Last week, we had some major updates regarding this year's Godzilla-Fest that is happening on November 3rd. We had a full schedule drop showing what Toho's plans are for this festival and it is a little disappointing, but it is nothing that will make fans feel like the world is ending. It is basically what everyone expected except for one thing that is missing and we will go over that here. Last year, there were some major issues with the livestream of the event and fans are hoping that issue is resolved. It is not fun watching an event when the livestream is having issues with internet connection and lag.
First thing you notice is that this year, the actual show and the suit greetings are separated. They are not part of one show, this time. Previous years, there would be one or two actors in a Godzilla suit or a suit based on another monster like Gigan or Jet Jaguar greeting people like a show's intermission between segments. This year, it does not seem to be the case because the suit greetings are corresponding around the same time as the stage event with each suit greeting starting a half hour before the next segment.
Next, we have the opening ceremony that starts at 12:00 PM JST (November 2nd 11:00 PM EST/10:00 PM CST). The show will begin with introductions from the show's host and then he will begin breaking down the schedule for this year's festivities. Then, he will move on to the first latest information corner. This is probably where we will see our first glimpses into Toho's upcoming projects. In 2020, we got the details on the Godzilla anime Godzilla Singular Point for Netflix. In 2022, we got the teaser image for Godzilla Minus One very early into the festival, but it had no title at the time. I and many others were just calling it "Godzilla Zero" based on the logo's image and the fake 4Chan leaks. At last year's Godzilla-Fest, we had an entire segment around Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. They usually reveal information on upcoming projects very early in the show not just to get it out of the way, but that is what most people are really there for. Fans want to know what is the next Godzilla project going to be.
Considering this is the 70th Anniversary of the franchise, it was planned last year there would be a lot of Godzilla stuff leading up to it. There has been a lot of speculation of whether a sequel to Godzilla Minus One is going to happen. The movie did very well in Japan and even more so here in the United States taking the number 3 spot for highest grossing foreign film of all time and winning an Academy award for Best Visual Effects. In terms of a sequel, director Takashi Yamazaki did express wanting to do one more Godzilla movie, but how to make a follow up on Godzilla Minus One is the issue he has. He knows it would most likely show Godzilla fighting another monster it is just how to keep human drama from being detached from the rest of the movie. That is a really hard issue to tackle. Once you have monster fights, that will be the only thing the audience will care about and the drama from the human characters is lost for the rest of the movie.
If there is another movie that Toho is working on at this time they won't exactly announce what it is yet. The host will most likely say that something is in the works and will hear more details about it at next year's Godzilla-Fest.
Sticking to Godzilla Minus One, the movie is getting a re-release in the United States with 13 minutes of extra bonus content. The movie will release on November 1st and it looks like it will stay in theaters for only a one week. It is out on Netflix right now, but I do recommend seeing it in theaters. This movie does not get the same impact watching it on a TV screen. This movie was made for the big screen and it just hits a lot different. So here is your chance to see it if you have not watched Godzilla Minus One already.
The next segment on the schedule is for Godzilla Battle Summit Traveling edition ~Godzilla Fest 2024 SP~. I don't really know what this segment is, but I can make a guess that this segment is about the mobile game "Godzilla Battle Line." There have been tournaments in the past and usually there would be a whole segment for this mobile game where new monsters get revealed and the development team shows off how the new monsters work in the game. So that is my guess on what this is.
Moving on from there is our second anniversary segment that revolves around the MechaGodzilla 50th Anniversary. In this segment, this is just going to be a talk show most likely talking about the character and how the first movie was made and the evolution of the character. Sadly, there does not seem to be a short film for MechaGodzilla, this year. It makes me wonder if that is being saved for next year when the 50th Anniversary for Terror of MechaGodzilla. It does seem like this anniversary is taking more of a back seat seeing the only short film this year is for the King Ghidorah 60th Anniversary short. In the past couple years, there would be two short films commemorating a certain anniversary from both GemStone and Toho Co. From GemStone, there was Godzilla vs Gigan Rex and Godzilla vs Megalon. From Toho Co., there were Gigan's Attack and Operation Jet Jaguar. Perhaps GemStone could still release one for the MechaGodzilla 50th Anniversary, but independent from the rest of Godzilla-Fest on the YouTube Channel as a surprise. Otherwise, we will have to wait until next year.
Later into the festival, there is the second information corner. This is where we find out about anniversary edition action figures and other products get revealed. This is where we will see some anniversary products like dishes, chopsticks, food, shoes, shirts, etc.
Action figures such as Bandai's S.H. MonsterArts and Movie Monster Series become a hot topic among collectors. Seeing that there already is an S.H. MonsterArts Showa MechaGodzilla figure that was released back in 2018, my guess is that a S.H. MonsterArts Showa King Ghidorah could get revealed here as that has not been made yet in this line. Currently, Bandai has been in some hot water among collectors (at least here in the United States and Canada) over quality control issues. The collector community is criticizing Bandai for overpricing their figures that feels cheaper and not having any accessories to go with. Currently, Hiya Toys is being eyed by collectors as the more reasonable company. So far, they have shown to prove to make better quality Godzilla figures at a more reasonable price.
