ToraGoji

Godzilla designs
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ToraGoji Type CGI/suit/animation Nicknames AmeriGoji, 98Goji, TriStarGoji, EmeGoji, Godzilla 1998, GINO Portrayed by CGI, animatronic, Kurt Carley (suit and motion reference), animation Used in GODZILLA (1998), Godzilla: The Series, Godzilla Final Wars

	Candidate for deletion This article has been marked for deletion. Reason: Plans to merge Godzilla design pages with Godzilla incarnation pages are underway. For more information, see the forum topic.

This article covers the 1998 Godzilla design. For the Godzilla incarnations, see Godzilla (TriStar) and Godzilla (Godzilla: The Series).

The ToraGoji (トラゴジ) is the design used for Godzilla in the 1998 film GODZILLA and its follow-up television series Godzilla: The Series, as well as for the monster Zilla in the 2004 film Godzilla Final Wars.

Name

The ToraGoji's name comes from the Japanese name for TriStar (トライスター,   Toraisutā), and Goji, which comes from Godzilla's Japanese name, Gojira (ゴジラ). In Japan, a popular nickname for the design is EmeGoji (エメゴジ), derived from the first part of director Roland Emmerich's surname, spelled in Japanese as Emerihhi (エメリッヒ), combined with Goji. Another name is AmeriGoji (アメリゴジ), derived from "America," which was often used to describe him prior to the 2014 film, as he was the only American film incarnation.

Detail

The ToraGoji is a very drastic redesign for Godzilla, to the point of bearing little resemblance to previous designs. The design's CGI model has a stance similar to modern depictions of theropod dinosaurs, such as Tyrannosaurus rex and dromaeosauridae, in contrast to Godzilla's traditional upright humanoid posture.

The color of the design's skin is a very dark blue on the top of his body, to the point of looking black during some scenes, a silvery light-blue color on the sides of the body, and tan on the underside, as if to blend in with the urban environment. The design has powerful, long legs and arms, which enable for very swift movement; something it was specifically designed to have.

The ToraGoji design has a notably enormous underbite with a huge chin, and teeth that stick out of the mouth, much like crocodiles'. In contrast to Godzilla's traditional maple leaf-shaped dorsal plates, the ToraGoji has curved, spike-like dorsal plates, curving towards the front, described as looking somewhat like reversed shark fins.

Godzilla only has four fingers in the master CG model used in the movie, the giant animatronic, and the final design maquette. However, a vestigial fifth digit is present in the suit.

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  Four fingers (concept art and Toho-approved maquette)
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  Four fingers (animatronic)
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  Four fingers (CG model)
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  Five fingers on the suit
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  Five fingers

Use in other media

Video games

• Godzilla Generations (1998) - Sega Dreamcast
• Godzilla: Trading Battle (1998) - Sony PlayStation
• Collect Godzilla: Great Monster Assembly (1998) - Sega Dreamcast VMU
• GODZILLA: Virtual Shakin' (1998) - LCD
• Godzilla: The Series (1999) - Nintendo Game Boy Color
• Godzilla: The Series - Monster Wars (2000) - Nintendo Game Boy Color
• Godzilla Kaiju Collection (2015) - Android and iOS [as Zilla]

Comics

• Godzilla: The Series (1999)
• Godzilla: Rulers of Earth #1-2, 9, 13, 25 (2013-2015) [as Zilla]
• Godzilla: Oblivion #4-5 (2016) [as Zilla]

Gallery

Production

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  Animatronic
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  Suit
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  Suit
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  Godzilla suit used in four shots of the film
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  Actor Kurt Carley donning the suit
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  Animatronic
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  Suit
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  Suit
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Screenshots

GODZILLA (1998)

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Godzilla: The Series

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  Godzilla in the first episode of Godzilla: The Series
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Post-production

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  A decayed Godzilla animatronic
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  Godzilla in Japan
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Merchandise

Covers

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  Cover for the soundtrack of GODZILLA

