Gotengo
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The Gotengo (轟天号 Gōtengō, lit. "Roaring Heavens") is a flying multipurpose warship which debuted in the 1963 Toho film Atragon.
In the film Atragon, the Gotengo was constructed by rogue Japanese Imperial Navy Captain Hachiro Jinguji and his men in the years following Japan's unconditional surrender to the Allies at the end of World War II. When the Muans learned of the craft's existence, they set out to sabotage and destroy it before it could be used to stop their impending invasion of the surface. While Jinguji had intended to use the Gotengo solely to rebuild the Japanese Empire, he was convinced to let go of his wartime grudge and use it for the benefit of humanity and destroy Mu. In Godzilla Final Wars, the Gotengo was operated by the Earth Defense Force and used to confront Godzilla in a decisive final confrontation in Antarctica. The craft succeeded in trapping Godzilla under the ice for 20 years, after which it was refurbished by the EDF and continually utilized in battle against kaiju. When the Xiliens invaded Earth in 20XX, remnants of the EDF under the command of Captain Douglas Gordon used the Gotengo to free Godzilla from Area G so that he could fight the Xiliens' legion of mind-controlled monsters. The Gotengo eventually assaulted the Xilien Mothership and played a pivotal role in ensuring Godzilla's victory over Keizer Ghidorah.
While the Gotengo has only made a few film appearances to date, it has been considered for several more and frequently appears in non-film media, being widely associated with the Godzilla franchise despite only appearing in one Godzilla film. A space-faring version of the ship called the Gohten appeared in the film The War in Space, a near-identical ship named the Gyotengo appeared in the TV series Godzilla Island, and a similar ship called the Ra takes the place of the Gotengo in the two-part OVA Super Atragon.
Name
The Gotengo's name roughly translates to "Roaring Heavens" in English, with the -gō in its name serving to designate it as a ship. In the film Atragon, the Gotengo is referred to as the Undersea Warship (海底軍艦 Kaitei Gunkan) by several characters, with "Gotengo" being the name given to the ship by its captain, Hachiro Jinguji. In the film Super Fleet Sazer-X the Movie, the ship is referred to as the Gotengo during dialogue, but is introduced by on-screen text with the "gō" omitted. It is also omitted from the ship's name in the novel GODZILLA: Monster Apocalypse.
In Godzilla Final Wars, the upgraded Gotengo is designated either the New Gotengo (新・轟天号 Shin Gōtengō)[1] or Gotengo (New) (轟天号（新） Gōtengō Shin)[11] by official sources, with the original inversely referred to as simply the Gotengo or Gotengo (Old) (轟天号（旧） Gōtengō Kyū).[11]
The Gotengo has typically been referred to as the Atoragon or Atragon in English-speaking markets. These names are seemingly contractions of the Japanese pronunciation of the phrase "Atlantis Dragon" (アトランティスドラゴン Atorantisu Doragon), and come from Toho's international English title and the U.S. title for the Gotengo's debut film, respectively. Most English-language media used these names to refer to the Gotengo, but recent media, such as the English dub and subtitles for Godzilla Final Wars and the PlayStation 3 and 4 Godzilla video game, have called it by its original Japanese name instead. The English subtitles for Tokyo Shock's 2006 DVD release of Atragon opted to translate "Kaitei Gunkan" as "Atragon," while preserving "Gotengo" whenever that name is used for the ship.
