Kyle Minnick 8/11/17 Kyle Minnick 8/11/17

Kyle's Top 3 and Bottom 3 Godzilla Designs REDUX

Time for another Top 3 Bottom 3! My lovely castmates all put up their top 3 and bottom 3 designs articles last month and I've been itching to update my thoughts since I last revealed them way back in Episode 11. Some of my choices have changed and some have stayed the same but regardless let's get going!

Bottom 3

#3. Shin Goji (all forms)

If you listened to the episode of the podcast, you probably heard the huge argument that occurred between me and my ex co-host Coleman about his inclusion of this design in his top 3 because the film had not released yet. Well now the movie is out and I feel like I can judge everything about this design in all of it's forms. So here's the thing, there are parts of this design that I like. I enjoy the red coming through his stretched skin and from his spine. I also like the way the purple light of his energy seep through the cracks in said skin. But unfortunately everything else about this design make me hate it. The mushed up face, huge thighs, tiny eyes, tiny arms, excessively long tail, and weird look to his feet all add together to make a unsatisfying design in my eyes. I understand that Anno was trying to go for a creepy feeling with the design but it all feels like it's trying too hard. There really isn't much to say about the 4th form design that hasn't been said by some of the community but I will openly admit that it looks best when it is in motion and acting like Godzilla. Unfortunately we are relegated to fan art and alternate sources like the Universal Studios 4D ride to see the design in motion acting like a traditional Godzilla. In the film...well to quote the movie itself "he just walks" most of the time and only has moments of sentience towards the end and during the beam sequence in Tokyo. If you'll look back at the top you'll notice that I actually included all 3 of the visible designs so let me take a moment to speak on the other 2.

The second form aka Kamata-kun is the least Godzilla that he has ever looked. He has huge dead fish eyes, flops around on the ground, spews red liquid (blood?) out of his gills, and once again "he just walks." I understand why fans have take a liking to him but to me he looks like a plucked turkey.

Now third form on the other hand is the least offensive of the three. His body proportions look weird as heck to me but I can excuse this by really treating tis form as a baby Godzilla instead of an adult (since Shin is evolving or morphing technically all of the forms are adults). I know opening an article with me ranting about Shin is almost fan suicide in some circles but just like the other choices these are all just my opinion.

#2 Gyakushu Goji

These next two haven't changed from the podcast episode and are fan favorites to hate on (for good reason). Oh how far you have fallen Godzilla! This design is flawed in many small ways that all add up to being a larger problem. In order to allow Nakajima to move more freely when he was fighting the other monster they slimmed down the suit. This actually gives him an interesting silhouette but unfortunately the other pieces of the design don't make him very cool or interesting. His row of spines look impressive from behind but man are they misshapen and not in a good way.

His face has lost a lot of character and it looks really smushed (like pancake smushed). The extended neck also gives him a weird bobble head look most of the time.

#1 Musuko Goji

Look I don't know who had the bright idea to model the suit after Minya's design instead of the other way around but they must not have been the sharpest tools in the shed if you know what I mean.

The Godzilla's from this early era had a big problem with "derp" faces as I call them and this suit is one of the worst when it comes to that. His spines are also atrociously designed with there really only being four large spins and the rest are almost non-existent (Not to mention their weird melted shape). It looks like he's wearing super baggy suspenders at all times. Basically what I'm trying to say is that nothing looks good about this design.

Top 3

#3 Mosu Goji

My top 3 has definitely changed the most since the podcast episode. This is definitely a fan favorite and it probably would have been my honorable mention when we recorded if we had done them. The proportions of this suit are fantastic! His spines are the correct shapes and sizes and they grow and shrink in size uniformly down his back all the way down to his tail. His face is probably the best thing about this design with his scary heavy eyebrows giving him a threatening appearance.

Funny enough the quivering lips that he has are actually from an accident with the suit but in actuality they give him a lot of character and expression that we really don't get from the Godzilla designs until we get to the Heisei series. They fixed this in the next film and I really think it took away from the design overall.

#2 Legendary Goji

You know sometimes I wonder why I bring the hate train down onto myself. Including Shin in my bottom three and Legendary in my top three? Is this madness!? Actually no. I am a huge fan of this design for multiple reasons but let's start it off with a little history lesson. During the preproduction of 'Godzilla (2014)', Gareth Edwards talked a lot about making this design represent the real creature that the Toho execs saw and then they used what they remembered to make the Shodai Goji suit. I think they met that idea head on and gave one of the best overall Godzilla designs out there.

Not only does this design look great in motion but it looks great when drawn as well. The silhouette is the definition of Godzilla himself and you would never be able to mistake the creature for anything else. I love that his spines look like broken off pieces of obsidian or slate rocks and the way they light up when he uses his breath is a sight to behold. The aligator texture of his skin is something I am just a fan of in general (the V-rexes from 'King Kong [2005]' are another great example) and his general posture resembles a big grizzly bear. The only thing I am not a huge fan of is the feet as I feel like they need just a little bit more toe on them.

#1 Bio Goji

This is it everybody! This is the Godzilla design my brain instantly pictures when I hear the name Godzilla or Gojira. It's hard to explain what I like about this design because I love everything about it.

