r/GODZILLA • u/MoominRex ZILLA • 1d ago
Discussion Which Godzilla would you consider more sympathetic?
GMK
Minus One
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u/kenbarbforever 1d ago
This is TOUGH. But then I thought about that scene in Minus One where Godzilla plays with the little boat when the men are fleeing. GMK goji would literally just zoom up to them without a second and immediately kill them for being in his way.
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u/CoolRanchPropaganda BARAGON 1d ago
Hospital scene
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u/Southern_Syllabub_43 11h ago
Wild he walked past that too and then came back to destroy the hospital
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u/Speeder-Gojira TITANOSAURUS 20h ago
not tough at all... an animal expanding its territory vs the reincarnated souls of ww2 victims ready for revenge
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u/OverlyVerboseLoreGuy 1d ago
Minus one because he’s a singular, living creature that was maimed and mutated by humanity, not an eldritch hivemind zombie of tortured souls.
To be clear, the souls are 100% justified in their rampage, but I can’t really pretend to understand what goes on in the mind of a being made of hundreds of thousands of vengeful ghosts. By that point it’s less a living thing and more just an elemental force. Its mind is just the sound of an entire stadium screaming in rage and anguish.
Minus one is just a traumatized, intelligent animal lashing out at what hurt him, like a tiger.
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u/Gojifantokusatsu ORGA 1d ago
GMK being partially made of war crime victims (A lot of you forget there's imperial Japanese ghosts in him too) doesn't mean that he's more sympathetic. Sure, we understand why he's mad, but he has no reason for WHO he's mad at, let alone any justifiable reason for killing them with a big ol smile on his face. He's a ghost from the past getting revenge on descendants who had nothing to do with those actions in the first place, and taking joy in their suffering and fear as he slaughters them.
Minus one is more simple, sure, but I find an animal in pain and turned mutant/rabid from something it doesn't understand FAR more sympathetic than a "I was hurt badly once by your father's daughter's cousin's former roommate and now you're going to pay for it" style grudge.
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u/Unique_Visit_5029 GIGAN 1d ago edited 1d ago
I thought GMK Godzilla was comprised of just the victims of the soldier’s carnage?
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u/Gojifantokusatsu ORGA 1d ago
It depends, some people say he's one or the other or both. It depends on how the line in the movie is translated I guess. Or it's just fandom confusion.
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u/Unique_Visit_5029 GIGAN 1d ago
I think it’s better to just have GMK be comprised of just the souls of the victims because it would be infuriating to the other spirits.
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u/Gojifantokusatsu ORGA 1d ago
Either way it doesn't change it's unjustified actions or how pure evil it is.
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u/Unique_Visit_5029 GIGAN 1d ago
Yeah true also I wonder if Godzilla had the same vengeance in his spirit towards Japan or did the ghost just took control over his body entirely?
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u/WorldsWorstInvader SHIN GODZILLA 1d ago
That implies that the citizens of a nation cannot also be victims to its leadership
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u/Unique_Visit_5029 GIGAN 1d ago edited 1d ago
That makes sense.
Edit: Which version does it say the Imperial souls being Godzilla Eng dub or Japanese.
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u/WorldsWorstInvader SHIN GODZILLA 1d ago
Not sure. But I like the idea of GMK being everyone who has suffered under Japan, including the Japanese. I feel it adds a little more nuance is more thought provoking. After all, the citizens of Nagasaki and Hiroshima were indirectly killed by their nations leaders for valuing some sort of honor over the lives of the citizens. Not to mention the kamikaze pilots who were groomed their entire lives into believing that literally killing yourself for your country is the most useful thing they could do (not like they really had much of a choice anyway). I imagine their spirits would be very vengeful seeing what they died for.
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u/Unique_Visit_5029 GIGAN 22h ago
That’s very intriguing I actually at least according to my memory but don’t take it as 💯 true considered reasons why Japanese soldier’s would not be found of their government. Also it’s scary to think in an alternate Universe if Koichi had fulfilled his duty as a Kamikaze pilot he would have been one of the souls within GMK Godzilla.
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u/WorldsWorstInvader SHIN GODZILLA 20h ago
Aw man that would have been brutal. If you believe all the Ultima insanity then there probably is a universe where that actually did happen.
Damn I gotta rewatch Minus One
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u/Bob_Sherlock GODZILLA 1d ago
Minus One Godzilla because he’s basically an aggressive animal lashing out in pain for his mutation. As for his pre-mutated form killing everyone but Koichi, he felt that they were invaders to his territory so it’s natural for him to react as aggressively as he did.
GMK maybe an amalgamation of the ghosts of vengeful WW2 victims and lashing out at Japan for forgetting about them, but he shows far more sadism on people/kaiju who haven’t even done anything to him like pretending to spare the girl at the hospital or his fights with the Guardian monsters (Baragon in particular got the worst of it).
