Have You Seen the Short Film That Inspired Shin Godzilla?
Jonathan Barkan
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Last year, Japan brought back Godzilla, the King of Monsters, in the form of Shin Godzilla, a film that has received loads of critical acclaim, became the highest grossing film of the year in Japan, and won seven out of 11 nominations at the 40th Japan Academy Prize. By all accounts, it’s nothing short of stunning.
But did you know that the film was based on a short that came four years prior? Directed by Shin Godzilla co-director Shinji Higuchi, it’s called Kyoshinhei Tôkyô Ni Arawaru, which translates to Giant God Warrior Appears in Tokyo. Produced by Studio Ghibli (their first ever live-action production) and featuring creature design by Hayao Miyazaki, the film follows a young woman who receives an eerie omen from her brother about the coming destruction of Tokyo. Lo and behold, the omen is true and a giant humanoid beast descends upon the city, there to wreak havoc, destruction, and chaos.
Now, to be fair, this short was actually commissioned as part of a special exhibition and acts as a sort of prequel to Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (set 1,000 years before the events of that film, the Kaiju-esque creature is a direct nod to the 1984 anime). That being said, the commission came from Hideaki Anno, who was also a co-director on Shin Godzilla. This short brought the two directors together four years prior to the release of Shin Godzilla, so I think it’s fair to say that it had an impact upon last year’s incredible release.
You can watch the short film below, which is absolutely worth it! They used as much practical FX as possible, including building a vast amount of miniature sets just so they could destroy them on camera. The end result is something that looks wonderful and is absolutely thrilling!
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