I've been a Godzilla fan since childhood, and the moment I saw this translation of Godzilla and Godzilla Raids Again was available, I had to request it. I was so excited to be approved for this ARC and I read both novellas in a matter of days! While originally geared towards YA readers, these two stories, especially Godzilla, will delight lifelong fans regardless of age. I was swept up by Kayama's vivid imagery from the get-go, and have a better appreciation for the message (or warning, if you will) of the original Godzilla. Highly recommended for all Godzilla fans, especially those familiar with the original movie (1954) and sequel.

Thanks to Jeffrey Angles, The University of Minnesota Press, and Net Galley for the early review edition of this book.

Godzilla! A great read of the original story and the sequel. I also appreciated the additional material at the end providing background information on the stories. I have some experience with Japan, and I appreciate the work that went into the translation. Well done.

These stories were originally written for younger audiences. I could see that, and I think a younger audience would still enjoy the story. As an adult and a fan of Godzilla, I enjoyed the book as well.

Godzilla emerges from the ocean, sinking ships and attacking a small island destroying a fishing village. Some scientists wish to study Godzilla, others wish to destroy him and as they argue about what to do Godzilla attacks and destroys large areas of Tokyo. We follow the story via several characters - Professor Yamane, his daughter Emiko and Shinkichi whose brother and mother were killed by Godzilla. The climax is the destruction of Godzilla via a new weapon of mass destruction and the suicide of that weapon’s creator to prevent its misuse in the future.
Godzilla Raids Again sees a second, new Godzilla rise from the ocean as well as a second monster, Anguirus, who destroy Osaka as they battle each other. After Godzilla destroys Anguirus he is ultimately defeated himself, buried in an avalanche on a small northern island. We follow the action mostly through three characters - Hidemi, daughter of the Marine Fisheries owner, and Tsukioka and Kobayashi, pilots who work for the company.
As a huge Godzilla fan I jumped at the chance to review this title. The two novellas read very much like the screenplay for the movies just fleshed out a bit which makes for hard reading at times. There is no real character development, in many places it reads literally as if it is just describing the scenes we see on the screen in the movies. It reads much as if it is a manga minus the pictures. Both novellas are short - less than 100 pages each.
There are a few differences between the novellas and the films, one being the romantic interest between Emiko and Ogata which in the novella becomes Emiko and Shinkichi who are more the same age presumably as that would be of more interest to the young readers the novellas were aimed at. The other real difference in the Tokyo Godzilla Society which posts flyers around Tokyo praising Godzilla leading to a conspiracy theory that Professor Yamane actually controls Godzilla.
The most interesting portion of the book is the Afterword which delves in depth into Kayama’s intentions both with the screenplay he wrote and the novellas he followed them up with as well as how the story changed from his incredibly more direct anti-nuclear message to the one we see on screen. I am not sure I really enjoyed the novellas, such a direct translation probably did not serve the stories well - but they are necessary for the greatest appreciation of the information in the Afterword. This is a must read for the Godzilla fan. Recommended

For years I have always been a fan of Godzilla. Since I was a child I would watch the original black and white Godzilla King of the Monster on VHS. WhenI found out that the original two movies were coming out as a novel I almost fell on the floor with excitement. I am very thankful that I was able to be able to read this story as an E-ARC.

We open our story of course with some strange occurrences that are happening in the ocean with some fisherman and other boat entities. It later turns to a disaster when those boats are down in flames and there are no true survivors to what occurred. We are later given the idea of this monster we all know as Godzilla. There is a myth that he will come when the fish in the sea run out and that will lead him to shore. Well little do you know it that of course he is lead to shore where the fun begins. Of course for the fans of Godzilla we all know how the first movie ends. Later we pick up with Godzilla Raids Again. This time we are not met with just Godzilla but his enemy Anguirus. this novel we leave through the adventure of the two monsters battling out in the city.

Overall this novel was very fun and nostalgic to read. I enjoyed the monsters appearances in the books. The only think I was confused about was the reading to some of the story. It seem a bit choppy to my liking. There were some parts where I felt I did not really know what was really going on for the story itself. I did enjoy that the author had added footnotes to explain some of the different story telling that is used in the Japanese culture. I have preordered a final copy of the novel as this was still very close and dear to my heart and I believe that it will be for all fans to the Godzilla Universe.