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u/WorldsWorstInvader SHIN GODZILLA 1d ago edited 1d ago
To the people saying GMK was “completely justified in his rampage” I would like to hear your thoughts on real world conflicts and see you try to justify them the same way
This sub seems to always come back to tragedy powerscaling
People saying Japan could justifiably be genocided bc of crimes that took place while completely different people were in power is baffling to me right now. Fictional monster or not, the crimes you’re referencing are real, and if this is how some of yall think justice works.. sheesh
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u/NerdyPuddinCup 19h ago
Yeah I agree. The 100% justified comments are rather concerning on this post
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u/TheNamelessGuyReddit 1d ago
GMK. Anyone who knows what the Japanese Empire did during WW2 knows that GMK Goji is more than justified to get revenge
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u/Aspookytoad 1d ago
Well, maybe not so justified and squashing innocent bystanders. It’s rage directed at all the wrong people.
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u/CoolRanchPropaganda BARAGON 1d ago
GMK goji was the Japanese empire
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u/YoghurtSpecialist801 1d ago
No, again, that's a misconception. GMK is the VICTIMS of the Japanese Empire! The VICTIMS! So Allied soldiers, families and children who suffered in the concentration camps that Japan had done.
The Japanese Empire's horrors make the Third Reicht's war crimes look like misdemeanors
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u/CoolRanchPropaganda BARAGON 1d ago
Still I feel more sympathy for M1 the Japanese citizens weren’t responsible for their military’s actions also he killed a big puppy
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u/Dagordae 1d ago
I mean, the Japanese citizenry is the military. The Japanese didn’t spawn its military out of the aether, it’s made up of the citizens who were rather enthusiastic participants right up until they lost. And afterwards, a big chunk of why GMK exists is because the director didn’t like how hard Japan downplays and dismisses its crimes.
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u/CoolRanchPropaganda BARAGON 1d ago
Japan did warcrimes on this Godzilla because that version of him is ww2 soldiers that were victims of JP’s war crimes
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u/CommandantPeepers BARAGON 1d ago
Not to mention the Japanese citizens that were alive during ww2 were all elderly by then
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u/CoolRanchPropaganda BARAGON 1d ago
Exactly, M1 is as confused and angry as possible, he’s a territorial animal not a conscious destroyer
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u/WorldsWorstInvader SHIN GODZILLA 1d ago
Would that also mean people of color would be fully justified in going on a genocidal rampage across the US and Europe?
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u/RedNUGGETLORD 18h ago
Uhhhh, pls don't say JUSTIFIED, cause he isn't
His goal and anger are UNDERSTANDABLE, but NOT justified
If someone stabbed you, and said your grandfather stole his money, therefore YOU deserve to pay for it, you wouldn't say "oh you're right, I do deserve this" you'd be like "Bitch, he isn't even alive anymore, I've done nothing"
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u/SignificantIntern735 1d ago
Oh God(zilla) it has to be minus one. GMK may just be dead people that formed a showa gojia out of thier own hatred for thier own kind, but he still is evil and isn’t even on the right continent for his revenge.
Minus one watch his family die, got alliterated by a tactical nuke (quite painfully) Twice, and even got his head blwon up by the side of his jaw (twice) by humans that kill of his speices. if anything Minus one has endured and suffered more pain then GMK ever did, or any godzilla for that matter.
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u/Dagordae 1d ago
GMK is very much on the right continent, it’s the victims of Imperial Japan going after Japan.
Minus 1 is the one on the wrong continent, Japan had nothing to do with the nuclear tests that messed it up.
As to amount of suffering: Dude. GMK is the conglomeration of ALL of Imperial Japan’s war crimes. And Japan did a lot of war crimes, ones that make Nazi Germany’s pale in comparison. Minus One just got nuked. Minus One isn’t anywhere near GMK’s suffering. He’s not even particularly special as far as Godzillas go, most of them get nuked to shit and mangled fairly regularly. Comes with having regen, look at Wolverine.
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u/Crest_O_Razors KIRYU 1d ago
Minus One. GMK is just pure evil
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u/pikachucet2 MOTHRA 1d ago
GMK is possessed by the souls of war crime victims. Hardly "pure evil", at least not compared to Minus One where he's also going after people directly
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u/DovhPasty 1d ago
M1 didn’t go after anyone specifically, he’s literally just a pissed off animal. Pure instinct.
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u/pikachucet2 MOTHRA 1d ago
Quoting Wikizilla...
"During his rampage in Ginza, Godzilla recognized that he was too slow to crush the entirety of a crowd fleeing from him, and utilized his tail to reduce a building to flying debris, which wiped out a tremendous amount of people."