He has great center body definition, his body flows into the other parts like a natural creature, his head has a harsh angular look to it, he has the fangs still but instead of normal teeth they gave him a second row behind the normal row. He really has this almost trangular structure to his form but his thunder thighs aren't nearly as bad as they get in the later heisei. This is one of the few Godzillas that you can see some level of intelligence behind his eyes and you can tell that he is a thinking creature.

I will say that I prefer the Bio Goji suit in Biollante to the slightly changed suit in 'Godzilla Vs King Ghidorah' aka Ghido Goji. There is something they changed with his his head that just looks odd to me. The suit also seems to have a sag to it in Ghidorah that it doesn't have in Biollante. Regardless this suit is my all time favorite design ever used in the Godzilla franchise.

Honorable/Dishonorable Mentions

Dishonorable Mention - Kiryu Goji

This design was in bottom 3 but got pushed out by me including Shin Goji as a pickable design. Look this suit looks great in still shots but man does it look awkward when it's moving. Also it looks very stiff and sculpted which I don't like at all. His spines are kinda cool though.

Honorable Mention - Sokogeki Goji

I love this design but with some recent rewatches of some other films this moved down to #4 on my list. I really love the whited out eyes and just the general evil look to this Godzilla. The potbelly he has is endearing in some spots but distracting in others.

Well I hpe you guys enjoyed my list! Below are links to my other co-hosts choices and oyu should all go check them out!

Marisa's Top and Bottom 3 Godzilla Designs
Cameron's Top and Bottom 3 Godzilla Designs
Rob's Top and Bottom 3 Godzilla Designs

Marisa Pickett 6/14/17 Marisa Pickett 6/14/17

Marisa's Top and Bottom 3 Godzilla Designs

I held off as long as I could, but it is finally time for me to unleash my opinion upon you, the fans. Yes, that’s right. This article is all about my top and bottom 3 Godzilla designs. I am prepared for the backlash, the hate mail, the lost followers! But I’m entitled to my feelings.

Let’s dive right in, starting with the worst.

The Worst

3. GyakshuGoji

If I am being completely honest here, the only thing that I do not like about this suit is the two oversized fins that look so out of place. There’s a third large fin that looks… broken? They just don’t seem ‘natural’ and don’t blend very well with the others on the back. For me it distracts from the entire suit. I can’t seem to retract my gaze from these giant, protruding fins. It forces me, as the audience member, to think of reasons the fins are so large, but the monster itself so thin. How does this work? Why is it like this? I wish I could explain why it bothers me so much. By and far, this is not the worst suit, but it is so visually distracting to me, and that earned it the #3 spot on my worst list.

2. Megalon Goji

Hello fellow kids, it is I, Megalon Goji!

What am I looking at? This strange, ape-faced lizard monster is the stuff of childish nightmares. The scaling they tried on this suit looks more like nasty, matted fur. This design is so kid-friendly I don’t even understand why they bother to make him roar in the movies he’s in it’s so hilariously bad.

There is nothing threatening about this monster, other than it’s size. It’s… pathetic. However it does make me smile, albeit in a ‘what am I doing with my life that has me looking at this terrible thing’ kind of way.

1. MusukoGoji

This was a seat of some contention, while I am the type of person that can find something wrong with EVERY Godzilla design. But I had to go with a fan favorite. What can be said about this frog-faced, pebble-skinned monstrosity? It’s just… so… bad. I respect the people who design and build these suits, I really do, but what were they thinking here? This face doesn’t even look like a lizard or a reptile… it’s disturbingly human and yet they eyes are so empty and lifeless.

Just… just go away MusukoGoji! Don’t haunt me anymore!

Now it's time for my favorites!

The Best

3. BatoGoji

I really like this design. There’s this classic Godzilla feel to it, but it’s still menacing. The face is a bit dog-like, with his tiny ears in the back, and the rounded snout, but it flows well into the neck.

These spines really attracted me to this design.

The combination of skin and bone on the spines is something I didn’t expect to find so attractive, but it works really well on this design. I love this Godzilla’s hour-glass figure, because representation matters and the chunky looking Gojis tend to be the grossest ones as well. They managed to do the classic pebbling on this suit without it looking like matted fur (see Megalon Goji), and it all just works really well.

2. BioGoji

I only managed to find one design I liked better than this one, and that was tough enough. The head is angular, and actually-finally-thankfully well-proportioned in regards to the body! The spines have that blend of bone and skin, they are sized correctly for their position, and they have this intriguing clumping that none of the other designs had. This Godzilla is also chunky, it’s got large thighs, needed to support its massive weight, and a broad chest

Overall it has a well-balanced look to it that is new and classic combined. The only thing that kept this design from being my number one pick was the sagging. It doesn’t sit very well and in a lot of stills it looks like Godzilla has some ill-fitting pants on.

1. MireGoji

I know how awful this design is in practice, but I cannot deny how awesome it looks. The jagged spines, coupled with the sharp, angular scales, and the angularity of the snout made for a pretty terrifying Godzilla. However even I can point out that, though this is one of my favorite designs, it looks dumb with the mouth closed.

You know he just opened his camera app and it was front facing and- wait, have I made this joke before? Oh well, you gotta herp before you can derp!

But that doesn’t detract from the overall look and feel of the design itself. Still shots of this design are unique and somewhat breathtaking. The colored tips of the spines make it feel like MireGoji has crystals protruding from his back, and the oversized ones FIT instead of detracting from the feel. There are so many cool things to talk about on this design, it’s hard to find yourself focused on a singular flaw for too long.