To emphasize the monster's relationship with the atomic bomb, its skin texture was inspired by the keloid scars seen on the survivors of Hiroshima. Īrt director Akira Watanabe combined attributes of a Tyrannosaurus, an Iguanodon, a Stegosaurus and an alligator to form a sort of blended chimera, inspired by illustrations from an issue of Life magazine. Inspired by the fictional Rhedosaurus created by animator Ray Harryhausen for the film The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, Godzilla's character design was conceived as that of an amphibious reptilian monster based around the loose concept of a dinosaur with an erect standing posture, scaly skin, an anthropomorphic torso with muscular arms, lobed bony plates along its back and tail, and a furrowed brow. Although the specific details of Godzilla's appearance have varied slightly over the years, the overall impression has remained consistent. Within the context of the Japanese films, Godzilla's exact origins vary, but it is generally depicted as an enormous, violent, prehistoric sea monster awakened and empowered by nuclear radiation. ĭuring the development of the American version of Godzilla Raids Again (1955), Godzilla's name was changed to "Gigantis" by producer Paul Schreibman, who wanted to create a character distinct from Godzilla. The first recorded foreign usage of "Godzilla" was printed in the Hawaii Tribune-Herald on November 20, 1955. Toho later translated the monster's Japanese name as "Godzilla" for overseas distribution. Honda's longtime assistant director Kōji Kajita added: "Those of us who were closest to them don't even know how and why they came up with Gojira." However, Honda's widow Kimi dismissed the employee-name story as a tall tale in a 1998 BBC documentary on Godzilla, believing that Honda, Tanaka, and Tsuburaya gave "considerable thought" to the name of the monster, stating, "the backstage boys at Toho loved to joke around with tall stories, but I don't believe that one". The account has been acknowledged by Toho themselves, director Ishirō Honda, producer Tanaka, special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya, producer Ichirō Satō, and production head Iwao Mori, with the Satō and Mori recalling that the employee was named Shirō Amikura. The most widely accepted report of its origin is that producer Tomoyuki Tanaka named the monster after a sturdy Toho worker was jokingly dubbed " Gojira" ( ゴジラ), a portmanteau of the Japanese words gorira ( ゴリラ, " gorilla") and kujira ( 鯨 ( クジラ ), " whale"). Īlthough the process of creating Godzilla's first film is comprehensively recorded, exactly how its name came to be remains unintelligible. Godzilla has also fought characters from other franchises in crossover media, such as King Kong, as well as various Marvel Comics characters, including S.H.I.E.L.D., the Fantastic Four and the Avengers. Godzilla sometimes has allies, such as Rodan, Mothra and Anguirus, and offspring, such as Minilla and Godzilla Junior. It has faced human opponents such as the JSDF, or other monsters, including King Ghidorah, Mechagodzilla and Gigan. Godzilla has been featured alongside many supporting characters. Later films address disparate themes and commentary including Japan's apathy and neglect of its imperial past, natural disasters, and the human condition. As the film series expanded, some stories took on less serious undertones, portraying Godzilla as an antihero, or a lesser threat who defends humanity. Others have suggested that Godzilla is a metaphor for the United States, a giant beast woken from its slumber which then takes terrible vengeance on Japan. With the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Lucky Dragon 5 incident still fresh in the Japanese consciousness, Godzilla was conceived as a metaphor for nuclear weapons. Godzilla is a prehistoric reptilian monster awakened and empowered by nuclear radiation. Godzilla has been dubbed the " King of the Monsters", an epithet first used in Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956), the American localization of the 1954 film. The character has since become an international pop culture icon, appearing in various media: 33 Japanese films produced by Toho Co., Ltd., five American films and numerous video games, novels, comic books and television shows. Godzilla is a fictional monster, or kaiju, that debuted in the eponymous 1954 film, directed and co-written by Ishirō Honda. Minilla and Godzilla Junior (adopted sons)
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