Godzilla April Fools' Day pranks
Since 2016, Toho has frequently played at least one Godzilla-related April Fools' Day prank on April 1, with hoaxes ranging from upcoming films to merchandise. However, as the Japanese fiscal year also begins on April 1, some announcements on this day may be legitimate; for instance, Toho named Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi as the co-directors of Shin Godzilla on April 1, 2015, and Chibi Godzilla Raids Again premiered on April 1, 2023.
2016
- Main article: Godzilla vs. Evangelion.
Toho announced its intention to produce a Godzilla vs. Evangelion film, with the announcement accompanied by an illustration by Mahiro Maeda.[1] The crossover was timely, as Neon Genesis Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno was directing Shin Godzilla, which was several months from release. Though the film itself was a prank, it marked the start of an extensive ongoing merchandising campaign which includes figures, mobile games, and a 2019 attraction at Universal Studios Japan.
The Godzilla vs. Evangelion piece by Mahiro Maeda
2017
Toho unveiled a gigantic mobile phone, in the likeness of Godzilla's second form from Shin Godzilla, which could connect to 55G networks, project and record video in 555K, take 550-megapixel photos, and generate its own energy source, though it required cooling.[2] A comment from the film's co-director, Shinji Higuchi, lambasted the company for assuming that fans will buy anything and bringing the product to market without solving the problem of it oozing red liquid. Encouraged by the positive reaction to the prank, Toho released a large plush Godzilla smartphone case through the Godzilla Store later that year.[3]
A real Godzilla smartphone case inspired by the prank
2018
Toho, in partnership with Mitsubishi Estate announced plans to convert Godzilla, frozen near Tokyo Station at the end of Shin Godzilla, into a roller coaster built into a new office building, termed the "G Building".[4] With a projected opening date of 2027, the G Building would be powered entirely by the dormant monster's internal energy supply (the date is likely a reference to the Torch Tower, which will become the tallest building in Japan when it is completed that year). To ensure that Godzilla remains harmless, the G Building would maintain a temperature of -196℃, with blood coagulant injectors on standby should he somehow revive. A notice at the end of the page makes clear that the announcement is an April Fools' prank, but the Tokiwabashi Godzilla Gallery, which displays posters of all the films in the series near the Mitsubishi Estate-developed Tokiwabashi Tower, is quite real. A gigantic Godzilla statue based on his appearance in Shin Godzilla would ultimately be incorporated into the Nijigen no Mori theme park two years later, as the centerpiece of Godzilla Interception Operation Awaji.
The real Godzilla statue at Godzilla Interception Operation Awaji
2019
Toho released a teaser trailer for a fictitious Jet Jaguar film. The character would return in the web series Godziban later that year, while also having a major role in the 2021 anime series Godzilla Singular Point.
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2022
- Main article: Godzilla vs. the Tigers.
Toho released two trailers for a fictitious Godzilla vs. the Tigers film, pitting Godzilla against players on the Hanshin Tigers baseball team. With Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla celebrating its 20th anniversary that year, the trailer was heavily influenced by the Kiryu series, including the presence of MechaTo-Lucky, a machine based on the club mascot who wielded baseball bats and some of Kiryu's weapons. The prank was accompanied by a merchandise campaign.[5]
In addition, the official English-language Godzilla Twitter account released an ad for a kaiju dating app called Rumble,[6] and the official Shin Ultraman Twitter account announced that the Godzilla Head on Hotel Gracery Shinjuku would be replaced with a statue of Ultraman.[7]
A screenshot from Godzilla vs. the Tigers
A screenshot from the Rumble video
Mockup of an Ultraman statue on Hotel Gracery Shinjuku
2024
The X account @AtelierGodziban, run by Godziban creator Hideyuki Kobayashi, announced that the web series would be ending, with its replacement series implied to revolve around the TriStar Godzilla or Zilla.[8]
The Godzilla 1998/Zilla silhouette accompanying the post
Trivia
- Several Godzilla fansites have executed April Fools' Day pranks as well:
- Stomp Tokyo's Scott Hamilton and Chris Holland reviewed the unproduced Hong Kong film Star Godzilla in 1998, claiming to have watched a bootleg copy of it.[9] Screenshots from One Crazy Summer and a doctored screenshot from Infra-Man were used to represent the film.
- Operation: Dupe Fandom was an elaborate prank arranged by the webmasters and select forum moderators of Maser City, Tokyo Monsters, GojiStomp, and Kaijuphile which ran from March 17 to April 2, 2005.[10] Set into motion by a Maser City user posting a supposed download link for Godzilla Final Wars and Toho "shutting down" the site for copyright infringement, it rapidly escalated into a series of scripted flame wars and betrayals across the other three sites, culminating in them going offline one by one. The sites returned to normal on April 3 and unveiled the prank.
- Annual Toho Kingdom pranks date back to at least 2006,[11] and the site maintains a detailed archive of their pranks from 2010 onward. The site's 2022 prank inadvertently predicted the Godzilla Battle Line collaboration with Shin Ultraman.[12]
- Wikizilla's YouTube channel traditionally uploads videos about obscure characters who have rarely or never been requested by viewers on April Fools' Day. Thus far, it has profiled Skeleturtle; Fake Godzilla; a strange, dead monster; the Giant Condor; Dogzilla and Kat Kong; Charles Barkley; Ghogo; and Wild Willie. However, the content of the videos is meant to be completely factual. Wikizilla.org also participated in 2017 and 2018, rebranding the site to "Minillapedia" and "Wikamata-kun," respectively.
- While Toho skipped April Fools' Day in 2021, Audio-Technica announced a nonexistent pair of Godzilla-themed headphones that day.[13]
- Godzilla Singular Point premiered on TV on April 1, 2021, though it debuted on Netflix a week earlier.
References
This is a list of references for Godzilla April Fools' Day pranks. 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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