Why I Don't Like Shin Godzilla | Video Essay

[@AccentedCinema]

Sign up a for a free account and get 20% off Grammarly Premium: grammarly.com/accented Happy Halloween! Stay safe!

[@isn0t42]

Evangelion is a similar case. Other than that one girl that got hurt off-screen in the first couple of episodes, and that one time two schoolkids got caught in the middle of an angel attack, it's like civilians and most of the world don't exist. Kaji hinted at the hardships he had to suffer growing up in the post-impact world, but it's never payed much attention. You have these apocalyptic events happening but the rest of humanity for the most part is left out of the picture. There are people struggling and dying in the background, but it's never really explored. The repercussions of not fighting the angels are always kept personal to the main cast and the world is left as a secondary thought. It's an interesting issue to bring up, I never thought about this. Thanks.

[@ketsuekikumori9145]

In your ad read, you said english is your third language (unless I misheard). What is your second?

[@jonathankearney2793]

how did you put up this comment 4 days before the video released?

[@leegunring]

這得從庵野秀明的出身說起，這可在從他1999年回母校的紀錄片可以看到。 kzbin.info/www/bejne/qGfafn6uoc-apLs 他成長於一個濱海工業都市，到處都是電線杆、鐵路。 他也對這些描繪這些巨大硬體設施的協調運作有熱情。 因為Shin Godzilla是極少數從政府官員角度描繪災難的故事， 脫離平民視角在所難免(但這樣的電影也很多，不缺這部)。 不過對日本政府對核電的輕忽缺乏批判確實避重就輕。 如果是韓國導演就不會這麼客氣。

[@tierradedragones2010]

Actually I cannot say Shin GINO is a good Movie. The purpose of it was to satirize how the Japanese institutions are Not prepared to face major crisis. It is a good idea ever since other Godzilla films have a message, but Anno over focused on that topic on the most boring way possible. The monster attack felt like a secondary issue portrayed on the background. Even some people told me they felt the Same thing when they watched G 2014, as if Godzilla was a guest star on his own Movie. The second issue for me is the monster itself. That thing doesn't feel like Godzilla, its characteristics basically makes of it a totally different character. The defender of the concept always argue that it is something new and we need to accept it with all the changes, but under that logic Zilla also needs to recognized as a Godzilla

[@RealRanton]

Bro was that a mom joke 🤣🤣

[@Salty010]

heyyyyy

[@muhmin7]

What joke?

[@snoot6629]

A damn good one for that matter

[@serdec6101]

how u here before me rantoni

[@AccentedCinema]

The joke writes itself. My hands are tied.

[@Alia-bc3rc]

Ironically, the "faceless civilians" is how people are depicted in the news when it comes about disasters. You see a politician criticizes how the wrong handling of a disaster cause hundreds of thousands died; the leader then replied "well, at least it's not millions". I agree with all your points. But how the shitty and dirty politicians depicted in it is actually why I like this movie.

[@teslashark]

*sneeze* Too soon about that, but Shin Godzilla is pretty explicitly commenting on 3/11 and the Great Firebombing.

[@sisi_life1999]

Yeah. This movie can't be compared to the original, they're similar, but totally different

[@AccentedCinema]

I would feel better if the film is satirical to the very end, through and through. Instead, most of the satire is focused on the first third of the movie. But since I'm supposed to relate to the young politician, the satire becomes much less focus. That's where the intentional message begins to form itself. It's a small point that doesn't stop the film from being great. My reaction is an emotional one.

[@sisi_life1999]

@@AccentedCinema Hey man! Didn't think we'd see ya here, Love your videos! Yeah, I thought it was interesting how during the film, the politicians thought more about the ASSETS rather than the lives. Really makes ya think.

[@teslashark]

@@AccentedCinema The part where the replacement PM is desperate for noodle is kind of no longer funny indeed

[@cro-magnum7642]

I think there is a reason the Prime Minister died dramatically is because he was the one who truly cared for civillians. He stopped an entire attack because two elderly were near the battlefield. His death meant the death of all humanity left in the government's soul. After all, Gojira 1954 was in the POV of civvies and scientists, while Shin Godzilla was in the POV of the government.

[@ArifRWinandar]

Wasn't it mentioned in the movie that he did that only because he cares about his image?

[@AccentedCinema]

@@ArifRWinandar If I understand the dialogues correctly, he cancelled the attack because he is too bound by the rule of law, that under no circumstances should the defence force harm Japanese civilians. It's neither selfish nor compassion, it's having too much faith in a failing system.

[@the_Pleiades]

@@AccentedCinema The SDF's armed clash itself may be a violation of the Constitution of Japan, and abandoning two civilians can justify re-arming at the expense of a small number. This is the greatest possibility that will most contribute to the rise of Japanese right-wing nationalism that you claim.

[@Klonoa7H]

The prime minister character is honourable to a fault. That's I think the reason why he died.

[@cro-magnum7642]

@@AccentedCinema I realized that just now. I guess you're right. Still a great movie. 2nd best in the series. BTW is it really true that Anno HATES people? How depressed is this guy?

[@jared7708]

Fair critique, but one aspect I really appreciated about the ending of the film is how, unlike the 1954 original, Godzilla is not actually destroyed but just frozen in the heart of Tokyo. It parallels how the effects of Fukushima-Daichi still remain and the danger of another nuclear disaster is still present.

[@AccentedCinema]

It's also that OG is a metaphor for nuclear weaponry, and it's fairly clear we can live in a world without them. Shin Godzilla is about nuclear energy in general. The film is saying that, quote "we have to learn to live with Godzilla". The value of nuclear energy should not be ignore due to this disaster. And I find that to be a very important message. Nuclear is still one of the safest form of clean energy out there.

[@teslashark]

@@AccentedCinema I like everything from the artistic design to the message, but I can't accept the aftermath - Urobuchi and Polygon's Godzilla Planet is a flop and Evangelion 4.0 was effectively cancelled and recycled because of resource conflicts

[@briangen0]

@@teslashark Urobochi isn't really the one to blame though, it's just the studio behind intervened too much llike WB did to BvS/JL.

[@teslashark]

@@briangen0 Shizuno's gambit, I know, and damn him to Monster Island for ruining Sidonia Season 3's schedule

[@azkon7975]

@@AccentedCinema Nuclear energy is the safest form of clean(ish) energy that we have access to RIGHT NOW on a large scale. In the long run, we're going to not want it (I'm talking decades time scale here, though). We've had too many instances of poor human mismanagement as precedent to make Nuclear truly safe in the eyes of the public. Nuclear Energy is safe in theory. If procedures are properly followed and preparations properly made, Nuclear is good. Unfortunately, it relies on people being reliable. And when management is bad, we get catastrophic disasters like Chernobyl and Fukushima. I think if we decided to use Nuclear as a temporary solution to buy the world time for alternative green energy, I'd be all aboard. We can stand up a bunch of Nuclear Plants within a decade and give the world several more decades of time to fix the energy problem. I'd be down for that. Nuclear can run for a few decades and then be decommissioned when alternatives are achieved. Newer Nuclear Power facilities should be much safer than the old crumbling ones. The new plants can run safely for a few decades and then be decommissioned before they become unsafe.

[@NCHProductions]

never saw it in that perspective! thanks for the essay of this perspective of the movie I didn't noticed.

[@DarshanBhambhani]

A lot of people don’t realize that the original monster movies (like Godzilla and KingKong) were serving a deeper movie than just a simple monster flick. If you like this video I highly recommend the other video he made on a monster film made by North Koreans kzbin.info/www/bejne/nJ7MdK2Zapt4kKc

[@shirogami4224]

Love your videos

[@justinthao848]

As a guy who loves this film, I’m totally on board with this criticism.

[@kennethsatria6607]

Yeah it checks out very nicely and logically

[@meheecan123]

Movie was pretty Boring if ya ask me seen this video comparing the OG Godzilla & Shin Godzilla is a huge difference.

