Chapter 231: If Godzilla Can't Use Atomic Breath, Isn't It Just a Lizard?
It's no surprise that Chinese fans were shocked—after all, Tsuburaya had a history of this kind of thing.
For the most part, Chinese fans—except for those in certain southern regions—were unfamiliar with the Heisei-era Ultraman series. To them, Ultraman, whether on TV or in movies, was strictly from the Showa era.
And Showa-era Ultraman movies were very different from those in the Heisei and New Generation eras. Despite only having three films (four if you count Kamen Rider vs. Ultraman), all of them were nothing more than recycled footage stitched together.
Even though they did film a few new scenes to tie everything together, it didn't change the fact that these movies were essentially clip-show cash grabs.
Some fans, after watching the official trailer, even speculated that Super 8 would be another one of those films—just a compilation of past moments, with the human hosts meeting in a peaceful world and reminiscing about their past battles.
Fortunately, this misunderstanding didn't last long.
Soon, someone released the North American trailer, showcasing entirely new fight scenes that Chinese fans had never seen before.
On top of that, many viewers who had seen the IMAX preview vouched for the film, confirming that it featured brand-new action sequences.
This gradually calmed the controversy among the Ultraman fanbase.
Not long after the North American trailer went viral, Tsuburaya officially released another trailer packed with battle footage.
They also issued a statement clarifying that Super 8 (Superior Ultraman 8 Brothers) was a completely new Ultraman movie.
As for the misleading Chinese trailer?
Tsuburaya explained that they had intentionally edited it that way because Ultraman was a childhood hero for many Asian fans. The trailer, which focused on the older actors, was meant to awaken nostalgic memories.
Listen to that—how diplomatic!
It wasn't because they were being lazy—oh no, they did it especially for the fans!
In reality, Super 8's marketing strategy went against standard commercial practices.
Most films release multiple trailers before their premiere, gradually revealing more content while maintaining a consistent tone. The goal is to give audiences a clear idea of what kind of movie they're about to watch.
This approach often lessens the element of surprise when watching the full film, leading to the common complaint that "all the best scenes were in the trailer."
But from a marketing perspective, failing to target the right audience is a much bigger issue than spoiling a few key moments.
Of course, once a formula is used too often, counter-strategies emerge.
Some high-profile films deliberately cut misleading trailers, tricking audiences into intense discussions—thereby boosting hype for the movie.
No one does this better than Marvel.
They've turned "trailers" into "trailer scams" multiple times, and they're not even subtle about it.
And in this parallel world, the only person capable of pulling off such a stunt was Shinji Matou, that cunning mastermind.
Anyone else trying to run before they could even walk would crash and burn spectacularly.
That's right—Super 8's so-called "PR crisis" in the Chinese market?
It was all part of Shinji's plan.
As the saying goes, bad publicity is still publicity. Whether the buzz was positive or negative didn't matter—what mattered was making sure everyone was talking about the movie.
And sure enough, after clearing up the misunderstanding, both Super 8 and Tsuburaya's reputation didn't decline.
On the contrary, they actually gained even more recognition.
As for Super 8 being cut into two completely different trailer styles…
Sit down. Sit down.
By 15 years later, this would be basic editing skills for video creators. If you couldn't edit Fate/Grand Order into a seamless JoJo's Bizarre Adventure parody, you weren't even qualified to call yourself part of the scene.
This kind of editing only seemed fresh because it hadn't yet gone mainstream on platforms like Youtube or Bilibili—before viral hits like Fist of the North Star: Akemi Homura made waves.
In reality, the controversy actually helped draw in many casual viewers.
After watching both trailers, even non-fans started shifting their perception of Super 8 from "Ultraman is for kids" to "Might as well check it out for nostalgia's sake."
Not everyone agreed with Super 8's black-and-red (infamy-turned-popularity) marketing strategy, though.
"I have never seen someone so shameless!"
That was the first thought that popped into the mind of Toho's executive director, Matsuoka Hiroyasu, as he watched the Super 8 marketing unfold.
Don't think for a second that Japanese people don't read Romance of the Three Kingdoms—the so-called "Condensed Edition" was practically Japan's special version of the story.
And the Japanese loved Zhuge Liang.
The condensed edition of Three Kingdoms cut down everything from the Yellow Turban Rebellion to the Battle of Guandu into just a few episodes—all so that Zhuge Liang could enter the stage sooner.
