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