Saturday, April 25, 2020

Kingu-Goji Godzilla and Gaiking in Elysian Park



1962 meets 1976, in 2020. Say hello to Kingu-goji, the first full-color rendition of the classic Showa Godzilla. He’s named that way because he unsuccessfully challenged King Kong in the first international kaiju wrestling championship tournament in 1962 (see Kingukongu tai Gojira for reference), which Vince McMahon still wishes he had come up with. Sometimes called the most lizard-like of the many incarnations of Godzilla, Kingu-goji doesn’t exactly appreciate the comment, which explains his quick temper and often nonplussed expressions. Remember, he is still King of the Monsters, so pissing him off is not really a great idea, despite his jolly look here in L.A.'s Elysian Park.

Gaiking, for those of you who don’t already know, came around at the tail end of what could be called the Super Robot era of Japanese giant robots. Though originally an anime character, Gaiking routinely intersects (sometimes peacefully, other times violently) with various other characters within #Calisatsu. Therefore, because of this inter-media cross-pollination, it could be argued that Gaiking is now, if not a true kaiju, at least part of the kaiju universe. However, he doesn’t seem to care much either way—he’s usually more focused on striking just the right dramatic pose when photographers are around. Gaiking is, if nothing else, extremely media-conscious, leading some of his friends to refer to him as “the Kardashian of kaiju” behind his back.

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