Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993)

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Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II soundtrack


Godzilla films
Godzilla vs. Mothra
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II
Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II
The Japanese poster for Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II
Alternate titles
Flagicon Japan.png Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1993)
See alternate titles
Directed by Takao Okawara
Producer Tomoyuki Tanaka, Shogo Tomiyama
Written by Wataru Mimura
Music by Akira Ifukube
Special
effects by
Koichi Kawakita
Production companies Toho Pictures, Toho Eizo Bijutsu
Distributor TohoJP, TriStar PicturesUS
Rating PGUS
Budget ¥1 billion[citation needed]
Distributor rentals ¥1.87 billion[1]
Running time 108 minutesJP
(1 hour, 48 minutes)
106 minutesUS
(1 hour, 46 minutes)
Aspect ratio 1.85:1
Rate this film!
4.04
(83 votes)

In this battle, everything will end.
The Birth of the End of the Century Tyrant. Everyone was waiting for this fight.
The greatest battle in history of the three giants over Baby G is about to begin!
(この戦いで、すべてが終わる
世紀末覇王誕生。 だれもがこの戦いを待っていた。
ベビーG (ゴジラ)をめぐる、史上最大の三大バトルが始まる!)
„ 

— Japanese taglines

The mother of all Godzilla adventures!
„ 

— North American VHS tagline

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (ゴジラVSメカゴジラ,   Gojira tai Mekagojira, lit. "Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla") is a 1993 tokusatsu kaiju film directed by Takao Okawara and written by Wataru Mimura, with special effects by Koichi Kawakita. Produced by Toho Pictures with effects produced by Toho Eizo Bijutsu, it is the 20th installment in the Godzilla series as well as the fifth in the Heisei series. It stars Masahiro Takashima, Ryoko Sano, Megumi Odaka, Daijiro Harada, Kenji Sahara, and Akira Nakao. The film was released to Japanese theaters by Toho on December 11, 1993.[2] Columbia TriStar Home Video released an English-dubbed version of the film to VHS in the United States in August 1999.

After the successful revivals of King Ghidorah and Mothra in the previous two films, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II brings back the last two of Toho's "Big Five" kaiju: Mechagodzilla and Rodan. In order to counter the threat posed by Godzilla, the United Nations Godzilla Countermeasure Center has completed the ultimate anti-Godzilla weapon, Mechagodzilla. On the radiation-polluted Adonoa Island, scientists discover a perfectly intact Pteranodon egg, only to be attacked by its nestmate, the giant mutated Pteranodon Rodan. Godzilla arrives as well to claim the egg, allowing the scientists to escape with it as Godzilla and Rodan fight. When the egg hatches into a baby Godzillasaurus rather than a Pteranodon, G-Force intends to use the infant as bait to lure Godzilla to the Ogasawara Islands where he can be killed by Mechagodzilla. However, Rodan throws a wrench into the plan when he intercepts the convoy carrying BabyGodzilla, setting up a final battle between himself, Godzilla, and Mechagodzilla near Makuhari Bay. Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II was followed by Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla in 1994.

Plot

In 1992, the United Nations establishes a special task force to combat the threat posed to mankind by Godzilla, the United Nations Godzilla Countermeasure Center (U.N.G.C.C.), also known as Counter-G. The U.N.G.C.C.'s military branch, G-Force, recruits the world's brightest scientific minds to construct a fighting machine to battle Godzilla. The result of this initiative is an aerial warship known as the Garuda, but it is deemed too weak to effectively stand against Godzilla. G-Force salvages the remnants of Mecha-King Ghidorah, a cyborg built in the year 2204, and reverse-engineers its components in order to use them to build its own new robot. Constructed with the utmost in modern technology, the machine is designed in Godzilla's own image. G-Force dubs its ultimate weapon Mechagodzilla. Construction of Mechagodzilla is nearly completed by 1994, under the direction of Dr. Leo Asimov and G-Force's Commander Takaaki Aso. Kazuma Aoki, a pilot who worked on the construction of the Garuda, is ordered to report to Takuya Sasaki, the captain of the Mechagodzilla team. Sasaki informs Aoki that he has been selected to work as one of Mechagodzilla's pilots, and Aoki is put through a rigorous training protocol.

