|
|
|
 |
|
|---|---|
| Species: | Cybernetic Space Dinosaur |
| Height: | Showa: 65 Meters Millennium: 120 Meters |
| Weight: | Showa: 25,000 Metric Tons Millennium: 60,000 Metric Tons |
| Weapons: | Scythe Length: 45 Meters Chainsaw Length: 40 Meters |
| Appearances: | Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972) Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973) Godzilla: Final Wars (2004) |
Summary
Gigan (Gaigan) is an alien cyborg kaiju who first appeared in the 1972 Toho Godzilla film, Godzilla vs. Gigan.
The ultimate weapon of the M Space Hunter Nebula Aliens, Gigan was deployed to Earth alongside King Ghidorah to aid in the invaders' conquest of the planet. Gigan and King Ghidorah began their assault on Tokyo, where they were confronted by Godzilla and Anguirus. After a grueling battle, Gigan and King Ghidorah both retreated into outer space. The following year, in Godzilla vs. Megalon, the Nebulans sent Gigan back to Earth to aid their allies, the Seatopians, in their assault on the surface world. Gigan joined forces with the Seatopians' guardian Megalon, but was sent retreating once again by the combined efforts of Godzilla and Jet Jaguar. In the television series Zone Fighter, Gigan was now under the control of the Garogas and had joined the ranks of their Terror-Beasts. The Garogas upgraded Gigan and sent him to Earth, where he fought Godzilla once again but was ultimately killed in battle with Zone Fighter. Gigan's next film appearance came in Godzilla: Final Wars almost 30 years later, where he was under the control of the Xiliens. Gigan engaged Godzilla in Antarctica and was defeated, but the Xiliens upgraded him and sent him to Tokyo to aid Monster X in the final battle against Godzilla. Mothra soon intervened on Godzilla's behalf, sacrificing her life to destroy Gigan once and for all. Despite the generally low-perceived quality of his first two film appearances, Gigan has remained a popular member of Godzilla's rogues gallery, and has been featured in numerous comics and video games over the years. Gigan's popularity contributed to his revival for Godzilla: Final Wars, as he was one of director Ryuhei Kitamura's favorite monsters.
Name
Gigan's Japanese name, Gaigan, was derived from a nickname for actor Yujiro Ishihara, "nice guy" (naisu gai), combined with the word for goose, gan; both were influences on Gigan's design in his visor and body shape, respectively. The name may have also been chosen as a contraction of "geiger counter," spelled in Japanese as (gaigā kauntā).
The incarnation of Gigan from Godzilla: Final Wars is designated Gigan (2nd Generation) (Gaigan Nidaime). Gigan's upgraded form in the film is officially named Modified Gigan (Kaizō Gaigan). Early figures of the monster, including those of Bandai's Movie Monster Series and Chogokin, instead called the form Powerup Type (Pawāappu Taipu).
Design
Gigan is truly a strange monster, sporting a circular saw weapon located in his frontal abdominal region, large steel hooks for hands with smaller ones for toes, spikes running down his tail, three, large fin-like sails on his back and a red cybernetic visor for an eye. He also bears various avian characteristics, such as a "crest" made of metal spines and a metal beak. In the Showa series, Gigan's skin was a dark green color and he possessed golden scales over several parts of his body. In Godzilla: Final Wars, Gigan's appearance was changed to make him appear more cybernetic. In this film, Gigan's skin is now a dark blue, his body is much thinner and more streamlined, and there are wire-like structures running across his body. When Gigan is revived as Modified Gigan, his hook hands are replaced with double-pronged chainsaws in addition to a larger crest and reinforced neck.
Personality
Gigan is sometimes considered to be Godzilla's most brutal and violent opponent. The 1992 book Special Graphix Godzilla vs. Mothra contrasts Gigan's personality with King Ghidorah and Mechagodzilla, two of Godzilla's other recurring foes from the Showa series. While King Ghidorah is described as a "dignified villain," Gigan is said to be a "bloodthirsty, ferocious cutthroat" in contrast to Mechagodzilla being a "consistently coldhearted and composed professional." Gigan is shown to be very vicious and sadistic in combat, preferring to shred his opponents up close with his hook hands and buzzsaw. Gigan is also not above continuing to attack his enemies while they are down, as shown in his debut film, where he repeatedly struck and stabbed Godzilla with his Hammer Hands while the latter was still left floored by the Godzilla Tower. According to Gigan's suit actor Kenpachiro Satsuma, he made the conscious decision to portray Gigan as enjoying the destruction he causes. However, at least in the Showa series, Gigan appears to be a bit of a coward, attempting to retreat and leaving his ally at the mercy of his enemies as soon as the tide of battle turns against him. In Godzilla: Final Wars, Gigan is shown to be somewhat incompetent, having his head easily blown off by Godzilla's atomic breath and later slicing his own head off with two razor discs intended for Mothra.