History
- Atragon (1963)
- Godzilla Final Wars (2004)
- Super Fleet Sazer-X the Movie (2005)
- Godziban (web 2019-2025) [episodes 34, 41, and 56]
Atragon
The Gotengo was an advanced warship constructed by the Japanese Imperial Navy officer Hachiro Jinguji to defend the Japanese Empire in future wars. Even after Japan surrendered to the United States in 1945, Jinguji and a group of loyal men sailed to find a suitable location to build the craft. During their search, they encountered a Mu Submarine and deserted the I-403 as a decoy before the Muans came aboard, leaving behind a blueprint of the Gotengo without its performance details. Eventually, a remote island was discovered and used to construct the warship. By 1963, the Gotengo was complete, and the Muans determined from the stolen blueprints that it would be the greatest obstacle in their invasion of the surface world. The Muans demanded that construction of the Gotengo cease, or else they would be forced to level numerous major cities of the world. A group of Japanese citizens traveled to Jinguji's island and witnessed the ship's test maneuvers. Jinguji's estranged daughter Makoto asked him to let go of his lasting bitterness from the war and assist in the battle against the Mu, but he stubbornly refused. When Makoto was kidnapped by the Muans, alongside a large-scale invasion of the surface world, Jinguji had a change of heart and launched the Gotengo into combat against the Muans. The Gotengo faced the Muans' guardian monster, the giant four-legged sea serpent Manda, and defeated him by freezing the creature with its Zero Cannon. The ship rescued Makoto and the Muans' other captives, and also managed to capture the Mu Empress. When the Empress refused to surrender, the Gotengo used its drill to bore into the heart of Mu, which contained the artificial sun used to sustain the civilization. A group of soldiers exited the ship and used their handheld freezing guns to halt the Muans' forces. They placed explosives on the generators powering the artificial sun, before freezing the generators with the Zero Cannon and escaping aboard Gotengo. When the ship reached the surface, the charges were detonated, triggering the entire continent to explode. The Gotengo had successfully saved the entire world from the wrath of the Mu Empire, and Jinguji had found a use for his creation beyond fighting a war that ended years ago.
Godzilla Final Wars
At some point in the 20th century, Godzilla had traveled to Antarctica after wiping out cities in Japan and other countries along the East Asian coastline. The Gotengo pursued him and engaged him in battle on an ice sheet along with a battalion of Maser Cannons. Godzilla fought viciously but fell into a crevasse after the Gotengo blasted the ice sheet with its own cannons.
New Gotengo
Many years later, the Gotengo was heavily refurbished by the Earth Defense Force and was dubbed the New Gotengo (新轟天号 Shin Gōtengō). The ship was now commanded by Douglas Gordon, who had fired the missiles onboard the original Gotengo that successfully trapped Godzilla years ago. It was now also accompanied by three sister ships, the Eclair, the Karyu and the Rumbling. Captain Gordon commanded the New Gotengo in a mission against Manda in the English Channel. Although Manda was successfully killed, the New Gotengo was badly damaged and Gordon was court-martialed. After the Xiliens unleashed their monsters and revealed their plans, the sister ships were deployed to battle them, but they were overwhelmed and destroyed by Kamacuras, Anguirus, Rodan, and hordes of Xilien Fighters. Gordon then joined with the EDF's remaining members and piloted the New Gotengo to Antarctica, where he and his crew used the upgraded ship's weapons to break Godzilla out of Area G. Gigan was then released by the Controller of Planet X to destroy the Gotengo, but Godzilla awakened and defeated Gigan. However, Godzilla believed his earlier battle with the Gotengo was still going on and began to follow the warship with the intention of destroying it. The New Gotengo used this to its advantage, luring Godzilla across the planet and having him defeat the Xilien-controlled monsters. After many long and hard battles, and the defeat of Rodan, Anguirus, and King Caesar, the New Gotengo assaulted the Xilien Mothership in the skies above Tokyo, destroying the aerial fleets of Xilien Fighters and the Xilien UFOs α, ß and γ. One crewmember, Kazama, deployed in a Dogfighter to disable the Mothership's force field, allowing the New Gotengo to then drill into the Mothership. However, the New Gotengo was boarded and the crew was taken to the Controller, but Gordon and the others escaped, rescuing the Xiliens' prisoners and returning to the New Gotengo while Shinichi Ozaki battled the Controller. After the Controller was defeated, he caused the Mothership to self-destruct. Ozaki returned to the New Gotengo in time and the ship escaped before the Mothership exploded.
