Universal Studios Japan
Universal Studios Japan (ユニバーサル・スタジオ・ジャパン is a theme park based in Yunibāsaru Sutajio Japan)Osaka, Japan. One of four Universal Studios locations, it opened its doors on March 31, 2001. The park has held an annual festival called Universal Cool Japan since 2014, in which attractions based on popular Japanese franchises are featured. 4D installations based on the Godzilla and Neon Genesis Evangelion franchises, entitled Godzilla: The Real 4-D and Evangelion: THE REAL 4-D, were included as part of the park's 2017 and 2018 festivities, respectively. The attractions later crossed over as Godzilla vs. Evangelion: The Real 4-D, which opened in 2019. Each attraction included vibrating seats and other sensory effects.
Godzilla: The Real 4-D
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Godzilla: The Real 4-D (ゴジラ・ザ・リアル 4-D was featured at Universal Studios Japan from January 13 to June 25, 2017, as part of its third Universal Cool Japan campaign based around Japanese monster franchises. Audiences witnessed Gojira Za Riaru Fō Dī)Godzilla's rampage through Osaka from the perspective of a fighter jet pilot trying to stop him with a special missile. It featured 3D effects, vibrating seats, and blasts of air and water.[1]
Plot
- This is a partially unavailable film, with only the preshow and audio having been uploaded online. Neither of these has been translated, although there is significant English text in the preshow. The following synopsis is drawn from accounts by Yasuhiro Motochi[2] and Nicholas Driscoll.[1]
Godzilla suddenly appears in Osaka Bay. After a mission briefing, F-5 Rhyens—VTOL fighter jets equipped with Fissioner missiles designed to defeat the monster—take off from the AAA battleship Kiryu. Godzilla passes by Osaka Castle and focuses his wrath on the area around Osaka Station and Nakanoshima Business Park, with Umeda Sky Building and Hilton Plaza among his targets. The jets pursue him towards Umeda while he is plowing through the buildings in Nakanoshima. Drones draw his fire, but Godzilla targets the manned aircraft as well, crippling a rookie fighter pilot's Rhyen and forcing him to make a landing in the city. Godzilla then moves south towards Dotonbori, crushing the crowds of people there who try to run away from him, and heads towards Universal Studios Japan through Ajigawa. The pilot finds a second Rhyen which crashed on an expressway near USJ, armed with its own Fissioner. He takes flight towards the theme park, which Godzilla has turned into a sea of flames. He seizes the Universal Studios globe in his jaws and throws it. The pilot successfully defeats him by firing the Fissioner into his mouth, but his plane is damaged in the battle and he crash-lands into the sea.
Appearances
Monsters
Weapons and vehicles
- F-5 Rhyen
- Fissioner
- AAA aircraft carrier Kiryu
- Unidentified combat drone
Gallery
Videos
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Trivia
- While Universal Studios Japan rides and areas like the Flying Dinosaur and Universal Wonderland can be seen during Godzilla's rampage, Hogwarts Castle is hidden behind a fictitious white building[2], presumably due to licensing issues.
- The aircraft carrier Kiryu may be a reference to the Millennium era Mechagodzilla, although its name is spelled "きりゅう" instead of "機龍".[3]
Godzilla vs. Evangelion: The Real 4-D
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Godzilla vs. Evangelion: The Real 4-D (ゴジラ対エヴァンゲリオン・ザ・リアル・4−D was featured at Universal Cool Japan between May 31 and August 25, 2019. Again based on Gojira tai Evangerion Za Riaru Fō Dī)Shin Godzilla, it features a battle between Godzilla and the Evangelion units, as well as a newly-redesigned King Ghidorah, seen from the perspective of a government observation team.
