Godzilla vs. Biollante
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"To be honest, I'm kind of hoping that he [Godzilla] does show up again. Otherwise, I'll be out of a job." —both by, Lt. Goro Gondo, the latter being said mere seconds before his death.
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The seventeenth Godzilla film and sequel to The Return of Godzilla. This film is notable for introducing psychic Miki Saegusa, who would go on to become the longest serving human character in the Godzilla series. The story originates from a script contest Toho held, which was eventually won by a dentist. While no means a classic, the film is praised for being a creative and imaginative entry. This would be the last Godzilla film to be distributed to the United States due to the incident with Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, which would not be released until 1998 to tie in with the American film.
World politics are kept and joined with the dark underbelly of energy revolution and espionage. After Godzilla's rampage in Tokyo, various groups scramble to get their hands on Godzilla's cells for their own profit. In spite of four years passing since Godzilla's fall into Mt. Mihara the Japanese have created counter measures for Godzilla and wish to use his cells to create a defense against him, with fears they will create a greater threat. However, Dr. Shiragami has already taken one step too far into learning the unknown...
- All There in the Manual: The Manga adaptation explains that Miki's parents were killed during Godzilla's attack on Tokyo in 1984.
- Badass: Gondo and SSS9. Yes, SSS9 is still a bad guy, but he is also undeniably a badass.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: In the page quote, Gondo hopes that Godzilla will actually return, or else his job will be pointless. Unfortunately for him, Godzilla does return. At least he spouts off a great one-liner before Godzilla kills him.
- Conservation of Ninjutsu: How the human action goes at the start of the film...1 Agent>3 Foreign Mercenaries>A bunch of Japanese military.
- Contest Winner Cameo: The entire script, though it was changed so much only the following aspects were kept: the death of Dr. Shiragami's daughter, Biollante's creation, a psychic girl, and the general ending.
- Dynamic Entry: Godzilla escapes from Mt. Mihara with explosions all around him, along with Ifukube fanfare playing in the background.
- Eureka Moment: Kirishima has one when Asuka tells him about the hosptial needing to keep the generators cool. He realizes why the ANEB isn't working in Godzilla because of this.
- Fictional Counterpart: Saradia for Saudi Arabia.
- Implacable Man: The Saradian agent, SSS 9. To him, Godzilla attacking the city that he's in is just a mild inconvenience.
- Lighter and Softer: Still very, very dark and only lighter because there isn't a nuclear war hanging over the entire film.
- Mid-Season Upgrade: The Super-X 2. Unfortunately, the fire-mirror only works for a short while, and it doesn't have any cadmium or flares to distract the monster.
- New Powers as the Plot Demands: The first time Godzilla uses his thermo shockwave trick. For the rest of the 90s he used it roughly once per movie.
- It was even given an official name by Toho, the Nuclear Pulse.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Villain: SSS 9, the Saradian agent, is responsible for Godzilla's return when he prematurely kills the American agent before he can turn off the detonator in the truck. He also is responsible for stealing the Godzilla cells from the American spies in the beginning of the film. In many ways, SSS 9 is indirectly responsible for most of the action in the film.
- Nightmare Fuel Coloring Book: There's a scene where an entire class of psychic school children hold up drawings of Godzilla emerging from the volcano he was imprisoned in the last movie.
- At the end of the film, their teacher, Miki Saegusa, is seen drawing a rose in space, which foreshadows the eventual fate of Biollante.
- Tempting Fate: Dammit, Gondo. Being cool is not going to protect you from an 80 meter tall, pissed off dinosaur that you just shot in the mouth.
- Too Dumb to Live: Okay, the American agent decides to run over the SSS 9 with his truck? Why? He was actually too stupid to live anyway.
- What? He was clearly driving away from SSS 9. He just happened to have his window open, which allowed the agent to shoot him.
- What Could Have Been: The final product was different from the original script. For example, instead of Godzilla's first fight with Biollante, Godzilla would fight a rat/fish hybrid called Deutalios. Godzilla would gobble him up, proving once and for all the King of the Monsters has a taste for meat. In another ending, a losing Biollante would have tried to kill Godzilla by turning into a wave of pure energy.