Godzilla the Ride: Giant Monsters Ultimate Battle (2021)

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Godzilla the Ride:
Giant Monsters Ultimate Battle
Banner for Godzilla the Ride: Giant Monsters Ultimate Battle
Directed by Takashi Yamazaki
Producer Shoichiro Tsuno
Written by Takashi Yamazaki
Music by Naoki Sato
Production company Shirogumi[1]
Distributor Toho
Running time 5 minutes
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Godzilla the Ride: Giant Monsters Ultimate Battle (ゴジラ・ザ・ライド 大怪獣頂上決戦[a],   Gojira za Raido: Daikaijū Chōjō Kessen), or simply Godzilla the Ride (ゴジラ・ザ・ライド,   Gojira za Raido), is a flying theater motion simulator ride located in the Seibuen amusement park in Tokorozawa, Saitama, Japan. Up to 70 guests are placed at the center of a battle between Godzilla and King Ghidorah.[2] Written and directed by Takashi Yamazaki, the five-minute 3D-animated ride film was created by VFX company Shirogumi in partnership with Shoichiro Tsuno of Katana Marketing and Entertainment Co., Ltd.[1][3]

The initial ride opened on May 19, 2021, in conjunction with Seibuen's grand reopening.[4] On April 22, 2023, a new version with improved simulator effects, entitled Godzilla the Ride Unlimited Ver. (ゴジラ・ザ・ライド アンリミテッド ver.,   Gojira za Raido: Anrimiteddo Bājon), was made available until July 13. The ride is currently on hiatus for the debut of Ultraman the Ride until September 14, when the two ride films will play together in rotation.[2]

Additionally, from November 4, 2022 until July 2, 2023, Seibuen complemented the ride with the 60-minute prequel attraction Godzilla the Mission: Escape from the Looming Danger of a Giant Monster (ゴジラ・ザ・ミッション 巨大怪獣迫る危機からの脱出,   Gojira za Misshon: Kyodai Kaijū Semaru Kiki kara no Dasshutsu).[5][6] A Real Escape Game designed by SCRAP, it placed players in the roles of new members of the Special Disaster Countermeasures unit who are tasked with both leading an evacuation and finding shelter as an unidentified flying object approaches.[7] Instructions were relayed via portable radio.

Description

Built on a small hill seen from the shopping area of a Tokyo street sits a movie theater loved by the people of the city. The everyday peace of life as usual is disrupted when a mysterious giant creature, King Ghidorah, suddenly appears in Tokyo.

King Ghidorah moves toward Saitama, knocking down buildings in its path. Then, an emergency broadcast announces that another giant monster is approaching.

The park guests are instructed to get into the deluxe armored vehicles of the "Special Disaster Countermeasures" (特災対,   Toku Wazawai Tai) response unit. But, when they are caught up in the unbelievable fight between Godzilla and King Ghidorah, will they be able to escape to safety?[4]

Plot

The PA system at a Tokyo movie theater suddenly warns the guests of a giant monster attack. A JSDF soldier enters and shows footage of King Ghidorah, ravaging the city with his Gravity Beams, and Godzilla, approaching from the sea. He receives orders to evacuate the guests in an armored vehicle operated by the Special Disaster Countermeasures unit, which is being parachuted in by helicopter. He delivers a safety briefing just before Ghidorah smashes in a wall of the theater and roars at the guests, only to fly away.

Two armored vehicles depart from the theater. Ghidorah's Gravity Beams strike a building near the lead vehicle, crushing it with rubble. The second vehicle evades a flying train car and uses the rubble of a just-collapsed building as a ramp. Ghidorah lands in front of it, but it drives between his legs. He gives chase, trying and failing to bite it with all three of his heads. Finally he flies ahead of it, lands, and charges forward at full speed. The vehicle reverses and hides in the shell of a building, but he soon finds it and snatches it up in the jaws of his center head. As he takes to the skies, Rodan arrives and attacks head-on. Ghidorah repulses him, but drops the vehicle. It deploys its parachutes as the monsters clash. Ghidorah prevails easily, throwing Rodan to the ground before assailing him with Gravity Beams. He blasts the top off of Tokyo Tower, which the vehicle narrowly avoids, as Godzilla arrives in the city and roars a challenge. The vehicle lands on Godzilla's side and climbs up his shoulder before driving down his tail, soaring into the air once more, and landing on a roof.