[@SweetZombiJesus]

I'm not. I think in showing the government being cold to the human loss of life, the film makers are showing empathy towards the people who suffer during thesw types of events. Instead of showing the people's suffering, they make the same point by showing the Government's ineptitude, bureaucracy, and cold-heartedness. I'm surprised Accented Cinema did not catch the sub-text of this theme.

[@Sabocat]

I felt the government's complete indifference to the people was the salient commentary of the movie. They might care about their own but their overwhelming self-centred view of the world prevents them for seeing civilian deaths as an issue beyond the economic impact.

[@maximuffin6395]

Perhaps the film should have been a blend of both "People are suffering; we are watching them in pure terror, and the government is worried about buildings, economy, and especially themselves"

[@tokuwriter2872]

@@maximuffin6395 that would’ve made the horror FAR more poignant and the commentary of the film more solidly focused.

[@KyodaiKino]

This is an excellent criticism of Shin Godzilla, and one that I hadn't really given much thought. I made a video essay about this film a couple years ago with more of a focus on the "nationalism" discourse, and it looks like we basically agree on that side of things. While the lack of a civilian focus in the film is a valid criticism, and argued very well in this video, I don't personally find it quite as detrimental to the film. I think you've got a point about that blind spot stemming partially from Anno's obsession with machinery (mechanical and political), but I'm not sure Anno is, at heart, quite that misanthropic. One of the key themes of Evangelion is that human life and connection, for all the difficulty and pain it carries, is ultimately worth facing. True, Anno seems to be reminding himself of this as much as anyone, given his well-known otaku tendencies and struggles with depression, but that's still the ultimate message of the franchise he's effectively made into his life's work. I think Shin Godzilla's tunnel vision is more a byproduct (albeit an avoidable one) of its deliberate focus on "how the sausage is made," than a manifestation of hatred for humanity. It is certainly glaring when juxtaposed with the original Godzilla. I think it's also symptomatic of the way politics in general can easily become abstracted from the individual human lives involved. I still think Shin Godzilla is an excellent film, but this video does an excellent job illuminating a flaw that probably contributes a great deal to its somewhat mixed reception by certain viewers.

[@AccentedCinema]

Absolutely. My reaction is an emotional one, and not everyone will find this flaw as important as I do. That's why I don't like the film, but I still think the film is great. The idea of exploring exclusively the politics of Godzilla sounds great on paper. It sounds like something I would personally write. Having worked in the industry (sort of), the most likely scenario is that Anno and the rest of the creative staff noticed this problem way too late into production. And that's the thing about art, they have a mind of their own.

[@KyodaiKino]

@@AccentedCinema I can definitely see that. I almost wonder if Anno having a co-writer would have helped inject a little more Honda-style humanity into the film, but then I remember how Anno apparently ended up taking on a lot of hands-on directorial duties that were originally supposed to be handled by Shinji Higuchi. Not that I blame the guy; if I were in his shoes, I wouldn't be able to help myself either!

[@AccentedCinema]

@@KyodaiKino Also, tangent. But your video is amazing!

[@KyodaiKino]

@@AccentedCinema Thank you, that means a lot! I've actually been thinking of making a revised version -- the current one is kind of sloppy about attributing the claims it's responding to

[@RyanParreno]

@@AccentedCinema yep, this made me watch it. I hope you can make your revised video someday @Kyodai Kino

[@VashWasTaken]

As someone who fell in love with this movie, this is such an interesting reflection on it. It makes me see it in a entire different light. I still love the movie for what it is, but it's difficult to ignore the inherent misanthropy in the movie. I loved this video.

[@ilhamfitriadi1927]

I think it's pretty realistic, especially in the times like this. When civilians died bcause of covid, the government only cares for things like economics redevelopment, investment, even tourism. kinda sad

[@speedycube3239]

The world is literally fun, the people on authority don't care civilians because reproduction can replace them, at any circumstances.

[@TupocalypseShakur]

@@speedycube3239 not in Japan

[@nome9752]

kinda?

[@kyriss12]

Don't be so quick to shrug of economics as rich people issue. How do you think your food gets from farms in the middle of the country to the shelves t your local grocery store. The gas and electricity that keeps your house warm during the winter. All that is reliant on a healthy economy, and you can only put that shit on pause and run off emergency stores for so long before everything falls apart.

[@alfi-il7be]

what so sad each government take their own action and not just goverment but expert, medic. all give their opinion contradic each other. even who couldnvt handle the pandemic or maybe it doesn't mean to handle??

[@tykep1009]

As a Japanese who lived in an area were devastated by Godzilla, I have a different perspective. For most of us, it is enough to imagine the losses and suffering by the catastrophe without any civilians shot. Because we already experienced the loss of our friends or families or beloved ones in the disaster of past decades. There was no need to stir the people's trauma furthermore. Shin-Godzilla is heavily oriented to domestic viewers, so there is no wonder why foreigners don't like it. But it's sad to see this film criticized as a propaganda movie outside Japan.

[@alexanderavila4662]

Sorry about the last part,

[@matel4692]

"the incompetent government sees its people as cattle" "everyone is replaceable and the value of a human life is at an all-time low nowadays" dunno man, the movie seems realistic as fuck, i mean just look outside, gov cares more about economy than saving people from a pandemic

[@sunflower50sun]

feels bad man 👨

[@JohnVmc2]

Complain that the movie mades the point the movie wants to make is weird to me. Shin Godzilla is about how modern bureocracy is so disjointed from the people that they only see themselves as being the "people", or, sometimes, "the party", or "the democracy", etc. It's not that Anno hates humans, it's just he showing what the govern from today are becoming and how those tendencies will get more and more present in the world from now on. Democracy has failed, we're reentering the age of the "god emperos" from ancient Egypt.

[@sunflower50sun]

@@JohnVmc2 exactly. in Evangelion, the lesson was to love yourself or something like that

[@imsentinelprime9279]

​@@sunflower50sunbut completely forgot about its plot.

[@sunflower50sun]

Yo Godzilla minus one kinda talked about this but about world war 2

[@kamilziemian995]

I saw "Godzilla" in title, I came instantly.

[@jasonblalock4429]

Phrasing!

[@johntitor2058]

Literally

[@an0rangutan]

I did too, now I have to clean up.

[@aligatornomnom1773]

I just come for accented cinema

[@kamilziemian995]

@@jasonblalock4429 My poor English don't allow me to find mistake. Can you help me?

[@battleupsaber462]

When talking about Godzilla films that carry a serious message, there's one movie I think that gets criminally overlooked, and that's *Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All Out Attack* (directed by Shusuke Kaneko, who also did the Gamera trilogy.) Just like Shin Godzilla, that movie attempts to modernize the message of the 1954 Godzilla for a new generation, and just like Shin Godzilla it is pretty critical of the Japanese government. However, the politics of that movie are practically the polar opposite of Shin. GMK is an extremely left-wing, anti-war film. Unlike in Shin where the government eventually comes back stronger and defeats Godzilla, no such scene happens in GMK. The entire movie is a commentary on how ineffective the military is, and how the Japanese governments' attempts to bury the past has caused the public to forget about Godzilla and the destruction he caused in 1954 (an allegory of how modern Japan has forgotten the crimes committed during World War 2. Godzilla in the movie is even implied to be formed from the souls of soldiers who died during the war.) GMK also serves as an allegory for the cultural divide between Japan's elders and its youth in that regard. Just like Shin, there's also an element of cultural satire in GMK, in the military's repeated failed attempts to stop Godzilla, and how no one seems to take Godzilla seriously until he literally shows up and kills everyone. Unlike Shin though, GMK has extremely well-developed human characters (both civilian and military) that i consider to be some of the best in the series. basically what I'm saying is that if you, the reader, are looking for another Godzilla film with a serious message, but has a different viewpoint than Shin Godzilla, please consider giving GMK a watch. IMO it's the one Godzilla movie I would consider to be the spiritual sequel to the 1954 original, even moreso than Shin.

[@AccentedCinema]

My favourite Godzilla out of all of them. Both entertaining and deep.

[@battleupsaber462]

@@AccentedCinema would love to see a video about that movie one day!

