History YMMV / GodzillaVsMechagodzilla

* HilariousInHindsight: Godzilla using his own body as a magnet to attract Mechagodzilla and other metal objects to him looks quite a lot like he's using The Force, and he even does a pulling gesture with his hand while using his magnetism to stop Mechagodzilla from flying away. The very first ''Franchise/{{Star Wars}}'' film, ''Film/ANewHope'', premiered in theaters not too long after this movie.

* HilariousInHindsight: Godzilla using his own body as a magnet to attract Mechagodzilla and other metal objects to him looks quite a lot like he's using The Force. The very first ''Franchise/{{Star Wars}}'' film, ''Film/ANewHope'', premiered in theaters not too long after this movie.

* NightmareFuel: In spite of it not being as dark as its sequel would be, it has some very dark moments.
** Mechagodzilla in his disguised form defeated Angurius by breaking the latter's lower jaw to the point it bled and forcing the Kaiju to retreat.
** The disguised form in general, its roar is unnaturally high-pitched, his body language is dissonantly methodical as well as deliberate, and it gradually shows over time that its skin is a shell for a mechanical form.
** Mechagodzilla unlike its later incarnation which was a force of good, is a NoNonsenseNemesis that prefers to efficiently and brutally disable his foes at best or kill them at worse with its arsenal. It also looks like a warped parody of Godzilla with a menacing design and yellow electronic eyes.
** The initial fight Godzilla has with Mechagodzilla, which takes place in a burning factory with a darkened sky in the background, making the silver-white robot stand out even more. Godzilla is brutalized so badly that when he lands in water, it leaves a visible gush of blood ebbing out.
** TheReveal of the alien invaders being actually sapient gorilla people, with the first member revealed [[FacialHorror had 3/4 of his actual face exposed, leaving an appearance of a mostly apish face with the left part of the face still looking human looking very eerie]].

* EnsembleDarkHorse: Mechagodzilla. While this film and its sequel weren't the most successful entries in the franchise, the alien robot itself proved extremely popular and managed to become Godzilla's most popular enemy behind King Ghidorah. Even though the Heisei Mechagodzilla and Kiryu do have their healthy chunk of fans, the Showa version has been more beloved thanks to its villainous nature and for him giving the Big G quite a hard time in battle.
** King Caesar as well. He would return in ''Film/GodzillaFinalWars'' and became a playable character in the Wii version of ''Godzilla Unleashed''.

* FridgeLogic: Japan's a series of small islands that are already seriously overcrowded in spots. Why not try to move into, say, Russia or Africa?

* VindicatedByHistory: The film was bashed by most critics at the time for its unfocused plot and inconsistent special effects, and it was largely unsuccessful at the box office. It came out when the franchise's popularity was starting to wane, and--thanks to [[DorkAge a long string of duds]]--it was widely believed that it was on its last legs (indeed, the series went on a decade-long hiatus after this film's [[Film/TerrorOfMechagodzilla direct sequel]]). Since then, though, opinions have generally softened, to the point that it often appears in "Top 10" lists of the best ''Godzilla'' films. Mechagodzilla himself has emerged as one of the franchise's most popular monsters, and he went on to star in ''five'' later movies, giving him almost as many appearances as Mothra and King Ghidorah. Notably, Toho eventually released ''Film/GodzillaVsMechagodzillaII'' in 1993, making this the only ''Godzilla'' film ever to get a numbered sequel.[[note]] Despite the title, though, [[NonIndicativeName it wasn't actually a sequel]] and it is generally believed by fans that the II refers to the second Mechagodzilla itself rather than the movie.[[/note]]