Article: 6.5
Date: 9/09/06
Last Update: 1/09/07

It's never an easy task to track names and titles across languages. As has been cited countless times before, translating in itself is an art, as a group of people can each be given the same line of text and translate it into several different ways. In the case of Japanese, this becomes even more confusing with the names of fictional characters as one has the choice of either translating it literally or leaving it in Romaji. This matter is further confused by alternate names that have been coined in other markets that the movies are released in. Thankfully, Toho International stepped up to the plate to create their own official English names for their parent company's properties. Unfortunately, Toho International hasn't been consistent with their choices, and has reversed their decisions a number times; in the process adding even more names to the "pool."

This article stresses to list these alternate names that were given to Toho's characters, while also giving a brief history into their origins. However, since these films have been released in so many markets, with countless merchandise to go along with them, this article will always be a work in progress. It should also be stressed that subtitles for characters are not included. For example, although the film Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971) was first brought to the US as Godzilla vs the Smog Monster, the creature itself was still referred to as Hedorah in the movie.

Credit goes out to Teh Pimp for some of this information.

Character: Godzilla  Alternate Names:   Gigantis   Gojira Toho's most iconic character, Godzilla is known the world over while his name and likeness have been parodied countless times in popular culture. As most are aware, the monster's Japanese name in Romaji is actually "Gojira", a combination of the words gorilla (gorira) and whale (kujira). This name is rarely ever used on licensed products in English though, outside of a few examples like Classic Media's DVD release of the first film. When it came time to sell the 1954 movie overseas the name Godzilla was first coined by Toho themselves, and was retained for the movie's distribution in various markets. However, when the sequel, Godzilla Raids Again (1955), was bought for distribution in the United States the character's name was changed to "Gigantis" by the group who purchased the rights. This was done under the presumption that audiences would be more interested in a new monster than a sequel to Godzilla. The US version of the film was then produced using this name, and then sold to Warner Bros who released the movie theatrically in America. Thankfully, the name never stuck, as all later distributors in the United States opted for the name Godzilla for the character.

Character: Anguirus  Alternate Names:   Angilas   Angurus "Angilas" is actually the monster's original international name, but like many characters Toho has revised this over time. "Angurus", without the "i", was the creature's US name that was first coined for Gigantis the Fire Monster. Like a lot of names created in the US, it has appeared several times in Japanese publications as well, even as late as 1999 in B Media Books' The Godzilla Chronicles Vol. 3. Toho stuck with the name Angilas, though, up until 1974's Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla when the name Anguirus finally began to appear, and would eventually become their preferred English spelling for the creature over time.

Character: Rodan  Alternate Names:   Radon One of Toho's most popular characters, Rodan has been known almost exclusively outside of Japan under that title. A direct translation of the character's name into Romaji, though, is "Radon", a spelling which has rarely been used for the character in English. However, for whatever reason, the creature's name was dubbed this way for the 1993 film Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, while Japanese publications released around this time also began to refer to the character as "Radon." If there was a serious consideration at Toho to change the character's English name or not is hard to say, but the trend didn't last as books released in Japan the very next year returned to using Rodan.

Character: Orochi  Alternate Names:   Eight-Headed Serpent   Yamata no Orochi Based on one of Japan's most popular mythical beasts, the creature's full name is "Yamata no Orochi", with the Yamata part being derived from the Yamataikoku country that was said to have existed in Japan. When the movie The Three Treasures (1959) was first sold internationally, Toho simply called the creature the "Eight-Headed Serpent" in the English pamphlets. It's not clear exactly when, but at some point Toho began to refer to the creature as the shortened "Orochi", which is what was used for Yamato Takeru (1994) in foreign markets and would stick as their preferred English title for the character. However, one thing that should be noted is that this does not apply to the character as it appeared in Onmyoji II (2003), as that film was produced through a committee and Toho International does not maintain the rights for the movie overseas.

Character: King Ghidorah  Alternate Names:   King Ghidrah   King Ghidora The original international title for King Ghidorah is, actually, exactly that. However, when the 1964 movie Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster was first brought state side, the name "Ghidrah" was used instead for the monster, which Toho incorporated into the following film: Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965). Toho International eventually revised this, as the spelling "King Ghidora" was instead chosen and appeared prominently for promotion of the 1991 production Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah. However, in an unusual move for the international firm, the name was changed back to their original spelling of King Ghidorah, as it appeared for Rebirth of Mothra 3 (1998) and onwards.