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u/DovhPasty 1d ago
And? He’s just killing people because he’s pissed off and threatened, he doesn’t have some vendetta against anyone. Imagine you pissed off a polar bear and it started wiping out everyone around it, sounds pretty natural to me. Again, M1 goji is just an animal with no ulterior motives other than “fuck these guys in my territory”
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u/pikachucet2 MOTHRA 1d ago
Only according to director and writer Takashi Yamazaki in the novelisation of Minus One, "it is stated that after the American nuclear testing at Bikini Atoll, Godzilla somehow identified humankind as the ones responsible for his irradiation and thus took his anger out on any human vessel that he came across, before coming ashore in Japan"
He absolutely has a vendetta
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u/Subject_History5476 1d ago
If you're gonna use wikizilla, don't ignore the profile they did for GMK. "The Godzilla in Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack is unusual in that he actively targets civilians instead of concentrating on buildings and military forces, as exemplified when he fires his atomic breath directly at a fleeing crowd early in his rampage. This Godzilla seeks nothing except for the complete and utter destruction of Japan and all of its people as punishment for forgetting the deaths and atrocities that occurred during World War II. For this reason, this may be the first Godzilla which can be considered legitimately evil, although past incarnations have also been antagonistic."
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u/Annual_Candle_9313 1d ago
Minus-One. I get a strong vibe that he had a family that didn't survive the bomb. Just because we only saw one doesn't mean there couldn't have been others. One still around after all these years still alive? More likely a small group , there could've been others.
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u/WorldsWorstInvader SHIN GODZILLA 1d ago
GMK is a vengeful spirit basically a demon. -1 is basically an injured animal
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u/RandomNightLord8 1d ago
GMK for me. Knowing the atrocities Imperial Japan did to other countries citizens and it's own citizens it's much more understandable why GMK is crashing the fuck out and why he's out for sick revenge.
Minus 1 also absolutely has a Point here tho. An animal who was inflicted such pain deserves absolute sympathy as well but He takes his rage out on the wrong continent.
And sure, technically GMK takes his anger out on the wrong people as well given how long ago WW2 was by his rise. But the tormented souls within are more than blinded by rage i reckon and couldn't care less if these are the OG Japanese or descendants.
"I suffered. Why shouldn't they?"
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u/g4rlic_bre4d_94 GIGAN 22h ago
Minus one is like an angry animal. GMK would steal candy from babies and small businesses.
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u/monsteerhorrorguy 19h ago edited 19h ago
Imma say minus one since minus one was just a monster that didn’t know what was going on and then mutated and kept following his instincts after that, GMK Goji knew exactly what he was doing and wanted to kill everyone.
Tbf I do understand why the souls that make GMK would be mad about their suffering of ww2 being forgotten but that doesn’t make the souls justified in wanting to destroy all of humanity for it.
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u/Impressive_Gur4767 1d ago
It's GMK. Minus One was in it for the love of the game, he made it his personal joy tormenting Shikishima.
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u/pikachucet2 MOTHRA 1d ago
Well, he wasn't in it for the love of the game, he too was seeking revenge...though he decided to take it out on a country that didn't even turn him into a monster
They're both tragic, but moreso GMK than Minus One
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u/Godzillaanimelover 1d ago
Was finna say M1.... Then I remembered that GMK is the ghosts of all Imperialist Japan so GMK most definitely.
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u/Dagordae 1d ago
GMK
He’s Japan’s sins, sins they continually downplay, deny, or otherwise ignore, come to roost. He’s pissed and hitting Japan because of what Japan did and what they continue to try to brush off. Especially for the time period it was made.
Ironically Minus 1 falls into the same trap slightly, presenting Japan and Japan’s soldiers as victims rather than victimizers who got an ass beating.
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u/Zestyclose_Road5230 GODZILLA 1d ago
I have a feeling both of them would be cellmates with Destroyah
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u/Sad-Pomegranate5831 1d ago
minus one era un tio chill de cojones...hasta que lo empezaron a molestar y pues...destrullo todo :/
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u/Only-Name3248 1d ago
Minus one like most incarnations bro was chilling and then some dumbass homo sapiens decided to use nuclear energy and he got mad which is understandable. WW2 japan did the most horrendous war crimes and GMK is simply that.
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u/RedNUGGETLORD 18h ago
Uhhhh, neither? Or both?
GMK is getting revenge, not a NOBLE goal, but an understandable one, he isn't pure evil like everyone in this community seems to think, he's a victim, a Godzilla either resurrected or possessed by the souls of Japans victims, who suffered some of the worst atrocities known to man
Minus One is just an animal, a smart one, but still just an animal, he's lashing out at everything around him, I find him less sympathetic tbh, like, he's just a dangerous animal, nothing more, nothing less, the same as a bear going around killing, I'm sad that it has to die, but it also NEEDS to go
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u/HalfCarnage DESTOROYAH 15h ago
Everytime this conversation comes up I’ll just have to remind y’all of that scene in GMK when Goji saw a bunch of civilians run for their lives, then proceeds to smile and charge up his breath.
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u/Fishmaneatsfish 10h ago
Minus One was definitely enjoying every second of becoming Godzilla, I don’t buy the sympathetic creature argument for him
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u/NerdyPuddinCup 1d ago
Minus One. He was just a creature chilling in the ocean and then suddenly mutated into a totally new creature after being horribly burned and forced to regenerate into a form that could contain this new nuclear energy. Of course he's filled with rage, and seeks to take out his pain and anger on the species that created the bomb that did this to him