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Mamoru Miyano Pets Godzilla at Premiere Event of Godzilla: The Planet Eater

In the Godzilla anime film trilogy, Mamoru Miyano plays the irritable and dour captain Sakaki, who thinks of nothing but killing Godzilla. But in real life, Miyano is actually very fond of the atomic breath-spewing kaijū, as he freely displayed at a premiere event of Godzilla: The Planet Eater on November 3.

Godzilla: The Planet Eater was the closing film of this year's Tokyo International Film Festival, which ran from October 25 to November 3 at Roppongi Hills, EX Theater Roppongi, and the Hibiya Step Square. The voice cast and directors of Godzilla: The Planet Eater were invited as special guests. Before the film played, they held a special talk show to close out the festival for this year.

All of the voice actors talked very seriously about how much of an honor it was for them to participate in the making of a Godzilla film. For them, and for many people, Godzilla is a cultural landmark, and one that they have much reverence for. In making a Godzilla anime, they wanted to deliver a product that could live up to the world standard and that could get the audience thinking, not just about Godzilla, but about the ultimate role of humanity in a new way.

"When I walked the red carpet, I realized that Godzilla is a very big movie star," said Takahiro Sakurai, who voices Metphies in the films. "There's no one in the world who doesn't know of Godzilla through television and films. Being in a Godzilla film as a voice actor is a great honor for me. The anime of Godzilla is on such a huge scale, and it's in a new style that will surely influence other Godzilla stories to come. So this is a real historic piece."

Mamoru Miyano said that the anime Godzilla films tell a very "manly" story. "The film is a fusion between the historic Godzilla and the animation Godzilla. In the anime, you have an alien race and you see different values. Can we co-exist with this monster? In this third film, you will see this one man surviving through this chaotic world. It really shows the character of Haruo Sakaki and the path he took towards living. I performed this role with all of my heart."

Things took a much more light-hearted turn, however, when Godzilla himself made a surprise appearance onstage. Miyano couldn't help but stroke and pet the creature, even as it let out its iconic roar. "He's got a bit of a temper, this one!" Miyano quipped.

Fortunately, the event ended without Godzilla unleashing its atomic breath and killing everybody. The kaijū even posed for cameras in a group photo shot at the end of the event.

Godzilla: The Planet Eater opened in 158 theaters on November 9 and ranked #6 in its opening weekend. The website describes the film's story in English:

20,000 years into the future, the Earth is ruled by Godzilla. Pitted against him are the straggling remnants of the human race. The final chapter, Godzilla: The Planet Eater, finds the Mechagodzilla city, the peak of scientific evolution and mankind's best hope, burned to cinders. Godzilla Earth reigns supreme but he has one more challenge: the winged creature, KING GHIDORAH.

Kobun Shizuno (Detective Conan: The Darkest Nightmare and other Detective Conan movies, Fist of the North Star: The Legend of Kenshirô, Fist of the North Star: The Legend of Toki) and Hiroyuki Seshita (Ajin, Knights of Sidonia) directed the films at Polygon Pictures. Gen Urobuchi (Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Fate/Zero, Psycho-Pass) of Nitroplus is credited with the story concept and screenplay. Urobuchi was also responsible for series composition with Yūsuke Kozaki.