Oh, man. Believe you me. Nobody was more enthusiastic for Godzilla: Singular Point than I was. In fact, I wrote a whole article about how pumped I was for the Netflix show, which recently debuted with 13 episodes. And while I don’t typically binge-watch Netflix shows, I felt particularly compelled to watch all 13 episodes over the weekend since I’m a huge Godzilla fan.
And, man, I wish I didn’t. Because even though there is some stuff to like about this new show, especially as a Godzilla fan, I felt like the series needs to do a lot more if there’s ever going to be a Season 2—which hasn’t been confirmed yet—like they teased at the end of the first season. Now, I’ve been reading some mixed reviews in the Godzilla forums from fans. Some absolutely loved the first season, while others found it “boring”. So, given that I want to cover both sides of the fandom, here are 3 things that worked for Godzilla: Singular Point, and 2 things that I think could use some improvement. And hey, if there isn’t a Season 2, at least I still have the old Godzilla movies to watch. Those aren’t going anywhere.
Oh, and spoilers up ahead.
What Worked: Jet Jaguar
Jet Jaguar is only prominently featured in one Godzilla movie, and that’s Godzilla vs. Megalon, which you can watch right now on HBO Max if you like. In this way, Jet Jaguar has become sort of a cult icon amongst Godzilla fans. So, it was pretty cool to see him become a major player in Godzilla: Singular Point.
In fact, it got to the point that I thought the show should be called Jet Jaguar: Singular Point, as he’s most certainly in the show much more than Godzilla ever is. At first controlled by a crazy old man, Jet Jaguar is later infused by an A.I., and adopts the name Jet Jaguar P.P. I kind of hate the boxy design of this Jet Jaguar, but the fact that we get so much of him was definitely welcome.
What Didn’t Work: The Needlessly Complicated Scientific Plot Line
Oh, brother. Look, I’m used to Godzilla movies doubling down on the overly complex scientific plot lines. In fact, I especially appreciated Godzilla Vs. Kong since it did its best to keep the scientific jargon down to a minimum. So, yes, I know. I should have expected a scientific arc to be a centerpiece of the show.
But hot damn, I didn’t expect it to be THIS much. Out of 13 episodes, I would say, and I’m not even exaggerating, that at least 11 of them are just explaining how kaiju can exist in this world. I tried to focus on the story, and did a pretty good job of it early on. But by around episode 8 or 9, I kind of just gave up. It was so needlessly complicated! If there is a Season 2, please, for the love of God(zilla), keep the scientific plot line to a minimal. I can take it for a two-hour movie, but when it’s stretched out to a five-hour series, it’s just too much.
What Worked: Rodan
Or should I say, Rodans? What was really cool about Godzilla: Singular Point was that Rodan played a prominent role in the story. In fact, Rodan was pretty much what set off the whole plot in motion in the first place once a random Rodan just shows up one day, and Jet Jaguar has to fight it. What ends up happening is that a whole slew of Rodans eventually appear, and they terrorize the whole world, making kaiju a global threat.
If there is a Season 2, I would really love to see some other Godzilla mainstay have a major character arc. We also get Anguirus, which can foretell the future and block bullets with its spikes, so that’s kind of cool, but I would love to see even more monsters from the Godzilla universe appear in the show. More monsters, less people! Oh, and about them...
What Didn’t Work: The Human Characters
I love anime. Especially Attack on Titan. So, believe me when I tell you that Godzilla: Singular Point is not a good anime. It all comes back to the human characters. None of them are interesting.
If this show had no Godzilla in it (and it barely has him anyway, which I’ll get to), and it had to rely solely on the human characters, then this would probably be one of the most boring anime of all time. It takes itself way too seriously, and none of the human characters are interesting enough to carry the show on their own. And this wouldn’t be a problem if we got a lot of monsters in it, but we don’t. Compare it to a cartoon like Castlevania, which was obviously influenced by anime, and it pales in comparison, as that show has rich characters who could probably have spin-offs of their own. If there is a second season of Godzilla: Singular Point, either make the characters we already have more interesting, or get new characters. One or the other.
What Worked: Godzilla
Lastly, Godzilla is awesome in this anime. He has a new atomic breath where it starts off as a ring, and then it bursts out in a destructive wave. We also see phases of the King of all Monsters, a la Shin Godzilla, so that’s kind of cool.
But we just get so little of Godzilla in a show that’s CALLED Godzilla: Singular Point, that it’s ridiculous. A lot of fans like to complain about the 2014 Godzilla movie since we got so little of Godzilla in that film. But I would say we get even less Godzilla in this new series, which is not okay at all. After all that scientific mumbo jumbo, I expected to get at least 3 or 4 solid episodes of Godzilla wrecking the world. But no, as cool as Godzilla is here, we barely get him at all. This is kind of a Worked/Didn’t Work section if I’m being completely honest. If there is a Season 2, can we at least get some more Godzilla in it? The show teases Mechagodzilla in the end credits, but I still feel like we didn’t even get enough Godzilla in this first season. Come on now. What’s the deal?
In the end, Godzilla: Singular Point left a lot to be desired. But what did you think? Sound off in the poll below! And to find out more about Netflix TV shows or the 2021 Summer TV schedule, make sure to stop by often!
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