Meanwhile, a team of Japanese scientists led by Professor Hiroshi Omae arrives on the remote Adonoa Island in the Bering Sea to investigate a Pteranodon fossil unearthed by Russian petroleum workers. Omae is impressed by the remarkable condition of the fossil, but is informed that a nest was also found on the island. Upon reaching the nest, the scientists find a seemingly intact Pteranodon egg and a hatched one. The scientists decide to bring the egg back to Omae's institute in Kyoto, and begin loading it into a helicopter. As the egg is being prepared for transport, a huge Pteranodon lands on a cliff overlooking the scientists' camp and roars. Omae identifies the creature as Rodan, a Pteranodon that grew to gigantic size due to being exposed to the nuclear waste dumped on Adonoa Island by the Russians, similar to how Godzilla was created. Rodan flies over the camp and attacks the scientists, who try to flee to the edge of the island. They arrive on a cliff above the ocean, and witness the water below flashing. Rodan lands on a perch and looks into the water, only for a blue beam to blast out of the sea and nearly strike Rodan. Godzilla then surfaces from the water and roars at Rodan, who flies over the water and roars back. Godzilla comes ashore on the island and initiates battle with Rodan. While the monsters fight, the scientists successfully load the egg onto their chopper and escape the island. Godzilla finally defeats Rodan by stomping him into the ground and then blasting him multiple times with his atomic breath at point-blank range. His foe seemingly dead, Godzilla returns to the ocean and begins following the chopper back to Japan.

When Aoki, a self-proclaimed "Pteranodon enthusiast," learns about the egg being held in Kyoto, he immediately travels to the institute to try and get a closer look. Aoki enters the lab where researcher Azusa Gojo is watching over the egg, and begins taking pictures of it. Azusa is annoyed and tells Aoki she will be forced to call security if he doesn't leave. Aoki tries to persuade Azusa otherwise, but eventually gives in and leaves. Azusa meets with Omae, who shows her a series of photographs taken of the egg at various times. He notes that sometimes the egg glows bright red, which happened as they were taking it from his nest. He believes the red glow indicates that the creature inside the egg is frightened. The egg also glows red whenever Azusa is not present in the lab. Omae believes that the creature inside the egg has been listening to outside sounds in an attempt to recognize its mother's voice, but instead heard Azusa and imprinted on her. Aoki, having managed to steal a plant sample that was taken from the egg, encounters Miki Saegusa at G-Force's headquarters, who claims she senses a strong psychic energy emanating from the plant. She brings it to the Psychic Development Center and allows her students to try and measure its energy instead. The students feed the plant's energy into a tape, which produces a strange melody. Miki and Aoki bring the tape to Omae at the institute in Kyoto, and play it. The melody has a strange effect on the egg, which begins to hatch while Azusa is on duty. Azusa calls Omae and the others into the lab, and they are all stunned to see that the hatchling is not a Pteranodon, but something different. Miki identifies the hatchling as a Godzillasaurus, the same species which Godzilla originated as before being irradiated. Miki says that unlike Godzilla himself, the Godzillasaurus species is docile and non-aggressive. The hatchling, which Azusa names BabyGodzilla, demonstrates his gentle nature by affectionately nudging his surrogate mother, and eating a flower she feeds him. As the group marvels over the creature, Miki senses Godzilla approaching.

Consistent with Miki's premonition, Godzilla appears at Yokkaichi, and begins heading directly for Kyoto. G-Force scrambles its units and prepares Mechagodzilla for launch. With Aoki in Kyoto, Sasaki is forced to recruit a backup pilot for the machine. Mechagodzilla is launched and lands in front of Godzilla in the countryside outside of Kyoto. Mechagodzilla fires its Mega Buster Ray at Godzilla, who counters with his atomic breath. Godzilla's beam is harmlessly absorbed by Mechagodzilla's synthetic diamond armor, then converted into concentrated plasma energy and fired back through the plasma grenade. This beam knocks Godzilla to the ground and injures him. Mechagodzilla then fires paralyzer missiles at the downed Godzilla, then launches two shock anchor harpoons into his body. Mechagodzilla begins discharging a powerful electrical surge into Godzilla, causing him to roar in pain and foam at the mouth. Suddenly, Godzilla flashes red and the electrical current is reversed back into Mechagodzilla. Mechagodzilla short-circuits and becomes immobilized, allowing Godzilla to get back to his feet and knock Mechagodzilla down. Godzilla roars victoriously, then continues on his way, leaving Mechagodzilla badly damaged. G-Force deploys conventional military units to try and halt Godzilla, but he easily dispatches them with his atomic breath. G-Force is left helpless as Godzilla enters Kyoto and begins tearing through the city. Miki and the others realize that Godzilla is being called there by BabyGodzilla, and decide to try and isolate him by moving him to a secure storage room in the basement. When Godzilla reaches the institute, he is unable to locate BabyGodzilla, then destroys the upper levels of the building in frustration before returning to the ocean.

