over $300USD second (or third) hand.
It got so bad that I made a digitized version of my old VHS copy from the early 90s just so I could watch it again.
psst, showa video. you're welcome
@@BeOurBee I could find godzilla v biollante on DVD, but never godzilla returns it's the one I'm missing
@@uhhhhidk they have the blue ray on Walmarts website for 14 bucks
@@TheHatman168 what a fucking hero, a month later and gives me the scoop to finish my collection years in the making
Rest in peace, Satsuma. You did an amazing job with this era, and you won’t be forgotten.
The Heisei era will always be my favorite series, and the most memorable.
same
fr
RIP Kenpachiro Satsuma. Godzilla of my childhood.
Nakamura’s theme got a big pop from me lmao
Gotta pop for Shinsuke
Mannnnnnn I got chills when I heard that damn guitar..
The King of Strong Style
My absolute favorite take on the character. A tragic but intelligent animal facing forces old and new in a world he does not belong in but is more than willing to carve his place into. Whether it be striking down humanity's arrogance or challenging the gods themselves, Godzilla never falters. He seeks compassion but is more than willing to fight with all that anger and hatred his nuclear origin brings. Even in his final moments, Godzilla fights to avenge the death of his son, the one being who not only understood him but gave him a chance for happiness. Beautiful storytelling.
Kazuki Omori (the director of vs Biollante and vs King Ghidorah, the screenwriter of vs Mothra) passed away on November 12th 2022, at the age of 70.
Thank you for giving us those masterpieces, the good childhood memories.
Rest in peace.
G vs KG is pretty terrible tho.
@redskull378 Time travel stories can be a pain in the ass to write. Still, it's better than films like Godzilla's Revenge.
The Heisei Godzilla has also become the default design Toho uses for media-related promotions from video games to store merchandising.
My first true Godzilla movie was Godzilla 2000. So, I'm excited to see you cover the Millennium era.
Same for me. It’s such an all around great Godzilla movie. It took some chances, and they paid off big time.
You won't see 2 back to back movies better than 2000 and Magaguirus. For these reasons. First, the Godzilla design was perfect. Second, they were a perfect marriage of past and present special effects. His atomic breath in those two films were epic. Third, Godzilla needed no help. His strength and intelligence was all he needed. No help no luck. Just the King of the Monsters doing what the King of the Monsters does.
@@williamchiafos3889Vs Megagurius is shit tho
@@redskull378 oh why ?
The Heisei Godzilla movies hold A TON of nostalgic value for me and forever cemented my fascination with the franchise. "Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah", "Godzilla vs. Mothra: The Battle for Earth", "Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II" and "Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla" were among some of the first Godzilla movies I ever saw. I distinctly remember watching those movies when they aired on the Sci-fi Channel when I was a kid (Back when Sci-fi used to air the English dubs of Godzilla movies in the early 2000's).
When I was a kid, I didn't know anyone who was a fan of Godzilla, letalone seen any of the Heisei movies. I'm very thankful to live in an age of Godzilla where people in America are making in-depth analysis videos about the various films and era's of Godzilla like this. As an American G-fan who grew up with a nostalgic fondness for the Heisei series, these kind of videos really mean a lot to me.
While the Heisei Godzilla movies are incredibly flawed (For some G-fans, that's putting it lightly), I still think they have a better understanding of Godzilla, both as a character and as an overall franchise, than the MonsterVerse Godzilla movies think they do.
Not expecting to hear Nakamura's theme in this. Almost destroyed my room in a fit of hype.
I'm 53 and have been a fan of the big guy since I was a little boy, I happen to enjoy all the films in some way as some bring back fond childhood memories. I was fortunate to visit Japan two years ago and my wife surprised me with a three night stay at the Hotel Gracery in the ShinJuku district of Tokyo. This is the GodZilla hotel as a lifesize head of the big guy and a "paw" tower over the hotel and acknowledge the passing of each hour (10am - 8pm) with GodZilla's call and smoke from his mouth, it is so freakin cool. He really is beloved in Japan, the lobby of the hotel has every movie poster framed and nearby is a GodZilla store where I bought some merchandise. The new Shin GodZilla is another fantastic rebirth and reinterpretation of the monster and personally I liked the film a lot. Hard to say what is my favorite, thats hitting a moving target for me, some of the films are pretty terrible of course but are fun anyway. I'm just glad they made (are making) the films, movies are entertainment and these and many other monster movies have entertained me over the years and I'm happy to have seen them. Thanks to you Matt for keeping the big guy around and turning on more people to GodZilla on youtube.
