Monster Discussion #36: MechaGodzilla (Showa)

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Re: Monster Discussion #36: MechaGodzilla (Showa)

Post by Tomzilla »

RedZillaKing wrote:Though not the best looking version IMO (Kiryu gets that honor), I think that Showa Mechagodzilla was utilized the best. I personally hate the "good guy" aspect of the more recent MGs.
Kiryu 2.0 barely has the better look. Barely. I absolutely love Showa MechaGodzilla's look and I love his characterization even more.

Showa MechaGodzilla is what the Terminator wants to be when he grows up. Not many characters can say they made Godzilla bleed while beating the Tanaka out of him. Showa MechaGodzilla can while laughing. I would love to see an evil MechaGodzilla make a return someday.

Kiryu going berserk was a very nostalgic moment. Very reminiscent of Showa MechaGodzilla's classic rampages.
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Re: Monster Discussion #36: MechaGodzilla (Showa)

Post by MoarCrossovers »

is there any real difference between the designs of MechaGodzilla 1974 and 1975?
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Re: Monster Discussion #36: MechaGodzilla (Showa)

Post by Gothicserpent »

It always confused me when people point out that Showa MG had tons or personality.

What personality? It was the aliens controlling his every move. I don't even think he had an AI.
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Re: Monster Discussion #36: MechaGodzilla (Showa)

Post by he-ba »

Gothicserpent wrote:It always confused me when people point out that Showa MG had tons or personality.

What personality? It was the aliens controlling his every move. I don't even think he had an AI.
Well no, because Mogul just says "Hey MechaGodzilla- beat Godzilla to death!" and he does so- going berserk on King Caesar and Godzilla. He does whatever he can, meleeing, shooting etc.!
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Re: Monster Discussion #36: MechaGodzilla (Showa)

Post by Jiragozira14 »

Having a personality entails being sentient, though; which it shows no signs of. It doesn't have any thoughts of it's own, it just does what Mugal orders it to do. MG was probably hardwired from the begining with Godzilla's fighting abilities in mind so that the Simians didn't need to hover over the command deck and order Mechagodzilla to dodge Godzilla's attacks.

Mechagodzilla never shows any signs of self-awareness or individuality in either film; even with Kastura as his control bay he's still not doing things on his own accord. :/

The only MG to have a "personality" is Kiryu, and even then Kiryu's got a barebones-as-hell "personality".
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Re: Monster Discussion #36: MechaGodzilla (Showa)

Post by he-ba »

I feel like MGI has some sort of personality- I don't know why, but compared to MGII and MGIII, he seems more... campy and fun, and that the way he fights and acts makes him seem more... animalistic, I guess....
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Maybe Minilla was some mutation inside a Kamacarus' ootheca and that's why they attacked..... Maybe Minilla ISN'T the Son of Godzilla! He's some weird Kamacari that Godzilla felt bad for!

..... Nope, the other guys would never accept that..........




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Re: Monster Discussion #36: MechaGodzilla (Showa)

Post by MechaTyranitar »

My personal favorite Godzilla enemy, and heck, my possibly my favorite monster, period. That moment where MG reveals it's true form, with the slow pan up from his feet to his head and all the close-ups of his weapons...that to me is the essence of what I love about monster movies. Pure bliss. I always remember how exciting it was to see that the first time, every time I rewatch GvsMG. That also remains my preferred movie of the duology, just for how exciting it is. More ice cream than ToMG's steak, sure, but that just makes it more rewatchable to me.

The bolted tin look is great. I read someone describe him as looking as some sort of WWII sci-fi Nazi death robot--and it really does ring well. he's also at home with plenty of big 60's/70's super robots like Mazinger or Gigantor. it's an aesthetic I really love. He looks angry and agressive, he's loaded with missiles, and he's relentless in using his armory. "More Dakka" incarnate.

And man, do I love that sequence where he's imitating Godzilla!

As much as I love Ifukube, Sato's MechaGodzilla OST defines MG in a way the ToMG OST can't. the brassy swinging sound makes me think of factories and pistons pumping, gears turning, etc. Perfect for a big metal machine.

Heisei MG is alright, and Kiryu is a proper successor, but I can't help but feel it's a bit too overdesigned. Maybe I'm a purist, but I could do without the redlines under the optics. And it feels a bit too..err, I guess animé would be the word if it makes sense. And I love plenty of animé mecha, I just think it looks a bit off in live action. And while I do like the plots of those movies, I am hoping for a new alien Mechagodzilla again! Nearly breaks my heart how many fans disike the alien origin for MG. The Simians are perhaps my favorite of the Godzilla aliens..."damn Godzilla!"

