Remember how it was announced that we'll be getting a Japanese
Godzilla movie in the next few years, no doubt inspired by the
recent American one? Well, my heart skipped a beat when I heard who
would be the writer/co-director on this film? Hideaki Anno, one of
the greatest talents in anime since the 80s. Then the pit dropped
out of my stomach when I remembered that he hasn't really used his
full talents since the late 90s.
Don't get me wrong; I'm a fan of Anno. He's such a superb animator
that even the nitpicky Miyazaki was impressed, though Miyazaki
inexplicably thinks Anno can also carry a lead voice acting role. He
did great things as the director of Gunbuster and Nadia
(no, I'm not counting the infamous island episodes), and of
course put his studio in the map with Evangelion. The trouble
is, nothing post-Eva comes close to much of his earlier efforts.
Anno quit before the completion of His and Her Circumstances
and only dabbled in some live-action productions that remain obscure
in the U.S. To be fair, I guess the man isn't quite in a position
where he needs to work for a living.
The closest he's come to recapturing his former glory is the ongoing
remake of Evangelion. These movies were high-profile,
financially successful, and examined the original series'
still-relevant themes from a slightly different angle. But
truthfully, those themes are watered down and compressed, it is till
a rehash as opposed to an original work, and the big changes
introduced in movie three were rather poorly set up. Now this
triumphant return is put on hold because working on the most recent
movie depressed him all over again.
Did Anno pour all his heart and soul into Eva, leaving no drive left
for his more mature years? Did its overwhelming popularity bing this
man for life to rehashing his masterpiece, much like George Lucas?
What exactly will his involvement with Godzilla mean for
everyone?
Personally, I think it's a good thing for both Anno and the
franchise. With no new Japanese movie since 2004, the King of
Monsters has seen better days. I wasn't a fan of the pointless,
three-hour funeral dirge that was the 2014 American production, and
hope that the Japanese movie(s?) will take a different track. A
longtime tokusatsu fan, maybe Anno will bring the love back to
Godzilla, and maybe this job will break him out of his funk.
Of course, this could all lead up to a trainwreck that sends the
franchise underground and Anno into therapy, but I'll stay
optimistic.
Who knows? We might just get to see Jet Jaguar again.
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