BabyGodzilla / LittleGodzilla / Godzilla Junior
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- "Baby Godzilla" redirects here. For Godzilla's offspring from the 1998 American film, see Baby Godzilla (TriStar). For other uses of the term, see Baby Godzilla (disambiguation).
- "Junior" also redirects here. For other uses of the term, see Junior (disambiguation).
- Page quotes:
- Kazuma Aoki: “What we've got is no Pteranodon. This baby is something else.”
- Miki Saegusa: “It's... It's a Godzillasaurus.”
- Kazuma Aoki: “What's a Godzillasaurus?”
- Miki Saegusa: “It's in the Godzilla family, but this species is not as aggressive.”
- Kazuma Aoki: “Really? You sure? Well, he looks inoffensive. He's kind of cute, isn't he?”
- Hiroshi Omae: “Well, one thing's certain, this is no Godzilla. What we have here is a plant-eating Godzillasaurus.”
- ― Kazuma Aoki, Miki Saegusa, and Professor Hiroshi Omae discuss BabyGodzilla shortly after he hatches at the institute in Kyoto (Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II)
- Akira Yuki: “Not again.”
- Kiyoshi Sato: “What's that?”
- Akira Yuki: “LittleGodzilla.”
- Koji Shinjo: “LittleGodzilla?”
- Akira Yuki: “Yeah. I don't know what they feed him, but he's growing so big. For a baby, I mean.”
- Koji Shinjo: “What's going on here? Are you friends?”
- Akira Yuki: “He's just fond of me.”
- ― Akira Yuki, Kiyoshi Sato, and Koji Shinjo react to LittleGodzilla appearing over a hill on Baas Island (Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla)
- Kenkichi Yamane: “The incident at Baas Island really changed him.”
- Takaaki Aso: “He's no longer little. He is a Godzilla. More like Godzilla Junior.”
- ― Kenkichi Yamane and Commander Takaaki Aso react to Godzilla Junior appearing for the first time since the explosion of Baas Island (Godzilla vs. Destoroyah)
BabyGodzilla (ベビーゴジラ is a young Bebīgojira)Godzillasaurus kaiju who first appeared in the 1993 Godzilla film Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II. The character returned as LittleGodzilla (リトルゴジラ in the Ritorugojira)1994 film Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla, and again as Godzilla Junior (ゴジラジュニア in the Gojira Junia)1995 film Godzilla vs. Destoroyah.
A Godzillasaurus whose egg ended up in a Pteranodon nest on Adonoa Island, BabyGodzilla was cared for by his surrogate brother Rodan while he was still in his egg. A team of scientists arrived on the island in 1994 and brought the egg back to Japan, where it hatched at an institute in Kyoto. BabyGodzilla imprinted on the human scientist Azusa Gojo as his mother, and she raised him under the supervision of G-Force, which planned to use him as bait to lure Godzilla to the Ogasawara Islands, where he could be killed by Mechagodzilla. Fire Rodan grabbed a container carrying BabyGodzilla and his mother while it was being transported, but Mechagodzilla was deployed and fatally wounded Rodan. Godzilla arrived afterward and was nearly killed by Mechagodzilla, but BabyGodzilla called out to Rodan, who gave up his life force to revive Godzilla. Godzilla destroyed Mechagodzilla, then adopted BabyGodzilla as his son and left Japan with him. In Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla, BabyGodzilla had grown into LittleGodzilla and had taken up residence on Baas Island. When SpaceGodzilla arrived on the island, LittleGodzilla approached him and was brutally attacked. Godzilla tried to defend his son, but SpaceGodzilla imprisoned LittleGodzilla in a crystal cage. Godzilla followed SpaceGodzilla and destroyed him with the assistance of MOGUERA, freeing LittleGodzilla. A year later, in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, LittleGodzilla absorbed a huge amount of radiation from the explosion of Baas Island, growing into a sub-adult dubbed Godzilla Junior. Junior began returning to his nest on Adonoa Island, but was forcibly lured to Tokyo by G-Force, knowing Godzilla would follow. Junior fought and defeated Destoroyah, then reunited with his father at Haneda Airport. However, Destoroyah returned in his Perfect Form and killed Junior before engaging in battle with Godzilla himself. After Godzilla destroyed Destoroyah and melted down, he imparted his energy into Junior's lifeless body, reviving him and transforming him into an adult Godzilla, ready to take up his father's mantle.
