Godzilla Raids Again: Directly on the heels of Classic Media's fabulous Gojira release is the second in the Showa Godzilla series Gojira no Gyakushu (known here in the states as either Gigantis the Fire Monster or more commonly now as Godzilla Raids Again.)

In this film Godzilla (or another of his species) is sighted and this time he is found fighting another prehistoric creature, Anguirus, in a battle for supremacy. Unlike subsequent Godzilla films the fighting between monsters is not the central part of the movie and, in many ways, the whole Godzilla story is a side story to the lives of those working for a small company of pilots who scout for fish schools.

This is, in my opinion, the biggest strength of the film. The human characters in Godzilla Raids Again are the most likable, in my view, over any other Godzilla film save perhaps the original. Hiroshi Koizumi makes his first appearance in what would become a long line of Toho kaiju films and he plays well but the most appealing character would be that of Kobayashi played by Kurosawa veteran Minoru Chiaki. His portrayal of Kobayashi is one that makes him one of the most interesting characters in any Godzilla movies.

The edited and dubbed version is on here but I would avoid it. The dub is too silly and it takes many liberties with the script. While it is better than the original "Volcano Monsters" idea, it still is bland and boring compared to the original.

Labels: Godzilla, Japanese, Kaiju, sci-fi