Unpopular Godzilla Opinions

[G2000]

Admittedly I haven't yet read the G2000 manga outside of the little untranslated snippets available on the main site, but I actually sort of prefer the depiction of the Millennians as a humanoid race as opposed to the tentacled creature in the actual film. While I would generally prefer that films stay away from overly humanoid depictions of aliens and I admittedly like the design of the film's Millennian, I think their depiction in the manga does a lot more to further the tragedy and body horror elements of Orga's character.

[LSD Jellyfish]

Admittedly I haven't yet read the G2000 manga outside of the little untranslated snippets available on the main site, but I actually sort of prefer the depiction of the Millennians as a humanoid race as opposed to the tentacled creature in the actual film. While I would generally prefer that films stay away from overly humanoid depictions of aliens and I admittedly like the design of the film's Millennian, I think their depiction in the manga does a lot more to further the tragedy and body horror elements of Orga's character.

...if you want it I got it...

Not something I'm going to do, as I'm already busy finishing up other projects I'm working on, but yeah.

[G2000]

...if you want it I got it...

Not something I'm going to do, as I'm already busy finishing up other projects I'm working on, but yeah.

As in you have a translated version or an untranslated version

If it’s untranslated it’s fine, I’m not trying to put more work on you or make you do something you don’t want to do

Regardless, I’d be happy if you could share it with me

[Spuro]

I also am here for the kaiju at the end of the day... but at the same time — and I don't know if this is a popular opinion or not — I think the franchise *generally* has stronger human character than most give it credit for. From the past two decades I'd offer up GMK, GxMG, and G14 (yes, I think Ford is fine) as examples.

[Jetty_Jags]

I think a lot of issues with Ford come down to his personality (or lack there of) more so than his “character”. I honestly don’t think his character, family man driven by the desire to save his family on a journey across the world, is any less or more fleshed out than a lot of movies (not trying to get into a debate about if this should or shouldn’t be the standard), the issue is that his personality is fairly reserved (or the more critical may argue nonexistent). Therefore it’s not that he doesn’t have motives, but more so that the audience doesn’t really have anything to latch on to as he’s not very expressive.

[Jeff-Goldblum2]

I think Heisei Godzilla is still way better than Heisei Gamera.

Now Heisei Gamera is pretty good really but the huge praise as the gold standard of all kaiju films isn't warranted.

I feel people come to the conclusion of their quality by comparing it to the Showa Gamera series where the contrast in difference is quite large, so the impression comes off a lot better. No slight on Showa Gamera I actually love Showa Gamera, we're just talking about general perception.

[Kaltes-Herzeleid]

Since everyone was all off on kaiju they consider overrated/overhyped I guess I'll throw my hat into the ring: Destroyah. I'm not saying I dislike him or that he isn't at least one of the stronger Godzilla opponents I think his reputation of "THE BESTEST AND STRONGEREST GODZILLA VILLAIN EVAR!!!!" is undeserved. Hell, even in his respective era King Ghidorah and Super Mechagodzilla came closer to killing Godzilla than he ever did. I think his hype comes from his (somewhat realized and somewhat squandered) potential and childhood experience.

Funny I'm saying this since I used to be part of "Destroyah is the best" crowd too and now consider both King Ghidorah and Mechagodzilla to be superior villains for Godzilla.

[Voyager]

Since everyone was all off on kaiju they consider overrated/overhyped I guess I'll throw my hat into the ring: Destroyah. I'm not saying I dislike him or that he isn't at least one of the stronger Godzilla opponents I think his reputation of "THE BESTEST AND STRONGEREST GODZILLA VILLAIN EVAR!!!!" is undeserved. Hell, even in his respective era King Ghidorah and Super Mechagodzilla came closer to killing Godzilla than he ever did. I think his hype comes from his (somewhat realized and somewhat squandered) potential and childhood experience.

Funny I'm saying this since I used to be part of "Destroyah is the best" crowd too and now consider both King Ghidorah and Mechagodzilla to be superior villains for Godzilla.

This. I like Destoroyah and I would put him in my top ten, but I know how the more casual fans seem to worship him. If any monster should be worshipped it should be King Ghidorah (Any version except GMK and maybe Heisei), Mechagodzilla (Showa & Heisei), Hedorah (Showa) and heck, even SpaceGodzilla.