Name
This kaiju has a different name in each of his film appearances, each of which is individually trademarked. In Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, he is called BabyGodzilla (ベビーゴジラ or just Baby Bebīgojira) (ベビー. Alternatively, his name is abbreviated as Baby G Bebī) (ベビー
Worth noting is that BabyGodzilla and LittleGodzilla's trademarked English names are written in camelCase as a single word, like SpaceGodzilla, while Godzilla Junior's name is two words. The camelCase spellings of "BabyGodzilla" and "LittleGodzilla" have been used consistently in English-language Godzilla media from the 1990s, such as the 1998 book The Official Godzilla Compendium and TriStar's VHS and DVD releases of Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II and Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla, as well as more recent media like Sony's 2014 Blu-ray releases of the films and the PlayStation 3 and 4 Godzilla video game. However, the English spellings Baby Godzilla[1][2] and Little Godzilla[6] as two words are sometimes used for the characters in official Japanese media, as are the hyphenated spellings Baby-Godzilla[3][4] and Little-Godzilla.[4] The official English-language Godzilla website instead uses the spellings Babygodzilla and Littlegodzilla.[5] Godzilla Junior's English name is also sometimes abbreviated to Godzilla Jr.[1] A separate trademark for "Baby Godzilla" spelled as two words was used for Godzilla's offspring in the 1998 TriStar film. Sometime prior to the film's release, the "Baby Godzilla" trademark was canceled by Toho and absorbed under the "BabyGodzilla" trademark and trademark icon, though eventually the Baby Godzillas were reabsorbed into the "Godzilla" trademark altogether.
BabyGodzilla trademark icon, also used temporarily for the Baby Godzillas from the 1998 American film
Development
During production of Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, Toho requested that director Takao Okawara add Minilla to the film. However, Okawara did not want to include Minilla, and so came up with the idea of introducing a new character to act as Godzilla's son in the film.[14] Shinji Nishikawa was responsible for designing BabyGodzilla, and his proposed designs for the character were divided in two directions: a "child of Godzilla" or "child of Godzillasaurus." It was eventually decided to go in the latter direction, with the "child of Godzilla" option being made use of for LittleGodzilla in the following film.[15]
Concept art of BabyGodzilla interacting with Azusa Gojo
Yasu Sato served as the chief suit creator for BabyGodzilla, with Masakazu Amaki leading the rest of the modelling team, which consisted of Yasuji Miki, Sho Hashimoto, Takeru Yogi, and Kazuaki Shimada. In addition to the suit, worn by "Hurricane" Ryu Hariken, a mechanical model of BabyGodzilla's upper body was also created.[1][9] Because it was made from a material also used in special effects makeup worn by actors, the BabyGodzilla suit was said to be very soft.[2] A miniature model of BabyGodzilla was also created for the final scene depicting him wading out to sea with Godzilla.
"Hurricane" Ryu Hariken dons the BabyGodzilla suit
Actress Ryoko Sano (Azusa Gojo) stands next to the BabyGodzilla upper body animatronic
A questionnaire conducted after the release of Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II indicated that BabyGodzilla was the most requested character to appear in the next film. As such, it was decided to bring the character back for Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla the following year.[6] However, special effects director Koichi Kawakita decided to heavily redesign the character for the film. He noted that Godzilla vs. Mothra was very successful because it attracted an unusually large female audience, and so felt BabyGodzilla should be redesigned to be cuter and more appealing to female audiences. He also wanted to depict BabyGodzilla growing from a dinosaur into a monster like his adoptive father.[16] Thus, the monster was redesigned following the unused "child of Godzilla" design direction considered for the previous film.[15] The monster, renamed "LittleGodzilla" for this appearance, was redesigned to stand upright like Godzilla himself and was colored green with a light yellow underbelly, rather than the blue and gray coloration of BabyGodzilla. LittleGodzilla bore a much closer resemblance to Minilla than BabyGodzilla did.
