Godzilla is stomping back into theaters as a fire-breathing animated character, though the movie chosen to close this year's Tokyo International Film Festival is more focused on human drama than the monsters that have made the franchise famous. The two directors of "Godzilla: The Planet Eater" acknowledge that their film is so different it might turn off hard-core fans. But they say that's an intentional attempt to reach out to new audiences. "We welcome getting bashed by the traditionalists," Hiroyuki Seshita, one of the directors, told The Associated Press last week. "That proves more than anything we succeeded in creating something different."
They main reason I got hyped was because Gen Urobuchi being the writer. He has created some masterful speculative fiction that is like a hybrid of hard sci-fi and soft sci-fi with excellent internal logic. Even the seemingly crazy things become grounded realities with elaborate explanations and the psycho-drama mindfucks are still there although they are not as hardcore as Puella Magi Madoka Magica or Psycho-Pass.
I really loved the new direction that kind of turned Godzilla into Shakespeare meets space opera with some strong themes that incorporate Kajiu in a bizarrely realistic way. It's bound to get the hate from fans of traditional kaiju fans and most people are too dumb to understand the deeper philosophical themes. The execution and animation leaves much to be desired. so this is basically Japanese Batman V Superman IMHO.
Seshita and co-director Kobun Shizuno said that rather than simply transferring the well-known tale into a computer animation, they have focused on what they call Shakespearean “human drama.” They tackle complex issues, including the meaning of religion, in a futuristic post-apocalyptic universe.
“We kept all that is Godzilla-like — its design and how it’s portrayed on film. We have kept its essence,” said Seshita, who has served as art director of the “Final Fantasy” movies.
Although some viewers may find the story rather complicated, Seshita said the film chose to interpret the Godzilla saga as what he called “a kind of animism,” or a godlike force that is bigger than human existence, a perspective he said was integral to Japanese culture and storytelling.
“So much has been tried in the long-running series that taking a new approach was inevitable,” he said, noting the work explores the dilemma between civilization and the individual. “This work is facing the Godzilla theme head-on.”
