Kaiju Profile: Anime Mechagodzilla
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VIDEOS
• The Godzilla Timeline
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• Anime GODZILLA Timeline Part 2
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• 2020 Kaiju Streaming & Home Video Guide
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Meat-Eater • Showa Mechagodzilla
Godzilla 1998 / Zilla • Baby Godzilla 1998
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The anime Mechagodzilla kaiju profile is the 34th episode of Wikizilla's Kaiju Profiles video series. It was uploaded on September 23, 2018.
Video
Written by The King of the Monsters, Astounding Beyond Belief, Titanollante
Edited, narrated by Titanollante
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Transcript
Hey kaiju fans, I'm Titanollante and today we'll be taking a look at the latest incarnation of Godzilla's mechanical doppelganger - the anime Mechagodzilla!
The anime Mechagodzilla is the fourth distinct incarnation of the character to appear in a Godzilla film, and made its first appearance in "GODZILLA: Planet of the Monsters." It was designed by human and Bilusaludo scientists under the command of the United Earth to be the ultimate anti-Godzilla weapon. Unfortunately, Mechagodzilla failed to activate as Godzilla approached the facility housing it. With the United Earth's conventional forces unable to hold him off, he destroyed the facility with his atomic breath. However, Mechagodzilla's head survived the attack, and its A.I. remained active for the next 20,000 years. Mechagodzilla's Nanometal continued evolving and expanding over the surrounding area as the machine continued pursuing its directive to destroy Godzilla, gradually forming a replica of its production facility, later dubbed Mechagodzilla City.
Design
The anime Mechagodzilla's design originated as a rough sketch by director Hiroyuki Seshita. Production designer Naoya Tanaka developed it further using computer-aided design, with Eiji Kawada drawing additional concept art. Production designer Ferdinando Patulli created the character's final model.
Seshita took inspiration from echinoderms and sea urchins when sketching Mechagodzilla, as he felt such creatures had no affinity for humans or possibility for human interaction and wanted Mechagodzilla's appearance to reflect that. The mech's forward-leaning posture, a tail stinger inspired by a warrior's axe, and legs modeled after those of birds and dinosaurs all served to give it an aggressive appearance. Its body was designed to give the impression of being composed of continuous, living Nanometal. The appearance of randomness was inserted into every aspect of Mechagodzilla's design in order to express the occurrence of programming errors in its construction.
The design of Mechagodzilla City is patterned after "a fungus or slime mold growing in a petri dish," with a collapsed section of Mount Fuji serving as the "petri dish" in this case. Mechagodzilla City is designed to look old and worn and also like a fungus that is growing and spreading randomly. The plant inside Mechagodzilla City is modeled after factories from post-war Japan, when the country experienced a pollution crisis in its frenzy to rebuild its economy.
History
GODZILLA: Project Mechagodzilla: With the threat posed by Godzilla increasing, the United Earth approved "Project Mechagodzilla" in 2042 and began to design a giant robot in the monster's image. All of the United Earth's resources not already devoted into the construction of the interstellar emigration vessels Oratio and Aratrum were injected into "Project Mechagodzilla," with the machine being constructed in a facility near the foot of Mt. Fuji. The project, undertaken by both human and Bilusaludo scientists and headed by Bilusaludo technical officer Mulu-Elu Galu-Gu, was successful in completing Mechagodzilla by 2046 while United Earth forces stalled Godzilla during "Operation: Long March" and "Operation: Great Wall." Several of Mechagodzilla's capabilities, including a blade launcher and weaponized Nanometal, were tested on the cybernetically-modified monster Gigan, which fought Godzilla during these operations. However, during the "Battle at the Foot of Mt. Fuji" in Hamamatsu in March 2046, Mechagodzilla would not activate for unknown reasons. The United Earth declared the machine destroyed after Godzilla razed the facility with his atomic breath.
Reminiscing with Galu-Gu on the Aratrum in "Planet of the Monsters," the Exif colonel Metphies remarked that "Even if Bilusaludo's Mechagodzilla had defeated Godzilla, no one knows who it would have bared its fangs at next."
