YMMV / Godzilla vs. Destoroyah

• Alternate Character Interpretation: Just how truly evil is Destoroyah himself? While Destoroyah is near universally considered one of the most violent kaiju in the franchise, the reasons behind his violence are left vague. Some think that it's simply a case of Destoroyah being a genuine sadist and taking pleasure in the devastation he causes. Others interpret his actions as those of a Non-Malicious Monster that is acting on instinct, lashing out at everyone who tries to harm him/them to remove threats to him/themselves. For instance, Destoroyah attacks Junior first, but Junior is not the harmless infant he used to be, and is shown smashing apart half the city while wandering through it. Also, once a dying Godzilla uses the Spiral atomic breath on Destoroyah, leaving him coughing up blood and mortally wounded, Destoroyah actively attempts to flee the scene, only to have his wings frozen solid by the military, causing him to fall down to the ground and die once and for all. On the other hand, his micro form actively targets the fishes in the aquarium and he also appears to laugh sadistically while fighting Godzilla.
• Awesome Music: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah features the last all-new soundtrack by Akira Ifukube before his death in 2006, and has some seriously chilling pieces in it. Special props go to Destoroyah and the Super X3's themes. Ifukube himself even described it as the best score he ever made.
  • The opening and title themes is perhaps the most iconic theme of this film, as Akira went beyond 100% to give how much dread is in this film since 1954. The title theme itself gives it a far more epic vibe than any other title themes, and goes in very hard than it needed to.
  • However even more praise must be given to this rendition of the Godzilla March theme. Once upon a time this was a theme that was meant to strike fear. This was something that was supposed to be dreaded as it meant he was coming.... and yet now it's a theme song drenched in sorrow as you know Godzilla is marching towards his death.... yet also it retains a new heroic feel. He's doing this for his son, to avenge his death at Destroyah's hands. Making this even better Godzilla literally is doing what could be his final march as he goes to confront Destroyah.
  • The ending credits music, which blends both Ifukube’s Original Godzilla theme from Godzilla (1954) with shades of the theme to King Kong vs. Godzilla sprinkled in there. It’s as epic as it is saddening to listen to.
  • The track Requiem deserves mention, as it’s the track that plays when Godzilla Dies! It’s an emotional ride to listen to, but a perfect end to the King of Monsters.
• Common Knowledge: Thanks in no part to James Rolfe's review of the movie, there are a number of kaiju fans on the internet (and even some major youtubers who have made videos on the subject) who believe Godzilla's burning form is capable of destroying the entire universe. Not only is something like that Beyond the Impossible even for a kaiju movie, but the movie quite clearly states that Godzilla's burning form will only destroy the Earth. This is likely due to Rolfe's tendency to exaggerate during his reviews though.
• Creepy Awesome: Destoroyah is one the purest examples of Nightmare Fuel in the franchise, and the fans love him for it.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: Though he's the main villain, as a Kaiju overall, Destroyah has quite a large following thanks to this movie. Many see him as an insanely dark and cruel monster that gave Godzilla one hell of a show, and put him up there with reoccurring A-listers King Ghidorah and Mechagodzilla as one of Godzilla's greatest enemies, despite only having been in a single film. It also helps that he has a particularly badass design, especially in the case of his Perfect Form.
• Even Better Sequel: Grand Finale notwithstanding, this is considered one of the best sequels of the Heisei series, and has wrapped up the connections with Godzilla (1954), as well as Akira Ifukube going all-out with music set pieces based on his 1954 original themes.
• Evil Is Cool: Despite how cruel and vicious he is, Destoroyah is so awesome it's hard not to like him a little.
• Harsher in Hindsight:
  • In the original film, Serizawa tells Ogata to be happy with Emiko when he makes his Heroic Sacrifice. In this film, she did not marry him after the events of the original and is most likely suffered from Survivor Guilt when she felt she had no choice but to reveal the Oxygen Destroyer.
  • Serizawa's fears of the Oxygen Destroyer have become a reality now that the Oxygen Destroyer has awakened and mutated Precambrian life-forms whose powers derives from the very weapon that killed the first Godzilla.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: This wouldn't be the last time Hong Kong saw itself attacked by Godzilla, 25 years later Hong Kong would be the site of Godzilla's famous rematch against King Kong and their awesome team up against Mechagodzilla.
• Heartwarming Moments:
  • After a Tear Jerker conga at the end, we see that Junior absorbed his father's radiation (saving the world in the process) and has matured into a fully grown adult as the next Godzilla. Our little prince we've seen grow up over the last few movies has taken the throne as the new king. Better yet, due to his upbringing among humans, he'll likely be actively defending humanity ala the Showa series.
  • Before Junior's death, thinking Destoroyah was defeated, he and his father communicated across the city after being separated for days. Perhaps it was a "Proud of you, son" reunion that even made Miki and Meru smile.
• Memetic Mutation:
  • DESOTROYAH!!! In the Godzillathon review of this movie, James Rolfe always says "DESOTROYAH!!!" whenever he addresses him. He even does this in the AVGN episode "Godzilla".
  • Many reviewers will point out how Destoroyah looks like Satan, or famously by James Rolfe, "the goddamn devil".
• Moral Event Horizon: If remorselessly killing lots of people wasn't bad enough, Destoroyah fully sails over the line by murdering Godzilla Junior in front of Godzilla and then attacking him while he's mourning his son's death.
• Signature Scene:
  • The opening Hong Kong destruction and title sequence.
  • The appearance of Destoroyah’s final form.
  • Godzilla’s death.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: A scene featuring Godzilla giving Destoroyah a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown as he dies was removed because it lessened the impact of Godzilla's death, though it's still pretty satisfying to watch. However, that ending was shot as a dupe and never meant to be used. Wires and filming equipment can be seen in many of the shots, betraying its hastily put together nature.
• Visual Effects of Awesome: For the final Godzilla film of the Heisei era, Koichi Kawakita goes all out for this movie. The Godzilla suit in particular deserves mention as they used glowing lights to convey the effect that this Godzilla was in major pain.
• The Woobie: Godzilla Junior loses his home when Godzilla begins entering the first stages of his meltdown. He then tries to return home to his birthplace on Adonoa Island, only to be called back towards Japan. When he arrives in Tokyo, he's ambushed by Destoroyah, who viciously attacks him. While Junior survives the bout, he suffers a painful injury to his chest when Destoroyah bores a hole in it and injects micro-oxygen into the wound. Then, he finally reunites with his father, but Destoroyah immediately kills him, and while he comes back to life, it's at the cost of Godzilla's inevitable death.

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