How do you view Zilla (aka Gino/godzilla 1998/etc)

[TheSecondComing]

A topic like this ought to have a poll.

And GINO is a blight on the character that put the entire Godzilla franchise in this country on life support for nearly 15 years. Godzilla 2000 got an "apologies" release in the West, Shin Godzilla's run was significantly smaller, the rest of Millennium were straight to DVD and largely niche-releases anyway, and only through Yoshimitsu Banno and Thomas Tull does Godzilla mean anything for the time being.

[BooLugosi]

I still fail to see how these are completely different characters but okay.

It's really not too hard to understand.

Look on the back of the Final Wars DVD. Zilla is copyrighted as Zilla, right? And on the back of Godzilla 1998, the copyright is Godzilla. So those two are legally separate characters. In-universe? Anyone's guess.

Now, on the back of the Godzilla Raids Again DVD, there isn't a copyright for Gigantis, but one for Godzilla. Gigantis and Godzilla are the same character. In fact legally, Gigantis doesn't even exist.

Zilla/Godzilla 1998 are legally two separate characters. Gigantis and Godzilla are the same.

LEGALLY, yes. But I can't look at those to designs and think of them as different Kaiju. Zilla is literally made from a scan of a '98 figure from what I heard.

[fanofstuff]

Look, I'm fine with Zilla as long as he is refereed to as Godzilla's nephew.

[tbeasley]

It's an unfortunate misstep in the franchise's history, like Electric Blue Superman or nipples and codpieces on the Batsuit. Perhaps even more damaging than those considering Godzilla was already such a maligned character.

[BlueGojira]

I do not see zilla as a Godzilla incarnation, and I wish it never appears in anymore media whatsoever.
I know many people like zilla jr, but I don't, I hate the folded in arms, the uninspired spines, and especially the fact that they are somehow asexual . Junior may have been a more proper attempt to make a Godzilla but they still used the same design and the same awful retool of the Godzilla roar, he is not a Godzilla.
ultimately the fact is that zilla is basically : a giant iguana with raptor legs and arms w/backwards shark fins and an overly large chin, that is somehow asexual...
Godzilla is generally: a male mutated semi-aquatic dinosaur w/ three rows of large jagged spines, large legs, toes, and tail, and usually either a rounded or crocodilian head.
For all of its flaws & differences, the legendary goji how you properly make an American Godzilla.

While I said in my last post the hate towards Zilla is almost universal and a bit excessive, I agree with this post mostly. Zilla is not a Godzilla incarnation, and the LegendaryGoji is a much better example. However, Zilla appearing in media such as comics by IDW is fine with me, since the character got an upgrade in them, and generally doesn't have too much or too little time in them. In conclusion, I don't consider Zilla a Godzilla incarnation nor do I even really like him/her, but the hate is just scathing at this point. On another note, the only part I really liked about "Godzilla: The Series" was the monsters and concepts of it. I'm just afraid if I say anything else, I'll make a lot of people who like Zilla a tad bit mad.

I guess I went a little overboard with my displeasure of Zilla , I will agree with you on how creative the monsters in "G:ts" were. Most of that was the criticism i've had w/ zilla since childhood because most Americans prior to 2014 only thought of Godzilla as Zilla. I guess as long as the comic companies don't pander to Zilla fans (via having Zilla kill Godzilla) I'm fine with zilla appearing again.

Nah, like I said, I agree with most of what you said. I don't like Zilla at all either, and the only potential it had was the monsters in the aforementioned series. I hated Zilla due to so many people branding it as Godzilla before Legendary's film as well. Don't feel embarrassed about an opinion, especially because I actually agree with you.

[CyberZilla]

Zilla as a kaiju? He's not so bad. Don't get me wrong, he's horrible as Godzilla. But honestly, once you accept that he's a part of Godzilla history, you can enjoy the kaiju a bit more. I don't mind him so much anymore. People are going to hate him, his film, his design, but he never truly bothered me. I mocked him a lot, sure, and you bet I cheered when Godzilla opened up a can of Whoop-Ass on him in final wars, but he's a decent enough kaiju once you strip away the fact that he's supposed to be Godzilla.

[master_of_monsters]

he was the first kaiju I've ever encountered and served as the gateway into the realm of giant beasts so I hold it fairly close... but I will admit the movie wasn't good

[RamshackleRanger]

he was the first kaiju I've ever encountered and served as the gateway into the realm of giant beasts so I hold it fairly close... but I will admit the movie wasn't good

Same, actually. Zilla's one of my favorites kaiju because 1998 was the first godzilla movie i ever saw.

[GoodOlGoji]

probably the worst incarnation of Godzilla aside from maybe SokogekiGoji.

It's alright. I like that they tried a fresh approach but I feel like they kinda blew it. If they had a better director and made it more of an artsy-horror film I think the redesign could have worked. There is concept art on the main site of G98 where it looks all fleshy and emaciated. Would have loved to see that realized fully. But the final movie is meh. better than the 2014 film at least.

Can't bring myself to actively despise or even dislike any version of Godzilla.

