Hey all! To make sure I am not totally absent from my website while I work on big projects for it, here's a little side project: my Godzilla monsters tier list! For those that don't know, I am perhaps the largest Godzilla fan in existence. I have literally thousands of Godzilla toys, I've seen every Godzilla movie dozens of times at least, and some hundreds of times, I am constantly consuming and thinking about Godzilla and Godzilla related media, and will often listen to the Godzilla theme on loop for days at a time. I am obsessed and have been obsessed for as long as I can remember, and nothing makes me happier than Godzilla and Godzilla related things. Well, except maybe my boyfriend, but its a VERY close battle! So because of that, I have a lot of opinions about Godzilla and the monsters in the Godzilla series, so I wanted to rank all of them in a tier list, and then explain my rankings going from S to F, with the left most being the absolute best, and the right most being the absolute worst of each tier. I used this tier list, and it is attached visually here!:
I will not explain why each monster is placed as they are! Massive disclaimer however: I only truly dislike monsters that are in F tier, and consider C to be average. Average-to-below-average does not mean that I don't like the design, just that there are designs that I prefer more, i.e. S-B. So without further adieu, here's my reasons for ranking the above monsters as I did!
S-TIER:
Godzilla, 1975:This is my all-time FAVORITE Godzilla design, and subsequently, my all time favorite monster design out of all the Godzilla movies and media. It takes all the elements of past Showa designs, and refines them to a point of absolute perfection. I grew up with the Showa films, and my favorite way of depicting Godzilla is one who is an initial Villain/anti-hero, who overtime becomes more and more heoric as he grows to care for humanity, and Showa Godzilla, and this design, embody that principle perfectly. From his slight furrowed brow demonstrating his severity and strength, to his puffier, silver spikes, and slightly bulkier appearance than other showa designs such as the 1968 design, this Godzilla is the platonic ideal for the Showa era for me, and as the Showa era is my favorite era of Godzilla films, it is my favorite design.
Anguirus, 1968:MY BABY BOYYYYYY!!!!! I love Anguirus so much, he is my second favorite monster PERIOD. This rendition, along with the later 71 design (which is ranked slightly lower due to how often he is hurt in Godzilla vs Gigan, which made me cry as a child), is the ultimate best friend. He is so loyal to Godzilla, and will fight to protect his friends no matter what! He is simultaneously adorable, and powerful, making me feel safe and protected when he is on screen. His little teefies are also SOOO CUTE!!! I love him so dearly.
Titanosaurus:This is my favorite of the villain monsters in the entire Godzilla franchise. The character of Titanosaurus, as a kind dinosaur forced into becoming evil through mind control is so interesting to me, and that is to say nothing of his design. It takes the base model of a Godzilla and changes it in a few key ways (similar to other favorites like Space Godzilla!), thus giving him a more aquatic appearance. Thus, his character in the film, as well as the threatening-but-not-too-threatening appearance makes him the perfect foe for Godzilla to fight! I so wish that he was used more, he's so perfect!!! And I am so angry that they tricked me into thinking he was gonna be in Singular Point >:( (I'll see you in B-tier).
Godzilla, 1995(Burning):Man, this design is so fucking cool. If you look up the definition of fucking metal as fuck in the dictionary, you probably wouldn't find it since its more of a phrase if anything, but it perfectly describes Burning Godzilla. The bright orange and red fire bleeding out from his deep black scales, and piercing orange-red eyes creates an image of a Kaiju on his last legs, desperately fighting off the end with everything he has, but inevitably reaching it. The continual smoke pouring out of his body only adds to the image of a monster dying a fast, and painful death.
Godzilla, 2023:This is the platonic ideal for villainous Godzilla for me. It takes elements of so many other designs, from the bulky-ness of the Heisei designs, to the jagged, painful scales of the original, this Godzilla looks ANGRY and EVIL. He exudes personality and hatred in a way that is only matched by the next Godzilla on this list, who is just barely beaten by 2023 Godzilla.
Godzilla, 2001)This Godzilla is about as scary as a Godzilla can get to me. The most paranormal Godzilla on this list, he consistently feels like an unstoppable, existential threat to the other monsters in the GMK movie, as well as the people watching powerlessly from below. No Godzilla has looked so angry, and seemed to take so much enjoyment from the slaughter of humans than GMK Godzilla. And for that reason, he is one of the greats!
Godzilla, 2000: Godzilla 2000 just looks so cool. He is probably the coolest looking Godzilla, with his massive, jagged purple spikes, his almost crocodilian mouth, and bright orange atomic breathe, I ADORE Godzilla 2000. He is also the best monster in Godzilla: Save The Earth, don't @ me.
Space Godzilla:What a fucking awesome villain! Although I'm not a huge fan of the movie that Space Godzilla is in, the actual design and character of Space Godzilla is amazing! The crystal shoulders and spikes, his energy attacks, his telekenisis, his truly evil actions and goals, he really feels like the anti-Godzilla in a lot of ways. To me, that makes him the best of the "doppelganger" Godzillas, and also my second favorite Godzilla villain (apart from some of the Godzillas), and my favorite of the truly evil non-Godzilla villains.
Godzilla, 1974:Many of the reasons I love Godzilla 1975 are true of this design as well, as they are nearly identical, however the change in head design to one that is slightly less intimidating I think reduces the overall effect of the design. It is an improvement over the other similar design of 1973, but it is all the same not as good as 75. That being said, it is still one of the absolute best, and really highlights everything I love about the Showa era.
Biollante:What can I say about this girl? I named my African fat tail gecko after her, she is an almost perfect Godzilla villain. Such a fascinating character, being the mix of Godzilla cells, the cells of a rose, and the essence of the main character's daughter. She's scared, confused, and lashing out, with the internal essence of the main cahracter's daughter screaming out from the angry, tendril-laden Kaiju. It just looks so scary and beastial, and is the absolute highlight of Godzilla Vs Biollante!
Godzilla, 1991:This is my second favorite Heisei design, coming from my least favorite of the heisei movies ironically enough. I love the sharp, pointed head, the menacing growl, the thick build, and anti-hero role that this Godzilla takes within his movie. To me, this is the platonic ideal of an anti-hero Godzilla, not quite evil, but certainly not good, and for that reason, he places this highly, even if I don't care for Godzilla Vs King Ghidorah (1991).
Mecha Godzilla, 1975:The pefect Mechagodzilla as a villain. Menacing, powerful, but stil nothing compared to the King of the Monsters. I love the aesthetic of 70s' retro futurism, and Mechagodzilla 1975 fits firmly within that camp, and is a clear improvement over the original 74 design, thus placing slightly higher.
Kiryu, 2003:I fucking love Kiryu. One of my favorite characters out of any Godzilla movie, with such an awesome concept behind him. Being the ressurected bones of the original Godzilla forced within a cold metal exterior, forced to battle what is, in all likelihood, the last of his kind, is so tragic and beautiful, and the design captures that so well, all while still being incredibly cool!
Kiryu, 2002:Same as Kiryu 2003, but I like the shoulder canons for the 2003 design just a little bit more.
Godzilla, 1989:A les refined form of the 1991 Godzilla, but all the same capturing much of the same emotions and characteristics of the later version, I love the 89 Godzilla so much. He also benefits from being in one of my favorite movies ever, Godzilla Vs Biollante, but if I'm speaking honestly, the 91 design is an improvement, if slight.
Mechagodzilla 1974:Same as Mechagodzilla 1975, but the changes made in the design from 74-75 are good enough that it places that Mechagodzilla above the Kiryus, but this one below them.
Godzilla, 1994:This is basically just the burning Godzilla design but minus the burning effect, which means that it is great, but not nearly as good. This is the point where the Heisei Godzilla starts to move a little further away from the anti-hero and begins to be just a hero, and as such the design starts to trend more towards the animated, friendly look of the Showa designs, but with more animalistic traits and tendancies. Because of that, I love this design, and in a lot of ways it feels almost like the platonic ideal of a Godzilla design. When I picture Godzilla in my head, it is often this design, and I feel that is likely true of most Godzilla fans.
Godzilla, 1968-72This is such a good design!!! It maintains a somewhat threatening appearance from the older showa films (excluding Son of Godzilla), but all the same appears friendly. He embodies Godzilla as a protector, and is perhaps the second Godzilla that I think of when I think of Godzilla. He is also fortunate enough to be the Godzilla that is featured in my absolute favorite film of the Showa era outside of the original, Godzilla Vs Hedorah. He is heroic, powerful, and somewhat more human that previous designs in a way that I love!!
Godzilla, 2004 (Final Wars):This design gets a lot of hate, and I really just do not agree with it!! This Godzilla is perfect for the movie that he is in, and as I fucking love Final Wars, I fucking love this design!! He is a truly unstoppable force, an anti-hero in the truest sense! He is fast, reactive, skilled, and threatening! The movie really highlights just how strong Godzilla is as a character, and this design exudes that strength and skill. More than any other Godzilla design, he feels like a warrior, not just powerful due to his size and atomic abilities, but a truly skilled fighter as well. This is rivaled somewhat by the 1973-1975 designs, but all the same, I think that the 2004 design takes the cake for the role as a warrior Godzilla.
