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Godzilla's Gender: Voice your opinion (and don't be a jerk)

Posted: Mon May 25, 2015 2:31 pm
by Moguera24
So I'm just curious as to the general fan opinions on this topic.

Personally, I've always thought of Godzilla as male, but I'm really not picky with gender, so either male or female works for me.

The poll is re-votable in case you change your opinion

Re: Godzilla's Gender: Voice your opinion (and don't be a j

Posted: Mon May 25, 2015 2:33 pm
by Ryguy
Male. Plain and simple. The Japanese Godzilla and the Legendary Godzilla are both male. Zilla is female (they never gave any explanation as to why they were referring to it with male pronouns in the film), on the other hand.

Re: Godzilla's Gender: Voice your opinion (and don't be a j

Posted: Mon May 25, 2015 2:43 pm
by MDK
Male. Thats it. I feel like theres no need to inject gender stuff into it when he's clearly called a male in nearly every piece of media he's in (besides GINO) and how TOHO considers him to be male. I'm not trying to say that this thread shouldn't exist, I'm just throwing my opinion out there. Feel free to disagree.

Re: Godzilla's Gender: Voice your opinion (and don't be a j

Posted: Mon May 25, 2015 2:46 pm
by PRIMEVAL
I feel that he's always been male, personally.

Re: Godzilla's Gender: Voice your opinion (and don't be a j

Posted: Mon May 25, 2015 3:05 pm
by ScootaVaran
Male.
Would be cool to have a female Godzilla, though.

Re: Godzilla's Gender: Voice your opinion (and don't be a j

Posted: Mon May 25, 2015 3:07 pm
by Moguera24
^Pretty much why I put in the 2nd and 4th options.
I'm all for open interpretations of kaiju, considering the ambiguity of their characters

Re: Godzilla's Gender: Voice your opinion (and don't be a j

Posted: Mon May 25, 2015 3:09 pm
by Indominus Rex
Ryguy wrote:Zilla is female (they never gave any explanation as to why they were referring to it with male pronouns in the film), on the other hand.
G98 is asexual.

As for the topic, I feel like Godzilla is genderless. Why do people feel the need to assign a gender to a hundred foot tall, radioactive dinosaur? Seems pointless to me.

Re: Godzilla's Gender: Voice your opinion (and don't be a j

Posted: Mon May 25, 2015 3:28 pm
by LSD Jellyfish
Depends which iteration.
I think 1954 is female and Minya is the child of that Godzilla. Showa goji is the adopted father or mate, that's at least what I like to think. There's no real substantial evidence for this other than the guy who portrayed most of the Godzillas in suit but I like to think this as it cures a lot of theories.

GMK Godzilla doesn't have a sex because ressurected ghost monster thingy.

The rest I assume are male.

Showa Godzilla showed an interest in Daigo but who knows, maybe Showa Godzilla is a lesbian.

Re: Godzilla's Gender: Voice your opinion (and don't be a j

Posted: Mon May 25, 2015 3:39 pm
by Moguera24
Indominus Rex wrote:
Ryguy wrote:Zilla is female (they never gave any explanation as to why they were referring to it with male pronouns in the film), on the other hand.
G98 is asexual.

As for the topic, I feel like Godzilla is genderless. Why do people feel the need to assign a gender to a hundred foot tall, radioactive dinosaur? Seems pointless to me.
I think it's just for clarification. It's simpler to comprehend an indescribable being when you give it a gender. It makes it seem more "human" and less frightening. (the same logic applies to Lovecraftian Cthulhu-like creatures).

That and it's so much easier to say "he" or "she" than "it".
LSD Jellyfish wrote:
Showa Godzilla showed an interest in Daigo but who knows, maybe Showa Godzilla is a lesbian.
What's this about? Who's Daigo?

(Also you have the same head canon about G54 that I have, that's awesome)

Re: Godzilla's Gender: Voice your opinion (and don't be a j

Posted: Mon May 25, 2015 3:41 pm
by TetsukiGroudon
It really depends on what gender the story or script wants Godzilla's gender to be. The default option is male though.

Re: Godzilla's Gender: Voice your opinion (and don't be a j

Posted: Mon May 25, 2015 4:06 pm
by kpa
This really is a "no brainer/no debate" topic. Officially, all the incarnations of Godzilla in the Toho movies and the two American versions are male.

