Kazuma Aoki
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Kazuma Aoki (青木一馬 Aoki Kazuma) is a member of G-Force and the pilot of the Garuda in the 1993 Godzilla film Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II.
Personality
Kazuma is an enthusiastic, if zealous, mechanic who hyperfixates on his hobbies, his passion for Pteranodons and the Garuda driving many of his actions. He collects all sorts of Pteranodon-related merchandise, such as a toy that hangs on his car's rearview mirror, a jumpsuit with a Pteranodon image on the back, and a pterosaur encyclopedia. The Garuda is a massive passion project of his, and he display great pride in the machine, as well as dismay at the UNGCC and G-Force's lack of regard for what he views as an incredibly useful asset. He is alarmed when transferred to the Mechagodzilla crew, and struggles immensely when forced to try and integrate himself amongst an environment of hardened commanders and soldiers. Kazuma's enthusiasm at the discovery of a supposed Pteranodon egg leads him to the National Institute of Biotechnics. Upon meeting Azusa Gojo, he becomes instantly infatuated with her, innocently and awkwardly attempting to charm her, only to be rebuffed. He steals a sample of the Shipniocus fern found on the egg to generate an excuse to return; when she scolds him, he feels guilty for his impulsiveness.
Investigating the psychic properties of Shipniocus with Miki Saegusa and being present for the hatching of BabyGodzilla leads to his absence during Mechagodzilla's disastrous first sortie against Godzilla, and G-Force reassigns him to parking lot duty as punishment. He redeems himself by further improving the Garuda and designing a way for it to combine with Mechagodzilla to form Super Mechagodzilla. He aggressively pitches the idea to Professor Leo Asimov, trapping his car in the parking garage until he agrees to hear him out. Asimov nonetheless gives his approval, and Kazuma is honored, his own skills finally recognized. Alongside being promoted, regaining his previous position as Garuda's mechanic, he gains confidence, his charms coming to endear Azusa, building a rapport with her. When she playfully objects, stating they are not that close, he responds with a lighthearted, "Not yet." He takes her on a ride with the Pteranodon Robot he created in his spare time. He continuously makes Azusa laugh with flirtatious jokes regarding her role as BabyGodzilla's surrogate mother. When both Azusa and Miki voice disapproval and emotional conflict regarding G-Force's "G-Crusher" operation, Kazuma sympathizes with their objections to using BabyGodzilla as bait, outright pitying the infant for "being born 65 million years too late." Still, he says nothing regarding Miki's changed perspective on Godzilla.
After Kazuma learns that Fire Rodan has seized the container she and BabyGodzilla are inside, he steals the Garuda to rescue her, though he only gives "Garuda was my idea" as explanation. Despite his sympathy for BabyGodzilla, he doesn't hesitate to fight Rodan to protect Azusa, and shows great enthusiasm towards battling Godzilla, celebrating upon believing he is finally defeated. His priorities then reorient to ensuring Azusa's safety, and he departs from Garuda in the Pteranodon Robot. He is shocked by Super Mechagodzilla's defeat when Godzilla revives, but focuses on comforting Azusa as she tearfully separates from BabyGodzilla. He watches, alongside Azusa and Omae, as Godzilla leaves in peace with BabyGodzilla; now content, his view of Godzilla has clearly softened upon viewing the monster's adoption of the infant. He nods in pleasant agreement as Azusa expresses certainty that a new dinosaur age will come about one day, a future Godzilla and his adopted son will be waiting for.
History
Heisei era
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II
Kazuma Aoki was a robotic engineer recruited by G-Force to help develop its first anti-Godzilla weapon, Garuda. However, G-Force ultimately scrapped the aircraft in favor of the more powerful Mechagodzilla. Disappointed that the machine would not see action, Aoki surreptitiously tinkered with it in his spare time, changing quickly back into a suit to greet new hire Yuri Katagiri. He welcomed her to the team, only to be told by fellow engineer Hiroshi Imai that he had just been transferred to G-Force. Captain Takuya Sasaki explained that he had been selected to become Mechagodzilla's fourth crew member, but coldly viewed his obsession with Pteranodons, notable enough to be included on his profile, as a sign of his unseriousness. He ordered Aoki put through intensive training, and the mechanic struggled immensely in his new environment. He was trounced in sparring sessions by Lieutenant Jun Sonezaki and Second Lieutenant Catherine Berger, struggled to stay awake during Sasaki's class on fighting Godzilla, and missed an important detail in his damage report during a simulated mission.
A reprieve came when Aoki learned about a supposed Pteranodon egg recovered by Professor Hiroshi Omae on Adonoa Island amidst a battle between Godzilla and a new pterosaur monster called Rodan. He immediately traveled to the National Institute of Biotechnics in Kyoto to try and get a closer look. He entered the lab where researcher Azusa Gojo was watching over the egg and immediately began taking pictures of it. Azusa was annoyed by his intrusion and hold him she would be forced to call security if he didn't leave. Aoki eventually relented, but clumsily attempted to flirt with her just before leaving, asking if she thought something might develop from their meeting. He took with him a sample of Shipniocus, a prehistoric fern that was adhered to the egg, but Azusa quickly noticed the theft and called to demand its return. Before he could do so, however, Miki Saegusa took notice of the plant in the G-Force cafeteria, remarking that she sensed a strong psychic energy emanating from it. She brought it to the Psychic Development Center with Aoki in tow and allowed her students to try and measure its energy instead. The students fed the plant's energy into a tape, which produced a strange melody.
