In this bi-weekly series reviewing classic science fiction and fantasy books, Alan Brown looks at the front lines and frontiers of the field; books about soldiers and spacers, scientists and engineers, explorers and adventurers. Stories full of what Shakespeare used to refer to as “alarums and excursions”: battles, chases, clashes, and the stuff of excitement.
Like many Americans, I have long been a fan of monster movies, which of course includes the many kaiju films that have come from Japan over the decades. And that of course includes the famous kaiju Godzilla. I recently found out that novelizations of the first two Godzilla movies, published in 1955 as part of a series of books for younger readers, had been translated and republished in an omnibus edition by University of Minnesota Press in 2023. So, I put the book on my wish list for Christmas, and when my son bought it for me, it turned out to be a great gift. Not only did it give me a greater appreciation for the stories, but there is a long afterword that offers a lot of history and context regarding the development of the stories and the two films.
Buy the Book
Godzilla and Godzilla Raids Again
About the Author
Shigeru Kayama (1904-1975) was a prominent Japanese author in the mid-20th century, writing works in a variety of genres, including adventure, mystery, and science fiction. Having written a number of stories featuring the discovery of strange or forgotten creatures, in 1954 he was asked by producer Tomoyuki Tanaka of Toho Studios to create a scenario for the movie that would come to be called Godzilla. After the runaway success of the first movie, he created a scenario for its sequel, Godzilla Raids Again. Kayama also produced a script for a Godzilla radio drama, and novelizations of the two movies.
About the Translator
Jeffrey Angles (born 1971) is a professor at Western Michigan University who teaches Japanese and translation. He has translated a number of works into English, including fiction and poetry, and won several awards and honors. He has also written a number of scholarly works and some poetry of his own.
Monsters and Kaiju
My introduction to the world of monster films came from black and white movies shown on the local TV stations on Saturday afternoons. They would show Westerns, jungle movies, and monster movies on alternating weekends. I enjoyed the Universal monster movies, with Frankenstein, Dracula, and the Wolfman, but my favorites movies featured giant monsters, whether they be rampaging sea monsters, massive ants, huge locusts, or towering tarantulas. The Japanese monster movies were always fun, from the many Godzilla sequels featuring new kaiju like Mothra, or movies from competing studios like those starring Gamera the flying turtle (I still have a plastic Gamera from Tamiya models who waddles around the table when switched on).
But for a time, there seemed to be a lull in the popularity of giant monsters. Instead of seeing them on TV or in theaters, I watched most of my monster movies at science fiction conventions, where the enthusiastic audiences added to the fun. One of my favorite convention moments was a long conversation I had with the award-winning artist Bob Eggleton, who turns out to be one of the world’s foremost Godzilla experts. When an American version of Godzilla was released by TriStar in 1998, I enjoyed it, although seeing all the complaints and negativity about the movie was one of my first exposures to what we now call toxic fandom.
A few years ago, I had a chance to see the first two Godzilla movies in their original versions with subtitles, and truly understood for the first time how the American cut with Raymond Burr distorted the story of the first movie, pushing the Japanese characters into the background and replacing them with a character who does nothing but observe. The lack of dubbing also gave me a chance to appreciate the performances of the actors, which were a bit overdone, but broad acting was common throughout the world in that era, as most actors came up through a stage background. Watching those original versions really drove home the point that even in monster movies, it is the actor’s reaction to the situation that makes a movie come to life.
The last few years have been good to Godzilla fans, as we have not only some excellent new Japanese entries, but also American films from Legendary pictures, which have an interesting story arc that continues between movies, and add King Kong into the monster family. I also look forward to seeing the Monarch: Legacy of Monsters TV series when it starts being shown on venues beyond Apple+. And my son, who has seen Godzilla Minus One, tells me I would enjoy that movie, which brings the monster back to his roots.
Godzilla
Aboard the fishing boat Eiko-maru, crew members enjoy a peaceful sunset until the sea begins to glow and churn. They barely have time to send out a distress call before the vessel is lost. We then meet Emiko, daughter of famed paleontologist Professor Yamane, and her friend Shinkichi Morita, who works for Tokyo Bay Rescue and Salvage. The two of them became close when they were evacuated to the countryside as youngsters during World War II, but she hasn’t seen him in years. Out at sea, the Maritime Safety Agency vessel Bingo-maru and another fishing boat that picked up survivors are both lost.
