Gotengo

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Gotengo
The New Gotengo in Godzilla: Final Wars
Alternate names Undersea WarshipATG, AtoragonATG, AtragonATG, GohtenWiS, RaSA, GyotengoGI, Gotengo (Old)G:FW, New GotengoG:FW, Gotengo (New)G:FW
Subtitle(s) Undersea Warship
(海底軍艦,   Kaitei Gunkan)ATG, G:FW[1][2]
Space Defense Ship
(宇宙防衛艦,   Uchū Bōei-kan)WiS[1]
United Nations Space Defense Ship
(国連宇宙防衛艦,   Kokuren Uchū Bōei-kan)WiS[3]
New Undersea Warship
(新海底軍艦,   Shin Kaitei Gunkan)SA
Interception Battleship
(迎撃戦艦,   Geigeki Senkan)SSFSX[1]
All-Purpose Battleship
(万能戦艦,   Bannō Senkan)G:GMB
Height 38 metersATG, G:FW[2]
45 meters (New)G:FW[2]
Length 150 meters[2]
Weight 10,000 metric tons[2]
Width 25 meters (New)G:FW[2]
Targets Manda, Godzilla, Xilien Mothership,
Xilien UFOs α, ß and γ, Xilien Fighter
Piloted by Hachiro JingujiATG, G:MA,
Douglas GordonG:FW,
General GyozenG:UN,
Tsubasa JingujiSSFSX
Attaches to Dogfighter

The Gotengo (轟天号,   Gōtengō) is a flying multipurpose warship that first appeared in the 1963 film Atragon, and later appeared in two other films, Godzilla: Final Wars and Super Fleet Sazer-X the Movie. A space-faring version of the ship called the Gohten also appeared in the film The War in Space.

Name

The Gotengo's name roughly translates to "Roaring Heavens" in English, with the "" in its name serving to designate it as a ship. In the film Atragon, the Gotengo is referred to as the Undersea Warship (海底軍艦,   Kaitei Gunkan) by several characters, with "Gotengo" being the name given to the ship by its captain, Hachiro Jinguji. In the film The War in Space, the "" is removed from the ship's name, and it is instead referred to as the Gohten (轟天,   Gōten). In the film Super Fleet Sazer-X the Movie, the ship is referred to as Gotengo during dialogue, but is introduced by on-screen text with the "" omitted. The "" is also omitted from the ship's name in the novel GODZILLA: Monster Apocalypse. In the two-part OVA Super Atragon and television series Godzilla Island, the Gotengo is renamed Ra (,   Ragō) and Gyotengo (仰天号,   Gyōtengō),[4] respectively.

In Godzilla: Final Wars, the upgraded Gotengo is designated either New Gotengo (新轟天号,   Shin Gōtengō)[5][6] or Gotengo (New) (轟天号(新),   Gōtengō Shin)[1] by official sources, with the original inversely referred to as simply Gotengo or Gotengo (Old) (轟天号(旧),   Gōtengō Kyū).[1]

The Gotengo has typically been referred to as the Atoragon or Atragon in English-speaking markets. These names are seemingly contractions of the Japanese pronunciation of the phrase "Atlantis Dragon" (アトランティスドラゴン,   Atorantisu Doragon), and come from Toho's international English title and the U.S. title for the Gotengo's debut film. Most English-language media used these names to refer to the Gotengo, but recent media, such as the English dub and subtitles for Godzilla: Final Wars and the PlayStation 3 and 4 Godzilla video game, have instead called it by its original Japanese name. The English subtitles for Tokyo Shock's 2006 DVD release of Atragon opt to translate "Kaitei Gunkan" as "Atragon," while preserving "Gotengo" whenever that name is used for the ship.

History

Showa era

Atragon

The Gotengo in Atragon

The Gotengo was an advanced warship constructed by the Japanese Imperial Navy officer Hachiro Jinguji to defend the nation against the West in future wars. Even after Japan surrendered to the United States in 1945, Jinguji and a group of loyal men traveled to a remote island to continue building the craft in secret. By 1963, the Gotengo was complete, and the Muans determined that it would be the greatest obstacle in their invasion of the surface world. The Muans demanded that construction of the Gotengo cease, or else they would be forced to level all major cities of the world. A group of Japanese citizens traveled to Jinguji's island and witnessed the ship's test maneuvers. Jinguji's estranged daughter asked him to cease construction of the ship and let go of his lasting bitterness from the war, but he stubbornly refused. When his daughter was kidnapped by the Muans, Jinguji flew the Gotengo into combat against the Muans. The Gotengo faced the Muans' guardian monster, the giant sea serpent Manda, and defeated him by freezing the creature with its Absolute Zero Cannon. The ship rescued Jinguji's daughter and the Muans' other captives, and also managed to capture the Mu Empress. When the Empress refused to surrender, the Gotengo used its drill to bore into the heart of Mu, which contained the artificial sun used to sustain the civilization. A group of soldiers exited the ship and used their handheld freezing guns to halt the Muans' forces. They placed explosives on the generators powering the artificial sun, then escaped inside the Gotengo. When the ship reached the surface, the charges were detonated, triggering the entire continent to explode. The Gotengo had successfully saved the entire world from the wrath of the Mu Empire, and Jinguji had found a use for his creation beyond fighting a war that ended years ago.

