Go Go Godzilla! The Anime Trilogy Continues

By Cat

I had a hankering to watch an anime to share with you all, and so the 2^nd installment of the Netflix Godzilla anime trilogy felt like a natural fit. I’d given the first movie the Foreign Film Friday spot back in February of this year. Godzilla: Planet of Monsters (2017)  set the stage well for the story to continue.

The way this trilogy is shaping up reminds me of the way The Lord of the Rings (2001-2003) trilogy was released. These movies fit together as a single story broken up into three segments. Now don’t get me wrong – I’m not necessarily comparing the two movie franchises. That’s like comparing apples to watermelons. Each of the first two Godzilla anime films set the stage for the next chapter in after-credits scenes. I am super excited to see where this story goes from here.

Now, we here at Trust the Dice don’t like giving spoilers. Though, if you’re interested in this movie; you really want to watch the first movie before you start this one. This is mostly due to the reason I just mentioned. This story picks up where the last film left off. In discussing this movie, however, it may reveal some spoilers from the prior one so consider this your warning. All the same, I’ll do my best not to let any cats out of the bag.

I’ve seen where a lot of prominent geek and gamer culture sites have generally panned this film – but they weren’t exactly fans of the first one, either. I have entirely the opposite reaction to these films. I absolutely adore them. Not only is the animation quality exquisite and breathtaking, I’ve also enjoyed the story.

The team sent to deal with Godzilla on Earth encountered some issues – namely the 300 meter tall Godzilla. This film picks up with what happens next to the stranded battle teams. They face mysteries and surprising revelations which were both engrossing and head-scratch worthy. I won’t say that the plot is without flaws. There are some holes in the story which I haven’t wrapped my head around – but I am willing to believe that there were explanations in the first movie that I’ve simply forgotten. It’s really no matter in comparison to the rest.

This installment of the story is partially a think-piece where the question of the price of victory and what it means to be human come into play. When you put that together with the existing emotional baggage carried along from the first film, this movie gets into some dark and heavy stuff if you look past the visuals and the giant lizard’s heat ray.

Mecha-Godzilla does play a role in the film, but not quite in the manner I expected. It was still rather interesting and does lead into the use of an anime staple. The mechs used are very apt in their naming and there’s some rather powerful imagery when you connect those dots.

As with the first movie in this trilogy, there wasn’t any flashy or cutesy intro song or recurring tune within the body of the soundtrack as quite a lot of anime films and series employ. Instead, there’s another excellent song from the band Xai during the credits. It’s an epic way to pass the time until that final teaser scene at the end. I’ve linked the video for you below.

As I said before, I can’t wait to find out what happens next – and you can believe that I’ll share with you what I think when this trilogy comes to a close. The next film’s title is shown as Godzilla: The Planet Eater. I’ve seen some translations as “star eater” as well. Movie #3 has been teased for release in Japan in November 2018. We can likely expect a 3 or 4 month time difference for when it hits Netflix, if it follows this most recent installment’s pattern.