Shinkichi asks to return home to Odo Island and finds a raft with his fisherman brother aboard, one of the only survivors of the lost vessels. There have long been legends of a giant kaiju called Godzilla who haunts the waters around the island, but few still give the legend much credence. Shinkichi’s brother confirms a living creature is causing the disturbances. Then Godzilla comes ashore, destroying dozens of buildings—among them Shinkichi’s family home, killing his mother and brother.
The government sends out a research vessel, Seagull, with the investigation being led by Professor Yamane. Emiko convinces her father to bring her along, which horrifies Shinkichi, who is also aboard. Watching the expedition leave is Daisuke Serizawa, a chemist and colleague of Professor Yamane, a brooding man with scars and an eyepatch from injuries he suffered during the war. Serizawa’s only soft spot is his affection for Emiko, although he does not admit it. The expedition finds that the creature has left a trail of radioactive contamination, and when Godzilla comes ashore again, they finally get a clear look at him. Expedition members brief the National Diet. Professor Yamane theorizes that hydrogen bomb tests may have driven the monster from its habitat, a theory that has serious political implications; a huge argument ensues.
The government sends frigates to attack Godzilla at sea, a move Professor Yamane protests, as he feels the monster should be studied, not destroyed. A reporter finds a lead suggesting Serizawa’s work may be able to destroy Godzilla, but Serizawa will only show his secret project to Emiko, who is horrified at what he has accomplished. Before any more preparations can be made, Godzilla arrives at the Tokyo waterfront. Police fire small arms and machine guns, but cannot stop the towering kaiju, who attacks a train, throwing railcars around like toys, and then returns to the sea. The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force sets up heavy weapons and a gigantic electric fence, but all their efforts fail as Godzilla comes ashore in Tokyo again and shows off a new ability, breathing atomic fire from his mouth.
He rampages through the city, destroying the National Diet building. Even jet fighters can’t slow Godzilla. Emiko tells Shinkichi about Serizawa’s device, the Oxygen Destroyer, which disintegrates every living being in the body of water where it is activated. Shinkichi confronts Serizawa, and after a violent struggle, Serizawa agrees to use his device, although he first destroys all notes that explain how it is constructed and operated. The next time Godzilla is detected in the harbor, Shinkichi, a skilled diver, volunteers to deploy the Oxygen Destroyer. Serizawa, even though he has no diving experience, insists on going as well. They activate the device, and then Serizawa cuts his own breathing hose, giving his life to destroy the secret of the Oxygen Destroyer. Shinkichi makes it to the surface, and he and Emiko watch in horror as the dying Godzilla writhes in agony, and finally falls back into the sea. Professor Yamane worries that continued hydrogen bomb testing might disturb more monsters, but for now, Japan is safe.
Godzilla Raids Again
Shoichi Tsukioka, a pilot who served in World War II, now flies a float plane for Marine Fisheries, Ltd., spotting schools of fish for their fleet. Back at the office in Osaka, Hidemi Yamaji (girlfriend of Shoichi and daughter of the company president) handles communications. She receives a call from another company pilot, the good-natured Kobayashi, who’s experiencing engine trouble and makes an emergency landing on Iwato Island.
Tsukioka diverts, sees the wreckage in a cove and Kobayashi standing on a rock, waving to get his attention. Tsukioka lands, and as the two are heading to the plane, Godzilla emerges from the rocks. It attacks, but just as they think their lives are over, a turtle-like kaiju attacks Godzilla, allowing the two men to escape.
The pilots are called to an ad hoc command post established in Osaka’s police station, where they are joined by several government officials, along with Professor Yamane, who has become the nation’s leading kaiju expert. He identifies the second kaiju as a relative of the prehistoric Ankylosaurus. The professor says that, with the secret of the Oxygen Destroyer lost with its inventor, they have no defense against these new kaiju. The only thing they might be able to do if the kaiju approach the city is order a blackout and attempt to lure the monsters out to sea with flares.