GODZILLA: City on the Edge of Battle: 20,000 years later, Mulu-Elu Galu-Gu and Rilu-Elu Belu-Be discovered that the arrowheads of the aboriginal Houtua tribe were made from Nanometal, and that the Houtua were harvesting large chunks of Nanometal from somewhere. They proposed that the Nanometal used to construct Mechagodzilla could still be recovered and used to destroy the now 300 meter-tall Godzilla Earth. Captain Haruo Sakaki agreed, and a large company of United Earth forces traveled to the former location of the Mechagodzilla facility at the foot of Mt. Fuji. En route, they were attacked by Flying-type Servum, which were subsequently impaled by Nanometal spikes that erupted from the ground, after which their carcasses were absorbed by Nanometal. In a crater below, the group saw the source of the Nanometal spikes, a replica of Mechagodzilla's construction facility built entirely from Nanometal. Galu-Gu and Belu-Be realized that Mechagodzilla had somehow survived the facility's destruction in 2046 and in the intervening years its Nanometal had expanded and built this new facility, which they dubbed "Mechagodzilla City." Inside, they found Mechagodzilla's still-intact head, and reactivated its A.I. completely. Using Mechagodzilla City's advanced capabilities, the United Earth forces developed a strategy to destroy Godzilla Earth.
As Mechagodzilla City made preparations for the battle, it ceased dispersing the fog that concealed it, alerting Godzilla Earth to its location. He fired his atomic breath at the City from a distance, but it dispersed a field of Nanometal particles to deflect the blast, sustaining only minor damage. Realizing his attack was ineffective, Godzilla Earth continued his approach and was intercepted by three Vultures, new mechs modified from the old Powered Suits using Mechagodzilla City's technology and piloted by Haruo, Belu-Be, and Yuko Tani. They lured him to a trap point just outside of the City. Once there, the ground beneath him was detonated and he fell into a trench that led to a capture point. Upon reaching the second destination, the area was sealed off and flooded with liquid Nanometal which hardened and trapped him. Mechagodzilla City's railguns began firing at Godzilla Earth, who deployed his Asymmetrically Permeable Shield in response. The operators inside the City's control room waited until his shield temporarily collapsed, then made flanking railguns open fire on his dorsal plates to disable the shield. It launched EMP Harpoons into Godzilla Earth's back, which discharged electromagnetic energy into him so that he would overload and explode just as Godzilla Filius did. Instead, he converted the excess energy into heat which exceeded 1,000 degrees Celsius, threatening the Vulture pilots as well as the soldiers inside Mechagodzilla City's control room. Galu-Gu responded by Nanometalizing himself and the other Bilusaludo, while Martin Lazzari and the majority of the humans fled in horror. Belu-Be told Haruo that they could only defeat Godzilla Earth now by allowing themselves to fuse with the Vultures' Nanometal, then flying to the tropopause and plummeting down onto the monster. Haruo and Yuko resisted the Nanometalization, with Haruo proving immune due to the scales Miana had healed him with earlier. As Haruo tried to rescue Yuko, he was contacted by Metphies, who warned him that Mechagodzilla City would continue to expand and assimilate the entire planet with Nanometal. Torn by his desire to destroy Godzilla and his responsibility to preserve humanity, Haruo chose to stop the City and opened fire on the control room with the Vulture's cannon, killing Galu-Gu and disabling the city's Nanometal. Belu-Be's Vulture crashed into the control room as well, destroying a large portion of the city in the explosion. Now freed, Godzilla Earth began channeling a large amount of electromagnetic energy and unleashed two blasts of his atomic breath, which annihilated the rest of Mechagodzilla City.
Abilities
While it was only able to use a few of them in battle, Mechagodzilla was designed with a vast array of powerful anti-Godzilla technologies. Understand that there doesn't exist many visuals for most of these attacks, so please excuse that.
Nanometal: Mechagodzilla is composed of an autonomous material called Nanometal. It requires 100 gigawatts worth of power from thermonuclear reactors in order to function. Because Nanometal is fluid, Mechagodzilla can reshape and deform or instantaneously regenerate any damaged body parts, along with performing self-repair and multiplication. However, greater amounts of damage take disproportionately longer to repair. Even after its facility was destroyed by Godzilla in 2046, Mechagodzilla's Nanometal continued functioning and growing, and over 20,000 years gradually Nanometalized the surrounding area, forming Mechagodzilla City over a 14 kilometer diameter. The limiter on its Nanometal had been disabled, and as such the metal was able to replicate and even become more sophisticated. Mechagodzilla City can use its Nanometal to expand a certain distance away from the City to attack and assimilate hostile creatures, or emit a fog capable of concealing the City from Godzilla Earth. During its battle with Godzilla, the City flooded a chamber with liquid Nanometal in order to trap him. Its Nanometal can assimilate intelligent lifeforms so they become one with it, as was the case with the Bilusaludo.
Computer and A.I.: Mechagodzilla is equipped with a sophisticated Bilusaludo quantum computer and artificial intelligence (A.I.) called Zalu-Zi Type 1 Modified. It is supplied with a Gematron calculation algorithm and Godzilla combat simulation data from the A.I. "Deinde." The mech's A.I. was able to survive after its facility was destroyed, and while only at partial capacity it spent 20 millennia continuing its directive to destroy Godzilla by constructing Mechagodzilla City. Mulu-Elu Galu-Gu notes that the combined intelligence of the City's A.I. and the Bilusaludo the City fused with is advanced enough to make its own decisions and form its own strategies, even while following orders given to it.
