TOKYO SOS

This plot was written by Hajime Kudo.You can see his site athttp://home.arcor.de/danxyz

 

Godzilla X Mothra X MechaGodzilla Synopsis

One year after the battle between Godzilla and MechaGodzilla, Kiryu is still in repair in the maintenance dock of the Japan Counter-Xenomorph Self Defence Force (J.X.S.D.F) base in Hachioji. In the battle with Godzilla his main weapon "Absolute Zero" got damaged, as well as his right arm.

Off Japan at the bottom of the sea, a Giant creature opens it´s eyes - after he was hit by the ice beam of the Absolute Zero at the end of the battle with MechaGodzilla, Godzilla is still alive!

Far away in Hawaii a unidentified flying object is spotted on the radar of the resident Air Force base, flying at high speed toward Tokyo. As Sgt. Woodyard (guess who?) wonders whether it´s a "Cruise Missile?", jets are sent out to find out what´s behind this. It seems that a giant body is flying through the clouds in the dark sky. Oddly enough, the pilots hear strange singing voices while chasing the object. When one pilot shots a rocket on the target, it sheds shiny yellow powder and finally gets away with the exploding rocket behind it. Suddenly the object disappears from the radar somewhere over the Ogasawara atoll. But satellites finally got a picture of the object: it appears to be wings of a moth!

GODZILLA X MOTHRA X MECHAGODZILLA - TOKYO S.O.S.

In Karuizawa in the west of Tokyo, Shinichi Chujo is for vacation in his country home. Together with him are his grandson Shun and his nephew Yoshito, member of the Kiryu engineer crew. Yoshito just finished to assemble a model of the F-1, the first supersonic jet built in Japan, and shows it to Shun, while he talks about how magnificient it is, dispite it's age. After that, both are going to the living room to show it to Shinichi, as suddenly the earth begins to shake. When the three Chujos wonder whether it was an earthquake, Shinichi is called by strange female voices "Chujo-san, we are here!". It´s the Shobijin! Shun is very surprised and drops the F-1 model. Suddenly the Shobijin use their telepathic power and stop it from falling and let it float back into Shun's hands.

The Shobijin have come to see Shinichi, who they know as a friend from the incidents in 1961, and ask him to tell the Japanese Government their request "We wish the bones of Godzilla to be returned to the sea! Mankind has made a big mistake by making a fighting tool out of the bones! Mankind must not touch the soul of a dead. So please, return Godzilla's bones to the sea!".

Yoshito is sceptical, so they explain further "If mankind will not follow the request, Mothra will have to turn against them, although she doesn't want to." As the Shobijin are finished the earth begins to shake again. The Chujos rush to the window and see the giant form of Mothra taking to the sky. They go back and find that the Shobijin are gone, too. But they have left a small stone plate with Mothra´s mark and ancient charcters engraved into it at the place they stood.

Back in Tokyo a press conference is held to announce that Kiryu's repair is soon to be finished. As one of the reporters asks, whether it is true that the bones of the original Godzilla, that has raided Tokyo in 1954, are built into Kiryu, a diagram is shown with a CGI rendition of the skeleton under the exterior armor, now completed with a mechanical arm instead of its right skeleton arm, which was lost in the former battle against Godzilla.

In the Kiryu repair dock Yoshito is back from vacation and talks with two colleagues. They tease him about his love for mecha, but when the new members of Kiryu Squad walk by, he glances at one of them, a young woman.

Meanwhile in Chujos study, Shinichi tells his grandson Shun about the events that took place in Tokyo in 1961 and how he has met the Shobijin 43 years before. At this time Shun gets to know more about the meaning of Mothra's mark.

In the evening a celebration is held in favour of three Kiryu Squad members who are transferred to America to study advanced military stategy: Kenji Sekine, Akane Yashiro and Susumu Hayama. Yoshito is there and talks with the girl, that walked by earlier in the Kiryu dock. She is named Azusa Kisaragi and they are friends actually. He met her 4 years before and they have done some inspections together (don't misinterpret that!). Now she's the new pilot for the Shirasagi transport. Azusa introduces Yoshito to Kyosuke Akiba, the new operator of Kiryu. Yoshito says that Akiba may be a good pilot, but his handling of mecha is rude, therefore he pities him. Akiba then gives a demonstration of his skill. He quickly beats and stops right in front of Yoshitos face. While he wonders about that, Akiba opens his hand and he actually managed to catch a fly in the air. After that Yoshito goes to the Kiryu dock and thinks about the words of the Shobijin. But someone has followed him: it's Akane Yashiro."Maybe Kiryu doesn't want to fight anymore. He is lucky to be in repair now, so he can rest". With these words she leaves Yoshito alone.

