Flix for Short: Giant God Warrior Appears in Tokyo

What do you get when the director of Neon Genesis Evangelion and animator for Nausicaa Of The Valley The Wind, Anno Hideaki, commissions a short film, gets direction by Higuchi Shinji (animator on Evangelion), and a giant creature design by Miyazaki Hayao (yes, that one)? You get Giant God Warrior Appears in Tokyo, the very first live action film produced by Studio Ghibli. 

Made for Tokyo’s Tokusatsu Special Effects Museum, it’s everything you expect from Ghibli. It’s depressing, fantastic looking, and I had to watch it again as soon as it was over. While I don’t understand Japanese, I do know Tokusatsu (giant monster genre, mostly guys in suits). And this is some splendid Tokusatsu. Who knew Studio Ghibli could achieve greatness outside of animation? Wait, that’s a dumb question.