LittleGodzilla was designed and modeled by committee by staff members from MONSTERS Inc., the sculpting company founded and headed by Shinichi Wakasa. Unlike the case with BabyGodzilla, there was no final decided design for the character or team of dedicated suit modelers. Concept art of LittleGodzilla was created by Shinji Nishikawa. The design for LittleGodzilla featured on Noriyoshi Ohrai's advance poster for Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla is very similar to the final design of the suit that the modeling team created. As the LittleGodzilla suit would actually be depicted standing side-by-side with Godzilla, it was necessitated that the character be recast with a considerably shorter actor. The LittleGodzilla suit was worn by pro wrestler Masanobu "Little Frankie" Okamoto, a little person like Minilla's suit actor Masao "Little Man Machan" Fukazawa.
At the time of release of Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla, Koichi Kawakita had already mentioned exploring the idea of LittleGodzilla maturing into "Junior Godzilla" and finally into a young adult Godzilla.[6] It was decided to feature this concept in the yet-untitled Godzilla 7, which was to be the last entry in the Heisei series and final Toho Godzilla film until 2005. The earliest known proposal for Godzilla 7, titled Godzilla vs. Giant Monster Varan, saw Godzilla and his matured son joining forces against Varan at the turn of the new millennium. One iteration of one of the more well-known proposed ideas for Godzilla 7, Godzilla vs. Godzilla, featured LittleGodzilla becoming possessed by the restless spirit of the original Godzilla and being transformed into a reincarnation of the 1954 Godzilla, which then battles the modern Godzilla. Other incarnations of the Godzilla vs. Godzilla story dropped this concept, though they still featured Godzilla's adopted son in some capacity. A later idea for Godzilla 7, titled Godzilla vs. Junior Godzilla, would have featured LittleGodzilla growing into an adult "Junior Godzilla" and battling his adoptive father.[17]
Concept art of the Ghost Godzilla-possessed LittleGodzilla
Eventually, it was decided to close the Heisei series with Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, pitting a dying Godzilla against a monster spawned by the chemical weapon that had killed his predecessor in 1954. For this film, LittleGodzilla would mature into the sub-adult Godzilla Junior and take part in the battle against Destoroyah, before being killed and eventually revived into an adult Godzilla following his father's death. The name and design of Godzilla Junior were kept secret prior to the film's release, although Noriyoshi Ohrai's advance poster for the film did depict a smaller Godzilla standing in front of Godzilla himself.[15] Godzilla Junior was designed by Shinji Nishikawa and Hideo Okamoto, with the intention of representing the halfway point between Godzilla and a dinosaur.[18] As such, Junior was given a more dinosaur-like posture compared to Godzilla’s traditional upright stance, with some concept art depicting him with an anatomically-accurate horizontal posture with his tail suspended in the air. They were also influenced by concepts for Godzilla in the American film in development at TriStar Pictures at the time.[19][20] The final onscreen design opted to give Junior a mostly upright posture like Godzilla himself, albeit with a pronounced hunch. The Godzilla Junior suit was molded by Toho Special Art, with Tomoki Kobayashi credited as the modeler for the character, and like with BabyGodzilla, a mechanical model of Junior's upper body was also created.[18] "Hurricane" Ryu Hariken returned to reprise his role as the character, portraying Junior using the suit during scenes showing Junior alone and during the monster's battle with Destoroyah's Flying and Aggregate Forms. As Junior was intended to be less than half the height of Godzilla himself, the monster was depicted using a miniature animatronic model during the scenes at Haneda Airport and Ariake Coliseum, where it was accompanied by the Godzilla and Destoroyah Perfect Form suits.
As Junior would mature into an adult Godzilla in the film's ending, Nishikawa and Okamoto also commissioned concept art of his adult form, dubbed "New Godzilla." However, for the convenience of budget and schedule, this concept was dropped and the revived adult Junior, given the name "Rebirth Godzilla," was simply depicted by the DesuGoji suit with the LEDs and light bulbs turned off, and fog added so that the LEDs and light bulbs could not be seen. The scene was backlit so that the front of the suit was in the shade, obscuring most of the suit's defining features.[15] Even so, the use of the DesuGoji suit to represent Junior is further evident by examining the tips of Junior's dorsal fins in detail - the fins are slightly translucent, just as they are on the DesuGoji suit. Because of this, S.H. MonsterArts' adult Godzilla Junior is actually a repainted version of the company's Burning Godzilla figure.
