King Caesar: Difference between revisions

From Wikizilla, the kaiju encyclopedia
Jump to navigationJump to search
m (Text replacement - "==In Other Languages==" to "==In other languages==")
m (removed Category:Mammal Kaiju using HotCat)
Line 183: Line 183:
[[Category:Showa Kaiju]]
[[Category:Showa Kaiju]]
[[Category:Canine Kaiju]]
[[Category:Canine Kaiju]]
[[Category:Mammal Kaiju]]
[[Category:Godzilla Film Kaiju]]
[[Category:Godzilla Film Kaiju]]
[[Category:Showa Godzilla Kaiju]]
[[Category:Showa Godzilla Kaiju]]
[[Category:Millennium Godzilla Kaiju]]
[[Category:Millennium Godzilla Kaiju]]

Revision as of 01:09, 29 May 2020

Template:Ktab

King Caesar™ trademark icon
King Caesar
King Caesar in Godzilla: Final Wars
King Caesar in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla
Alternate names King Seeser,[1][2] King Seesaw,[3][4]
King Shisa, Seasar[5]
Subtitle(s) Legendary Monster
(伝説怪獣,   Densetsu Kaijū)[6]
The Guardian of Okinawa[2]
(沖縄の守り神,   Okinawa no Mamorigami,
lit. Guardian Deity of Okinawa)
[7]
Ancient Guardian
(古代の守護神,   Kodai no Shugoshin)MTG
Awoken TitanMTG
Species Ancient shisa
Height Showa: 50 meters[6][8]
Millennium: 100 meters[6]
Weight Showa: 30,000 metric tons[6][8]
Millennium: 50,000 metric tons[6]
Controlled by XiliensGFW
Allies Godzilla, Rodan, Anguirus, KamoebasGRoE, KamacurasGRoE, GorosaurusGRoE, TitanosaurusGRoE, ZillaGRoE, Jet JaguarGRoE, SandaGRoE, GairaGRoE, KumongaGRoE, VaranGRoE, BaragonGRoE
Enemies Mechagodzilla, GodzillaGFW, MegalonGRoE, G:PM, BattraGRoE, TrilopodGRoE, MagitaGRoE
Designed by ShowaAkihiko Iguchi
MillenniumShinji Nishikawa
Modeled by ShowaNobuyuki Yasumaru,
Tomoki Kobayashi
MillenniumShinichi Wakasa
Played by ShowaKinichi Kusumi
MillenniumMotokuni Nakagawa
First appearance Latest appearance
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla Godzilla: Final Wars
Roar(s)
ShowaMillenniumMore roars
Saeko Kaneshiro: “Of course! It's the guardian of the Azumi family, King Caesar.
Keisuke Shimizu: “King Caesar?
Saeko Kaneshiro: “It's the one treasure of the Azumi royal family. It is handed down by tradition. Anyway, a legend states that the people of the mainland tried to conquer the Okinawan people. A brown monster came forth and began rescuing the royal family and their subjects. The monster's name was King Caesar.
Saeko Kaneshiro identifies a statue of King Caesar found in a hidden cave (Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla)

King Caesar (キングシーサー,   Kingu Shīsā) is an ancient shisa kaiju who first appeared in the 1974 Toho Godzilla film, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla.

The ancient guardian of the royal Azumi family of Okinawa, King Caesar could only be awakened by a mystical statue. The Black Hole Planet 3 Aliens attempted to recover this statue so that King Caesar could not stand in the way of Mechagodzilla, but their attempts failed when Saeko Kaneshiro and a group of humans used the statue to awaken the guardian monster. King Caesar attempted to battle Mechagodzilla, but was outmatched by the mechanical monster. Thankfully, Godzilla arrived and aided King Caesar in the battle. Together, the two Earth monsters successfully destroyed Mechagodzilla, after which King Caesar returned to his slumber in a cliffside. King Caesar's second film appearance came 30 years later in Godzilla: Final Wars, where he was one of the Xiliens' many mind controlled monsters. King Caesar attacked Okinawa at first, then was deployed alongside Rodan and Anguirus to battle Godzilla at Mount Fuji. Godzilla triumphed, and left his enemies stacked unconscious in a pile. King Caesar also appeared in GODZILLA: Project Mechagodzilla, the second official prequel novel to the GODZILLA anime trilogy, in which he appeared from Cape Manzamo in Okinawa to defend the island from Megalon, ultimately defeating his foe in battle.

Name

King Caesar's Japanese name, "Kingu Shīsā," was created by combining the words "king" and "shīsā," and refers to a creature prevalent in Okinawan mythology.