The New Gotengo then flew to the ruins of Tokyo below, where Godzilla was locked in battle with Monster X's new and more powerful form, Keizer Ghidorah. When Godzilla's energy was being drained by Keizer Ghidorah, Ozaki transferred his Keizer Energy into the warship and fired a beam of energy from its drill at Godzilla, re-energizing him and allowing Godzilla to destroy Keizer Ghidorah. However, even after defeating his enemy, Godzilla was still enraged at the humans, despite them helping him in the final battle. Godzilla blasted the New Gotengo with his atomic breath, causing it to lose altitude and skid along the ground to a halt. The New Gotengo's occupants exited the ship and confronted Godzilla, who was intent on annihilating them. However, Minilla arrived and convinced Godzilla to relent. The two monsters then returned to the sea in peace, leaving Gordon and the New Gotengo's crew alive and victorious.
Super Fleet Sazer-X the Movie
A new superweapon under active development, the threat of the Boscheat led to the Gotengo being launched early, but in a fully-operational state. The Gotengo used its bow drill to destroy Ken Riser's Boscheat impostor. Although the Gotengo was repeatedly shot at by the Boscheat and the enemy robots, it took part in the final battle against Mammoth Boscheat, freezing the monster using its Zero Cannon.
Godziban
"Mystery on the Beach"
When the Three Godzilla Brothers tried to encourage Young Serizawa to keep inventing, they took him to a beach on Godzi Godzi Island where the wreck of the Gotengo peered out of the sand, providing plenty of raw materials. However, salvaging was interrupted by the arrival of Uncle Zilla and Grandpa Zilla, which ended up inspiring Serizawa to try and study all of Godzi Godzi Island's mysteries.
"Moshu-Moshu Connected Forever"
To be added.
Capabilities
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Flight
The Gotengo can fly at speeds up to Mach 2. In Godzilla Final Wars, the New Gotengo was fast enough to outpace Godzilla. In Godzilla: Unleashed, the Gotengo, named Atoragon in-game, will descend down from the sky to confront an opponent. After taking enough damage, it flies high into the sky and across the map.
Diving
The Gotengo is able to move at 50 knots in water. It can also dive to the bottom of the ocean.
Drill
The Gotengo is armed with a bow drill that allows the ship to burrow underground. The drill is also an effective weapon, demonstrated in Godzilla Final Wars where the New Gotengo kills Manda by drilling through his frozen body. The New Gotengo was also able to use its drill to burrow into the side of the Xilien Mothership.
In Godzilla: Unleashed, the Gotengo, named Atoragon in-game, can occasionally ram into opponents with its drill. In Godzilla for the PlayStation 3 and 4, the New Gotengo can attack monsters by ramming into them with its drill.
Rotating blades
In Atragon, the Gotengo has three giant, saw-like rotating blades above and below the ship. This trait is shared with the old Gotengo in Godzilla Final Wars, although the blades don't appear to rotate.
Deck cannons
Multiple deck cannons or naval turrets were located on the Gotengo's deck across all of its film appearances. In Atragon, the Gotengo had four cannons with three barrels each. In Godzilla Final Wars, the Gotengo had five large cannons; four of them having two barrels with the other having three. It also had 18 smaller turrets with two barrels each on its sides. In Super Fleet Sazer-X the Movie, the Gotengo had four large cannons; two of them having three barrels and the others having two barrels. It also had the same 18 smaller turrets as the Gotengo in Godzilla Final Wars.
Electric discharge
In Atragon, the Gotengo can discharge electricity that shocks anything that touches the ship. This was used to ward off Manda, who had coiled himself around the ship.
Zero Cannon / Freezing Maser Cannon
In Atragon, the Gotengo is equipped with a Zero Cannon located on the tip of its drill, which takes on a mist-like appearance and can freeze objects to -273 Celsius.[citation needed] When used against Manda, it slowly froze him over after an extended period of spraying. In Godzilla Final Wars, the New Gotengo is equipped with a Freezing Maser Cannon (冷凍メーサー砲 Reitō me-sa-hō) on its drill tip which was capable of almost instantaneously freezing Manda. The New Gotengo could also fire a beam from its drill referred to as the Drill Spiral Maser (ドリルスパイラル・メーザー Doriru Supairaru Mēzā) which Captain Gordon planned on firing into the Xilien Mothership before the New Gotengo was boarded.[12]
After Shinichi Ozaki channeled his Keizer Energy into the New Gotengo, the warship's drill fired a beam called the G-Maser (Gメーサー Jī Mēzā) which re-energized Godzilla. This beam turns G-Cells into particles and fires them.[12] In Godzilla Battle Line, the New Gotengo's main method of attack is firing its Drill Spiral Maser.