The DesuGoji suit used to depict Rebirth Godzilla
Design
BabyGodzilla stands about human height with a slightly hunched posture, and has bluish skin with a gray underbelly and small gray dorsal fins running down his back.
LittleGodzilla stands mostly upright, and has a large head and very large brown eyes and green skin with a yellow underbelly. He also has pudgy arms and stubby legs. This look gave him a very Minilla-like appearance.
As Godzilla Junior, he now resembles his adoptive father more closely, with similar body proportions and physical features. However, unlike Godzilla, Junior's skin is green, with a lighter green on his underbelly, his eyes are a light orange color, he has very small dorsal fins on his back, and he stands with a very hunched posture. After absorbing Godzilla's dying radiation and growing into an adult Godzilla, Junior now looks mostly identical to his father.
Personality
Unlike his adoptive father, this monster is very docile and kind towards humans such as his surrogate mother Azusa Gojo, G-Force major Akira Yuki, and Miki Saegusa. As LittleGodzilla, he is very playful and mischievous. As Godzilla Junior, he is still gentle towards human beings, and is shown to still recognize Miki Saegusa, attempting to defend her from Destoroyah. Whenever BabyGodzilla or LittleGodzilla is scared, his eyes glow red.
In Godziban, Little is the youngest of the Three Godzilla Brothers, but is incredibly smart for his age. When training under Godzilla-kun, he also typically does better than middle child Minilla in performing physical challenges.
Origins
BabyGodzilla hatched from a Godzillasaurus egg on Adonoa Island that was found in a Pteranodon nest, guarded over by the irradiated Pteranodon Rodan, who saw BabyGodzilla as his younger brother. Hiroshi Omae, one of the scientists who discovered BabyGodzilla, proposed that his egg might have been a "parasite egg," meaning that a Godzillasaurus laid its egg in the Pteranodon's nest so that the Pteranodons would raise and care for the hatchling instead, though this theory is never proven or discussed further. BabyGodzilla is not biologically related to Godzilla aside from originating from the same species, though Godzilla still adopted and raised him.
History
- Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993)
- Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (1994)
- Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)
- Godzilla Island (TV 1997-1998) [96 episodes][note 1]
- Godzilla Final Wars (2004) [Rebirth Godzilla stock footage; LittleGodzilla toy]
- Godziban (web 2019-2023) [episodes 1, 3, 5-8, 11-15, 17-25, 27-28, 30-39, 41-50, and 52-63; special episodes 1-5 and 10-11]
- Godzilla Singular Point (TV 2021) [BabyGodzilla egg; end credits]
Heisei era
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II
While inspecting the heavily-irradiated Adonoa Island in the Bering Sea, a team of Japanese scientists led by Hiroshi Omae and Russian petroleum workers discovered a Pteranodon nest containing a hatched egg and a seemingly perfectly intact egg. The scientists loaded the egg onto a helicopter, intending to bring it back to an institute in Kyoto, but they were attacked by Rodan, a giant irradiated Pteranodon that Omae believed hatched from the other egg. Godzilla soon emerged from the sea and came ashore on the island, where he engaged Rodan in battle, buying time for the humans to escape in a helicopter. Godzilla seemingly killed Rodan, then followed the chopper back to Japan. The egg was kept in an institute in Kyoto and watched over by scientist Azusa Gojo. The creature inside of the egg, listening for its mother's voice, imprinted on Azusa as its mother, and exhibited a red glow, indicating fear, any time she left the laboratory. Miki Saegusa had a fern found attached to the egg brought to the ESP institute so as to measure the psychic energy she felt it giving off. Strangely, the students in the institute retrieved music from the fern, and when this music was played it caused the egg to hatch in the laboratory. To everyone's shock, the egg hatched into an infant Godzillasaurus rather than an infant Pteranodon. The hatchling, named BabyGodzilla, proved to be docile, and believed Azusa to be its mother. Suddenly, Godzilla appeared in Japan, and began heading to Kyoto. After defeating Mechagodzilla, Godzilla reached the city, at which point Azusa, Omae, Miki and Kazuma Aoki hid Baby in the basement of the institute. When he could not find Baby, Godzilla eventually returned to the ocean.
