During the more than 60 years since its creation in 1954, Godzilla has been well-loved not only by the Japanese, but also people outside of Japan. Its popularity has grown even further in recent years with the release of "Shin Godzilla" (2016), a megahit in Japan, and "Godzilla vs. Kong" (2021), the third installment in the Hollywood MonsterVerse series.

What is the reason for this fondness for Godzilla that has transcended both time and national borders? What is the fascination found in ‘kaiju’ such as Godzilla, but not in monsters? That enduring fascination is discussed by Yuji Kaida, the authority on kaiju illustrations who has been drawing them since the dawn of kaiju movies, and Eiji Yamamori who was in charge of all kaiju designs for the most recent Godzilla anime series, "Godzilla Singular Point." (2021).

Interviewer/Author: Masaki Mugikura Editor: Satomi Hara, Miho Moriya (CINRA, Inc.)

From Viewer to Creator: The allure of Godzilla that spawns a chain reaction

-- Today, Godzilla is popular not only in Japan, but throughout the world. What, exactly, is the allure?

Kaida A big reason Godzilla has stayed popular for such a long time is most likely because the very first production, "Godzilla" (1954) was such high-quality entertainment. "Godzilla" was a movie created by an outstanding staff of many who put a lot of serious thought into kaiju, something that has no sense of reality.

Kaida The year "Godzilla" was released was not too long after WWII ended. The movie staff in Japan at that time, including Director Ishiro Honda, had nearly all experienced the war. "Godzilla" wasn’t a movie intended to be antiwar and against atomic bomb experiments, but when staff who experienced the tragedy of war depicted a story about Tokyo being trampled by a kaiju, I think it became deeply colored by the impact of war. That created a work of entertainment. Therein lies the novelty of "Godzilla".

For children, the visual of a kaiju running amok was the greatest entertainment. The kids who had that etched into their minds when they were small grew up and became the creators of the next Godzilla. That chain reaction is what’s interesting about the Godzilla series.

Yamamori That’s right. When my generation was born Godzilla already existed. Actually, my parents apparently took me to see a Godzilla movie when I wasn’t even a year old …Of course, I don’t remember that, but my parents said I watched wide eyed without moving. The existence of Godzilla is that fascinating. It’s been etched in my mind since I was little.

I think the source of that fascination is energy, because having a lot of energy is something children long for. Not only back then but even today, a character that possesses great energy like Godzilla is a rare thing worldwide, right?

Kaida The mysteriousness is also important. A professor gives some kind of explanation on the origins of Godzilla, but Godzilla can’t speak, so we don’t know if it’s true. He’s a kaiju that just appears and then leaves. I think all that ambiguity that remains is another allure.

Yamamori It’s maybe also akin to a natural phenomenon in the sense that he has massive strength that humans are helpless against. That’s precisely why people are awestruck by Godzilla. He’s not just a huge creature—like the dinosaurs that are in the movie, "Jurassic Park" (1993), he’s more enigmatic. I think there’s fascination with that.

The nature of Godzilla is created by chance by a restrictive suit

-- What about the fascination with Godzilla’s form?

Kaida Godzilla is a very simple kaiju. If a kaiju stands upright on two legs, has a tail, and dorsal fins, then basically it looks like Godzilla (laughs). Based on that broad rule, various versions of Godzilla have appeared in each movie.

In the early days of Godzilla, there was someone inside a suit who moved around. The suit back then didn’t really let the wearer move his neck or even really move quickly. This resulted in a strange way of walking, like a mountain moving, but that became a major plus to the creation of the Godzilla character. In the case of Godzilla, the inflexibility specific to suits didn’t turn out to be a disadvantage.

Yamamori There are quite a few instances when chance makes something appealing. I think that happenstance plays a large role, especially in content that has been created for a long time.

Kaida For the first Godzilla, there’s no one who could be said to have established the design. It took shape while incorporating opinions from various people involved… From there, some changes were made because of the suit’s creation. The current form took shape through a combination of incidental happenings and different factors, like the neck sinking into the shoulders because of the weight of the material. That’s also one of the interesting things about Godzilla.

-- You two actually draw illustrations. What are you conscious of when you draw Godzilla?

Kaida In my case, I’m always conscious of drawing scenes that aren’t in movies. For example, as we just talked about, the first Godzilla’s movements were restricted because of the suit. So, in my illustrations I wanted to draw him dynamically twisting his body.

Kaida Also, in old Godzilla movies images with the camera angle from below couldn’t be taken because the set’s ceiling would be visible. However, if I’m drawing Godzilla, I like to draw without such angle restrictions. I’m always thinking about things like that, but recently productions are being created entirely using CG. Case in point is animations like "Godzilla Singular Point". Illustrating has become quite difficult. All the scenes in recent Godzilla works have been drawn very smartly.