The next day Shinichi Chujo visits an old friend, prime minister Igarashi. Chujo tells him about the request of the Shobijin and that mankind mustn't penetrate into the realm of gods. Igarashi admids that he already thought about abandoning Kiryu. But his task is to protect Japan of Godzilla and therefore he just can't do it. Chujos asks: "Even if the existance of Kiryu calls in a new threat?"

Securities and press are gathering at Kujukuri Beach in the Chiba prefecture. The reason is the dead body of a huge creature that has washed ashore. It's classified as Kameba, a giant mutation of a snapping turtle that has been discovered on Sergio Island 34 years before. It seems like the wounds on the neck of the dead monster have been caused by giant claws, the claws of another giant creature, like...Godzilla! Far off on the ground of the Pacific an American nuclear submarine gets strange signals from the sonar. Something is approaching very fast! As the signals are identified as the beats of a giant heart, it's too late already - Godzilla embraces the sub and crushes its hull to consume the set free radioactivity!

Back in the Kiryu dock the scientists Kanno tells some government official that a diamond of immense size would be needed as the core of the Absolute Zero to make it functional again. Due to the incident in the Pacific, Secretary of defense Dobashi asks whether it is possible to move off nevertheless, as the reason for the disaster in the Pacific might be Godzilla. Kanno replies that it should be possible to start Kiryu without the Absolute Zero. Yoshito throws in that it's impossible to move off, as the final regulations still haven't been made yet. There might be no second chance to repair Kiryu. It would take about half a month to do the final check. But Dobashi replies that half a month is too long, as Godzilla could appear in the time between.

After that, Yoshito and his friends are walking through some corridor as suddenly Kiryu operator Akiba shouts "You! You want to hold back Kiryu from moving off so much? Your uncle went to prime minister Igarashi to beg him, too? You think Mothra will come and protect Japan if Godzilla appears? Are you so afraid of fighting Godzilla?"

Yoshito becomes angry and shouts back "What do you understand?! I have already seen coming Kiryu's trouble 4 years before now!" The other guys from the repair crew try to hold Yoshito back, but they can't. In anger Yoshito tries to beat Akiba, but the operator evades the blow and throws him on the ground. "Maybe you're a repair pro, but I'm a fighting pro!" Akiba adds.

After that Yoshito has a talk with Azusa, about mecha having emotions not far from humans', like the crying of an engine. Then Kanzaki from Kiryu squad comes to Yoshito and tells him, that he is ordered to the Ministry of Defense.

There he meets the father of Akiba who is a high official. He apologizes for the rude behavior of his son. But that's not what he wanted to talk about. He wants to know whether Yoshito has honestly seen Mothra in Japan. In fact the Chujos are the only eyewitnesses, although there are more houses in that area and even the radars didn't locate anything. Further they ask whether it's true that Mothra would fight against Godzilla instead of Kiryu. There are still many peoply in the cabinet that oppose Kiryu. It would be very interesting for them...

Later Yoshito meets his uncle Shinichi who is curious about what he told them. As Yoshito doesn't reply , Shinichi says it's O.K. In the end, both, using Kiryu as a fighting tool, and abandoning him can be called egoism of mankind. He gives Yoshito the advice that he just should do what he thinks is right.

At the same time in the Pacific, the form of a giant creature is spotted on radar - Finally Godzilla's dorsal fines break through the surface of the sea! The J.X.S.D.F. sent out their sea forces to counter the threat and attack the giant beast with heavy missiles, but they are not able to alter the course of King Of Monsters - Tokyo!

As the horrible news are broadcasted on television, in the docks of the J.X.S.D.F. base the last preperations are undertaken to dispatch Kiryu. Instead of the Absolute Zero, a new devastating weapon is embedded into the mechanical chest of Kiryu - the Triple Hyper Maser!

Meanwhile the Self-Defense Forces move off to battle Godzilla in Shinagawa, which is still in reconstruction after it's destruction one year before, and therefore the ideal battleground. Elsewhere in the Chujos' house Shun's mother rushes in Shinichi's room. She tells him that Shun hasn't returned yet. Shinichi then notices that the small stone plate the Shobijin left is missing from its case.