Baby was then moved to a G-Force facility, where he was kept in a large enclosure and watched over by Azusa. Studies of BabyGodzilla's anatomy revealed something surprising: the creature possessed a secondary brain located in his hip region, which controlled motor function in his entire lower body. G-Force concluded that, as Baby was of the same species as Godzilla, that Godzilla must possess the same structure. G-Force formed a plan, codenamed G-Crusher, to use BabyGodzilla as bait to lure Godzilla to the Ogasawara Islands, where Mechagodzilla would use its weapons to destroy Godzilla's secondary brain and kill him. Azusa objected to the plan, but she was told that the plan was critical to finally defeating Godzilla. When Baby was being loaded into a canister to be carried to the Ogasawara Islands, his eyes began to glow red. Azusa insisted on accompanying Baby, and entered the canister as well, which was carried by a chopper. En route, the chopper was attacked by Rodan, who had been resurrected as Fire Rodan. Fire Rodan destroyed the chopper and grabbed the canister, attempting to break it open with his beak. Mechagodzilla was launched to stop Fire Rodan and recover the canister, and with the assistance of the Garuda seemingly killed him. Professor Omae and a team of soldiers reached the container and attempted to open it, while Godzilla arrived and began a second battle with Mechagodzilla. Mechagodzilla combined with the Garuda to form Super Mechagodzilla, and succeeded in destroying Godzilla's brain and crippling him. At this point, Baby broke free of the canister and cried out, getting the attention of the wounded Fire Rodan. Fire Rodan took flight, but was shot down by Super Mechagodzilla and fell onto Godzilla. Fire Rodan transferred his life force into Godzilla, restoring his second brain and imbuing him with a surge of power. Godzilla rose to his feet and destroyed Super Mechagodzilla with several blasts of his red spiral heat beam. Knowing that Baby belonged with his own kind, Azusa bid goodbye to him, causing his eyes to glow red again. As Azusa tried to leave in a helicopter, Baby grabbed onto her shirt, tears welling in his eyes. Azusa apologized to Baby and left, leaving him alone with Godzilla. Godzilla approached Baby and roared to him, but Baby cowered in fear. Using her telepathy, Miki Saegusa convinced Baby to go with Godzilla. Godzilla and Baby then waded out to sea together, demonstrating that life would always triumph over artificial life.
Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla
A year later, BabyGodzilla had taken up residence on Baas Island, where exposure to Godzilla's radiation had caused him to grow to 30 meters in height. Now known as LittleGodzilla, the young Godzillasaurus roamed the island freely, frequently following G-Force Major Akira Yuki, who was living on the island to observe Godzilla with the goal of killing him. Despite his hatred for Godzilla, Yuki had a soft spot for LittleGodzilla, who Yuki claimed was fond of him as well. When G-Force members Koji Shinjo and Kiyoshi Sato arrived on Baas Island along with Miki Saegusa, Susumu Okubo and Chinatsu Gondo to enact Project T, Yuki had tear gas mines planted along the shore. Unfortunately, LittleGodzilla set off the mines instead, and eventually ran off into the jungle. When the monster SpaceGodzilla landed on the island, LittleGodzilla approached him. SpaceGodzilla immediately attacked the young monster, causing his eyes to glow red in fear. As if sensing his adopted son was in danger, Godzilla came ashore and confronted SpaceGodzilla. LittleGodzilla cowered behind his father, who fired his atomic breath at SpaceGodzilla, who easily deflected it with a crystal shield. SpaceGodzilla knocked Godzilla down with his corona beam, then used his telekinesis to grab LittleGodzilla and trap him in a crystal prison. Godzilla got back to his feet and pursued SpaceGodzilla to Japan, intent on freeing LittleGodzilla.
