Godzilla comes back to Japan, in ways fresh and familiar

TOKYO (AP) — Godzilla is back in its homeland of Japan after a 12-year absence, still breathing fire and mercilessly stomping everything in its way.

A Japanese-American special envoy, played impudently by Satomi Ishihara, asks where the nearest Zara store is, but mainly mediates between Japan and the U.S., which is worried Godzilla might reach its shores.

Toho used motion-capture technology based on the movements of Mansai Nomura, an actor in traditional Kyogen theater whose casting was a secret until opening day.

In the film, people measure the radiation around them and share information on social media, as they did five years ago.

News conferences and meetings are filled with confusion and jargon, and government officials on screen even use the same word that was used to describe how unprepared Japan had been for the tsunami, "soteigai," or "beyond expectations."

Scenes of people fleeing from torrents of water, and later huddled in gymnasiums, bring back heartbreaking memories of the 2011 disaster.

Bureaucrats try their best to find Japanese-based solutions, treating Godzilla as a crisis requiring military might and vowing the nation can be rebuilt from scratch — as it was after World War II.

The new film is inspired by the storyline of the 1954 original, more than the rest of Toho's 28-film series that had Godzilla battling oversized moths, evil robots and other fantastic creatures.

When the credits roll, with Nomura's name closing the 329-strong actors' lineup, it's the same composition by Akira Ifukube that plays, a fitting ending for the Japanese comeback Godzilla.