[@Marx_D._Soul]

Ah, GMK. Was one of the first movies I ever watched (although not the first godzilla film I watched - that would go to the American release of 54), and it left a *massive* impact on me as a person, on such a level that getting into the details of would require a space with more depth than youtube comments. Only issue I have with it is the way they threw out the originally planned kaiju (Anguirus and Varan) to shoehorn in bigger ticket sellers - while Mothra could've worked thematically with a bit more tinkering (Guardian of the Sea? Really?), Ghidorah really didn't fit in the least.

[@epicjonny155]

Gmk godzilla is one of my favorite incarnations along with the monsterverse version

[@johnnymillar9056]

I totally understand why you feel that way about the film. I do enjoy the movie and I feel like not showing the loss of life, the humanity, was deliberate. It was to show the faulty power structures within the administration. The prime minister dying falls flat for the audience because we could see how useless he was in doing ANYTHING useful, but even the good guys who solve the Godzilla problem looked up to the PM and are driven not by compassion, but by ambition. They all want power. I think it being a black comedy adds to that as well. The movie is fucking hilarious, especially when showing how useless the administration is. But it's dark as fuck, both in showing the level of destruction and the admin's inability to address the huge loss of life. I think not showing the loss of life shows how little the administration has to face the consequences of their actions. And that's why the PM's death shakes everyone so hard, they assume they were untouchable. But I loved your video, thank you for your viewpoint x

[@psingh135]

"Dude, the people are dying" really took me out 🤣🤣 So did the Lord Farquaad comparison. Loved the essay - watching the movie, I felt kind of emotionally disconnected from it, and I couldn't figure out exactly why. You've put it in words.

[@freedomofthewanderer]

This analysis is very misplaced in my opinion. Shin Godzilla doesn't represent the loss of innocent civilian lives for 2 major reasons: 1) The movie tries to portray and criticize how natural disasters are often an inhumane event of urgency which forgets the loss of singular lives. It disregards them; they are afterthought for the media and the government. It's ironic when the PM sees 2 un-evacuated civilians and stops the military strike on a primitive godzilla. 2) Godzilla was a representation of 1945 nuclear bombings which caused a tremendous loss of life in a flash. Shin Godzilla portrays the 2011 tohoku earthquake and tsunami. The first is seen as a suffering, a malady inflicted upon them by fate or by an external force whereas the latter was generally conceived as something inevitable and viewed as something long due. The loss of life in 2011 was small compared to 1945 and in the case of Fukushima nuclear accidents there are no victims, only martyrs. Sorry if what I wrote makes no sense. I was very sleepy when I wrote this.

[@briangen0]

I understand your point about Shin Godzilla, it doesn't look like a typical disaster movie with the lack of civilian reactions as you mentioned. Compare Deep Impact (which I swear is one of the best disaster movie ever), Shin's complete blank over the normal civilians and focus on the politicians does make the film a bit hallow. But at the same time I respectfully disagree with the necessity of civilians in Shin Godzilla: It's a remake of 1954 Gojira, but it's not trying to act like another disaster movie, it's more alike to point out and pull down the problems of the current Japanese society------slow and conservative bureaucracy, lack of thinking and creativity, civilians' obliviousness to the world and carefree-ness......etc. The PM is a kind of person that want to bring changes to the society, but was bound to what he had at hand, and only his and his cabinet's death really bring the change around, much like how Japan changed after 311 disaster, and possibly the abdication of Emperor Akihiro. Also, in a way, Shin Godzilla isn't a pure natural disaster either: Dr Maki suffered and being ignored by his fellows, leading to the world not knowing what's happening (pretty much a contrast to Serisawa in the original); it comes from the nature, brings destruction to the world, but it's also the seed of possibilities (which was discussed in the movie), so it resonates with what Anno want to convey as above: the society need to embrace changes and live with the danger when time comes, as you can't possibly defeat what you can't hope to control, only to live and adapt with it. Which is why I think Shin still did a great job despite it's not a proper disaster movie. As for if Anno really hate humans, I guess we can find a clue from his upcoming Shin Ultraman and the last of Rebuild of Evangelion.:P

[@ianyap8941]

Oh man, I cant wait to be indirectly insulted in his Evangelion 3.0+1.0. Also, Evangelion 3.0 was quite wrecked up (in a good way) too.

[@elkingoh4543]

Update: Shin Ultraman is Jesus figure

[@MrAlltheThingsYT]

I like this idea a lot of good essayists are employing where they acknowledge the films have real artistic merit but still don't like them. It adds some real texture in a world where everyone is obsessed with objectivity in criticism.

[@ElBandito]

People are the foundation of a nation. Without people, there is no nation.

[@ArifRWinandar]

"Japan is not a place, it's a people."

[@AccentedCinema]

Dude, imagine. "You can't defeat me." "I know. But he can." Enter King Ghidorah.

[@lucasvals4354]

Racist quote. Japan would still be Japan if it became majority foreigner.

[@Tenebrio-Morio]

@@AccentedCinema isn't that a plot point in Godzilla vs King Ghidorah?

[@katiedubs]

@@lucasvals4354 he's quoting Thor: Ragnarok dude, calm down

[@mwellnow5016]

@@lucasvals4354 false

[@stefanlaskowski6660]

It's difficult not to conclude that Shin Godzilla is a not-so-subtle commentary on modern big governments' faceless, uncaring, bureaucratic, largely incompetent aspects. This criticism could equally apply to Japan, China, Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom, and many other nations. Covid-19 showed us that most governments don't care about the effect crises have on their citizens, but rather that government officials often care more about how a crisis will effect them personally. Will they lose power, or wealth, or prestige?

[@redsgrave2003]

Good points. Anno seemingly had tunnel vision when making the movie. Shin was a great movie in my eyes but yeah, some of the most haunting and memorable scenes from Gojira has to be the mother and her children accepting death and the choir spurring Serizawa to take action.

[@sweetcinnamonpnchkin]

Not to mention Godzilla destroying that small village at night. This was after they had been singing in worship begging to be spared. You barely see him but you see people being crushed in their houses.

[@SweetZombiJesus]

I think in showing the government being cold to the human loss of life, the film makers are showing empathy towards the people who suffer during thesw types of events. Instead of showing the people's suffering, they make the same point by showing the Government's ineptitude, bureaucracy, and cold-heartedness. I'm surprised Accented Cinema did not catch the sub-text of this theme.

[@mamborambo]

Many politicians have this myopia of their responsibilities: they see the economy and infrastructures as tangible and real, but the people's opinions are nebulous and fuzzy. This is especially true in totalitarian countries, since without the need to fight elections, they hardly have to understand the people's concerns, ir even make promises to fulfill.

[@aidilmubarock5394]

Although Japan isn't totalitarian but the party that rule japan never lose the election since forever paint a clear picture of japan politics

[@notmbr]

the title kinda hurt my dude ngl

[@moviedudexd5579]

Finally, a actual legit critique of Shin and not just people complaining its too boring or not enough monsters.

[@Almighty_Mage]

It being boring is valid. Now you may want explanations to why it is boring but thats another matter. People are oftened not asked to explain positive critiques or reactions so there is a double standard.

[@yeahiknow4370]

@@Almighty_Mage Considering Shin's pacing, people being bored watching it must have a miniscule attention span. The movie constantly flicks between Shin and the government, and doesn't hold off godzilla for most of the movie until.. say one final fight like some of the American incarnations.

[@thenorthstarsamurai]

@@yeahiknow4370 I guess it's just a culture gap? I loved Shin Godzilla even with the ending, I think that was a fair ending for the movie😊

[@DougieG7130]

​@@yeahiknow4370 The main reason why it's boring is because it's a plot driven movie with not a very good plot, and there's no main character to get attached to (outside of Godzilla). I literally can't think of a movie I have ever seen in my entire life that doesn't have an obvious main character. None of these 100 characters within the movie are well fleshed out at all which the movie 100% is reliant on the plot and Godzilla to carry the story. Take Godzilla out of this movie and it's a terrible movie from a story perspective.