After Godzilla defeated SpaceGodzilla with the assistance of MOGUERA, LittleGodzilla's crystal prison was destroyed, and the young monster began roaming Baas Island again and firing atomic bubbles from his mouth.
Godzilla vs. Destoroyah
In 1996, nuclear reactions in Godzilla's heart ignited uranium deposits under Baas Island, causing the island to completely vanish in a fiery explosion. Neither Godzilla nor his adoptive son could be found near the island's former location, and were both initially presumed dead. However, Godzilla, covered in glowing red rashes and dubbed Burning Godzilla, soon surfaced in Hong Kong. LittleGodzilla was still nowhere to be found, and Kenkichi Yamane determined that it was unlikely he survived the explosion. When whales began dying in large numbers in the waters around Japan, Kenichi and Miki Saegusa considered the possibility that the Little One was responsible, having been changed by the explosion. The Little One soon surfaced at Omaezaki in Shizuoka Prefecture, having now grown into a sub-adult dubbed Godzilla Junior by G-Force Commander Takaaki Aso. From Junior's course, it was apparent he was returning to his nest on Adonoa Island, and Godzilla was following him. With Godzilla about to undergo a catastrophic meltdown that would destroy the planet, G-Force formed a desperate plan to get him to fight Destoroyah, a monster spawned by the Oxygen Destroyer used to kill the first Godzilla in 1954, in the hopes he would be killed in the battle. Miki was forced to reluctantly use her telepathy to bring Junior to Tokyo, knowing Godzilla would follow. Destoroyah attacked the chopper carrying Miki and Meru Ozawa, but Junior defended them and battled Destoroyah. Destoroyah pinned Junior to the ground and began injecting Micro-Oxygen into his bloodstream, causing him to foam at the mouth. Junior used his atomic breath to blast Destoroyah off of him and into a refinery, which exploded. Junior rose back to his feet and roared victoriously, and approached Haneda Airport.
That night, Godzilla and Junior reunited at Haneda Airport, calling out to each other. Suddenly, Destoroyah rose from the burning refinery in his demonic final form, then flew to the airport, where he grabbed Junior and carried him high into the air. Destoroyah dropped Junior onto Ariake Coliseum, then blasted him with his Micro-Oxygen beam, mortally wounding him. Miki and Meru landed their chopper near Junior, then watched as he closed his eyes and seemingly died. Both Miki and Godzilla were stricken by grief, while Destoroyah turned his attention to Godzilla. Godzilla battled the evil creature, and eventually defeated him and approached his fallen son. Godzilla tried to breathe energy back into Junior, who briefly opened his eyes before finally passing away. Godzilla roared out in grief, but was attacked by Destoroyah once again. As Godzilla began to melt down, Destoroyah tried to retreat, but was shot down by G-Force's freezer weapons and killed upon colliding with the super-heated ground. As G-Force conducted an operation to minimize the damage caused by Godzilla's impending meltdown by bombarding him with their arsenal of freezer weapons, Godzilla finally died amidst the wreckage of the battlefield. While a China syndrome scenario had been averted by G-Force's efforts, catastrophic amounts of radiation were released into the atmosphere as Godzilla's flesh melted off his skeleton. Though Tokyo seemed doomed to become an uninhabitable wasteland, suddenly, the radiation in the area decreased to normal background levels. Through the smoke, a newly-revived Godzilla Junior roared, having absorbed his father's dying radiation and matured into the new Godzilla.
Godzilla Island
Godzilla Junior was a young monster living on Godzilla Island. Torema developed a bond with Junior as she noticed the strong resemblance to the monster Jigora whom she befriended while on her home planet.
Reiwa era
Godziban
Little and his brother Minilla spent their days on Godzi Godzi Island learning important monster skills from their older brother Godzilla-kun and getting into many misadventures along the way as the Three Godzilla Brothers. When Gigan came to the island to fight Earth's monsters, Little began trying to befriend the space monster and began training sessions with him to test the cyborg's willpower in unorthodox ways, eventually leading Gigan to start changing his ways.
