Monster Discussion #49: MechaGodzilla (Heisei)

[Stump Feet]

I think the only complements I could give this incarnation is its roar was really cool and I liked the way its knee joints looked when it walked, other than that, easily the worst Mechagodzilla to date, even when compared to Mechagodzilla City.

The worst scene in his movie has to be when Godzilla grabs on to his head/neck and throws him, I have no clue how the director could look at that as the perfect take.

[_JNavs_]

I think the only complements I could give this incarnation is its roar was really cool and I liked the way its knee joints looked when it walked, other than that, easily the worst Mechagodzilla to date, even when compared to Mechagodzilla City.

The worst scene in his movie has to be when Godzilla grabs on to his head/neck and throws him, I have no clue how the director could look at that as the perfect take.

He reminds me of a stainless steel fridge tbh.

[LSD Jellyfish]

I think the only complements I could give this incarnation is its roar was really cool and I liked the way its knee joints looked when it walked, other than that, easily the worst Mechagodzilla to date, even when compared to Mechagodzilla City.

The worst scene in his movie has to be when Godzilla grabs on to his head/neck and throws him, I have no clue how the director could look at that as the perfect take.

I think to it`s benefit through, it looks "heavy" and you can feel it`s weight. It actually looks bulky and made out of metal, unlike various shots of the Showa incarnation. Agreed its the worst though.

[CrimsonBloodX]

I use to like Kiryu more than the Heisei Mechagodzilla, but now I find them pretty equal. Kiryu has a better design, origin, hand-to-hand combat skills and a good personality for a machine, but the Heisei Mechagodzilla has a better array of weapons, can be used without having to worry about its energy, can withstand Godzilla and Fire Rodan's beams and was powerful to kill Fire Rodan and almost kill Godzilla twice.

[godjacob]

Easily my least favorite Toho mecha, I would rather watch a film about the Garuda which only exists to be an upgrade for Mechagodzilla rather than Mechagodzilla itself. And given the fact it may probably be the strongest Toho mecha is something that will make me groan till the day I die.

[edgaguirus]

If this version had some level of hand to hand combat ability, then it might be better. It's bristling with powerful weapons, but that just makes it a flying and walking tank. I will say that the design is good.

[ShinGojira14]

An interesting thought came to my mind:

If Godzilla vs Berserk had actually been made, would that have altered the course of MechaGodzilla's portrayals as a man-made anti-Kaiju weapon?

[edgaguirus]

I rather like the idea of MG being a living metal creature.

[LSD Jellyfish]

An interesting thought came to my mind:

If Godzilla vs Berserk had actually been made, would that have altered the course of MechaGodzilla's portrayals as a man-made anti-Kaiju weapon?

I think so, but I think a G-Force/"Good" MG was always going to happen. I think it's interesting seeing how like Godzilla, MG has drastically switched back and forth between being a villain and hero depending on the incarnation. The RP1 ( ) MG and the MV MG sort of bucked that trend. Even thoughout the IDW comics, only once (the Showa MG arc) has MG been explicitly evil.

[Gailah 1966]

Fun fact. I watched Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla 2 two days ago.

Heisei Mechagodzilla is the epitome of a glass cannon. He had the firepower to beat Heisei Godzilla and Fire Rodan from a distance.
But when it comes to close combat he is useless. Even Rodan who was half of the size and less than a quarter of wieght of Mechagodzilla caused distress.

The design is okay for me. Most fans like Kiryu or the showa version more and I can understand that. It was the 90s. Look at the cars of the 90s everything was rounded and aerodynamic. So the trend was noticeable on Mechagodzilla too.

What remains in memory is his incredible firepower and his size. 20 meters higher than Godzilla (in the movie it looked more like 10 meters) but yes, his size and the silver shining diamond coating made an impression.

Hail to the Heisei series!

[StardustGenius]

I remember reading that part of the reason why production staff decided to make Mechagodzilla be a long ranged fighter, is because the suit was prone to damage when handled roughly. I could see their reasoning behind that. The suit was pretty shiny, and constantly cracking or chipping could delay shooting.

Also, while I am not a big fan of this Mechagodzilla, especially when the superior Combiner Mechagodzilla design was skipped, it really did set itself apart from the other ones of the past and to come, by being a piloted super robot emphasizing fire power and ranged combat.

[edgaguirus]

It could also be that piloted mechs were popular in the 90s.

[StardustGenius]

Mechas have always been popular since the genre got a lot of the tropes associated with it with shows like Mazinger Z, Combattler V, Voltes V, Gundam, and Evangelion. Mechagodzilla being a piloted super robot was not so much "it was popular", but more of a progression of the tropes associated with mechas. Mechagodzilla wasn't just a robot now, it was something actively inspired by the almost 20 years of tropes associated with the genre.