Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.

Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S., released in Japan as , is a 2003 tokusatsu film created as a sequel to 2002's Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla. This is the only film in the Millennium Godzilla Series to have a sequel to another film in the same series.It is the 27th installment in the Godzilla series of films

Plot

The film takes place in 2004, and is a direct sequel to the previous Godzilla film Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla. Kiryu is undergoing repair modifications, but it's primary main weapon from the previous film- the Absolute Zero Cannon, was damaged from firing on Godzilla at point blank range and is unable to be repaired in time. The Japanese Prime Minister accepts the Lead Scientist's decision to install the secondary weapon, a very powerful Tri-Mazer into Kiryu's chest plating instead. Then, Mothra's twin fairies warn the Japanese government that using the first Godzilla's bones as the basis for Kiryu is wrong and that the taking of the original Godzilla's bones is what brought him back - if they don't return them to the sea, then Mothra will declare war on humanity, but if Kiryu's bones are returned, then Mothra will gladly protect Japan from Godzilla. Soon enough, Godzilla comes back and kills Kamoebas. Godzilla and Mothra fight, but Mothra proves unable to defeat Godzilla. With the repairs finished just in time, Kiryu is deployed to help and manages to even the odds of the fight. However, Godzilla manages to knock out both Kiryu and Mothra. Meanwhile, on Infant Island, a pair of twin Mothra larvae hatch from Mothra's egg, and rush to Japan to help their mother. While the main character rushes to repair Kiryu, Mothra's children try to hold off Godzilla, and in the process Mothra sacrifices herself to protect her children from Godzilla's firebeam attack, bursting into a moth shaped fireball.

Just in time, the humans manages to repair Kiryu, and he faces off against his flesh and blood foe once more. They grapple, and Kiryu lands a powerful hit on Godzilla, stabbing him in the chest with a drill mounted on his right arm. Weakened by the attack, Godzilla roars in agony, and Mothra's children begin to bind him up in webbing. Just as Kiryu's pilot acknowledges the order from the Prime Minister to finish off Godzilla before the Kiryu project is scrapped, Kiryu's soul is once again awakened through Godzilla's roar. The cyborg picks up Godzilla and secures themselves together with steel cables, then uses its boosters to take it out to sea. They plunge into the ocean together, and sink thousands of meters below the waves, with Kiryu and Godzilla never to be seen again. The two Mothra larvae and the twin Mothra Fairies swim back to Infant Island.

After the final credits, in an undisclosed location, what appears to be more of Godzilla's cells is shown contained in a laboratory vault...

Titles

• Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.
• Godzilla X MechaGodzilla X Mothra: Tokyo SOS
• GMMG
• Godzilla:Mechagodzilla(US Working Title)
• Godzilla,Mothra,And Mechagodzilla(US Working Title)

Staff

• Directed by Masaaki Tezuka
• Writing credits Masaaki Tezuka, Masahiro Yokotani
• Produced by Shogo Tomiyama
• Music by Michiru Oshima
• Cinematography by Yoshinori Sekiguchi
• Assistant Director Hideaki Murakami
• Special Effects Director Eiichi Asada

Cast

• Noboru Kaneko (Yoshito Chujo)
• Miho Yoshioka (Azusa Kisaragi)
• Mitsuki Koga (Mechagodzilla Operator Kyosuke Akiba)
• Masami Nagasawa (Shobijin)
• Chihiro Otsuka (Shobijin)
• Hiroshi Koizumi (Dr. Shinichi Chujo)
• Yumiko Shaku (First Lt. Akane Yashiro)
• Koh Takasugi (JSDF Colonel Togashi)
• Akira Nakao (Prime Minister Hayato Igarashi)
• Koichi Ueda (General Dobashi)
• Naomasa Rokudaira (Goro Kanno)
• Godzilla ............ Tsutomu Kitagawa
• Mechagodzilla ........... Motokuni Nakagawa

Trivia

• Noboru Kaneko previously played the role of Kakeru Shishi/GaoRed in Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger.
• The dialogue in the dubbed English-language of the previous film, Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla, states that Mothra was killed by the army while attacking Japan in the 1960s, which contradicts the sequel. However, in the original Japanese dialogue, it is stated that an atomic heat ray was invented to use against Mothra, not that she was destroyed by it.
• The giant turtle found dead on the shore is Kamoebas from Space Amoeba. Although a promotional photo for the film shows Godzilla biting Kamoebas in the neck, the actual confrontation between the two is not seen in this film.
• This is the first time Mechagodzilla was able to defeat Godzilla without Godzilla coming back as the final victor in the end of the film.
• Following the events of the previous movie, Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla, this is the only film in the Millennium series of Godzilla films to act as a direct sequel to another production in that series. All other Millennium Godzilla films have taken place in their own continuities.
• This film marks the second time a movie featuring Mechagodzilla was followed up by a direct sequel. The first time was in 1975, when Terror of Mechagodzilla acted as a direct sequel to 1974's Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla.
• The film also marks Mechagodzilla's fifth appearance, tieing it with Rodan and Anguirus as the 3rd most frequently appearing kaiju co-star in a Godzilla film, behind Mothra (nine appearances) and King Ghidorah(seven appearances)
• Mothra's battle with Godzilla in this film is identical to their battle in the original Mothra vs. Godzilla; the adult Mothra fights but is killed, only to have its twin progeny arrive to defeat Godzilla.
• A bonus scene occurs after the credits are finished, showing a secret lab with DNA samples from multiple kaiju, including Godzilla.
• For the first time in the series, Godzilla is marked with a visible scar, a sign of physical damage carried over from the final battle of the previous film.
• An idea for a sequel was tossed around during filming which pitted the three monsters in this film against a new creature dubbed "Kergalar." It was described by a concept artist at Toho as "a bastard offspring of King Ghidorah, Godzilla, and a mouse that went though a blender." The story was more of a "Mothra 4" film that happened to have Godzilla and Mechagodzilla thrown into the mix. Unfortunately the creative concept was dropped after the film's dismal performance at the box office.
• Anguirus was originally going to be in the film as the monster that washed up on shore. But Toho scrapped the idea thinking it would upset fans.
• There is a new 2008 screenplay for King Kong vs Godzilla (168 pages) being shopped in America as King Kong vs Gigantis (167 pages). The original "Godzilla" version continues the Akane Yashiro character portrayed by Shaku Yumiko (aka: Yumiko Shaku), hence a sequel to this film and the one before "GXMG: Godzilla vs MechaGodzilla 2003" (aka: Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla).

Box Office

Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. opened on December 13, 2003 on a double bill with an animated cartoon called Hamtaro: Ham Ham Grand Prix. In its opening weekend, it was third place at the box office with $1,686,009. Its gross was estimated at a disappointing $12,000,000, with approximately 1,100,000 admissions.

DVD Releases

Sony Pictures

• Releases: December 14, 2004
• Aspect Ratio: Widescreen (2.35:1) anamorphic
• Sound: Japanese (5.1), English (5.1)
• Supplements: Japanese teaser trailer; Behind the scenes documentary; Trailers for Steamboy, Kaena: The Prophecy, and Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid
• Region 1
• MPAA Rating: PG for sci-fi monster violence and some language

External links

• GMMG: Godzilla Mothra MechaGodzilla - Tokyo S.O.S. movie review from SHADO CONTROL
• ゴジラ×モスラ×メカゴジラ 東京SOS (Gojira Mosura Mekagojira Tōkyō Esu Ō Esu). Japanese Movie Database. Retrieved on 2007-07-21..