Plasma Maser Beams
In Godzilla Final Wars, the New Gotengo could fire Plasma Maser Beams (プラズマメーザービーム Purazuma Mēzā Bīmu) from hidden ports located on the topside of the ship.[12] In Godzilla: Unleashed, the Gotengo, named Atoragon in-game, will fire its Plasma Maser Beams whenever a kaiju gets too close to the aircraft. In Godzilla Battle Line, the New Gotengo will fire off its Plasma Maser Beams as a counterattack upon taking damage from enemy units.
Missiles
In Godzilla Final Wars, the Gotengo could fire missiles from twelve cannons located on the warship's deck. It used these missiles to cause an avalanche and bury Godzilla beneath the Antarctic ice. Upon being refurbished into the New Gotengo, the warship could instead fire Proton Missiles (プロトンミサイル Puroton Misairu) from ten compartments on the sides of the ship,[12] which it used to break Godzilla out of Area G.
In the Atari/Pipeworks video game Godzilla: Unleashed, the Gotengo, named Atoragon in-game, could fire freezing missiles at opponents.
Bombs
In Godzilla: Monster of Monsters!, the Gotengo was capable of dropping bombs.
Dogfighter
In Godzilla Final Wars, the New Gotengo could deploy a Dogfighter (ドッグファイター Doggufaitā) from a hatch located on its underside.
Electronic Particle Cannons
The Gotengo is equipped with four Electronic Particle cannons on its deck.
Crystal Cannon
In Godzilla: Unleashed, the Gotengo is equipped with a Crystal Cannon, a highly powerful green laser fueled by Power Surge crystals.
Durability
All incarnations of the Gotengo possess immense pressure resistance. In Atragon, the Gotengo survived being coiled by Manda. In Godzilla Final Wars, the New Gotengo survived Manda's constriction again, and endured heat intense enough to light the serpentine kaiju on fire. It also took a single hit from Godzilla's atomic breath.
Video games
- CinemaScope War Game: Atragon (1984) - PC-8801
- Godzilla: Monster of Monsters! (1988) - Nintendo Entertainment System / Famicom
- Godzilla (1993) - Arcade [cameo]
- Godzilla: Great Monster Battle (1994) - Nintendo Super Famicom
- Godzilla: Trading Battle (1998) - Sony PlayStation
- CR Godzilla 3S-T Battle (2006) - Pachinko
- Godzilla: Unleashed (2007) - Nintendo Wii and Sony PlayStation 2
- Godzilla Unleashed: Double Smash (2007) - Nintendo DS
- CR Godzilla: Descent of the Destruction God (2010) - Pachinko
- Godzilla (2014) - Sony PlayStation 3 and 4
- Godzilla Kaiju Collection (2015) - Android and iOS
- Godzilla Destruction (2021) - Android and iOS [game files only; never implemented][13]
- Godzilla Battle Line (2021; added in 2023-2024) - Android, iOS, Microsoft Windows
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The Atoragon in Godzilla Unleashed: Double Smash
Godzilla: Monster of Monsters!
In Godzilla: Monster of Monsters!, numerous Gotengos appear in stages throughout the game. They fly at the top of the screen and attack stage enemies by dropping bombs in a similar manner to the Moonlight SY-3.
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The two color variants of the Gotengo in Godzilla: Monster of Monsters!
Godzilla: Great Monster Battle
The Gotengo appears as an optional final boss in Godzilla: Great Monster Battle. It will battle the player's monster in an open ocean stage.