While Shinagawa is being evacuated and the crowds are fleeing, Maser Tanks take their position around Tokyo Bay. Suddenly explosions of underwater mines ar advancing toward the bay area. Finally a huge mountain of water rises and Godzilla breaks trough the surface! After an absence of one year, the King Of Monsters has finally returned!

On Godzillas chest, where he was hit by the ray of the Absolute Zero, a huge scar is left! From units located all around Tokyo Bay, dozens of missiles are shot at the monster aiming at his chest which is considered to be monsters' weak point. But even as all tanks and Maser Tanks are hitting hard, the Monsters' King seems not to be hurt much and wipes out all units with his deadly atomic breath! With no obstacle left over, Godzilla marches into Tokyo!

Prime Minister Igarashi is supervising the whole spectacle on a monitor. As Hachioji is confirmed as the aim of Godzilla, Igarashi mumbles "So, as presumed, it's Kiryu's existance that calls in Godzilla".

In the docks Kiryu is equipped with all-new Arm and Back Units and ready to launch!. At the same time Shinichi is searching for Shun and finally find him in a schoolyard, busy with taking chairs and tables out of the building to the huge place. As the old man asks him to stop it, Shun replies that he is not finished yet and goes on. Some newscasters are flying over the area in a heli and spot them. From the sky they see a mark built of tables and chairs - from the stories of his grandfather, Shun was able to recreate what has been done already 43 years ago on an airfield in New Kirk City. As bells are ringing somewhere near, the mark is covered by a huge shadow - Mothra finally appears in front a colorful sky at sunset, to defend the citizens against Godzilla!

Having turned her body by 90 degrees, with one end of her wings almost touching the ground, Mothra glides through the streets of Shinagawa at full speed, like a plow cutting through the air and hitting the surprised Godzilla on his head. After a quick turn the giant moth confronts her opponent. As Godzilla roars in defiance, Mothra starts to move her wings quickly, creating strong winds and blinding her enemy with whirled up dust. As the King Of Monsters loses his bearings, Mothra comes in from behind and grabs her opponent on his neck, flying faster and faster, dragging him through the steets, until she finally lets go of the beast, sending it crashing into the surrounding buildings!

But Godzilla won´t be defeated easily. He quickly gets up and grabs one of the giant moth' legs, hurling her into a building. As the King Of Monsters stands there, spitting out a ripped out leg, Mothra flies over to her enemy, starting to shed a shiny golden poulder from her wings, illuminating the dark sky. Having observed the spectacle from a place nearby, Shinichi Chujo explains to Shun "Mothra's time to die may have come. The Scale Powder Attack is Mothra's final weapon".

At the same time, far away on Himagojima, the Shobijin start to sing Mothra's song, as a giant egg can be seen resting inside a volcanic crater.

While Mothra continues her attack, Godzilla prepares to strike with his atomic breath. As the radioactive ray contacts the powder, the devastating blast is reflected, resulting into a huge explosion, engulfing the Monsters' King and the whole surrounding area in flames.

Just standing there between rising smoke, Godzilla finally opens his eyes. The monster seems not to be hurt anyway. Seeing that, Mothra again begins with her Scale Powder Attack.

Having followed the whole battle on a monitor, prime minister Igarashi comes to the conclusion "We won´t watch a friend who fights to protect us dying. we are no cowards. Dispatch Kiryu - Make this one the last battle with Godzilla!"

While Kiryu's launch is prepared, the Shirasagi transport crew is manning their jets, Yoshito catches Azusa on her way and tells her "Please support Akiba...because he's rude to mecha". Azusa, with the feeling of not being able to do as requested of her, responds with a smile on her face "I´ll come back!". Finally the Kiryu is sent into battle, carried by the Shirasagi transport jets.

Meanwhile on the battlefield, Mothra' Scale Powder Attack comes to an end. With no more protection against the radioactive ray, Mothra slowly flies around Godzilla. Just as the Monsters' King tries to hit her with his atomic breath, Mothra quickly evades and the ray hits the nearby Tokyo Tower with full force. With the middle section exploding, the upper half of the Tokyo landmark is on fire and falls on the surrounding buildings, right above the street from where Shinichi and Shun are watching the battle. As they try to run for cover, debris falls upon them. After having missed his target, Godzilla once again aims at Mothra and hits one of her wings, sending the giant moth falling on her back onto the ground. As Godzilla prepares for the final blow, suddenly out of the air laser beams hit him in the back. Being still attached to transport wires in mid air, Kiryu uses the rail-guns of his arm units to stop Godzilla from killing Mothra. When Akiba gives the command for losing the wires, Kiryu slowly descends onto the battleground, standing tall, eye to eye with his biological counterpart. Far away the Shobijin speak in unison "Kiryu...is moving..."