G-Force assumes custody of BabyGodzilla, and moves him to a secure facility. Azusa is allowed to continue caring for the infant, which G-Force deems to be an important asset. Sasaki confronts Aoki and strips him of his position on the Mechagodzilla team, assigning him to work at the U.N.G.C.C.'s parking garage. Frustrated, Aoki begins working on a way to improve the Garuda in his spare time, then corners Dr. Asimov when he is trying to enter the parking garage. Asimov is impressed by Aoki's proposal to improve the Garuda's combat power, but asks what they will have to do with Mechagodzilla. Aoki proposes modifying both machines to allow the Garuda to dock onto Mechagodzilla's back, combining their offensive capabilities. Asimov approves Aoki's plan, and he is re-promoted to being a pilot. Aoki visits Azusa at the facility holding BabyGodzilla, and shows her the new vehicle he has been working on: the Pteranodon Robot. Aoki allows Azusa to ride on it, but as it flies its engines sputter and it crashes in BabyGodzilla's enclosure. Thankfully, both Aoki and Azusa are unharmed, and Aoki packs up the robot's wreckage. As he is doing so, Miki and a group of her students enter the facility to see BabyGodzilla. Miki says the girls have learned to sing a song for Baby, and Azusa asks them to perform it. As they sing, they are heard by Rodan all the way on Adonoa Island. Rodan recovers from the injuries he sustained in his battle with Godzilla, then transforms into Fire Rodan and begins flying to Japan. The song also has an effect on BabyGodzilla, who begins thrashing violently against the fence and roaring. Azusa is able to calm BabyGodzilla down, but is unsure what caused him to act like this. Miki realizes that the song, the same song produced by the plant found on BabyGodzilla's egg, gives him a huge intake of power.

G-Force assembles several of its highest-ranking members along with Miki to discuss the latest anti-Godzilla plan. Studies of BabyGodzilla's anatomy reveal that he possesses a secondary brain in his hip area that controls all motor function in his lower body. Because Godzilla and Baby are of the same species, logic would dictate that he must possess the same structure. G-Force's plan is to use BabyGodzilla to lure Godzilla to the Ogasawara Islands, then use Mechagodzilla to target and destroy his second brain, crippling him and allowing Mechagodzilla to finally destroy him. Commander Aso says that this plan has been codenamed "G-Crusher," and should finally result in Godzilla's death. Miki objects to using BabyGodzilla as a decoy, but Aso informs her that she will be watching over Baby, as she will be onboard Mechagodzilla during the operation. Miki's psychic abilities will allow her to more easily locate Godzilla's second brain so Mechagodzilla can target and destroy it. When Azusa learns of the plan, she appeals to Minister Takayuki Segawa and asks him to cancel the plan, but he tells her there is no room for sentimentality and that Baby must be used in the plan. As BabyGodzilla is being loaded onto a canister for transport to Ogasawara, his eyes begin glowing red in fear. Azusa runs up to Baby to comfort him, then insists on accompanying him inside the canister. G-Force obliges and closes the doors on the canister, which is airlifted by a helicopter toward the Ogasawara Islands. Just as the chopper is leaving, Fire Rodan is spotted in Japanese airspace. Fire Rodan passes over Sendai and intercepts the helicopter, destroying it and grabbing the canister. Fire Rodan touches down in Makuhari and begins trying to break open the container with his beak. G-Force deploys Mechagodzilla to battle Fire Rodan and reclaim the canister, while Aoki takes command of the Garuda and accompanies Mechagodzilla into battle. Mechagodzilla arrives at Makuhari and confronts Fire Rodan, who blasts it with his newly-acquired uranium heat beam. Sasaki tells Aoki to distract Fire Rodan and get him clear of the container so Mechagodzilla can safely use its plasma grenade against him. The Garuda flies overhead and begins blasting Fire Rodan with its lasers until he takes flight and begins chasing after it. Fire Rodan slams into the Garuda with his chest spikes, causing the craft to spin out of control and crash into a building. Fire Rodan turns his attention to Mechagodzilla and begins firing his heat beam, but Mechagodzilla fires its Plasma Grenade at Rodan, sending him slamming into a skyscraper, which collapses on top of him. Mechagodzilla approaches the rubble, but Fire Rodan breaks free and attacks Mechagodzilla up close, pecking out its right eye with his beak. Mechagodzilla fires the plasma grenade again up close, shredding Fire Rodan's chest and blasting him away. Rodan lies on his back, bleeding heavily from the chest and mouth and seemingly dying.

