I'm sorry, but for me, this movie was certainly not one of Toho's gems. I found the film to be quite frustrating actually. I watch these films because I love the amazing creatures and monsters that the humans have to battle. In this movie, the monster did not make its appearance until over halfway through the film. What's worse is that it did not break free and begin attacking anyone until nearly the last 20 minutes of the film. Given that fact, the battle lasted less than 5 minutes with Manda being taken down by the crew of the Atragon very quickly, with no real "battle" as you would have thought there would be. I don't want to say this film was a complete flop however, it seems to me that this film is more of a Japanese patriotism propaganda film in some instances, and a monster flick in others. But to each their own!
