They're cute and a little eccentric.
Chibi Godzilla Raids Again (ちびゴジラの逆襲 Chibi Gojira no Gyakushu) is a 2023 Japanese short anime television series based on Toho's Godzilla series and animated by animation studio Pie in the Sky. It is the second series based on Chiharu Sakazaki's Chibi Godzilla character, after the two-season web show I'm Home! Chibi Godzilla. The show starring Jun Fukuyama as Chibi Godzilla, and Yoshitsugu Matsuoka as Chibi Mechagodzilla.The story takes place on the Monster Island which is inhabited by small chibi-style kaiju. One day, Chibi Mechagodzilla washes up on the beach of Monster Island, and is found and forcefully woken up by Chibi Godzilla, who dreams to be an giant monster so he can be hugged by his father, the King of the Monsters Godzilla himself. Stranded on the island, Chibi Mechagodzilla befriends Chibi Godzilla and meets the other chibi-kaiju. Soon enough, Hilarity Ensues.
The first season was aired on TVTokyo's Eeny Meeny Miney Mo timeslot from April 1 to June 24, 2023, with the second season being announced on March 8, 2024 and aired on TV Tokyo's variety show Oha Suta from April 3, 2024 onward for a year.
Both season 1 and season 2 of the series can be watched on the English Godzilla YouTube channel
with English subtitles.
The show includes the examples of:
- Adaptational Friendship: Chibi Godzilla is friends with Chibi Mechagodzilla, Chibi Ghidorah, Chibi Hedorah and Chibi Biollante, while they were Godzilla's enemies in the film series.
- Adapted Out: There were three chibi Mechagodzillas in the original picture book series, one with yellow highlights, one with red and one with blue. Only the yellow Mechagodzilla has been seen so far.
- Art Shift: As seen in "All Chibi Monsters Attack", Chibi Godzilla's face can turns realistic for brief moments when showing his urges to destroy Chibi Mechagodzilla's miniatures. Moments later, Chibi Mechagodzilla's face turn realistic when he blasted the three with eye beams for trashing his miniatures.
- Boke and Tsukkomi Routine: The show runs on this, with Chibi Mechagodzilla being a Straight Man to other characters, but especially Chibi Godzilla.
- Breath Weapon: Unlike the previous incarnations of Chibi Godzilla shown in the Chibi Godzilla children books and the I'm Home! Chibi Godzilla web series, this incarnation of Chibi Godzilla can shoot the regular blue Heat Ray instead of breathing fire. The Heat Ray's temperature can be reduced to even 180 degrees, though said temperature is hot enough to wake up Chibi Mechagodzilla in "Chibi Godzilla of Monster Island".
- Chibi Godzilla: BWAH! (Blow a low-powered Heat Ray right onto the back of Chibi Mechagodzilla's head.)
Chibi Mechagodzilla: (Wake up) H-H-HOT!
- Butt-Monkey: Chibi Rodan, who get brought down to the ground whenever his ego got bruised, usually from Chibi Mechagodzilla and Chibi Hedorah (The latter doesn't recognize him).Chibi Hedorah: That thing. (Point at the fainted Chibi Rodan)
Chibi Mechagodzilla: Can we give the poor guy a break, please?! - Can't Take Criticism: As Chibi Mechagodzilla find out in "The Ruler of the Skies, Chibi Rodan", Chibi Rodan is insecure and anyone making a good argument against him can bring him down, literally. As Chibi Mothra puts:Chibi Mothra: He's got a monster ego, but a birdy brain.
Chibi Mechagodzilla: Oh great... - Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: Chibi Mechagodzilla is the Only Sane Man on Monster Island, but he's closest to Chibi Godzilla so he plays this role to him.
- Decomposite Character: Chibi Godzilla was a younger version of Godzilla himself in the original children's books but he's Godzilla's son in this cartoon.
- Eye Beams: As shown at the end of "All Chibi Monsters Attack", Chibi Mechagodzilla can shoot rainbow-colored eye beams.
- Fantastic Slur: Chibi Mechagodzilla calls Chibi Godzilla a "Son of a Theropod" when he thinks he ran away and left him trapped with a roaring monster nearby (actually Chibi Anguirus).note
- Gender Flip: Minilla is more than often portrayed as a male. This series on the other hand has her be Chibi Godzilla's little sister, although She's a Man in Japan is in play, as Chibi Minilla has an Ambiguous Gender in the original Japanese version.
- Gratuitous English: Chibi Godzilla replies in English to Chibi Anguirus, which Chibi Mechagodzilla lampshades.
- Lighter and Softer: The show is one of the lighter entries in the Godzilla franchise. Justified, as the Chibi Godzilla character (Which this show was based on) was made with children as target audiences.
