Monster Discussion #36: MechaGodzilla (Showa)

[GotengoXGodzilla]

I'm with TV on this. There is no good reason given as to why the G-Force made their robot look like Godzilla.

Maybe that's not the intimidation they were going for. Maybe they wanted to piss Godzilla off and make him think another Godzilla was in his territory to provoke a fight between the two, hypothetically leading to Mechagodzilla's victory.

I would think that's the last thing that the G-Force wants. Why would they want to send their untested robot and crew up against a very pissed off Godzilla? If anything, that's going to lead to MechaGodzilla's demise even faster.

EDIT: That's like saying I want to bring down this great Samurai Warlord, and in order to do so, I dress myself up as his dead son to throw him off. That's not going to make me win the fight. It's going to piss off the samurai so much, that he'll fight me as hard as he can, and show no mercy. That's the same here, and I think it's just as odd.

[Kaiju-King42]

Well, this is the Heisei series. Punching, clawing, kicking, biting, or headbutting was considered unrealistic, while for some reason giant beams of energy wasn't.

Well that's true but to say there was zero T&C would be wrong. King Ghidorah and Battra larval still got in close for physical combat even if it wasn't anything noteworthy.

Destoroyah and Biollante were also very physical monsters. Biollante only used her acid spray once!

[Living Corpse]

Well, this is the Heisei series. Punching, clawing, kicking, biting, or headbutting was considered unrealistic, while for some reason giant beams of energy wasn't.

Well that's true but to say there was zero T&C would be wrong. King Ghidorah and Battra larval still got in close for physical combat even if it wasn't anything noteworthy.

Destoroyah and Biollante were also very physical monsters. Biollante only used her acid spray once!

Well yeah them too. I didn't mention Biollante because some people think I'm just a fanboy, and Destroyah, well I haven't seen the film in a while so I don't remember how often he got in close but I do remember him pummeling Godzilla and dragging him with his tail.

[Tyler]

I would think that's the last thing that the G-Force wants. Why would they want to send their untested robot and crew up against a very pissed off Godzilla? If anything, that's going to lead to MechaGodzilla's demise even faster.

I dunno. Humans are always cocky going up against Godzilla. But the theme of the movie was life vs. artificial life. Godzilla won because he was the real deal and Mechagodzilla was a phony.

[GotengoXGodzilla]

I would think that's the last thing that the G-Force wants. Why would they want to send their untested robot and crew up against a very pissed off Godzilla? If anything, that's going to lead to MechaGodzilla's demise even faster.

I dunno. Humans are always cocky going up against Godzilla. But the theme of the movie was life vs. artificial life. Godzilla won because he was the real deal and Mechagodzilla was a phony.

...Pretty sure Godzilla won, because Rodan gave him his life force. If Rodan hadn't done that, MechaGodzilla, the phony, would have won.

[Tyler]

...Pretty sure Godzilla won, because Rodan gave him his life force.

Which only pushes the life vs. artificial life theme, and to support that even further the Garuda was supposed to bring Godzilla back to consciousness from an energy leak or something but they swapped it with Rodan's own excess radiation. Godzilla would have ultimately won no matter what from the plot and theme of the movie, not from what-if fantasy match type stuff.

Okay what were we talking about again?

[Kaiju-King42]

How awesome Mechagodzilla Showa is?

[GotengoXGodzilla]

...Pretty sure Godzilla won, because Rodan gave him his life force.

Which only pushes the life vs. artificial life theme, and to support that even further the Garuda was supposed to bring Godzilla back to consciousness from an energy leak or something but they swapped it with Rodan's own excess radiation. Godzilla would have ultimately won no matter what from the plot and theme of the movie, not from what-if fantasy match type stuff.

I don't see how that pushes the "life vs. artificial life" theme any further. You can apply the same circumstances to two artificial creatures, and it would still work. Let's say that MechaGodzilla was the hero, and Godzilla was beating the crap out of him, and MechaGodzilla was running low on energy. Using some technical bullshit, the Garuda (in place of Rodan), could transfer all of it's energy to MechaGodzilla, giving him his second wind and beating Godzilla.