The War in Space

Main article: Gohten.

A new version of the Gotengo, simply called the Gohten, appears in the 1977 Toho film The War in Space, where it is part of the UNSF space fleet and battles the Daimakan.

Heisei era

Super Atragon

The Gotengo, this time called the Ra, appears in the 1995 OVA Super Atragon, a loose animated remake of Atragon.

Godzilla Island

The Gyotengo in Godzilla Island

The Gotengo made its appearance in the final two stories of the Godzilla Island, under the name "Gyotengo".


Millennium era

Godzilla: Final Wars

The original Gotengo in Godzilla: Final Wars

In this film made to commemorate Godzilla's 50th anniversary, the Gotengo appears in both its classic form and a new, more futuristic design.

At some point in the 20th century, Godzilla had traveled to Antarctica after wiping out cities in Japan and other countries along the East Asian coastline. The Gotengo pursued him and engaged him in battle on an ice sheet along with a battalion of Maser Cannons. Godzilla fought viciously but fell into a crevasse after the Gotengo blasted the ice sheet with its own cannons.

New Gotengo

Many years later, the Gotengo was heavily refurbished by the Earth Defense Force and was dubbed the New Gotengo (新轟天号,   Shin Gōtengō). The ship was now commanded by Douglas Gordon, who had fired the missiles onboard the Gotengo that successfully trapped Godzilla years ago. It was now also accompanied by three sister ships, the Eclair, the Karyu and the Rumbling. Captain Gordon commanded the Gotengo in a mission against Manda in the English Channel. Although Manda was successfully killed, the Gotengo was badly damaged and Gordon was court-martialed. After the Xiliens unleashed their monsters and revealed their plans, the sister ships were deployed to battle them, but they were overwhelmed and destroyed by Kamacuras, Anguirus, Rodan and hordes of Xilien Fighters. Gordon then joined with the EDF's remaining members and piloted the Gotengo to Antarctica, where he and his crew used the upgraded ship's weapons to break Godzilla out of Area G. Gigan was then released by the Controller of Planet X to destroy the Gotengo, but Godzilla awakened and defeated Gigan. However, Godzilla believed his earlier battle with the Gotengo was still going on and began to follow the Gotengo with the intention of destroying it. The Gotengo used this to its advantage, luring Godzilla across the planet and having him defeat the Xilien-controlled monsters. After many long and hard battles, and the defeat of Rodan, Anguirus, and King Caesar, the Gotengo assaulted the Xilien Mothership in the skies above Tokyo, destroying the aerial fleets of Xilien Fighters and the Xilien UFOs α, ß and γ. One crewmember, Kazama, deployed in a Dogfighter to disable the Mothership's forcefield allowing the Gotengo to then drill into the Mothership. However, the Gotengo was boarded and the crew was taken to the Controller. However, Gordon and the others escaped, rescuing the Xiliens' prisoners and returning to the Gotengo while Shinichi Ozaki battled the Controller. After the Controller was defeated, he caused the Mothership to self-destruct. Ozaki returned to the Gotengo in time and the ship escaped before the Mothership exploded.

The Gotengo then flew to the ruins of Tokyo below, where Godzilla was locked in battle with Monster X's new and more powerful form, Keizer Ghidorah. When Godzilla's energy was being drained by Keizer Ghidorah, Ozaki used the Gotengo's Maser Cannon to transfer his Keizer energy into Godzilla, allowing him to turn the tide of battle and destroy Keizer Ghidorah. However, even after defeating his enemy, Godzilla was still enraged at the humans despite them helping him in the final battle. Godzilla blasted the Gotengo with his atomic breath, causing it to lose altitude and skid along the ground to a halt. The Gotengo's occupants exited the ship and confronted Godzilla, who was intent on annihilating them. However, Minilla arrived and convinced Godzilla to relent. The two monsters then returned to the sea in peace, leaving Gordon and the Gotengo crew alive and victorious.

Super Fleet Sazer-X the Movie

In Super Fleet Sazer-X the Movie, the Gotengo returns to assist the heroes in its Atragon appearance. In the film, it is described as being 'under development', but was launched with all of its systems operational. The Gotengo burrows through the ground and retains all of its abilities, and uses its drill nose to destroy Ken Riser's Bosquito impostor. Although the Gotengo gets repeatedly shot at by the Bosquito and the enemy robots, it takes part in the final battle against Mammoth Bosquito, ultimately landing the killing blow with the Absolute Zero Cannon. In this film, the Gotengo is accompanied by Akira Ifukube's theme whenever it appears.