[@imsentinelprime9279]

I found this movie, imo to be boring asf. Everything falls flat, seeing godzilla destroy buildings is cool, I guess, but there is no emotion, and I couldn't careless about any of the characters. Coupled that with the politics the entire movie, it just made me wanna fall asleep. Compared to godzilla minus one.

[@VinayMenon222]

I'm writing a paper on OG Goji and Shin Goji. I put that into pause just because I knew this video was coming. And it was worth it since I missed this glaring difference. Thanks man!

[@TOKYOTOYBANZAI]

Interesting perspective. However, you did miss a few key scenes when discussing the causalities presented in the film. When Godzilla first makes landfall and mutates into his upright form after writhing on his belly through a river channel, he lumbers clumsily toward unprepared populations still inside of their homes. The impact of this is shown in one brief scene of a family getting their young son ready to evacuated, only to have their building knocked over, with the family being crushed. This scene is quick, but impactful and all that was required. Any more would have been gratuitous. Later after Godzilla escapes into the ocean, and the government arrives on the scene, the bodies of people crushed under the rubble is also shown in quick cuts. Godzilla is also shown crushing the military in tanks, killing pilots, and smashing entire platoons stationed in tents. Then during his rampage into Tokyo, which is being evacuated, he is shown killing not only the Prime Minister but an entire helicopter full of staff. Then you have all the volunteers driving trucks to deliver the coolant into Godzilla's mouth, whom are also mostly killed on screen. In total, 50+ people are shown being killed by Godzilla in Shin Godzilla. While the deaths are not as impactful as some of the scenes, like the woman embracing the young girl, in Godzilla 1954, they serve their purpose as a film that is commenting on issues not presented in the original 1954 film, some of which were not present during that time period. Could Shin Godzilla have benefited from some more scenes of emotional and tragic devastation? Yes, but when the film was being written and produced, Japan was still recovering from the Fukushima & Tsunami Disaster, and it was clear that the film wanted to focus more on the resilience of the people of Japan, rather than linger on despair. I have lived in Japan for 15 years and complete understand their decision for this. If Hideaki Anno would have had his way with the original draft of the script, we would have had a completely different film entirely, with Godzilla dividing into two, and then evolving into hundreds of smaller humanoid being acting with a hive mind and basically absorbing the Earth... so yeah, there's that. Great video essay nonetheless with many valid points!! Well spoken as always!

[@TOKYOTOYBANZAI]

And also, while the film does reflect several issues regarding the Tohoku Earthquake & Tsunami/Fukushima disaster, it does not tie itself directly to it. It has merely reflected elements. Anno's intention of the film was always to be from the perspective of the government, which is done very well. They treat the infrastructure and land as the primary thing to save, because that is how a government works in reality. Populations are expendable to a certain degree, from many government's perspectives. It's the cold hard truth, and I think that is well presented here, although of course the Japanese government does their best to minimize this, even going as far to not fire upon Godzilla in a mostly evacuated area, to allow an elderly couple to escape from harms way. Anyway, again, many of your points are valid, but I think you are comparing the film too closely to the original (which is totally warranted), and taking it's connection to the Tohoku disaster too literally. It's objectively the best Godzilla film made since the original, (and the 1984 film), and resonated very well with the people of Japan (and I don't mean the crazy right-wingers, whom by the way, barely exist compared to the general population).

[@a0987789768]

Agree with you I still remember the scene that after American decided to use nuclear weapon, at least 5 minutes of scene were everyone discussing how the government should evacuate people, not to mention the scene that only because one old lady still in the combat area, the prime minister call to stop attack. It barely describe civilian Individual because it's in governments perspective, every decision costs live, and they desperately looking for the way that "most of people can live" Btw, the scene after PMs died, the sorrow of Yaguchi possibly comes from other staffs death, just imagine that if Godzila spreading that kind of fire in urban area, what will happen to people hiding in underground?

[@PeterP_]

"People died because of government's lack of preparation" Hmmmmmm where have I heard this before as an American....

[@williampan29]

before? It's still ongoing.

[@PeterP_]

@@williampan29 before hearing that phrase

[@williampan29]

@@PeterP_ oops, sorry, the quarantine has destroyed my sense of time.

[@_fesh]

AIDS CRISIS OR CORONAVIRUS TAKE YER PICK

[@dcd3lt4]

@@_fesh The toilet paper crisis. Definitely.

[@ampersandman757]

I also must disagree with your assertion Anno hates humans, because I really don't think he does, though he does certainly view them as deeply flawed. But Shin Godzilla, much like Evangelion, depicts humanity being able to achieve amazing things when they pull together.

[@andersonsmiths7437]

wait I thought that was intentional ,but was used to make a different point serving as a satire

[@AccentedCinema]

The format is absolutely intentional. The idea on paper sounds great. A very confined, focused look at the politics of Godzilla. But sometimes, unintentional consequences creeps in. I shouldn't judge the film's quality for this, but emotionally, I just find myself unable to like it.

[@SamuraiMujuru]

That's a damn interesting take on it! It hadn't occurred to me at all. I think partially because after Man of Steel there was an intentional effort to cut down on obvious civilian casualties, (Pacific Rim did it particularly well so you could have guilt free kaiju punch fests) but in Shin Godzilla it really should have been the point. Great video!

[@wow1371]

This criticism is pretty moot. Anyone that has watched the movie even once will tell you that the key point of the government is to save as many civilians as possible, and we see that effort through the Japanese system. We get to see that actually happening in a japan that is used to doing this by now. They know where to send people, how to control traffic, how to deliver the instructions. The everyday stuff of japan that has been perfected over the years hence when the first encounter ends the casualties are in hundreds instead of hundreds of thousands. The issue arises in dealing with the unknown and shows how the government is trying to handle that. Because that is the whole point. Shin Godzilla is NOT a monster movie, anyone that treats as one is missing the point. Shin Godzilla as has been stated by many is a commentary on the Japan's existential identity and the system governing it. The people of Japan are a minor part in the existential crisis of Japan and focusing on the thing that works doesn't tell the story that the director wanted. If it was to focus on the plight of the people anymore than it had we would be telling a false story. Japan is good at evacuating and saving as many lives as possible, there is nothing to say about that here, this is not the Japan of 40s and 50s stripped of all power and incarcerated by a foreign power, this is the world power Japan that has a system in place for exactly this kind of scenarios (minus a sudden giant monster)

[@TheOnlyAchilles]

The man better redeem himself with the video After Video: The man gave reasons why I like it, but I can understand his opinion

[@vaclavmichalekmusic]

Man, I really do appreciate your viewpoints reflected through films. Calling out the genuine truth, providing context, and inspiring love towards films. Even though I am not at all well versed in Asian cinematography, I grow eager to learn more. Thank you for what you're doing!

[@cthulhuspawn96]

So accurately portraying the Japanese government during a disaster is a bad thing? Are you serious? Literally the movie was made to show how much the Japanese government was lacking in terms of their response to the Fukushima disaster 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

[@jackrabin6501]

As someone that really like this film, I absolutely agree with this criticism

[@mattfrank85]

Not enough Godzilla fans are truly critical of this film. I’m glad you posted this.

[@jazzmaster909]

*ohh no people like something i don't like too much, it must be stopped*

[@jinatlas8674]

Well the OG godzilla film was base of events of the 2 nukes and how it affected them. Shin godzilla is representing current japan. Times are changing. Even as a manga reader majority of the recent mangas depicting disaster/apocalypse/doomsday show the cruel and uncaring side of japan.

[@Almighty_Mage]

The movie goes about this in the wrong direction. Shin godzilla attached a creature to the meaning instead of attaching meaning to the creature.

