Samantha Nelson writing for Polygon: America Made Godzilla a Superhero. In Japan, He’s Still a Monster.

Godzilla has evolved considerably from his 1954 Japanese debut to the latest franchise installment, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. And in his most recent incarnations, clear national lines have been drawn between Toho’s version and Legendary’s. America’s modern Godzilla franchise, the MonsterVerse, follows the lore and spectacle-heavy template of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to make Godzilla a heroic protector of humanity. Japan, meanwhile, has reached back to the character’s roots to tell deeply introspective and political stories about the country’s role in the world. Both approaches have produced hits and misses. But is either one the “right” version of Godzilla?

This article grabbed my attention since I had just watched a few recent American Godzilla movies and said this in one of those reviews:

I have a few pet peeves with Godzilla movies that (a) are very American-centric and (b) that present Godzilla as a friend to humanity. If they're ever trying to make me go, "oh, poor Godzilla," it just weirds me out.

Now look, I’m not here to tell anyone else should or should not like. Art is subjective and it’s complicated, and I think that with exceptionally rare exceptions, judging someone else for liking something you don’t is childish. To her credit, Nelson does a good job explaining the perspectives of different Godzilla without shaming anyone for choosing “poorly”.

But yeah, I’m a Japanese Godzilla fan, and I just don’t get the current “moderverse” thing. I haven’t seen Godzilla Minus One yet, but I will say I watched Shin Godzilla last year and oh boy is it a treat!