Godzilla Singular Point

Godzilla Singular Point (ゴジラ S.P ＜シンギュラポイント＞) is a Japanese anime television series directed by Atsushi Takahashi and written by Toh EnJoe. Produced by the animation studios Bones and Orange and licensed by Netflix, the series premiered on March 25, 2021, on Netflix in Japan, and on Tokyo MX and other channels on April 1 to June 24, 2021. The series is part of the Godzilla franchise and features monsters from its Shōwa era (1954–1975). In 2023, EnJoe suggested that a second season of the series may be produced.

Plot
In Nigashio City, Chiba Prefecture in the year 2030, engineer Yun Arikawa of the local "do-it-all" shop Otaki Factory investigates happenings in a Western-style mansion, long thought abandoned. Mei Kamino, a graduate student studying imaginary creatures, investigates mysterious signals received from Misakioku, the former Tsuguno district's administrative building. These two strangers, investigating mysteries in two different locations, both hear the same song. As they are brought together by this common mystery, they are led into a battle against an unprecedented threat to the universe.

Production
On October 6, 2020, Toho Animation and Netflix announced plans for an anime Godzilla series, titled Godzilla Singular Point. It aired from April 1 to June 24, 2021, on Tokyo MX and other channels. Production for the show is by Bones in partnership with Orange, blending hand-drawn and computer animation styles respectively. Atsushi Takahashi served as the director with scripts by Toh EnJoe, and music composed by Kan Sawada. Character design was handled by Blue Exorcist manga creator Kazue Kato, with former Studio Ghibli animator Eiji Yamamori designing the monsters. The series' opening theme, "in case...", is performed by BiSH, while Polkadot Stingray performed the ending theme song "Aoi" (青い). There is also the recurring insert theme "ALAPU UPALA", performed by Indian-American singer Annette Philip, which is utilized in the storyline as a plot device. The series debuted earlier on Netflix in Japan on March 25, 2021, which was followed by a global release on June 24, 2021.

Marketing
First images and poster art were released on October 26, 2020, during Netflix's Anime Festival, with the streaming service releasing a teaser trailer later that same day. The teaser revealed that the series would air in April 2021 and would feature monsters and characters from the Shōwa era of the Godzilla franchise, such as Rodan, Anguirus, Jet Jaguar, Manda, and what initially appeared to be Titanosaurus and Gabara —the latter two later being revealed as new kaiju Godzilla Aquatilis and Salunga. On October 12, 2020, it was announced that Takahashi, EnJoe, Bones producer Naoki Amano, Orange producer Jiro Ando, and Toho producer Takashi Yoshizawa would all appear in a panel during the Godzilla Fest Online 2020 event on November 3, 2020. On February 12, 2021, the full design of Godzilla was revealed, illustrated by Eiji Yamamori and colored by Yūji Kaneko.

Godzilla Singular Point received a DVD/Blu-ray release in Japan in three separate volumes: the first volume was released on August 18, 2021, with the other two on September 22 and October 20. The show also received Bandai soft vinyl action figures as part of the Movie Monster series toyline. The first to be revealed was of Jet Jaguar and Godzilla in his Ultima form on March 6, 2021, in Japan. These two were later followed up by another vinyl figure of Godzilla in his Aquatilis form on April 17. Vinyl figures of Angurius and Manda were released on April 24. A vinyl figure of Godzilla in his Amphibia form to follow on May 15, and his Terrestris form one week later on May 22.

Accolades
Godzilla Singular Point won VFX-Japan Awards' 2022 "Excellence" and "Best" awards in the Television/Distribution Program Anime CG Category. It was also nominated for the 42nd Nihon SF Taisho Award. The anime series was awarded the 53rd Seiun Award in the Best Media category in 2022.

Potential sequel
When questioned by a fan on Twitter about the possibility of a sequel to Godzilla Singular Point, the screenwriter Toh EnJoe told the user: "Due to the contract, all I can say is 'There may or may not be a next season'." Director Atsushi Takahashi would acknowledge this via retweeting EnJoe's response a few days later.