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Wikipedia called 2016 Shin Godzilla a "reboot".

Does that mean I won't lose anything by not watching any previous Japanese Godzilla movies? (in terms of universe/continuity knowledge beneficial to watching the new film)?

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  • You need to watch every Godzilla movie before 2016 Shin Godzilla. Get going!
    – Paul D. Waite
    Dec 1, 2017 at 17:39
  • You may have to learn Japanese though unless it is finally available in a SUBed or DUBed version.
    – ShadoCat
    Dec 1, 2017 at 20:36
  • @ShadoCat - good point. I assumed there was English version from a huge # of Wikipedia-cited reviews from US sources.
    – DVK-on-Ahch-To
    Dec 1, 2017 at 20:53
  • @ShadoCat - screenrant.com/shin-godzilla-home-release-blu-ray-details
    – DVK-on-Ahch-To
    Dec 1, 2017 at 20:54
  • Shin Godzilla - is he shorter than a usual Godzilla because Americans shot his legs, and he had to be put together without shins? If so, Cotton Hill was probably behind it....
    – RDFozz
    Dec 1, 2017 at 21:11

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Wikia also calls this a reboot

Shin Godzilla was co-directed by Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi, with a screenplay written by Anno. The film acts as a reboot to the series, and details Godzilla's origins, and his arrival in Japan for the first time, while also showcasing the human response to the disaster.

Since the plot goes on to detail Godzilla's origins, it's clearly cutting continuity with the previous films. It's worth noting that canon in the previous films has been spotty at best (i.e. Hedorah no longer exists), so it's simpler to make a clean reboot so future films are not burdened.

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It's a clean reboot. You don't need to know anything about previous Godzilla films, any of the characters, any of the events, or anything else of the mythology. You might get a bit more out of it on the meta level with references and the odd in-joke, but nothing in the actual film requires prior knowledge.

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  • What is the source for this? What are the references/in-jokes?
    – DVK-on-Ahch-To
    Dec 1, 2017 at 15:58
  • Among others, one of the jokes is that the Prime Minister meets with three older scientists to get their advice. In the three of the original films, the Prime Minister met with a scientist at the start and received useful information/advice. In the new film, they're utterly useless. Also, some of the sound effects are taken from older films.
    – Keith Morrison
    Dec 1, 2017 at 20:45

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