Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle

Plot

After the events of Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters, the Aratrum cannot contact Haruo and his group following their encounter with the original Godzilla. Unberto Mori orders the Aratrum to withdraw if drones find no survivors within 48 hours. Haruo Sakaki is rescued by a native girl named Miana, who treats his wound with a strange powder. He reunites with teammates Yuko, Belu-Be, Adam, and Marco, and they are confronted by Miana's twin sister Maina before being captured by her hunting party.

The group meets Martin Lazzari, whose platoon was healed by the Houtua, descendants of humans who remained on Earth and guard the egg of their fallen deity. The Houtua leaders telepathically question the group about burning their lands, releasing them after Haruo explains they were attacking Godzilla. Accompanied by Miana and Maina as guides, Haruo's group reunites with Metphies and other survivors during a Servum encounter. Galu-Gu realizes the twins' arrowheads contain nanometal, the nanotechnology used for Mechagodzilla, which survived and expanded over 20 millennia.

Haruo agrees to stay on Earth and resume the plan to kill Godzilla, sending some crew back to the Aratrum. They trace the energy signature to the rebuilt Mechagodzilla facility, which Galu-Gu names Mechagodzilla City. The twins warn that the nanometal is poisonous, but the Bilusaludo assure the group it is only harmful to Godzilla.

Production

The second film of the anime trilogy was first teased in a post-credits scene after the first movie’s theatrical run, which showed the Japanese title, a Mechagodzilla poster, and a 2018 release window. The English name later became Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle.

In March 2018, the movie’s official site put out a new poster, story details, and news that singer XAI would again perform the theme song The Sky Falls. Post Haste Digital handled the English dub. Composer Takayuki Hattori returned for the score, his fourth Godzilla film.

Reception

Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle was released in 158 theaters in Japan and reached eighth place at the box office. It earned ¥100 million in its first week from 73,000 ticket sales, eventually grossing ¥171,859,000 in Japan. Naoya Fujita from IGN gave the film a 4.5 rating, calling it 'bad' and stating it takes promising ingredients but cooks them into an unpalatable meal, lacking emotional and visceral satisfaction. James Grebey from Inverse called the film 'bleakly pointless,' extremely self-serious, depressing, and light on fun, deeming it the biggest bummer in Godzilla's filmography.

James Perkins from HeyUGuys gave 3 stars out of 5, noting it is neither the best nor worst iteration but tries something new with heavy sci-fi elements. Jeff Pawlak from Geekiverse awarded 5.5 out of 10, praising great ideas and an interesting setting but criticizing the CG animation as ugly and the film for lacking complex characters and action. Callum May from Anime News Network gave an overall A− rating, praising Haruo's character growth but criticizing the lack of development for other characters and a dragging second act, concluding that while it does not fix issues from the first film, it leads into an epic conclusion.