Finally, after years of bitching, it seems someone has finally listened to the North American Godzilla fan.  It was impossible to approach TriStar Home Video’s recent DVD release of “Godzilla vs. Megaguirus” without feeling a little apprehensive.  After all, it was TriStar’s parent company Sony which gave us the finely packaged, but poorly executed Godzilla DVD Box Set (see Godzilla: The Ultimate DVD Collection review).  But happily it seems that Sony, TriStar and Toho have learned from their mistakes. 
        While the artwork on the cover is not overly impressive, fans will not be disappointed when they pop this DVD into their players.  Of course the first thing one notices when one opens the DVD case is the lack of any booklet or other background material.  As with their other Godzilla releases the case only contains a single card with the chapter selections on one side and promotional photos of the DVD covers from “Godzilla 2000,” the double Godzilla DVDs (Ghidorah/Mothra, SpaceGodzilla/Destroyah) GINO (TriStar’s Godzilla), and “Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack.”  The disc itself however, while not loaded with as many extras as their “Godzilla 2000” DVD, will not disappoint.
        The film is presented in its 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen format, with Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound and 100% complete (this is not the edited version which was shown on the SciFi Channel).  The sound quality is perfect, and, as with the sound quality, the picture is also perfect, and up to the high standard one has come to expect from a DVD.  But if the excellent picture quality and sound quality were not enough, for the first time on an American release, both the English dubbed, as well as the original Japanese, sound tracks are available.  In addition the English sub-titles are optional, meaning that one can watch the film in Japanese with or without the titles, which are nicely located at the bottom of the screen. 
        There is however, one or two drawback.  The sub titles are of the English dubbed soundtrack and do not represent a direct translation of the Japanese version.  In addition, while the dubbing of the film is better than most, some of the dialogue comes off as over the top and silly.  Also, the version of the film presented on the disc contains only the English language credits, and fans who had hoped to have the original Japanese version, with Japanese credits, will be disappointed.  The "trailers" are also a disappointment, and consists of several of TriStar’s non-Godzilla titles and GINO (one wonders why they did not include trailers from their other Godzilla releases).  The price is also a little steep.  At $24.95 retail (or even the $17.41 discount price), the DVD is stilled priced higher than the “import” versions, which feature the actual Japanese version, with direct translated sub-titles. 
    Finally, for the purist, who wants only the original Japanese version with direct (or as near direct), sub-titling, the "import" DVDs are your better bet, especially as they're priced almost $10.00 cheaper.  The average fan however, who enjoys watching these films dubbed, then there is very little one can complain about regarding this disc.  Overall however, TriStar has really hit the mark with this DVD release.