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Take Two

Loyal Japanese 'Godzilla' fans have doubts about US remake

By Take Two Staff
Published May 16, 2014
Above, Haruo Nakajima taking a break during the filming of "Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster" (1966).
Above, Haruo Nakajima taking a break during the filming of "Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster" (1966).
(
Photo courtesy of Sonoe Nakajima
)
(
YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP/Getty Images
)
In this Monday, April 28, 2014 photo, original Godzilla suit actor Haruo Nakajima, who has played his role as the monster, speaks during an interview at his home in Sagamihara, near Tokyo. “I am the original, the real thing,” Nakajima, 85, said, stressing that later Godzilla are mere imitations. “If Godzilla can’t walk properly, it’s nothing but a freak show.” The theme of his Godzilla was grander and more complex, addressing universal human dilemma, as it spoke to a Japan that still remembered wartime suffering, he said.
In this Monday, April 28, 2014 photo, original Godzilla suit actor Haruo Nakajima, who has played his role as the monster, speaks during an interview at his home in Sagamihara, near Tokyo. “I am the original, the real thing,” Nakajima, 85, said, stressing that later Godzilla are mere imitations. “If Godzilla can’t walk properly, it’s nothing but a freak show.” The theme of his Godzilla was grander and more complex, addressing universal human dilemma, as it spoke to a Japan that still remembered wartime suffering, he said.
(
Junji Kurokawa/AP
)

Take Two translates the day’s headlines for Southern California, making sense of the news and cultural events that affect our lives. Produced by Southern California Public Radio and broadcast from October 2012 – June 2021. Hosted by A Martinez.

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Loyal Japanese 'Godzilla' fans have doubts about US remake

Warner Brothers' latest iteration of the "Godzilla" franchise opens in U.S. theatres today.

LINK

The film won't appear in its native Japan until later this summer..., but fans of the colossal creature have had the chance to see the trailer. Let's just say they're not incredibly impressed with what they've seen so far, 

The AP's Japan Correspondent Yuri Kageyama took to the streets of Tokyo to talk to Godzilla fans.  She says some people there don't think this new Godzilla is a true monster — or Kaiju — like the original. 

Even Haruo Nakajima, the actor who wore the original Godzilla suit, told Kageyama that his version of the monster was the best and only true version. 

"It's not some cowboy movie," Nakajima told Kageyama. "Everyone asks me to play Godzilla again. My Godzilla was the best."