Before G-Force can celebrate its victory, Godzilla emerges from the ocean and begins coming ashore. Mechagodzilla turns to face Godzilla and fires its Mega Buster Ray as Godzilla fires his atomic breath. The beams lock in midair, then burst in a flash of light, knocking Godzilla to the ground and causing Mechagodzilla to overheat. Godzilla gets back to his feet and charges at Mechagodzilla, grabbing his mechanical doppelganger by the head and throwing him. Godzilla begins stomping on Mechagodzilla's head and slamming the machine with his tail, as Mechagodzilla is left helpless on the ground. Sasaki manages to reestablish contact with Aoki, and tells him to distract Godzilla. Aoki successfully restarts the Garuda and flies back into combat, firing laser beams at Godzilla and drawing him away from Mechagodzilla. Mechagodzilla successfully stands back up and the Garuda docks onto its back, forming Super Mechagodzilla. Super Mechagodzilla begins hovering and opens fire on Godzilla with its staggering array of weaponry, which now includes the Garuda's laser cannons. The onslaught knocks Godzilla to the ground, and Super Mechagodzilla takes the opportunity to fire tranquilizer missiles at him. As Godzilla weakly staggers back to his feet, Super Mechagodzilla fires its shock anchor harpoons into his lower body, then begins discharging electricity. Miki uses a targeting computer to pinpoint the location of Godzilla's second brain, and once she finds it Super Mechagodzilla releases an electrical surge into the brain that ruptures it. Godzilla is immediately crippled and falls face-first to the ground. Aoki exclaims that they have finally beaten Godzilla, then exits the Garuda inside his Pteranodon Robot. Aoki lands near the container holding Azusa and BabyGodzilla, where Professor Omae and some soldiers are working to try and free them, and immediately runs up to it to make sure Azusa is all right. Sasaki gives the order to finish Godzilla, and Super Mechagodzilla begins unleashing all of its weapons on the helpless Godzilla. At this moment, BabyGodzilla becomes distressed and breaks free of the container, calling out to Fire Rodan. Though mortally wounded, Fire Rodan hears his surrogate brother's call and takes flight. Super Mechagodzilla shoots Fire Rodan down with its Mega Buster Ray, and he falls on top of Godzilla. Suddenly, Fire Rodan begins glowing brightly and transfers his energy into Godzilla. Miki sees that Fire Rodan's energy has restored Godzilla's second brain, which Sasaki cannot believe. As Fire Rodan dissipates into nothing, Godzilla's eyes open and he roars furiously. Godzilla gets back up to his feet and gives off a powerful nuclear pulse, which is too hot for Super Mechagodzilla's diamond armor to withstand. Super Mechagodzilla's armor plating begins to melt, and Godzilla blasts it with an extremely powerful red version of his atomic breath wrapped in a golden spiral. The beam badly damages Super Mechagodzilla and causes it to stagger backward. Super Mechagodzilla fires its Mega Buster Ray, which again locks with Godzilla's atomic breath. When the beams explode, Super Mechagodzilla falls backward onto a building while Godzilla is unharmed. Godzilla again blasts Super Mechagodzilla with his Red Spiral Heat Ray, which blows off Mechagodzilla's head and finally triggers the machine to explode. As Godzilla roars victoriously, Sasaki and the rest of Mechagodzilla's crew emerge unharmed from the cockpit, despite its computer claiming that there are no survivors.

With Godzilla approaching their location, Aoki and Omae board a helicopter and tell Azusa to do the same. Azusa realizes she cannot care for BabyGodzilla anymore, and tearfully embraces him and says goodbye. As Azusa boards the helicopter, she looks back to see Baby desperately tugging on her shirt with tears welling in his eyes. Azusa apologizes to Baby, but begs him to understand that she can't care for him anymore. She embraces Baby one last time, then closes the chopper door and departs, leaving BabyGodzilla alone in a field as Godzilla approaches. Godzilla roars at BabyGodzilla, which frightens him and sends him running behind the canister. Azusa contacts Miki and asks her to use her telepathy to convince Baby to go away with Godzilla, to live with his own kind. Miki says she will try, and stands on top of Mechagodzilla's cockpit, transmitting psychic messages to both Godzilla and Baby. Baby finally understands, and slowly approaches Godzilla. Godzilla roars softly at the infant, a look of gentleness on his normally hostile face. Baby roars back, and begins following Godzilla out to sea. As Godzilla and Baby depart, Mechagodzilla's crew look on, remarking that life always triumphs against artificial life. Azusa and Aoki climb to the top of a hill to watch Godzilla and Baby leave, and ponder the possibility of a new dinosaur age beginning long after man's time on Earth has ended. Azusa says that whenever that time comes, both Godzilla and his newly-adopted son will be waiting for it.