Grand King Ghidorah:My favorite Ghidorah design, I am IN LOVE with it!!! He looks and sounds truly evil, and although he is not in a great movie, his role in that movie really is the highlight of it. Moreso than any other Ghidorah, he feels simultaneously like a true, existential threat, and one that acts independently from any other controlling force. For these reasons, he has the slight edge over the Showa Ghidorah designs.
Mothra Leo, 1998:This is VERY SLIGHTLY my favorite mothra design. Does it make me a misogynist that my favorite design of the most famous female Kaiju ever is the one of the only instances where that Kaiju is a guy? (jokes). I just love the vibrant, rainbow (gay) wings, and I truly love him as a character! His growth into the role of Mothra is so fun to watch. Starting from the first film, he loses his mother, the original mothra, and has to fill her impossibly large shoes, and by the end of the trilogy, not only reaches the heights of his mother, but surpasses her in becoming the protector of the universe! I'm also a huge fan of the more angular appearance he takes on, and the fact that he truly feels POWERFUL, which some other mothras sometimes lack.
King Ghidorah, 1968:Almost as good as Grand King Ghidorah, the 68 Ghidorah really is fantastic. His design has been refined, and his role in the movie improve to the point where he almost feels like the "final boss", like a raid boss in an MMO, where the entire gang has to come together to defeat him, and I am here for it!!! I love him so much, I wish I could put him above Grand King Ghidorah since I love Destroy all Monsters a lot more than Rebirth of Mothra III, but I just wish he had more agency.
Mothra, 2003-2004:This is about as perfect of a Mothra as you can get, truly the platonic ideal. She feels motherly, protective, powerful, beautiful, striking, and truly the equal of the monsters she faces! Out of all the Kaiju in the Godzilla series, I want to BE this mothra. I almost want to place her above Mothra Leo, it really is a toss up on which I like more, but he just barely beats her. I love her so much though!!!
Mothra, 2001: The most intimidating Mothra in my opinion, and the mothra that seems to me to have the strongest sense of justice. She feels so powerful, protective, and beautiful. Between her, 2003-2004 Mothra, and Mothra Leo, it really is a toss up. But I think her more wasp-like appearance doesn't suit mothra quite as much as the fluffier, moth-like appearance of the other designs, and for that reason she is just a little bit lower, even if I think she has one of the best characters out of all the Mothras.
Godzilla, 1962:What a great design!!! 62 Godzilla maintains the menacing look of the 54 and 55 designs, while I think improving on both of them by bulking him up, and giving him a more reptilian appearance. Not only that, this it the first Godzilla movie where I felt like Godzilla properly BATTLED another Kaiju, as opposed to just lunged at and ultimately killed with somewhat little effort. Although he's not quite the character he would later become, I really do adore the more animalistic look of this Godzilla.
Angurius, 1971:A lot of my opinions about 68 Angurius are also true of 71 Angurius, but the suit started to degrade a bit, and he is just abused so much in the movie. It hurts to watch Godzilla Vs Gigan because of allt he shit Anguirus is put through, and in general I just don't super like Godzilla Vs Gigan, even if Gigan is one of the best Kaiju around. That being said, he is still my baby boy, and I would kill and die for him ANY DAY OF THE WEEK.
Godzilla, 1964:A design that is truly threatening at times, this Godzilla feels more hateful and angry than the previous designs featured int he Showa era, and feels like the platonic ideal of the villainous Godzilla. That being said, the wobbly jaw is a little weird, and Godzilla is a bit too clumsy in the movie to beat on the 1962 design.
Godzilla, 1954:The design that started it all, I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this design!!! Angry, pained, and tragic, all while being terrifying, this design truly is fantastic!! If it weren't for Godzilla Minus One to exist, and do a design like this just a tiny bit better, I might rank this design more highly. Unfortunately, the design is dragged back a bit by some goofy qualities that don't mesh well with the more serious tone of the movie, namely the hand puppet shots, which honestly take away a lot from this design. Still an S-tier, and still one of the absolute best, but other designs did it better, other being Godzilla Minus One.
Godzilla, 2002:The Godzilla that battles Kiryu, this Godzilla functions great as a tool of comparison between Kiryu and what is likely the only other of his kind. Although he isn't as interesting as a character as some of the other Godzillas, mainly just being a standard, Heisei-lite, the slightly toned-back Godzilla 2000 look is all the same striking. I still prefer the more out-there design direction of Godzilla 2000, but this is still fantastic. Taking more cues from the Heisei designs in its refinement of the 2000 design, it manages to be a bit more animal, a little less person, than other designs.
Godzilla, 2003:The same as Godzilla, 2002, but I think his scar takes away from the design a bit. This is controversial, I know, but I really perfer the more default Godzilla look, since the scar doesn't go quite as far as Burning Goji did.
1964-1965 King Ghidorah:The first Ghidorah, and one of the best!! Much of the points I made about the 68 Ghidorah are the same for this Ghidorah, as they are almost identical, and are the same character, but Destroy All Monsters just made a few improvements and tweaks to the design that I think elevated it, and thus this design is a bit lower on the list, but still in S-tier. So great!!!
Jet Jaguar:JET JAGUAR I LOVE YOU!!!!!! One of the best allys to Godzilla, right up there with Mothra, Angurius, and Rodan, he is just such an awesome dude!! Loyal, humanity-loving, and just unskilled enough to need saving from his buddy Godzilla!!! His dad's are also gay, so that's nice :D. In general, Jet Jaguar is about as good as it gets when it comes to being an assitant to Godzilla, but not overtaking him in terms of overall awesomeness.
Megalon, 1973:ITS MEGALON, MOTHERFUCKERS!!!!!!! The baddy against Godzilla and Jet Jaguar, I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE megalon!!!!!! He's just such a great villain!! He's a snotnosed brat, who wants to bully people around but just isn't strong enough to, and that pathetic but somewhat endearing quality has always made Megalon one of the all time greats!!
Hedorah, 1972:Just barely underneath Megalon, Hedorah is such a scary villain to me!!!! The scenes where Hedorah flies over people and they are reduced to bones, his laugh, his gradual increase in power as he evolves, and how many of his abilities are direct counters to Godzillas, along with the fact that he is in one of my favorite movies of all time puts Hedorah so highly on this list and in my heart!!! I do think that he is held back by the technology of the time, as he is meant to look like sludge, but the limitations of the rubber suit medium mean that he doesn't quite live up to that potential. I think a CGI Hedorah in the modern day would actually look better.
Godzilla, 2021 (Ultima):Godzilla as an Lovecraftian entity was something I didn't know I needed until Singular point, and Ultima is the ulti-mate illustration of Godzilla as an Eldritch God. He is threatening in a way that no other Godzilla is, as he is threatening on a universal, cosmological scale, rather than the usual civilization-wide scale. Ultima is a threat to all of reality, not just human civilization, and his design really highlights that. He is a continually growing and changing force of pure power, with an almost armoured body, and massive, ferocious mouth. That being said, his eyes are a lil weird looking, and he is a little too thick, taking the GIRTH of the Heisei era and pushing it to well past the point of excessive. Even so, the character of Ultima, and my love for the Singular point anime pushes Ultima to S-tier.
Angurius, 1955:The first Angurius, and in fact the first monster that Godzilla ever fought, I really love this design!! From the very beginning, Anguirus was such an awesome look, taking the look of what we thought an Anklyosaur looked like in the 50s, and making it just the slightest bit more monsterous, in much the same way that Godzilla was taking what we thought a T-rex looked like, and making it more monsterous. In that way, this Anguirus feels more grounded in a weird way. That being said, he doesn't have much of a character yet, so I can't rank him that highly, even if I love him a lot.
Godzilla, 2021 (Terestris):Everything I said about Godzilla Ultima is also true of Terestris, but the design is not quite as inimidating. That being said, it is still a really awesome design, feeling a bit more plausible than any other design biologically speaking. He's not so big that he couldn't exist in the real world, and has a more hunched posture, which would allow for improvements to bloodflow, thus making his gigantic size a bit more realistic. However, he doesn't feel quite as "Godzilla-like", and as such, ranks lower than Ultima.
Mothra, 1992:Largely the same character as Mothra 2003-2004, I love this mothra in much the same way that I love that mothra. However, I think that she is just a little bit too fuzzy, and not threatening enough to feel like a proper force against her foes. She looks like she would make a fantastic plushy, but perhaps not as perfect of a mothra as the previously mentioned. Even in saying that, this mothra is still fantastic, feeling like the true protector of humanity in her film.
Rodan, 1956:Wow is this a great Rodan!! To me, this is the perfect Rodan. Although their character is not as developed as future Rodans, the narrative of two creatures, not made for this world but forced to exist within it, destroying the world around them by no fault of their own, and ultimately being killed by those that they were accidentally hurting, is so tragic and beautiful. The end where the other Rodan kills themself in sorrow after their mate was killed is one of the most heartbreaking moments in the entire Showa series. Beyond that, the design similar to the previous designs in the showa era, namely Godzilla and Angurius, in which they took some prehistoric animal and changed something around in order to make them appear slightly more monsterous. This Rodan is also unique in the puppets used in the movie actually look decent, which is not true of any other Showa Kaiju.
