{ "id": "epm7et172f", "slug": "godzilla-against-mechagodzilla", "title": "Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (ゴジラ×メカゴジラ)", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.franchise-series", "label": "Franchise and series entries as standalone works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.franchise-series" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.franchise-series.franchise-series.kaiju-monster-entries", "label": "Kaiju and giant-monster series film entries", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.franchise-series.franchise-series.kaiju-monster-entries" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.franchise-series", "label": "Asia (other) · 2001 to 2020: Franchise and series entries as standalone works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.franchise-series", "path": [ { "id": "geo.asia", "label": "Asia (other)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2001", "label": "Asia (other) · 2001 to 2020", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2001.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001.culture" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.franchise-series", "label": "Franchise and series entries as standalone works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.franchise-series" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (ゴジラ×メカゴジラ) is a 2002 Toho kaiju film, 26th in the series and fourth Millennium entry, directed by Masaaki Tezuka, in which the JSDF builds the cyborg Kiryu from the original 1954 Godzilla's bones; sequel Tokyo S.O.S. (2003).", "snippet": "Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (ゴジラ×メカゴジラ) is a 2002 Toho kaiju film, 26th in the series and fourth Millennium entry, directed by Masaaki Tezuka, in which the JSDF builds the cyborg Kiryu from the original 1954 Godzilla's bones; sequel Tokyo S.O.S. (2003).", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.franchise-series.franchise-series.kaiju-monster-entries", "markdown": "# Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (ゴジラ×メカゴジラ)\n\n**Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla** (ゴジラ×メカゴジラ) is a 2002 Japanese kaiju film directed by Masaaki Tezuka, produced and distributed by Toho, in which Japan's military builds a cyborg weapon, Kiryu, from the bones of the original 1954 Godzilla to fight a newly returned Godzilla.[1](https://eiga.com/movie/40650/) • [2](https://www.slashingthrough.com/reviews/godzilla-against-mechagodzilla.html) It is the 26th film in the Godzilla series and the fourth entry in the \"Millennium\" series that began with *[Godzilla 2000](https://www.edgepedia.org/godzilla-2000)* (1999).[1](https://eiga.com/movie/40650/) • [3](https://reviewne.jp/contents/49755)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Japanese release | December 14, 2002 (Toho); 88 minutes; CinemaScope, Dolby Digital[4](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0314111/) • [5](https://www.kinenote.com/sp/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=33349) |\n| Director / writer | Masaaki Tezuka (director), Wataru Mimura (screenplay)[1](https://eiga.com/movie/40650/) |\n| Series position | 26th Godzilla film; 4th of the Millennium series[1](https://eiga.com/movie/40650/) • [3](https://reviewne.jp/contents/49755) |\n| Central premise | The anti-Godzilla bio-robot Kiryu (Mechagodzilla) is built around the skeleton of the Godzilla killed in 1954, and the machine's organic core reacts to the living Godzilla's roar[2](https://www.slashingthrough.com/reviews/godzilla-against-mechagodzilla.html) |\n| Lead cast | Yumiko Shaku as JSDF operator Akane Yashiro, with Shin Takuma, Kana Onodera, and Kō Takasugi[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/godzilla_against_mechagodzilla) |\n| Box office | Japan gross of $14,122,958 on a budget of roughly $8.5 million; about 1.7 million admissions[4](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0314111/) • [7](https://wikizilla.org/wiki/Godzilla_Against_Mechagodzilla) |\n| Sequel | *Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.* (2003), the only Millennium film that shares this film's continuity[8](https://www.blackgate.com/2014/05/12/a-history-of-godzilla-on-film-part-5-the-travesty-and-the-millennium-era-1996-2004/) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Premise and story\n\nThe story begins in 1999, when a Godzilla appears in Japan for the first time in decades (the film's continuity treats the 1954 original as the only prior attack). The Anti-Special Organism Self-Defense Force cannot stop it, and maser-cannon operator Akane Yashiro, played by Yumiko Shaku, loses her commanding officer through her own error during the battle and is transferred to a documents division.