[Kaltes-Herzeleid]

Since everyone was all off on kaiju they consider overrated/overhyped I guess I'll throw my hat into the ring: Destroyah. I'm not saying I dislike him or that he isn't at least one of the stronger Godzilla opponents I think his reputation of "THE BESTEST AND STRONGEREST GODZILLA VILLAIN EVAR!!!!" is undeserved. Hell, even in his respective era King Ghidorah and Super Mechagodzilla came closer to killing Godzilla than he ever did. I think his hype comes from his (somewhat realized and somewhat squandered) potential and childhood experience.

Funny I'm saying this since I used to be part of "Destroyah is the best" crowd too and now consider both King Ghidorah and Mechagodzilla to be superior villains for Godzilla.

This. I like Destoroyah and I would put him in my top ten, but I know how the more casual fans seem to worship him. If any monster should be worshipped it should be King Ghidorah (Any version except GMK and maybe Heisei), Mechagodzilla (Showa & Heisei), Hedorah (Showa) and heck, even SpaceGodzilla.

Thing is I feel like his strong popularity is mostly a Western fandom thing, with his most vocal fans being those specifically born in the 90s and early 2000s. A popularity poll from Japan back in 2017 showed that he's fairly low on the list. Didn't even crack top fifteen and got beaten Baragon, Monster X/Keizer Ghidorah and Jet Jaguar.

[Voyager]

Since everyone was all off on kaiju they consider overrated/overhyped I guess I'll throw my hat into the ring: Destroyah. I'm not saying I dislike him or that he isn't at least one of the stronger Godzilla opponents I think his reputation of "THE BESTEST AND STRONGEREST GODZILLA VILLAIN EVAR!!!!" is undeserved. Hell, even in his respective era King Ghidorah and Super Mechagodzilla came closer to killing Godzilla than he ever did. I think his hype comes from his (somewhat realized and somewhat squandered) potential and childhood experience.

Funny I'm saying this since I used to be part of "Destroyah is the best" crowd too and now consider both King Ghidorah and Mechagodzilla to be superior villains for Godzilla.

This. I like Destoroyah and I would put him in my top ten, but I know how the more casual fans seem to worship him. If any monster should be worshipped it should be King Ghidorah (Any version except GMK and maybe Heisei), Mechagodzilla (Showa & Heisei), Hedorah (Showa) and heck, even SpaceGodzilla.

Thing is I feel like his strong popularity is mostly a Western fandom thing, with his most vocal fans being those specifically born in the 90s and early 2000s. A popularity poll from Japan back in 2017 showed that he's fairly low on the list. Didn't even crack top fifteen and got beaten Baragon, Monster X/Keizer Ghidorah and Jet Jaguar.

Also, a lot of his fans come from the younger generations thinking he’s just so damn cool because he’s the devil or something. Which to be fair, is why I like Dessy. He’s just so cool looking! (And I like his roars too, but yeah.)

[Jeff-Goldblum2]

Well Destroyah has origins connected to the Oxygen Destroyer, so that does kind of make him a strong candidate as Godzilla's major nemesis.

I agree going by actual fights on screen then King Ghidorah and Mechagodzilla are much better 'ultimate' foils for Godzilla.

[Kaltes-Herzeleid]

Well Destroyah has origins connected to the Oxygen Destroyer, so that does kind of make him a strong candidate as Godzilla's major nemesis.

Problem is they don't delve into it much from a thematic standpoint. One thing Godzilla Vs. Destoroyah does manage to get right is reminding us full force that Godzilla was unleashed by the power of the atomic bomb, they talk about how Destroyah was created by the Oxygen Destroyer, a weapon hypothetically worse than the bomb. But that's about all they do. It pretty quickly takes a back seat and Destroyah soon just becomes another monster for Godzilla to fight.

Even the implication that Destroyah's existence completely renders Serizawa's sacrifice invalid is glossed over. Imagine if the characters were really hit by that. That Destroyah is Serizawa's legacy, regardless of whatever goodness he tried to do.

These ideas, at best, only exist by the most fleeting of implications. That's what I mean by "squandered potential" and by my view on that potential being a reason why he's popular among a certain sect of the fanbase.

Though sadly he wouldn't get that kind of depth in the Monsterverse either since the Oxygen Destroyer has none of the thematic weight of the original. (And this is coming from someone who loves KotM)

I certainly wouldn't object if they brought Destroyah back in the future and made him the central villain of a story and gave him characterization that makes his fan hype more justifiable but the more analytical I've gotten the less Destroyah and his one cinematic outing holds up.

[Jeff-Goldblum2]

I also realized by my own comment that King Kong and Mothra should be strong candidates for Godzilla's ultimate foe since they are some of the few to actually beat him.

