Wikipedia

Godzilla (Heisei)

Godzilla (Japanese: ゴジラ, Hepburn: Gojira), or sometimes known as Heisei Godzilla (Japanese: 平成ゴジラ, Hepburn: Heisei Gojira) is the main protagonist of Heisei era of the Godzilla franchise.

Godzilla
Heisei Godzilla
Heisei Godzilla (GhidoGoji) in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991)

Godzillasaurus at Lagos Island in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991)
First appearanceThe Return of Godzilla (1984)
Last appearanceGodzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)
Portrayed byKenpachiro Satsuma (through Suitmation)
In-universe information
Aliases
  • King of the Monsters
  • King of the Dinosaurs
  • Strongest Monster on Earth
  • God of Destruction
  • Burning Godzilla[1]
  • Wonder Lizard
  • Hero of Beasts and Man
SpeciesMutated dinosaur
GenderMale
ChildrenGodzilla Junior
OriginLagos Island
StatusDeceased
Design names
Height
  • Godzillasaurus: 12 m (470 in; 1,200 cm; 12,000 mm)[3]
  • Godzilla: 80–100 m (3,100–3,900 in; 8,000–10,000 cm; 80,000–100,000 mm) (1984-1995)[3]

One of the last living members of prehistoric species of dinosaurs called Godzillasaurus that used to inhabit Lagos Island, Godzilla was exposed to a massive dose of radiation through being teleported to Bering Sea by humans from year 2204 and subsequent crash of Soviet nuclear submarine in 1970s, mutating him into a ginormous atomic beast single-mindedly set on completely destroying Japan and locating other living members of his kind.

Over the course of his series, Godzilla evolved from being purely the main antagonistic force to being anti-hero merely happening to save humanity by defeating other monsters. He ultimately met his end after absorbing the uranium deposits from Baas Island, dying over the course of days as his body began melting down, being succeeded by Godzilla Junior.

Overview

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Godzillasaurus

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The name "Godzillasaurus" is a combination of "Godzilla" and the suffix -saurus, derived from the Greek term "saûros", meaning "lizard" in English.[4]

The main difference on this Godzilla's origin to other Godzilla incarnations was that this Godzillasaurus originated at Lagos Island instead of Odo Island.

Name

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When Godzilla vs. Biollante had been released, Godzilla at the time was commonly called the New Godzilla (Japanese: 新ゴジラ, Hepburn: Shin Gojira). This name would be used to dub Godzilla Junior's adult form in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995).[5]

In Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, after absorbing massive amounts of radiation, Godzilla reaches a burning state causing his body to slowly melt down. Although its mostly known as Burning Godzilla (Japanese: バーニングゴジラ, Hepburn: Bāningu Gojira), some concept art, refers to this form of Godzilla is referred to as Red Godzilla (Japanese: 赤きゴジラ, Hepburn: Akaki Gojira).[6]

Design

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In his original form, Godzillasaurus resembled early 20th Century reconstructions of carnivore dinosaurs, having upright posture, proportionally small head with double set of sharp teeth, grey eyes, long neck, greyish-beige scaly skin texture, small arms with three clawed digits per hand, three toes with characteristic ankle claw on each foot, as well as long tail that drags behind the dinosaur. He stood at 12 metres (1,200 centimetres; 470 inches; 12,000 millimetres; 39 feet) and weighted 60 tonnes (60,000 kilograms; 60,000,000 grams).[7]

Godzilla's first stage of mutation possessed rather massive head with small pointy ears and large eyes with brown iris, thick lips with sharp needle-like teeth underneath, massive frame with dark-grey scaly skin, proportionally larger bent arms with three clawed fingers and thumb, four clawed toes without ankle claw, and much longer tail. In addition to that, Godzilla has developed bone-white, leaf-shaped dorsal plates on his back. He stands at 80 metres (8,000 centimetres; 3,100 inches; 80,000 millimetres; 260 feet) tall, 180 metres (18,000 centimetres; 7,100 inches; 180,000 millimetres; 590 feet) long, and has mass of 50,000 tonnes (50,000,000 kilograms; 5.0×1010 grams). Strangely, he lacks double set of teeth.[8]