Baragon, 2001:ADORABLE!!!!!!! I love this Baragon so much, she is my favorite of all the Baragons (I'm pretty sure that they refer to Baragon as an It in the Japanese release and He in the American release, but she is the first Godzilla Kaiju played by a woman, so she's a she damn it!!)She feels like the definition of an underdog, and I truly wanted her to survive against Godzilla in her battle with him. Although she is by far the weakest monster in GMK, she is always going to be important to me!!!!!
Godzilla Junior, 1995:Godzilla Junior is very much the perfect "serious" take on the child of Godzilla. Not too cute, not too monsterous: he manages to exist as an entirely believable adolescent Godzilla who one can see growing into a Godzilla as powerful as his father, but far more friendly to humnanity akin to the Showa era. It is in this friendliness towards humans that Godzilla Junior becomes one of the best characters in the Heisei series, as he was raised around and partially by humans, and has a bond with a particular human psychic; and it is through this connection that we get a more personal view of Godzilla Junior, and therefore Godzilla himself. Because of this, Godzilla Junior is my favorite depiction of Godzilla's child.
Destroyah:The closest thing that the Godzilla franchise has come to the devil, destroyah is in some ways the perfect Godzilla villain, and certainly the perfect Heisei Godzilla villain. Born from the oxygen destroyer, Destroyah embodies the one thing that was able to kill a Godzilla in the past, and thus presents perhaps the only means underwhich this Godzilla, the one who is dying, may finally meet his end. Although it is not Destroyah who ultimately kills Godzilla (instead it is his gradual increase in power reaching unsustainable levels), Destroyah all the same provides a sastifying final enemy of the Heisei Godzilla.
Gigan, 1971-1973:Gigan is one of the cooler Godzilla monsters, and the original Showa variant of Gigan is my favorite version of him. I understand that this is somewhat controversial within the Godzilla community, as Final Wars Gigan is very popular, I do believe that showa Gigan is better in a number of ways, namely his character, and his general design. Don't get me wrong, I love Final Wars Gigan quite a bit, but as a cahracter he is lacking compared to his Showa counterpart, and as a design I think he is somewhat over-designed compared to the more sleek and classic Gigan design from 1971. The combination of deep green and gold, along with the unique, alien appearance of him, is unlike anything else in the Godzilla franchise. Its common for people to call Gigan a space chicken, but truthfully I don't see it. Sure, he has a beak, but the rest of his body does not seem chicken-like, or even bird-like at all. Instead, he seems largely different from earth life, and in that way, I think he represents one of the better depictions of an alien life form. Final Wars Gigan continues this trend, but he looks a little more like a Hottopic employee than a Kaiju in my opinion.
Gemstone Megalon, 2023:Like the Showa Megalon, I love the character and design of Gemstone Megalon, who largely carries over the traits and visual design of the original. That being said, I think he is a little bit too angular and his design lacks the personality of the original Megalon, so I am placing him a bit below the classic. That being said, I still love the design simply because its Megalon, and Megalon is amazing!!!!
Gigan, 2004 (Final Wars):As previously mentioned, I love this design, and love this character, but just not as much as the original Gigan. In personality, he is much more the upstart, showing a lot of the same arrogance of the original Gigan, but lacking a bit when compared to how often and how easily that personality comes through in the actions and movements of the character. The design itself is also metal as fuck, however I think it strays a bit too far from being cool and classic, into being edgy. However, I do still love the design, and I would be lying if I wasn't grinning from ear to ear every time he came on screen!!
Orga:Orga is the fucking GOAT. I love Orga so much, in terms of original Kaiju from the millenium era, Orga is the best. The concept of an ancient alien being awoken, and trying to copy Godzilla in order to heal itself from the thousands of years of rest it spent under the ocean, to the idea that this is all a metaphor for the way in which the American Godzilla was a cheap copy of the original. In this way, both 1998 Godzilla, and Orga are just simulacrum of Godzilla, and its that element of post-modern symbolism that makes me absolutely adore Godzilla 2000, and Orga. Also he is so fucking fun to play as in Godzilla: Save the Earth.
Cyber Godzilla:The Kiryu before Kiryu, there is a great tragedy in the depiction of this "Mechagodzilla". Here, we see Godzilla Junior meeting his father, reanimated as a cyberborg by aliens, and he has to choose between his adopted father, the human Nick, and his biological father. This choice is clearly a difficult one for Godzilla Junior, and the conflict of that choice, to me, is the highlight of the entire Godzilla: The Series. Because of this, Cybergodzilla ranks higher than the main Godzilla from Godzilla: The Series, although I do love that Godzilla quite a bit.
Fire Rodan/Rodan 1993In terms of Rodans, Fire Rodan, and Heisei Rodan as a whole, are somewhat the archetypal Rodan. When I think of Rodan, it is the Heisei Rodan, and the change from foe to friend in Godzilla Vs Mechagodzilla II makes that movie my secound favorite of the Heisei series. The design itself is small, but filled with personality, able to encapsulate everything that makes the Showa Rodan interesting into a single film appearance. His sacrifice to save Godzilla is also so heartfelt to me, and one of the best instances of a sacrifice as depicted in the entire Godzilla franchise. Every single time I watch the movie, Rodan's death makes me emotional.
King Ghidorah 1991:If I am speaking solely to the design of this version of King Ghidorah, he is my favorite. Visually, its a spectacular design, trimming some of the edges off the showa design to the point of near perfection, taking everything that worked about that design, and leaving what doesn't. He is simultaneously more ferocious, and leaner, appearing more devilish than his Showa counterpart. As a character, however, I honestly hate this Ghidorah. His origin as three cute little kitty-cat Bats is ridiculous, and a shadow of the original Ghidorah's origins. If it weren't for the design being so fucking awesome, I would put this character in F tier, I just really hate how he is portrayed. That itself should illustrate just how much I adore this design then, that he goes from an easy F to an Easy S purely on the back of his design. He is truly remarkably well designed, and I wish that he had an origin and character to match his truly spetacular design. I want this Ghidorah to be the peak of all Ghidorahs, but he just can't.
Rodan, 2019:Honestly my favorite part of the 2019 movie, I love Rodan in this movie so much. I really don't care for the movie all that much, but every time Rodan is on screen, I'm happy!! He has such personality in every aspect of his design; from the subtlties of his animation and movement, to the decidedly less subtle lava-tipped wings, he just screams every single aspect of his sleazy, rotten character. Him being the first to bow to Ghidorah, and the first to bow to Godzilla at the end of the movie really demonstrates everything I love about this Rodan: he's an arrogant coward in the best way, and makes for a damn fine secondary antagonist.
Rodan 2.0, Singular Point, 2021:Perhaps a controversial pick, but to be entirely honest its just because he looks like actual up-to-date scientific recreations of pterosaurs, which gets my prehistoric animal bones giddy. In terms of his personality, he acts extremely animalistic in a way that really stands in contrast to the pure evil of Godzilla, and as a result he almost seems as though he is the life coming in to inhabit the dying world within the Singular Point following the catastrophe. An opportunistic organism.
Battra:Following a theme of other Kaiju in S-tier, I love Battra, in large part, because he is metal as fuck. He has such an awesome design that screams "bad-ass", for lack of a better word. He really does feel like the anti-mothra, the antithesis to Mothra's thesis, the yin to her yang, etc. etc., I just love how he is everything Mothra isn't, yet attempts to fill the exact same role as Mothra. Acting as a different approach to protecting earth; one that is hostile to humanity, rather than one who is loving of humanity. In that way, he makes a fantastic redeemed villain by the end of the movie, as he realizes that Godzilla is a far greater threat than humanity to the earth. I just love Battra so much. I would put him higher if not for liking the other Kaiju in S-tier just a little bit more.
Little Godzilla:CUTE CUTE CUTE CUTE CUTE CUTE CUTE CUTE CUTE CUTE CUTE CUTE CUTE CUTE I LOVE HE IS SO CUTE I WANNA SQUEESE HIS LIL CHEEKIES HE IS SO SWEET HE IS BABYYYYYYYY SO CUUTTEEEEEE
Rodan 1.0, Godzilla Singular Point, 2021:Same as the previous Singular Point Rodan, except I don't like the color choices as much for this design. Otherwise, he is top-tier.
Aggregate Destroyah:CRAB PEOPLE CRAB PEOPLE CRAB PEOPLE CRAB PEOPLE CRAB PEOPLE. For real though, he feels like a Xenomorph translated into the Heisei Godzilla mythology, and I love it so much.
Flying form Destroyah:A fantastic evolution of aggregate destroyah in general, I am just so impressed by the film's ability to take the base Destroyah design and modify it to fill different niches throughout the film. That being said, he looks a little too scary for me honestly, I'm not sure why. Because of that, aggregate is higher.
