YMMV / Ebirah, Horror of the Deep

• Awesome Music: Masaru Sato returns to compose for the series 11 years after Godzilla Raids Again and has a noticeably different (and livelier) sound compared to his last Godzilla work. The opening theme sets up the upbeat jungle island adventure, complete with a catchy slide guitar. Ebirah's leitmotifs are no slouch, almost like a Bond Villain theme
• Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: Godzilla's fight with the condor. The bird comes out of nowhere, serves no real purpose to the plot, and is never mentioned again.
• Complete Monster: The Red Bamboo's unnamed Commander and his second-in-command, Captain Ryuui, run the terror cells operations on Letchi Island, developing nuclear weapons for their cause. To this end, they've taken the people of Infant Island into slavery, with Ryuui as their smug warden. When their operations create the sea monster Ebirah, they utilize Ebirah to sink outsider ships, and keep their captives from escaping. Ryuui is introduced having several escaped slaves gunned down, letting two go to be devoured by Ebirah, using this as a demonstration for the new slaves. When Godzilla rampages against them, the Commander and Ryuui order the nuclear detonation of the island, leaving their slaves and captives to die as they try to escape.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: The Red Bamboo have been receiving more love in recent years from fans who appreciate a human antagonist group to contrast the heroes, as well as not retreading the aliens attack plot from before.
• Fight Scene Failure: Godzilla's fight with the condor, it's zoomed in so close that the viewer can barely see it.
• So Okay, It's Average: Coming off the heels of three big movies with larger than life plots and groundbreaking special effects, this entry is often seen as a solid adventure film in its own right, but pales in comparison to what came before, and is often ranked as one of the more middle-of-the-road Godzilla movies.
• Special Effects Failure:
  • For the most part, the Godzilla suit is in pretty bad shape, at least when viewed from the front. When viewed from the side and certain angles, however, the Daiseno Goji suit actually still looks okay.
  • The frontal-view shots are made worse by the eye-hole in Godzilla's neck, which the actor inside uses to see, is plainly visible in a number of instances.
• Ugly Cute: Godzilla comes off as this, despite or probably because of how shoddy the suit was becoming. It's especially the case when, after examining Dayo with keen interest and curiosity, he just sits down and nods off as if he's on a Senior Sleep-Cycle.

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