[Scarlet Spider]

I love Zilla. Movie was silly, but the design itself is cool. Much better than the Showa suits after 1964. After nearly 20 years, I will never understand the people that constantly bring Zilla up as if he killed their pet or something. Always irked me when these people bring up how he met his end in Final Wars, when nearly every kaiju died just as fast.

I used to confront these kinds of people but as I got older, I felt that they weren't worth it. They can wallow in their hate. I enjoy seeing the fanart Zilla keeps getting from Japanese artists, it's nice seeing him interacting with the other kaiju.

[daveblackeye15]

Still can't stand the movie after all these years...That said with Godzilla the Series and Rulers of the Earth comic I appreciate Zilla/Zilla Jr. now. That comic just redeemed a whole lot of monsters for me. Movie Zilla and the movie itself can burn but Zilla Jr. and comic Zilla are okay with me.

[Kaltes-Herzeleid]

The movie? Utter trash.

The creature? Meh, largely apathetic.

[Zarm]

Guys, it's really weird seeing all these 'after 20 years, why do people still hate Zilla' posts. After 20 years, why do you still LIKE Zilla? Because you like him? Yeah, people's opinions can remain constant.

If you considered the movie crap 20 years and an insult to the name, there's a fairly good chance you can still consider it crap and an insult to the name; that's not abnormal. If you really liked it 20 years ago, there's a fairly good chance you still like it. And some, from both groups, have changed their minds, or just never really cared in the first place.

But maybe stop giving people crap for having an opinion and sticking to it, or treating it like some kind of bizarre aberration that people who are passionate about a franchichise still dislike something that they though was a detriment to the franchise?

[Omegamorph]

Godzilla 1998 -- love both the creature (artistically perfect) and the film

Zilla -- remember in first grade or less when children argued over whose toys were better? "NO! My toy would beat yours so hard!" Exact same mindset put this thing into being. Never cared for it -- fits with the rest of the man-childish trash of the film it is in

[ShinGi]

The monster itself looked great and the movie was a fun monster film but it isn't faithful to the Godzilla character . Honestly I don't really hate it at all im just indifferent at this point.

[BlacktimusPrime]

Guys, it's really weird seeing all these 'after 20 years, why do people still hate Zilla' posts. After 20 years, why do you still LIKE Zilla? Because you like him? Yeah, people's opinions can remain constant.

If you considered the movie crap 20 years and an insult to the name, there's a fairly good chance you can still consider it crap and an insult to the name; that's not abnormal. If you really liked it 20 years ago, there's a fairly good chance you still like it. And some, from both groups, have changed their minds, or just never really cared in the first place.

But maybe stop giving people crap for having an opinion and sticking to it, or treating it like some kind of bizarre aberration that people who are passionate about a franchichise still dislike something that they though was a detriment to the franchise?

As someone who's overall lukewarm on the film and certainly not in the "stop complaining" camp, I suspect that they're referring to people who still seem to be actively seething over the movie as if the wound is still fresh, which after twenty years is more than a little unhealthy (I've read comments that come across that way, myself). I'm not a mind reader of course, just a suspicion. Of course if I'm right there is the problem that text isn't good for conveying tone, so they (and I) might be misreading just how upset they are.

Just my thoughts on the matter, I actually agree with you.

[Omegamorph]

I think it refers to how every time the film is mentioned or there is a post about it there must be someone pointing out how it's not Godzilla or linking to/mentioning the Final Wars Zilla scene etc etc I don't think there's a single Youtube video about the film that doesn't have at least one comment like that for example. Sometimes people get attacked or insulted for liking the film

So yeah some fans seem to be morbid about this thing

[BooLugosi]

Guys, it's really weird seeing all these 'after 20 years, why do people still hate Zilla' posts. After 20 years, why do you still LIKE Zilla? Because you like him? Yeah, people's opinions can remain constant.

If you considered the movie crap 20 years and an insult to the name, there's a fairly good chance you can still consider it crap and an insult to the name; that's not abnormal. If you really liked it 20 years ago, there's a fairly good chance you still like it. And some, from both groups, have changed their minds, or just never really cared in the first place.

But maybe stop giving people crap for having an opinion and sticking to it, or treating it like some kind of bizarre aberration that people who are passionate about a franchichise still dislike something that they though was a detriment to the franchise?

This. ^^^ I don't get why people get so upset that people still hate this movie and flip out on those don't consider it a "Gojira" movie and vice versa. I discuss the film and my opinion on the kaiju but I don't get upset when people consider it an incarnation of Goji.

Added in 3 minutes 7 seconds:

Godzilla is generally: a male

The movies mostly don't specify what gender Goji is. In fact, Haruo Nakajima always thought of the second Showa incarnation as a female and played the character as if it was. I'm pretty sure it's meant to be left vague.

[GodzillavsRayquaza]

The movie, and the character, was my introduction to kaiju. In my opinion, Godzilla 1998 is a heavily flawed movie, that's still really fun when viewed as a standalone. Personally, I love Zilla. I think he's a interesting kaiju with a design not commonly seen in the Godzilla franchise.

[MechaGoji Bro7503]

Godzilla is male, there are just way too many facts leading to that. Tomoyuki Tanaka has pretty much refered to Godzilla as "he" alot. Alas, all of thats a story for another time.

Zilla is cool, but just not as Godzilla himself.