Pro-Japanese empire era Godzilla becoming a manmade-altered natural disaster after the bomb, as the bomb, is some metacommentary if ever I've heard of such.
This guy always makes great videos. He brings so much legitimacy and genuine thought provoking ideas to these topics. I wish more people would look at Godzilla films as art
I love the heisei series, the continuity, creature design, sound track, and special effects were great. I’m only complaint are that there too many wide shots and not enough melee fights. Other then that I loved watching these films.
Yeah Heisei Era G-Man definitely spammed his atomic breath like it was no tomorrow during his fights lol
@@brookswilliams5239 fr bro
Love the movies, but the best thing about this era are the Noriyoshi Ohrai movie posters.
Oh I know I have a few posters of them hung up in my house
This is awesome
I always loved the Heisei era with its continuity and designs. They did an amazing job.
Akira Ifukube’s music for Godzilla vs King Ghidorah is some of my favorite of the franchise. The Godzilla series consistently has great music.
Godzilla vs King Ghidorah was my first Godzilla movie, so it'll always hold a special place in my heart.
Yo same
Same here. Out of all the Godzilla movies, GvsKG is the one I've see the most times. Even though its story makes absolutely no sense (Especially with the whole time travel aspect), it definitely left an impact on me. When I first saw it as a kid, it fueled my imagination and forever cemented my fascination with the franchise. I still enjoy watching it evey now and again, both for entertainment and nostalgic purposes. :)
Biolante is such a tragic kaiju and one of my favorites in the franchise.
“Unproblematic queen, Mothra” is my favorite sentence 😂
Really good analysis on the Heisei era of Godzilla. The fact that the films are connected is one of the reasons why I love the Heisei era. Love to see your videos for the Millennium and the current Reiwa era.
As a casual fan growing up watching old dub vhs' of the big G and his fights against Biolante and mechaG your video essays are absolutely wonderful. I got super back into Godzilla with my Girlfriend who had never seen one and ever since I have just devoured as many bts, docs, and video essays I can. So thank you for this and I truly can't wait for more.
Aaah yes the Heisei era. I was collecting Godzilla toys and movies at the time in the 90's before 98 came out.
A new Matt Draper vid and being about the best era of godzilla, holy crap is it my birthday!
Godzilla is brought back to his roots in this era. A real threat!
Something I've been thinking of. In comparing certain movies of the Heisei era to certain DC Comics stories from around that same time period, I'd say Return of Godzilla is the 'Dark Knight Returns' of the franchise, while Godzilla vs. Destoroyah is the 'Death of Superman' equivalent.
This video explains why the Heisei era is the best era of Godzilla. It goes in depth, especially with the messages behind Godzilla vs Destroyah. This era gets a lot of hate and I'm not sure why. It's amazing
Because of Godzilla vs King Ghidorah.And The fact that Miki supports Godzilla and tells the humans to not attack and kill Godzilla despite Godzilla destroying and killing millions of humans for no reason at all.
The Return of Godzilla is my favorite Godzilla film. It is dark, moody, and frightening. The robot that was we used to depict him moving is something out of a horror movie.
Absolutely love the Heisei series! Wish I had gotten them all on DVD before losing all my VHS copies! haha Godzilla's design(especially Burning G) & Akira Ifukube's score sold it all for me!!
So im gonna need that Millennium video asap that'd be great 🤣. Good work, man. The Heisei is actually my favorite era. The stories and Kaiju are among my favorites. I wore my Godzilla vs Space Godzilla tape out as a kid.
Such a fantastic era. By far my favorite because of the consistency in the continuity and in Godzilla’s design. Seriously, this has got to be THE iconic design for the character. The action is always so entertaining too, and the score by Ifukube is so impactful, especially in that final film. It also has some of the coolest monsters in Godzilla history. Biollante, Battra, Spacegodzilla, and Destroyah are so well done, and the other redesigns for the classic monsters are stellar. Can’t wait to see you cover the next era, which is also full of great entries in the series, including my first ever Godzilla movie.
Godzilla: you won't destroy humans, *THAT'S MY JOB!*
Fantastic video and interesting insight on the movies. Kinda wish more people saw kaiju films critically instead of "big monster fight"
I think it's often because the easier-to-find entries don't have particularly engaging human characters.