In Godzilla Island, Gigan actually becomes an ally of Godzilla after being defeated by him, and assists him and the other residents of Godzilla Island in fighting off invading monsters. This was the first instance of Gigan being portrayed in a benevolent light. Gigan is also portrayed as a heroic monster in the novel GODZILLA: Project Mechagodzilla, the official prequel to the GODZILLA anime trilogy, where he is utilized by the United Earth to combat Godzilla multiple times during "Operation: Long March," saving the lives of many soldiers in the process.
Origin
In the Showa series, Gigan is a type of space dinosaur that was transformed into a cyborg by the M Space Hunter Nebula Aliens in order to be used in their attempted invasion of Earth.
In Godzilla: Final Wars, Gigan is an ancient cybernetic monster that was sent to Earth by the Xiliens 12,000 years ago, where he was defeated by Mothra and subsequently mummified. In the year 20XX, Gigan's mummified corpse was discovered by the Earth Defense Force, and the monster was later reactivated by the Controller of Planet X during the Xiliens' invasion.
In the continuity of the GODZILLA anime trilogy, Gigan was a monster discovered in hibernation on the seabed off the coast of Siberia. Gigan was modified using Exif and Bilusaludo technology and gradually converted into a cybernetic biological weapon used against Godzilla.
History
Showa Era
Gigan was sent to Earth by the M Space Hunter Nebula Aliens to destroy all civilization alongside King Ghidorah. Controlled remotely by the Nebulans from Godzilla Tower, Gigan and King Ghidorah were unleashed in Tokyo. The space monsters ravaged the city, but their rampage was interrupted by Godzilla and Anguirus at a refinery. The monsters began a fierce battle, which gradually moved to the Nebulans' base of operations at World Children's Land. With the aid of the Godzilla Tower's laser cannon, Gigan and King Ghidorah nearly killed both of the Earth monsters. However, a group of humans were able to successfully destroy the Godzilla Tower with explosives, severing the Nebulans' control over the space monsters. While they were able to maintain their assault for a while, Gigan and King Ghidorah were eventually left disorganized and confused without the orders relayed by their masters, and they soon began bickering with one another. This granted Godzilla and Anguirus an opportunity to regroup and mount an assault of their own. This time, the tide of battle was turned against Gigan and King Ghidorah, prompting Gigan to attempt a retreat. Godzilla shot down Gigan with his atomic breath, then he and Anguirus turned their attention to King Ghidorah. Finally, King Ghidorah flew away into space, and was joined by Gigan, leaving the Earth safe for the time being.
A year later, the Seatopians called upon the M Space Hunter Nebula Aliens for aid as they launched an assault on the surface world. The Nebulans sent Gigan to aid their allies, and he joined the Seatopians' guardian Megalon in battle against Jet Jaguar. Godzilla soon arrived to assist the robot, but the two found themselves locked in a difficult battle. Eventually, Godzilla and Jet Jaguar regained their strength and began winning the battle. Gigan quickly retreated back to space, with Megalon returning to Seatopia shortly afterward.
Millennium Era
In 20XX, Gigan's mummified remains were discovered in Hokkaido by the Earth Defense Force. According to the Shobijin, Gigan invaded the Earth thousands of years ago, but was defeated by Mothra. Gigan was soon reactivated by the Xiliens to help them conquer the Earth. He chased the Gotengo to Antarctica to stop it from awakening Godzilla. He nearly destroyed the ship, but he was blasted by Godzilla's atomic breath. Gigan battled Godzilla, trapping him in barbed wire and pulling him toward his buzzsaw. However, Godzilla fired his atomic breath at Gigan's head, decapitating him and causing him to fall to the ground.