Des/Death GhidorahThe last of S-tier, Des Ghidorah is what Kaiser Ghidorah wishes he was (we'll get to Kaiser Ghidorah later on this list). He looks genuinely scary, powerful, and different enough from the standard Ghidorah to feel fresh off the back of the two previous renditions of the iconic dragon. He acts as a fantastic first foe in the Rebirth of Mothra trilogy, and is my second favorite Ghidorah from that trilogy in general. If not for Grand King Ghidorah being so fucking awesome, he would be the best. I really wish this Ghidorah got more love, he is probably the most underrated Kaiju on this list, he is just such an awesome design. I do wish that he had the standard gravity beams rather than fire, but that's a very minor nitpick for what is one of my favorite Kaiju period.
A-TIER:
Godzilla 2019-2021:The start of A-tier; a great Kaiju, but just barely missing the mark of being one of my favorites. Don't get me wrong, this design is amazing, and the character of monsterverse Godzilla is one of the all-time greats; right up there with Showa Godzilla in terms of my personal enjoyment of their character and role within their respective films. However, this Godzilla is brought down markedly by being in mostly movies that I am not the biggest fan of. Although I like all of the monsterverse movies, they rank on the tend to rank on the lower end when comparing them to the rest of the Godzilla movies, and as a result, I am not as strongly attached to this design as I am the others. There are also a few minor problems I've had with the design since the beginning, namely the proprotions. His head is a little too small, and although he feels massive in his movies, I almost feel like his size is hampered by how the later movies in the monsterverse often film him. That beign said, the design itself is amazing; I especially love the return to the traditional looking spikes that were lost in the 2014 design (featured shortly).
King Ghidorah, 2019:This Ghidorah is arguably the most interesting in terms of personality, and the character of Ghidorah in this movie is second-to-none. He is so evil, yet his evil comes from a place of almost human understanding. I can feel what he's thinking, understand why he does the things he does, and why he acts the way he acts more than any other Ghidorah. Moreover, he takes the concept of a planet-destroying alien from the Showa era and gives him the agency that I had been wanting from the Showa era! However, unlike Grand King Ghidorah at the top of this list, I don't really like the design itself, and I don't really like the movie that the design is in. Although I love the scenes that feature Ghidorah and Rodan, I hate everything with people in the movie, and am exhausted by the end of the movie, which is something I should never feel at the end of a Godzilla movie. In respect to this Ghidorah, however, I feel the design is kind of boring. I hate the change to a puke yellow color, the roar is terrible compared to the other Ghidorahs, and I feel like his legs are just way too stumpy. That being said, God do I love the character of this Ghidorah. If I could trade the designs of this and Grand King Ghidorah, this would be the top-tier King Ghidorah.
Mecha King Ghidorah:All of my previous statements regarding King Ghidorah 1991 are also true of this Ghidorah, except now it is no longer a character at all, as it is solely piloted by a human character, one that I don't even like. The design is fucking awesome, however, which makes me want to place it higher, but I just can't. It takes all the agency and interest out of the 91 Ghidorah before becoming Mecha King Ghidorah, and replaces it with an underdeveloped human from the future controlling the corpse of a better Ghidorah. That being said, the design is something special. Adding mechanical parts to Ghidorah was genius, and if done better, could have been right up with Cybergodzilla on this list.
Mothra Leo, 1997Everything I said about the previous Mothra Leo is also true of this Mothra Leo, but I really don't care for the green color palet for his design. It just looks ugly to me, and ruins what is otherwise an awesome design. He is also a little too bulky compared to the later Mothra Leo design, and because of those reasons, he is high A-tier, rather than S-tier, along with his later version.
King Ghidorah, 2001 (GMK):GMK is one of my favorite movies ever, and although I love all the other Kaiju in that movie, Ghidorah feels somewhat lacking. Although he is interesting, and the design is very good, I feel as though he is overshadowed by the two other hero monsters in the movie, and is dramatically overshadowed by Godzilla himself. I love the idea of Ghidorah being the hero and Godzilla being the villain for a change, however I think that he is a little too weak compared to Godzilla, and a little too boring compared to Mothra and Baragon.
Megaguirus:God I want to put this Kaiju in S-tier, I love Godzilla Vs. Megaguirus so much, it is the ultimate guilty pleasure for me in the Millenium era. That being said, she just doesn't have much in the way of personality or character in the movie. She's a bug, and has the personality of a bug. But she is SO FUCKING COOL. In terms of cool factor, she is easily S-tier, but as a hollistic Kaiju, the best I can do is A. There just isn't much to her as a character, especially compared to Godzilla. This coming from a movie that, although I love, was in desparate need of some character. I want her to be S-tier, I want her to be S-tier so bad, but she just doesn't hit the mark.
Gemstone Godzilla:I headcanon this as Godzilla Junior. As Godzilla Junior, he is a fucking awesome Godzilla and he is easily S-tier, however, as his own Godzilla, he is somewhat lacking. I think his design is a little too Shin Godzilla, and not traditional enough for me to properly love him. And in personality, he desparately needs the status as being Godzilla Junior to raise him up to S-tier. But since him being Junior is not confirmed, and the improvements to his character that come from it are dependent on things outside of the gemstone shorts, I can't rank him any higher. But because of my affinity for Godzilla Junior, I could never rank him any lower. I love Junior way too much!!
Hedorah, 2004:Great design, absolutely no personality. Literally, none. He is featured for all of 10 seconds, and in that time all we can say is that he is substantially weaker than Final Wars Godzilla. Sorely under utilized, it is WAY too cool of a design to be neglected like it has been. I loved seeing it reused for the Godzilla Vs Hedorah short recently, but its too little too late. That being said, if he had more screentime, and more development as a villain, he might be even higher than the OG Hedorah; but as it stands, this Hedorah is relegated to A-tier, as the design is S-tier, but the personality isn't even F-tier, there just isn't one.
Godzilla from Godzilla: The Series (Godzilla Junior):This is such a fucking awesome Godzilla, it really took lemons and made lemonade. I hate the 1998 movie, I hate the 1998 design (for the most part), and I feel it is a betrayal to what makes Godzilla so amazing. But Godzilla Junior from the series is brilliant as a character, as a design (for the most part), and I want to place him as high as his father Cybergodzilla. But in lacking the uniqueness of Cybergodzilla, and in being burdened by the design of the 98 movie, I can only plac ehim as high A-tier. In character he is S-tier, but I just really hate the 98 design, and this is not enough of a departure to feel truly separate in the same way that Cybergodzilla does for me.
Cretacious King Ghidorah:What a fucking awesome design!!! If I was to imagine what a young, developing Ghidorah within the Rebirth of Mothra Trilogy might look like, this is very much what I would imagine. I just love the somewhat dinosaurian appearance, the sharp, angular body, the smaller frame, the long, pointed necks, everything just comes together to make an amazing Ghidorah that is totally believable as the near perfect Grand King Ghidorah from millions of years in the past. The only gripe I have is the roar can get a little annoying at times, he doesn't breathe gravity beams, and his run is a little wonky. Other than that, however, this Ghidorah is absolutely fantastic.
Shin Godzilla, 4th form:One of my favorite movies in the entire Godzilla franchise, but not quite my favorite design. Although I adore Shin Godzilla, I have a hard time ranking the Shin Godzilla design very highly just because he is a bit too uncomfortable to watch. Every single step he seems to struggle; every breathe he seems to be in agony, every inch of his body seeping with brightly colored blood. This is fantastic as a piece of body horror, but I have a hard time ranking it much higher on this list solely due to my trouble in appreciating the design outside of its body horror appeal.
Godzilla, 2014:Everything I said about Godzilla 2019-2021 also applies here, but with the flipped reasoning for this placement. I love the 2014 Godzilla movie, and it is my favorite of the mosnterverse, and I especially love how Godzilla is depicted in this movie. The depiction as a battle-worn, ancient samurai returning to the light to defend the earth from an existential threat is so fucking cool, and I am sad to say that is somewhat lost as the movies go on. This is the peak of Godzilla's personality in the mosnterverse, and arguably the peak of his character in the entire franchise. That being said, I really don't care for the design that much. I think the proportions are all wrong: the head is too small, the body is too big, the spikes are too small, and he is way too uniform in his coloration. He is begging for some contrast visually. Although he is hugely superior to the 1998 Godzilla when it comes to American renditions of the character, I still don't like the design nearly as much as the other designs I've mentioned so far. In terms of character, however, Godzilla 2014 is perhaps second only to Showa Godzilla in my mind.
Kaiser Ghidorah:I want this design to be S-tier. I love how he's used in Final Wars, there are elements of this design that I feel belong in the S-tier, but I just can't place him any higher for a few glaring problems. First and foremost, just like Final Wars Gigan, he's too damn edgy. He looks almost grotesque in a way that I just don't think works for him. His proprotions are also way off, his wings and legs are tiny, his necks are huge, his body is stumpy. This quadruped Ghidorah design is awesome, and I wish there were more Ghidorah's like it, and each head being slightly different is such an awesome idea, but I just do not like some aspects of the design. I still love Kaiser Ghidorah a lot, but I think he could have been so much better, perhaps even being the best Ghidorah, period.
