Let’s Talk About the Anime King Ghidorah – Space is The Place Tour

Well, this is different. I’m a part of a tour! That’s right, the Space is the Place aniblogger tour. What’s this tour about exactly? Well it comes straight from the wonderful mind of Scott from Mechanical Anime Review, and the rules are simple. Make a post about anime, and space. Before we start I’d like to give a huge thank you to K for the first rate tour banner design as well as this amazing personalized planet as shown below, used to commemorate this tour. So without further ado, let’s get into this post.

Welcome to the planet Ghidastro, an electrifying place to be sure, quite the shocker.

You just read Zainou’s post about Postcard Memory, and now it’s my turn to tackle the combination of anime and space. At first I was confused about what to do, I was torn between talking about Space Dandy or Cat Planet Cuties. But then I remembered, I have Godzilla, and he had an anime, where it takes place in space kinda, BOOM just like that I had a post for the tour.

Anime Ghidorah = The Best Ghidorah?

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Anyone remember the anime Godzilla Trilogy, well I have yet to watch it in its entirety so I don’t have a full opinion of them, but be on the lookout for a special announcement about that soon. Of the trilogy, the one I’ve seen the most off is the third installment Godzilla: The Planet Eater. My impressions of what I’ve seen of this movie are, generally positive, but does seem like a pretty slow movie. But one thing that stood out to me, was the movies incarnation of King Ghidorah. This Ghidorah made waves in his one and only appearance, with many criticizing its design, concept and the general movie it was in. As a Ghidorah fan, I was drawn to this new incarnation out of fatal curiosity, but rather than grow to dislike it, I actually grew to love this design and it became my favourite. But why is that? Well in this Space is Place tour post, we’ll find out today.

Clash of titans? More like clash of opinions. (I struggle to make captions if you can’t tell.)

Design

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This is where I often contrast with other Godzilla fans. While many say that this Ghidorah design is bad, I personally think it’s amazing. I do agree that it’s a far cry from what we’re used to, as we’re used to seeing Ghidorah as a giant 3 headed dragon, whereas this incarnation appears only as 3 long snaking heads coming out of black holes. While I will admit to agreeing this design is obscure, I think that because it’s so different is why it works. The mangled yet precise way the necks twist and shift with sharp plates adorning the back, the snaggle toothed teeth reaching towards a cluster of unblinking eyes, all these elements come together to create a truly magnificent beast. This design being so different from the others, in my opinion, makes it stand out quite a bit from the likes of the Showa and Hesisei era, while still maintaining the same level of dread and menace. The fact that this design is so different actually improves it in my eyes, giving us a new spin on an iconic character while still projecting truly terrifying imagery, this time in a new form. This design and the way it snakes and winds around the air with grace yet surprising ferocity radiates only one thought in my mind “Everything in this dimension is beneath this monster, and it knows it.”

Different? Yes. Unique? Absolutely. Terrifying? Without a doubt.

Abilities

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This Ghidorah boasts a myriad of bizarre and deadly abilities, some old and some new, but all terrifyingly lethal. This Ghidorah is unusual in that it’s presence in this dimension is truly lovecraftian, bending logic and reason as its presence can be seen but never felt. While it can strike Godzilla, the king of the monsters cannot even land a scratch on this sinister space god. Ghidorah’s powers are truly displayed however with his control over gravity and spacetime. His mere presence can warp reality to the point where time is completely shifted in one part of a spaceship compared to another segment. His shadows can affect the solid world too, wriggling across the floor, amputating and decapitating all whom fall into the shadows path. Ghidorah can be defeated if his summoner and the magical bead used to summon him are destroyed, but much like the Predator, this only adds to the terror of the monster. What made the Predator so scary was that it was vulnerable, so the hope was there, but the sheer odds kept you fearing for the characters at his mercy, and this travels over to Ghidorah too. He is not infallible, but he can cause more damage than you know despite his weaknesses.

The carnage this beast causes can never be truly explained.