Staff

Main article: Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II/Credits.

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

Cast

Main article: Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II/Credits.

Actor's name on the left, character played on the right.

  • Masahiro Takashima   as   Kazuma Aoki, United Nations Godzilla Countermeasure Center Robotics Engineer
  • Ryoko Sano   as   Azusa Gojo, researcher at the Kyoto National Institute of Biotechnics
  • Megumi Odaka   as   Miki Saegusa
  • Daijiro Harada   as   G-Force Captain Takuya Sasaki
  • Ichirota Miyagawa   as   G-Force Lieutenant Jun Sonezaki
  • LaSalle Ishii   as   Kunio Katsuragi, Russo-Japanese Joint oilfield researcher
  • Shinobu Nakayama   as   Yuri Katagiri, U.N.G.C.C. robotics technician
  • Takeno Isao   as   Hiroshi Imai, U.N.G.C.C. Robotics Engineer
  • Kenji Sahara   as   U.N.G.C.C. Secretary Takayuki Segawa
  • Koichi Ueda   as   Colonel Iwao Hyodo, G-Force Head of Weapons Development
  • Tadao Takashima   as   Hosono, chief of the Center for Psychic Development (special guest appearance)
  • Akira Nakao   as   Colonel Takaaki Aso, G-Force Commander
  • Yusuke Kawazu   as   Professor Hiroshi Omae, paleontologist at the Kyoto National Institute of Biotechnics
  • Shelley Sweeney   as   Second Lieutenant Catherine Berger, United States Marine and Mechagodzilla co-pilot and operator
  • Leo Meneghetti   as   Dr. Leo Asimov, robotics professor
  • Vitali Issayev   as   Ivanovic, Russian oilfield researcher
  • Johnny Archer   as   Johnny Owen, Mechagodzilla maintenance personnel
  • Andy Smith   as   Andy Johnson, original Garuda pilot
  • Ooki Fujioka   as   Tom Ozawa
  • Tom Dolan   as   John Conner
  • Riujiro Oki   as   Mamoru Fujita
  • Yasuhiro Takeuchi   as   Michiya Kato
  • Shigeru Yuwanaga   as   Takafumi Kaga
  • Yoshiyuki Takaichi   as   Takashi Ogawara
  • Sonie Imafidon   as   Sonie Scott
  • Nobuyuki Obikane   as   Nakano
  • Kimio Yamada   as   Hideo Tsuburaya
  • Tsuneji Masujima   as   Kawakita
  • Ran Takasugi   as   Yoshiko Banno
  • Yuki Iwashita   as   Kyoka Hashimoto
  • Nana Ooki   as   Eri Omori
  • Keiko Imamura   as   Miki's assistant
  • Sayaka Osawa   as   Miki's assistant
  • Masaru Sakurai   as   Professor Omae's assistant
  • Kenji Ezure   as   Professor Omae's assistant
  • Goshu   as   G-Force member
  • Motohiro Toriki   as   G-Force Commander's personnel
  • Takaji Kaneko   as   G-Force Commander's personnel
  • Kageya Tabuchi   as   G-Force member
  • Toshisachi Takada   as   G-Force member
  • Kazuya Yamazaki   as   G-Force member
  • Riyota Niki   as   G-Force member
  • Yoshiji Kamata   as   G-Force member
  • Kan Ootsuka   as   G-Force member
  • Kagehisa Honda   as   G-Force member
  • Daiyu Yamagishi   as   G-Force member
  • Keisuke Sampei   as   G-Force member
  • Ryuji Nagabuchi   as   G-Force member
  • Tatsuya Horiguchi   as   G-Force member
  • Hiroji Iwamoto   as   Command Room personnel
  • Kazuhisa Okada   as   Command Room personnel
  • Joanne Gahan   as   Lisa Roberts, G-Force Commander's personnel
  • Marisa Piouesan   as   Marisa Roll, G-Force member
  • Hisa Kunihiko   as   G-Force leader
  • Yorinobu Kodana   as   G-Force leader
  • Noritoshi Masuda   as   G-Force leader
  • Yuki Sato   as   Reporter at the National Institute of Biotechnics (television in cafeteria)
  • Mio Hirata   as   Child at Center for Psychic Development
  • Yu Masuoka   as   Child at Center for Psychic Development
  • Yuriko Nakamura   as   Child at Center for Psychic Development
  • Kiyoshi Kobayashi   as   narrator (voice)
  • Kenpachiro Satsuma   as   Godzilla
  • Wataru Fukuda   as   Mechagodzilla / Super Mechagodzilla
  • "Hurricane" Ryu Hariken   as   BabyGodzilla / G-Force mechanic