Flower Biollante:What a striking Kaiju!!! Having the rose be integrated into the design is such an inspired choice, and I am absolutely in love with it!! All the character depth I detailed in the Biollante section remain true here, I only rank it lower because there are a few quirks I don't care for. Biollante is a fairly stationary Kaiju in general, but I feel that the rose form is just too sedintary in the movie. Although her standing imposing over the water, draped in shadow is a beautiful image, I just feel like the otherwise great design was underutilized, and was not able to reach its S-tier potential.
Godzilla, 1993:These next few Heisei Godzillas might garner me some criticism for my bad opinions for not putting them in S-tier, but I do have my reasons. First and foremost its important to note that I do love these designs, they wouldn't be in A-tier if I didn't think they were great designs, however I do not like them as much as the other Heisei designs. First, my favorite Heisei design from A-tier, the 93 suit, is super solid! They gave Godzilla a more expressive face, maintained the change in roar from 1992 in order to make him less threatening, as he transitioned more towards anti-hero and away from villain, and in general gave him less animalistic characteristics, while still keeping him more animal than person. That being said, I think in the process of making the 1993 suit less threatening, they messed a little too much with the proportions of the suit to where it looks a little top-heavy. The legs are too thin, and the arms too small, when compared to the other Heisei desgins. Other than that, I do enjoy this design a lot, I just feel that it is lacking a bit.
Godzilla, 1992:Similar to the 93 suit, there is a lot to love about the 92 design!! Firest and foremost, it has great proportions just like the previous Heisei designs, the way in which the character of the Heisei Godzilla is used is as great as ever, and the transition away from the more monsterous roar to one closer to the Showa roar helps foreshadow Godzillas move towards anti-hero and away from pure villain. That being said, I do think that his face looks a little off in this design. I'm not sure what it is, but something about the way the face moves looks a little bit silly compared to the other desgins in a way that isn't a problem later on. I think part of it comes down to the point being taken off the 91's head, but the rest of the face had yet to be properly "rounded out" so to speak to account for the change, which makes it feel less balanced. This is again, somewhat nitpicky, because I really do love this design, I just like the other Heisei designs more.
Godzilla, 1984:The design that started the Heisei series, I want to love this design so much more than I do. Sure, it is a great design, and there are times and angles in which the design REALLY shines, and I want to place it as one of my all-time favorites. However, the animatronic used in the movie, although impressive, looks kind of terrible. Animatronic aside, even the suit looks goofy front-on, which is not uncommonamong Godzillas, but it feels especially bad in this design. It goes from being one of the more scary and foreboading designs to one of the goofier ones just from moving his head in the wrong direction. I wouldn't mind this goofiness as much if the movie itself was not on the serious side, but as it is a serious movie, the silly moments really detract from the overall experience of the movie. The personality of Heisei Godzilla had also largely yet to be developed, and instead of having a more developed, if animalistic, character, he was a pure animal with very little personality in this movie. That being said, I don't mind that in a Godzilla, even if I do generally prefer the more human-like Godzillas.
Godzilla, 1973:As much as I adore Godzilla Vs Megalon, and the refinements on this suit found in both 74 and 75 (see the very top of S-tier), this first rendition of the design has a couple major flaws that detract from it, namely it is too puffy in the face, and the eyes are a little spooky looking in a way that does not match the rest of the movie. A video by Firewood media in which a friend of his ranking the Kaiju of the Godzilla series in the same way that I am now said it best when he said this Godzilla's face looked like he was stung by a bee. That being said, the bones for a God-tier Godzilla design are here, and later movies would capitalize on this potential.
Godzilla, 1965:Very similar to the 1964 design in a lot of ways, but with a change in head design that leads to a similar problem as the 1984 Godzilla in that he looks good from some angles, but then totally falls apart in others. That being said, this is the design that features Godzilla's move away from villain to hero in the Showa era, and the movies that feature this design, namely Ghidorah the three headed monster and Invasion of the Astro Monster are some of my favorites, and as a result I have a very big soft spot for the 65 Godzilla in general.
Varan, 1958:I love Varan, he's such an underutilized and under appreciated Kaiju!! Its such an interesting design, unlike any other Kaiju in a lot of ways. Although his movie Varan the unbelievable is not my favorite ever, the design of Varan is so fucking awesome that I can't help but rank him highly. I want to see Varan used more so much, and his personality better articulated in future explorations of his character. That being said, the design is so awesome, I have to put him in A-tier, but as he is barely used, I can't put him in S-tier.
Anguirus, 2021, Singular Point:What an awesome Anguirus design!! It eally feels ferocious and intense in a way that no other Anguirus design has managed to. I almost want to say that I wish this is the design that Final Wars had (Urgh, we will get to Final Wars Anguirus later on in this list). Although I wish that he was used moreso along side Godzilla, I do honestly love the way that he was used in Singular Point in general. Having him be smaller, and more of a personal threat to the humans is something I didn't think that I would like, but I honestly really loved! Moreover, the addition of his ability to predict the exact future location of anything about to intersect with his spikes, that way he could redirect it, is such a fucking cool idea, and highlights why I love Singular Point so much: plausible physics and interesting thought experiments placed into the setting of a Godzilla series. In a lot of ways, Singular Point reminds me of my favorite book series, The Three Body Problem, in that it is an exploration of complex topics in astrophysics in a way that ties it directly with other areas of interest for me, such as speculative biolog with The Three Body Problem, and of course Godzilla with Singular Point. This is all to say that Anguirus is a great use of high-concept science fiction to create an awesome monster. All that said, he doesn't super feel like Anguirus anymore, and feels more like an animal than a character, which is something that I don't personally prefer.
Mothra, 1961-1965The classic, OG Mothra; I love her!!! Such a fantastic character; a protector of her people, who will risk everything to make sure they are safe. She will destroy what she must, and sacrifice what she must, to ensure the safety of those that she cares about. This is a trait that was somewhat lost in future Mothra depictions, and I'm glad that it remains in this one. I would love to see this concept explored further, as I think a Mothra who kills in order to protect is so fascinating!! That being said, the design has aged REALLY poorly. It does NOT look good, looking like it would fall apart if the wind brushed against it. That fragility is paired with an elderly appearance that, although effective for Mothra Vs Godzilla, does not work for the original Mothra movie. That being said, similar to the 73 Godzilla suit, this Mothra laid the foundations for some truly fantastic designs in the future.
Rodan, 2004:This design is almost S-tier, as is true of a lot of the designs that I've mentioned so far in A-tier. I really do enjoy it, and I also enjoy the way that Rodan is depicted in the movie. I think when it comes to Final Wars redesigns, this is one of the better ones. That being said, hes got a few issues that prevent him from being S-tier along with some of the other Rodans I've mentioned thus far. First and foremost, he hs a VERY long and VERY thick neck that loks kinda goofy. This really isn't an issue with any other Rodan design, so I'm not sure why they went with that here. Moreover, he is just so BEEFY. To me, Rodan should always be comparatively smaller in build to Godzilla, but it honestly seems like this Rodan is BIGGER than Godzilla in a lot of ways. Because of that, he's A-tier, as I do enjoy the design quite a bit, and I will forever hold it close to my heart because of Final Wars being one of my favorites, and because it is the design used in the YouTube series Monster Island Buddies.
Baragon, 1965-1968I LOVE YOU BARAGON, YOU ARE MY SWEET BABY!!!!!! I would rank Baragon higher, but I don't like that he's a villain in his first movie, and that once he is a hero, he is basically not used. Its clearly biased, I know, but I want Baragon to be a good guy/girl, so he is A-tier :(
Shin Godzilla, 2nd form:Yucky :( I love how unnerving this design is, and I think it fits perfectly within Shin Godzilla as a movie, it just looks SO painful to be this Godzilla, which makes it hard for me to enjoy watching him in a way that would allow him to be ranked highly on this list. I love Shin Godzilla the movie so much, it is easily in my top 10 movies of all time, but I just can't with the blood oozing out of his gills ICKY ewwwwwwww.
Shin Godzilla, 3rd formSame as 2nd form, but I think that the proportions are a little bit off compared to the 2nd form.
Gorosaurus 1967-1968LOOK WHAT HAPPENEDDDDD!!! (Monster Island Buddies reference). I love Gorosaurus so much, he has always been one of my favs!!! I think he not only worked well as the dinosaur in King Kong escapes, he worked even better as a hero alongside Godzilla in Destroy all Monsters!!! I just love his lil kangaroo kick, his lil spikes down his back, his autism arms, his kinda dopey eyes, he's just so special to me. That being said, he has kind of a big head for his body, and his legs are kinda small. Other than that though, he is amazing and I love him so much<3
King Caesar, 1974:King Caesar is another awesome, and under utilized Kaiju. Him being a local guardian who joins forces with Godzilla to stop a global threat is so cool, and in general I love his design a lot!! Its connection to Japanese mythology and folklore, along with his unique abilities in general, make for a fantastically fresh monster in a time in the series when the movies had started to become a bit formulaic. I would rank him higher if we saw more of him, as I feel like he really could use a couple more movies to round out his personality.
