GMK Guardian Monsters Discussion Thread

[JAGzilla]

Apologies in advance if these guys already have discussion topics; I couldn't find any.

Anyway, what the title says. This thread is for discussion of Baragon, Mothra, and King Ghidorah, the three 'Guardian Monsters' featured in Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack. They were, to quickly summarize for anyone potentially unfamiliar with them, originally dangerous, marauding kaiju that were defeated by the ancient Japanese. Their souls were imprisoned, and tasked with defending Japan from any severe threats it might face in the future. In the movie, one of those threats happened to be Godzilla. The Guardians were revived, and attempted to carry out their mission by attacking him. All three were killed, but they managed to weaken Godzilla enough that the JSDF was able finish him off.

I just re-watched the movie for the first time in a while, and figured I'd post my thoughts on these monsters:

Baragon: Probably my favorite of the three. His suit looked great, probably better than the pictures I've seen of the Showa version. They did a good job of selling him as a hero, and you really felt for the poor guy as he tried to fight Godzilla. He put up a pretty good fight, too, considering. Digging a trench to trip Godzilla, diving right in and mauling him despite the size difference, climbing up the cliff and trying to get at Godzilla's face... and then getting stomped into the ground and vaporized for his trouble.

I hope Baragon gets another major role in some future movie, though I think I'd prefer to see him as a man-eating villain again, like the Showa version.

Mothra: Visually cool, if not a lot else. She looked both great and dramatic in flight; I particularly liked the shot where she initially dove off of the skyscraper to attack Godzilla, and the ones where she'd pull up high above the city before diving in again. I just wish she'd actually had more of an ability to fight. I know she was supposed to lose, but just uselessly scratching at Godzilla's head was kind of pathetic. The stingers were decent, though. Maybe she could've used those again, or something. Oh, well. At least she got a nice, heroic sacrifice scene.

King Ghidorah: I'm still not entirely sold on this guy as a hero, but meh. The movie did a decent job with the concept. I'm also not much of a fan of his design; the heads look pretty good for this role, but the body was weirdly proportioned and just...odd. For the most part, though, they did a commendable job of filming him from angles that made him look as good as he can. I liked this version's fighting style, too, all the biting and close-in grappling, rather than the beam-spamming of the other versions. The electric bites and forcefield were cool additions, too. So it evens out. Visually and personality-ly, he's one of my least favorite Ghidorahs, but his fight scenes made up for it.

So, what's everyone else think about them? Discuss.

[Rody]

I'll agree with you that Baragon is probably the best of the three; his execution is pretty much flawless, and his character fits the role well enough. I think this suit is probably an improvement on the original, as he is now stockier, smaller, and more compact -- fitting for a burrowing animal. My only complaint (or nitpick) is that he seriously needs bigger claws.


Mothra has always been a mystical, deity-like kaiju, so she fits this role perfectly. Her execution is done well enough, although I agree she didn't actually do much. Her design is also excellent; I'm not sure I want to see it again, but her more ominous appearance was appropriate for this film.


King Ghidorah is kind of a mixed bag. Appearance-wise, he fits the role; he's a big golden dragon, after all. Character-wise, however, he doesn't fit at all. Come on, we're talking about the former Destroyer of Worlds! Seeing KG in the role of the underdog is odd, to put it lightly -- although, I remember reading a comment by someone that there was an irony/appropriateness to KG becoming the hero when Godzilla had become the villain, and I suppose I see their point.

With all things considered, though, the film crews did a very impressive job. King Ghidorah still puts up a great fight - THREE TIMES. This Ghidorah doesn't give up!
The suit is also very well done. It doesn't look sloppy or rushed, and there aren't really any major problems with it, unlike Sokogecki-Goji. The only "faults" with this suit - small wings, stumpy legs, overall shortness - are not to be blamed on the designers; they are the necessary result of Ghidorah being put in the wrong role.

[edgaguirus]

I liked Baragon. He showed impressive smarts, courage, and determination. He was a viscious scrapper, too. Though he died, his end was as it should have been- he died fighting.

Mothra had a nice update, but her character wasn't that impressive.

King Ghidorah was a disappointment at first. The three headed dragon being a close up brawler just didn't work for me, but the electric bite was a clever allusion to the gravity bolts. Once King Ghidorah had wings, I was satisfied. King Ghidorah as a hero was unexpected, and it didn't fit the characters perceptions. The monster did work as a hero, though. I just hope it's the only hero outting for King Ghidorah.

[Godzillabrawler]

I like how everyone hates the "Destroyer of Worlds" reduced to something they deem pitiful.

