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| Anguirus | |
| Aliases: | Angilas Angillus Angurus Angirasu Anguillas Angorous Angilasaurus Boryuanguirus |
| Franchise: | Godzilla film series |
| Notability: | Supporting character |
| Type: | Giant monster |
| Gender: | Male |
| Race: | Dinosaur |
| Location: | Iwato Island Monster Island, Japan |
| Status: | Alive |
| First: | Gigantis, the Fire Monster (1955) |
| Actor: | Katsumi Tezuka Yû Sekida Kôetsu Ômiya Kinichi Kusumi Toshihiro Ogura |
Anguirus (アンギラス) is a fictional daikaiju, or "giant monster", of Japanese tokusatsu cinema. He is a recurring creature seen in the Godzilla film series and has made appearances in the original Shōwa period films, as well as the Millennium series. He made five appearances in the Shōwa era and one appearance in the Millennium series. Anguirus first appeared in Godzilla Raids Again (later Americanized to Gigantis the Fire Monster) in 1955. Originally, Anguirus was played by suitmation actor Katsumi Tezuka. He was also played by Yû Sekida in 1968, Kôetsu Ômiya in 1972 and Kinichi Kusumi in 1974. In 2004, he was played by actor Toshihiro Ogura.
Biography[]
Shōwa period[]
Anguirus was a breed of extinct quadruped dinosaur, possibly an Ankylosaur, which was millions of years old and survived into the modern era. It has been posited by scientist Kyohei Yamane that the atomic testing that first mutated and awakened the first Godzilla back in 1954, may have done the same to Anguirus.
Anguirus first arose in the modern era on Iwato Island, which was part of a volcanic archipelago. Almost immediately the poor guy fell upon hard times as he had to fight off the advances of a second Godzilla monster (the first one was destroyed in 1954). During this initial battle, the two toppled off the cliff of a volcano into the ocean.
Anguirus followed Godzilla's movements and swam after him to the city of Osaka where they resumed their battle anew. Destroying numerous buildings in the midst of battle, Godzilla finally got the upper hand (or claw) on Anguirus, biting him in the neck and then flipping him over onto his back. He then unleashed his atomic breath upon the creature, seemingly destroying him. [1]
A second creature, similar to the original Anguirus appeared many years later. This creature appeared to have been of a slightly higher intellect than his predecessor and was actually an ally of Godzilla. Both Anguirus and Godzilla perceived radio frequencies broadcast from alien action signal tapes, which outlined a planned invasion of Earth by Nebulons from the M Space Hunter Nebula. Seeing that the aliens intended on using King Ghidorah and Gigan as their instruments of conquest, Godzilla communicated his concerns to Anguirus (via "Monster language") and sent him to Japan to investigate.
As Anguirus appeared in Tokyo Bay, members of the Japan Self-Defense Forces misconstrued his intentions and opened fire on him, driving him back towards Monster Island. Anguirus regrouped with Godzilla and returned to Tokyo where they teamed up against Ghidorah and Gigan. During the battle, Anguirus faced off against Ghidorah, while Godzilla fought with Gigan. Anguirus was no match for the three-headed space dragon, but did succeed in latching his mouth onto one of Ghidorah's necks. Although Anguirus' contributions during this fight were minimal, he did succeed in helping Godzilla repel Ghidorah and Gigan. [2]
In the intervening years since his battle against Ghidorah and Gigan, Anguirus spent his time on Monsterland, which was a special biological preserve designed to contain all of the world's known monsters. [3]
A series of nuclear tests took place in a location not far from Monster Island. This caused earth tremors that created massive fissures across the island, causing great upheaval. Anguirus, and another monster known as Rodan toppled into one such fissure. Both later emerged unharmed however. [4]
Anguirus emerged again a short time later. This time, he found himself battling up against Godzilla, much to the confusion of witnesses, who knew them to be allies. This Godzilla however, was not the true Godzilla, and was actually a disguised alien robot dubbed Mechagodzilla. Mechagodzilla was decidedly stronger than Anguirus and soundly defeated him in battle, breaking his jaw. [5]
In the late 1990s, an alien race called the Kilaaks used their advanced technology to take control of all of Earth's monsters, prompting them to escape from the security of Monster Island attack major cities. Although the Japanese military succeeded in breaking the monsters free from the Kilaak's control, the aliens still had one ace up their sleeve - King Ghidorah. Anguirus was one of a multitude of creatures that fought up against Ghidorah on behalf of Earth. The monsters proved victorious and Ghidorah was killed. After which, Anguirus returned peacefully to Monster Island. [6]
Millennium period[]
In the 21st century, Anguirus was but one of many monsters to arise and begin causing wanton havoc in major cities. While other kaiju attacked notable ports of call such as Tokyo, New York and Paris, Anguirus staged an assault against Shanghai, China. He then made his way to Mount Fuji in Japan where he assembled with other monsters on an assault against Godzilla, but was soundly defeated.
Notes & Trivia[]
- The character of Anguirus was created by director Motoyoshi Oda and screenwriters Takeo Murata, Shigeaki Hidaka, and Shigeru Kayama.
- Anguirus' original Japanese name is Angirasu, though his name has been revised, re-spelled and re-interpreted many times throughout the various films.
- As one of the most recurring and well know of Toho's daikaiju, Anguirus has also appeared in other forms of media including Godzilla-related video games and comic books.
- Anguirus is the second daikaiju featured in the Godzilla film series, after Godzilla himself.
- Other than Godzilla, Anguirus is the only other kaiju from the series to appear in black and white.
- In the Shōwa series, Anguirus stood at a height of 60 meters and weighed 30,000 tons. In the Millennium series, he was significantly larger, standing at a height of 90 meters with a weight of 60,000 tons. Fat-ass.
- Anguirus was originally slated to appear in the 2003 film Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S., where his body would have been found washed ashore, having been apparently killed by an evil Godzilla. Fearing fan outrage, the producers of the film decided to switch him out for a more obscure monster, Kamoebas. Kamoebas was a mutant sea turtle that first appeared in Yog, Monster from Space in 1970.
- Apparently, flipping Anguirus onto his back seems to be the most effective way of defeating him. His stubby little legs make it difficult for him to turn over.
- One of the more amusing traits of the Shōwa series Anguirus is the fact that his back legs were obviously that of the actor crawling about on his hands and knees.
See also[]
External Links[]
- Anguirus at IMDB
- Anguirus at Wikipedia
- Anquirus at Toho Kingdom
- Anguirus at the Godzilla Wiki
- Anguirus at the Multiversal Omnipedia