THAN-KAIJU-GIVING: Raiga: God of the Monsters (2009)

The sequel to Reigo: King of the Sea Monsters, this was also directed and written by Shinpei Hayashiya. ten years later, there was a sequel, God Raiga vs. King Ohga: War of the Monsters.

Global warming has melted the ice caps in the South Pole and disrupted Earth’s ecosystem. This also brings long-sleeping sea creatures back to life, including Raiga, which instantly decides to destroy the city of Asakusa while avoiding destroying any temples. There’s also a father (Yukijiro Hotaru) and his three daughters (Miyu Oriyama, Mao Urata, Manami Enosawa) who use the monster’s attacks to create merchandise and sell it, like something out of Yeti Giant of the 20th Century when father isn’t trying to get a new girlfriend to the anger of his children.

The Defense Force has a new weapon, KAMIKAZE, as well as cluster bombs and stealth fighters. But they can barely stop one monster, much less two. I mean, have you ever seen a kaiju piss all over some rubble to mark its territory? Watch this and you can say that you have.

This feels very close to the original Godzilla but in a way that lovingly echoes that movie. I had a lot of fun with this and found it way better than the first movie.

You can watch this on Tubi or buy it from SRS.