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Re: Monster Discussion #36: MechaGodzilla (Showa)

Post by he-ba »

Welcome, MechaTyranitar!

I love Mogul, every time he curses Godzilla I chuckle! It's pretty funny!

MG is perfect for a scary clone of Godzilla from aliens bent on world domination. The other MG's are good for G-Force, but man, no monster is scarier than MG (except for 54 84 and 14 Godzillas and 56 Rodan)
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Maybe Minilla was some mutation inside a Kamacarus' ootheca and that's why they attacked..... Maybe Minilla ISN'T the Son of Godzilla! He's some weird Kamacari that Godzilla felt bad for!

..... Nope, the other guys would never accept that..........




I don't know even know what a he-ba is......



HAPPY BIRTHDAY BIG GUY!!!!!!!!

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Re: Monster Discussion #36: MechaGodzilla (Showa)

Post by MoarCrossovers »

What is the real difference between the two Showa Mechagodzillas in terms of design?
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Re: Monster Discussion #36: MechaGodzilla (Showa)

Post by Rodanguirus »

I believe '75 has "MG2" on its arm instead of "MG." The chest plate is a little different as well. And of course..."revolving missiles...Mechagodzilla's new weapon." "This is terrible! Godzilla might lose!"

Regarding Showa MG's personality, I don't think people are saying it has a literal, actual personality. It's more that it displays some memorable actions that help build up its image for fans. Like when it dusts itself off when fighting Anguirus, or does that saluting gesture that looks like the "cut your throat" sign, or the way it slowly brings its arms into firing position, before quickly attacking.

The point is, it acts a lot more lively than the Heisei incarnation, at least, and that's one reason why it's a memorable creation.

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Re: Monster Discussion #36: MechaGodzilla (Showa)

Post by three »

well as far as personality goes, this one was simply given total free - will on how it chose to handle its orders. nazis were terrible across the board for comparison, and yet they weren't all alike in why they were doing what they were doing, or the severity which they carried out each order they faced.

we can't actually gauge just how much personality this MG had since it had no comparison in the era, but i think that trying to pull Angirus' head in half, fighting to survive Godzilla by running/flying (toward the end when Godzilla was losing the battle, when Godzilla then uses his electromagnetic power, MG makes considerable effort to escape and in some ways even looks like it's signaling pain).

it stands by and watches Titanosaurus fighting in the second film featuring the mechanical dragon, and lends a helping hand or two when it realizes that Titano is in trouble. it stops destroying to watch the battle ensue and take part, which you kinda hafta wonder why it just decided that it had done its job and now must take part in the fight (by being an active bystander). kinda weird, since machines on their own are just supposed to carry out orders. so unless it could prioritize and make decisions for its own safety (going into battle with Godzilla means it had to be sentient, especially if the aliens didn't wanna be burdened with constant control and observation) so that it could gauge the battle accurately.
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Re: Monster Discussion #36: MechaGodzilla (Showa)

Post by Missingno. »

Ah, the first MG incarnation... So evil, and non-manmade...

I actually liked this one a lot, and it was a redeeming monster (and movie) for the Showa series of Godzilla, but unfortunately, it came far to late for that redemption to be effective as the 1960's films for Toho...
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Re: Monster Discussion #36: MechaGodzilla (Showa)

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Something I've overlooked for a long time is just how fast Mechagodzilla flies and how much damage he would have caused had he been in a city while flying at those speeds or collided with say Rodan, Mothra or King Ghidorah in the air. According to official sources it flew at Mach 5. Mach 1 and above is supersonic, Mach 5 and above is hypersonic. Yes that's an actual term. Most ammo for guns comes in two types speed, subsonic and supersonic. The one ammo I know that travels at hypersonic speeds is the huge metal bricks the U.S. Navy's railgun fires, which travel at Mach 7. We used to have a Rocket Powered Aircraft called the X-15 which could do Mach 6.70, making it the fastest manned aircraft.

Space shuttles are not counted due to the fact that most of the landing is done by computer but they can reach Mach 10 and I think higher when reentering the atmosphere. It's just a shame the one time we see him fly in a city it's subsonic, not even wind strong enough to blow things away. I guess they didn't want to steal Titnosaurs' spotlight in the sequel.