After being decapitated in his battle with Godzilla, Gigan was rebuilt by the Xiliens as Modified Gigan (Kaizō Gaigan), with a different head, braces to protect the back of his neck, slits in his body that fire razor discs and, most notably, a set of two-pronged chainsaws instead of hooks. Modified Gigan was released by the Controller of Planet X to battle Mothra, and seemingly defeated her after slicing off part of her wing. Gigan then attempted to help Monster X in his battle with Godzilla, slicing him in the chest while Monster X held him still. Mothra flew into the battle and knocked Monster X and Gigan over. Gigan shot his blades at Mothra, but she dodged them. Gigan then blasted Mothra with his laser beam, causing her to burst into flames. Gigan struck a victory pose, but his razor discs flew back and sliced his head off. Gigan wandered around blindly after his head was severed until Mothra, now on fire, flew into him, causing him to explode and die.
Trivia
- Gigan was the first monster to cause Godzilla to visibly bleed. In Godzilla vs. Gigan he had flown over Godzilla and slashed Godzilla's shoulder with his buzzsaw and later stabbed him in the head with his hammer-claw hands, causing blood to run down his face.
- Gigan was portrayed by Kenpachiro Satsuma in Godzilla vs. Gigan and Godzilla vs. Megalon. Satsuma had previously played Hedorah, and would go on to play Godzilla himself for all seven Heisei films. In Zone Fighter, Gigan was played by Isao Zushi, who also played Godzilla in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla.
- In Godzilla Island, Gigan is the only space kaiju to ally himself with Godzilla.
- Gigan shares some physical similarities with the Ultraman kaiju Dorako, most prominently his hooked forearms, along with a pointed beak-like face and large sail-like structures on his back, although in Dorako's case these are more like wings.
- Gigan's roar has been reused several times in the Ultra Series; In Ultraman Ace, his roar is reused by the choju Barabas, who is somewhat similar to Gigan in that his body is covered in weaponry. In Ultraman Mebius, the monster Dinozaur uses Gigan's roar.
- Gigan is referenced in the game Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity. His name appears in two racing tracks, Gigan Rocks and Gigan Device.
- Gigan's ability to fire off shurikens in Godzilla: Final Wars is very similar to Guiron's secondary attack, where he can fire four shurikens from indents in the side of his head.
- In Godzilla: Rulers of Earth, Gigan appears in his Showa design in issue #1 and is later upgraded to his Millennium design in issue #5, and later into Modified Gigan. This is the first time Gigan is upgraded from his Showa design to his Millennium design visibly, though Gigan's bio from the instruction manual of Godzilla: Unleashed states he was upgraded using the "latest Vortaak technology," referencing the use of Gigan's Showa design in the previous two Atari/Pipeworks games.
- The Ultraman Ace choju, Chameleking, has a saw in his stomach like Gigan, though it is never used in combat.
- Gigan's skull makes a brief appearance in Pacific Rim Uprising, during the scene where Hermann Gottlieb examines PPDC records in search of a match for the image Mako Mori transmitted.
- The Showa Gigan is tied with King Ghidorah for the fastest-moving Showa Godzilla kaiju and the second fastest overall, travelling at speeds of up to Mach 400 when outside the Earth's atmosphere. They are surpassed only by SpaceGodzilla, who approaches light speeds when in his Flying Form.
- Gigan is featured in concept art published in The Art of Godzilla: King of the Monsters which depicts the film's final scene.[29] In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, director Michael Dougherty said, "We had thought about using some additional Toho creatures to give them some cameos but every Toho creature comes with a price tag. It was a choice to either shell out more money simply for the rights for these creatures to show up on screen for a few seconds, or embrace the opportunity and the challenge to create new creatures."
- The 2016 book Godzilla Against Type-3 Kiryu (Mechagodzilla) Completion adds Gigan to the Kiryu Saga continuity, with Type 66 Maser Cannons fending him off in 1972.
- In a 1996 Special Children's Day stage show, Gigan was summoned to attack the Earth alongside Space Bosozoku Bowzock, General Jark, Shocker, Bemstar, Alien Baltan, Alien Pitt, and Alien Bado. The effort was thwarted by a combined force of Kamen Rider, Kamen Rider J, Kamen Rider RX, Carranger, Ultraman, Ultraseven, Ultraman Taro, and Godzilla.