[@DerekVasconi]

I guess you missed the part with the family in the skyscraper getting killed as it toppled over... so yeah, this film DID show victims. There are others too that were shown. Anyway, I think this movie is literally perfect, from beginning to end, and it represents a genius artist's vision that very carefully focused on a scathing critique of Japan's governmental inefficiency in the face of a crisis... ANY crisis. Just look at how horrific the response was of the Japanese government to the Coronavirus Pandemic. If anything Shin Godzilla is a film that's meant to convey the frustrations of people like Anno and myself and so many others who live here in Japan and have to deal with a broken, corrupt political system that doesn't give a shit about the regular, everyday citizens of Japan. To that effect, I thought the movie did its job well, and that serious lack of empathy by showing what it was like for the average citizen... well, that makes this film all the more scary and brutal to me. Well done Anno. Well done.

[@Godzilla-jr5gi]

🤓🌚🤡

[@bridgethaines7127]

This was a criticism of the inefficiency and impossible red tape of the Japanese government during crisis. It was a comment on the response to the Fukushima Daiichi disaster and the 2011 tsunami. There is a lot to be said about not framing it from the view of the people, but of someone in the government trying to help.

[@MrYsosad]

the cold byrocracy towards the common people is a another layer of horror. Shin Godzilla is a modern horror movie that is criticizing a system that has stopped caring about people that voted for it.

[@shazzatulanam6680]

At the end of the day it is still a pretty enjoyable movie. Every flim has its flaws. Everbody cannot be satisfied at the same time.

[@AccentedCinema]

This is absolutely true. My reaction is an emotional one. Not everyone will share my view, and not everyone will think this is that big of a problem. It's just unfortunate I'm the one this film don't appeal to, because damn it, this is such a good movie that I want to love.

[@Godzilla-jr5gi]

@@AccentedCinema omni viewer agrees with you

[@ArtIsMySin19]

I agree with this entirely and to add on to the Ano section, I don't like how much EVANGELION seeps into shin... Like imo it seeps in wayyy too much. Godzilla's been treated more like an Angel from evangelion rather than a force of nature. Even the ending has it implying he's becoming some sort of god being post "awakening". Look I love EVANGELION and Godzilla AND the idea of crossing over... but THIS crossover just doesn't meld well for me. Each theme works well in their separate media but I feel like the Eva influences overpower the overall Godzilla remake concept producing an eh movie for me.

[@u06jo3vmp]

The director of Shin Godzilla is also the director of Evangelion the anime, which had a similar problem. He treats these world ending events like a game of chess, which he is great at depicting, but he doesn't care about the lives and families of the chess pieces.

[@amanofnoreputation2164]

That's somewhat paradoxical: one of the main criticism of Evangelion is it tries to put the Ikari family drama on the same threshold as world-ending catastrophe the point that the plot and lore are just convoluted parts of the set dressing.

[@ruskasielu6261]

In a way, it's easy to see that Anno isn't typically interested in showing civilians casualties in his work. Both in Evangelion and Gunbusters, you can see scenes of massive destructions, but the only few deaths you'll see are important characters. I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing, it just shows that his interest as a filmmaker isn't the same as for the original Godzilla movie. You could even argue that trying to fit both the themes he tackled in Shin G. plus retaining the original interest for the human casualties could have resulted in a mediocre movie (although this is just speculations).

[@ToniosPlaylist]

Hey Man, you definitely got some interesting points in your video. And tho I agree with you on some of those, I don't agree on the more important ones resulting in your reason why you don't like this movie. Especially this whole "right-wing" topic. The militarism in this movie wasn't shown to impress uprising right-wing ideas, but to show how useless they are in concern of those catastrophic global threats. What can a tank do against nuclear radiation? You could also ask what could a tank do against global warming in related topics? Also the whole focus on politics and not the civilian sufferings, that's a part of it as well, was to focus on the governments failing. Maybe, and I agree with you on that, this was a bit unlucky or a bit too less civilian focus, one could have done it better, but that's not reason enough to not like the movie. It's just a different approach on the whole topic, and a legit one in particular. Finally, also the last point isn't valid as well. I mean, these are cool implications and I understand it, but ... despite Japan knowing these dangers, they still got into nuclear energy. So why not having this sort of catastrophic and still having humanity acting like idiots? It perfectly depicts humanity. It perfectly fits, with all of your implications as well. And that's part of the beauty of this movie as well. If, at all, and then in case of all Godzilla-movies, there is a plot-based or storytelling-based thing that fails to be liked, then the point of overcoming these threats. The happy ending. Just to make more stupid mistakes in same manners. Like HOW in the world will we ever overcome the danger of nuclear radiation, if not in not using it anymore? There is no way. And still, just like the Godzilla-movies, we continue with it. And tho I agree with you on "lack of preparation", there is no preparation against natural desasters, like earthquakes. You can build a whatever-safe whatever-thing, it will never be safe enough for those sorts of desasters. There is no safety, so there is no effective preparation. Safety is an illusion we continue to believe in. The only "safe" thing, is not using it, same goes for all other human inventions, like ai, all globally effective exploitable things, as soon as humanity touches it, it can't not go wrong. It's just we're stupid enough to think we can change this, to think we can control it. Humanity always learns things afterwards, not beforehand, and if humanity learns at all, is quite uncertain on top of that. In the end, you're missing the point that this movie want to be exactly this way. For reasons. And legit reasons. Maybe the way it was put was a little bit unfavorable, I agree, but nothing to that extent to not love this movie. Anyway, still good video! Nice thoughts in general!

[@taleofshinobi]

I feel this critique finds itself a bit lost on its points. It feels almost as if you expected a retelling of the Godzillas that came before this one, when it was not fully supposed to be that. While it pulls from similar ground, and of course has callbacks, the movie has “the faceless populous,” because it was never meant to be about relation to the populous, they are treated in the movie same as how people felt like they were treated by the government, unseen. Economic drawbacks over the needs of the people to be prepared until it was too late, when Godzilla had reached its 4th form, with them still not being fully prepared for the destruction the monster could bring, especially with all of their idling. While there is a technical main character who wishes to do good with his team, the focus in this movie was never about the individual, it required all of Japan to set things right, and even in the end they still couldn’t, all from a distasteful of their own making, because it is implied that Godzilla was still evolving, at the end of its tail with humanoid creatures growing, humanity being its own undoing. It was never about propping up the government and they being the ones to take action because they were keeping the people completely in mind, instead pushing that the government should take action, and only did when it proved their own interests could no longer be applied, especially after the death of a high member of society. That was when those in power seemingly finally “mourned.” Not with the death of the many, but the death of the “important.” I will further look into the movie as I have in these past few weeks after seeing Minus One, which has made me reflect on both, but that is what I’ve pulled from Shin Godzilla, especially which how symbolic Ano’s direction can be.

[@johnlindauer]

I love Shin Godzilla - but your criticism is to a degree valid. That said: a film must have a point of view. Shin Godzilla is looking directly at the gov't. Not at the people. But to claim that individual suffering is not present is... false. We see numerous cases of individual suffering: a man crushed inside his own car, a man running for his life as the debris overtakes him, a single mother and her children obliterated by a falling building... And in more relatable experiences - such as being caught in a traffic jam - a daily occurrence for people everywhere - takes on terrifying consequences in context of the film. One can imagine how one would feel trapped in such a way. There is no need to depict each individual act of suffering. Even the depiction of social media as a form of "national denial" - as snarky emojis are used to "anesthetize" the population outside the disaster zone - feels relevant and true. If one doesn't actually SEE the monster one might wonder: Is this really happening? Or is it fake news? Only the threat of Atomic destruction cuts through all of the noise. Shin Godzilla is better than good. It's a masterpiece. I classify Shin Godzilla as the 2nd best Godzilla film. The original being the best.

[@johnlindauer]

@Pindé As opposed to your average d1ckless reply?