Filmography

Weapons

  • Flight at Mach 2.
  • Equipped with the Zero Cannon that freezes to absolute zero.
  • Bow drill that allows ship to burrow. The bow drill can also be used as an effective weapon, and is easily capable of cutting through organic matter.
  • Equipped with a deck cannon.
  • Can launch five missiles from either side of the ship.
  • Equipped with four Electronic Particle cannons.
  • Can move at 80 knots on the water's surface.
  • Has two giant rotating blades above and below the ship.
  • Can discharge electricity that will shock anything that touches the ship.
  • Can submerge to very deep waters and move at 80 knots.
  • Equipped with a Crystal Cannon, which is a highly powerful laser fueled by Power Surge Crystals (Godzilla: Unleashed only).

Video games

Godzilla: Monster of Monsters!

In Godzilla: Monster of Monsters! for the NES, one of the hyperspace areas that can be encountered is a battle against a giant version of the Gohten. Smaller versions of the Gotengo can also be encountered as stage enemies. They fly at the top of the screen, but attack slowly by dropping bombs onto the player, like the Moonlight SY-3. They are near-impossible to defeat, because they are usually positioned out of the player's reach.

Godzilla: Great Monster Battle

The Gotengo appears as an optional final boss in Godzilla: Great Monster Battle. It will battle the player's monster in an open ocean stage.

Godzilla: Unleashed

The Gotengo is featured in Godzilla: Unleashed, under the name Atoragon. The Gotengo was first shown in a pre-release trailer for the game, battling Godzilla. It was later shown to be a boss in the finished game. In this game, the Gotengo was piloted by General Gyozen. The Gotengo appears three times in the game. Its first appearance is in London as an obstacle, then in New York as a boss. In the latter, the player must get the Gotengo down to half health. The battleship appears one last time in Osaka near the end of the game. After the fight, Gyozen is killed. The Gotengo fights by shooting missiles and freezing missiles, using the drill nose, and shooting the new crystal cannon. In the PS2 version, the Gotengo does not use its drill nose or crystal cannon, but still uses the missiles and freezing missiles.

Godzilla (PlayStation 3 / PlayStation 4)

The Gotengo in Godzilla

The Gotengo appears in Godzilla for the PlayStation 3 and 4 as a G-Force vehicle that can be summoned against Godzilla or the player's monster in the Invade variant of God of Destruction Mode. It is modeled after the New Gotengo from Godzilla: Final Wars. It appears on stage 8 as an automatic boss. It attacks by ramming monsters with its drill, then flying away and firing its Maser Cannons or Absolute Zero Cannon. It is seen in the final cutscene as part of the force that freezes Burning Godzilla so he can be transported back to the ocean.

In the PlayStation 4 version, the Gotengo retains all the traits as it does in the PS3 version, but it will also appear with Kiryu if the player takes the hard route in Invade mode.

Books

GODZILLA: Monster Apocalypse

The Gotengo was used to fight against the kaiju Manda in an effort to reclaim the Atlantic Ocean in 2039, codenamed "Operation: Eternal Light." The Gotengo engaged and killed Manda in the Strait of Dover.[7]

Comics

Godzilla: Rulers of Earth

The Gotengo makes a small cameo in Godzilla: Rulers of Earth issue #1 as a model on Chavez's desk. A version of the Gotengo that resembles the Ra from Super Atragon also appears in one frame in the final issue alongside various other military weapons like the Super X and Maser Cannons.

Gallery

Concept art

Atragon

Godzilla: Final Wars

Production

Atragon

Godzilla: Final Wars

Screenshots

Atragon

Godzilla Island

Godzilla: Final Wars

Video games

Merchandise

Toys

Trivia

  • Early concept art for the Super X3 from Godzilla vs. Destoroyah depicts it as a new incarnation of the Gotengo.
  • The freezing weapon mounted in Kiryu's chest in Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla is called the Absolute Zero Cannon, likely a reference to the Gotengo's Zero Cannon. However, both versions of the Gotengo can fire their weapons underwater without issue.

References

This is a list of references for Gotengo. 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]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Toho Special Effects All Monster Encyclopedia. Shogakukan. 23 July 2014. pp. 32, 75, 119, 198. ISBN 4-096-82090-3.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Godzilla: Final Wars Super Complete Works. Shogakukan. 2004. pp. 34–37. ISBN 4091014984.
  3. Godzilla Toho Giant Monster Pictorial Book. Shogakukan. 1 April 2005. p. 185. ISBN 4-09-280052-5.
  4. Godzilla 1954-1999 Super Complete Works. Shogakukan. 1 January 2000. p. 182. ISBN 978-4091014702.
  5. Toho Special Effects Movie Complete Works. villagebooks. 28 September 2012. p. 286. ISBN 4-864-91013-8.
  6. Shin Godzilla Walker: The New Legend of the King of the Monsters. Kadokawa. 22 July 2016. p. 93. ISBN 9784048956321.
  7. Renji Ōki (October 25, 2017). GODZILLA: Monster Apocalypse. Kadokawa. pp. 186–212.

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