-- Yamamori, what were you conscious of when designing Godzilla for "Godzilla Singular Point"?

Yamamori I thought I should use the original Godzilla as the theme. Also, as Kaida said, I wanted to give Godzilla the ability to freely move without the limitations of the suit. I also thought about the basic structure of a living creature and thought it’d be good to have somewhat thick legs and muscle. But, what I probably focused on most was the lower jaw. If it’s small, the creature lacks power, so I wanted to make it a little large.

Kaida That lower jaw was great. It was very powerful.

Yamamori Thank you (laughs). Nonetheless, I didn’t want to lose the image of Godzilla that everyone has. I kept a mixed image of Godzilla, like a patchwork of elements from past Godzilla, but wanted to create a form that would be seen for the first time, because if it was the same Godzilla as before, there’d be no point to creating an animation.

What’s the difference between a kaiju and a monster?

-- Godzilla represents kaiju, but is there even a difference between a kaiju and a monster?

Yamamori A kaiju is not just a huge creature. There is a significance to its being born and a story. It has great power that can’t be beat by humans, even if they use weapons. I think that’s the kind of image Japanese people have of a kaiju. Lately, it seems like the word ‘kaiju’ has become known around the world, but perhaps there’s still a little gap in understanding.

Kaida However, personally I think the view of monsters in America has completely changed since 9/11. That’s because they have a keen understanding of overwhelming violence. Godzilla’s appearance in the first Hollywood version in "Godzilla" (1998) was a kind of extension of real creatures, but the kaiju that appear in the MonsterVerse series that started with "Godzilla" (2014) has become very close to the kaiju that we Japanese imagine.

Yamamori The change in how monsters are portrayed in Hollywood is probably also influenced by the generation of creators. In America, too, the people who encountered Godzilla when they were children have become the ones actually making Godzilla movies in Hollywood. Right now, it might be that kind of timing.

Kaida Of course, there are many non-Japanese fans who love the old Japanese kaiju movies. In fact, it may be that there are more diehard fans in America. I’ve been invited as a guest to G-FEST, which is a convention held in Chicago every year that’s sponsored by fans of Japanese kaiju movies. Those fans are extremely enthusiastic.

Yamamori In Japan, fans of kaiju movies are sometimes treated as Otaku. They might feel a little ashamed. I wonder why.

Kaida It’s probably because in Japan kaiju movies were once recognized as entertainment for children, don’t you think? After the release of "Godzilla: Final Wars" (2004), there was a blank when new movies weren’t made. I think that movies such as "Gamera: The Heisei Trilogy" are sufficiently entertaining for adults, too, but it wasn’t popular across a wide range of ages. However, after that the situation greatly changed…

-- Was that because "Shin Godzilla" (2016), which became a megahit in Japan, had a big impact?

Kaida That’s right. Because "Shin Godzilla" was a big hit, people finally realized that really good kaiju movies aren’t just for children and enthusiasts, but can be fully enjoyed by general audiences. At the same time, the Hollywood version of Godzilla was relaunched, and new movies have been released in succession, right up until the "Godzilla vs. Kong" which was out this year.

It may be that now another big Godzilla boom has arrived. That’s exactly why I’m worried that if you go see a Godzilla movie in Japan, you won’t see many children. If kids don’t see them, in ten or twenty years there won’t be anyone who makes Godzilla movies.

How can Japanese kaiju movies be made more interesting in the future?

-- What do you think will happen to Godzilla movies going forward?

Kaida I don’t know if there will be Godzilla sequels made in Hollywood, but I worry about what will happen to Godzilla in Japan in the future. "Shin Godzilla" was a big hit, but I don’t think a sequel will be made.

Nevertheless, I think there’s still so much potential for Godzilla movies—not just Godzilla, but kaiju movies. When I watched "Godzilla Singular Point", I was quite amazed, seeing that that Godzilla could be drawn in that way. So, while I have hopes for animation, too, I really want to see a new live-action Godzilla made in Japan.

Yamamori I agree. It’s okay to take full advantage of ‘tokusatsu’ (live action making heavy use of special effects) unique to Japan, such as suits and miniature sets, but being amused by that alone is not quite right. We can include clouds of sand and fire using CG and add CG to the suit-restricted Godzilla to make it more real. Through a hybrid of special effects and CG, I think we can still make interesting kaiju movies. Well, the budget might double, though.

-- It feels as if it’s about time for Godzilla, especially now when we’re facing problems like climate change and COVID-19 that we don’t see solutions to even when we pool our knowledge.

Kaida Right. No one thought that the world would change so much all at once in their own lifetime. I think that impact will appear in some kind of form. Movies, not only kaiju movies, are a response to the times. One way or another, it’s no time for fiction to lose out to reality.