Toho's original romanization of the name was King Seeser, as seen in Toho's English trailer and official synopsis for Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla.[1][2] Upon the film's release in the United States, several contemporary reviews and publications referred to the character under the erroneous mondegreen King Seesaw.[3][4] Toho eventually settled on "King Caesar" as the kaiju's official English name.

The King Caesar featured in Godzilla: Final Wars is known as King Caesar (2nd Generation) (キングシーサー(2代目),   Kingu Shīsā Nidaime).[9]

Development

King Caesar concept art by Akihiko Iguchi

The basis for King Caesar was King Balgan, also known as King Vulcan, a monster featured in an early draft for Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla titled Showdown in Zanpamisaki: Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla. King Balgan was described in this draft as having a body which glows a bronze color, golden scales, and dog-like ears which can pin back or perk up. In this story, he was to fight alongside Godzilla and Anguirus against Mechagodzilla and Gigan.[10] As the draft underwent further revision, King Balgan was reworked into King Caesar while Anguirus' role was greatly reduced and Gigan was excised from the film entirely.

King Caesar was designed by Akihiko Iguchi and modeled by Nobuyuki Yasumaru and Tomoki Kobayashi. He was portrayed by Kinichi Kusumi, who also played Anguirus in the film. The suit's eyes were created using car tailights. A miniature doll of King Caesar in a sitting position was created, but left unused in the film.[11]

King Caesar concept art by Shinji Nishikawa

King Caesar was among many monsters not seen since the Showa series brought back in 2004 for Godzilla's 50th anniversary film, Godzilla: Final Wars. He was redesigned by Shinji Nishikawa and modeled by Shinichi Wakasa and his company MONSTERS. The new King Caesar suit was created to allow easy and agile movement by suit actor Motokuni Nakagawa, a veteran Super Sentai actor who also portrayed Monster X and half of Keizer Ghidorah in the film.


Design

King Caesar's appearance was inspired by the shīsā, a mythological beast resembling a combination of a dog and a lion. In Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, King Caesar had red, gemstone-like eyes and his skin appeared to be composed of rocks or bricks. In his appearance in Godzilla: Final Wars, King Caesar's design was altered; while he still closely resembled his initial design, his skin became more detailed, with a very pronounced red brick-like texture. He also had much longer ears, and had human-like eyes with orange irises.

Origins

In Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, King Caesar is the legendary guardian monster of the Azumi royal family of Okinawa. Long ago, he appeared and helped the Okinawans to drive off invaders from the mainland. King Caesar's skin appears to be composed of bricks, and anatomy pictures show rocks, metal and batteries on the inside of his body, suggesting he is some sort of mystical construct rather than an organic creature.[12]

In Godzilla: Final Wars, King Caesar's origins are unexplained, and he simply appears in Okinawa under the control of the Xiliens.

History

Showa series

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla

King Caesar, the ancient guardian of the Azumi family, was sleeping in a mountain, waiting to be awoken. The Black Hole Planet 3 Aliens heard of this monster, and after failing to recover the statue required to awaken him, sent their own creation to destroy him. As Mechagodzilla raced to destroy King Caesar, the ancient song required to awaken King Caesar was sung by Nami, the last remaining member of the Azumi royal family. King Caesar erupted from the mountainside and took on Mechagodzilla. King Caesar fought the best he could, but he was overwhelmed by Mechagodzilla's power. Godzilla arrived to battle his mechanical doppelganger, and joined forces with King Caesar. Both monsters were nearly defeated as Mechagodzilla unleashed his full payload of weaponry against them, but Godzilla managed to reach Mechagodzilla and force him to retreat. Godzilla was able to draw Mechagodzilla back to him using special magnetic powers he had gained, then held him still, allowing King Caesar to attack him. Finally, Godzilla twisted off Mechagodzilla's head, destroying him. Mechagodzilla soon exploded along with the aliens' base, sending Godzilla falling into the ocean below. Godzilla surfaced shortly afterward, then swam away as King Caesar returned to his rest inside a cliff.

Godzilla Island

King Caesar in Godzilla Island


Millennium series

Godzilla: Final Wars

King Caesar in Godzilla: Final Wars

In 20XX, King Caesar was seen attacking Okinawa, until he was teleported away by the Xiliens. Once the trust between the aliens and humans was broken, King Caesar was released once again. Alongside Rodan and Anguirus, King Caesar was one of the final monsters controlled by the Xiliens to confront Godzilla as he neared Tokyo. Transported to the Japanese countryside with his allies by the Xilien UFOs α, ß and γ, King Caesar proved to be an agile and intelligent opponent, coordinating his attacks with Rodan and Anguirus to try and defeat Godzilla. He was eventually thrown by Godzilla into his two allies, leaving them all unconscious and stacked on top of each other.

