Godzilla: The Look/Appearance Speculation

[Crocodile]

But Godzilla is a giant dinosaur...his form is rather imaginable and heard of.

n00b alert.

It's funny, because aside from maybe myself, and GXG he's the oldest still active member here.

You funny.

[bearijuana]

I joke I joke, I kid I kid, because it pisses me of when people say Godzilla is just a giant dinosaur, regardless of whether they're a mod or not.

[Crocodile]

I joke I joke, I kid I kid, because it pisses me of when people say Godzilla is just a giant dinosaur, regardless of whether they're a mod or not.

But he IS just a giant dinosaur, who spits fire.
Not exactly the most imaginative design that ever spawned out Japan.

[kaiju_wars]

I joke I joke, I kid I kid, because it pisses me of when people say Godzilla is just a giant dinosaur, regardless of whether they're a mod or not.

But he IS just a giant dinosaur, who spits fire.
Not exactly the most imaginative design that ever spawned out Japan.

Except for what Godzilla represents in all his destructive might.

[bearijuana]

But he IS just a giant dinosaur, who spits fire.

You should meet Roland Emmerich, I think you two would get along just fine!

[Crocodile]

But he IS just a giant dinosaur, who spits fire.

You should meet Roland Emmerich, I think you two would get along just fine!

No that was a lizard, Godzilla is a dinosaur.

They're two very different type of animal, that happen to both belong to the greater reptile family.
I honestly don't know how you could describe him as anything MORE than that.
Same way Gamera is a turtle, that flies and spits fire.

Or are you gonna hit me with that "He has a personality!" crap.

[kaiju_wars]

But he IS just a giant dinosaur, who spits fire.

You should meet Roland Emmerich, I think you two would get along just fine!

No that was a lizard, Godzilla is a dinosaur.

They're two very different type of animal, that happen to both belong to the greater reptile family.
I honestly don't know how you could describe him as anything MORE than that.
Same way Gamera is a turtle, that flies and spits fire.

Or are you gonna hit me with that "He has a personality!" crap.

But Godzilla does.

Please don't ruin my childhood.

[Crocodile]

But Godzilla does.

Please don't ruin my childhood.

Not in any movie I've ever seen, with the possible exception of All Monsters Attack.

Aside from that, he's usually portrayed as reasonably intelligent, but for the most part a blank slate. The beauty of it all is, the audience imposes whatever persona they want on to him.

He's what you want him to be, but he himself is rather undefined.

[bearijuana]

But Godzilla does.

Please don't ruin my childhood.

Not in any movie I've ever seen, with the possible exception of All Monsters Attack.

Aside from that, he's usually portrayed as reasonably intelligent, but for the most part a blank slate. The beauty of it all is, the audience imposes whatever persona they want on to him.

He's what you want him to be, but he himself is rather undefined.

He was pretty pissy in GMK.

[UltramanGoji]

But Godzilla does.

Please don't ruin my childhood.

Not in any movie I've ever seen, with the possible exception of All Monsters Attack.

Aside from that, he's usually portrayed as reasonably intelligent, but for the most part a blank slate. The beauty of it all is, the audience imposes whatever persona they want on to him.

He's what you want him to be, but he himself is rather undefined.

He was pretty pissy in GMK.

Well, what if you woke up one day and you were possessed by the souls of WWII soldiers? I think you'd be pretty pissed too.

[Jomei]

Showa Godzilla totally has personality in most of his films. What movies were you guys watching? Characters can be developed by much more than just dialogue, you know. How can you say the Godzilla in Son of Godzilla has no character? He takes specific actions that display his motivations and temperament. All you have to do is compare that Godzilla to the one in King Kong vs Godzilla to see that his different incarnations have personality. Hell, in Ghidorah the Three Headed Monster, you even see Godzilla act according to his aggressive, territorial instincts but then change his mind because he's inspired by Mothra's bravery.

No personality?! Come on, guys.

[Living Corpse]

Showa Godzilla totally has personality in most of his films. What movies were you guys watching? Characters can be developed by much more than just dialogue, you know. How can you say the Godzilla in Son of Godzilla has no character? He takes specific actions that display his motivations and temperament. All you have to do is compare that Godzilla to the one in King Kong vs Godzilla to see that his different incarnations have personality. Hell, in Ghidorah the Three Headed Monster, you even see Godzilla act according to his aggressive, territorial instincts but then change his mind because he's inspired by Mothra's bravery.

No personality?! Come on, guys.

