Tokyo Unveils New ‘Godzilla’ Statue

Godzilla is one of the biggest franchises in Japan, and the monster stands far and above from the rest of its Kaiju peers. Japan often celebrates Toho’s franchise with big tributes to the series, and their latest is one of the biggest yet.

On March 23, a three meter tall (about 9 feet) Shin Godzilla statue replaced an older Godzilla statue in the middle of Japan’s Hibiya Square in Chiyoda. The square has since been renamed “Hibiya Godzilla Square,” as a bit of renovating fun as well. The Heisei Godzilla statue it replaced will instead be moved inside of the Toho Cinemas Hibiya building and will be available to see March 29.

The new Shin Godzilla statue is the largest, whole body, three-dimensional Godzilla statue ever made in Japan, according to Nippon.com, and stands on top of a 50-centimeter platform.

Shin Godzilla was a major success in Japan, earning seven Japanese Academy Awards and was the highest grossing live-action film made in Japan in 2016. Unfortunately, a follow-up to Shin Godzilla cannot happen until at least 2020 thanks to a live-action deal with Legendary Pictures, meaning production of the Shin Godzilla had to be rushed so as to not clash with Legendary’s Godzilla releases, and the film released in July 2016 in Japan to over 446 screens. It was number one at the box-office opening weekend, with its gross tripling that of Toho’s last Godzilla film, Godzilla: Final Wars in 2004.

For those waiting on more Godzilla, the Western version of Godzillawill be soon be premiering its sequel Godzilla: King of Monsters in March 2019, and Toho’s ownShin Godzilla is currently available on Blu-ray and DVD courtesy of Funimation. Luckily, Toho and Netflix recently teamed up to release a new animated spin on the franchise.

Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters is the first of an animated trilogy from Toho and was released in Japan on November 17, 2017 with Netflix distributing the film worldwide some time this year. It is directed by Kobun Shizuno and Hiroyuki Seshita, with Toho Animation and Polygon Pictures handling production duties. It also features a strong voice cast with the likes of Yuuki Kaji, Takahiro Sakurai, Mamoru Miyano, Junichi Suwabe, Kana Hanazawa, and Tomokazu Sugita.

The sequel, Godzilla Kessen Kido Zoshoku Toshi (which translates as Godzilla: Battle Mobile Breeding City) will feature a dark future where the last remaining humans must battle Godzilla, who has been wreaking havoc for 20,000 years. It will also feature an appearance of Mecha Godzilla, so not only will fans be treated to an animated version of Godzilla but one of the coolest rival Kaiju, Mecha Godzilla.