Nanometal Particle Diffusing-Type Thermal Energy Buffer Layer: Mechagodzilla can spread Nanometal particles over a radius of 300 meters in order to defend itself from energy-based attacks, a feature designated the Nanometal Particle Diffusing-Type Thermal Energy Buffer Layer. According to simulations, 90% of energy targeted at Mechagodzilla is diffused by this buffer layer. It can also protect the mech against large projectile attacks. This ability is retained by Mechagodzilla City and used to defend it from Godzilla's Atomic Breath.
Laminated Heat-Resistant Armored Plate: Another means of defense used by Mechagodzilla is the Laminated Heat-Resistant Armored Plate, accomplished through momentary deformation of every part of its outer shell. United Earth battle plans called for the mech to form the Armored Plate upon entering a five kilometer proximity to Godzilla. Used in combination with the Thermal Energy Buffer Layer, they theorized it would provide complete protection from Godzilla's atomic breath. Mechagodzilla City also has the ability to form a heat-resistant armored plate around its structures, though it was unable to complete it.
Convergent Neutron Cannon: Mechagodzilla is armed with a Convergent Neutron Cannon, a charged particle gun composed of a special gun barrel and a generator located inside its head, which causes its head to deform when used. It uses the penetrating ability of neutrons to pierce the outer shell of a target and melt its body tissue. It would have allowed MG to engage Godzilla from a distance of more than 5 kilometers, preventing him from launching a counterattack while the mech closed the distance.
Hyper Lance: Mechagodzilla is equipped with a supersonic Hyper Lance, a piercing weapon generated by high-speed elongation of its forearms followed by hardening of the metal through rapid particle compression. According to both the Mohs scale of mineral hardness and the Vickers test for hardness of minerals, the maximum hardening of the Nanometal reaches about ten times that of diamond. The maximum elongation of the lance is 500 meters. In theory, Mechagodzilla would utilize the Hyper Lance after traveling a kilometer into the air above Godzilla, piercing his skin and injecting him with Nanometal which would instantaneously erode his body tissue from the surface to the deepest interior part of his body until his bodily functions all ceased.
Blade Launcher: Mechagodzilla has a Blade Launcher installed on its back. An electromagnetic catapult in MG's back launches the blades, which are then guided through the air toward their target, over a distance of up to 3 kilometers. A prototype of this weapon was installed in Gigan's abdomen during "Operation: Long March."
Tail Blow: Mechagodzilla possesses a cutting attack called the Tail Blow. This technique would slice through and pulverize the target with an electrical shock through the mech swinging its tail stinger at supersonic speeds. This would be accomplished by a twisting motion of the body, additional acceleration in the direction of motion from the Plasma Booster, deformation of the tail into a blade shape, and repeated high-speed motion of this blade.
Plasma Booster: Mechagodzilla is equipped with a Plasma Booster, which grants it the ability to fly.
Railguns: The structures of Mechagodzilla City are lined with large railguns, which can target and destroy Godzilla Earth's dorsal plates when he lowers his Asymmetrically Permeable Shield.
EMP Harpoons: Mechagodzilla City can fire EMP Harpoons, which are capable of penetrating Godzilla Earth's hide and injecting him with massive amounts of electromagnetic energy.
Vultures: The City has the capacity to convert Powered Suits into more powerful models called Vultures.
Trivia
The anime Mechagodzilla combines characteristics of all three previous incarnations of the character. Like the Showa MG, it was constructed by aliens, potentially with the intention of conquering the Earth. However, it was also built by humanity with the intention of defending civilization from Godzilla, like the Heisei and Millennium versions of the character.
The aliens who built this Mechagodzilla, the Bilusaludo, are named after and inspired by the Black Hole Planet 3 Aliens, the race responsible for creating the original Showa Mechagodzilla.
In its base state, the anime Mechagodzilla is the lightest incarnation of the character so far, weighing only 30,000 metric tons. The next lightest Mechagodzilla is Kiryu, who without his battle pack equipped weighs 36,000 metric tons. However, Galu-Gu's "Proposal to develop heavy mass nano-metal decisive battle weapons" gives MG's weight as 10,000 metric tons, the same weight as the 50-meter Godzilla Earth and Godzilla Filius.
The base form of this Mechagodzilla is also tied with the Showa iterations as the shortest versions, at 50 meters in height. Though as Mechagodzilla City it is easily the largest incarnation of the character in terms of absolute size, possessing a diameter of 14 kilometers.
That's all there is for the anime Mechagodzilla. Thanks for watching!
