“No human being may touch the souls of the dead.”
After battling Godzilla in 2002, Mechagodzilla, also known as Kiryu, is seriously damaged and being repaired. The Shobijin and Mothra appear at the home of Shinichi Chujo. Chujo had been involved with the Shobijin in the past and had freed them from a billionaire that wanted to exploit them. The Shobijin have come to ask Shinichi for a favor. They want the bones of Godzilla that were used to create Mechagodzilla to be returned to the sea. They warn that, if this is not done, Mothra will be angry and destroy humanity.
The Shobijin also say that Mothra will take the place of Kiryu and protect mankind against Godzilla should he attack again. Shinichi is having a hard time trying to convince the government that Mothra would be willing to assist humans since she destroyed Tokyo once before.
The Shobijin also state that the reason Godzilla keeps returning to Tokyo is because the bones of the original Godzilla were used in making Mechagodzilla. Godzilla is drawn to Japan. To the original Godzilla’s soul.
Not long after that Godzilla makes an appearance and begins stomping around. Mothra shows up and does battle with the lizard. Mothra fails and is mortally wounded by Godzilla. Meanwhile, on Infant Island a Mothra egg hatches. Two larvae are inside. The two giant larvae swim to Japan.
While the larvae are en route Mechagodzilla is fired up and begins to do battle with Godzilla. Godzilla is again the stronger and Mechagodzilla is damaged. Shinichi’s nephew Yoshito works for the JSDF as part of the maintenance crew of Mechagodzilla. He goes into Kiryu and fixes it. Kiryu is repaired enough to do battle with Godzilla and wounds him. By then the two Mothra Larvae have reached Tokyo. They wrap Godzilla up in silk. Kiryu is ordered to kill Godzilla but the big mechanical monster will not respond.
“Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.” was released in 2003 and was directed by Masaaki Tezuka. It is the 28th film in the Godzilla franchise, and the 5th film in the millennium series. It is also the 27th produced by TOHO and is a direct sequel to “Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla”.
The film was good. It had lots of explosions and who can resist a giant Godzilla robot. My only complaint was that the story focused a lot on the people and their emotions and a lot less on the star of the film. It just seemed that a Godzilla movie should have a fair amount of Godzilla in it and it just didn’t feel that way. I don’t mean a long drawn out battle between Godzilla and the monster of the week but Godzilla should show up a little more than he did. Otherwise it was fine.
Director Masaaki Tezuka’s cameo is in the final post credit scene. He walks by the camera, in a white lab coat, from left to right.
The dead creature that washed ashore was a Kamoebas. Originally a Liopleurodon was the intended victim but Toho decided to use an already established Kaiju instead of introducing a new creature to the Kaiju line-up. Apparently the part required a more seasoned professional.
The Mothra larvae are fraternal twins. One is a male and one is a female. The male is darker and has more pronounced tusks and tail spikes. This is the first instance of a male Mothra ever introduced. The actors playing the Shobijin are not twins. At least no in real life.
English dubbed
Japanese subtitled