Gabara:Okay, okay, I know what you're thinking. Gabara? A-tier? Really?? And yes, I know EVERYONE hates Gabara and Godzilla's Revenge/All Monster's Attack, but HEAR ME OUT: I kinda love the movie and him as a character?????? Like okay yes, I know that he is goofy, I know the whole movie is silly in a way that undermines the rest of the Godzilla series, and I know that he is very commonly annoying to a lot of people, but YOU KNOW WHAT? Y'ALL ARE WRONG HE IS GREAT!!!!! I love his roar, I love his froggy face, I love his bubbly skin, I love his plated chest and neck, his little scruff of fur on his head, his lil horn, I think his electricity abilities are neat, I love his personality as a big bully who Minilla has to overcome, I love him being a metaphor for a real life Gabara in the main character's existence outside of his imaginary Monster Island, I just love everything about Gabara!!! I wish I could put him in S-tier without a hit squad being hired to take me out, because if I wasn't scared of the hate I'd receive, YOU BEST BELIEVE MY BOY GABARA WOULD BE IN S-TIER. In all seriousness however, I think he would benefit from having a tail. So A-Tier.
Battra Larva:Everything I said about Battra is also true of the Battra Larva, with the additional point that I think he looks exactly like what I would imagine a Battra Larva should look like. In saying this, however, I do have some problems with the design, namely the head is MASSIVE compared to the body. If it was a little more proportional, it would be S-tier along with the Imago Battra.
Godzilla Earth:Speaking of getting hate for my right opinions: I LOVE THE ANIME TRILOGY. THERE, I SAID IT. GO ON, KILL ME, THEY HATED ME BECAUSE I TOLD THEM THE TRUTH. I really do love the Godzilla Earth design, I think that he fits the films perfectly. His plant-like body, his leafy spikes, his spikey beard, his laser beam atomic breath, his MASSIVE size, his expressive blue eyes, his muscular physique, everything about him is clearly intentionally and carefully designed to fit within the story that the anime trilogy was trying to tell, and I love that story. The only real problem I have with him is how slow he moves in the movies, and that him being a beast in combat is barely shown.
Manda, 2004:This is the only Final Wars design that I actually like the most when compared to the other renditions of its character. I have long been of the mind that Manda works better as a underwater dragon rather than a more traditional snake, and when it comes to dragon-like Mandas, this is the best by far. My one problem is that he is in all of 10 seconds of the movie, even if it is a fucking awesome 10 seconds.
Manda, 1963:Much of why I like the Final Wars design for Manda is also true of this design, although it looks just a bit too goofy considering the intent was definitely to look like a more ferocious dragon.
Shimu:ANOTHER CONTROVERSIAL OPINION. I love Shimu. I think she's the best new Kaiju in the Godzilla universe in 20 years. She as a character is so interesting to me, a Kaiju forced into servitude for thousands of years, finally being freed and being forced to fight back against the inevitable stockholm syndrome that took place over those thousands of years of slavery towards an evil tyrant, ultimately choosing freedom and the love of a hero over the pain of her servitude. Her face is a little weird looking, though.
B-TIER:
Godzilla, 1955:At the very top of B-tier is a Godzilla that I like, and on some days I might even be inclined to rank as A, but falls short in far too many areas to consistently be one of my favorites. First and foremost, I do not like Godzilla raids again that much. I think that it is an awful sequel to one of the best movies ever made. That being said, I respect it a lot for what it is, and for the fact that Godzilla as a series would not exist without it. However, in the perspective of the world that Godzilla Raids Again existed within, this movie sucks so bad. The Godzilla in the movie is also flawed, in that he is too skinny, and the footage is sped up in a really unnatural and strange way that makes him seem even smaller than he is. I do love his face, however, I think the jagged, deformed look that he has suits the film well, and is why he has made such a resurrgence in popularity with the advent of analog horror.
Monster X:I like Monster X, but I think he suffers a lot from the same problems as a lot of other Final Wars designs, in that he looks like he is trying WAY too hard to look cool, and circles back to looking like if pop punk was a Kaiju. He looks like he has SOUL PAIN, that he has to FIGHT with his SICK BEATS. I do like his general outline however, and I think some minor adjustments to his design could be something special.
King Caesar, 2004:Taking away everything that I loved about King Caesar before, and leaving him as a shadow of his former self, it hurts to see him like this. He does have some fun moments in the movie, and the design does benefit from being only a minor change from his classic design, I do not like that we lost what he once was, as it was so much better than what he is here.
Armoured Mothra Leo:I love armoured mothra in theory, and love the idea of Mothra continually changing his form throughout the series as he becomes stronger and stronger, somewhat similar to Heisei Godzilla. However, this design looks kind of strange in a way that I can't quite put my finger on. It feels like its lost enough of its original design that it doesn't really feel like Mothra any more, and more like a Battra-like departure from the classic Mothra look. In other words, he feels like a different character, rather than an evolution of his previous form.
Mothra Larva, 1992:None of the Mothra Larvas look all that great, they all kind of look a little....poopy. This is the best of the Mothra Larva designs, however, as it adds a good bit of bulk to the design, and manages to make her look cute!! In terms of character, everything I said about Heisei Mothra is also true here, however I can't really rank a Mothra Larva of any kind higher due to its shitty appearance (literally).
Mothra, 2019:There are some things I like about this Mothra, like her wings. That's it, I like her wings. Her character is cool, I like her self-sacrifice (even if it just feels like a cheaper copy of Rodan's sacrifice in Godzilla Vs Mechagodzilla 2), but her design strays too far into real bug territory for me.
King Ghidorah 1964 (original concept colors)Everything I said about Showa Ghidorah is true here, except I think that the blue white and red coloration looks kinda terrible. I'm very glad they ultimately decided against this coloration, because I honestly think it would have detracted DRAMATICALLY from the overall effect of the design.
Super Mechagodzilla 2:Although I love the movie this Mechagodzilla is in, he lacks the personality of other Mechagodzillas (as he is just a robot that is controlled by humans, rather than being his own character), and is a little too pudgy for me. That being said, I do like that he actually looks like he's made of metal. I also feel that the Garuda is a super awesome idea, and I love that it combines with Mechagodzilla to make him Super.
Godzilla Fillias:I super love the reveal that the monster they thought was Godzilla in the first movie, that they believed they had finally defeated through a brilliant strategy that the main character had spent decades coming up with, was just a tiny copy of the original. The moment that the OG Godzilla rises up, revealing that the he was the mountain the entire time; such an awesome moment!!! That being said, I do think that the design is not quite as cool as the larger Godzilla Earth, as without his massive scale, the other elements just don't work quite as well together, and his slow movement speed feels especially problematic.
Hedorah, Flying form:Everything I said about Showa Hedorah is also true here, except I think that the effect of him flying looks a little cheap. That being said, the moment that he flies over the people and they are instantly reduced to bone was so scary as a kid, I loved that moment!
Hedorah Crawling form:See Showa Hedorah. The design here just doesn't work quite as well to me as the other Hedorahs.
Mechagodzilla 2:See Super Mechagodzilla design, but minus the bonus that the Garuda gave Super Mechagodzilla.
Evolved Godzilla, 2024:I want to love this deisgn. I want to call it the best of the monsterverse. I want to gush over it, because it has so many elements that bring back things I have missed about previous Godzillas. From the more expressive eyes, to the purple/pink spikes, as well as the more jagged appearance, there's so much I love about this design. However, it suffers dramatically from the same thing that the 1955 design does: it is TOO DAMN SKINNY. It just does not feel big and imposing enough to me. I'm also just not a huge fan of Godzilla X Kong. I like it, but it is certainly not one of my favorites.
Singular Point Jet Jaguar, V. 3:As much as I love Singular Point, I really don't like what they did with Jet Jaguar. I love her voice, I love her role in the series, and I love her having a cool ass spear made from Anguirus's spikes, but I just cannot stand how top heavy she looks. If she had thicker legs to support her barrel chest, I think I'd like her more, but as it stands, I just can't stand how imbalanced she feels.
Gemstone Gigan Rex:There are some moments in Godzilla Vs Gigan Rex that really had me in awe, and certain aspects of this design are S-tier worthy, however it is once again held back by its bizzare proportions. The beak is so tiny and recessed, the head is so pointy, the arms so thin, the legs so small. It just looks goofy in so many ways. I love the eye on his chest, I love the whip-like arms, I like the red color, and the final moment when he takes the essence of all the other Gigans and forms his final attack is just so beautiful to look at, but in any moment he isn't doing something cool, he just looks bad.