Ghidorah throws Godzilla to the ground near the building, forcing the vehicle to drive off the roof and deploy parachutes again. Godzilla grabs Ghidorah by the heads and throws him towards the vehicle, which just slips through a gap between his wing and leg. Ghidorah recovers and pounces, but Godzilla intercepts him with a powerful blast of atomic breath, suspending him in midair and blasting a hole through his chest. Godzilla roars in victory as the vehicle lands, only to be menaced by one of Ghidorah's still-living heads. Godzilla puts a stop to it with a final stomp, spraying the vehicle with blue blood before Godzilla roars victoriously.

Staff[1]

Staff role on the left, staff member's name on the right.

  • Directed by   Takashi Yamazaki
  • Story by   Takashi Yamazaki
  • Produced by   Shoichiro Tsuno
  • VFX producer   Kiyoko Shibuya
  • Music by   Naoki Sato[3]
  • Monster designs by   Takashi Yamazaki
  • Senior 3DCG artists   Tatsuya Hayasaki, Takuhiro Yamaguchi, Takuji Yamaguchi
  • Modeling artist   Kosuke Taguchi
  • Effects artist   Shunya Ando
  • Compositing by   Eima Okubo
  • Matte painter   Sachiko Eba

Appearances

Monsters

Weapons, vehicles, and organizations

Gallery

Production

Posters

Screenshots

Trailer

Ride

Merchandise

Miscellaneous

Internet

Videos

Full recording of the ride
Promotional video #1
Promotional video #2
Promotional video #3
Clips from the preshow and ride
Review of the ride by Norman England

Trivia

  • The King Ghidorah design used for this ride closely resembles the Monsterverse incarnation in body shape and its ability to walk quadrupedally. Its facial features resemble Cretaceous King Ghidorah.
    • This is also the first on-screen King Ghidorah to possess hands.
  • The Rodan design used for this ride closely resembles the Monsterverse incarnation in body shape.
  • The Godzilla design used in the ride resembles something of a combination of the Monsterverse and Heisei designs, having a stance and general shape close to the latter with the former's skin texture and dorsal plates.
  • This is the first time Godzilla and Rodan have sported original designs for a theme park appearance, with all prior appearances reusing designs from the contemporary films. King Ghidorah was previously redesigned for Godzilla vs. Evangelion: The Real 4-D in 2019. As in the previous attraction, he has blue blood.

External links

Notes

  1. Godzilla the Ride: Giant Monsters Ultimate Battle's Japanese title is rendered in marketing using the outdated spellings 怪獸 and 決戰 for kaijū and kessen, respectively. The former was notably used by Toho during the 1950s, such as on marketing materials for the 1954 Godzilla and in the title of Rodan.

References

This is a list of references for Godzilla the Ride: Giant Monsters Ultimate Battle. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Miyake, Tomoyuki (19 December 2022). "高解像度ドームスクリーンで魅せる60fpsの大迫力映像〜ライドアトラクション『ゴジラ・ザ・ライド大怪獣頂上決戦』VFXメイキング". CGWORLD.
  2. 2.0 2.1 "ゴジラ・ザ・ライド 大怪獣頂上決戦" [Godzilla the Ride: Giant Monsters Ultimate Battle]. Seibu Leisure. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  3. 3.0 3.1 "ゴジラ・ザ・ライド アンリミテッドver" [Godzilla the Ride Unlimited Ver.]. Seibu Leisure. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  4. 4.0 4.1 "Japanese Amusement Park Reopens With New Godzilla and Osamu Tezuka Attractions". SciFi Japan. 4 May 2021.
  5. "ゴジラ・ザ・ミッション 巨大怪獣迫る危機からの脱出" [Godzilla the Mission: Escape from the Looming Danger of a Giant Monster]. Seibu Leisure. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023.
  6. "【ご案内】ゴジラ・ザ・ミッション終了のお知らせ" [(Information) Notice of the Closure of Godzilla the Mission]. Seibu Leisure. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  7. Seibuen Yuenchi Co. (19 October 2022). "Seibuen Yuenchi Godzilla the Mission: Escape from the Looming Danger of a Giant Monster to be Held from November 4, 2022 (Friday)". PR Times.
  8. @VARA0730 (19 May 2021). "西武園ゆうえんち内の商店街にて。 「巨大不明生物所澤方面へ」の号外が配られてます。". Twitter.

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