After spending five years in a volcano, Godzilla's head became smaller and more feline-like in appearance, having nostrils close to each other and irises taking almost entirety of eye sockets. He has double set of teeth instead of fangs, his neck is longer and body more muscular, especially around the chest and thigh area. The size of his dorsal plates was also increased, making lateral row almost the size of center row. In an aftermath of absorbing Soviet nuclear submarine, Godzilla stood at full 100 metres (10,000 centimetres; 3,900 inches; 100,000 millimetres; 330 feet) in height, 200 metres (20,000 centimetres; 7,900 inches; 200,000 millimetres; 660 feet) in length, and weighted 60,000 tonnes (60,000,000 kilograms; 6.0×1010 grams), gaining even more muscular appearance and vicious face.[7]

When entering critical mass state, Godzilla became more massive in build and developed radiating orange-yellow spots all over his body, particularly on his torso, belly, thighs and shoulders, which have vein-like patterns coming off of them. His eyeballs are red and pulsating, with golden irises, whereas dorsal plates change color from white to reddish-orange. His size remains unchanged.[9]

Roar

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From The Return of Godzilla, through Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, Godzilla's roar was made to sound closer to what it did in the original film, and was given a deep guttural sound at the end.

From Godzilla vs. Mothra through Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, Godzilla's roar was reverted to how it sounded throughout the Showa era, with the guttural sounds at the end omitted. Unlike the Showa era sounds, these roars were played at different pitches to create the impression of different roars.

Appearances

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Films

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Books

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  • Definitive Edition: The Perfect Godzilla Giant Monster Super Encyclopedia (2016; only on the front cover of the book with other Godzilla specimens)[10]
  • Picturebook of Godzilla & All Monsters (2021; only on the front cover of the book with other Godzilla specimens)[11]
  • Godzilla and Toho Tokusatsu: Official Mook Vol.0 (2022; only on the back cover)[12]
  • Godzilla and Toho Tokusatsu: Official Mook Vol.15 (2023; only on the front cover with Mechagodzilla II)[13]

Video games

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Displays

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A statue of the Heisei Godzilla was built and displayed at the Hibiya Godzilla Square, but was replaced by a 3-metre (9.8-foot; 300-centimetre; 120-inch) tall statue of Shin Godzilla. The Heisei Godzilla statue was moved inside the Toho Cinemas Hibiya building.[14]

 
The Godzilla head

On December 8, 2014, an announcement was made that the Godzilla head would be constructed on the 8th floor terrace of the Hotel Gracery Shinjuku in Tokyo, Japan.[15] The construction work of the Godzilla head was completed on April 10, 2015 and is currently located at the Shinjuku Toho Building in Kabukichō, Shinjuku.

In February 2022, Coolprops announced that they would release an official life-sized bust of the Heisei Godzilla, in collaboration with Toho.[16]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Brykczynski (2019), p. 19
  2. ^ a b c Brykczynski (2019), p. 18
  3. ^ a b "Godzilla [Heisei Series]". www.tohokingdom.com. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  4. ^ Nishikawa, Shinji (2016-09-06). Shinji Nishikawa: Drawing Book of Godzilla. Yosensha. p. 26. ISBN 978-4800309594.
  5. ^ Godzilla vs. Biollante Great Encyclopedia. Rippu Shobo. December 25, 1989. pp. 73–74. ISBN 9784651016016.
  6. ^ Heisei Godzilla Chronicle. Kinema Junpo. 14 July 2014. p. 194. ISBN 978-4-87376-319-4.
  7. ^ a b Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991) by Kazuki Ōmori
  8. ^ The Return of Godzilla (1984) by Kōji Hashimoto
  9. ^ Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995) by Takao Okawara
  10. ^ Definitive Edition: The Perfect Godzilla Giant Monster Super Encyclopedia. Kodansha. 2016. ISBN 978-4063048476.
  11. ^ Picturebook of Godzilla & All Monsters. Kodansha. 2021. ISBN 978-4065234914.
  12. ^ Godzilla and Toho Tokusatsu: Official Mook Vol.0. Kodansha. 2022. ISBN 978-4065302231.
  13. ^ Godzilla and Toho Tokusatsu: Official Mook Vol.15. Kodansha. 2023. ISBN 978-4065314968.
  14. ^ Valdez, Nick (2018-03-02). "Japan Getting Special 'Shin Godzilla' Statue". ComicBook.com. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
  15. ^ "新宿に実物大「ゴジラヘッド」出現！！！". godzilla.jp. 2014-12-08. Archived from the original on 2016-02-27. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
  16. ^ "CoolProps Is Releasing a Suit-Sized "Heisei" Godzilla Bust". Hypebeast. 2022-02-17. Retrieved 2024-10-15.

Sources

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