My absolute favorite era. While certainly not perfect, this series started the trend followed by Legendary of having Godzilla gradually grow as a character through a closely-knit narrative that sees the King of the Monsters transform from an embittered victim to a father with new-found purpose in life. The first hints of his transformation can be seen with his interaction with Shindo in GvKG, the first indication in the series that he is an emotional creature, and culminated in GvMGII. A deleted scene in Godzilla vs. Biollante would have referenced Godzilla's "humanity" much earlier, showing Godzilla seemingly showing remorse at having killed Biollante in their first round.
Y’all, I think with these Godzilla videos, Matt could defeat Kong easily without even lifting a finger.
I cant argue more
I’m hoping one day they will release a complete box set of the hesiei era like Criterion did with the Showa era
RIP our Heisei king
the most interesting thing to me is how the heisei and showa era's blended together in my mind. not having watched the movies in any sort of order or sequence but catching one or two over years meant I couldn't properly form a timeline and these periods really blended together for me. I'm going to watch them all back with a clearer distinction and see how my thoughts form.
RIP Satsuma 😔
My favorite Godzilla era
Same
Heisei Goji will forever be an amazing experience in my life. With Return of Godzilla being my introduction to Godzilla when I was a wee lad.
❤️Heisei Godzilla❤️
My introduction to Godzilla is Emmerich 1998 "Godzilla," so yeah even if it is not a
Godzilla movie that we all hope for, I cannot hate it since it is the one that introduce me to this legendary kaiju. I ended up loving Big G with the heisei and millenium series, so yeah that is why heisei is my favorite Godzilla era (with some millenium era films too).
Heisei is my favorite era, with Return of Godzilla being my favorite. Looking forward to Millennium.
This is peak Goji for me. Love every era for different reasons, but the Heisei era brought about a nice storyline that had all the action I love. A little serious, a little fun, a lot of great fights!
Honestly love the Godzilla movies that have world-building between each other. Like the various iterations of the Super X and the upgrades from MKG to Mechagodzilla to Moguera. It's a nice thru-line I appreciate.
Satsuma-San just passed away. Such a shame. He brought my favorite era of Godzilla movies to life.
Loved this video. Thanks. My viewing of Godzilla movies has been sporadic, so this video really makes me want to watch them all.
Excellent job on this retrospective Matt!
The Heisei series is my favorite. These seven films definitely feel like a progression. Plus, GvD is my favorite. That movie feels like a proper conclusion, a proper send off.
I gotta tell you… you’re my favorite channel on RUclips right now. Your retrospectives and essays on all things comics/Godzilla/movies are incredible and I just needed to express my gratitude! Keep up the great work man!!
This is the best version of Godzilla as a protector. He’s not a hero or a savior, he simply is protecting his territory and we’d rather him than other evils. A necessary evil that is seen with both awe and fear
My personal ranking:
Godzilla vs destoroyah
Godzilla vs biollante
Godzilla vs king ghidorah
Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla
Godzilla Returns
Godzilla vs mothra
Godzilla vs spacegodzilla
It’s hard for me to rank them in an order. For me they fall into two categories, those that I will always happily sit down and watch and those that I watch as a fan just to see them again every so often. Destoroyah, Biollante, King Ghidorah, and Godzilla Returns are in the first category, the others I watch once in a while. If I had to rank them it would probably be close to the same order as this 👍
The King of Monsters and the King of Strong Style is the tag team I didn't know I needed!
Great video! Looking forward to the others in the series!
I actually like how they kept the "Godzilla was a monster known to a remote island" arc in Godzilla Minus 1!!!
"Unproblematic Queen Mothra" lol
I think this version of Godzilla was the best, he looked cool not silly, he looked real not cg. He looked badass.
Thanks Matt for this Godzilla videos from an massive fan . Much ❤ as always 😊
One of the best Godzilla content on RUclips. I love Heisei Era, thank you.
I didn't think my Friday the 13th fandom and Godzilla fandom would intersect but here we are. I didn't know they were tied together in such a way. I have a Jason Voorhees tattoo with a Godzilla tattoo drawn up ready to go. This is rad. Thanks for teaching me something I didn't know about the series
The Godzilla vs Biollonte poster (27:56) is one of the coolest Godzilla posters if not coolest movie posters ever made. Beautifully made.
Godzilla's Heisei Era is an important era for Godzilla movies in that the Heisei Era brought Godzilla back to the big screen with a new take on our favorite giant reptile.
good work as always matt, keep it up, heisei era was a cool era, more down to earth and with a godzilla with a lion face
Excellent documentary!!!! Thanks! Subbed!
Man I love these movies probably some of the best movies in the genre.
Along with the gamera trilogy
Yeah those are fantastic too.
You clearly have excellent taste in Music & Film.
