WTF Japan?!?: Terror of Mechagodzilla

I'm jumping back into this- another $1 well spent.  Yeah, I got a lot of cheap DVDs and you're going to hear about them for a while!  This is Terror of Mechagodzilla, a 1975 Toho Film that is important for many reasons.  First off, it ends an Era of Godzilla Films.  After this underperformed, they made no new Films until Godzilla: 1985.  Secondly, this is the last Film Directed by Ishiro Honda, the man most synonymous with the Character.  Hell, he's practically the face of Kaiju, right or wrong!  This is also the last Film to feature Godzilla as the Hero for almost 30 years!  This is also a Sequel directly to a previous Film, which is also rare in this Series.  Generally-speaking, the original Films are *mostly* one-offs that can connect, but can also be watched in nearly any order.  This would later be true for the Millennium Series as well and, yet again, Mechagodzilla made it happen.  In this Film, the titular creature returns and he brought company!  Will Godzilla have company again this time or did they cut the Budget too much?  To find out, read on...

The Film opens with Credits cut around a recap from the last Film.  How did they know a random jerk would watch these out of order 44 years later?!?

The short version- aliens hate us, make a robot and they fought.  King Caesar was also there, but his absence is not explained here.  Oh and Jet Jaguar is apparently on vacation too.

The Plot involves a search for the missing Mechagodzilla (broken, but not destroyed) and the search for a Scientist who was once 'mocked' for speaking of long-lost Dinosaurs in the deep.

Hey guys, Godzilla exists- why is this not believable?!?

As it turns out, the Scientist is alive and working with the Aliens.  A couple important notes...

- This creates a Plot Hole for the last Film, as he was apparently working with them for years...but they needed to kidnap a Scientist to help them last time.
- The search consists of 'Ask his Daughter and immediately believe that he's dead with no evidence.'
- The Aliens here don't transform into Ape-like creatures when injured- another Plot Hole.

Naturally, they fixed Mechagodzilla and are preparing for Round 2.

As someone on IMDB who knows Japanese Geography way better than me points out, they are shown looking for the Robot in an Ocean MILES AWAY from the site of the last battle.  Dummies.

The Dinosaur is called Titanosaurus and he loves to attack ships.

His most notable appearance after this would be in a Japan-only Soccer Game.  Yep.

The pair of Monsters are sent for a big attack and, yeah, Godzilla could sure use back-up.

It comes in the form of the Humans, who have a B-Plot that I can't be bothered to go into.  It involves a Robot Lady and some guys.

All you need to know is that they can use Sonics to hurt Titanosaurus, defeating him.

Godzilla takes Thanos' advice and goes for the head- which worked last time.

The Aliens, to their credit, though of this and made a module inside of the skull.  Of course, it would have meant nothing if he BLEW THE HEAD UP in the first place.

Godzilla wins again and walks out into the ocean...in a different-looking suit.  Basically, they made a cheaper suit that they didn't mind getting wet...and used it as the final shot of the Series for nearly a Decade.  The End.

A fun, silly romp.  This one is definitely a bit dense.  I know- it still features Godzilla fighting a giant Robot and a Dinosaur.  Just hear me out.  So much of the Plot hinges upon Aliens, techno-babble, some Story with a robot/android lady and people trapped on an Island.  If people thought that Humans got in the way of the action only in American Godzilla Films, they were surely-mistaken.  Interesting side-note on the Script- it was written by a Woman.  It's kind of interesting to see how uncommon that actually was at the time.  If you can accept the confusing Plot (made worse by cuts to most American Versions), the Action is pretty fun.  Godzilla's suit was on its metaphorical last legs, while its tail was literally hanging on for dear life!  The new Mechagodzilla looks neat- just ignore how much the Film uses Stock Shots of the old Suit!  The other Monster looks neat, but, as mentioned, was used almost never again.  Hell, even when it comes to Godzilla: Final Wars, he only appears as Stock Footage!  As a final chapter, the Film raises the stakes and is kind of fun.  It's definitely-flawed, but we can overlook a lot of this stuff for Godzilla Films.  Can we also overlook the fact that the adhesive for this man's fake eyebrows is clearly visible in this Shot though?

Next time, an early attempt at Disney manufacturing nostalgia with a Sequel/Remake to a Classic Film.  This one is older than all of you 'Millennials' though.  Stay tuned...