Godzilla (Heisei)

Godzilla (Japanese: ゴジラ, Hepburn: Gojira), or sometimes known as Heisei Godzilla (Japanese: 平成ゴジラ, Hepburn: Heisei Gojira) is a Japanese monster, or kaiju, and the main protagonist of Heisei era of the Godzilla franchise.

Godzilla (Heisei era)
Godzilla film series character
Adult Godzillasaurus
First appearance	The Return of Godzilla (1984)
Last appearance	Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)
Portrayed by	Kenpachiro Satsuma (through Suitmation) Wataru Fukuda (pre-mutated Godzillasaurus, Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, through Suitmation)
In-universe information
Species	Mutated dinosaur
Gender	Genderless (1984) Male (1985-1995)
Children	Godzilla Junior
Origin	Lagos Island
Forms	Supercharged Burning
Height	Godzillasaurus: 12 m (470 in; 1,200 cm; 12,000 mm)[1] Godzilla: 80–100 m (3,100–3,900 in; 8,000–10,000 cm; 80,000–100,000 mm) (1984-1995)[1]

One of the last living members of prehistoric species of dinosaurs called Godzillasaurus that used to inhabit Lagos Island, Godzilla was exposed to a massive dose of radiation through being teleported to Bering Sea by humans from the year 2204 and subsequent crash of Soviet nuclear submarine in 1970s, mutating him into a ginormous atomic beast single-mindedly set on completely destroying Japan and locating other living members of his kind.

Over the course of his series, Godzilla evolved from being purely the main antagonistic force to being anti-hero merely happening to save humanity by defeating other monsters. He ultimately met his end after absorbing the uranium deposits from Baas Island, dying over the course of days as his body began melting down, being succeeded by Godzilla Junior.

Overview

Name

When Godzilla vs. Biollante had been released, Godzilla at the time was commonly called the New Godzilla (Japanese: 新ゴジラ, Hepburn: Shin Gojira). This name would be used to dub Godzilla Junior's adult form in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995).^[2] For Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, the Baby Godzilla's species is named "Godzillasaurus", a combination of "Godzilla" and the suffix -saurus, derived from the Greek term "saûros", meaning "lizard" in English.^[3]

In Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, after absorbing massive amounts of radiation, Godzilla reaches a burning state causing his body to slowly melt down. Although its mostly known as Burning Godzilla (Japanese: バーニングゴジラ, Hepburn: Bāningu Gojira), some concept art, refers to this form of Godzilla is referred to as Red Godzilla (Japanese: 赤きゴジラ, Hepburn: Akaki Gojira).^[4]

Appearances

Films

• The Return of Godzilla (1984)
• Godzilla 1985 (1985)
• Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989)
• Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991)
• Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992)
• Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993)
• Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (1994)
• Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

Books

• Definitive Edition: The Perfect Godzilla Giant Monster Super Encyclopedia (2016; only on the front cover of the book with other Godzilla specimens)^[5]
• Picturebook of Godzilla & All Monsters (2021; only on the front cover of the book with other Godzilla specimens)^[6]
• Godzilla and Toho Tokusatsu: Official Mook Vol.0 (2022; only on the back cover)^[7]
• Godzilla and Toho Tokusatsu: Official Mook Vol.15 (2023; only on the front cover with Mechagodzilla II)^[8]

Video games

• Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee
• Godzilla: Save the Earth
• Godzilla: Unleashed
• Godzilla On Monster Island
• Monster Strike
• Godzilla (2014 video game)
• Godzilla: Kaiju Collection
• Godzilla Battle Line
• GigaBash

Stolen suit

A photograph of the Godzilla suit when it was stolen from Toho.

In 1992, an elderly Japanese woman came across a Godzilla suit that washed up on a beach while on a walk in the town of Lake Okutama. She later alerted Toho about the suit, and Toho then retrieved the missing suit. It was claimed by an American news report that a group of unknown thieves stole the Godzilla suit from one of the Toho warehouses, while Toho was making Godzilla vs. Mothra.^[9]

Public displays

The Godzilla head

In 1995, a statue of the Heisei Godzilla was built and displayed at the Hibiya Godzilla Square, but in 2016, it was replaced by a 3-metre (9.8-foot; 300-centimetre; 120-inch) tall statue of Shin Godzilla. The Heisei Godzilla statue was moved inside the Toho Cinemas Hibiya building.^[10]

In 1999, a 8.75-metre (28.7-foot; 875-centimetre; 344-inch) tall Heisei Godzilla slide was built at Kurihama Flower World, though it has the outward appearance of a statue. This statue was constructed for children under the age of 12.^[11]

On December 8, 2014, an announcement was made that the Godzilla head would be constructed on the 8th floor terrace of the Hotel Gracery Shinjuku in Tokyo, Japan.^[12] The construction work of the Godzilla head was completed on April 10, 2015 and is currently located at the Shinjuku Toho Building in Kabukichō, Shinjuku.

In February 2022, Coolprops announced that they would release an official life-sized bust of the Heisei Godzilla, in collaboration with Toho.^[13]