[@jadthecat387]

I'll share my thoughts on this. 1: The movie centers in the politicians a lot because it is a critique of Japanese officials and goverment, the amount of Kanji on screen for the stupidly long titles is a part of that. 2: The movie does show civilian deaths, specially in the first rampage, and we also see they suffering of those in the frontlines when we see the desperation of the firefighters to try and help the people fleeing the scene. 3: 7:30, that character does indeed show pain towards the loss of human lives, he bows down to apologize to the people who died under that debris. we even see some body parts to drive it home. 4: 9:20 , have you not seen irl people during emergencies and drills? There's always that couple of morons who take it as a joke and make it worse for everyone. Do you expect all japanese civilians to be calm and collected like the stereotype? 5: 10:02 I find it truly disturbing that you find the idea of Japan wanting to be self sufficient, strong, and independent as a "right wing" and negative idea. that is some true straw grasping. I get your cultural background might be different, but wanting to shame japanese folks for wanting things to be good for their country and saying "that's not how you should feel" is the real YIKES to me. 6: there has always been military stuff in godzilla movies, the heisei era (1984 to 1994) always showed tanks and military vehicles shooting and blasting kaiju. IDK why you think this one is "Fetishizing" them. I always say, we see in a movie what we bring with us to it. I don't know you, but you have twisted the movie in a manner to be bad to suit your own worldview, instead of truly hearing what the movie intended to say, even going so far as to accuse the director, and that is not some good luggage to carry my friend.

[@sptony2718]

It's alright, I'll give you a "your mom" joke pass.

[@aidilmubarock5394]

Can you give me timestamp?

[@sptony2718]

@@aidilmubarock5394 It's right at the beginning in the introduction.

[@feetfinderguy7044]

Emotionally, I agree. But I think how the civilians is being portray as "faceless" is intentional. The movie is carried through the government POV and we know the movie intention is to criticise it. Therefore, the reasoning behind why "-Shin is deathly allergic to showing civilians suffering." is likely to show how the government doesn't view civilian casualties as a tragedy, but rather as a lost of resources; hence why it shows in multiple scenes how the government concerns are only about the destruction property, financial lost, and military lost (like you pointed out). In a way, your criticism is actually one of the movie's biggest strength lol (still, great video tho)

[@준의환상]

I was glad to see a lot of your videos, will The Host be the topic someday?

[@josh-qj2zu]

from a guy who fucking loved the movie, this criticism is valid. Shin Godzilla's high points are at the scenes of utter destruction and the emotions potrayed by yaguchi's actor, and it's a shame that there isn't more scenes focusing on the damage that godzilla did

[@AKIBATAKU39]

When you said you don't like Shin-Godzilla, I though You would be like that other guy who bost that 2014 Godzilla is better but no, your reasons are valid and you present them in a respectful manner. For this I salute you. I will now give out one point that seemingly no one else have given out. You pointed out that how the civilians, military etc are threated faceless and like a part of a machine. At first I also have this as a negative against Shin Godzilla But upon further and I mean further research I realized that is how Japan tragically works. I n Japanese society, Its not like America when Individuals can make a difference but it values the collective. They don't care how good or bad you are, as long as you do your job then you are fine. Whether this is a good or bad mind set is debatable but the point is Shin Godzilla reflects of that value. The civilians, politicians, military are nothing more then gears in a machine and that machine is called Japan. This movie also unintentionally shows the downside of valuing the collective and that is if one cog is gone, it can be replaced. If one worker in Japan died then another one will take his place. In this movie, every civilian or military death while momentarily sad soon is either replaced or flat out ignored. that is how Japanese society work, Shin Godzilla shows that. If you did not like it then it has done its job of showing the bad side of it. Even Japanese people despise this value. Anyway my other counter points have been said by other people. I did enjoy your video either way!

[@AKIBATAKU39]

@Katie Lewis No I'm saying it is a old and cherished ideology is both very valued and flawed.

[@kekkarma]

I am 4 minutes in but we literally saw a small family being killed by Shinagawa-kun in the first few minutes of the movie. Yes, Shin Godzilla has less visible deaths but it still contains them.

[@KaijuPictures]

I think it’s cold and uncaring to represent how the Japanese government act and how they view civilians.

[@CarcharodonMeg]

Good points, but I would argue that the film actually serves as a critique of bureaucratic inefficiency and a celebration of competence in the face of crisis. The film's depiction of the Japanese government's response to Shin Godzilla's destruction highlights the challenges of navigating complex political and bureaucratic structures in an emergency situation. As the monstrous creature wreaks havoc across the country, the government struggles to make timely and effective decisions, hindered by political infighting, outdated procedures, and a lack of clear leadership. Amidst this chaos, the film introduces Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Higashida, a character who stands out for his decisive action and unwavering commitment to protecting the country. Unlike many of his political colleagues who are paralyzed by indecision and self-interest, Higashida takes bold steps, including authorizing the use of unconventional weapons and forming a special task force to combat Godzilla. Higashida's competence and leadership, in contrast to the surrounding bureaucracy, serve as a reminder of the importance of effective governance in times of crisis. His ability to cut through red tape and make tough decisions saves countless lives and ultimately leads to the defeat of Godzilla. Moreover, the film's portrayal of the Japanese military is not one of uncritical glorification. While the military does play a role in combating Godzilla, it is not depicted as infallible or omnipotent. The film acknowledges the military's limitations and the need for cooperation with civilian experts. Shin Godzilla's political commentary should not be misinterpreted as an endorsement of right-wing authoritarianism. Instead, the film offers a complex and nuanced portrayal of politics, bureaucracy, and leadership in a time of crisis. It highlights the dangers of inefficiency and indecisiveness, while also celebrating the value of competence and decisive action.

[@leavingisbadliving3553]

As Omni Viewer once said: "𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘄𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗽𝘀, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗽𝗼𝗽𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻 ."

[@yuyaricachimuel555]

I don’t see it as an unpopular opinion. This movie is divisive as f*** as several other Godzilla films that came out in the same decade...

[@omniviewer2115]

Oh yeah, I've heard of that guy.

[@leavingisbadliving3553]

@@omniviewer2115 somehow i knew you'll definitely watch this.

[@rajdixit1605]

@@omniviewer2115 Too bad his videos are so terrible 🤣 Just kidding, Omni! Love your channel, and this one too.

[@Godzilla-jr5gi]

@@yuyaricachimuel555 yeah that's another reason why the 2010 kaiju movies suck

[@Kaprosuchus2394]

Shin Godzilla's disinterest in civilians compared the original Gojira, is kind of reflected in each film's...well Godzilla. In both films, Goji is both a representation and a victim of nuclear destruction, his bumpy skin was even designed to resemble radiation burns. However, Anno seems approaches to approach Godzilla in similar way to the Angels in Evangelion, a very alien and bizarre being that moves in an almost mechanical way. Shin Goji is this dead eyed "thing" that robotically marches through buildings and barely reacts to the military attacking it. The fact it basically "shuts down" in the middle of the film makes it feel even more like a machine. It sometimes feels Anno's film has less sympathy then Honda's version .Like the movie pays lip service to the idea that Shin Goji is tragic with "Who Will Know", but every other scene with this version of Goji seems to focus on how "grotesque" and "other" it is. The 1954 film on the other hand has these moments that remind you the Godzilla is supposed to be a living being. For one, the original actually tells us what kind of creature Honda's Godzilla is, he's some kind of time lost reptile. At least I think this grounds him somewhere in the natural world, versus Shin which keeps his origin more mysterious. There is this moment during his rampage when he approaches a clock tower which then chimes, and in response he snarls and snaps at the building like a provoked animal. Heck there were some parts that implied that Godzilla ate meat, with Odo Island's past of human sacrifice, or a deleted scene that showed Goji eating a cow. Finally the way Godzilla is defeated captures this difference, Honda's Godzilla is shown peacefully resting at the bottom of the sea before the oxygen destroyer is activated, and gives out a single pained roar before suffocating, then dissolving to bone, and then into nothing.

[@timschiefer8340]

I would think one of the main reasons they didnt actually show civilian deaths would be the proximity in time to the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. It might have been considered in poor taste, and the focus was placed on the critical view of the inefficiency of Japans government. I loved Shin Godzilla, but your points are entirely valid. I thoroughly enjoyed the video essay!