Abilities
Durability
Much like his father, Godzilla Junior is fairly resilient as a sub-adult, but is comparatively weak and helpless as BabyGodzilla and LittleGodzilla, as shown when he cowers and runs away from SpaceGodzilla. Junior also appears to display a slight resistance to Micro-Oxygen, as when he fought the Aggregate and Flying Forms of Destoroyah, he was bitten almost directly over his heart and injected with Micro-Oxygen, yet his durability allowed him to continue the fight and overcome Destoroyah. However, he was no match for the power of Destoroyah's Perfect Form, which quickly overpowered and killed him.
Regeneration
Godzilla Junior possesses an enhanced healing factor, much like his father. He completely regenerates the gaping wound left on his chest by Destoroyah's Aggregate Form in a short period of time. While this may seem to be a continuity error, it is an example of Junior's canonical regenerative capabilities.[21] Just like his father, Junior's regeneration is enhanced when he absorbs more radiation, as demonstrated when he is revived as an adult Godzilla after his lifeless body absorbs the radiation given off by his father's meltdown.
Atomic breath
At the end of Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla, LittleGodzilla displays an atomic breath attack in the form of a stream of tiny bubbles after he is freed. When Baas Island explodes a year later in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, giving him a massive dose of radiation, he gains the ability to fire atomic breath like his adoptive father. This atomic breath is strong enough to shoot Destoroyah's Flying Form out of the sky, sever his Aggregate Form's claw, and blast him into a refinery.
Telepathy
BabyGodzilla is capable of telepathically communicating with both Godzilla and Rodan, and is able to draw them both to his current location. In Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II and Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla, this ability manifests as his eyes glowing red whenever he is frightened, which alerts Godzilla and Rodan to his location. Before hatching, BabyGodzilla's egg glowed red instead.
Energy absorption
Much like his adoptive father, the young Godzillasaurus has the capability to withstand large amounts of radiation and even absorb this energy, which causes him to grow substantially in size. BabyGodzilla's egg was subjected to huge amounts of radiation dumped on Adonoa Island, but this did not adversely affect the embryo or lead to any birth defects when he hatched. While living on Baas Island with his father, Baby was exposed to Godzilla's radiation, which accelerated his growth and caused him to grow into LittleGodzilla, who is much larger than an ordinary unmutated Godzillasaurus, within the span of a year. When Baas Island was destroyed in a deadly uranium explosion, the Little One was initially presumed dead before it was revealed that he, like Godzilla, had absorbed the nuclear energy from the explosion, maturing him further into a sub-adult Godzilla dubbed Godzilla Junior. Finally, once Godzilla melted down in Tokyo and released all of his atomic energy, Junior's lifeless body absorbed all of it, which not only served to bring him back to life, but matured him into an adult Godzilla.
Weaknesses
LittleGodzilla is helpless against SpaceGodzilla, cowering as the space monster ruthlessly attacks him and relying on his father to defend him. Once Godzilla is knocked down by SpaceGodzilla, LittleGodzilla is left defenseless and easily captured in a crystal prison. Godzilla Junior, while much physically stronger than his previous two forms, is still no match for a kaiju the size of Destoroyah's Perfect Form, which is able to lift effortlessly into the air and drop him from a lethal height before finishing him off with a single blast of his Oxygen Destroyer Ray.
Video games
- Godzilla: Giant Monster March (1995) - Sega Game Gear
- Godzilla: Heart-Pounding Monster Island!! (1995) - Sega Pico
- Godzilla Movie Studio Tour (1998) - Windows, macOS
- Godzilla: Trading Battle (1998) - Sony PlayStation
- Godzilla Kaiju Collection (2015) - Android, iOS
- Godzilla (2014) - Sony PlayStation 3 and 4 [Kaiju Guide]
- Godzilla Defense Force (2019) - Android and iOS [game files only; never implemented][22]
- DAVE THE DIVER (2022; added in 2024) - PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and 5 [figurine]
Godzilla (PlayStation 3 / PlayStation 4)
- Main article: Godzilla (2014 video game)/Kaiju Guide#Godzilla Junior.