Subbed.
Ask and thou shall receive! Thank you so much, dude! I LOVE the Heisei Era!!!
Just watched this and the Showa Era video back to back. Awesome work. Definitely looking forward to the one for the Millennium series.
Personally my rankings for Heisei are:
7. Space Godzilla
6. Ghidorah
5. Mothra
4. Mechagodzilla II
3. Biollante
2. Return
1. Destroyah
Thank you so much for giving me a better understanding of the difference in eras.
Looking forward to your next Godzilla videos. I have to said Godzilla 85 is my favorite being that it was one of the first Godzilla films I remember watching as a kid.
Thanks for this, great retrospec.
I'm so ready for the next era! I love this series. I'm eager to watch these original films, and this series gives me a good intro and understanding of how to interprete these films with relevant insight into the climate of the times
Heisei was by far the best era, exactly for the thematic depth and variety and the connected story that lead to character development. Also, it had the best villains and a really touching end.
Ranking them is really hard, I would say:
1. G v Destoroyah (mostly for its horror elements and the emotional impact)
2. G v Space Godzilla (I can't even say way, I think it's so entertaining. And I really like the final when Godzilla and MOGUERA team up, showing that Godzilla isn't just a rampaging monster and enemy of humanity, but an independent entity, neither good nor evil)
3. G v MG II (probably the internally most consistent movie and for the emotional shift during the final battle)
4. G v KG (King Ghidorah is the main selling point here, it's just sad that the movie is internally inconsistent and KG is again useless when not under mind control, that both the Showa era KG and the Monsterverse KG seem to be more powerful on their own - not taking the Mothra series KG's and Keizer Ghidorah into account - is disappointing for a KG fan. Also the plot is very appealing and interesting in theory, but it ended up too complicated for such a movie)
5. G v Biollante (Biollante is just a great monster, the plot itself is rather dumb, though)
6. G v Mothra (this is just a Mothra movie, a monster that I don't really like. The only good thing is the somewhat tragic character arc for both Mothra and Bathra)
7. G Returns (for me, this movie is rather boring, unfortunately and so the least interesting/entertaining)
I love the music from this series so much I bought the soundtrack. Outstanding!
I love Godzilla 1984 for its more serious tone, ( I was so happy when it finally came out on Blu-ray in the US in its original Japanese cut a few years ago) but I think Godzilla vs King Ghidorah is my favorite in the Heisei series. Im always happy to watch that one, but I enjoy and own them all
The end Godzilla vs Destroyah, the peering through the fog only to see the silhouette of Godzilla Jr. with the echo of his roar. Seeing that gives me goosebumps everytime. It really was a perfect ending.
GREAT Video! I LOVE The Heisei Era. my fav Heisei Era movie is Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah
This sounds so good, I'd love to try and watch these films at some point.
Yessirrr i been waiting on this!
Awesome. Bring on the Millennium Era retrospective!
When I'm running down my top 5 Godzilla films, 1984 and Destroyah often make the list (I say "often" because the list changes when I revisit films I haven't seen in a while).
As a long time Godzilla fan I love your videos!👍
Finally been waiting for this
I just finished watching this Era and it's easily my favorite. Just such a consistent set of movies with a great tone for the series
1. Godzilla Vs Destroyah A+
2. The Return Of Godzilla A
3. Godzilla Vs King Ghidorah A
4. Godzilla Vs Mothra: Battle For Earth A
5. Godzilla Vs Mechagodzilla II A-
6. Godzilla Vs Biollante A-
7. Godzilla Vs Space Godzilla C+
im sure Satsuma is happy smiling in what heavens he is now w/ how the franchise has gone 😢👏
Great video! Havent watched these movies and now i want to. Well…most of them.😊
More Godzilla videos please, love your analysis. Do all the Godzilla series reviews.
I hope the artist for those movie covers got an award.
When Godzilla is mentioned just in general, my brain goes to this Godzilla. This is the bar for me. I absolutely love this design.
Love this video keep on making more Godzilla please 🙏🙏
First video I have seen of yours amd I love it! Millennium next (and soon) please!
Thank you, Matt!
My favorite films from the Heisei series would be Mechagodzilla II and Destroyah.
Destroyah for the same reasons you shared, it's just an excellent capstone of the series and is a perfect followup to 1954 with a message about escalating weapons development.
MechaGodzilla II introduces my favorite vision of MechaGodzilla; as a machine built by humans to defend themselves from kaiju. It's such a good trope that it's been done 3 times, including Kiryu, my favorite version of MechaGodzilla.