Abilities

Physical Strength

King Caesar possesses formidable strength and speed.

In Godzilla: Final Wars, this enables him to use various martial arts techniques. His agility was heavily emphasized, as he jumped high in the air to kick Anguirus. His tackle is known as Tackle Break (タックルブレイク Takkuru Bureiku) and his scissor kick is known as Flying Caesar Attack (フライング・シーサーアタック Furaingu Shīsā Atakku).

Prism Eye

King Caesar's most notable ability is his ability to capture the energy beams of enemy monsters into one eye, and fire it back at the target through the other. This is known as his Prism Eye (プリズム式眼球 Purizumu-Shiki Gankyū, lit. Prismatic Eyeball). He used this twice with great effectiveness against Mechagodzilla before the cyborg wisely changed tactics and used his missiles instead.

In Godzilla: Unleashed, King Caesar can fire thin yellow lasers from his eyes under his own power.

Lightning Beam

King Caesar firing his beam in Godzilla Island

In episode 63 of Godzilla Island, King Caesar fires a white lightning beam from his mouth while battling Mecha-King Ghidorah. Used in tandem with Godzilla's atomic ray and Mechagodzilla's eye lasers, it was able to blow off the cyborg's left head. King Caesar also has this ability in Godzilla Defense Force, though it is orange in color and only the Showa King Caesar displays this ability.

Intelligence

In Final Wars, King Caesar also displayed a degree of strategy during his fight with Godzilla, coordinating his attacks along with Rodan and Anguirus.

Filmography

Video games

Godzilla: Unleashed

King Caesar in Godzilla: Unleashed

King Caesar appears in the video game Godzilla: Unleashed as a playable character, with characteristics of both his Showa and Millennium incarnations. He is able to fire solar heat beams from his eyes.

Height: 100 meters
Weight: 75,000 tons

"King Caesar is a mystical defender of the Earth. Unlike the other Earth Defenders, King Caesar is specifically concerned with the well-being of humanity, and will respond to events that threaten human beings. King Caesar's strongest asset are his powerful legs, which have tremendous strength and flexibility. King Caesar's entire body is a capacitor, storing and refocusing the sun's energy into searing beams of heat, which he projects from his eyes. In battle, King Caesar can absorb the energy from his opponent's weapons, which both protects him from ranged attacks and provides him the power necessary to engage fast-moving opponents at range. His internal batteries are not unlimited in their capacity, and there is a possibility of overload should King Caesar absorb too much energy without quickly discharging it."

Godzilla (PlayStation 3 / PlayStation 4)

Main article: Godzilla (2014 video game)/Kaiju Guide#King Caesar.

Books

GODZILLA: Project Mechagodzilla

The guardian deity of Okinawa, King Caesar suddenly appeared from Cape Manzamo when the monster Megalon landed on the island. King Caesar fought and defeated Megalon, defending the local populace and keeping damage from Megalon's attack to a minimum.[13]

Comics

Godzilla: Rulers of Earth

King Caesar battling Megalon on the cover for Godzilla: Rulers of Earth #9

King Caesar appears in issue #9 of Godzilla: Rulers of Earth. The guardian monster was seen primarily in a flash back, fighting against Megalon across Okinawa, the city he was meant to protect. Due to the fight, countless humans died, thus enraging King Caesar to the point of no return. To make matters worse, as the monsters fought, two more elemental monsters, Varan and Ebirah, arrived. The fight was interrupted when an alien war ship crashed and sent King Caesar and Megalon under ground. He later appears in a vision of Lucy in issue 17 alongside Godzilla and the Mothra Larvae, fighting the Cryogs.

Following the invasion of the Trilopods, the Shobijin revealed that King Caesar was resting in Okinawa, and that he needed to be awakened to save the Earth. Lucy and her team accompanied the Shobijin to Okinawa, where they found King Caesar resting inside a mountain. Suddenly, the group was attacked by Battra, prompting King Caesar to awaken and battle him. When a group of Trilopods arrived, Battra retreated and left King Caesar to battle them. King Caesar managed to kill several Trilopods, but then allowed himself to be captured and taken to their hive in Los Angeles but not before killing Minette and Mallory. Once inside the hive, King Caesar freed all of the various monsters that had been captured by the Trilopods. He then led the other monsters into battle alongside Godzilla against the Trilopods, killing the Kamacuras and Rodan Trilopod clones. King Caesar also tried to battle Magita, a gigantic Trilopod, but his attacks did nothing against the creature. After Godzilla destroyed Magita, King Caesar and the other monsters followed him out to sea.