Whith Godzilla standing still in shock, Kiryu fires dozens of missiles at his opponent. As Godzilla strikes back with his atomic breath, Kiryu uses his boosters to quickly evade the attack. The cyborg-monster hides behind a tall building and fires even more missiles into the sky. Godzilla manages to hit some of them with his ray, but most of the missiles hit him hard in the back. Full of anger the Monster's King blast his atomic ray right through the obstacle and hits MechaGodzilla on the mechanical chest, sending him falling backwards onto the ground. Godzilla wades right through the tall building and prepares his ray at his helpless opponent, as Mothra suddenly bodystrikes him. While falling, Godzilla manages to hit Mothra with his atomic breath. The giant moth glides, seemingly without any strength left, onto the ground.

At the same time on Himagojima, finally something breaks through the shell of the giant egg: a giant caterpillar. As it tries to break free, the onlooking Shobijin are surpised as another larva emerges from the shell "Twins!".

Meanwhile Yoshito is driving in a jeep through the streets of Tokyo, desperately searching for his uncle and nephew. As he doesn't know where to find them, suddenly Mothra's mark on the stone plate, which he keeps with him on the passenger seat, begins to glow and shows him the right direction to go. Back in the Kiryu control room a correspondent announces "Two giant creatures are coming from the Ogasawara atoll to Tokyo".

Due to Mothra's intervention Kiryu is able to get up. Damaged in battle, Kiryu throws off his arm units, while the downward boosters of the back unit take a horizontal position. Akiba launches one of the long cannons, now equipped with the booster, right on Godzilla. But the monster quickly reacts and blows it up with his atomic breath, before it could do any harm to him. Suddenly, out of the explosion, the other cannon flies toward Godzilla and hits the monster on the scarred chest. As Akiba activates a switch, the cannon bursts into a vast explosion and the giant form of Godzilla falls on the ground.

In the streets of Shinagawa Yoshito finally finds Shinichi and Shun lying on the street, between debris of destructed buildings.

On the battle ground Godzilla stands up again to continue the fight against his mechanical counterpart. But Kiryu, being freed of the arm and back units' weight, reacts quick and beats and tail slashes Godzilla, who falls into a building by the force of his attacker's blows. The King Of Monsters gets up again, but Kiryu is too quick. While approaching the cyborg, Kiryu suddenly leans downward and pushes his opponent upwards, sending him flying over his shoulder. Godzilla lands hard on the ground, but the Monsters' King won't be beaten this easily. He quickly swings his tail at Kiryu's feet, who is falling right on him. Then Godzilla shots his atomic breath at the face of his opponent. By the blow, the right side of MechaGodzilla's head armor is partly blown away, exposing the inner mechanical parts. Being pushed backward by the force of the ray, Kiryu helplessly falls into the surrounding buildings.

* * * * * SPOILER WARNING 1!!! Don´t read any further, if you don't want to know how the movie ends! There will be another warning right before the "final ending" * * * * *

Back in the Kiryu control room the correspondent announces "Giant creatures have just landed in the Shinagawa port!" As Akiba tries to move Kiryu, a message appears on his monitor, reading it's impossible to operate. The atomic ray seems to have considerably damaged Kiryu. Using this opportunity for the final blow, Godzilla prepares to shoot his ray at his enemy, as suddenly silk rains down on the monster's head - the Mothra Larvas have joined the battle!

While one Larva continues the attack, the other one crawls to its mother, lying on the ground. Driven mad by the silk Godzilla attacks the caterpillar with his ray, sending it flying. Seeing that, the second Larva quickly crawls to its sibling, caring for its condition. As it seems fine, both crawl back to their mother, obviously communicating with each other. Having observed the scene, Godzilla fires his atomic breath at the three Mothras, as suddenly the adult one gathers her last strenght and takes off into the air. Protecting her children like a shield, with her huge wings, Mothra is getting consumed by the atomic fire and blows up finally. With their mother dead, the larvas become angry as their eyes turn from blue to red.