Omni Productions English dub

Appearances

Monsters

Weapons, vehicles, and races

Gallery

Main article: Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II/Gallery.

Soundtrack

Main article: Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II/Soundtrack.

Alternate titles

  • Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (literal Japanese title)
  • Godzilla 5 (advance title)
  • Godzilla vs. Super-Mechagodzilla[3][4] (alternate English title)
  • Godzilla vs. Mecha-Godzilla[5][6] (alternate English title)
  • Jurasic City - Godzilla v/s Mechagodzilla (India)
  • Jurassic City (India)
  • Robo vs Godzilla (India)
  • Robo vs Godzilla: Godzilla vs Mecha Godzilla - 2 (India)
  • Birth of a Tyrannosaur (暴龍誕生, Bàolóng dànshēng; Taiwan)
  • Birth of the Last Dinosaur (Taiwanese English title)
  • Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla II (Godzilla contra Mechagodzilla II; Mexico; Godzilla kontra Mechagodzilla II; Poland)
  • Legend of the Dinosaur 2 (Легенда о динозавре-2; Russia)

Theatrical releases

View all posters for the film here.

  • Japan - December 11, 1993[2]   [view poster]Japanese poster
  • India - February 15, 1995

U.S. release

U.S. Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II VHS cover

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II was released directly to VHS in the United States in August of 1999 by TriStar Pictures. It was the last Heisei movie to receive a U.S. release. As with its previous Heisei tapes, TriStar chose to simply use the international English dub of the film. However, the dub included in this release was actually the second international English dub recorded for the film. This second dub is known to have been recorded by Omni Productions sometime in April or May 1998, as voice actor Craig Allen mentions performing "repairs" to the film's dub at that time.[7] It is notable for referring to Rodan only by his Japanese name, "Radon," throughout the entire film. Although much of the principal cast was re-dubbed, about 11 minutes of voice work from the original dub survives as incidental voice work in the film's Hindi dub and the second international dub. These 11 minutes include the following lines:[8]

  • Opening narration
  • Grunts and exclamations during Kazuma's G-Force martial arts training
  • Male intercom voice throughout the film
  • Female newscaster covering the events on Adonoa Island
  • Azusa exclaiming as BabyGodzilla hatches
  • Various large crowd panicking scenes throughout the film
  • Background chatter in G-Force war room
  • Background chatter as Sasaki and his co-pilots board Mechagodzilla
  • Dr. Asimov's original voice actor, Rex Ellis, is retained throughout the entire film, sans the line "It is impossible for them to fight in that condition! They'll be lucky if they make it back!," which was redubbed
  • Voice actor Simon Broad's reading of the the lines "This is Lizard One. Course 167." and "Roger. Returning to base. Over."
  • The line "Sir, Radon's landed!"
  • Azusa screaming as Rodan breaks open the container

TriStar did not cut any footage from the film aside from the end credits, which were replaced by a black screen with copyright information. TriStar did not give the film a DVD release until 2005; unlike their previous Heisei releases, it was not packaged with another movie and included the original Japanese language track, though the English subtitles for this track were simply derived from the script of the English dub. When Sony released the film on Blu-ray in 2014 in a double feature with Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla, it left the end credits uncut.

Box office

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II had a budget of ¥1 billion.[citation needed] When the film was released on December 11, 1993, it sold 3.8 million tickets and earned ¥1.87 billion, becoming the second-highest grossing Japanese film of 1994.[1]

Reception

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II is generally well-received by Godzilla fans, for several reasons, including introducing what some consider the best incarnation of Mechagodzilla. Kazuo Miyauchi earned a Japanese Academy Prize nomination for Best Sound for his work on the film.[9]

Video releases

Toho DVD (2002)

  • Region: 2
  • Audio: Japanese

TriStar DVD (2005)[10]

  • Region: 1
  • Discs: 1
  • Audio: Japanese (2.0 Mono), English (2.0 Mono)
  • Special features: Trailers
  • Notes: Subtitles correspond to the script of the English dub. Also included in The Toho Godzilla Collection Volume 2.

