Unpopular Godzilla Opinions

[Dyrakro]

Or we'll get Spacegodzilla played by Tom Hardy.

Only want to see that if he keeps talking about how much he adores chocolate and keeps two pet chickens named Sonny and Cher.

[StardustGenius]

I dunno, I'd like to see Destoroyah and Biollante again. That's just me.

[CyberZilla]

I dunno, I'd like to see Destoroyah and Biollante again. That's just me.

The MV has potential to actually bring them back in decently-organic narrative ways, at least. Whether or not it could be executed well is another story, of course, but they tend to introduce legacy monsters pretty well.

I would like to see Varan come back, maybe that’s not unpopular, but after so long of almost coming back only to just not make it, I would like Varan to get a win. Doesn’t have to be that major of a role, either, I’ll take a minor fight scene. I can compromise, Toho. We can make this work.

[miguelnuva]

Destroyah is the easier one to come back as all you have to do is tie him to the Oxygen Destroyer and let's all.be honest, Destroyah was not used as good as he could have been considering his creation.

Biollante is a little tougher because do you just go Godzilla and plant or do you include the dead daughter storyline.

SpaceG is SpaceG, if he's not the winged Titan I'm the MV his stroy has to really be looked at.

Legion1979's comment about watering down or not making sense is funny to me because fans throw tirades saying Raids Again and King Kong vs Godzilla ruined Gojira and watered down that film and we know how Honda felt about the later showa films.

When ever something comes back you are taking a chance on watering it down.

[edgaguirus]

Destroyah is possible in the MV, but it would lack the meaning he had in G vs D. Being the spawn of the weapon that killed Godzilla has more impact than a kaiju that was created by mankind's stupidity. As for Biollante, that could be taken another route; An ancient plant creature that lived with the Titans but went dormant. Now, for whatever reason, it wakes and starts spreading its jungle over the world. Not sure if it would work, but it's possible.

The only Heisei kaiju I can't see coming back is Battra. For one, we've already had an environmental themed movie, and Mothra is the more popular of the two.

[CyberZilla]

Destroyah is possible in the MV, but it would lack the meaning he had in G vs D. Being the spawn of the weapon that killed Godzilla has more impact than a kaiju that was created by mankind's stupidity.

I kinda dig the angle of “born of mankind’s folly” vs “born of nature’s will” that an MV Destoroyah and Godzilla would have, respectively. But I agree, it wouldn’t really hit like the original meaning.

[UltramanGoji]

Destroyah is possible in the MV, but it would lack the meaning he had in G vs D. Being the spawn of the weapon that killed Godzilla has more impact than a kaiju that was created by mankind's stupidity.

Considering that meaning amounts to jack and shit in the overall grand scheme of things in GVD, I think it's fine.

[miguelnuva]

Destroyah is possible in the MV, but it would lack the meaning he had in G vs D. Being the spawn of the weapon that killed Godzilla has more impact than a kaiju that was created by mankind's stupidity.

Considering that meaning amounts to jack and shit in the overall grand scheme of things in GVD, I think it's fine.

Agreed. I thought Destroyah was cool as a kid but after growing up and thinking about it Destroyah is a giant missed opportunity.

[darthzilla99]

The one-shot Heisei monsters constantly showing up in comics and video games doesn't really help matters. One, it convinces people that Toho isn't treating them fialrly because, hey, here they are being used all the time in other media so clearly Toho isn't doing something right. And two, it leads people to believe that these monsters could easily be used again, with comic and video games proving their point.

But just like it's silly to compare the Toho films to the Ultra series, it's even sillier to compare the movies to video games and comics, which (don't hate me) really don't matter.

On the comics part, that's debatable. Matt Frank claims that JJ's renewed popularity in Japan was because of the Rulers of Earth series. He says that Rulers of Earth sold really well in Japan and that helped Kickstart Jet Jaguar's demand in Japan.

[StardustGenius]

Whatever's a draw is a draw, that's they say.

[Legion1979]

The one-shot Heisei monsters constantly showing up in comics and video games doesn't really help matters. One, it convinces people that Toho isn't treating them fialrly because, hey, here they are being used all the time in other media so clearly Toho isn't doing something right. And two, it leads people to believe that these monsters could easily be used again, with comic and video games proving their point.

