ToraGoji

Zilla Designs
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ShodaiJira Type CGI/Suit Nicknames AmeriGoji, 98Goji, ToraGoji, EmeGoji, TriStarGoji Used in GODZILLA (1998)

Disclaimer: "ShodaiJira" is not an official name for this design, and is used in place of other common unofficial nicknames like "AmeriGoji" in order to differentiate it from the Legendary Godzilla design.

The ShodaiJira (初代ジラ) is the Godzilla/Zilla design used in the 1998 film, GODZILLA.

Name

The ShodaiJira's name comes from shodai (初代), meaning first generation, and Jira, which comes from Zilla's Japanese name, Jira (ジラ).

Detail

Originally intended to be a redesign for Godzilla, the ShodaiJira is a very drastic redesign, to the point of looking almost nothing like his Japanese counterpart. The CGI model's appearance and stance seem to be based off of Tyrannosaurus Rex.

The color of the design's skin is a very dark blue on the top of his body, to the point of looking black during some scenes, a silvery light-blue color on the sides of the body, and tan on the underside, as if to blend in with urban environment.

The ShodaiJira design has a notably big underbite with a huge chin, and teeth which stick out of the mouth, much like crocodiles'. In contrast to Godzilla's maple leaf shaped Template:Scutes, the ShodaiJira has curved, spike-like scutes, curving towards the front, described as looking somewhat like reversed shark fins.

The design has powerful, long legs and arms, which enable for very swift movement; something it was specifically designed to have.

Use in Other Media

Video Games

• Godzilla Generations
• Godzilla: Trading Battle

Comics

• Godzilla: Rulers of Earth

Gallery

Production

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  Animatronic

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  Suit

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  Suit

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  Godzilla suit used in four shots of the film

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  Actor Kurt Carley donning the suit

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  Animatronic

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  Suit

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  Suit

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Screenshots

GODZILLA

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• Zilla In Manhattan.jpg
• Zilla 1998 - Zilla Breathes Fire - I Will See if You Even Dare To Steal This, Swe.png

  Godzilla's Power Breath

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• Zilla 1998 - Swe Keeps Failing At Life.jpg
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• Zilla 1998 - And This Thing Is Supposed To Be Realistic. Yeah Right.jpg
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Post-Production

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  The Godzilla animatronic goes unused for GODZILLA 2

Merchandise

Covers

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  Cover for the soundtrack of GODZILLA

Toys

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  Godzilla: High Grade Set 4 Godzilla '98

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  A Godzilla 1998 figure by Trendmasters

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  Lava Shatter Tail Godzilla by Trendmasters

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  Remote Control Godzilla figure by Trendmasters

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  X-plus Godzilla 1998

Promotional

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  Godzilla 1998 Cup Holder

Magazines

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  Page 2 from the movie guide of the 1998 film

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  Page 3 from the movie guide of the 1998 film

Trivia

• This Godzilla redesign was made based only on Roland Emmerich's instructions that the monster had to be quick and agile.
• Although Toho had little to do with the making of this design, they still knew what it looked like and nevertheless approved it. Toho's chairman at the time, Isao Matsuoka, even said he felt it kept the essence of Godzilla, though many of Toho's executives and employees would later express their displeasure with the design.
• The animatronic Godzilla was designed by veteran Disney Imagineer Bob Gurr, who also created the giant animatronic King Kong for the Universal Studios Hollywood tour.

References

This is a list of references for ToraGoji. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: ^[1]