Madman DVD (2006)

  • Region: 4
  • Discs: 1
  • Audio: Japanese (2.0 Mono, 5.1 Surround), English (2.0 Mono)
  • Special features: Three teaser trailers, a trailer, and a TV spot for Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II; trailers for Godzilla vs. Destoroyah and Godzilla: Tokyo SOS; photo galleries

Toho Blu-ray (2009)

  • Region: A/1
  • Audio: Japanese

Sony Blu-ray (2014)[11]

  • Region: A/1
  • Discs: 2
  • Audio: Japanese (5.1 Surround), English (2.0 Mono, 5.1 Surround)
  • Special features: Four Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II trailers and three Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla trailers.
  • Notes: Packaged with Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla. Subtitles correspond to the script of the English dub, with a few exceptions.

Manga adaptations

Main articles: Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (Kodansha manga), Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (Shogakukan manga).

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II received two different manga adaptations. The Kodansha adaptation omits the character of Azusa Gojo, with Miki Saegusa more or less playing her role. It also includes an extended simulation sequence where Kazuma Aoki beheads a fake Godzilla while piloting Mechagodzilla, revealing the head of the Showa Mechagodzilla underneath. BabyGodzilla's design is very different in this adaptation, more closely resembling the infant stage of Minilla from Son of Godzilla, while he is also small and light enough to be carried around by humans.

The Shogakukan adaptation handles the female leads in the opposite way, omitting Miki instead. It also omits Commander Aso and most of the high-ranking G-Force personnel, replacing them with the character Sho Kuroki from Godzilla vs. Biollante. This adaptation makes many departures from the film, including a three-way battle between Godzilla, Rodan, and the Garuda on Adonoa Island and an underwater confrontation between Godzilla and Mechagodzilla. BabyGodzilla does not hatch until the climax, after Rodan retrieves his egg and hatches it on a rooftop. The most drastic change in this adaptation occurs during the final battle. After destroying Godzilla's secondary brain, the Mechagodzilla crew decide to capture the helpless monster alive rather than kill him. However, Mecha-King Ghidorah's programming takes over Mechagodzilla and uses this newfound control to attempt to carry out the robot's original purpose: to destroy Godzilla. After mutilating Godzilla, Mechagodzilla detects BabyGodzilla and attempts to kill him as well with the Garuda's cannons, but Godzilla uses the last of his dwindling strength to jump in front of the blast, which decapitates him. Once Fire Rodan revives Godzilla, the badly damaged Mechagodzilla attempts to attach itself to Godzilla and self-destruct in a last-ditch effort to destroy Godzilla.

Videos

Trailers

Japanese trailer
Japanese "Godzilla 5" teaser
Japanese "newsflash/special
announcement" trailer #1
Japanese "newsflash/special
announcement" trailer #2
Japanese "newsflash/special
announcement" trailer #3
Japanese TV spot

Miscellaneous

English visuals from
the international version
Hitachi VHS player commercial
Koichi Kawakita appears on Mainichi Broadcasting System Television to promote the film