Gigan got him pretty hard in Godzilla Vs Gigan as well.

[JAGzilla]

Gigan got him pretty hard in Godzilla Vs Gigan as well.

Holy crap, somebody delete this before Reddit or Dougherty see it! We don't need to give them ideas!

In all seriousness, though, Gigan is a punk. That's all he ever was. He did some damage, sure, but he's nowhere near deserving of being called Godzilla's greatest adversary.

[gottatalktothefake]

I also realized by my own comment that King Kong and Mothra should be strong candidates for Godzilla's ultimate foe since they are some of the few to actually beat him.

Gigan got him pretty hard in Godzilla Vs Gigan as well.

Eh, Gigan only did really well because he was with Ghidorah. Zone Fighter (Which is actually in the Showa timeline) shows how Gigan fairs without any help. I can't find a video of the fight online, but I own the Zone Fighter series on DVD and Gigan gets thrashed by Godzilla.

[Terasawa]

I think Heisei Godzilla is still way better than Heisei Gamera.

Now Heisei Gamera is pretty good really but the huge praise as the gold standard of all kaiju films isn't warranted.

I feel people come to the conclusion of their quality by comparing it to the Showa Gamera series where the contrast in difference is quite large, so the impression comes off a lot better.No slight on Showa Gamera I actually love Showa Gamera, we're just talking about general perception.

You’re allowed your opinion, of course, but I detest arguments such as these. It’s basically invalidating others’ opinions based on your own. You’re saying that, in a vacuum, others would not view the trilogy the way they presently do, because they wouldn’t be able to compare them against the Showa films. That’s not fair to the people who actually do evaluate films without comparing or contrasting them against others.

It’s not a very sound argument, either, because there are a lot of fans here who hold the trilogy in high regard but have never seen any of the Showa Gamera films.

Added in 9 minutes 44 seconds:
Seemingly unpopular opinion: I don’t care which monster wins in Godzilla vs. Kong, or really in any movie. I just want a film that doesn’t suck.

[Gigantis]

Seemingly unpopular opinion: I don’t care which monster wins in Godzilla vs. Kong I just want a film that doesn’t suck.

Seriously! Like holy poop i just want Legendary to put my fears to rest and actually make me want to stay on board with their cinematic universe, since they haven't really done a good job of convincing me so.

[eabaker]

I think Heisei Godzilla is still way better than Heisei Gamera.

Now Heisei Gamera is pretty good really but the huge praise as the gold standard of all kaiju films isn't warranted.

I feel people come to the conclusion of their quality by comparing it to the Showa Gamera series where the contrast in difference is quite large, so the impression comes off a lot better. No slight on Showa Gamera I actually love Showa Gamera, we're just talking about general perception.

Huh. I feel that people come to that conclusion based on the stronger plot/story structures, better pacing, stronger performances, more sophisticated and dynamic visual storytelling, and superior special effects.

[SoggyNoodles2016]

Well Destroyah has origins connected to the Oxygen Destroyer, so that does kind of make him a strong candidate as Godzilla's major nemesis.

Problem is they don't delve into it much from a thematic standpoint. One thing Godzilla Vs. Destoroyah does manage to get right is reminding us full force that Godzilla was unleashed by the power of the atomic bomb, they talk about how Destroyah was created by the Oxygen Destroyer, a weapon hypothetically worse than the bomb. But that's about all they do. It pretty quickly takes a back seat and Destroyah soon just becomes another monster for Godzilla to fight.

Even the implication that Destroyah's existence completely renders Serizawa's sacrifice invalid is glossed over. Imagine if the characters were really hit by that. That Destroyah is Serizawa's legacy, regardless of whatever goodness he tried to do.

These ideas, at best, only exist by the most fleeting of implications. That's what I mean by "squandered potential" and by my view on that potential being a reason why he's popular among a certain sect of the fanbase.

Though sadly he wouldn't get that kind of depth in the Monsterverse either since the Oxygen Destroyer has none of the thematic weight of the original. (And this is coming from someone who loves KotM)

I certainly wouldn't object if they brought Destroyah back in the future and made him the central villain of a story and gave him characterization that makes his fan hype more justifiable but the more analytical I've gotten the less Destroyah and his one cinematic outing holds up.

Destroyah is the worst waste of potential in the franchise.

[Tyrant_Lizard_King]

My problem with Destroyah is how fans have a tendency to inflate his powers well beyond what was shown in the film. Giving him all these hax abilities he never really displayed.