Character: Xilien  Alternate Names:   X Seijin   X Alien   Alien X   Xilian The Xiliens have probably had one of the more muddled naming processes, to the point where this site had been using the wrong name for a long time as a result. In terms of their Japanese title, a direct Romaji translation would be "X Seijin", which is also as it appears on the Bandai toys. A literal translation of this would be "X Alien", as stated by Douglas Gordan in Godzilla: Final Wars (2004), or "Alien X", as sometimes used in Japanese publications. When Godzilla's 50th Anniversary film went into pre-production, though, the name "Xilian" started to appear on concept art, as the extraterritorial race had been given a more unique name than was suspected. This spelling was also used in the theatrical pamphlet of the movie, yet when the film was subtitled for international markets the spelling of Xilien was used instead. Apparently, this is actually Toho's preferred spelling of the name, as it also appears in most publications released for and after the 2004 Godzilla film. In an odd move, though, Sony used the "Xilian" spelling for their DVD release, which is apparently how the name appeared in the original English script for the movie. So there has definitely been some miscommunication in this respect, or simply a lack of effort to keep it uniform. On a closing note, this alien race was also commonly referred to as the "Xians" by many fans up until 2004; however, as far as I know this fan coined name has never appeared on any officially licensed products.

Character: Ebirah  Alternate Names:   Ebira Although unnamed in the original US version, the creature has been universally known as Ebirah, as spelled in the international title of the movie Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966). The name itself originates from the Japanese word for shrimp (ebi). The only other name that has been used for the creature, that I'm aware of, comes from the Amada company, who dropped the "h" and often referred to the creature as "Ebira" in card series such as the one for Godzilla: Final Wars (2004).

Character: Kamacuras  Alternate Names:   Gimantis   Kamakilas This creature was originally dubbed "Gimantis" for the international dubbing of Son of Godzilla (1967) and the subsequent US dubbing. Later, Toho began using the name Kamacuras for the character, a close proximity to the creature's Romaji title of "Kamakirasu", which would eventually become their preferred English name for the monster. Some Japanese publications, most notably in the early and mid-1990's, used the English name of "Kamakilas" for the character though, which can be seen as an alternate translation into Romaji as r's and l's are interchangeable and u's are often dropped.

Character: Gabara  Alternate Names:   Gavalla Known almost universally as Gabara, the character was, however, referred to in English as "Gavalla" in Japanese publications for decades, including the The Godzilla Chronicles and the Encyclopedia of Godzilla series that ran for the 1990's Godzilla films. The name "Gavalla" can simply be seen as an alternate translation into Romaji, much in the same vein that some fans referred to Varan as "Baran" early on. Thankfully, with the turn of the century, most Japanese publications have begun using the correct English spelling of Gabara for the character.

Character: Black Moth  Alternate Names:   Kroiga   Griffon Probably one of the most puzzling name choices that Toho International ever decided upon, the Black Moth was only referred to as "Kroiga" in the 1969 movie Latitude Zero; a name which, naturally, came from the unfortunate captain of the Black Shark whose brain was used to create the creature. In Japanese publications, though, the creature is always titled the "Griffon", both in Hiragana and in English. Toho, however, settled upon the English name of the Black Moth for the monster, which is a literal translation of "Kroiga" (Kuroi=Black, Ga=Moth).

Character: Mothra Leo  Alternate Names:   Mothra   New Mothra   Exceled Mothra Interestingly enough, Toho International has no real preferred name for the second Mothra in the Rebirth of Mothra series. Reportedly, the only title they use for the pre-Rainbow Mothra form of the character is simply "Mothra." In Japanese, the creature's literal name is "New Mothra", while a Japanese publication in 2004 coined the English name "Exceled Mothra" (with just one "l", although this is probably a typo) for the character. This leads to the name "Mothra Leo", which was derived from the song of the same name that appeared in the first Rebirth of Mothra (1996) film during the Larva's creation of its cocoon. This song title is seen on both the single (PCCR-00244) and double disc (PCCR-00243) releases of the score, although its unclear why the name "Mothra Leo" was chosen for it. Fans picked up on the name early on though, as it started appearing for this version of Mothra shortly after the film's release on sites such as Mark Lockwood's Tohotopia. The name quickly took off amongst the internet community, and is now widely used for the character. The only time it has ever appeared in English, though, was again in reference to the song title, when ADV Films released the soundtrack of the first movie in the States, although they spelt it as one word: "Mothraleo".

Character: Keizer Ghidorah  Alternate Names:   Kaizer Ghidorah   Monster X II Godzilla's last opponent in Godzilla: Final Wars (2004), there has been a lot of confusion regarding the spelling of the creature's name, brought on by its origin and due to the fact that it's never spoken in the movie. As some know, the name is derived from the German word for emperor: Kaiser. This, coupled with the fact that a translation of its name into Romaji is "Kaiza", have caused many to add an "a" to the English spelling of its name. Fans aren't alone in doing this, though, as there have also been a number of publications in Japan that have used "Kaizer Ghidorah" while Sony also used this English spelling on the chapter menu for the DVD of the film. To further complicate matters, Toho's "trademark logo" for the character has a totally different name of "Monster X II"; something that was likely done to avoid spoiling his inclusion in the motion picture, which was a heavily guarded secret during production. Regardless, Toho's preferred name for the creature is Keizer Ghidorah, with the first word being a Dutch variation of emperor/kaiser, which is also how it appears in the theatrical pamphlet for the movie; unfortunately, this spelling is also rarely used on licensed products.