One thing nay-sayers need to think about is that the Ghidorah in this universe will become Orochi if he grows long enough. And I don't know anything about Orochi, but I know I would be scared to death if I saw that thing fighting Godzilla.

[HayesAJones]

Baragon is great. Awesome suit, very convincing, and I loved his determination. So scrappy. It's like Anguirus mentored him. I'm pretty neutral on Mothra. I don't dislike it, but the more wasp-like/insectoid features just didn't click with me. I liked Ghidorah. The suit is okay, maybe a bit awkwardly portioned, but I did like the regal face. That's what distinguished him from the other Ghids for me, those lovely fangs and lively lavender eyes (ALLITERATION!). His powers were a pleasant mix-up of the classic arsenal, with the electric bites, forcefield/spirit ball, and more thunder-like gravity bolts. Most of all, I really loved the idea of him not as a classic Ghidorah, i.e. a three-headed dragon, but as an underdeveloped Orochi.

So overall, Baragon aside, not spectacular monsters on their own, but work really well in the movie itself.

If only we got Anguirus and Varan though.

Ditto, especially on Angy.

[attilagodzilla]

I liked the guardian monster, mothra got the best redesing personality wise she was meh
King ghidorah's desing was okey not bad I liked it,And I thought he suited the hero role well and I don't get the complains about that i mean godzilla was also a villain in the beginning and became a hero later?
Baragon's desing was worse then showa IMO i thought his new desing was to fat but his personality was great and i hope they will bring him back in a future film

[g2kmaster]

Just going to mention this right now (use it any way you wish in the debate), but if Godzilla was to fight Orochi or an organism which would turn into an Orochi-like being, he would be a gargantuan titan capable of covering a good bit of whichever Japanese island he is on with his body.

"As it crawled it extended over a space of eight hills and eight valleys."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamata-no-Orochi

Seeing how it is easy to penetrate GMK Goji's skin, we could assume that Yuri Tachibana would be the award winning director of "Godzilla Holocaust". It would be interesting though if GMK Goji decided to absorb more souls to grow bigger in such a case.

[RedZillaKing]

It's not easy to penetrate GMK Godzilla's skin.

[g2kmaster]

It's not easy to penetrate GMK Godzilla's skin.

An explosive with a drill head was able to penetrate his skin. A Heisei-era weapon, a much more powerful weapon, would do a good deal more damage.

[Godzillabrawler]

It's not easy to penetrate GMK Godzilla's skin.

An explosive with a drill head was able to penetrate his skin. A Heisei-era weapon, a much more powerful weapon, would do a good deal more damage.

Excuse me, but what?

It took the Ghidorah Spirit Bomb + Godzilla's Atomic Breath to penetrate SokogekiGoji's skin. The blast created from the GSP + Goji's Breath leveled an entire section of dock in a massive explosion, and it only barely opened GMK Goji's skin. The drill worked from the inside, so it was able to do more damage to the unprotected flesh.

[RedZillaKing]

Yes thank you. GMK is probably the most durable Godzilla ever.

[tenup]

This film couldve very well been just right with Godzilla and Baragon alone. Since Godzilla was the focus of the film, I just dont get why TOHO thought it was wise to use 2 other big name kaiju only to give them a back seat. They shouldve focussed on Godzilla and how the Japanese people deal with it directly. Not to say Mothra's performance was lacking because this was my favorite performance of her. But Ghidorah? WTF? You dont do that Toho.

[TokyoVigilante]

This film couldve very well been just right with Godzilla and Baragon alone. Since Godzilla was the focus of the film, I just dont get why TOHO thought it was wise to use 2 other big name kaiju only to give them a back seat. They shouldve focussed on Godzilla and how the Japanese people deal with it directly. Not to say Mothra's performance was lacking because this was my favorite performance of her. But Ghidorah? WTF? You dont do that Toho.

More big names = more marquee value = more money

[Ethan]

But money isn't important. Toho is all about the quality.

[Breakdown]

GxM Godzilla is the most durable. Tanking black holes says enough. Even if he didnt actually tank them, he still withstod the destructive effects of the Dimension Tide.

[RedZillaKing]

Sorry I didn't mean durable in that way. I was referring to his hide's durability. Which is impressive... even among Godzillas.

[edgaguirus]

But money isn't important. Toho is all about the quality.

GMK had good reviews by critics outside Japan, so it does have an appealing quality. It's a good film.

[Breakdown]

Did it get good reception in Japan too?

[edgaguirus]

I'll need to look that up.

[Goji]

Did it get good reception in Japan too?

Yes, it did. From what I understand, it did better the weeks following the opening thanks to positive word of mouth.