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Godzilla (Heisei)

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Godzilla character
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Fictional character
Godzilla (Heisei era)
Godzilla film series character
Heisei Godzilla in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991)

Godzillasaurus at Lagos Island in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah
First appearanceThe Return of Godzilla (1984)
Last appearanceGodzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)
Portrayed byKenpachiro Satsuma (through Suitmation)
In-universe information
SpeciesMutated dinosaur
GenderMale
ChildrenGodzilla Junior
OriginLagos Island
StatusDeceased
Height
  • Godzillasaurus: 12 m (470 in; 1,200 cm; 12,000 mm)
  • Godzilla: 80–100 m (3,100–3,900 in; 8,000–10,000 cm; 80,000–100,000 mm) (1984-1995)

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.

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

Name

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). For Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, the Baby Godzilla's species is named "Godzillasaurus", a combination of "Godzilla" and the suffix -saurus, derived from the Greek term "saûros", meaning "lizard" in English.

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).

Appearances

Films

Books

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

Video games

Public displays

In 1995, a statue of the Heisei Godzilla was built and displayed at the Hibiya Godzilla Square, but in 2016, it 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.

In 1999, a 8.75-metre (28.7-foot; 875-centimetre; 344-inch) tall Heisei Godzilla slide was built at Kurihama Flower World, though it has the outward appearance of a statue. This statue was constructed for children under the age of 12.

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. 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.

References

  1. ^ "Godzilla [Heisei Series]". www.tohokingdom.com. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  2. Godzilla vs. Biollante Great Encyclopedia. Rippu Shobo. December 25, 1989. pp. 73–74. ISBN 9784651016016.
  3. Nishikawa, Shinji (2016-09-06). Shinji Nishikawa: Drawing Book of Godzilla. Yosensha. p. 26. ISBN 978-4800309594.
  4. Heisei Godzilla Chronicle. Kinema Junpo. 14 July 2014. p. 194. ISBN 978-4-87376-319-4.
  5. Definitive Edition: The Perfect Godzilla Giant Monster Super Encyclopedia. Kodansha. 2016. ISBN 978-4063048476.
  6. Picturebook of Godzilla & All Monsters. Kodansha. 2021. ISBN 978-4065234914.
  7. Godzilla and Toho Tokusatsu: Official Mook Vol.0. Kodansha. 2022. ISBN 978-4065302231.
  8. Godzilla and Toho Tokusatsu: Official Mook Vol.15. Kodansha. 2023. ISBN 978-4065314968.
  9. Valdez, Nick (2018-03-02). "Japan Getting Special 'Shin Godzilla' Statue". ComicBook.com. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
  10. "THE GODZILLA SLIDE PARK". The Tokyo Chapter. 2024-08-01. Retrieved 2025-01-18.
  11. "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.
  12. "CoolProps Is Releasing a Suit-Sized "Heisei" Godzilla Bust". Hypebeast. 2022-02-17. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
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