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User:The King of the Monsters/Sandbox/Miscellaneous

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This sandbox is for potential new sections for pages or rewrites of sections on existing pages. Essentially, I use this page to test things that don't themselves constitute entire pages.

Godzilla

Godzilla's Japanese name, Gojira (ゴジラ), comes from a combination of the Japanese approximation of "gorilla" (ゴリラ,   Gorira), and kujira (クジラ), the Japanese word for "whale." The name is said to have been chosen to represent the size and strength of both animals.[1] In an early script for the original 1954 Godzilla film, Godzilla's name was spelled in katakana as ゴヂラ, though it was still pronounced Gojira.[2] In the original film, Godzilla's name is originally spelled in kanji as 呉爾羅 by the Odo Island natives, though these characters were chosen for sound only. This kanji spelling of Godzilla's name is also used in Shin Godzilla, where it is said to mean "Incarnation of God" in the dialect of Odo Island, and in GODZILLA: Monster Apocalypse, the official prequel novel to GODZILLA: Planet of the Monsters, where it is said to be the name of a mythological dragon from the island's folklore.

Contrary to popular belief, the name English name "Godzilla" was not invented by the American distributors of the original film. Before Toho sold the film to U.S. distributors, the company's international division had originally marketed English-subtitled prints of the film under the title of Godzilla, which were shown briefly in Japanese-American theaters. Toho themselves had decided on "Godzilla" as the English transliteration of Gojira. According to the 2002 book Since Godzilla, the English name "Godzilla" produces connotations such as the words "God," "lizard," and "gorilla." The word "God" is applicable to Godzilla because his immense size and destructive power cause him to be seen as a god by some, "lizard" is applicable due to Godzilla's reptilian appearance and ties to the time of the dinosaurs, and "gorilla" is applicable due to Godzilla's creation having been inspired by the famous gorilla-like giant monster King Kong.[3]

  1. ↑ Since Godzilla. Rikuyosha Co. Ltd. 20 April 2002. p. 4. ISBN 4897374472.
  2. ↑ Godzilla 1954-1999 Super Complete Works. Shogakukan. 1 January 2000. p. 208. ISBN 978-4091014702. Check date values in: |date= (help)
    G54-99SCW p208.jpg
  3. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Since Godzilla
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