[@jasdanvm3845]

I like to consider the possibility of the film ignoring civilian deaths and using faceless low ranking soldiers as a part of its message. You see, while OG Godzilla called for attention by showing the tragic death and injuries of the innocents; it's possible that this reboot goes an opposite way, demonstrating how little the government (and the media [like news]) cares for the individual lives of their citizens, where only If you have a position that makes you "important", your decease would be recognized, (it could have helped if there was in the film something like a brief mention of people lamenting the death of a celebrity!). Also, the scene of the prime minister cancels and attack because it would affect 2 elders, and the fact that he only does cause the law says so, helps with this idea, the rulers don't care for you, the mandatory follow of laws is more important to them that the lives they're saving by doing so.

[@Jayfive276]

The film gets a free pass from me. No shin godzilla? No final evangelion film. Anno was burnt out after 3.0 and Shin got him his mojo back.

[@SweetZombiJesus]

I think in showing the government being cold to the human loss of life, the film makers are showing empathy towards the people who suffer during these types of events. Instead of showing the people's suffering, they make the same point by showing the Government's ineptitude, bureaucracy, and cold-heartedness. I'm surprised Accented Cinema did not catch the sub-text of this theme.

[@artfire28]

When I saw it at Texas with US viewers, our reactions were opposite. When I felt the horror, shock and sadness, US audience felt the awe, suspense, and glorified moments and that what bothered me. It was much different from the US Godzilla films Hollywood made. Thank you for pointing out your own perspective and I think yours is the best one I've seen.

[@ripamoramee14]

Minus 1 succeeds where this fell short so well

[@Salty010]

10:11 but i feel like its not just Japan... China and South Korea seems slowly having that radicalize group and slowly getting bigger.... honestly... i just want to sit home and enjoy peaceful times... kinda sad... seems humanity not try to learn from history... it should find balance first...

[@TheEliera]

Well, here in europe sadly too. Poland, Hungary...

[@mitonaarea5856]

It's growing all around the world. Thanks to globalization and the internet many people around the world consume US most famous reality show, US politics. US politics is truly a cancer to the world.

[@mitonaarea5856]

Facism is slowly growing, Donald Trump and the internet were the trigger. Everywhere in the world (especially europe) people want to return to "the good old days", and Donald Trump rise to power with a slogan that implies that just helped growing that feeling. The fact that a person with the same ideals as them rose to power in the most important country in the world in the 21st century just gave them the feeling that it could happen in their countries. Life get worse and worse and you have to blame someone, and those people will be the immigrants. So the anti immigrant resentment will grow and people like Donald Trump will get elected.

[@mitonaarea5856]

@endiness endiness I am saying that facism is growing faster since he came to power. Never said it wasn't rising before him

[@mlgodzilla4206]

You had some balls to say you didn’t like Shin Godzilla,I salute you

[@ulisessalas5174]

Shin Godzilla is in some way, a (unintentional) criticism of a neo-liberal system and how irrelevant are now the people who forma a country. The relevant for this kind of socio-political structure are the leaders, they are the only important in this kind of system and in the same way their deaths, so interpreting this movie as this toxicated political and economical structure is amazing because it give us an idea of how irrelevant is the society for their government even in the worst of the disasters.

[@gabrielgalindo4083]

The main points addressed in this video essay are the reason why I am not a fan of Shin Godzilla. The monster design was cool, and so was the score, but I really hoped for civilian casualties and the impact of Godzilla in their average lives to appear in the films.

[@duchi882]

*Next Video:* Why I Don't Like Feet Godzilla | Video Essay

[@antisora13]

This comment gave me PTSD flashbacks to the Foot Wars

[@Jose_Hunters_EWF_Remixes]

What about "Godzilla Must Be _Ankled"?_

[@PlaylistGeneral]

I watched this film last night for the first time and I think it falls flat if you don't view it as a film almost entirely about the systems mankind has erected. It strips the typical disaster plot of almost all its emotional elements, and you're plunged into this extremely clinical mindset where you're assessing how effective Japan's response is to Godzilla. You start noticing obvious problems. The prime minister position is revealed to be this weird deliberate bottleneck that takes responsibility for everything so that everyone else is slightly abdicated of guilt. Everyone is constantly relaying information to each other instead of making decisions. Even in the worst disaster mankind's ever seen - the best decision-makers are factoring their own political future into decisions which involve the lives of others. Everyone is constantly wasting time switching uniforms and walking from place to place. It's a really interesting kind of storytelling because it's about a government, not just a few people.

[@arskakarva7474]

Interesting take, I've never actually heard one of this type before (I remain of the opinion that Shin Godzilla is the finest giant monster movie ever made). I personally think that Shin Godzilla doesn't really put a human face on the politicians and the military either, it's quite deliberately distanced from usual human elements of storytelling. And I think that's one thing that makes it interesting, it's a big part of how it tackles the inefficient and responsibility-avoiding deferency to hierarchy in the military and government. There's no MY FAMILY IS IN THERE subplot like in a typical Hollywood movie of this sort, the closest thing we have to main characters aren't in the military or from military background, and in general there is an avoidance of usual drama elements. I just find that an interesting angle to the genre. One thing I think that gets overlooked that kinda highlights that it isn't a right-wing movie is that one of the most important steps the group tackling the crisis and the leftovers of government take is that they quite deliberately reach out to the international community, and get help from every friend they have. The French stall the Security Council decision on nuking Tokyo, Germans and others help with their supercomputers, and the Americans provide material support for operation Yashiori. And they even do it on an mutually beneficial basis for everyone. There isn't really that much in the way chest-thumping. And given Anno's own previous work and interviews, and who his anime-daddy is, I'd be REALLY surprised if he wasn't at least left-sympathetic.

[@ThyBoiledOne]

the reason shin godzilla ignores humans is because he doesnt care, hes in pain from rapidly evolving and only attacks in self defence to the government

[@uckbritley1305]

The movie was a direct criticism to the 2010 sentaku boat collision and the governments weird, delayed, and generally lackluster response that resulted in the completely unnescessary deaths of dozens upon dozens of people. The government in Shin Godzilla acts very similar to how they did in real life. I don't see how you have any idea what you're talking about at all when you didn't even research enough to notice this cultural clue when making your video. Bad review

[@anaroy3524]

Holy s***, every single video of yours never ceases to surprise, educate, move me. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts, stories and expertise. One of my favorite channels of all time, by far.

WOW, I kinda liked the movie and all for the language of the film and other things, but I truly didn't take these issues on its thematics... and that's why I appreciate, as a japanese descendent brazilian, your work. Always bringing the discussions of Eastern Asia to the Western audience. I hope we have portuguese subtitles to spread to more audience. Keep the good work, man :)

[@Thanninator]

This is one of my absolute favourite analytical videos about one of my all-time favourite Godzilla films. You managed to get me to see this film in another way! And I really appreciate this!

[@jamesholak1677]

Shin Godzilla is a movie i really wanted to love but I can't. Thank you for the essay.

[@joea4058]

I never liked the movie as much as the fanbase did and I mostly criticized it from the perspective of structure and character development. So I was curious to know your take. I was heavily invested in your analysis and helped me narrow some more of why this movie wasn't as appealing to me.

[@jasono1361]

Well, I'm in the Hideaki Anno camp of "humans should stop existing" but I do respect your points.

[@Godzillakingofkaiju1]

You DO realize that Godzilla was brought upon humanity... BY humanity, right? Godzilla is a representation of humanity's hubris. Like it or not, humans are integral to the Godzilla universe.

[@yuyaricachimuel555]

@@Godzillakingofkaiju1 I think that’s what they meant tbh

[@ksng767]

@@Godzillakingofkaiju1 Yea more reason to hate humans.

[@nowhereman6019]

Ah, I see you're suffering from merely existing as well. Although it should be noted that Anno doesn't really think it would be better to have never existed at all, considered the end of Eva.

[@RainLopwz]

I came here after watching Godzilla Minus One. After seeing that masterpiece, I find Shin Godzilla quite overrated. I would love to hear your thoughts on the new Minus One movie, if you haven’t made a video already. Minus One was deep but easy to understand for any normal person. Also it made me cry. It paid so much respect to original movie.

