Even 2 director icons celebrate the unexpected win

Fans of the Japanese demolition lizard Godzilla were thrilled when the latest film in the monster film series surprisingly won an Oscar. That was special Academy Award for Best Special Effects to Godzilla Minus One, the 33rd entry in Toho Studios’ Kaiju franchise.

The virtually touched fans also included two prominent nerds and filmmakers who have always been inspired by their Japanese colleagues: John Carpenter, known for Halloween – The Night of Horror or The Rattlesnake, and Guillermo del Toro, the mastermind behind films like Pacific Rim and Shape of Water – The Whisper of Water.

Big in Japan: Sci-Fi monsters with tradition

On X (formerly Twitter), the two directors shared their excitement about Godzilla’s Oscar win. Carpenter wrote: “Incredible! Godzilla Minus One wins an Academy Award for Special Effects. In my lifetime. Fantastic!”

Del Toro, on the other hand, xth: “Oscar winner Godzilla. I feel so touched.” He probably spoke from the hearts of more than a few Kaiju nerds.

Like the original film from 1954 or Shin Godzilla from 2016, the monster film stands on its own, so you don’t actually need to have any previous knowledge. The melodramatic plot begins in the year [1945shortlybeforetheendoftheSecondWorldWar. The kamikaze pilot Koichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki) escapes to a base on Odo Island because of an alleged engine failure. Shortly thereafter, he experiences the first attack by a monstrous creature called Gojira by the locals.

In bombed-out Tokyo, the pilot, plagued by survivor’s guilt, soon meets Noriko Oishi (Minami Hamabe), who was left with an orphaned baby. They do it together in the rubble of the capital about raising the child and starting something like a family. But when Gojira suddenly attacks the main island of Japan, Koichi is awakened to the feeling that he still has to sacrifice himself…

Godzilla Minus One came on December 1, 2023 in German cinemas. The film’s Japanese home cinema release won’t be released until May this year.

Japan’s 2nd Oscar success of the evening

Director Takashi Yamazaki’s Godzilla Minus One wasn’t the only Oscar win for Japan, however. That same evening, The Boy and the Heron from Studio Ghibli was released best animated film awarded, beating Sony Pictures Animation’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Much to the chagrin of some Marvel fans.

For anime master Hayao Miyazaki, this is the second golden boy after Spirited Away in 2001. But will it be his last? The Boy and the Heron was actually supposed to be his final graduation film. However, the 83-year-old already claimed this in the case of Princess Mononoke from 1997 and according to Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki, the legendary animation director is already working on his next project.