The Art of Horror and King Ghidorah

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Now I know this is a bit of an odd thing to talk about, but I consider this incarnation of Ghidorah to be one of the scariest monsters. To me, this Ghidorah is more akin to a H.P. Lovecraft type of being as opposed to a mere kaiju. It has all the elements of a bizarre twisted horror monster. The time bending abilities add a really mysterious feel to the monster, with one moment standing out in particular. A spaceships reactor room is crushed by Ghidorah’s super gravity abilities, but around 40 seconds later, the main bridge received an intercom call from the reactor room just before it explodes. This time bending would make for an amazing horror movie of sorts, where time and space bend to the point where all characters are out of sync. This Ghidorah’s entrance scene is also dripping with horror, appearing in merely the shadows and as its dark shape brushes over the humans shadows, their solid bodies slowly fall apart. The little touches they give this Ghidorah and how they add to his ability roster making him a truly distinct image that rings true to his malevolent nature. Something else that’s different about this Ghidorah is how he exudes more authority and terrifying control than his previous incarnations. In all his previous appearances, Ghidorah has almost always been the pawn of another, be it the Xiliens, the Futurians or the Black Hunter Nebula aliens, Ghidorah has been under control in some way. This Ghidorah, despite requiring a summoner to call him forth, is not under any control and commands total authority. He is seen as the god and ruler of the Exif alien race, whom he forces to find planets for and consumes them in his everlasting hunger. Ghidorah is more than just a king this time, he is a malicious deity, a god among the kaiju of this universe, and one who can not only oppose Godzilla, but very nearly topple his righteous title.

Ambience and mystery are what adds to Ghidorah’s truly terrifying nature.

End Thoughts

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In the end, anime Ghidorah will always be that awkward kid in the three headed dragon family, but he’s one I’ll keep showing undying love and respect for. This tour has been all about space and anime the things we like about those two things. From what I have seen of the Godzilla anime trilogy, it doesn’t seem like the sorta thing I would find consistently good, but I have yet to experience it in full so we’ll see. But the one thing that has stood out and remained a good aspect of that anime universe is Ghidorah. Sure he’s different and in a lot of ways is more than a far cry from others and just a straight up new kaiju, but personally he stands out to me for many great things. The creativity, the design, the presence, the new yet somewhat similar aspects of his look and abilities, it all comes together in a way that really does make him an enjoyable creature to watch. So in conclusion, the iconic Ghidorah will forever live on, and for me none will live a more powerful and dreadfully fearsome existence than this space dwelling titan of chaos.

(Fun fact: My tours planet, Ghidastro, is named after both Ghidorah himself, as well as the movie Invasion of Astro Monster, which sees Godzilla and Rodan fight Ghidorah in space, should we ever find this planet in the Aniblogger Galaxy, be sure to wear insulating clothes unless you want to get an electrifying experience.)

A match for the king, and a threat to his throne.

The Tour Continues

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And with that, my time in this tour is done, oh but the ride doesn’t stop there. Up next is the great Arthifis with a post about Kanata Astra, so head on over there ASAP to continue this amazing journey through the anime cosmos. Oh, and if you want to catch up on the Space is Place tour so far, here’s a list of the previous entrants and their amazing posts.

• K – Expelled From Paradise Review
• Yum Deku – Cowboy Bepop Finding Your Way Home
• Will Sirius – Starship Operators Anime Review
• Crimson – Exploring the Symbolism of the Moons in Bahamut
• BiblioNyan – Planetes and the Human Condition
• Animanga Spellbook – Space, Tradition and Starlight Promises
• Irina –  Wherever you Go, There You Are with Gurren Lagann
• The Anointed Geek – Studio Trigger and the Wonder of Outer Space
• Scott – The Irresponsible Captain Tylor: Getting To Know Insanity and Passion
• Lynn – Shelter
• Karandi – Politics in Space
• Crow – Space and the Sense of Dangerous Adventure
• Zainou – 2001: A Space Odyssey’s Anime Influence 

As said before, tomorrow we have Arthifis, but who shall come after? Well to end this amazing tour, we have the wonderful Lita. Wow this has been a trip to say the least. my first BIG collaboration with a collection of bloggers and I really gotta say, it feels great. I’ve been in the blogging game for a year and a bit, and to be welcomed into this community and involved with something like this, it really means a lot. So once again,  huge thank you to everyone who took part, congratulations on all the amazing posts and wonderful ideas that have come with them. And of course, a big huge galaxy sized thank you to the mastermind behind the whole thing, Scott, well done on such a successful blogging tour.

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With all that said, thank you everyone so much for reading, if you did please consider leaving a like and following my blog for updates on future posts. Also follow me on twitter @joe_reviews for further updates and general nonsense. Till next time.