[@Libertatem_Vel_Mortem]

I just want to say thank you, for your commentary on this film. You made many wonderful points that I never actually noticed before about Shin Godzilla. I actually only saw it almost 2 years ago for the first time and it blew away back then. Now I can see it again from a new perspective. 👍

[@stephenwhitford775]

Your primary criticism doesn't even seem like a difficult thing to fix. Just have a subplot of a group of civilians whose job is to go: "What the fuck guys?"

[@weirdy8]

9:12-9:18 Yeah I'm not buying that. Anno has made 3 other live action films before Shin Godzilla and they're all life affirming stories (one of them's a friggin sentai movie). Likewise watch anything apart from Eva and his critique on the human psyche is nowhere near as damning. 10:48 This part I think is addressed by Godzilla's existence in general: a product of humanity. That aspect is already ingrained in the audience at this point, so I think it takes care of that.

[@ONYX_Maximus]

I like shin Godzilla because unlike most Godzilla’s, it is just trying to survive like an animal but it got mutated because of people and I like the way it took revenge

[@yakovhadash]

watching Godzilla destroy everything you have ever known “Sugoi!”

[@42Caio]

Imagine missing the point of the film so hard you interpret it as glorifying reverence to authority figures and not criticizing it.

[@redundancycheck]

This is not just a Godzilla problem, even Japanese society is fetishized by right wing foreigners as an idealized ethnostate

[@JazukaiX]

Said fetishisation essentially aligns with the criticism of this video though, not with the depiction of a faceless people. It's idealised by people who feel their nation has been reduced to a place full of faceless interchangeable masses.

[@BlueMagicite]

Given Anno's history of workplace frustration, Shin Godzilla reads not just as a film where Godzilla is representative of nuclear/natural disasters pushing Japan's inefficient government to a crumbling shamble, but also a force that is pushing Japan into a live-or-die scenario regarding how so many of its societal structures fundamentally don't work. As the film goes on, those in power are found to constantly sit down, discuss, and look sad whenever their plans against Godzilla are enacted far too late to do any good. The commentary to the 2011 disasters that Tokyo faced following the earthquake, flooding, and nuclear reactor threat is obvious. As this happens, normal everyday people are expected to just eat shit as the government officials are relocated while millions left homeless need to self-evacuate, abandon their homes, and even wait out whole days for help following a massive unprecedented disaster. As the mostly old men in power continue to twiddle their thumbs and feign the appearance of responsibility, more and more of Japan's infrastructure crumbles before Godzilla. It's especially telling how the only time Godzilla staves off its attack is when a deliberate attempt to avoid harm for people, two elderly folk, causes the government to hold off on attacking, emphasizing the importance of the people in the middle of government structures crumbling before a literal force of nature gone wrong. Again, given Anno's own history of workplace frustration, it's quite telling how it's always buildings of offices, infrastructures for commuting, vehicles that only bring people back and forth from work, that are often shown being utterly destroyed by Godzilla, a rampaging force of frustration over metropolitan Tokyo, which is utterly razed from the ground up following the allowance of US intervention. And that last part right there is where a ton of commentary comes into place with Shin Godzilla: The US's culpability in everything going wrong with Japan. How American intervention in Japan following WWII allowed the United States to essentially colonize Japan and set up a government and economic structure that exploits and overworks its people, again coming back to Anno's personal history of workplace frustration and the deliberate framing of Godzilla's rampage often destroying infrastructures that allowed for such inefficient care for the people in the first place. I get the complaint that this essentially dulls the impact and horror of Shin Godzilla as an existential threat, but given how a ton of the drama is placed on US intervention ruining everything as it is designed to do, the commentary shifts how the entirety of nuclear disaster and threat to Japan, at the end of the day, was ultimately done by the United States. Earlier takes of Godzilla essentially made the idea of nuclear threat a "all of humanity is responsible" sort of deal. Anno is very clearly making a stance in pointing the finger at the people who dropped the bombs in the first place, emphasized most explicitly with how the most catastrophic damage Godzilla does is only in response to the United States bombing first. This of course leads to the most infamous scene where Tokyo is completely razed by Godzilla as "nuclear retaliation," the end result being utter destruction.

[@jeffreyseamons5514]

The differences betwenn Shin and OG that you mention, might be a part of how the world and culture has changed since then.

[@quangtuantran7181]

Huh, I ve always felt like something was missing when I watched shin godzilla, felt kinda empty, so this was the reason.

[@arkistan]

Man, I love this channel.

[@sfkeepay]

I’ve watched more than a dozen if your KZbin videos, and I’ve both enjoyed and learned many things from them.. So I thought I’d revisit this essay, the position of with which I strongly disagreed. Now having rewatched it, I find myself again rejecting your conclusion. Shin Godzilla is a really good film, hugely entertaining, riveting, skillful, and rich. I even factually disagree that there are no scenes sympathizing with civilians (there clearly are) and with how closely Shin Godzilla was intended to parallel the Fukushima disaster. From my perspective, the impact on civilians is implicit in every scene, and my strong impression is that his deep concern for the populace is what drives Yaguchi from the start of the film. Still, I continue to respect your preferences and I understand your reasons for not liking Shin Godzilla. But I maintain that you’re wrong, at least insofar as anyone’s subjective reaction can be wrong, and I hope one day you’ll revisit the film, perhaps with different expectations, and enjoy it more.

[@jasonblalock4429]

I had a similar reaction to Shin Godzilla, although my problem was more the lack of sympathetic or interesting characters entirely. To me, the satire/joke of having the government be completely incompetent kind of wore thin after awhile. But since the two leads had relatively little screen time and were mostly undeveloped, it left me bored whenever Godzilla wasn't smashing things. It actually reminds me a little of Mars Attacks! Mars Attacks is more openly wacky, but it shares the same focus on inept governance, as well as the same smug highbrow disinterest in most of its human characters, who only exist to be slaughtered.

[@alexillescas8521]

The problem I have with this take is that it makes it seem as if, in order to make an effective Godzilla movie, humanity needs to suffer. But that’s not the point of shin. Aside from the nuclear disaster and subsequent tsunami the film tackles political failures as well as international fallback. And most importantly listening to the score you get a few tracks that brings the suffering of Godzilla. The movies were never about the humans, they are in a way the antagonists of the story. It’s always been Godzilla that’s been the protagonist and the being suffering the most. It’s a story of nature vs man’s need and desire to control things. The original just gives you a more nuanced take on the human suffering post world war 2, while shin is a critique on government officials inability to react properly in the face of turmoil. If people only want to see one side of this film than that’s not the fault of the filmmakers nor is it a flaw it’s the fault of the audience. The politicians are people too maybe not always good but they are people and they do try sometimes to solve problems that they weren’t prepared for. It’s sad that people agree with your take cause it shows the cynicism of seeing politicians as less than human and only thinking that the everyday people who die every single day are the only stories that matter. People suffering is a norm and not always the fault of any single event or person so why not bring a different story telling method that tackles different topics while remaining faithful the the original idea of a giant Kaiju rampaging through a city due to the failings of man.

[@alexanderavila4662]

films like this tend to prove their points further by showing shallowness of the audience even more so coming from a western youtuber

[@DoctorTopper]

I noticed the same things you did but I liked it because I felt like it was different from the original Gojira because of how much attention it gave to the failures of beaurocracy. I had already seen what real life disaster casualties look like, and always wondered what the government were thinking. The beauracracy was the monster of this film just as much as Godzilla. In the end, the day wasn't saved by a lone scientist, it was many people finally doing something their job right for once

[@jdoylewallis2948]

I always thought that the film was taking the POV of the bureaucracy. People, foot soldiers, and property are just cogs in the system of keeping things running in a city. Even the most idealistic govt character is still part of that system. When an abstract threat they dont have a manual for shows up, in this case a monster, even that is seen in a cold light. The cause of the tragedy is just as faceless as humanity affected by it. To the government, it's all numbers.

[@nivoko]

Thanks for the video, this is something I did not realize while watching. Do you think the exclusion of people/civilians could be intentionally?