Godzilla

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Godzilla (ゴジラ, Gojira^?) (also known as The King of the Monsters and Gigantis, the Fire Monster) is a kaijū (fictional Japanese monster) from the Godzilla series of science fiction films. It was first seen in the 1954 film Godzilla and, to date, has appeared in 28 films, all of which were produced by Toho Co. Ltd. Being one of the most iconic characters in film history, Godzilla has also appeared in numerous comic books, video games, novels, and in popular culture.

In 1998, TriStar Pictures produced a remake set in New York City. The film's name was simply Godzilla; however, the character had been completely redesigned and only had superficial characteristics in common with the original Godzilla. The remake was met with mixed critical reception by long-time Godzilla fans and critics alike. The American remake monster was later identified by Toho as Zilla in Godzilla: Final Wars. Zilla was also known as GINO: Godzilla in name only.

Appearances

Godzilla is the primary anti-hero in all of the Godzilla films, though there are numerous different incarnations of the monster. The silver screen is not the only place Godzilla has appeared; there have been literary sources that have expanded the universe of Godzilla.

Films

This short section requires expansion.

Godzilla made his first appearance in the original 1954 film Godzilla. In the film, as a result of American testings of the hydrogen bomb, Godzilla is awakened and mutated. Throughout the film, Godzilla rampages through Japan and destroys various cities, while scientists try to figure out a solution to kill the monster. In the end of the film, Dr. Daisuke Serizawa (Akihiko Hirata) uses an oxygen destroyer that he created and opens it underwater, dissolving himself and Godzilla.^[5] An "Americanized" version titled Godzilla, King of the Monsters! was also released and contained original scenes from the film with re-shot footage of Raymond Burr's character and his narration.^[6]

Godzilla returned in Godzilla Raids Again, though it was a different Godzilla. This is the first film in which Godzilla battled another monster, named Anguirus, who was defeated. Eventually, the military fires missiles at a mountain Godzilla was near and buries him deep beneath an avalanche, which soon turned into an iceberg.^[7] In King Kong vs. Godzilla, Godzilla breaks out of the iceberg when an American submarine becomes lodged in it. Meanwhile, King Kong is transported to Japan, and breaks out of the raft that was holding him. A fight later ensues between the two monsters, and Kong eventually retreats, while the JSDF try to stop them. However, their attempts are futile, and they decide to transport Kong to Godzilla in hope that they will fight each other to their deaths. The fight later brings them underwater, and Kong manages to emerge from the water, swimming back to his native island.^[8] Godzilla's next appearance was in Mothra vs. Godzilla, which sees Godzilla fighting Mothra. The same Godzilla returns from Kurada Beach (his hiding place after he was defeated by Kong), and fights Mothra near the end of the film. Soon, Mothra dies because of using her strength to fight Godzilla. However, Mothra's egg hatches and the two larvaes wrap Godzilla in a cocoon, plunging him into the ocean.^[9]

Television

In Japan Godzilla was an oft-seen guest star on the tokusatsu series Zone Fighter. He fought along side the titular hero against other kaiju, including Gigan and King Ghidrah. Toho has gone on the record saying that the events in Zone Fighter are part of the Godzilla series, taking place between Godzilla vs Megalon and Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla.

Godzilla made his American series debut in the 1978 Hanna-Barbera Saturday morning show The Godzilla Power Hour, in which he gained a sidekick, Godzooky, described as his nephew. In addition to his trademark atomic breath, (retooled as flame breath), he was also given the power to shoot laser beams out of his eyes. He was routinely summoned by his human friends using a signaling device or by the cry of Godzooky. Godzilla cartoons were paired with cartoons featuring Jana of the Jungle. The series ran, both as part of the hour and with the Godzilla segments airing as a separate half-hour show, until 1981.

In the Hanna-Barbera cartoon, Godzilla's roar was not the same as his trademark roar. Instead, it was provided by Ted Cassidy.

The second cartoon series, which aired on Fox Kids, was based on the events of the 1998 American movie. Godzilla: The Series featured a juvenile Godzilla from the 1998 American remake which had grown to full size. In a similar fashion to earlier animated works, Godzilla traveled around the world with a group of humans called H.E.A.T, including scientist Nick Tatopoulos (which the new Godzilla believed to be its parent), battling monsters. The offspring not only had the abilities and physical forms of his parent, but the creators of the show gave him even more powers and attitude more resembling the Japanese Godzilla. There were even references to the Japanese Godzilla series. Godzilla makes an appearance in the flash video clip of the song The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny by Lemon Demon for a brief period.

Literature

Main article: Godzilla (comics)

Main article: Godzilla (Marc Cerasini series)

Godzilla has been featured in the occasional comic book, most often in American production (from Marvel Comics in the mid-1970s and from Dark Horse Comics in the 1980s and 1990s. Japanese Godzilla comics do exist, however.

The Marvel series told original stories and attempted to both fit into the official Toho continuity and avoid referencing it too directly. It also integrated Godzilla into the Marvel Universe, making use of many of its main regular characters such as the Avengers. It was published from 1977 to 1979, neatly fitting between the Showa Period movies and the "VS Series" of the Heisei Era. This series described the adventures and confrontations of Godzilla while he wandered in various regions of the United States, from Alaska to New York City.

The general situations of the series were fairly similar to those of the Showa Period movies, but other than Godzilla himself all characters were new creations, albeit in sometimes strangely familiar roles - for instance, Red Ronin somewhat resembles Jet Jaguar and Mechagodzilla in its story role. Likewise, the JSDF are absent but S.H.I.E.L.D. pretty much fills its role in the story, complete with a Behemoth IV Helicarrier in an eerie foreshadowing of the Super X.