LittleGodzilla in Godzilla Kaiju Collection
Comics
- Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993) [Tentomushi Comics Special]
- Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993) [Comic BomBom]
- Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (1994)
- Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1996)
- Gojiman #1-3 (2019)
- Godzilla Rivals: Rodan Vs. Ebirah (2023)
- Godzilla: Valentine's Day Special (2024) [photo]
Godzilla Rivals: Rodan Vs. Ebirah
Deep within the most secretive and secure section of the ParaSOL scientific research facility, a comatose BabyGodzilla was being held captive in a tank. In the wake of the incident involving Rodan and Ebirah's escape, Dr. Fatima Ogbannaya approached the infant monster, telling him that "it's your turn now."
Gallery
- Main article: Godzilla Junior/Gallery.
Roar
Godzilla Junior's roar is a higher-pitched Godzilla roar. Rebirth Godzilla uses heavily echoed versions of the Showa Godzilla's roars from the early 1960s.
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Trivia
- BabyGodzilla was featured in an advertisement for Canon photocopiers in Japan.
- BabyGodzilla is one of the few kaiju to have been actually shown eating. In Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, he was eating flowers and Asuza fed him a burger, because there were no other foods that had better nutritious content and Baby was hungry. In his third appearance, Godzilla Junior was implied to attack whales for food.
- Junior's eventual revival at the end of Godzilla vs. Destoroyah is foreshadowed just after he dies. When Godzilla breathes radiation over Junior's dead body, Junior's eyes flutter open and he stirs for a moment, before falling limp and closing his eyes.
- It is commonly believed among some fans that the Godzilla featured in the 1999 film Godzilla 2000: Millennium is meant to be the adult Godzilla Junior, due to it being the first Toho Godzilla film made after Godzilla vs. Destoroyah and the Godzilla in that film sharing some physical characteristics with Junior, such as green skin and a slightly hunched-over posture. In actuality, Godzilla 2000 is a direct sequel to the original 1954 film and is not connected to the Heisei series, and features a new incarnation of Godzilla that is not meant to be Godzilla Junior. Also worth noting is that at the end of Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, Junior looked almost identical to his adoptive father, while Godzilla 2000 looks very different from the Heisei Godzilla and is only a little more than half his height.
- Godzilla Junior makes a brief cameo through stock footage in Godzilla Final Wars, as footage of his resurrection is played over a shot of Godzilla imprisoned inside Area G in the beginning of the film. This cameo is actually responsible for a significant misconception regarding the film.
- In Godzilla Island, the alien monster Jigora (and other members of his species) more closely resembles Godzilla Junior's movie design than his design in the show. Torema nevertheless mistakes Junior for Jigora upon first seeing him.
- The Godzilla from Godzilla: The Series is sometimes called '"Godzilla Junior" or "Zilla Junior" by some fans; however, he and Godzilla Junior are both separate characters.
- "Godzilla Junior" (ゴジラ・ジュニア was an early proposed name for Minilla during production of Gojira Junia)Son of Godzilla.[9]
- The game files for Godzilla Defense Force includes a codex entry and card for Godzilla Junior and a premium ally icon for BabyGodzilla, although they are not currently present in the game itself.[23]
- The 2022 short film Godzilla vs. Gigan Rex may imply that the Godzilla featured in it is the adult Godzilla Junior. The opening shot echoes the final shot of Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, with a voiceover by Miki Saegusa actress Megumi Odaka explaining that Godzilla last appeared a quarter of a century ago, the approximate time between the release of the two films.
See also
- Minilla
- Godzooky
- Baby Godzilla (TriStar)
- Godzilla (Godzilla: The Series)
- Godzilla (Godzilla vs. Gigan Rex)
Notes
- ↑ Episodes 21-30, 54, 58-64, 66, 68, 70-73, 79-84, 94, 111-114, 119-120, 123-130, 132-135, 137-146, 148-150, 157, 161-163, 179, 181, 183-184, 188, 191-194, 199, 207, 209, 212, 217, 223-226, 233-234, 237-238, 243-246, 249-250, and 255-256.
References
This is a list of references for Godzilla Junior. 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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