Godzilla: Oblivion

King Caesar appeared at the end of the fourth issue of Godzilla: Oblivion, as he emerged from an interdimensional portal along with Mothra, Rodan, Anguirus, Biollante and Zilla while Godzilla was battling Mecha-King Ghidorah In the following issue, where the monsters were now joined by Hedorah, King Caesar wandered off while the other monsters battled Mecha-King Ghidorah, and was later seen sitting on a makeshift throne made from damaged buildings. Later, after Mecha-King Ghidorah was defeated by Godzilla, all of the monsters were left behind as the humans left the Earth as it became covered by tiny robotic cells that served as interdimensional doorways.

Gallery

Main article: King Caesar/Gallery.

Roar

King Caesar's roars were recycled from King Kong's roars in King Kong vs. Godzilla and King Kong Escapes.

King Caesar's roars in
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla
King Caesar's roars in Godzilla: Final Wars

In other languages

Language Name Meaning
Flagicon Hungary.png Hungarian Sárkánycsászár Dragon Emperor
Flagicon Russia.png Russian Кинг Цезарь Transliteration of English name
Flagicon Serbia.png Serbian King Cezar / King Цезар Transliteration of English name
Flagicon Spain.png Spanish Rey César Translation of English name

Trivia

  • In King Caesar's first on-screen appearance in Godzilla: Final Wars, a traditional Japanese style roof can be seen in the foreground with a shisa statue on it.
  • King Caesar was the last monster to be Godzilla's ally in the Showa series.
  • In Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, King Caesar is the savior of Okinawa, but ironically in Godzilla: Final Wars, he attacked the city he protected for generations. However, it should be noted that Godzilla: Final Wars isn't a part of the Showa continuity, and that King Caesar was under the control of the Xiliens, and therefore was not acting as he should have been.
  • King Caesar is the third monster with the word "King" in his name to appear in the Godzilla series, after King Kong and King Ghidorah.
  • King Caesar has his own theme song, used to awaken him if sung by a member of the Azumi royal family.
  • In Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, Black Hole Alien Leader Kuronuma remarks that, "We'll be in trouble if King Caesar brings other monsters to life." This ability is never elaborated upon.

Notes

  1. Episodes 6, 9, 21, 33, 37-40, 43, 58-63, 66-67, 76-78, 81-82, 85, 93, 111-113, 119-120, 123, 125, 127, 130, 132, 134-135, 137-138, 140-142, 144-145, 148-150, 160, 179, 181, 183-184, 186-188, 190-194, 199, 204-208, 212, 217, 224, 226-229, 233, 236, 251-252, and 256.

References

This is a list of references for King Caesar. 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 King Seeser 01.png
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 King Seeser 02.png
  3. 3.0 3.1 King SeeSaw 01.jpg
  4. 4.0 4.1 King Seesaw 02.png
  5. The Godzilla Chronicles Ver. 3. Chikushobo. December 1999. ISBN 978-4812405819. Check date values in: |date= (help)Seasar, Titannosaurus, Jet-Jagger - The Godzilla Chronicles.jpg
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Toho Special Effects All Monster Encyclopedia. Shogakukan. 23 July 2014. pp. 69, 117. ISBN 4-096-82090-3. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. Japanese Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla trailer
    Okinawa no Mamorigami Kingu Shiisaa.png
  8. 8.0 8.1 J.D. Lees, Marc Cerasini (24 March 1998). The Official Godzilla Compendium. Random House. p. 130. ISBN 0279888225 Check |isbn= value: checksum (help). Check date values in: |date= (help)
    Compendium16.png
  9. Godzilla Dictionary [New Edition]. Kasakura Publishing. 7 August 2014. p. 380. ISBN 9784773087253.
  10. Toho Special Effects Movie Complete Works. Village Books. 28 September 2012. p. 170. ISBN 4-864-91013-8. Check date values in: |date= (help)
    MCW Mechagodzilla Drafts 1.jpg
    MCW Mechagodzilla Drafts 2.jpg
  11. Godzilla Toho Champion Festival Perfection. ASCII MEDIA WORKS. 29 November 2014. p. 91. ISBN 978-4-04-866999-3. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. Godzilla Monster Diagrams Super Encyclopedia. Kodansha. 1 November 1992. ISBN 4063042790.
    Cutaway-king-caesar1.jpg
  13. Oki, Renji (25 April 2018). GODZILLA: Project Mechagodzilla. Kadokawa. ISBN 9784041063453.

Comments

Showing 204 comments. When commenting, please remain respectful of other users, stay on topic, and avoid role-playing and excessive punctuation. Comments which violate these guidelines may be removed by administrators.

Loading comments...
Era Icon - Toho.png
Era Icon - Showa.png
Era Icon - Millennium.png
Kaiju
Era Icon - King Caesar.png