Marc Cerasini has also written five Godzilla related novels during the late 1990s.

Concept and creation

This short section requires expansion.

Name

The name "Godzilla" is a rough romanization of Gojira (ゴジラ, Gojira^?), a combination of two Japanese words: gorira (ゴリラ, lit. "gorilla"^?) and kujira (クジラ, lit. "whale"^?). At one planning stage, the concept of "Gojira" was described as "a cross between a gorilla and a whale," alluding to Godzilla's size, power and aquatic origin. A popular story is that "Gojira" was actually the nickname of a hulking stagehand at Toho Studio.^[10] The story has not been verified, however, because in the more than 50 years since the film's original release, no one claiming to be the employee has ever stepped forward, and no photographs of him have ever surfaced.

There is disagreement as to exactly how the creature's name should be pronounced. While purists often use the Japanese pronunciation [godʲʑira] listen (help·info), most favor the anglicized rendering of its name, [gɑd'zɪlə] (with the first syllable pronounced like the word "god", and the rest rhyming with "vanilla"). Back in the 1950s when Godzilla was created—and Japanese-to-English transliteration was less familiar—it is likely that the kana representing the second syllable was misinterpreted as being pronounced [dzi]. Had the more conventional Hepburn romanization system been used, Godzilla's name would instead have been rendered as "Gojira".^{[citation needed]}

Design

Godzilla's character has been tweaked and reinvented many times over the separate continuities of the Toho films. To date, there have been eight distinctive versions of the character - 12 if Hanna-Barbera's Godzilla, Marvel's Godzilla, Dark Horse's Godzilla, and Tristar's Godzilla are taken into account as well. However, these non-Japanese incarnations of Godzilla are not widely recognised as being canonical. Its iconic design is composed of a mixture of various species of dinosaurs; specifically, he is based on a Tyrannosaurus Rex, augmented with the dorsal fins of a Stegosaurus and the forelimbs of an Iguanodon.^{[citation needed]}

Characteristics

Main article: Powers and abilities of Godzilla

Godzilla's appearance has changed over the years, but many of his characteristics have remained constant. One characteristic that has remained stable is his roar. It was first created by Japanese composer Akira Ifukube by rubbing a resin glove over the strings of a contrabass. Other characteristics that have remained constant across all the Japanese films have been: Godzilla being depicted as a gigantic dinosaur with rough, bumpy charcoal grey scales, a long powerful tail, and bone colored dorsal plates shaped like maple leaves. Although his origins vary somewhat from film to film, he is always described as a prehistoric creature, who first appeared and attacked Japan at the beginning of the Atomic Age. In particular, mutation due to atomic radiation is presented as an explanation for his great size and strange powers.

Godzilla has also been shown to possess many special abilities granted to him as a result of his irradiation and subsequent mutation. He is generally considered to be the most fearsome and powerful of kaiju, earning the character his entitlement as "The King of the Monsters". Godzilla's most iconic power is his atomic breath. When he uses it, Godzilla's dorsal fins glow ominously, and then he releases a concentrated blast of radiation from his mouth, which can vary in intensity from a superheated vapour to a beam with concussive and explosive properties. This power is commonly mistaken for breathing fire. Godzilla is also depicted as being highly resistant to damage thanks to a tough hide and an advanced healing factor. He is known to have a high degree of physical strength (sufficient to throw monsters larger than himself great distances) and dexterity, often utilizing martial arts techniques in combat. Described as a transitional form between aquatic and terrestrial vertebrates by Doctor Yamane in the original film, Godzilla is able to survive in the ocean for extended periods of time and is adept a fighter underwater as he is on land.

These particular abilities are portrayed consistently among Godzilla's many incarnations, though he also possesses a multitude of other skills, often employed as weapons of last resort that are only seen on rare occasions, such as his nuclear Pulse, magnetic powers, and even the ability to fly.

In popular culture

Main article: Godzilla in popular culture

Godzilla is one of the most recognizable action/fictional symbols of Japanese popular culture worldwide and remains an important facet of Japanese films, embodying the kaiju subset of the tokusatsu genre. He has been considered a filmographic metaphor for the United States. The earlier Godzilla films, especially the original Godzilla, attempted to portray Godzilla as a frightening, nuclear monster. Godzilla was a representation of the fears that many Japanese held about the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well as the fear of those types of attacks occurring again.^[11] As the series progressed, so did Godzilla, changing into a less destructive and more heroic character as the films became increasingly geared towards children. But today, the character has fallen somewhere in the middle, sometimes portrayed as a protector of the Earth (notably Tokyo) from external threats and other times as a bringer of destruction. The usual explanation of Godzilla's character is that the reason he defends Earth from other kaiju is not because of any loyalty or affection towards humans, but because he perceives other monsters as threats to his territory, and in addition seems to possess a natural hostility toward those other monsters. Godzilla is portrayed as a villain, a hero and an anti-hero.

See also

• Zilla
• Mechagodzilla
• Gamera
• Gojirasaurus
• Godzilla video games
• Reptilian
• Cloverfield (creature)

References

External links

• Official Website of Toho
• Godzilla Official Website (Japan)
• Godzilla at the Internet Movie Database
• Sony's Godzilla Website
• Godzilla on DVD
• Godzilla at the Wikizilla
• Kaiju HQ
• The Godzilla Shrine

ca:Godzilla

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