Godzilla-kun

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Godzilla-kun
Godzilla-kun in Godziban
Tiny Zilla in Godziban
Alternate names Godzilla, Godzillakun, Mr.Godzilla, Tiny Zilla, Mamegodzi-kun[1]
Species Juvenile Godzilla
Relations Taigo (father), Mirei (mother), Minilla, Little (brothers), Grandpa Zilla (grandfather), Uncle Zilla (uncle), Kamachi (cousin), Kingoji-kun (cousin), Miyarabi (love interest)
Allies Minilla, Little, Grandpa Zilla, Moshu-Moshu, Moshuu-Moshuu, Anguirus, Baragon, Radon, Rodan, Grandpa Hedo, Young Hedo, Kamachi, Miyarabi, Young Caesar, Gezora, Ebirah, Young Serizawa, Gorosaurus, Manda, Varan, Kumonga, Uncle Zilla
Enemies Gigan, Dorats, King Ghidorah, Desghidorah, Monster Zero
Created by Hideyuki Kobayashi
Played by Yumiko Takahashi (voice)
First appearance Godziban episode 1,
"We Are the Three Godzilla Brothers!"
Roar(s)
This page is about the character from Godziban. For the 1985 Microsoft MSX video game of the same name, see Godzilla-kun (video game).

Godzilla-kun (ゴジラくん,   Gojira-kun, lit. "Mr. Godzilla") is a juvenile Godzilla who appears in the 2019 web series Godziban, and is the titular protagonist of its Go! Go! Godzilla-kun segment.

The eldest of the Three Godzilla Brothers, Godzilla-kun mentored his younger brothers Minilla and Little following the disappearance of their parents Taigo and Mirei, helping to train their abilities. In the absence of his parents, Godzilla-kun was raised in part by his Grandpa Zilla and Uncle Zilla. Godzilla-kun often helped his friends Anguirus, Moshu-Moshu, and Baragon, and fought against the evil Three Dorat Brothers and their combined form of King Ghidorah, along with other threats such as Gigan and the Xilien invader Lei Lei. He had a mutual romantic affection for Miyarabi, the daughter of King Caesar and sister of Young Caesar.

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, 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. As a small child in flashback scenes, he is known as Mamegodzi-kun[1] (豆ゴジくん,   Mamegoji-kun, lit. "Bean Godzi-kun"), which the English YouTube subtitles translate as Tiny Zilla.

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 his design 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 those of the MosuGoji suit. 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.

Personality

Godzilla-kun, being the eldest of his brothers, typically works to train them to be stronger. He is very patient with Minilla and Little, even when their attempts to train often result in Godzilla-kun being injured. A part of this is due to a memory sequence revealing his mother and father put him in charge of protecting his little siblings. Godzilla-kun is friendly toward the other monsters, and is specifically good friends with Anguirus. He will join forces with his fellow monsters to combat the more malevolent monsters, such as Gigan and King Ghidorah. Godzilla-kun has a romantic interest in Miyarabi, and the two often demonstrate their mutual affection by sharing fruit.

History

  • Godziban (web 2019-2023) [episodes 1, 3, 5-8, 12-14, 17-25, 27-28, 30-39, 41-50, 52-58, 60, and 62-63; special episodes 1-2, 4, and 7-11]

Godziban

Season 1

"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, 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 threw 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, Moshu-Moshu 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. Moshu-Moshu managed to hit each one, causing them to land in front of them in the shape of another larva. As Moshu-Moshu 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.

"Fly at That Cliff!"

The Three Godzilla Brothers Godzilla-kun, Minilla, and Little were approached by Anguirus, who told them that he located a mysterious egg. They followed him to a massive sheer cliff atop which the egg is perched. Godzilla instructed Anguirus to check it out, and he began to climb the cliff face as they cheered him on. However, before he could make it to the top, Anguirus became tired and lost his grip, tumbling back down while tucked into a ball and rolling uncontrollably toward them. After running a short distance, the three dodged out of the way, leaving Anguirus rolling toward a nearby forested area. He rolled up a palm tree which swayed under his weight before slingshotting him through the air back toward the cliff. He landed next to the brothers, exclaiming that he has returned. The group next tried to scale the rocks all at once, but slid back down after each attempt. They finally raced high up the rock wall, but Anguirus slipped again, this time rolling past the forest and disappearing into the distance. Godzilla-kun climbed a short distance further before reaching out for the egg, but the brothers all slid down again. Rethinking their strategy, they took inspiration after Anguirus' initial failing; they walked to the palm tree from before which Godzilla-kun pulled down to allow Little and Minilla to be launched by it. They landed atop the cliff just next to the egg, but were suddenly shaken by a rock slide. The pair huddled around the egg in an attempt to protect it, but Minilla, grasping the egg, fell from the cliff due to the violent quaking. Luckily, the monster landed on his back, leaving the egg unscathed. Sometime later, the Godzilla brothers constructed a nest for the egg to be kept in. Minilla suggested that the egg may actually contain a kaiju and put his ear up to it to hear a faint crying. As Godzilla-kun and Little walked away, Minilla insisted on staying with the egg, and they agreed.

Godzilla Fest 2019 digest movie

To be added.

"Son of Minilla"

After Minilla defended the egg against a trio of Dorats and it hatched into a baby monster, they watched the sunrise together and were soon joined by Godzilla-kun and Little. The baby ran off frightened before the brothers could see him, but they noticed the broken eggshell on the ground. Minilla called the monster back and introduced him to Godzilla-kun and Little, the latter recognizing him as Radon thanks to Grandpa Zilla. Radon embraced Minilla, calling him "Mama," which caused the brothers to laugh.

"He's from Space"

To be added.

"G vs. G / I Am Godzilla-kun!"

To be added.

"MerryGoji: The Godzilla Who Came on Christmas Eve!"

To be added.

"Fly! Toward the Future"

To be added.

Special episode

"Film the Dream!"

To be added.

Season 2

"Goodbye, Mommy"

Godzilla-kun, Little, and Minilla practiced their punches. Minilla soon wandered off to help Radon practice flying. After Rodan rescued them from the Dorats, he conversed with the Godzilla Brothers for a time.

Stage shows

  • Gekigoji (2004)
  • Godziban Godzilla Fest performances (2019, 2022)

Gallery

Main article: Godzilla-kun/Gallery.

References

This is a list of references for Godzilla-kun. 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 Godziban Book preview.png

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