For nearly 60 years, Toho has promoted Godzilla around the world as the "King of the Monsters." And their official Godzilla biography reads: "He began life as a Godzillasaurus millions years ago when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. Exposed to radiation in the mid 1950's, Godzilla, as he came to be called, transformed into a towering monster capable of delivering a devastating atomic blast with his breath. Since then, Godzilla has menaced the cities of Japan and fought off many seemingly unbeatable adversaries, earning him the title, King of the Monsters."

Beyond that, Toho's has repeatedly referred to Godzilla in male terms (he, his, him, dad, king, etc) when promoting the character and his films...

1955: Toho's English publicity material for the original GODZILLA reads "Awakened by H-bomb tests from the 2 million of his dormant life"

1957: Toho releases the Americanized GODZILLA KING OF THE MONSTERS in Japan as KAIJU O GOJIRA (Monster King Godzilla).

1962: For KING KONG VS GODZILLA Toho issued a billingual press release with statements from both monsters. Kong is quoted as saying "I will fight to the last ditch in the forthcoming encounter with Mr Godzilla."

1967: In both the Japanese and English versions of SON OF GODZILLA the characters call Godzilla a "dad".

1967: In the original Japanese trailer for SON OF GODZILLA Minya calls Godzilla “Daddy”.

1972: Toho dubbed Godzilla with a male voice in GODZILLA VS GIGAN.

1974: Toho's English tag line for GODZILLA VS MECHAGODZILLA reads: "Godzilla fights his robot double..."

1989: Toho's English tag line for GODZILLA VS BIOLLANTE reads: "The most terrifying monster of all time is back in his greatest movie ever."

1999: GODZILLA 2000 screenwriter Hiroshi Kashiwabara: “Because this is the first of a new series of Godzilla films, we decided to go back to the roots and study what made him so unique in the first place.”

2002: Toho licensed Godzilla as a spokesman for the National Fatherhood Initiative.

2002-2003: GODZILLA AGAINST MECHAGODZILLA/TOKYO SOS director Masaaki Tezuka: "In this movie, Godzilla does not hate Mechagodzilla. This is because Mechagodzilla is created from the DNA in his father's bones. What pisses Godzilla off is that this was done in the first place. He is unhappy about Mechagodzilla being manipulated by human beings."

2004: The press release for Godzilla's 50th Anniversary festivities: "the world premiere of his latest film GODZILLA FINAL WARS at Grauman's Chinese Theatre."

2004: Toho Pictures President/Godzilla series producer Shogo Tomiyama's speech at the Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony: "Godzilla should thank you for this historical and monumental star but, unfortunately, he cannot speak English as I can so I'm going to speak on his behalf. We are really excited that the Japanese-born Godzilla is honored in America. He should be feeling like a Japanese kid allowed to play Major League Baseball."




And on the US side, there's the following examples from publicity materials...

SON OF GODZILLA: Godzilla engages in exciting combat to protect his infant son

GODZILLA VS THE BIONIC MONSTER: See the mighty Godzilla in a fight to the death with his bionic double!

TERROR OF GODZILLA: The mighty titan of terror in his most incredible adventure!

Hanna Barbera's GODZILLA: Spine-tingling adventure and fun with an all-time monster favorite and his comical, cowardly cousin...

GODZILLA 1985: Like you've never seen him before!

GODZILLA VS BIOLLANTE: The most terrifying monster of all time is back in his greatest movie ever.

GODZILLA VS. KING GHIDORAH: Godzilla will soon awaken and wreak havoc upon Japan unless he is destroyed.

GODZILLA AND MOTHRA: THE BATTLE FOR EARTH: With two powerful foes to reckon with, has Godzilla finally met his match?

GODZILLA VS DESTOROYAH: With a super-charged blast from his nuclear past, a new Godzilla emerges from his own ashes, radioactive and ready to take on Tokyo!

GODZILLA (1998): Producer/co-writer Dean Devlin : "He will be more ferocious and spectacular and surprising than his predecessors. Lethal, fast and agile-a definite monster."

Sony's bible for GODZILLA: THE SERIES: Godzilla is the offspring of the first Godzilla who trashed New York City in the 1998 feature film. He differs from his father in several major respects — he cannot reproduce asexually but he can breathe powerful blasts of radioactive fire. Whereas the first Godzilla would run from danger and slip between buildings, this Godzilla faces it head on and battles his foes to the death, week after week.

GODZILLA 2000: With a brand-new look and a powered-up atomic ray, the king of the monsters is back. This time he faces a formidable new foe in Orga...

