#servum

Finishing up the runway with the designs from both ongoing "eras". I was partly inspired to do this sub-series by the Monster Suit Database on Kaijubattle.net, as well as the Godzilla Designs by Year from Becominggodzilla.com. Photos Sourced from Wikizilla.

Papa Bear (2014) A more holistic attempt at a "realistic" Godzilla than ToraGoji ever was. GareGoji's thick, column like legs and robust, mountainous build successfully sell the concept of an amphibious animal weighing tens of thousands of tonnes, while his crocodilian scales position Godzilla as a natural creature rather than the product of man's arrogance. His angular, weathered appearance also deftly conveys the vast age of this battered old soldier. I do have some issues: the dorsal plates feel a bit to narrow and conical, and the head and neck feel disproportionately small atop the broad chest and shoulders. I think some of the concept models had more appealing proportions in this case.

Tail of a Gorilla Whale (2016) We see very little of ShinGoji's first form so there's not much to dissect. I initially thought this was the same form as Kamata-Kun since there aren't any obvious differences. There are some pretty fun speculative takes on the pre-caudal anatomy though.

Lost Puppy (2016) I think a lot of feelings about Shin Godzilla depend on the ability to stomach Kamata-Kun. This comically awkward, ungainly beast is an outside context problem for both the characters and the audience, but the damage it wreaks as it stumbles forward is very real. Its uncanny, embryonic features also convey it's unnatural origins and ongoing evolution.

Skipped Arm Day (2016) The middle child of ShinGoji's forms, Shinagawa-Kun loses much of ugly cuteness of Kamata-Kun, while still being too awkward to function as a proper Godzilla design. It's important to the narrative, but I find it less interesting than both its predecessor and its successor.

Blistered Kaiju Theater (2016) ShinGoji's most familiar form still manages to be deeply unsettling. Classical features are grotesquely exaggerated: an emaciated upper torso sits atop powerful legs, behind which snakes a lengthy tail with a ragged tip. Keloid scars are joined by open sores across an unnaturally rubbery texture. Countless teeth haphazardly flank a Glasgow grimace, over which the beady eyes betray little emotion. Rather than a natural creature, Kamakura-san sells the idea of an unstable mutating organism roughly forming the image of Godzilla.

Bones Malone and the Spooky Bois (2016) Anno's final kick in the teeth. I love the how the unnerving imagery evokes both an opening seed pod and a disturbed cluster of Harvestmen. The individual humanoids channel Xenomorphs, though I agree with the consensus that it represents Godzilla trying to evolve the communal cooperation that defeated it. I personally enjoy the more literal variant of this interpretation, where these nightmarish figures attempt to overcome humanity through legalistic court battles and bureaucracy.

Filius of Godzilla (2017) The first official anime Godzilla is disappointingly derivative of the more daring 2014 Hollywood design. The head and neck are at least better proportioned, and the treelike traits are interesting in concept, but the anime never elaborates on why a plant would solve into a dinosaur shape. AniGoji's model is also frustratingly unemotive, which worked for ShinGoji, but feels out of place in a naturalistic, yet actively hostile incarnation.

Racist Grandpa (2017-2018) Unfortunately the only design change between the 50m and 300m AniGojis was a scruffy beard of spikes. You'd think there would be more ontogeny and/or allometry involved with such a vast difference in scale. It's not strictly design but I also have to laugh at the ludicrously low mass figure: Godzilla Earth is half the weight of the original Godzilla based Plant Beast, despite being 2.5 times as tall.

Kemono Friends (2017-2018) I wish the Planet of Monsters had more variety. The multiple sets of eyes seem to homage the Ohmu and other insects of the Toxic Jungle, but their otherwise generically dragonish form doesn't hold a candle to Nausicaa's creature design. Their environment is likewise pretty homogenous compared to Miyazaki's forest of fungi; the pedestrian art design reflecting the muddled environmentalist message.

The Lego Piece on Your Floor (2017) A skeletal form brimming with spikes, this Mechagodzilla takes full advantage of CGI to achieve a radical design infeasible in traditional suits. Its abstract face conveys function over form, while it's complex, shifting structure implies its malleable nanometal construction. Unfortunately we don't get to see it in action.

BLAME! at Home (2018) I already knew of Mechagodzilla City long beforehand, so the wasn't much disappointment while watching the film. There certainly isn't much Mechagodzilla in this City though. I do think the "becoming beasts through technology" theme could have been strengthened by having the city start to morph into a giant Godzilla-like form as a last ditch effort to defeat its organic counterpart.

Anime.wav (2018) The worm-type Servum are a bit more interesting than their flying counterparts. I like their lamprey like builds and root manipulation, though the latter appendages seem weirdly disconnected from the main body, and primarily facilitate one of the more embarrassing anime tropes. I also wish these guys got their own name, to better diversify the bestiary.

Pinhead (2019-2024) As KiryuGoji was to MireGoji, DougheGoji is to GareGoji, complete with shrunken head. Since Gary's noggin was already fairly small, this is a bit of an issue for Doughy's proportions. I have mixed feelings about the other changes in design. The more traditional dorsal plates are a great improvement, but the blunted tail tip doesn't convey scale as well, while the spread toes feel like a surrender to the Feet Wars.

Anchor Arms (2021) I wish the largest mobile version of Mechagodzilla wasn't so top heavy. The oversized arms and broad upper torso feel way out of proportion with the stubby neck and skeletal lower body. The changes to Monster Mechagodzilla feel less innovative than they do derivative of other media: its red, spherical eyes and endoskeletal frame draw more from the T800 than they do any of the prior iterations. What references to the original there are end up drowned out: the hint of Space Beam is overwhelmed by the Proton Scream it envelops, while the classic X patterns are lost amongst the busy mechanical design.

The Second to Last Dinosaur (2023) The way that MaiGoji's first form drips with spines and teeth really sells the nightmarish feeling of his attack. His distinct build sells his growth after mutation, though I think his more theropodal head is a tad large for his scale. I almost wish Minus One aimed for a higher classification: its feels dissonant that the ground crew members aren't bitten in half when jaws that large clamp down on them.

Cheek Chub Plus One (2023) The most traditional modern Godzilla design, MaiGoji combines the fearsome countenance and mountainous build of BioGoji with the menacing dorsal plates of MireGoji, breathing life into the old classics with its impressive level of detail. Its thorny hide evokes the naturalistic scales of GareGoji, warped and scarred like the Original: this Godzilla was once a being of nature, but has been irreversibly marred by the depredations of humanity.

Kamata-kun is my favorite godzilla, and I collect Kamata-kun plush in particular among my Godzilla/kaiju collection :D

Recently, I was able to get a Kamata-kun plush I have been wanting for ages! A friend of Jeremy's was selling several things, including a Kamata-kun mochitto cushion (leftmost Kamata-kun in the first photo). The price was super good, and he agreed to hold it for me until I got paid! He arrived Monday and I am SO jazzed to have him! He's really squishy and soft.

20,000 Years

My efforts to increase appreciation of the plant does not wane, enjoy a 4K poster of him. I will say getting the volumetric lighting on this right was tedious.

Worm Servum

Godzilla Franchise

GODZILLA UNLEASHED

GODZILLA KING OF THE MONSTERS

GODZILLA MONSTER PLANET