Unpopular Godzilla Opinions

[Gigantis]

I find it weird that Mechaghidorah scored higher than Gigan and Hedorah.

I'm not surprised. Mechagodzilla is almost as famous as the guy he's based on, and he probably gets just as much merchandise as they do (if not more)

[Legion1979]

I said MechaGHIDORAH.

[Gigantis]

I said MechaGHIDORAH.

Oof. Sorry, the sun is bright AF over here and can barely see my keypad.

[godjacob]

I mean in fairness, Mechagodzilla is just "Godzilla but a robot" and is one of the most popular monsters ever. Mecha-King Ghidorah having an audience for similar reasons isn't that much of a stretch.

[Legion1979]

I mean in fairness, Mechagodzilla is just "Godzilla but a robot" and is one of the most popular monsters ever. Mecha-King Ghidorah having an audience for similar reasons isn't that much of a stretch.

Not exactly the same, really, at least to me. Mechagodzilla is a character all it's own. It's appared in multiple movies across every era and spanning 50 years. There have been many different types of Mechagodzillas, from a glorified walking tank, to an evil alien robot, to a cyborg created with Godzilla DNA, to whatever Mechagodzilla City was. More than anything else, the versatility of Mechagodzilla is what makes it enduring.

Mechaghidirah is the corpse of a very specific King Ghidorah wearing robot armor that appeared at the end of a solitary film. It's a three-headed climactic deus ex machina.

Anyway, here's a new unpopular opinion. Get ready....

The current Godzilla logo (his name in English on plain white text in a solid black box) is the most corporate, soulless thing imaginable. It represents "Godzilla the brand" more than it represents "Godzilla the character".

[JAGzilla]

The name in a plain box is a perfect representation of Reiwa Era Godzilla's character. He doesn't have any, and Toho seems to want him to stay in that box.

[ShoMustGo2054]

I like EVERY English version better than the Japanese version.

Please be gentle.

[mikelcho]

I liked Godzilla: Final Wars. In fact, I always thought it was like Destroy All Monsters on steroids.

[Legion1979]

The name in a plain box is a perfect representation of Reiwa Era Godzilla's character. He doesn't have any, and Toho seems to want him to stay in that box.

It's the perfect representation of modern Godzilla in general. I probably won't get any support on this, but something unique and special about Godzilla died when the Monsterverse proved popular enough to become a franchise. Until then, Godzilla existed as a completely Japanese entity, with American interpretations coming and going pretty quickly. There was a period where most Americans didn't even know Toho was still making Godzilla films after 1984 and the character was completely niche. There were some American products but the bulk of the good stuff all had to be imported. Godzilla just seemed special and something you needed to embrace the Japanese side of in order to really enjoy it. He was never even close to mainstream.

While now Godzilla isn't Star Wars or Marvel levels of mainstream, he's still a LOT more mainstream than he ever was. His film career is healthier in American than it is in Japan. Toho's insistance on making Godzilla a truly international icon has resulted in an almost exhausting amount of American product. A person can build a rather large collection of Godzilla products that aren't even made in Japan.

While in many ways this is good (especially of you're a person who needs their Godzilla fandom validated by the monster being super popular internationally) there was something really special about being a fan in the 80s through the 2000s that's pretty much gone today. Godzilla is know becoming known by new fans and casuals as another big budget CGI American franchise. His mystique is going away. And it all coincides with that ugly as fuck logo. Godzilla is serious business now to Toho and that sterile logo reflects that.

Although it became a little overused, I definitely miss the logo New World popularized in the 80s. Big, loud and colorful, with cracks all over it . Even the anniversary logos Toho had been doing over the past 15+ years were fun and classy. Now it's just...white letters in a black box.

[Spirit Ghidorah 2010]

It's the perfect representation of modern Godzilla in general. I probably won't get any support on this, but something unique and special about Godzilla died when the Monsterverse proved popular enough to become a franchise. Until then, Godzilla existed as a completely Japanese entity, with American interpretations coming and going pretty quickly. There was a period where most Americans didn't even know Toho was still making Godzilla films after 1984 and the character was completely niche. There were some American products but the bulk of the good stuff all had to be imported. Godzilla just seemed special and something you needed to embrace the Japanese side of in order to really enjoy it. He was never even close to mainstream.

At the risk of sounding like a gatekeeping old man, I'm inclined to agree. Even the "pre-mainstream" films (G'98 and G'14) acknowledged the brand's Japanese roots more than the later movies.

Back then, introducing Godzilla into an American culture was an event. Now it's just another summer blockbuster.

[godjacob]

Apparently the worst thing a franchise can do is be successful it seems lol

[Houndoom]

Apparently the worst thing a franchise can do is be successful it seems lol

For real though lol. While I somewhat understand their concerns as when a series becomes more mainstream it tends to dumb itself down or lose its original theme. But it’s not like the Monsterverse is the only thing Godzilla now. As we still have this World of Godzilla/ Shin Hero Universe.

[Spirit Ghidorah 2010]

> Implying Godzilla as a franchise was never successful until 2014 came around

[Legion1979]

Apparently the worst thing a franchise can do is be successful it seems lol

That's not what I'm saying and that's not what Spirit Ghidorah is saying.

[godjacob]

> Implying Godzilla as a franchise was never successful until 2014 came around

Wasn't implying that, but does seem to be a big "mainstream so it sucks" attitude right now.

[Legion1979]

> Implying Godzilla as a franchise was never successful until 2014 came around

Wasn't implying that, but does seem to be a big "mainstream so it sucks" attitude right now.

No one is saying that. What I said (and what SG is agreeing with) is that, since Godzilla has become more mainstream, what made the franchise so special as this niche thing before is gone. It doesn't mean what it is now is "bad", just different.

[eabaker]

> Implying Godzilla as a franchise was never successful until 2014 came around

Wasn't implying that, but does seem to be a big "mainstream so it sucks" attitude right now.

Nobody said or implied that anything "sucks"; they said that becoming a mainstream American property dilutes what had previously been an essential part of the character's/franchise's identity.

EDIT: Legion beat me it.

[godjacob]

> Implying Godzilla as a franchise was never successful until 2014 came around

Wasn't implying that, but does seem to be a big "mainstream so it sucks" attitude right now.

Nobody said or implied that anything "sucks"; they said that becoming a mainstream American property dilutes what had previously been an essential part of the character's/franchise's identity.

EDIT: Legion beat me it.

And I am of the opinion that this attitude is a bit extreme and smells of gatekeeping syndrome. Certainly doesn't paint any quality of those works in a positive light even if they don't outright say it sucks.

[Legion1979]

I feel like you're just not getting it and I'm especially over the entire "gatekeeping" argument coming up every time a certain generation hears something they don't like from the older fans. So I'm done trying to explain it.

[miguelnuva]

Still a better argument than saying Shin is better than the Monsterverse because it was made in Japan.

Added in 41 seconds:

I feel like you're just not getting it and I'm especially over the entire "gatekeeping" argument coming up every time a certain generation hears something they don't like from the older fans. So I'm done trying to explain it.

What is the special thing you feel the franchise has lost exactly? One can argue Godzilla was always in mainstream Anerican pop culture it just wasn't as you said Star Wars or Marvel ect.