Godzilla: Unleashed
The Gotengo is featured in Godzilla: Unleashed, under the name the Atoragon. The Atoragon was first shown in a pre-release trailer for the game, battling Godzilla. It was later shown to be a boss in the finished game. In this game, the Atoragon was piloted by General Gyozen. The Atoragon appears three times in the game. Its first appearance is in London as an obstacle, then in New York as a boss. In the latter, the player must get the Atoragon down to half health. The battleship appears one last time in Osaka near the end of the game. After the fight, Gyozen is killed. The Atoragon fights by shooting missiles and freezing missiles, using the drill nose, and shooting the new crystal cannon. In the PS2 version, the Atoragon does not use its drill nose or crystal cannon, but still uses the missiles and freezing missiles. In addition, its first two appearances are completely removed, with its sole appearance in-game being relegated to its battle with the player in Osaka.
Godzilla (PlayStation 3 / PlayStation 4)
The Gotengo appears in Godzilla for the PlayStation 3 and 4 as a G-Force vehicle that can be summoned against Godzilla or the player's monster in the Invade variant of God of Destruction Mode. It is modeled after the New Gotengo from Godzilla Final Wars. It appears on stage 8 as an automatic boss. It attacks by ramming monsters with its drill, then flying away and firing its Maser Cannons or Absolute Zero Cannon. It is seen in the final cutscene as part of the force that freezes Burning Godzilla so he can be transported back to the ocean.
In the PlayStation 4 version, the Gotengo retains all traits present in the PS3 version, but it will also appear with Kiryu if the player takes the hard route in Invade mode.
Books
- GODZILLA: Monster Apocalypse (2017)
GODZILLA: Monster Apocalypse
The Goten and its sister ships the Shinten and the Kyoten were used to fight against the kaiju Manda in an effort to reclaim the Atlantic Ocean in 2039, codenamed Operation Eternal Light. The Goten engaged and killed Manda in the Strait of Dover.[14]
Comics
- Godzilla: Rulers of Earth #1, 25 (2013-2015)
- Godzilla: Monsters & Protectors - All Hail the King! #5 (2023)
Godzilla: Rulers of Earth
The Gotengo makes a small cameo in issue #1 as a model on Chavez's desk. A version of the Gotengo that resembles the Ra from Super Atragon also appears in one frame in the final issue alongside various other military weapons like the Super X and the Maser Cannons.
Gallery
- Main article: Gotengo/Gallery.
Trivia
- Rumors surrounding the unproduced 1995 story Godzilla vs. Bagan suggest that the Gotengo was planned to make an appearance in the film.[15]
- Early concept art for the Super X3 from Godzilla vs. Destoroyah depicted it as a new incarnation of the Gotengo called the "Goh-Ten."
Related craft
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References
This is a list of references for Gotengo. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]
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Bibliography
- Matsui, Satoshi, ed. (27 March 2015). Godzilla Final Wars Super Complete Works (ebook ed.). Shogakukan. ISBN 978-4-09-101498-6.
- Ikeda, Noriaki; Shibata, Daisuke; Nakamura, Iruson (10 November 1993). Godzilla Monsters All Encyclopedia (7th ed.). Shogakukan. ISBN 4-09-281104-7.
- Shimazaki, Jun; Nakamura, Satoshi; Maruyama, Takeshi; Tomoi, Taketo (10 February 2012). Heisei Godzilla Perfection. ASCII MEDIA WORKS. ISBN 978-4-04-886119-9.
- Mamiya, Naohiko (1 January 2000). Godzilla 1954-1999 Super Complete Works. Shogakukan. ISBN 978-4091014702.
- Kaneda, Masumi; Oishi, Shinji; Konuta, Kenji; Eguchi, Mizuki; Maruyama, Takeshi (23 July 2014). Toho Special Effects All Monster Encyclopedia. Shogakukan. ISBN 4-096-82090-3.
- Teranishi, Kenji (20 April 2005). Godzilla Movie Chronicle. Orion Publishing. ISBN 4-8130-2017-8.
- Ozawa, Ryoko; Murai, Shugo; Imai, Atsushi; Nakamura, Tetsu; Tomoi, Taketo; Shimazaki, Jun, eds. (20 July 2018). All Toho Mechanic Pictorial Book (2nd ed.). Yosensha. ISBN 978-4-8003-1461-1.
- Oki, Renji (25 October 2017). GODZILLA: Monster Apocalypse. Kadokawa. ISBN 978-4-04-106181-7.
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