GODZILLA VS. MEGAGUIRUS: The Meganula queen, the 50-meter Megaguirus, is also on a hunt for Godzilla, needing to steal his energy to survive.

GODZILLA: FINAL WARS: He saves the Earth for the last time... Several years after he is buried... Godzilla celebrates his 50th birthday

GODZILLA (2014): Director Gareth Edwards: “At the start of the process, I felt that in some way we could decide and control who Godzilla was, but, as we went along, we started to realize that Godzilla was going to tell us who he was, just like actors who have their own take on their characters. We couldn’t totally dictate what it was going to be; it was more about just trying different ideas and permutations. And, slowly, he revealed himself to us.”



Toho (and their international distributors and production partners) have been so consistent on this subject for decades that I am always amazed when Godzilla fans think otherwise.

Re: Godzilla's Gender: Voice your opinion (and don't be a j

Posted: Mon May 25, 2015 4:44 pm
by BlankAccount
Male. His son is adopted (as shown in the movies).

End.

Re: Godzilla's Gender: Voice your opinion (and don't be a j

Posted: Mon May 25, 2015 5:10 pm
by Space Hunter M
She's a man in Japan.

Re: Godzilla's Gender: Voice your opinion (and don't be a j

Posted: Mon May 25, 2015 5:11 pm
by GodzillavsJason
Space Hunter M wrote:She's a man in Japan.
So......Sleepaway Camp?

Re: Godzilla's Gender: Voice your opinion (and don't be a j

Posted: Mon May 25, 2015 5:59 pm
by GigaBowserG
GodzillavsJason wrote:
Space Hunter M wrote:She's a man in Japan.
So......Sleepaway Camp?
Great, I've been trying to suppress that face :freak:

Other than G1998, always viewed Godzilla as male. "Gigantis" has always sounded rather feminine to me, though.

Re: Godzilla's Gender: Voice your opinion (and don't be a j

Posted: Mon May 25, 2015 6:01 pm
by Space Hunter M
Godzilla lays eggs. She must be female. Remember SoG and Mechagodzilla II?

Re: Godzilla's Gender: Voice your opinion (and don't be a j

Posted: Mon May 25, 2015 6:11 pm
by Starsteam
I see Godzilla as male, but even with Toho's official say, Goji can just be referred to as it, even though there isn't really much of an argument to go by. Of course, a lot of people ignore canon and official wording anyway. I'm surprised the Wikipedia page hasn't been spam-edit to use all female pronouns.

As for G'98, he's asexual, so he isn't anymore female than male. The characters continue to refer to him as male even after they find out he's pregnant.
Don't know what Zilla is, but Toho seemed to transfer most of the concepts associated with the Tristar Godzilla to it, it's safe to assume Zilla is also probably male. We've never seen that one lay eggs thou.

We do have a female version of Godzilla in that Gojirando animation.

Re: Godzilla's Gender: Voice your opinion (and don't be a j

Posted: Mon May 25, 2015 6:25 pm
by OWNi
Typically seen and referred to as male, but I don't think it matters at any rate.

I should clarify that most Godzillas are typically male, but 98 is the exception. Since it laid eggs it must logically be female.

Re: Godzilla's Gender: Voice your opinion (and don't be a j

Posted: Mon May 25, 2015 6:30 pm
by Starsteam
OWNi wrote: I should clarify that most Godzillas are typically male, but 98 is the exception. Since it laid eggs it must logically be female.
It was clarified in the movie and this thread that it's asexual. Keep in mind, not only did it lay eggs, it fertilized the eggs. There were no male Godzillas to impregnate it, so it couldn't "logically" be just a female. Of course, not saying you can't view it as being female.

Re: Godzilla's Gender: Voice your opinion (and don't be a j

Posted: Mon May 25, 2015 6:45 pm
by OWNi
Starsteam wrote:
OWNi wrote: I should clarify that most Godzillas are typically male, but 98 is the exception. Since it laid eggs it must logically be female.
It was clarified in the movie and this thread that it's asexual. Keep in mind, not only did it lay eggs, it fertilized the eggs. There were no male Godzillas to impregnate it, so it couldn't "logically" be just a female. Of course, not saying you can't view it as being female.
It actually can be seeing as some species of lizards engage in parthenogenesis.

EDIT: Plus, egg laying is one of the definition parts of the "female" designation, even if parthenogenesis or other asexual procreation occurs. Again, certain lizards.