For a long time, S.H. MonsterArts has been the top dog for highly articulated Godzilla figures. NECA dipped their toes into Godzilla for a while, but were not as much of a competition to Bandai. With Hiya Toys, I don't think Bandai will have much worry in terms of competition in Japan. In the USA, however, that might be a different story.
Before the show ends, we finally get to the big event that fans would be waiting to watch: Godzilla-Fest 5: Battle Among The Monsters. This short film continues where Operation Jet Jaguar left off where Godzilla and Jet Jaguar team up to battle King Ghidorah. This is to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of King Ghidorah and is the only short film we will be seeing out of this year's Godzilla-Fest. This will begin at 4:15 PM JST (3:15 AM EST/2:15 AM CST).
We first see the JSDF commenting on Ghidorah's appearance saying how it acts very different from the Ghidorah they know. I found this interesting as a nod to the King Ghidorah in Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All Out Attack where in that movie Ghidorah was a guardian deity that helped Mothra fight Godzilla. The suit used for King Ghidorah in this short film is the same suit from that movie. The fact that this is even being mentioned means that there is another Ghidorah in this series that could be more benevolent than the one we see here.
We see Godzilla and Jet Jaguar standing side by side ready to fight and Godzilla fires his beam at Ghidorah. Ghidorah fires back and we see Jet Jaguar getting hit by Ghidorah's gravity beams. Godzilla and Ghidorah clash up close and in a beam fight, which we see Godzilla lose the beam fight. The JSDF comment that Ghidorah is too powerful and Godzilla and Jet Jaguar may not be able to beat Ghidorah. More fighting happens between Godzilla and Ghidorah and then one scientist notices that Ghidorah can manipulate gravity. The teaser ends with Ghidorah firing a set of blue, red, and white beams (a reference to the 1991 poster of Godzilla vs King Ghidorah) and we see the title and release date November 3rd.
Just like the previous years, this looks to be a very fun short film. The mention that Ghidorah can manipulate gravity makes me wonder if he can just lift Godzilla or Jet Jaguar in the air with the beams or if they can manipulate the gravity in his surroundings like rubble and buildings floating in the air. Ghidorah has done both of these. Ghidorah was able to lift Godzilla with his beams in Godzilla: Final Wars and then manipulate his environment in the Shin Godzilla vs Evangelion: The Ride. Most likely Ghidorah is just lifting Godzilla in the air, but always interested to see how that plays out.
It makes me wonder if Godzilla will get his red spiral ray. It really looks like he is really struggling with the fight. Ghidorah is really giving him a hard time. This does not look like a situation like in Gigan Attacks where Godzilla gained the upper hand after destroying the contraption that allowed Gigan to shoot his beam. Ghidorah is seen with the upper hand through out the teaser and not even Jet Jaguar is able to keep up. Godzilla firing his usual beam seemed to have done nothing. So seeing Godzilla fire a red spiral ray could be a possibility here.
I really do ask Toho to make this short film permanently available to watch on YouTube at any time. Every year, the short films would stay up for a week or two before being pulled down and no longer available to watch. Fans don't want to resort to downloading and pirating the short films, but they have shown to resort to such lengths due to pulling down the films. We do see them as part of Godzilla's history and we do wish to preserve that history. So if anyone at Toho Co. sees this, please consider keeping the short films staying on YouTube for everyone to watch.
Lastly, we have the closing of the festival, which will replay the short film and go behind the scenes and that will be it. Overall, I think this Godzilla-Fest is not going to be quite as memorable as the other two years. I honestly think they over did the 70th anniversary celebration last year leaving nothing for the actual 70th anniversary to be excited for. There was supposed to be all of this stuff leading up to the 70th anniversary and now here we are just a few weeks away only to be a big, fat nothing with only one short film to look forward to. There are no plans from Toho Co. quite yet to reveal any information. If there is any movie being made I do not think we will hear about it this year. It is disappointing that we only get one short film rather than two coming off as if the focus is more on Ghidorah's 60th Anniversary over the MechaGodzilla 50th Anniversary. Maybe next year, we can see more concentration on MechaGodzilla to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Terror of MechaGodzilla. Otherwise, Godzilla-Fest 5: Battle Among The Monsters is looking to be a fun short film and I'm excited for it. I just want Toho to keep the short film available at any time to watch for everyone rather than pulling them down after a week or two.
I am interested to know what you think. What do you expect from this year's Godzilla-Fest? Do you think we will see anything revealed this year? What are your thoughts on the teaser? Leave a comment in the comments section of your thoughts on what you expect to see this year. Make sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Minds, MeWe, Gab, and TRUTH Social to stay up to date for more news, reviews, and discussions
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