Moguera, 1994:Moguera suffers from the same problem as Mechagodzilla 2 in that it isn't really a character, just a mech that is controlled by humans, which means as a Kaiju, it is ranked lower for me. The only reason it isn't ranked the same as Mechagodzilla 2 is that the design doesn't get to benefit from the tried and true design language of Mechagodzilla as a character, and as such feels a little bit stranger, and less sleek.
Minilla, 2004:As far as baby Godzillas go, this Minilla 2004 is fine. I like him, I think he's cute, and I love the scenes he has with the kid and his grandpa. They act as really nice comic relief and a break from the near constant action of Final Wars. I also think that his character arch, if subtle, is interesting. That being said, he is not as cute as Little Godzilla, and is not as interesting as a character as the classic Minilla.
Skar King:He's a fun villain!! He's a tyrant bad guy with no redeeming qualities, whose motivations extend to "I want to rule the world I am evil hehehehehhe". Very cliched, but its a cliche for a reason: it works narratively. However, his skinny build looks a little goofy when paired with the giant buildings around him, and I don't think he has the lasting power of some of the classic Godzilla villains. He is very much a villain of this movie, and I can't see him really working in any other movie.
Behemoth:Cool design, basically unused.
Mutos:I like them in theory, and love Godzilla 2014 so much, however I think they look a little generic. They look like they could be slotted into any movie that has aliens in it that has been released in the last 30 years, and they wouldn't look out of place.
Meganula, 2000:I love the idea of little tiny monsters coming together to make a big monster, and as previously established love Megaguirus. I also love the scene of them swarming Godzilla like wasps, however I think the design is a little strange up close. It seems like the movie knew that we would barely see them, up close, so they are a little under-yet-over designed in a strange way. They almost look like they belong to a different movie to me. I still like them, though.
Scylla:Cool design, basically unused.
Meganulon:I have similar feelings towards this design as the Meganula, so see Meganula.
Ebirah, 1966:Ebirah, Horror of the Deep is one of my least favorite Godzilla movies; possibly my least favorite. Because of that, an otherwise good design is hampered by a bad movie, and as a result he is not ranked very highly. I do like Ebirah, I think a giant lobster is a cool idea, but I just do not like the movie, nor like how the character is utilized.
Kamebas, 2003:Cool design, basically unused. I will say however, I do think introducing Godzilla via the dead body of a gigantic monster washing ashore is such an awesome idea, and I'm shocked it wasn't used before Tokyo SOS.
Bagan:Cool design, literally unused.
Godzillasaurus:I love the idea of the Godzillasaurus, and the scenes with him and the surviving Japanese veteran is the highlight of Godzilla Vs King Ghidorah, however I really don't care for the design. It just looks a little off to me, like the face is too budgy, the legs too small, and the posture not dinosaurian enough. Godzilla Minus One fixed every problem I had with this design it its Godzillasaurus, I just wish that he had been on this tier list so I could rank him (he would be S-tier, right alongside Minus One Goji).
Aqua Mothra Leo:I have pretty much identical opinions to this design as I do to Armoured mothra, only with the addition that I do NOT like the idea of Mothra Leo literally splitting into thousands of tiny little creepy water bugs to do water bug shit.
Minilla, 1967-1969:I honestly love this Minilla. I always have, and I always will. But if I'm being honest with myself, he is ugly as sin. But in the way that I would love my son even if he was ugly, I love this Minilla as I would a son. An ugly fucking son. God he's so ugly. But I love him dearly, with all my heart. He would be S-tier if he wasn't so damn ugly.
Godzilla Aquatis, Singular Point, 2021:My previous Godzilla Singular Point opinions remain true here, but I do have a bone to pick specifically with this design. When the trailers for the series were being teased, it was obvious that this was supposed to look like Titanosaurus, and Titanosaurus being my favorite villain Kaiju period that is painfully underutilized, I was so excited for him to finally get some love. Then it turned out it was just Godzilla in another form. God-fucking-damn it.
C-TIER:
Manda, 1968:At the head of C-Tier is my second-to-least favorite Manda. I like this Manda, and I could easily see me putting him in B-tier, but it would only ever be for nostlagia's sake, since I love Destroy All Monsters and have since I was a lil baby. As a Kaiju on his own, however, I think this Manda is pretty average. Taking away the more dragon-like appearance of the original Manda, this redesign kinda loses a lot of what made it unique, and not just a big snake with legs. So for that, he gets an average C placement.
King Ghidorah, 1971:All the positives I said about previous Showa Ghidorah's also apply here, but the actual use of this Ghidorah kinda sucks. First and foremost, the flying scenes look like taxidermied Ghidorah and carried him around on a string. In a lot of ways, this design does look like a poorly taxidermied Showa Ghidorah. But as Showa Ghidorah is awesome on his own, he averages out to average.
Godzilla, 1967:The ugliest Godzilla that has ever been made, I do not know what they were thinking when they decided to make him look this fucking ugly. I love Son of Godzilla as a movie, and think that it does a lot of things right, as well as love the character of Showa Godzilla as much as I ever do (especially his growth into the role of father, it always makes my daddy-issues-having ass cry), but this design itself is so ugly.
Void Ghidorah:There is an idea of a Void Ghidorah. An abstraction, something illusory, but there is no real Void Ghidorah, only an entity, something illusory. And although he might mask his higher dimmensional gaze, or you might feel his toothsome jaw gripping yours, he is simply not there.
Hedorah, Swimming stage:See previous Hedorahs, but this particular one looks a lil goofy.
Snow Godzilla:Cool design, basically unused.
Anguirus, 2004:Here we go, Final Wars Anguirus. I really don't care for this design, nor do I like how they used my baby boy. Once again I'll cite something someone said in the Firewood media tier list video in which one of the friends referred to Anguirus as a linebacker. He just is so beefy, stands in such a strange, un-Anguirus way, and just does not feel like my baby boy at all. I honestly think that the Singular Point design would have worked better (although the unused GMK design would have been perfect).
Varan, 1968:Cool design, basically unused.
Kumanga, 1967-1968:I like Kumanga, but functionally he is just a big spider, and has the personality of a big spider. He hunts to feed himself, and the lack of personality I think does not lend itself as well to the Showa era of movies. In general, Kumanga is just kind of boring as a character, as there isn't anything unique or special about him; he's just a spider.
Kumanga, 2004:Same as Showa Kumanga, but also he is barely used.
Ebirah, 2004:Same as Showa Ebirah, but is barely used, and the changes they made to the design make it far less interesting and unique as the original design.
Servum:I like the idea of the Servums, I think that organisms evolving off of the ecosystem that Godzilla created is neat, but I think that they demonstrate a problem with the setting of the anime trilogy in general which would not feel like a problem without he Servums there to act as a magnifying glass: there aren't enough organisms that formed to adapt to the Godzillafication of the planet. Its called the planet of the monsters, but the only monsters are dragons called Servumn, and Godzilla himself (plus his smaller copy of Godzilla). It makes me wish that there had been more monsters that grew and adapted within this environment, as it would have made the movie that much better. And as a design on their on, the Servum are fairly boring, looking like somewhat mishapen european dragons.
Methuselah:Cool design, basically unused. You see this is a recurring pattern for the cool monster designs in the Monsterverse.
Dagahra:Although I like Dagahra, he is bogged down fairly heavily by being featured in a trilogy that has several really fucking awesome Ghidorahs. In fact, most of my favorite Ghidorahs are all from the Rebirth of Mothra Trilogy, which makes it very hard for Dagahra to stand out as an interesting monster on his own. Thus, he incidentally forces a comparison that he will always look bad within. I do like how unique he looks, along with his more aquatic appearance, but in general he just feels underwhelming in a series of movies that feature so many bangers.
Orga, growing:Much of what I have to say about this design was mentioned with Orga, only this design is barely used, which makes me feel like it couldn't really find place for itself in its own movie. Its cool, but without more screentime to develop this version of the character, it feels somewhat useless.
Mothra Larva, 1964-1968Poopy, lil turds, tiny lil moving, squirming poopies. I do think they're kinda cute, though.
Meganula, 1956:They serve their purpose as a secondary monster within Rodan 1956 very well, but as secondary monsters, they are unable to shine on their own as independently cool designs. Its neat that even the food that Rodan's consume are trying to eat people, showing how far on the food chain Rodan is above humans, but similar to Dagahra, the Meganula are overshadowed in their own movie.
Mothra Larva, 2019:Cool, but basically unused.
Moguera, flying form, 1994:Eh, I think its fine. It feels strange to put this on a Kaiju tier list, as it is basically just a space ship. Like, why is this one the list but not the Super X and Super X 2? Or the Garuda? or the Gotango?
Mogeura, tank form, 1994:Same as the flying form but this one is a tank.
Salunga:I feel like they tried to take elements of Gabara and "fix" them to allow for a superior Kaiju overall, but I think he just ends up looking kinda silly. Gabara as a design is always going to be silly, and there's no way to make Gabara serious, so an attempt to make him serious was always doomed to fail, and because of that Slunga really doesn't feel like he belongs.
Godzilla Amphibias, Singular Point, 2021:Same as Godzilla Aquatis, but the problem here is that the trailer made me think Varan was finally coming back, and once again I was burned. The other downside is that this would be an underwhelming design even if it wasn't a fake-out Varan.
