Critical response
Naoya Fujita from IGN gave the film a 4.5 rating, indicating a "bad" rating, stating, "Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle takes some promising ingredients, but cooks them into an unpalatable meal. We never really understand what the protagonists are fighting for, and there's not even a satisfying scene of urban destruction (a Godzilla staple). It fails both emotionally and viscerally."[17] James Grebey from Inverse called the film "bleakly pointless", stating the film is "extremely self-serious, depressing and fairly light on fun" and called the film "the biggest bummer in Godzilla's filmography."[18] James Perkins from HeyUGuys gave the film 3 stars out of 5, stating the film is "neither the best or worst iteration of the Godzilla franchise but is most definitely made with the intention of trying something new but adding a heavy sci-fi and futuristic element to the famous monster."[19]
Jeff Pawlak from Geekiverse awarded the film 5.5 out of 10, feeling that the film had "great ideas" with an "interesting setting" but felt the CG animation was "ugly as ever", felt the film lacked complex characters and action, stating "City on the Edge of Battle completely mishandles the pass from Planet of the Monsters, failing to adequately explore the worthwhile worldbuilding it introduces, or that its predecessor introduced."[20] Callum May from Anime News Network gave the film an overall A− rating, praising Haruo for growing as a character but criticized the lack of development for the other characters. May also criticized the second act for dragging by having the characters simply wander in the city. May concluded by stating, "While it doesn't fix many of the issues from the first film, Haruo's development manages to sell a more character-driven narrative and makes his relationships more empathetic. It's perhaps not the film that fans were expecting, but it's the film this trilogy needed to lead into an epic conclusion in Godzilla: The Planet Eater."[21]
Mitch Nissen from ComiConverse gave the film 3 stars out of 5, criticizing the slow pace but praising the film for improving on Part 1 by expanding its ideas. Nissen also noted how the anime films do not feel like anime or kaiju films but rather, legitimate sci-fi reinventions, stating, "they are pure science fiction. Fans of in-depth cerebral science fiction should find much to enjoy about the films. References to Godzilla lore abound, much visible only to the hyper analytical Godzilla fan."[22] Taylor Bauldwin from Geeks of Color called the film "disappointing". He criticized the slow pace, the lack of compelling motivations for the characters, and the climax battle for not carrying any weight. He concluded by stating, "I did enjoy the style and sounds of the movie but that alone is not nearly enough for redemption here. This movie begins, things happen, and then the movie ends exactly the same way it started."[23]