Plot
Following the devastation of the Second Impact, Japan's capital is moved from Tokyo-II to Osaka-III. The city's buildings are outfitted with turrets to defend it in the case of another Angel attack. Additionally, strange cosmic waves have recently been causing electrical disturbances throughout Japan. A government observation team tours the advanced city aboard the GLAUX when suddenly Godzilla appears and knocks the GLAUX out of the sky. Just before the colossal kaiju can stomp on it, the GLAUX is picked up by Evangelion Unit-01, piloted by Shinji Ikari. Evangelion Unit-00 and 02 arrive piloted by Rei Ayanami and Asuka Shikinami Langley and begin attacking Godzilla along with Unit-01. However, their attacks have seemingly no effect on Godzilla, who easily swats the Evangelion Units aside by moving his body and swiping them aside with his tail. Just as Godzilla has the upper hand, he begins glowing purple and fires his heat ray. However, rather than fire at the Evangelion Units, he aims the beam at the sky, where it strikes an invisible target and triggers a fiery explosion. The explosion congeals into the form of King Ghidorah, who descends into the city and confronts Godzilla. Godzilla fires his heat ray, but King Ghidorah deflects it and causes it to scatter in several directions. King Ghidorah then fires his gravity beams, lifting the surrounding buildings into the air before hurling them at Godzilla. With Godzilla incapacitated, the Evangelion Units attempt to fight King Ghidorah themselves, but to no avail. Godzilla gets back to his feet, and King Ghidorah flies toward him. Godzilla then proceeds to fire his dorsal fin beams at King Ghidorah, knocking him backward. Godzilla continues to barrage King Ghidorah with his atomic breath until his body ceases glowing and he enters a state of suspended animation. King Ghidorah gets back up, and the three Evangelion Units continue trying to fight him. Unit-02 and Unit-00 jump onto King Ghidorah, only to be shot back by his gravity beams. Unit-01 then tears off a spike from a nearby tower and plunges it into King Ghidorah's chest, causing the space monster to crash into the buildings below. The pilots wonder if they have succeeded before King Ghidorah rises from the rubble completely unharmed. He turns his wrath toward the motionless Godzilla, blasting him with his gravity beams. Godzilla awakens and begins to emit a purple glow once again, then fires forth his heat ray. Godzilla's beam locks with King Ghidorah's gravity beams, and eventually begins to overpower them and push closer and closer to King Ghidorah. As Godzilla's heat ray finally reaches and strikes King Ghidorah, it triggers a blinding explosion. When the smoke clears, the Evangelion Units are unharmed and King Ghidorah is nowhere to be found. His enemy defeated, Godzilla returns to the sea peacefully and dives beneath the waves.
Appearances
Monsters
- Godzilla (ShinGoji)
- King Ghidorah
- Evangelion Unit-00
- Evangelion Unit-01
- Evangelion Unit-02
- Sachiel (flashback)
- Jet Jaguar (holograms)
Characters
- Shinji Ikari
- Asuka Shikinami Langley
- Rei Ayanami
- Misato Katsuragi
- Ryoji Kaji
- Gendo Ikari
- Makoto Hyuga
- Maya Ibuki
- Shigeru Aoba
Weapons and vehicles
- GLAUX
- Heavy Fighter Jet-VTOL
- Osaka-III turrets
- Asteroid probe Mahoroba
Merchandise
During the attraction's run, the following tie-in merchandise was available for purchase from the Cinema 4-D Store and Godzilla vs. Evangelion: The Real 4-D food cart:
- Park-exclusive Bandai Movie Monster Series Godzilla and King Ghidorah figures
- Tote bag
- Mug
- Godzilla hat
- Printed cookies
- Evangelion Unit-01 Kiryu popcorn bucket
- Jelly drink and plastic cup
Gallery
Videos
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Trivia
- A news article shown at the beginning of Godzilla vs. Evangelion: The Real 4-D mentions a researcher by the name of Yamane, referencing the character Kyohei Yamane from the 1954 Godzilla film.
External links
References
This is a list of references for Universal Studios Japan. 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]
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