But just like it's silly to compare the Toho films to the Ultra series, it's even sillier to compare the movies to video games and comics, which (don't hate me) really don't matter.

On the comics part, that's debatable. Matt Frank claims that JJ's renewed popularity in Japan was because of the Rulers of Earth series. He says that Rulers of Earth sold really well in Japan and that helped Kickstart Jet Jaguar's demand in Japan.

Ehhh, I dont know if I believe that Jet Jaguar was slowly coming into his own before these comics came out, I believe. That seems pretty far fetched.

[LSD Jellyfish]

...and comics, which (don't hate me) really don't matter.

I'll just use this part of what you said to spotlight how I disagree heavily to your point; I think the comics are a very underappreciated and explored aspect of the franchise, which while secondary to the films, are important nonetheless.

Statewise:
The Marvel Godzilla comics, alongside the HB Cartoon, a very early piece of Godzilla being adapted by America, many years prior to the MV, or even 1998. While not perfect, it shows how Godzilla was viewed alongside other popular culture at the time and no doubt led some Marvel comic fans into discovering godzilla.

Not too sure about the Dark Horse comics, but I've always gotten the impression that they're well recieved and they definitely launched the career of some great Godzilla artists involvement in the franchise (Art Adams, Bob Eagleton). I'll also get into the Japan side of things in a moment*.

In terms of IDW, there's really two (or three) distinct eras to talk about: Pre Godzilla 2014/or Shin) and after. After no new Godzilla films for a few years, and with American Godzilla films seemingly being in development hell (3D to the Max/early stages of G14), I know the IDW comics caused quite the fanfare on these forums. Sure it started a bit mediocre, but the time G14 was released theatrically, IDW Godzilla was on a role with 8 or 9 issues of ROE, and a bunch of very well-recieved miniseries. That momentum continued well through Shin's release. I recall

Now the IDW comics are sort of having a second era, with MMPR, Rivals, and M&P. While it feels like the momentum of ROE has largely fallen off and discussion has died down (due to Godzilla having near yearly releases once more), it's still a vital corner of the franchise. Compilations of the IDW comics are being published for the first time over the course of the past few years. The Dark Horse comics are being reprinted too in Japanese. No doubt this will have an impact on fans in Japan.

Moving back to the Japan side of things:
Remember that Japan is a very comic/manga oriented country. While the manga reading population isn't what it used to be, recall that for a long time pretty much all of Japan was consuming comics pretty much constantly. While we never got them here, recall that from even 1954/55 and Godzilla's inception there's been manga and tie-in illustrated stories for nearly each film. Rampage Godzilla exists, as do adaptations of almost all the films. During the Heisei era a lot of manga adapations existed that had some very unique takes on already estbalished films. Godzilla 1990 for example, which adapts the Biollante Story.

Furthermore, there's the Kodansha Monster King Godzilla series (which I translated in it's entirety-- though I wish I had the time to redo the scans), and the Godzilla Comic/Godzilla Comic Raids Again and even Big Comic Godzilla issue. The importance of these comics is severely understated (and I don't blame you because none of them have official translated releases and I've had to break my ass myself to acquire them). It's quite likely that future film productions have taken key images and concepts from them, or incoporated elements from lost films into them. Shin godzilla lifts a shot of undersea nuclear waste disposal directly from Gone with Wind and a MKG Controlled Mechagodzilla appears for the first time and goes BERSERK in the Heisei Adaptation.

Sure the comics aren't the primary source of monsters and plot lines. But they are important all things considered.

Added in 5 minutes 48 seconds:

Ehhh, I dont know if I believe that Jet Jaguar was slowly coming into his own before these comics came out, I believe. That seems pretty far fetched.

There's no reason to doubt MF's statement on the issue; he's had pretty heavy involvement with the franchise during the IDW run and even once ROE ended he did tons of variant covers. I know he's visited the Godzilla store in tokyo a bunch (they have some signed things by him there). I believe someone at Toho directly probably told Matt they really liked JJ after his comics and that's probably what happened.

[Legion1979]

I'm still not buying it, but who knows.

[miguelnuva]

Considering how popular Robots/Mecha and manga/comics are in Japan I can see ROE reigniting a flame under Jet Jaguar. LSD is the only one here I know lives in Japan however so he would be better to speak on it.