In the Kiryu control room one has come to the conclusion, that Kiryu's system won't work because some circuit got damaged by Godzilla's ray. As the defect must be repaired manually, someone has to go to the battleground and do it. Having heard the talk from the J.X.S.D.F's tent at the Hibiya Park, Yoshito Chujo tells by wireless that he wants to do the operation. Although first it seems to be a problem that he's not from the fighting unit, Igarashi finally gives his O.K. and Yoshito joins the repair commando's jeep. As the Shirasagi transports attack Godzilla to lure the beast away from the defenseless Kiryu, the repair crew soon finds their way blocked with debris, so the jeep won't get through. Yoshito checks the surrounding and spots a motorcycle. He quickly grabs the repair kit and starts the bike. In order to get to Kiryu, he sees no other way but to follow the underground tunnels of Tokyo and uses the nearby Toranomon station as an entrance.

As the Shirasagi continue their attack and draw Godzilla's attention away from Kiryu, one of the Mothra larvas joins the attack and grabs Godzilla's tail with it's mouth. As the larva won't let go easily, Godzilla hurls the giant caterpillar on his tail up and down. Just when Yoshito is under them, caused by the monsters' battle debris fall upon Yoshito. Although he didn't get hurt by the incident, the repair kit is buried somewhere under tons of concrete and is nowhere to be found. Suddenly out of nowhere the Shobijin appear and use their telepathy to find the kit and set it free, so Yoshito can go on and complete his task.

On the surface Godzilla is still kept busy by the J.X.S.D.F. and the Mothra larvas. Yoshito finally gets to Kiryu. With the machanical head lying near the ground and the mechanical parts exposed, it's no problem to find the defect cable and repair it quickly. The only thing left to get Kiryu moving again is to start his systems manually from the inside. Yoshito finds the hatch of a maintenance booth and gets inside MechaGodzilla. As he quickly uses the control panel, he finally manages to make Kiryu's systems operational again.

The battle outside goes on and Godzilla aims at the Mothra larvas with his atomic breath. As the giant caterpillars quickly pull back to avoiding being hit, the ray hits MechaGodzilla and melts the hatch of the maintenance boot. With no other way out, Kiryu has to fight with Yoshito inside.

With the system back, Igarashi commands Akiba to activate Kiryu. Using the front boosters, the mighty battle cyborg rises to take part again in the decisive battle of the monsters.

Not far away, Godzilla is going after the two Mothra larvas, advancing toward the diet. As it seems that there is no way out for the giant caterpillars, Kiryu descends from the sky, just in front of Godzilla, standing again eye to eye with his opponent. The monsters rush upon each other to grapple in a test of strength. MechaGodzilla gains the upper hand and pushes Godzilla backwards, as both fall onto the diet, crushing the building under their massive bodies. MechaGodzilla uses his front boosters to get up, while Akiba prepares the next attack, with Godzilla rising slowly from the debris. The right arm of the cyborg has been newly designed and equipped with a new ability, after the original mechanical part got lost in the first battle against Godzilla. The hand of Kiryu revolves quickly and turns into a spear-like weapon. With Godzilla standing just in front of Kiryu, the cyborg raises its hand and slashes the spear deep into his enemies chest.

As the King Of Monsters roars in pain, MechaGodzilla slashes his weapon into the deep wound again and starts to drill even deeper into Godzilla's body. Godzilla takes several steps backwards, as steam is coming from the wound. The time has come to use MechaGodzilla's Triple Hyper Maser. As the chest section opens, three mighty maser beams hit right into Godzilla's wound. With the Twin Maser in the mechanical jaws added, the effect is even more devastating. When the attack is over, Godzilla is still able to stand upright and roars in pain.

Suddenly something happens in Kiryu's mechanical brain. Pictures of a mushroom cloud, Godzilla in burning Tokyo, the Oxygen Destroyer, Godzilla dying, Kiryu running amok, Kiryu in front of the sunset, Kiryu battles with Godzilla, and finally, Akane yelling "KIRYUUU!!!!" - it's Kiryu's memories! As Kiryu is standing still, the Mothra larvas begin to spray silk all over Godzilla's body. The King Of Monsters, now weakened from MechaGodzilla's attack, is not able to strike back.

Inside the mechanical Godzilla, Yoshito apologizes "About you..." and as he remembers the image of Akane in the dock saying "Maybe Kiryu doesn't want to fight anymore" he adds "...I didn't understand anything about you".

While Godzilla's body gets more and more covered by the silk of the Mothra larvas, Kiryu moves his exposed mechanical eye slowly and watches the event taking place just in front of him. Inside Kiryu, Yoshito remembers the image of the Shobijin saying "Please return the bones of Godzilla back to the sea" and apologizes "I'm sorry, Kiryu!". Watching the event from the Kiryu control room, prime minister Igarashi hears the voices of the Shobijin "Mankind can't be so simple-minded, as not to see their own mistakes" and mumbles "After Godzilla's defeat, Kiryu's task will be over. After this war, Kiryu will be abandoned". The onlooking Dobashi orders Akiba to finish Godzilla.