Energy is energy. It can be transfered just as much from organic creatures to inorganic creatures. And that's the problem with the whole "life vs. artificial life" theme of GvsMG2. They don't do a good job with it. I'm not saying that it doesn't fit in the film, but that it takes proper planning and scenes to make it work. GvsMG2 didn't do that well enough. In the end, life is shown to be the only way to go, according to the film. Whereas artificial life is shown in such a negative light that there's no arguing for it. So it's really not "life vs. artificial life", but "Life is awesome. Artificial life sucks." If there has to be a "versus" part, where it's one against another, then both sides have to be shown evenly, and that's not the case in GvsMG2.

Also, there is no written rule that says Godzilla has to win in the end. Hell, in preproduction for the film, Godzilla was suppose to lose to MechaGodzilla. Sometimes in a story, the hero doesn't win. Sometimes the story doesn't follow the traditional genre traits that it's given. The film could have just as easily gone with Godzilla losing to MechaGodzilla. That's just how life is.

[ghidorasauras]

mecha Godzilla is so F*cking badass he is my third favorite kaiju!

[Shadow]

How awesome Mechagodzilla Showa is?

Just about the awesomest mutha-fudgers in the Showa Era.

[Rody]

I find it somewhat ironic that many people criticize the Heisei beam-spamming, yet adore Showa MechaG (myself included).

[thatsoundman]

I agree that the 74/77 mg is the best and here is the reason why.
Able to shoot beams from its eyes; can generate a force field by rotating its head at a tremendous speed; able to fire an electric current from its chest; equipped with rockets on its feet for flight at mach 5; able to fire a concentrated beam when head is removed; can launch missiles from fingers, feet, throat, knees and toes.
Now i'm going to have to watch it before i go to bed tonight. the advantage of owning most of the movies.

[Goji]

I find it somewhat ironic that many people criticize the Heisei beam-spamming, yet adore Showa MechaG (myself included).

I don't think it's all that ironic.

The 90's MG lacks character, and is essentially a giant "walking talk" that looks like a giant, metallic duck. That's not very appealing as a Mechagodzilla. Not to me at least.

Not only that, the original has this "retro", almost steampunk-esqe look to him that a lot of people seem to dig.

[TokyoVigilante]

He also savagely beat King Caesar without the aid of any beam weaponry, not counting the chest laser that slashed open the mountain.

[kaiju115]

I would probably consider Mechagodzilla, to be my favorite of Godzilla enemies, I think Mechagodzilla should go back to being a bad guy.

[Ethan]

There's nothing wrong with the "Heisei beam spamming". Criticism is due battles consisting of nothing but beams. Such is not the case with Nakano's Mechagodzilla. His "all-out assault" is saved for the climax, it's not a stiff prop/suit being compensated by lots o' beams, it's the big pay-off.

[Godzillaprime05]

He's a a well designed kaiju. I hate how SMG has become the standard Mecha-G.

[kaiju115]

Honestly I like how SuperMechaGodzilla is the standard Mechagodzilla now. Though, like I said before, Mechagodzilla needs to go back to being the antagonist, a robot made out of Space Titanium, and built by the Blake Hole Aliens.

[Goji]

He's a a well designed kaiju. I hate how SMG has become the standard Mecha-G.

Yeah, that's bugged me for quite some time, actually. He's easily the lamest of the three, and not even popular in Japan.

[Kaiju-King42]

He's a a well designed kaiju. I hate how SMG has become the standard Mecha-G.

Yeah, that's bugged me for quite some time, actually. He's easily the lamest of the three, and not even popular in Japan.

I hate how any monster has become the standard anything. Why can't we have a comic with a showa MechaG and a arcade game with a heisei MechaG? Same goes with Ghidorah, or Godzilla, or Rodan, or anybody!