So this is essentially a Godzilla movie in the book. If you grew up in the 90s watching the dubbed Godzilla movies you are gonna love this book. it feels like a transition and is more in the young adult age range but it is a fun Godzilla story. It follows the same plot of Godzilla waking and the scientist freaking out as he destroys things but unlike the newer Godzilla, this Godzilla is more destructive and antagonistic with the pro-Godzilla group being a weird evil cult. Fans of old Godzilla will most likely appreciate the simple monster story plotline

This is the first translation of the original novellas by Shigeru Kayama that brought us Godzilla. Although they aren’t great literature, they are fun, and a great summer read. I grew up watching Godzilla movies as a kid in NJ in the eighties, usually on Saturday afternoon during their drive-in movie segment and this brought back some great memories as they are very close to the original movies. It was like reading a screenplay. Anyway, the real value to this book is in the afterword, which includes how Shigeru Kayama came up with Godzilla, the use of Godzilla as a metaphor for nuclear weapons, and a history of the movies that followed. There is also a nice glossary of names, places, and ideas at the end of the book that provides even more insights. If you are a fan of Godzilla, Japanese or movie history then I highly recommend this book.

Arc Copy...actually surprised Godzilla all started as a book. It was an enjoyable, action-y read and very much contains core themes of the anxiety with nuclear weapons and fall out concerns present in post war Japan.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the writer, publisher and NetGalley!

I have always lived Godzilla. Ever since the moment I saw him on screen. This book was wonderful. Yes this goes more towards the violent nature that is the King of Monsters, but that's exactly what he is a monster: kaiju. The two books are translated from Japanese and its so interesting to see how different their dialect is from ours.

Not only are you getting two interesting stories but you also get to learn how the books were written, what ideas created them.The real history and why Godzilla is the way he is. There is just so much you get to learn.

The bonus is you also get a glossary at the end and it's helpful for if you don't know what certain things are.

I truly enjoyed reading this and it gave me information I didn't know. Thank you once again for letting me read this book.

An English translation of the first two classic gorilla movies. Surprisingly, the book form is a light, action packed read. Don't expect depth or character development. It's not much different than the movies with their now dated special effects.

A collection of two of the first English translations of the original novellas based on Godzilla's first two appearances in the now iconic franchise. The writing here is no Wuthering Heights, but it doesn't have to be...it's Godzilla. Awoken and pissed off by humanity's nuclear weapons testing, Big G sinks some ships, smashes buildings, and takes a bite out of a train while the military proves completely incompetent to stop him. Godzilla is always fun in a big monster type of way but also remains one of the best metaphors for nature's retaliation to humanity's destructive stupidity in media.

5/5 Dorsal Plates.

**I was given a copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to University of Minnesota Press and Netgalley*

I honestly cannot remember the first time I watched Godzilla; Godzilla has simply been apart of my existence thanks to my parents for pretty much ever. So when I saw that someone was finally translating the light novels I knew I absolutely had to read them. I will also be honest and say that I didn't really have much in terms of expectations here. I started this knowing that it would be good, because how could they not be?

For those who are a fan of the original movies both the Japanese and American versions I cannot recommend these enough. While following so closely to the movies you start to hear the iconic music in your head as Godzilla rises from the ocean, Kayama also expands the story a bit to give us a better look at the world within Godzilla arises. And the not so subtle shade thrown at the U.S. in these is absolutely brilliant. Kayama expertly stays within censorship laws of the time while also making it very clear he knows who to blame for the very real life illnesses and deaths that were a result of the two bombs we dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

For those who haven't watched a Godzilla movie, I highly recommend doing that AND reading these books, because c'mon it's Godzilla.

Overall, I mean there's not a lot to say. Kayama set a ridiculously high bar with these in terms of both a kaiju story as well as a well written, subtle discussion on politics not just from the timeframe but our current one as well given the continuous threats Russia and some of their allies continue to make. Quite honestly this was simply perfect.

I want to give not just Netgalley and The University of Minnesota my thanks for allowing me to read it but a huge thanks to Jeffrey Angles who translated them for being the human to finally do it. Seventy years is a long time to wait for such an iconic story.