- Multiple Head Case: Each of Chibi Ghidorah's heads have different personalities; The center head is a friendly guy, the right head is a quick-to-anger one, and the left one is friendly on the surface, but want to exploit friendship for financial gain. The three heads often contradicts the other and can erupts into fights (usually over food).
- Mythology Gag:
- The anime's title is a play on the title of the second Godzilla film, Godzilla Raids Again.
- In the first episode, Chibi Mechagodzilla describes himself as "a robot made by humans", a line from Jet Jaguar's theme song from Godzilla vs. Megalon.
- Much like the incarnations of King Ghidorah from Godzilland and more recently the MonsterVerse films, each of Chibi Ghidorah's heads has different personalities.
- In "Monster Study Session", when Chibi Godzilla brings out the question of which foe has been the hardest for Godzilla to defeat, Chibi Mothra's answer was his own Heat Ray, which burns his mouth. There have been several Godzilla films, namely the Heisei films and Minus One, where Godzilla burns his mouth when firing his Heat Ray. (In the case of the Heisei films, it happened when big G used the Red Heat Ray.)
- Much like the Mechagodzilla in the Showa films, Chibi Mechagodzilla can shoot rainbow-colored Eye Beams. However, the sound effect used comes from the Heisei films' Mechagodzilla instead.
- As shown in "Chibi Godzilla's Second Form", Chibi Godzilla takes on a familiar second form whenever he gets a sleep sprain or bumps his knee.
- In the season 2 premiere episode "Shin Chibi Godzilla", Chibi Godzilla mentions that he dislikes having things explode in his mouth, which is a reference to how Godzilla was defeated in Godzilla Minus One.
- Narcissist: Chibi Rodan is obssessed with his wings, which in his eyes are beautiful.
- Neat Freak: Chibi Hedorah can't stand flith. Chibi Mechagodzilla points out the irony in this.Chibi Hedorah: (in response to Chibi Rodan falling onto the ground) He fell on the ground! How flithy! I cannot stand flith!
Chibi Mechagodzilla: But you're a sludge monster! - The Nicknamer: The center head of Chibi Ghidorah is known to call other characters by nicknames, such as Godzi-yan for Chibi Godzilla and Mego-yan for Chibi Mechagodzilla.
- Only Sane Man: Chibi Mechagodzilla is the only wholly sensible resident of Monster Island.
- Poor Communication Kills: Played for Laughs in "The Resplendent Maiden, Chibi Mothra", where the Shobijins' misinterpreting of Chibi Mothra's telepathy messages leave the latter embarrassed so much that she starts crying, inadvertently releasing poisonous scales that bring down everyone (even Chibi Mechagodzilla, who is a robot, is not immune) except herself.
- Rage Breaking Point: In "All Chibi Monsters Attack", Chibi Godzilla, Chibi Ghidorah and Chibi Anguirus trashes the miniatures buildings that Chibi Mechagodzilla had built. Despite being told to stop trashing the set, the trio continue to do so after Chibi Mechagodzilla left the room. When Chibi Mechagodzilla comes back moments later, he had enough and proceeds to blast the three with the Eye Beams in anger.Chibi Mechagodzilla: (After blasting the three with the eye beams) Fix what you can. Got it?
Chibi Godzilla: Chibi Mechagodzilla is the one with the worst destructive urges... - Repetitive Name: As pointed out by Chibi Mechagodzilla upon being introduced to her, Chibi Minilla's name is one that's repetitive since Chibi and Mini basically mean the same thing.
- Ruder and Cruder: A few episodes have the characters use mild swear words like "piss", "BS" and "That son of a Theropod" note , even though the web series and picture books lacked any and were aimed at children.
- She's a Man in Japan: Chibi Minilla has an Ambiguous Gender in the original Japanese version (Chibi Minilla refers to themself by the masculine first-person pronoun boku (僕) in the Japanese dialogue, Chibi Godzilla nonspecifically introducing her as his "relative" (親戚 shinseki), and the term that was translated as "Big Girl" in her the title of her debut episode is a non-gendered term for a "person of firm character"). The English subtitles and translation make Chibi Minilla firmly female.
- Super-Deformed: Chibi Godzilla and other Monster Island inhabitants are human-sized, chibified kaiju. Averted with Chibi Godzilla's father, Godzilla, who is a kaiju and way larger than the rest.
- Vague Age: Chibi Hedorah and Chibi Biollante act like and are treated like adults by the rest of the cast, but they are still chibis (albeit taller than most of the other characters) and don't talk in unintelligible roars like the pubescent Chibi Anguirus.
- Vocal Dissonance: Unlike the rest of the characters who can talk, Chibi Anguirus's voice has broken and developed into unintelligible roars, and Anguirus's roars were used.