* * * * * SPOILER WARNING 2!!! Don´t read any further, if you don't want to know the end!

* * * * * To put an and to the life of Godzilla, now lying on the ground and completely encased in silk, Akiba is ready and pushes the button of the Triple Hyper Maser - but Kiryu shows no reaction at all. Akiba tries again, but nothing happens. While the sun rises, suddenly the red line under Kiryu's eyes begins to glow and the cyborg roars like the real Godzilla, as he begins to move toward the fallen King Of Monsters.

Dobashi yells "What are you doing?!" and Akiba responds "I didn't do anything!". Dobashi wonders "Running amok again?".

Kiryu walks close to Godzilla, extends some extra claws from the cover plates of the chest section and grabs the cocooned Godzilla, to finally take off. In the control room Igarashi wonders "Where are you going?". In rage Dobashi yells "Shoot down Kiryu!", but suddenly Yoshito's voice comes through the speakers "Kiryu wants to fly toward the Sea of Japan, to sink to the bottom of the sea together with Godzilla".

Having followed Kiryu, Azusa heard Yoshito's voice from the speakers, too. As she sees the damaged hatch for the maintenance booth she mumbles "Are you in there, Yoshito?". "I certainly won't let you die!" She flies closer to Kiryu and shoots at the hatch. As Yoshito sees the hatch above him being open now, he tries to climb up the rungs, but he has not enogh strenght left. Suddenly, on the control monitor in the maintenance booth binary numbers appear and Kiryu turns by 180 degrees. As Yoshito is falling, he's able to grab and hold to the edge of the hatch, while Azusa and Akiba think about a way to save him. As Akiba yells into the wireless "Let go, Yoshito!", Yoshito takes a last look on the control monitor, now reading "SAYONARA YOSHITO". With the words "Sayonara, Kiryu" Yoshito lets loose and flies right in the direction of the Shirasagi. Prepared for this, Akiba activates his ejector seat and manages to grab the helpless Yoshito in mid air.

With Yoshito being safe, Kiryu extends some extra wires to fasten Godzilla and finally makes straight for the surface of the sea. Breaking through the surface, Kiryu roars and lights up his eyes for the last time, just before the energy supply is shot off eternally and both monster sink to the bottom of the sea.

With the threat gone, the Mothra larvas leave Japan together with the Shobijin. Being safe in an emergency rubber dinghy, Yoshito says "Did Kiryu save me?", but Akiba replies "Idiot, I'm the one who saved you! And Kisaragi saved you, too!". The voice of the Shobijin can be herad once again "We thank you for your courage, and that the soul of the dead can probably rest eternally in the cradle of time now...". Yoshito stands up and salutes "Kiryu..."

Endroll

Somewhere, the doors of a storage device for DNA samples is being closed. One of the labels read "1954 Godzilla DNA date of extraction 1999/11/03"

END

Now that yours truly has seen this film I will offer my two cents. IT WAS THE SAME DANGBLASTED MOVIE AS BEFORE ONLY THIS TIME WITH MOTHRA AND TWIN LARVAE THROWN IN... Bringing back Chujo and his friendship with the Shobijin was a nice touch...so was the kid rearranging the desks into the Mothra symbol on the playground. Some very stunning visuals and excellent score. We find indeed that the skeleton of G 54 was built into the robot and this is another nice touch. Sending Yashiro and Hayama to the US was nice but didn't need to be there. The feel of the movie was fast paced although somewhat choppy. The underlying theme was somewhat unclear -- although as Godzilla was standing there roaring in pain after having his insides blended like a Cuisinart (sic) I did feel a pang of sadness- perhaps the underlying theme was that man should not play God and whenever he does nothing but tragedy is usually the result -- something to remember in light of the modern day arguments over stem cell research and cloning. This theme touched on the underlying threat of nuclear testing and annihilation some -- and on the original creation of the first Godzilla. Mothra could be a stand-in for the clerics who decry the misuse and misapplication of science as her priestesses proclaim "Mankind must not touch the soul of a dead." - meaning, "is nothing sacred any more?" All in all I'd have to give the film a B+, with the lower letter grade because I've seen enough of a Mothra larva chomping the end of Godzilla's tail. -Conster