[1](https://eiga.com/movie/40650/) • [9](https://www.tohokingdom.com/reviews/vega/gxmg.htm)\n\nThe government's response is to salvage the skeleton of the 1954 Godzilla, the monster destroyed by Dr. Serizawa's Oxygen Destroyer, and build a weapon around it: the Type-3 Kiryu, a bio-robot known as [Mechagodzilla](https://www.edgepedia.org/mechagodzilla), completed in 2003 after four years of development under the prime minister.[10](https://www.video.unext.jp/title/SID0003794/c_txt%3Db) • [11](https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/godzillaagainstmechagodzilla) Akane is selected as one of its operators. The complication drives the plot: when the living Godzilla roars, the machine's organic remains respond, and Kiryu goes berserk, destroying a district before it can be shut down.[2](https://www.slashingthrough.com/reviews/godzilla-against-mechagodzilla.html) The rest of the film follows Akane's effort to earn control of the haunted weapon while Godzilla keeps returning for what the military took from it.[2](https://www.slashingthrough.com/reviews/godzilla-against-mechagodzilla.html)\n\n## Production\n\nMasaaki Tezuka, who had directed *Godzilla vs. Megaguirus* (2000), directed from a screenplay by Wataru Mimura, with cinematography by Masahiro Kishimoto and a score by Michiru Oshima.[1](https://eiga.com/movie/40650/) • [5](https://www.kinenote.com/sp/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=33349) The film reimagines Mechagodzilla, which had fought Godzilla twice in the Showa era (1974, 1975) and once in the Heisei era (1993), with a new design based on robotics rather than the earlier armored look; the machine is depicted primarily using a suit, together with practical miniature elements and effects.[12](https://www.allcinema.net/cinema/pdf/238770) • [13](https://www.biccamera.com/bc/item/6412983/) • [15](https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/article/article-17959/) The Takara Tomy documentation for a later crossover figure describes the Type-3 Kiryu as \"a biological robot used against Godzilla\" in the film.[14](https://www.takaratomy.co.jp/english/product_release/pdf/p240826_en.pdf)\n\nThe production was budgeted at roughly $8.5 million.[7](https://wikizilla.org/wiki/Godzilla_Against_Mechagodzilla) Japanese baseball player [Hideki Matsui](https://www.edgepedia.org/hideki-matsui), whose nickname is \"Godzilla,\" makes a cameo; 2002 was his last year in [Nippon Professional Baseball](https://www.edgepedia.org/nippon-professional-baseball), and he signed with the [New York Yankees](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-york-yankees) six days after the film's release.[7](https://wikizilla.org/wiki/Godzilla_Against_Mechagodzilla)\n\n## Release and box office\n\nThe film opened in Japan on December 14, 2002 and earned $2,253,231 in its opening weekend.[4](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0314111/) [Box Office Mojo](https://www.edgepedia.org/box-office-mojo) records a Japan gross of $14,122,958, all of it international from the tracker's perspective, with no domestic (non-Japanese) release listed.[4](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0314111/) According to Wikizilla, the film ultimately earned around $16 million in Japan from roughly 1.7 million tickets sold, ranking second among the Millennium Godzilla films at the Japanese box office.[7](https://wikizilla.org/wiki/Godzilla_Against_Mechagodzilla) A Japanese film database puts the gross above 1.9 billion yen.[3](https://reviewne.jp/contents/49755)\n\nTriStar released the film internationally using Toho's uncut print with both the English dub and the original Japanese audio. It carried no MPA rating on its earlier home video releases, but received a PG rating for later theatrical screenings.[7](https://wikizilla.org/wiki/Godzilla_Against_Mechagodzilla) Fathom Events screened it in U.S. theaters on November 3, 2022, grossing $335,000 and placing fifth among films that Thursday.[7](https://wikizilla.org/wiki/Godzilla_Against_Mechagodzilla)\n\n## Reception and place in the series\n\nOn Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 72% Tomatometer from four critic reviews, with more than 5,000 audience ratings on the Popcornmeter.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/godzilla_against_mechagodzilla) Critics singled out the monster battles. Jerry Renshaw of Reel.com gave it 2.5 of 4 stars, writing that the film delivers \"a good rasslin' match between giant monsters\"; Tim Brayton of Antagony & Ecstasy gave it 5 of 10, calling it \"a serviceable movie, but overall not a very fun one.\"[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/godzilla_against_mechagodzilla) Among genre reviewers, Mike Pinsky of DVD Talk gave it three of five stars and called the plot \"more interesting than most giant monster movies,\" while Stomp Tokyo praised the \"great monster fight action\" but criticized the \"uncompelling non-monster scenes.\"[7](https://wikizilla.org/wiki/Godzilla_Against_Mechagodzilla)\n\n**Continuity.