This. A good actor can deliver good lines, an amazing actor can say a lot through just body language alone which the suit actors pretty much had to do since the monsters can't talk with the exception of the Twins talking for Mothra (and the weird shit in Gigan and the computer inside Kiryu in Tokyo S.O.S.)

[Jomei]

Here's some cool art I saw. Not sure if it's what I'd want for the film, but it's a cool re-design. Apologies if it's a re-post.

[bearijuana]

Showa Godzilla totally has personality in most of his films. What movies were you guys watching? Characters can be developed by much more than just dialogue, you know. How can you say the Godzilla in Son of Godzilla has no character? He takes specific actions that display his motivations and temperament. All you have to do is compare that Godzilla to the one in King Kong vs Godzilla to see that his different incarnations have personality. Hell, in Ghidorah the Three Headed Monster, you even see Godzilla act according to his aggressive, territorial instincts but then change his mind because he's inspired by Mothra's bravery.

No personality?! Come on, guys.

I agree with this wholeheartedly, saying he has no personality is a step in the right direction to becoming the next Roland Emmerich. And I love that design you posted, I have never seen that before.

[SuperSaiyan4Godzilla]

I feel as though you guys are taking "no personality, but we project one on him" at face value.

[HayesAJones]

I don't think you could write an essay on monster personalities or anything, but there are definitely hints of them there.

[Living Corpse]

Well monsters can't talk so the suit actors have to emote through body language to give us an impression of personality. Animaltronics like GMK's facial expressions help too.

[Jomei]

I feel as though you guys are taking "no personality, but we project one on him" at face value.

I generally assume people mean what they say in the absence of information suggesting otherwise, yes.

I disagree with the idea that the Showa Godzilla (in most of the films) is anything like a "blank slate." He clearly exhibits personality traits. It's not projecting to see the fatherly personality of MusukoGoji or the cocky, territorial nature of KinGoji.

Now, you could say that for the film maker Godzilla presents somewhat of a clean slate. A lot of different things can be done with him. But it's certainly not the audience projecting personality on him.

[Crocodile]

It's not projecting to see the fatherly personality of MusukoGoji

No, even that is largely interpretive.

Godzilla displays paternal instincts to a degree, but he seems to be a lousy father.
He saves Minya twice sure enough, but in all other duties he's lax and lazy. Making him something of a Male African lion, with no females. Even then, he is generically protective. Even neglecting feeding Minya, to the degree a newborn must do it himself. This doesn't present Goji or Minya as very personified, but inversely makes them more animalistic, (Though admittedly, Minya has more personality than his father, in that it's a goofy little plaything) Godzilla acts like an animal protecting it's young, rather than any significant source of fatherly guidance. In fact, to the contrary rather than fatherly the movies climax makes him seem kinda neglectful. Minya is only captured by Kumonga as Godzilla was sleepy. Nothing says fatherly love, like letting your kid run around without supervision. (Also he knew one of the Kamacurus Mantises was still on the island somewhere, so even understanable ignorance of Kumonga can't get Goji out of this one. Unless being stupid is also part of his personality) Right down to teaching Minya how to do one thing, defend himself. Since, Godzilla doesn't actually seem to eat in the Showa series let's think of this as a stand in for hunting. Though while on that note, hell Minya even has to be fed by, either himself or the native chick, whom I forget the name of. It's not very fatherly of not to feed his kid. It's just animal behavior, and just like watching lions on the Animal Planet we personify them to be more like us.

I could write a rebuttal for KinGoji too, as he is also largely interpretive, but I'm honestly quite lazy and burn out from term papers

[Jomei]

The fact that you say, "he's a lousy father" shows that you already understand that he has personality. If anything MusukoGoji might be said to be something like the archetypal Japanese father--a strict authoritarian and stern, sometimes impatient teacher, at times absent, but ultimately loving and ready to step up on his son's behalf. He displays emotions, motivations, strengths, and flaws. This is personality.

You can have an opinion about the quality of Godzilla's fathering or the content of his character, but it's there.

Take MegaroGoji for another example. His relation to humanity is not up for much debate or interpretation. The events in the film clearly show that he is humanity's friend who will step up to defend them--even to his own peril--if they ask. He also has a much more lively personality than MosuGoji, for example, and seems to take great enjoyment in defeating his enemies.

Yeah, you can have some opinions, but an opinion is only worth as much as it can be supported by facts from the film. You can't say MegaroGoji is an evil monster bent on avenging the crimes of the Pacific War like you can with GMK Goji.