I've been a fan of Godzilla and Godzilla films since I was a kid. My first experience with the now infamous monster began in 1969 when I saw Destroy All Monsters(1968) as well as Toei's The Green Slime(1968) at the Rialto Theater in downtown Atlanta, GA. Only small fragments of memory remain of that experience as I was only seven years old. In the 1970's I would catch a Godzilla movie on occasion on television and by the 1980's I was collecting Godzilla movies on VHS and wearing out at least two VCRs a year watching them and other movies I'd record off the TV.
Now any fan of giant monsters can access Godzilla and other giant monsters in cinema through the various streaming services (e.g. Netflix, Roku or Amazon Prime Video) as well as both DVD and Blu Ray. I have long harbored a great fondness for physical media regarding films and as such my DVD and Blu Ray collection continues to grow albeit at a much slower pace.
While I personally like every Godzilla film there are a handful in which I have continued to harbor a lingering disdain for certain aspects of them and consequently I go back on occasion and re-watch these movies. GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN, Toho's 1955 follow up to the phenomenally successful 1954 film GOJIRA, is one of these movies.
I'm not going to ramble on with a "review" of GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN, produced by Toho and directed by Motoyoshi Oda. There are plenty of reviews of "GRA" online and are easy to find on YouTube. I have always disliked the Godzilla suit design for this movie as well as some of the shaky special effects. Still, I find myself liking this movie slightly more ever time I view it. There is plenty of monster action featuring Godzilla and the armored, quadrupedal Anguirus, two creatures who play out their rivalry by demolishing a city. There are many likable and sympathetic characters in "GRA" and the film's ending includes a character's heroic sacrifice and marvelous effects as the Japanese self defense forces mass one final effort to stop Godzilla. You won't find much humor in GRA and that's also something I appreciate: this movie's dark tone and pervasive sense of dread among the human cast of characters is a carryover from GOJIRA(1954).
I have a VHS copy of the Americanized version which goes by the title GIGANTIS THE FIRE MONSTER. I also own GRA on DVD(the original Toho version with English subtitles). I recommend the Toho version with English subtitles if you haven't seen it yet.
A trailer:
