Godzilla (Fest Godzilla)
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Godzilla (ゴジラ Gojira) is a kaiju who first appeared in the 2021 short film Godzilla vs. Hedorah, the second entry in the Fest Godzilla series helmed by Kazuhiro Nakagawa. He went on to reappear in all subsequent entries in the series.
Godzilla battled the monsters Hedorah and Gigan before rampaging through Tokyo, prompting the military to deploy Jet Jaguar to stop him. However, their battle was interrupted by the extraterrestrial invader King Ghidorah, whose appearance forced the duo to work together.
Name
- Main article: Godzilla#Name.
Godzilla's Japanese name, Gojira (ゴジラ), comes from a combination of the Japanese approximation of "gorilla" (ゴリラ gorira) and the Japanese word for "whale" (クジラ kujira).
Development
- Main article: FinalGoji#Development.
At least two different suits have been employed for this Godzilla across his short film appearances, both utilizing Shinichi Wakasa's FinalGoji design from Godzilla Final Wars (2004). The suit used in Godzilla vs. Hedorah was a promotional suit created for public appearances, and not actually featured in Final Wars.[3] It lacked a radio-controlled jaw, and its mouth therefore had to be controlled with a wire.[4] Conversely, the suit from Fest Godzilla 3: Gigan Attacks (and seemingly subsequent shorts) was a screen-used Final Wars stunt suit, which Wakasa's company MONSTERS, Inc. specially modified.[5]
Godzilla has been portrayed by stuntman Naoya Matsumoto in all of his appearances. Fellow stuntman Hikaru Yoshida, who played Godzilla's opponents Hedorah and Gigan in Godzilla vs. Hedorah and Fest Godzilla 3 respectively, also stepped into the Godzilla suit for shots of the monster's legs in Fest Godzilla 4: Operation Jet Jaguar.[6]
Design
- Main article: FinalGoji.
The suit used in the Godzilla vs. Hedorah short is similar to the main, close-up FinalGoji suit but with some noticeable differences. Its skin is darker and its dorsal fins are white instead of a bone-white color, with these fins also being pointier. The head is flatter and has bright orange eyes and a longer, lower jaw. The torso is slightly shorter, and the toes, toenails, and tail are elongated. This suit is also considerably smaller than the close-up suit. In the Fest Godzilla 4: Operation Jet Jaguar short film, Godzilla possesses a healed wound on his cheek inflicted by Gigan in the previous short film Fest Godzilla 3: Gigan Attacks.
Personality
This Godzilla's personality seems to resemble that of the Heisei Godzilla and most of the Millennium era incarnations, as he usually fights other monsters when provoked but can also act as the aggressor. After eliminating Hedorah and Gigan and having no other enemies to fight as a result, he rampaged in Tokyo until Jet Jaguar appeared, at which point he engaged the robot without provocation and struck the first blow. Despite his aggression, he is as also quite intelligent, as demonstrated in his decision to ally with Jet Jaguar following the arrival of the far more powerful King Ghidorah. He appears to consider Jet Jaguar a genuine ally during their battle with King Ghidorah and demonstrates visible sorrow ahead of Jet Jaguar's sacrifice to stop King Ghidorah and again when he watched Jet Jaguar permanently power down in the aftermath, at which point he peacefully retreated back into the ocean.
History
- Godzilla vs. Hedorah (2021)
- Fest Godzilla 3: Gigan Attacks (2022)
- Fest Godzilla 4: Operation Jet Jaguar (2023)
- Fest Godzilla 5: All Monsters Showdown (2024)
Reiwa era
Godzilla vs. Hedorah (2021)
Godzilla interrupted the pollution monster Hedorah as he fed on an oil refinery's smokestack in the Keihin Industrial Zone. As the monsters engaged in combat, they ravaged many of the buildings in the complex. After Godzilla unleashed his atomic breath, Hedorah knocked him to the ground and sprayed him with its toxic mist, burning his right eye. Godzilla kicked Hedorah into some nearby power lines, which weakened the pollution monster. As Hedorah struggled to recover, Godzilla enveloped the creature in a blast of his atomic breath and obliterated it. Triumphant, he stomped away.
Fest Godzilla 3: Gigan Attacks
Following his victory over Hedorah, Godzilla later witnessed the arrival of the space monster Gigan, who appeared in a blue flash over Tokyo. After the cyborg landed, Godzilla opened the fight with a blast of atomic breath, only for Gigan to block the attack with his claw-like Hammer Hands before returning fire with his forehead laser, sending Godzilla stumbling backwards. Godzilla then charged Gigan, struggling to avoid lasers until Gigan was close enough to slash him on the cheek, leaving a small wound.
Godzilla continued fighting in close quarters, now taking care to avoid Gigan's Hammer Hands while attempting to punch and kick the cyborg. Soon, Godzilla managed to land a punch on Gigan's forehead laser and broke it. Enraged, Gigan activated his buzz saw and grabbed onto Godzilla, cutting a deep wound into the latter's chest and causing him to collapse onto an overpass, dazed. Gigan approached and prepared to finish him off, but Godzilla caught his Hammer Hands mid-swing and rose to his feet. Keeping his grip on the blades, Godzilla fired a blast of atomic breath point-blank into Gigan's face, causing the cyborg to stumble backwards and explode. Godzilla then roared in victory.
Fest Godzilla 4: Operation Jet Jaguar
Godzilla, left with no other kaiju to battle, began to attack various locations in Japan, including stomping through Shibuya and firing his atomic breath at a building. During this chaos, Jet Jaguar was activated at a military base and deployed into battle against the rampaging monster.
As Godzilla continued his path of destruction through another city, Jet Jaguar descended from the sky and touched down in front of him, entering a battle stance. Godzilla repeatedly fired his atomic breath as Jet Jaguar ran towards him, dodging each blast. The robot reached the kaiju and kneed him in the chest before locking hands while Godzilla pushed him backwards. Jet Jaguar threw off Godzilla's hands, punched him several times, and ducked under a claw swipe as he kicked the reptilian. Godzilla retaliated with a slash from his claws and kicked his opponent away, but Jet Jaguar ran back towards him and delivered a leaping punch. Godzilla knocked Jet Jaguar down and tried to hit him with his tail, but the robot dodged it, jumped, and spin-kicked Godzilla in the face mid-air, knocking him to the ground. Jet Jaguar landed and Godzilla returned his feet, roaring. The two charged and locked hands again, with Godzilla throwing Jet Jaguar to the side and firing his atomic breath, but the robot dodged and answered with kicks and punches. Again, Godzilla attempted to use his atomic breath, but Jet Jaguar ducked and grabbed Godzilla's tail as it was swung at him.
Jet Jaguar swung Godzilla around into a building and tried to punch him, but Godzilla evaded this attack and positioned himself behind his adversary. Jet Jaguar turned in time to see the King of the Monsters charging his atomic breath. Jet Jaguar ran in the opposite direction, taking the ray in the back and stumbling to the ground. As he began to rise, Godzilla kicked him in the chest and stomped towards him. He grabbed the robot by the head and lifted him into the air before throwing him away into a building. As Jet Jaguar caught fire in multiple places, Godzilla stood over him, charging his atomic breath to deliver the finishing blow. Suddenly, a bolt of electricity struck Godzilla in the face, knocking him to the ground. Jet Jaguar looked to the sky to see King Ghidorah appear in a massive fireball, cackling as he landed in the city. He began to spew gravity beams throughout the cityscape, destroying many of the structures. Seeing this, Jet Jaguar got back to his feet and walked over to the struggling Godzilla, grabbing the monster's hand and lifting him to his feet. Godzilla gave a small roar to his new ally and Jet Jaguar returned a thumbs up. The two turned to face the golden invader and Godzilla roared.
Fest Godzilla 5: All Monsters Showdown
Godzilla and Jet Jaguar stared down King Ghidorah until Godzilla fired a blast of atomic breath, only for the dragon to block the beam and scatter its energy away from himself. King Ghidorah retaliated with his Gravity Beams, though Godzilla fought back with his own atomic breath, resulting in a beam-lock between the two that King Ghidorah quickly won to send Godzilla flying backwards into a building. As both monster and robot struggled against the dragon, Jet Jaguar's creators intervened by providing the similarly outmatched Jet Jaguar with G-Claws - weapons created from the remains of Gigan. After Godzilla recovered, the two then charged towards the space dragon, with both blocking the monster's Gravity Beams utilizing different techniques until Jet Jaguar reached him to fight him in close quarters. Taking advantage of King Ghidorah's focus on the robot, Godzilla blasted King Ghidorah with his atomic breath and seemingly killed him, only for the beast to revive moments later. King Ghidorah shot Jet Jaguar down with a Gravity Beam and engaged Godzilla in close quarters, eventually overpowering him and knocking him down.
Godzilla was then lifted into the air by a different set of lasers fired from King Ghidorah's mouths, holding him in place and leaving him unable to fight back. However, King Ghidorah suddenly ceased this attack and dropped Godzilla after Jet Jaguar fired one of his G-Claws at King Ghidorah and stabbed the dragon in the chest. Godzilla fired his atomic breath at Jet Jaguar's other G-Claw as the robot raced towards Ghidorah, successfully energizing it and allowing Jet Jaguar to slice off the monster's middle head with ease. Jet Jaguar then held King Ghidorah in place as the dragon desperately fired Gravity Beams to no avail. Godzilla and Jet Jaguar then silently acknowledged one another before Godzilla fired a powerful blast of atomic breath at both, causing King Ghidorah to explode. Godzilla then approached the critically damaged Jet Jaguar, seemingly acknowledging the robot's noble sacrifice as he gave a final thumbs-up before his power cut out for good. With a final roar, Godzilla then returned to the ocean.
Abilities
Atomic breath
In all of the short films, Godzilla utilized his signature atomic breath to great effect. In addition to its ability to level buildings with ease, his atomic breath was powerful enough to deliver finishing blows to both Hedorah and Gigan after both had been previously weakened in battle.
Physical abilities
Godzilla made frequent use of his claws, legs, and tail against his foes. Over the course of the short films, he battles Hedorah, Gigan, and Jet Jaguar in close quarters and often overwhelmed them with his physical strength alone, perhaps most notably when he successfully holds Gigan in place to deliver a finishing blow with his atomic breath. In Fest Godzilla 4: Operation Jet Jaguar, he successfully lands multiple kicks on the robot and is able to lift the robot into the air with relative ease.
Durability
Godzilla shows an ability to withstand damage. Jet Jaguar's punches and kicks did not cause any noticeable external wounds. Even after being grievously wounded by Gigan, he refused to back down.
Intelligence
Godzilla demonstrated a clear degree of intelligence across his various battles. While battling Gigan, he took care to avoid Gigan's Hammer Hands after being wounded by them and deliberately targeted his forehead aperture so the cyborg would be unable to fire his laser. He also recognized Jet Jaguar as a necessary ally following the appearance of King Ghidorah and worked in tandem with the robot against their shared foe.
Regeneration
In Godzilla vs. Hedorah, Godzilla's eye was damaged by Hedorah's corrosive mist, but by the events of Fest Godzilla 3: Gigan Attacks, the wound had healed completely. In Fest Godzilla 3: Gigan Attacks, Godzilla sustained numerous severe injuries, though these wounds healed rapidly and were reduced to mere scars by the events of Fest Godzilla 4: Operation Jet Jaguar.
Amphibiousness
At the end of Fest Godzilla 5: All Monsters Showdown, Godzilla returned to the ocean.
Weaknesses
In Godzilla vs. Hedorah, Godzilla was injured by Hedorah a few times. He was briefly stunned by one of Hedorah's punches, knocked down by Hedorah headbutting him, and his eye was damaged by Hedorah's corrosive mist. In Fest Godzilla 3: Gigan Attacks, Gigan's Hammer Hands and buzzsaw were able to slice Godzilla's skin with relative ease. In Fest Godzilla 4: Operation Jet Jaguar, the more agile Jet Jaguar was able to outmaneuver and avoid many of his attacks. He was later struck down by one of King Ghidorah's Gravity Beams and required Jet Jaguar's assistance to get back to his feet.
Gallery
- Main article: FinalGoji#Gallery.
Roar
The Fest Godzilla primarily uses the Heisei Godzilla's roars from The Return of Godzilla, but occasionally emits First Generation, Second Generation, and Millennium-era roars.
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Trivia
- Despite being the first entry in the Fest Godzilla series, 2020's Godzilla Appears at Godzilla Fest does not feature Godzilla, but rather a Godzilla suit being used on a film set, along with a design different from that of the following Fest Godzilla films.
References
This is a list of references for Godzilla (Fest Godzilla). 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]
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Bibliography
- Kimura, Manabu, ed. (4 April 2023). Godzilla Final Wars Completion. Hobby Japan. ISBN 978-4-7986-3135-6.
- Holland, Edward L. (January–February 2021). "Fifty Years Later, Godzilla and Hedorah Clash Again". G-Fan.
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