Destoroyah

Destoroyah
Godzilla film series character
First appearance Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)
Last appearance Godzilla Island (1997)
Created by Takao Okawara
Kazuki Ōmori
Portrayed by Ryo Hariya
Eiichi Yanagida

Destoroyah is a kaiju who first appeared in Toho's 1995 film Godzilla vs. Destoroyah.

Concept

In conceptualizing Godzilla's final adversary, screenwriter Kazuki Ōmori initially proposed having the current Heisei Godzilla fight the specter of the original 1954 Godzilla, though this idea was scrapped, as Godzilla had already fought several doppelgängers (Biollante, Mechagodzilla and SpaceGodzilla). It was however decided to maintain references to the original film by bringing back the Oxygen Destroyer, the weapon that killed the first Godzilla.[1]

All of Destoroyah's forms were designed by Minoru Yoshida, who'd been instructed to make the creature a crustacean. His design for Destoroyah's final form was given to illustrator Noriyoshi Ohrai, who incorporated it into the movie poster. Ohrai's depiction was later used as the basis for the 3D model used in constructing the creature's suit.[2]

Composer Akira Ifukube had initially wanted to give each of Destoroyah's forms their own motif, though he subsequently chose to give them all the same theme. He chose not to use the Oxygen Destroyer theme from the original 1954 film, as he felt that the theme expressed the tragedy of the weapon's creator, and thus was inappropriate for a monster.[3]

Overview

Destoroyah originated as a colony of microscopic Precambrian crustaceans that had been awakened and mutated in Tokyo Bay when the Oxygen Destroyer was detonated to kill the original Godzilla in 1954. The Destoroyahs eventually mature into man-sized creatures which repel a JSDF assault. The Destoroyahs later combine into a flying form which fights Godzilla Junior. Destoroyah is defeated, but then morphs into an even larger form that dwarfs Godzilla. The creature proceeds to kill Godzilla Junior and faces Godzilla in Haneda Airport, but is killed through the combined efforts of Godzilla and the JSDF.[4]

Reception

Godzilla historian Steve Ryfle described Destoroyah as a "laughable" mix of Predator and SpaceGodzilla which "should be placed alongside Megalon and Gigan in the back rooms of the Toho monster gallery."[1] WatchMojo.com listed Destoroyah as #3 on their "Top 10 Godzilla Villains" list.[5]

Appearances

Films

Video games

Literature

References

  1. 1 2 Ryfle, S. (1998). Japan’s Favorite Mon-Star: The Unauthorized Biography of the Big G. Toronto: ECW Press. pp. 305–16. ISBN 1550223488.
  2. ↑ David Milner, "Koichi Kawakita Interview II", Kaiju Conversation (December 1995)
  3. ↑ David Milner, "Akira Ifukube Interview III", Kaiju Conversations (December 1995)
  4. ↑ Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995). Directed by Takao Okawara. Toho
  5. ↑ WatchMojo.com (September 25, 2015). "Top 10 Godzilla Villains". Youtube. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
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