[LSD Jellyfish]

Considering how popular Robots/Mecha and manga/comics are in Japan I can see ROE reigniting a flame under Jet Jaguar. LSD is the only one here I know lives in Japan however so he would be better to speak on it.

Just a general PSA: be wary of con-artists or culture cultures who claim to be experts on Japan or Japanese culture just because they live in Japan or have visited for an extended period of time. Nothing against what you said really, but I’m just wary of being placed on a pedestal of some kind and have seen many people report inaccurate or strange things about japan just because people assume they have some authority just by living here. I want to avoid being like that lol.

I stand by my statements on JJ and the ROE comics being significant here, or at least leaving an impact.

[StardustGenius]

How DARE Jet Jaguar get over with help! How dare

[LSD Jellyfish]

Do any of the Ultraman monsters have a catchy garage punk song like this? I think not.

…what’s that? JJ has another decent thrash punk song?

[StardustGenius]

I think getting over in Japan is a bit different than the US. US, these movies are available for streaming everywhere and are on TV a lot. Godzilla movies don't play on TV in Japan as much, or at least in the same way they are over here. And streaming is something not entirely caught on in Japan compared to the US and Europe. Other media like comics would make sense in a country where these other options to consume Godzilla media aren't as prevalent as they are here.

How's THIS for an unpopular opinion.

Toho screwed up by not being able to get Rikidozan for a Godzilla movie, and would have been a bigger draw than King Kong VS Godzilla. I've said this before, I'll keep saying this. This is a reminder! You don't draw a 67.0 TV rating and be nobody.

[darthzilla99]

I think getting over in Japan is a bit different than the US. US, these movies are available for streaming everywhere and are on TV a lot. Godzilla movies don't play on TV in Japan as much, or at least in the same way they are over here. And streaming is something not entirely caught on in Japan compared to the US and Europe. Other media like comics would make sense in a country where these other options to consume Godzilla media aren't as prevalent as they are here.

How's THIS for an unpopular opinion.

Toho screwed up by not being able to get Rikidozan for a Godzilla movie, and would have been a bigger draw than King Kong VS Godzilla. I've said this before, I'll keep saying this. This is a reminder! You don't draw a 67.0 TV rating and be nobody.

He probably would have been a big draw in Japan, but nobody in the west would have had any idea who the hell was Rikidozan, especially in the 60s. Keep in mind King Kong vs. GODZILLA was as much for an international audience as the domestic audience.

Having said that, Toho should have gone with a Godzilla vs. Rikidozan movie in 1963 rather than try to make a King Kong vs Godzilla sequel. That would have made a fun showa movie.

[StardustGenius]

I think getting over in Japan is a bit different than the US. US, these movies are available for streaming everywhere and are on TV a lot. Godzilla movies don't play on TV in Japan as much, or at least in the same way they are over here. And streaming is something not entirely caught on in Japan compared to the US and Europe. Other media like comics would make sense in a country where these other options to consume Godzilla media aren't as prevalent as they are here.

How's THIS for an unpopular opinion.

Toho screwed up by not being able to get Rikidozan for a Godzilla movie, and would have been a bigger draw than King Kong VS Godzilla. I've said this before, I'll keep saying this. This is a reminder! You don't draw a 67.0 TV rating and be nobody.

He probably would have been a big draw in Japan, but nobody in the west would have had any idea who the hell was Rikidozan, especially in the 60s. Keep in mind King Kong vs. GODZILLA was as much for an international audience as the domestic audience.

Having said that, Toho should have gone with a Godzilla vs. Rikidozan movie in 1963 rather than try to make a King Kong vs Godzilla sequel. That would have made a fun showa movie.

See, THAT IS SIMPLY NOT TRUE. Fans of wrestling in the US knew who Rikidozan was for sure. Not anywhere near the levels of his stardom in Japan, but fans of wrestling in the US were well aware of Rikidozan, and El Santo while we're at it. The former did a few tours in the US, and sometimes even garnered babyface heat.

Haha I didn't think Rikidozan would FIGHT Godzilla but that would have been amazing. A starring role, or even a minor role or a big cameo would have been enough.

Rikidozan on TV cutting a promo on how he'll beat Godzilla, then being told to evacuate because Kong is in the area.