Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. (2003)

One year after the fight between Godzilla and Mechagodzilla, the two monsters along with Mothra face off in a conclusive battle royale.

Director:

Masaaki Tezuka

Writers:

Masaaki Tezuka (screenplay), Masahiro Yokotani (screenplay)

Stars:

Noboru Kaneko, Miho Yoshioka, Mickey Koga

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Noboru Kaneko	...	Yoshito Chûjô
Miho Yoshioka	...	Pilot Azusa Kisaragi
Mickey Koga	...	Mechagodzilla Operator Kyôsuke Akiba (as Mitsuki Koga)
Hiroshi Koizumi	...	Dr. Shin'ichi Chûjô (Linguist / Yoshito's father)
Akira Nakao	...	Premier Hayato Igarashi
Kôichi Ueda	...	General Dobashi
Kô Takasugi	...	JSDF Lieutenant Togashi
Masami Nagasawa	...	Shobijin (Twin Fairy)
Chihiro Ohtsuka	...	Shobijin (Twin Fairy) (as Chihiro Ôtsuka)
Takeo Nakahara	...	JSDF Chief Hitoyanagi
Norman England	...	Sgt Woodyard
Naomasa Musaka	...	Gorô Kanno
Yumiko Shaku	...	Akane Yashiro
Yûsuke Tomoi	...	Lieutenant Hayama
Taigi Kobayashi

Storyline

Forty-two years after her first visit in Tokyo, Mothra returns to warn mankind that they must return Mechagodzilla, along with Godzilla's bones, to the sea, for the dead must not be disturbed. If not, dire consequences will follow. However, Godzilla is once again on the rampage, and Mechagodzilla is Japan's only defense.

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Plot Keywords:

monster movie | creature feature | giant robot | twin | night driving | 

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Taglines:

Shitô kara ichi'nen...hitobito wa tashika ni shôri te ni shita to shinjita...kare ga futatabi awarareru made ni...! (One year after the battle to the death...humankind believed it had certain victory in its hands...until he appeared once again...!)

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for sci-fi monster violence and some language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese English

Release Date:

13 December 2003 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Godzilla, Mothra, Mechagodzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.

Filming Locations:

Shiba Park, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

JPY 182,651,000 (Japan), 14 December 2003, Limited Release

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$10,724,345

Company Credits

Production Co:

Toho Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The monster whose dead body washes up on the shore was originally intended by director Masaaki Tezuka to be Anguirus, but producer Shogo Tomiyama convinced him to change it to the less popular Kamoebas to avoid fan outrage. While Anguirus is a very popular monster, appearing in over half a dozen Godzilla films and coming in third place in a G-Fan magazine poll for favorite monster (behind Godzilla and Gamera), Kamoebas is a much more obscure monster, having previously appeared in only one film, Space Amoeba (1970).

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Crazy Credits

After the final credits, its is revealed that an unnamed lab is ready to create ANOTHER Godzilla clone.

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Connections

Followed by Shin Godzilla (2016)

User Reviews

One of the Better Godzilla Movies I've Seen

So I took a break from the world of Godzilla after MECHAGODZILLA II and SPACE GODZILLA disappointed me and the 1954 original (which I appreciated for what it was) bored me. But I'm a glutton for punishment, and I decided to try again and find a Godzilla movie that's more my speed. My next excursion brought me to GODZILLA: TOKYO S.O.S. While it has a lot in common with his run-in with Space Godzilla, I found that I enjoyed it a bit more. I don't know if I'm just getting used to the genre or it the movies just got better as the years went on. I guess TOKYO S.O.S. was the second-to-last of the Toho series films so I guess it's better late than never. Just because the movie's an improvement over the previous installments I've seen, that doesn't mean it's any less insane. The movie opens with the arrival of Mothra, heralded by his twin space fairies warning Dr. Shinichi Chujo that Mothra demands that Godzilla's remains (which had been used in the construction of Mechagodzilla) be returned to the sea where they belong. It never really explains why so I just assume Mothra's a stickler for proper burial procedures. Anyway Godzilla awakens (I thought he was dead and his bones were in Mechagodzilla?) and returns to Tokyo to exact revenge on Mechagodzilla for…having his bones? Mothra has offered to defend Tokyo in Mechagodzilla's place if the Japanese government comply with his request, and he is summoned to battle Godzilla when the beast arrives. Then, human characters step aside and we're treated to an hour of Godzilla, Mothra, and Mechagodzilla going to battle.

So, the first thing I noticed is that this movie trades in some elements of crazy (there are no psychics in this movie) for others (space fairies and a giant benevolent moth). Let's go ahead and just get this reminder out of the way. I am not a long-term Godzilla fan and only started watching the series when I realized that I was excited to see Gareth Edwards' 2014 reboot and wanted to get some history on the series. I did not watch them in order and I've only seen a handful of them. So I'm sure there are perfectly "logical" explanations for all of the weirdness I get such a kick out of but I'm more entertained by just assuming it was the writer's love for LSD. For example, why is Mothra's offspring born from an egg more resembling that of a bird than any insect? It doesn't matter. He's a space moth with hot twin space fairies that act as his voice to mankind. I'd always wondered why it appeared that Mothra had such a huge fan base and I think I get it. It's probably the most interesting of the monsters I've seen so far. It's not just some mindless beast rampaging through Japan. It's got personality and it's own agenda. It wants Godzilla's remains returned to the sea (again, for reasons unknown to me) and it's willing to become the nation's guardian in exchange for the disassembly of Mechagodzilla.

At the start of the movie, Mechagodzilla is in a state of disrepair and the government is weighing the option of shutting down the program. If Godzilla's thought to be gone, why continue shelling money out to repair their giant robot? While the government gives it consideration, Godzilla decides to pop in for some Tokyo- stomping and Mothra steps in, quickly proving that his offer to protect Japan was worthless. While I actually really liked the human story element here better than I have in any of the other movies, TOKYO S.O.S. suffers from the same issue that really bothered me about SPACE GODZILLA. The movie is 90 minutes long and 60 of those minutes is dedicated to the final battle. No joke. I'm sure all the loyal Godzilla fans out there are shrugging and mumbling to themselves, "Well, yeah, man. That's what these movies are all about." Well, I need more than just 60 solid minutes of monster vs. monster vs. giant robot. Admittedly, this battle was way more entertaining than those in both MECHAGODZILLA II and SPACE GODZILLA and the ending was a nice resolution, even if I didn't totally follow it. I was unaware that Mechagodzilla has a history of spirit possession, but there it went. Anyways, my final verdict on GODZILLA: TOKYO S.O.S. is that it's a nice improvement over the other Godzilla movies I've seen. Mothra was way cooler than I thought a giant space moth had any right to be. The final battle, while still excessive, was pretty cool and the visual effects have gotten much better so if I were going to recommend any Godzilla movie to a newbie, it would probably be this one.