In the November 3, 1954 edition of the Yomiuri Evening Shimbun, the critic noted that “Gojira” had some fun special effects, but little else. “Post-war special effects techniques in Japanese film are in revival, and the behind-the-scenes efforts of this development should be praised.” But, the critic continued, Godzilla himself wasn’t a very interesting monster. They wrote: 

“One of the drawbacks is that Godzilla has no personality. With King Kong there was some charm in the movements; it was oozing with the drama of being bewildered by a world with a different environment. The destruction itself was not with evil intent. But Godzilla is brusque and blunt. There’s not one ounce of the tragedy of losing a peaceful habitat due to a hydrogen bomb test coming across.” 

The critic also noted that the human drama in “Gojira” was “truly poor,” and that the science was complete bunk. “The special effects are the only redeeming feature.” 

Meanwhile, in the Asahi Arts evening edition from the same day, the resident critic felt that “Gojira” didn’t rise above similarly corny giant-animal films being made in the United States. “Such science films are rare in Japan,” the critic noted positively. “Having said that, there’s not that much more entertainment in this fantasy film either.” 

The critic went on to note that “Gojira” is indeed tapping into the palpable nuclear fear felt by Japanese citizens … but that the monster kinda sucks. They wrote:

“Specifically, with the monster Godzilla, you cannot disregard the fact that it lacks a thing called ‘personality’ which significantly weakens the entertainment factor. Compared with the likes of ‘King Kong’ there are some interesting moments, but it cannot possibly reach the intensity of the ants in ‘Them!.'”

“Gojira” wasn’t as good as “Them!”. Pretty harsh.