D-TIER:
Rodan, 1964-1968:At the top of D-Tier is a monster that I otherwise love, and would be in A or B tier, if not for how God-awful the design is. In personalit, Rodan from 1964-1968 is amazing; the ideal Rodan. However, the design is so awful, so unimaginably bad, such a horrible mistep, so much worse in every way then the original Rodan design, that he plumets down to D-Tier. If not for the great character behind this terrible design, he would be in F-Tier.
Marvel Godzilla:I don't have much to say about the Marvel Godzilla. I'm not much of a Marvel fan, and this particular rendition of Godzilla just doesn't look very good to me. I've never been a huge fan of green Godzillas, with perhaps the exception of Godzilla 2000 (who is only very slightly green-tinted), and when paired with his strange proportions (tiny legs, tiny arms, big body), and inconsistent spike shape, I just am not a fan of this rendition of the character at all. The one positive I can say is that I am glad that this Godzilla exists, and it does at least resemble the classic Godzilla, if a poor rendition of that classic Godzilla.
Godzilla, 1998:Godzilla in name only. This design gets far too much praise by people who don't know how much of a slap in the face this design was in an era where Godzilla media was few and far between. After 2004, it didn't seem like there was going to be any more Godzilla, and for a while, that was true. This being the only American attempt at the character that was in any way recent, and being the most culturally relevant rendition during my childhood compared with the relatively little-known Japanese films of the Millenium era, I will never forgive this movie, or this character design for the shit that it is. It does not look, act, or function like a Godzilla. The roar is correct, but besides that, this is not Godzilla. The movie is not even good, people who say that its good either have nostalgia, have a dramatically different sent of preferences for movies than I have, or are lying because they like the design. And I will grant you, the design is aesthetically pleasing; it looks like an outdated depiction of a Trex, and that is a cool looking design. However, it is a terrible Godzilla design. If not for the fact that it is at least well designed as a Kaiju in general, it would be in F-Tier. But, it is a well designed Kaiju, even if it is an exceptionally poorly designed Godzilla.
Gemstone Gigan:All the criticisms that I have for Gigan rex are also true with these Gigans, except they also lack the cool visuals and effects of Gigan Rex.
Jet Jaguar ver. 1, Singular Point:My previous criticisms of the Singular Point Jet Jaguar hold true for this as well, witht he difference that the legs are worse.
Jet Jaguar ver. 2, singular Point:My previous criticisms of the Singular Point Jet Jaguar hold true for this as well, witht he difference that the legs are worse.
Shin Ghidorah:This is the worst Ghidorah design by a significant margin. It just looks terrible, I don't know why they thought this worked at all. The legs are WAY too far forward, the tails are too long, the faces look all kinds of screwed up, the wings aren't long enough, I really can't think of a single positive thing to say about it except perhaps its unique.
Manda, 2021:As I've stated before, I like Manda being a Dragon. This is fairly far away from a dragon, and barely resembles Manda at all. I really don't know why they chose to make this Manda and not name it something different in the same way they did with Gabara->Segunda, but even on its own its not a super great design. Sure its unique, but it doesn't feel as timeless as a lot of other designs within the Godzilla franchise, and in general feels a bit overdesigned for my taste.
Kamacurus, 1967:Just a preying mantis, although I do think it looks at least a little monsterous in a way that is interesting, but not nearly enough to be that interesting. It is also hampered by the technology of the era, as it moves too slowly and awkwardly to feel like a real threat.
Kamacurus, 2004:Just a preying mantis that is represented with kinda bad CGI.
Kamebas, 1970:There's potential here with this design, and the character of Kamebas is fine, but the way the neck shoots out looks really...uncomfortable for me. It feels like an imitation Gamera in the worst way possible.
Ready Player One Mechagodzilla:I hate this fucking movie, and I hate this design of Mechagodzilla. It just looks bad, I do not get what people see in this. If someone reading this likes the Ready Player One Mechagodzilla, or likes Ready Player One at all, please explain because I'm not getting it.
Mechagodzilla, 2021:Similar to the Ready Player One Mechagodzilla, I just do not get this one. Its a fairly popular design, but I just don't see the appeal. It just looks so clunky, like a Michael Bay era transformer, but even more boxy. Although he has cool abilities, and the idea of Mechagodzilla being controlled by the soul of Ghidorah is a cool idea, I just don't like this design at all.
Mothra, Singular Point, 2021:I kinda like the idea of how the Mothras are used in Singular Point, but they feel very under utilized. The design is fine, but I wish that we saw more of them, and that they served a bigger purpose in the series itself. They are present in a single scene as far as I remember, and it feels more like a cameo than anything else, and that feels like a low-blow for mothra.
Moguera, 1954:I think Moguera is a fine villain in this movie, but I really can't get behind the design, it just looks bad. I can't put my finger on exactly what I don't like about it so much, but something about the way the nose points down, and looks so obviously rubbery really detracts from the effect of a robotic monster.
Dagon:Its just 2014 Godzilla, but a different one, that is only in a comic, and is some at-the-time unidentified set of bones people are walking in in the movie itself. The idea for Dagon is cool, I like there being more than one Godzilla, but I wish we saw more of him int he movie itself. As is, I just don't like having a mystery in the movie that is then explained away in a comic.
F-TIER:
Giant Octopus:It is a living octopus that got killed and eaten after the movie was made. That story makes me sad enough that it geniunely takes away from my ability to enjoy King Kong Vs Godzilla. However, Octopi are awesome, so it gets in the top of F-tier.
Hedorah, 2021, Singular Point:What the fuck even was this, it just kind of fucking burst out of those weird Kumanga-Megalon looking things, and was there for like a second, and then was gone. They made him look like blue snot, mixed with an Octopus, and I don't understand what they were going for at all.
Mechagodzilla, 2017:If I was in an overdesigned contest, and this Mechagodzilla was my opponent, I'd kill myself on the spot. So many jagged edges, so many pointy bits, so much METAL everywhere, so little color, I don't even know what they were going for, because it is geniunely difficult to even look at with how overdesigned it is.
Zilla:I like the scene where Final Wars Godzilla kills this guy. Otherwise, he's just the 98 Godzilla but even worse.
Gezora:What a goofy, bad looking Kaiju. I see why this guy has fans, he is definitely silly looking, but it just isn't for me. The fact that I can tell that two of the tenticles are literally the dude's legs, and he's just walking on them while the others flap around makes it so obvious that this is just a guy in a suit that it actually manages to pull me out of it. Me being someone who geniunely loves even the goofiest of the other Godzilla movies.
Maguma:What even is Maguma, like?? Just a giant Walrus with some goofy green eyes, I don't get the appeal of this one at all.
Shockirus/Giant Sea Louse:The worst scene in Godzilla 1984 bar none. The Sea Louse just looks so farcical, moving like its so obviously just hung up by a string. When it attacks the guy, it genuinely looks like he is making it attacking him like those scenes in other movies where someone is holding the fake snake to their throat and throwing it around. Its just so out of place, and takes me out of an otherwise good movie every single time.
Fairy:She looks really bad, I don't know what else to say. I kinda like the idea of a small Mothra for the Twins to ride on I guess, but not really? I feel like its strange that Devine Moths within the Rebirth of Mothra trilogy canonically have a tiny version of their species for the Twins to ride on. I feel like it would have been cooler if they just went with a real moth species, at least then we wouldn't be exposed to this....thing.
Minilla, infant, 1967:Oh god, poor little guy, they really fucked him up here, Jesus christ....poor little dude, he's so ugly; he looks disgusting. He's only like this for a couple scenes, but those scenes look BAD. I really wish they had gone with a different design for the freshly newborn Minilla, cause god damn that's bad....
Mechagodzilla city:Wasted opportunity, thy name is Mechagodzilla city. I love the anime trilogy, and the idea of the metal that consumes everyone that it touches is super interesting, and leads to some really great character moments and writing, but Mechagodzilla city itself is such a dumb idea. Like, why not have Mecahgodzilla inside the city, if you're gonna have the city at all? I don't know about this one.
Ganimes:The bottom of the barrel, my least favorite monster in the entire Godzilla chronology. I forgot his name, so I had to look him up on Wikizilla while I wrote this. I do not like him at all, there's really nothing good about his design, his character, I don't really like the movies he's in much, and he just looks bad. He reminds me of some of the worst of the Ultraman monsters, and that is BAD. All I can say is that after I finish writing this, I am probably not going to think of this guy for another decade or so, until I finally add him to my collection of figures so I can have a representative of the entire Godzilla chronology. That is all.
The Ending
Thanks for reading this mess of a post, I enjoyed writing it well enough, but after a while I realized I bit off way more than I could chew, as this was just supposed to be a stopgap inbetween bigger projects. Oh well, I'm glad to be done now. I'm not gonna bother proof reading yet, I'll just do that after I look back at my post later. For now, I need a break from staring at HTML. For now, till next we meet, I love you <3