Cao Cao vs. Yuan Shao? Meh! None of that mattered—Zhuge Liang was the real star!
Once they reached the Battle of Wuzhang Plains, the condensed edition ended.
Why?
Because Zhuge Liang was dead! Who the hell would care about the rest?!
To the Japanese, Romance of the Three Kingdoms had only one true protagonist: Prime Minister Zhuge. Everyone else was just a side character.
Someone like Matsuoka, who had been in the film industry for years, could even recite Zhuge Liang's speech cursing Wang Situ word for word.
But no matter how well Matsuoka knew those lines, he couldn't curse Shinji Matou to death.
This summer blockbuster season, Godzilla and Super 8 were the two most anticipated tokusatsu films.
Even without Shinji's bet with Time Group, these two movies were bound to be compared.
One was the King of Monsters in cinematic history.
The other was the Giant of Light.
A box office showdown between them was exactly the kind of drama that reporters and gossip-loving audiences ate up.
Matsuoka understood this perfectly.
He also understood something even more terrifying—Godzilla couldn't afford to lose.
As the reboot of Toho's flagship tokusatsu franchise, this movie had to make money. Not just a little, but a lot.
Otherwise, Toho's precarious position as Japan's No.1 film company would be in serious danger.
The problem?
Matsuoka had no confidence in Godzilla's success.
Because the film had a massive issue—
Godzilla's design had been changed.
The once-majestic atomic-breathing dinosaur had been reduced to… a big lizard that couldn't even use atomic breath.
Godzilla without atomic breath?!
That's like David Beckham not knowing how to shoot!
Isn't that just a joke?!
"I regret it so much!"
Matsuoka slammed his fist on his office desk in frustration.
From the very beginning of production, the North American director in charge of the film was deeply dissatisfied with Godzilla's appearance.
In his mind, Godzilla should be a biologically accurate reptile—not some fantastical creature invented by the Japanese!
At first, he protested. But when his objections were ignored, he resorted to underhanded tactics, forcing the film to follow his own design.
By the time Toho realized what was happening, half of the movie had already been shot with the lizard-like Godzilla.
When Toho confronted the director, demanding to know why he hadn't followed the original design, the man responded with complete confidence:
"The design blueprints were lost."
"Go to hell with your 'lost blueprints'!!"
Matsuoka Hiroyasu knew this was a blatant excuse.
Even if the film crew somehow had lost the blueprints, Toho's warehouse still had several unfinished drafts stored away.
With those as references, a new design could be redone in less than three days.
"That bastard did this on purpose!!"
Matsuoka wanted nothing more than to curse the director to his face.
But he had to hold back.
Half the movie was already shot. More than half of the production budget was already spent. If they fired the director now, the entire project would collapse.
Not everyone could be like Warner Bros.—pulling off the insane move of switching directors after most of the film had been completed.
So, gritting their teeth, Toho pushed forward and finished shooting this "biologically accurate" version of Godzilla.
The moment filming wrapped up, Toho rushed to hold test screenings.
The results?
Surprisingly consistent.
On a scale of 1 to 10, the scores hovered between 4 and 5.
These scores came from two groups:
1. Godzilla fans. They hated the new design. In retaliation, they deliberately tanked their ratings.
2. Casual moviegoers. They generally gave the film around a 7—not amazing, but watchable.
For a tokusatsu film, a 7 was actually a decent score.
"See, Mr. Matsuoka."
The white director smugly waved the score sheets, practically beaming with self-satisfaction.
"A 7-point average proves I was right. This is how the movie should have been made."
"But… those low scores…" Matsuoka hesitated.
"They're just insignificant outliers," the director sneered.
"How many hardcore tokusatsu fans are there, really? Once we release the movie on a large scale, their opinions won't matter at all."
"Are you sure?"
Matsuoka felt uneasy.
"Of course. Trust me."
"Then… what about the release date?"
"Schedule it for the week after that other tokusatsu film (Super 8). Since they're both in the same genre, our release will steal some of their traffic. That way, all the box office revenue will be ours! HAHAHAHA!"
As the arrogant director's laughter echoed through the office—
The date finally arrived.
May 5, 2006.
One day before Toho's Godzilla release—
Shinji's Super 8 (Superior Ultraman 8 Brothers) premiered worldwide.
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