Top Ten Most Tragic Toho Kaiju
"Monsters are tragic beings. They are born too tall, too strong, too heavy. They're not evil by choice, that's their tragedy." - Ishirō Honda, director of eight of the original Godzilla movies as well as many other kaiju and sci-fi films, 24 in total.
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Godzilla (Heisei Era) - Godzilla 84
Godzilla is a giant monster originating from a series of Japanese tokusatsu films that began with the 1954 film Godzilla, produced by Toho. Over the decades, the character has appeared in numerous films, television shows, comic books, and video games. Godzilla is widely regarded as a cultural icon and... read more
Godzilla was shot and nearly killed back in the 40s when he was just a Godzillasaurus. He constantly gets serious injuries in fights, is killed by Mechagodzilla (but gets revived), witnesses his son get tortured by Spacegodzilla, and is later killed by Destoroyah.
He then has a meltdown and dies. What a sad life.
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Mothra - Rebirth of Mothra
She dies so many times and gets beaten very easily. I honestly think she has died more than any other kaiju in the Toho films.
Look at the "Rebirth of Mothra" trilogy. She constantly gets defeated and dies in more emotional ways and scenes than most modern movies, and it's a puppet.
Plus, the larva form of Mothra is always in a life-or-death situation immediately after birth, sometimes witnessing their mother get killed.
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Godzilla Junior - Godzilla vs Destroyah
Junior grows attached to a human and is forced to leave her, witnesses his brother Rodan die, is tortured by Spacegodzilla, is killed by Destoroyah, gets revived by Godzilla, but no longer has his father.
I feel bad for him.
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Mechagodzilla 3 (Kiryu) - Godzilla X Mechagodzilla
The skeleton and soul of the original Godzilla are trapped in Kiryu, making it a living being that doesn't want to fight. It's simply trapped in the machine. The spirit does become unleashed a few times, though.
I guess we actually did get "Godzilla vs. Ghost Godzilla" after all.
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Titanosaurus - Terror of Mechagodzilla
Titanosaurus is a kaiju character who first appeared in the 1975 Toho film Terror of Mechagodzilla. He is depicted as a massive, dinosaur-like sea monster controlled by a human antagonist. The character later appeared in various Godzilla-related media and merchandise.
A bit of an odd choice, but in his only film, "Terror of Mechagodzilla," he was once a peaceful dinosaur that lived at the ocean floor before Dr. Mafune found him. The doctor took control of him and turned him bad.
He also gets hurt in vicious ways and, of course, dies.
A monster that was forced to fight against its will, only to be beaten and blasted by Godzilla and possibly even killed.
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Anguirus - Godzilla vs Gigan
You don't even need to mention a specific movie. Toho obviously hates this guy. His windpipe gets crushed, he gets smacked into a mountain like a basketball, and his so-called "friend" Godzilla literally sat on him and ripped his jaw open!
He deserves to get his own separate movie with Jet Jaguar, without Godzilla.
He is basically cannon fodder. He never wins, and he is beaten to a bloody pulp half the time.
I mean, he gets his jaw ripped open in one film, for God's sake. He also tends to always need help and plays sidekick to Godzilla.
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Rodan (Heisei Era) - Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla 2
In his only appearance in the Heisei era, he is just cannon fodder. Godzilla nearly murders him in the first 15 minutes of the movie.
Even once he gets a new power and becomes 'Fire Rodan,' that doesn't change anything, and Mechagodzilla simply destroys him. He starts internally bleeding and bleeding from his mouth. He then uses his life energy to save the recently dead Godzilla, after which he just disappears.
He was nearly killed by Godzilla in the first battle and beaten by Mechagodzilla, only to transfer his energy to Godzilla and die.
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Biollante - Godzilla vs Biollante
An abomination against nature - a hybrid of Godzilla, a rose plant, and the dead daughter of the scientist who created this creature.
I mean, just let your daughter rest in peace. Now she is in pain. Godzilla burns her alive, and there is plenty of monster gore.
A monster that shouldn't exist. A hybrid of a plant, Godzilla, and a scientist's dead daughter.
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Guiron - Gamera vs. Guiron
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Zigra - Gamera vs. Zigra
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Minilla - All Monsters Attack
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Shimo - Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
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Orga - Godzilla 2000
In his only movie appearance (other than that cameo in Planet of Monsters), the alien ship wakes up after eons and gets killed by Godzilla a day later.
He's only in his monster form for like 5 minutes before Godzilla blows him up.
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Jet Jaguar - Godzilla vs Megalon
The robot may be the focal point of Godzilla vs. Megalon, but he constantly needs Godzilla's help, gets double-teamed, and almost decapitated.
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Jamila - Ultraman
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Baragon - Frankenstein Conquers The World
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Gorosaurus - King Kong Escapes