** The film occupies a distinct place in the franchise's structure. The [Millennium](https://www.edgepedia.org/millennium) series otherwise reset its continuity with each entry, and a retrospective history describes *Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla* and its sequel *Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.* (2003) as \"the only movies of this series that connect to each other.\"[8](https://www.blackgate.com/2014/05/12/a-history-of-godzilla-on-film-part-5-the-travesty-and-the-millennium-era-1996-2004/) The critic Witney Seibold of Nerdist called it \"the best of the Millennium films, and may be the only one to establish a continuity.\"[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/godzilla_against_mechagodzilla) The same history calls it \"the finest Millennium movie,\" crediting its balance of characters, pacing, and world building, and praising Oshima's score as the best non-Ifukube music in the series.[8](https://www.blackgate.com/2014/05/12/a-history-of-godzilla-on-film-part-5-the-travesty-and-the-millennium-era-1996-2004/) A later review site summarized the film's central idea as \"the original monster's bones rebelling against the machine built around them,\" judging it the Millennium series' best premise even if the film spends that idea early.[2](https://www.slashingthrough.com/reviews/godzilla-against-mechagodzilla.html)\n\nThe film's respect for the 1954 original is a recurring point in commentary: by treating the first Godzilla's death as history that still matters inside the story, it ties the new film directly to the franchise's origin.[2](https://www.slashingthrough.com/reviews/godzilla-against-mechagodzilla.html) Its Kiryu design has remained visible in merchandise, including a 2024 Takara Tomy Transformers crossover figure modeled on the Type-3 Kiryu.[14](https://www.takaratomy.co.jp/english/product_release/pdf/p240826_en.pdf)\n\n## References\n\n1. [ゴジラ×メカゴジラ : 作品情報, 映画.com](https://eiga.com/movie/40650/)\n2. [Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla Review, Slashing Through](https://www.slashingthrough.com/reviews/godzilla-against-mechagodzilla.html)\n3. [ゴジラ×メカゴジラのあらすじ/作品解説, レビューン映画](https://reviewne.jp/contents/49755)\n4. [Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2002), Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0314111/)\n5. [ゴジラ×メカゴジラ, KINENOTE](https://www.kinenote.com/sp/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=33349)\n6. [Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/godzilla_against_mechagodzilla)\n7. [Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2002), Wikizilla](https://wikizilla.org/wiki/Godzilla_Against_Mechagodzilla)\n8. [A History of Godzilla on Film, Part 5: The Travesty and the Millennium Era (1996–2004), Black Gate](https://www.blackgate.com/2014/05/12/a-history-of-godzilla-on-film-part-5-the-travesty-and-the-millennium-era-1996-2004/)\n9. [Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (Review), Toho Kingdom](https://www.tohokingdom.com/reviews/vega/gxmg.htm)\n10. [ゴジラ×メカゴジラ, U-NEXT](https://www.video.unext.jp/title/SID0003794/c_txt%3Db)\n11. [GODZILLA AGAINST MECHAGODZILLA, Sony Pictures Entertainment](https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/godzillaagainstmechagodzilla)\n12. [ゴジラ×メカゴジラ, allcinema](https://www.allcinema.net/cinema/pdf/238770)\n13. [ゴジラ×メカゴジラ ＜東宝Blu-ray名作セレクション＞, ビックカメラ.com](https://www.biccamera.com/bc/item/6412983/)\n14. [Overview of the \"TRANSFORMERS\" & \"GODZILLA\" collaborative products, Takara Tomy](https://www.takaratomy.co.jp/english/product_release/pdf/p240826_en.pdf)\n15. [「特撮のDNA～ゴジラ、富士山にあらわる～」レポート - メディア芸術カレントコンテンツ](https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/article/article-17959/)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Franchise and series entries as standalone works › Kaiju and giant-monster series film entries*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/godzilla-against-mechagodzilla", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/godzilla-against-mechagodzilla.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (ゴジラ×メカゴジラ)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/godzilla-against-mechagodzilla. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (ゴジラ×メカゴジラ)](https://www.edgepedia.org/godzilla-against-mechagodzilla)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/godzilla-against-mechagodzilla](https://www.edgepedia.org/godzilla-against-mechagodzilla). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (ゴジラ×メカゴジラ)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/godzilla-against-mechagodzilla. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla is a 2002 Toho kaiju film, 26th in the series and fourth Millennium entry, directed by Masaaki Tezuka, in which the JSDF builds the cyborg Kiryu from the original 1954 Godzilla's bones; sequel Tokyo S.O.S.." }