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Re: Monster Discussion #36: MechaGodzilla (Showa)

Post by edgaguirus »

Perhaps it was also that MG's beams and missiles would cause more damage and allow for flashy special effects. Why show roofs and cars being blown around when you can show lasers exploding buildings?
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Re: Monster Discussion #36: MechaGodzilla (Showa)

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edgaguirus wrote:Perhaps it was also that MG's beams and missiles would cause more damage and allow for flashy special effects. Why show roofs and cars being blown around when you can show lasers exploding buildings?
Maybe, and to be fair those missiles could be flying at Mach speed for all I know. The eyebeams are a little iffy if they travel at light speed as they are some kind of plasma and not a true laser. Like Godzilla's breath, plasma is slowed down in an atmosphere and you need to output a lot for it to go more than a few feet before it dissipates.

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Re: Monster Discussion #36: MechaGodzilla (Showa)

Post by GojiDog »

The 70s Mechagodzilla will always be my favorite. The harsh and industrialized appearance made him look so mean and fierce, and I loved the Swiss army knife style of how he had weapon after weapon after weapon. Its the best presentation of the character to date.

Also, yeah, I like Mechagodzilla better as a villain. The "tool of the world governments to fight Godzilla" is a good idea, and I loved how it was set up in the Heisei series, and the technology behind Kiryu is very interesting, but deep down, I like my Mechagodzilla to be evil.
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Re: Monster Discussion #36: MechaGodzilla (Showa)

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GojiDog wrote:The 70s Mechagodzilla will always be my favorite. The harsh and industrialized appearance made him look so mean and fierce, and I loved the Swiss army knife style of how he had weapon after weapon after weapon. Its the best presentation of the character to date.

Also, yeah, I like Mechagodzilla better as a villain. The "tool of the world governments to fight Godzilla" is a good idea, and I loved how it was set up in the Heisei series, and the technology behind Kiryu is very interesting, but deep down, I like my Mechagodzilla to be evil.
Something I always liked about him is he still used missiles or rockets. It makes him seem a little more believable, when I see a mech or super weapon have traditional firepower along with the plausible sci-fi energy weapons it makes you think, are the energy weapons still in their infancy and still have overheating problems that the missiles cover for. Also I find it impressive when they can make what are essentially super rockets, super missiles or super bombs capable of rivaling energy weapons in power. We see Godzilla get hit by conventional missiles all the time and it doesn't hurt him, but then he get's hit by a missile from a mech or super weapon and he's screaming like he just got hit by an energy weapon.

It's cool they can make super explosive rival the energy weapons to the point where it's actually a close contest on what is a mech's most powerful weapon. Is it the Space Beams, Electric Chest Ray or Revolver Finger Missiles for Mechagodzilla? Is it the Plasma Maser Chest Cannon or Spiral Grenade Missile for Moguera? The ULT Laser or or Freeze Missiles or Cadmium Missiles for Super-X3 and the modified Freezer Maser Tanks?

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Re: Monster Discussion #36: MechaGodzilla (Showa)

Post by edgaguirus »

The arsenal is one reason I prefer MG with its skin off. It's much more threatening and powerful.
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Re: Monster Discussion #36: MechaGodzilla (Showa)

Post by Showa Gojira »

Definitely my favorite Mechagodzilla! He looks badass, he's got a huge arsenal of deadly weapons, and he was most certainly one of Godzilla's toughest enemies in the Showa era. While his lasers and missiles are impressive I feel like his close combat skills aren't talked about much. He kicked the shit out of Anguirus and I think he could've beaten King Caesar without even using his weapons. Kiryu is cool as well but the original Mechagodzilla has yet to be topped in my book!
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Re: Monster Discussion #36: MechaGodzilla (Showa)

Post by mikelcho »

I loved both of the Showa Mechagodzilla films! They were my favorite Godzilla films of the 1970s, were definitely an attempt to return the series to the level of the 1960s films (an attempt which, unfortunately, as we know all too well, was too little, too late) and this Mechagodzilla was not only the deadliest enemy Godzilla ever fought, it was the first enemy to come even close to actually killing Godzilla...twice! And with two versions of the robot at that! Its weaponry was second to none and its weaknesses were few. In fact, it was only due to mistakes made by its alien creators that Godzilla was able to destroy it at all.

What mistakes were made, you ask? I'm glad you asked that, friends!

*First of all, if the Simeons hadn't panicked and ran, but instead had continued Mechagodzilla's ray-blasting, dive-bombing assault, they might've won the fight.
*Second, if they hadn't have placed Mechagodzilla 2's control device into Katsura Mafune's body, the robot would not have been deactivated upon her death by suicide and destroyed by Godzilla for the final time.
Last edited by mikelcho on Sun Mar 01, 2020 8:36 pm, edited 5 times in total.

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