Godzilla-kun
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Godzilla-kun (ゴジラくん Gojirakun) is a juvenile Godzilla who appears in the 2019 web series, Godziban and is the titular character of its Go! Go! Godzilla-kun segment.
Name
Godzilla-kun's name is simply derived from that of Godzilla, but suffixed with the Japanese honorific kun (くん), which is typically used to address males or those of junior status, in order to distinguish him as his own character. In the English subtitled episodes of Go! Go! Godzilla-kun, his name lacks the separating hyphen, becoming "Godzillakun." In the YouTube closed captions for the English dubbed version of "Smack It! Three Godzilla Brothers," Go! Go! Godzilla-kun is translated as Go! Go! Mr.Godzilla, though Godzilla-kun is still referred to as Godzillakun in onscreen text.
Development
Godzilla-kun's puppet was modeled by Hideyuki Kobayashi and his company, Studio Koganemushi. Smaller puppets are also used for long shots.
Design
Godzilla-kun resembles a much smaller Godzilla and takes many of its cues from the suits of the Showa era. His skin is mostly a dark gray save for brown patches on his chest, and he has beige eyebrows resembling that of the MosuGoji. His claws and the edges of his dorsal plates are a dirtied white color while his eyes are yellow, and he has a long tail.
In the special "Film the Dream!," Godzilla-kun dresses up in sunglasses and a white hat, resembling the late Eiji Tsuburaya.
History
Godziban
"We Are the Three Godzilla Brothers!"
Brothers Godzilla-kun, Minilla, and Little introduced themselves. In order to become proper monsters, Godzilla-kun aimed to teach the pair various necessary skills, beginning with their roars. Godzilla-kun first demonstrated a roar, and Little soon followed with his own, lesser cry. But, when they turned to Minilla, the small monster let out but a pitiful attempt, causing Godzilla-kun and Little to fall to the ground in embarrassment. He tried again, but to much the same effect. Suddenly, he began to grunt and sway as if to prepare for a third attempt as his brothers looked on with excitement, only to let out a small sneeze. This happened a second time, but he instead let out a fart, causing Godzilla-kun and Little to faint. Soon after, the trio approached some mounds of rocks sitting by a small mountain range. Godzilla-kun began by firing a blast of his atomic breath at the center stack, causing it to explode and crumble. As before, Little was the next to try, sending a small blast at another of the mounds and knocking a single stone off from the top. Minilla, however, could only muster some rings of smoke. As he prepared for his last attempt, Godzilla-kun stomped on Minilla's tail, causing him to blast wildly at the remaining rocks, destroying all of them. They then looked into the sky, and noticed clouds floating past in the shapes of a banana, grapes, pineapple, strawberry, and melon. Their stomachs grumbling, the group took a break from their training and devoured a feast of fruit. As the sun began to set, the brothers climbed atop a mountain and fired their beams into the air, creating fireworks in the night sky. As they marveled at the display, the monsters turned to the camera and again proclaimed themselves the Three Godzilla Brothers.
"Smack It! Three Godzilla Brothers"
Godzilla-kun roared at the camera and exclaimed that he felt great. He called over his brothers, Minilla and Little, and told them that they must train to become strong and cool Godzillas. He explained that part of a Godzilla's charm is his strong tail, and Minilla and Little shake their tails. Little asked what they'll be using their tails for, and Godzilla-kun demonstrated by throwing a rock into the air and striking it with his tail, sending it flying through the sky. Amazed by the display, Little was the first to try. Godzilla-kun threw the rock up and Little smacked it with his tail, causing it to fly a short distance before rolling into a hole in the ground. Godzilla-kun declared it a hole-in-one and Little danced in celebration. Minilla tried next, but swung his tail too early, causing the rock to hit him on the head. Groaning that it was a disaster, Godzilla-kun threw the rock for him again, to much the same effect. Godzilla-kun said that he would teach him step by step, instructing him to bend over at the waist and steadily swing his tail. With Minilla shaking his tail back and forth, Godzilla-kun threws the rock to him, but it was sent flying back into his face. He congratulated the monster before falling to the ground unconscious. A short time later, Godzilla-kun tested the brothers' skills by having them strike three rocks in rapid succession. As with before, Little went first, successfully hitting all three and achieving three holes-in-one. Minilla commented that it looked difficult to pull off, but that he would try his best. He began to shake his tail and successfully hit the stones into the air, causing them to seemingly disappear. As Godzilla-kun wondered where they went, they fell back down from the sky and landed on his head, and he again collapsed. Suddenly, a Mothra larva approached the group and Little explained that she wants to hit the stones too. After asking her if she was sure, Godzilla-kun threw a rock and she struck it with her elongated body, sending it soaring through the air. She said that she wants to hit more, and Godzilla-kun rapidly served her stones. Mothra managed to hit each one, causing them to land in front of them in the shape of another larva. As Mothra approached her creation, the brothers exclaimed that it is a perfect Mothra statue and that she is a true artist. Godzilla-kun added that she is amazing.
"The Secret Training Dojo"
To be added.
"Secret! Dropkick"
At the secret training mountain, Godzilla-kun sought to teach Minilla and Little yet another skill, this time the "Godzilla Kick." He gave the pair a demonstration of the technique, repeatedly sliding along his tail and kicking a boulder down a curved rock formation, to the amazement of his brothers. Little was the first to attempt the move, successfully performing the slide but bouncing off of the boulder upon impact. Minilla then tried, but oriented himself too far in midair and crashed into the boulder headfirst. He tried again, this time performing a proper slide, but crashed into the boulder and landed on top of it. The boulder then began to wobble, and suddenly tipped all the way over, sending Minilla rolling up and down the half-pipe. When the boulder again reached its apex, Little attempted to grab hold of it but was sent rolling along with it. Godzilla-kun tried next, to much the same result. Mothra then appeared atop the mountain and jumped down to begin rolling along with them. A puzzled Anguirus looked on from afar.
"Run Past! Three Brothers"
To be added.
"Godziban Tales: The Tortoise and the Hare"
The Godzilla Brothers attempted to retell the famous Aesop fable. The "hare", represented by Godzilla-kun with rabbit ears, engaged Minilla and Little, dressed as tortoises, in a race to the top of a hill. Godzilla-kun easily sped past the slow-moving tortoises and eventually, confident of winning, decided to take a nap midway through the race. Sometime later, with the sun setting, he awakened in a fit, believing that his competitors had passed him. However, he turned to see that Minilla and Little had still only barely caught up to him. Annoyed at their slowness, Godzilla-kun shouted at the pair before passing back out on the ground. The tortoises began spinning and lifted off into the air.
Filmography
- Godziban (TV 2019-2020) [episodes 1, 3, 5-8, 12-14, 17-21, special]
Stage shows
- Gekigoji (2004)
- Godziban Godzilla Fest performances (2019)
Gallery
- Main article: Godzilla-kun/Gallery.
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