Miki and Aoki brought the tape to Omae at the Institute and played it. The melody quickly caused the egg to hatch while Azusa was on duty. She called Aoki and the others into the lab, and they were stunned to see that the hatchling was not a Pteranodon, but a Godzillasaurus, the same species which Godzilla originated as before being irradiated. Azusa named him BabyGodzilla, and he quickly bonded with her. As the group marveled over the creature, Miki sensed Godzilla approaching. Sasaki, furious at Aoki's absence, was forced to launch Mechagodzilla with a backup pilot. The machine overwhelmed Godzilla in battle until he managed to reverse the electrical current of its Shock Anchor cables, disabling it. The King of the Monsters soon reached Kyoto. Azusa realized that BabyGodzilla had psychically called him there, and Miki proposed isolating the hatchling by moving him to an isolation chamber in the basement. Her plan was successful, and while Godzilla destroyed the upper levels of Institute in frustration, he was unable to locate BabyGodzilla and returned to the ocean.
Sasaki reprimanded Aoki for taking a vacation day without authorization and demoted him from the Mechagodzilla team, assigning him instead to parking lot duty. Aoki secretly resumed his work on the Garuda and forced robotics professor Dr. Leo Asimov to give him an audience by spinning his car on a rotating platform. Asimov was impressed by Aoki's proposal to improve the Garuda's combat power, but asked what they would then do with Mechagodzilla. Aoki suggested modifying both machines to allow the Garuda to dock onto Mechagodzilla's back, combining their offensive capabilities. Asimov approved Aoki's plan, and he was reassigned back to the robotics team. Triumphant, Aoki visited Azusa at the G-Force facility now holding BabyGodzilla. He resumed his flirtations, nicknaming her "A-chan" and showing her the new vehicle he has been working on: the Pteranodon Robot. She agreed to fly with him on it and was delighted by the experience—until its engines sputtered and it crashed in BabyGodzilla's enclosure. Both Aoki and Azusa were unharmed, and Aoki packed up the robot's wreckage. As he was doing so, Miki and a group of her students entered the facility to see BabyGodzilla. The students perform the same song for Baby that was produced by the Shipniocus, its melody reaching Rodan all the way on Adonoa Island, healing his injuries and transforming him into Fire Rodan.
Studies on BabyGodzilla led G-Force to develop a new anti-Godzilla plan called G-Crusher, in which the infant would be flown to the Ogasawara Islands to lure Godzilla there and Mechagodzilla would paralyze him by firing upgraded Shock Anchors into the second brain located in his hip. Miki was assigned to locate the second brain. She shared her reservations about the plan to Azusa and Aoki, the latter sadly musing that BabyGodzilla was born "65 million years too late." Seeing his fearful response to being led into the transport canister, Azusa insisted on accompanying him. The helicopter carrying them was destroyed en route by Rodan, who seized the canister and landed in Chiba. After Katagiri told Aoki of Rodan's attack, he snuck aboard the Garuda instead of its intended pilot, Andy Johnson, and launched the craft alongside Mechagodzilla. Together, Mechagodzilla and Garuda successfully drew Rodan away from the canister, although the pterosaur knocked the latter out of the sky by scraping it with his spiked chest. Mechagodzilla mortally wounded Rodan with its Plasma Grenade, but Godzilla soon arrived for a rematch and caused his mechanical double to overheat following a beam clash. Aoki successfully restarted the Garuda and came to Mechagodzilla's rescue, firing laser beams at Godzilla. With Godzilla distracted, Mechagodzilla rammed the King of the Monsters, and Garuda docked on its back to form Super Mechagodzilla. The mecha's staggering array of weaponry, which now included the Garuda's laser cannons, overwhelmed Godzilla, and with a reluctant Miki's guidance, the upgraded Shock Anchor destroyed the monster's second brain.
Aoki exclaimed that they had finally beaten Godzilla, then exited the Garuda inside his Pteranodon Robot over Sasaki's objections. He landed near the container holding Azusa and BabyGodzilla, where Omae and some soldiers were working to free them, and immediately ran up to it to make sure Azusa was all right. Mechagodzilla unloaded on the helpless Godzilla, distressing BabyGodzilla, who broke free of the container and called out to Rodan. Super Mechagodzilla swiftly shot down the pterosaur, but he landed on top of Godzilla and transferred his energy into him at the cost of his own life, restoring Godzilla's second brain. Rodan's powdery ashes melted Mechagodzilla's armor plating and played havoc with its systems, allowing Godzilla to easily destroy it with powered-up atomic breath, though the crew safely ejected. With Godzilla approaching their location, Aoki and Omae boarded a helicopter and told Azusa to do the same. She realizes she could not care for BabyGodzilla anymore, and after a tearful goodbye, departs. At Azusa's behest, Miki psychically convinced Godzilla and BabyGodzilla to leave together. Azusa and Aoki climbed to the top of a hill to watch Godzilla and Baby leave, and pondered the possibility of a new dinosaur age beginning long after humanity's time on Earth had ended.
Comics
- Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993) [Comic BomBom]
- Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993) [Bessatsu CoroCoro Comic Special]
Gallery
Trivia
- In one scene, Kazuma Aoki meets the ESP institute chief Hosono, who upon learning he is from G-Force tells him he "doesn't trust him one bit." Hosono is portrayed by actor Tadao Takashima, the father of Aoki's actor, Masahiro Takashima.
- Aoki drives a 1993 Suzuki Escudo. The Pteronodon toy dangling from the car's rearview mirror appears to be from the renowned Carnegie Collection by Safari Ltd.
- Aoki was one of several characters voiced by a different actor for Omni Productions' 1998 repairs to its own Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II dub, with Darren Pleavin replacing Henry Coombs. The earlier dub has never been released on video or streaming in its entirety. A third actor, Simon Broad, spoke the majority of his lines in the film's export trailer.
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