Trivia

  • This film's English title is Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, despite it not being a sequel to 1974's Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla and being the third film to feature Mechagodzilla. This title was presumably chosen to avoid confusion with the aforementioned 1974 film, as the two films' Japanese titles both literally translate to Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla. Because of this titling, the incarnation of Mechagodzilla introduced in this film is often called "Mechagodzilla 2" outside of Japan, even though the version of the Showa Mechagodzilla featured in Terror of Mechagodzilla is officially labeled "Mechagodzilla 2" by Toho.
  • Keiko Imamura and Sayaka Osawa, who portrayed the Cosmos in the previous year's Godzilla vs. Mothra, appear in this film as the teachers at the Psyonics Institute. As an in-joke, director Takao Okawara had the two speak in unison like the Cosmos.
    • Another inside joke with the cast occurs in a scene where Miki Saegusa and Kazuma Aoki visit the character Hosono at the Psyonics Institute, who after learning Aoki works for G-Force tells Aoki that he "doesn't trust him one bit." Hosono is portrayed by actor Tadao Takashima, the father of Masahiro Takashima, who plays Aoki.
  • There are minor characters in this film named Nakano, Hideo Tsuburaya, Kawakita, Yoshiko Banno, Kyoka Hashimoto, and Eri Omori, all of whose names reference a staff member from the Godzilla series.
  • This is the first film to portray Rodan without suitmation, instead portraying him with various props and puppets.
  • In an early version of this film, called Godzilla vs. Berserk, Mechagodzilla would have been a metallic alien organism that arrived on Earth with the intent of making itself the most powerful lifeform on the planet. The mechanical creature, dubbed Berserk, would absorb machinery into itself before taking the form of Godzilla, believing him to be the dominant organism on the planet.
  • Two of Wataru Mimura's early drafts of the film's script featured a version of Mechagodzilla capable of splitting apart into multiple vehicles. In the second of these drafts, one of Mechagodzilla's vehicle forms would have battled two Pteranodons on Adonoa Island, killing one and knocking the other into the ocean, where it would be mutated by nuclear waste into White Rodan. In the final battle, Godzilla would have been revived after the Garuda exploded and released nuclear radiation into the air. Koichi Kawakita decided to have Rodan save Godzilla instead to tie in with the film's theme of life triumphing over artificial life. Mechagodzilla's transforming ability was removed and ultimately reused for MOGUERA in the following film.
    • Noriyoshi Ohrai's advance poster artwork for the film actually features Shinji Nishikawa's Mechagodzilla design from this draft of the film on it along with his unused female Rodan design. Tamashii Nations would later produce a figure of this version of Mechagodzilla, under the name "Mechagodzilla (Poster Ver.)," as part of its Tamashii MIX line in 2017.
  • Stock footage of King Ghidorah from Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah was meant to be included in a training simulation in this film, but the scene was cut. However, stock footage of his Gravity Beams striking Godzilla still appears in this scene, apparently coming from the mech the pilots are meant to be operating.
  • Stock footage from the 1989 Toho film Gunhed is included in the early "newsflash" teaser trailer for this film.
  • Godzilla is on camera for 27 minutes in this film, a series record.[12]
  • According to an interview with director Takao Okawara, because Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II was originally planned to be the final entry in the Heisei series, he wanted the film to act as sort of an anthology of past Godzilla films. As such, there are some scenes that are homages to previous Godzilla films,[13] including a battle between Godzilla and Rodan in homage to Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, Godzilla attacking a factory in Yokkaichi in homage to Mothra vs. Godzilla, and Godzilla and Mechagodzilla engaging in a beam lock as an homage to the original Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla. Akira Ifukube's score reincorporates themes from past films as well, such as Godzilla's theme from Mothra vs. Godzilla and Rodan's theme from the Showa series.
  • According to Godzilla VS Mechagodzilla - Super Data Book, Mechagodzilla’s on-board maintenance officer was injured during training, which resulted in Aoki’s transfer to G-Force.
  • Isao Takeno, who plays Mechagodzilla technician Hiroshi Imai, also appears in Godzilla vs. Biollante as one of the Super X2 development crew. According to Godzilla VS Mechagodzilla - Super Data Book, these are the same character.
  • According to Godzilla VS Mechagodzilla - Super Data Book, the original screenplay included a romantic subplot between Jun Sonezaki and Catherine Berger. This ultimately culminated in an unfilmed sequence during the final battle in Makuhari Bay where the two are married by Kazuma Aoki while aboard Mechagodzilla.

References

This is a list of references for Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II. 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 Shimazaki, Jun; Nakamura, Satoshi (10 February 2012). Heisei Godzilla Perfection. ASCII MEDIA WORKS. p. 51. ISBN 978-4-04-886119-9.
  2. 2.0 2.1 ゴジラVSメカゴジラ|ゴジラ 東宝公式サイト (official Godzilla.jp page)
  3. Godzilla. Dark Horse Comics. 1995. ISBN 1569710635.
  4. Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II
  5. Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II Toho VHS, English logo variant.png
  6. 514Uf0J0ggL. AC .jpg
  7. [1]
  8. Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla - The "Rejected" Original Dub
  9. Awards of the Japanese Academy, 1994
  10. Amazon.com: Godzilla Vs Mechagodzilla II (1993)
  11. Amazon.com: Godzilla Vs. Mechagodzilla II / Godzilla Vs. Spacegodzilla - Set (Blu-ray)
  12. 60 Years of the Godzilla Franchise in Infographics
  13. Takao Okawara Interview 1 by David Milner

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