When Godzilla arrives, the city is blacked out and flares are deployed, which initially appears to work. But during the city-wide evacuation, a group of prisoners escape, and while being pursued, crash into an oil facility. The huge explosion attracts the attention of Godzilla, who comes ashore and begins a rampage. He destroys the Marine Fisheries factory, and the staff barely escape with their lives. Then the other monster, now dubbed Anguirus, shows up and begins to battle Godzilla. The two of them leave a trail of destruction in their wake as they fight across the city, with both spewing their atomic fire. They demolish the police station and its command post, and then Godzilla kills Anguirus, destroying the famous Osaka Castle in the process.
The Marine Fisheries staff shifts operations to their Hokkaido branch office. Everyone teases Kobayashi, whose attempts at romance always seem to lead to disappointment. The next day, the company resumes fishing operations, with Kobayashi finding a large school of cod. Kobayashi tells everyone he has news, and hints at romance in his life. They all go out to a jovial dinner at a local restaurant, where Tsukioka runs into his old wartime commander, Captain Terazawa, who now leads a jet fighter squadron.
A fishing vessel in the northern seas is reported missing, and it appears Godzilla is responsible. Terazawa prepares his forces for deployment, and the next morning, Tsukioka flies out to look for Godzilla, and soon finds him, but he is running low on fuel, so Kobayashi flies out to relieve him. Hidemi finds Kobayashi’s notebook and a picture of a pretty young woman falls out. It seems the pilot has finally found love.
Godzilla has come ashore in a narrow bay on rocky Kamiko Island, and the military deploys an amphibious ship carrying drums of gasoline, intending to trap him in the bay with a wall of flame. Kobayashi flies close to Godzilla to delay him until Terazawa’s fighter jets can arrive, with Tsukioka riding in one of the jets as an observer. But Kobayashi’s plane is hit by Godzilla’s atomic breath, and crashes into the mountain as Tsukioka watches, shouting in agony. The crash causes an avalanche, partially burying the monster. The jets fly back to re-arm themselves as the amphibious ship arrives and unloads its cargo of gasoline. Tsukioka convinces Terazawa to let him fly a jet and avenge his friend (this is not very realistic, but emotionally satisfying). After waves of attacking planes, the wounded Godzilla, surrounded by flames, is buried in a mountain of ice and rock. Kobayashi has been avenged.
Afterword
One of my favorite parts of the book is the excellent afterword written by Angles, which provides a detailed history of the creation of the first two Godzilla movies and their novelizations, and also a glossary of names, places, and ideas. Angle explains that the story was rooted not only in the horrors of the massive bombing campaigns of World War II, but also inspired by an incident in which a Japanese fishing vessel wandered into the fallout from a secret American hydrogen bomb test. The prose version of the stories shows more depth than one might expect, especially if the reader’s impression of Godzilla is based on later movies rather than the original, and the personalities and motivations of the human characters feel more compelling. At a time when Japanese authorities discouraged negative comments about the United States, questioning the wisdom of nuclear weapons, even through the metaphor of a giant monster, was a controversial choice. Angle points out that there are differences between the movies and the books, especially in the first novelization, where the younger character Shinkichi gets a much bigger role in order to appeal to juvenile readers. Angles also explains some of the uniquely Japanese aspects of the books, including the frequent use of sound effects like “GRAAAAAAAWRRRR,” which at times makes the prose feel like a comic book.
Angle also explains that with the introduction of a second monster in the second movie, audiences began to find themselves rooting for Godzilla, and how the success of the military in attacking the monster in the sequel undercut the first movie’s anti-war sentiments and exploration of how humanity could be overwhelmed by our own technological advances. Later tales of Godzilla began to drift even further from their original, more thoughtful and serious, roots.
Final Thoughts
The Godzilla and Godzilla Raids Again anthology is an excellent addition to the library of any kaiju fan. The novellas are solid stories in their own right, and also serve as a glimpse into a pivotal time in the development of the science fiction genre in Japan. The anthology gives the reader a better appreciation of the origins of Godzilla, and explores the more serious aspects of a character who has become a bit more cartoonish in subsequent years.
And now it’s time for your comments: You can focus on the original movies and the novelizations (if you have read them), but any comments on the many adventures of the world’s greatest monster will be welcome.