Toys

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  HG Series Set 4 Godzilla '98
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  Toy Biz Battle Action Godzilla 1998
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  Toy Biz Rumble 'N' Roar Power Blast Godzilla 1998
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  Toy Biz Fast Attack Godzilla
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  X-Plus Godzilla 1998
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  X-Plus Defo-Real Godzilla 1998
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  Trendmasters Fang Bite Godzilla 1998
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  Trendmasters Living Godzilla 1998
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  Trendmasters Razor Bite Godzilla 1998
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  Japanese release of Razor Bite Godzilla 1998 by Bandai, renamed "DX Godzilla"
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  Trendmasters Shatter Tail Godzilla 1998
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  Trendmasters Thunder Tail Godzilla 1998
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  Trendmasters Ultimate Godzilla 1998 Box
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  Trendmasters Ultimate Godzilla 1998
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  Trendmasters Supreme Godzilla 1998
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  Trendmasters Shatter Blast Godzilla 1998 vs. Rocket Launcher
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  Trendmasters Nuclear Strike Godzilla 1998 vs. Hornet Jet
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  Trendmasters Electronic Godzilla 1998 Bank
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  Trendmasters Battle At Brooklyn Bridge Micro Battle World
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  Trendmasters Terror At Times Square Micro Battle World
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  Godzilla Sofubi Collection Godzilla 1998
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  Mothra Giant Monster Legend Godzilla 1998
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  Bandai Hyper Godzilla 1998
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  Real Hero Series Godzilla 1998
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  Marmit Godzilla 1998
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  Marmit Godzilla 1998
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  Godzilla 1998 keychain
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  Godzilla 1998 keychain
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  Godzilla 1998 figure pen
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  Godzilla 1998 keychain
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  Bandai Mothra Appears egg set Godzilla 1998
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  Bandai Godzilla Island Godzilla 1998 and Destoroyah
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  Bandai Godzilla Island Godzilla 1998 and MOGUERA
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  Bandai 2024 Movie Monster Series Godzilla 1998
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  KFC Godzilla 1998 city smasher figure
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  KFC Godzilla 1998 hand puppet
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  Bandai Godzilla 1998 finger puppet
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  Godzilla 1998 finger puppet
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  Godzilla 1998 plush
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  Godzilla 1998 plush
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  Godzilla 1998 figure puppet
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  Godzilla 1998 hand puppet
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  Best of Godzilla Godzilla 1998 and Baby Godzilla figures
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  Godzilla 1998 Koosh ball
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  Godzilla 1998 and Baby Godzilla finger puppets
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  Glow in the dark Godzilla 1998 and Baby Godzilla finger puppets
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  Taco Bell Godzilla 1998 figure
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  Godzilla 1998 resin kit
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  X-Plus DefoReal Godzilla (1998)
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  Cast GODZILLA Footprint ornament
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  Cast "Size Does Matter" Godzilla 1998 ornament
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  Cast GODZILLA 1998 Appears Again ornament
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  Cast Godzilla of the Hudson River ornament
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  Cast "KureKure GODZILLA" keychain
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  Godzilla 1998 keychain

Unreleased

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  Unreleased Galoob Toys Godzilla (1998)
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  Unreleased Galoob Toys Godzilla (1998) Micro Playset

Miscellaneous

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  Godzilla 1998 Taco Bell Cup Holder
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  Flashlight
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  Flashlight
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  Shampoo
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  Lighter
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  GODZILLA: Virtual Shakin'
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  Lollipop
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  Candy dispenser
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  Halloween costume
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  Backpack
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  Candy dispenser
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  Mug
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  Water bottle
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  Candy dispenser
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  Stamper
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  Cake topper
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  Metal lunchbox
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  Plastic lunchbox with thermos
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  Banpresto Godzilla 1998 statue
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  Confetti
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  Stamper
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  Eraser
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  Eraser
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  Glow in the dark wall decorations
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  Glow in the dark wall decorations
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  Dreyer’s Ice Cream Godzilla inflatable hand
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  Earth Trek Godzilla statue
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  Moore Creation Godzilla statue
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  Godzilla Fossil Watch
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  Lipbalm
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  Cereal keyrings
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  Pen
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  Stamps
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  Roller Stamp
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  Gurgling Godzilla Squeeze me
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  Straw
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  Godzilla Stomping Game
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  Boardgame
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  Toothbrush
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  Toothbrush Gift Set
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  Giant Pencil
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  Walkie Talkie
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  Spiral Studio
  Hall of Fame
  Godzilla 1998 statue

Magazines

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  Page 2 from the Japanese GODZILLA theater program
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  Page 3 from the Japanese GODZILLA theater program
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  Official GODZILLA poster magazine
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  Empire March 2014 Issue Page 10
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  Size Matters: How Godzilla Has Grown Over The Years
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  Empire March 2014 Issue Page 13 (Emmerich Interview 1)
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  Empire March 2014 Issue Page 13 (Emmerich Interview 2)
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  Empire March 2014 Issue Page 13 (Emmerich Interview 3)
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Trivia

• This Godzilla redesign was made by Patrick Tatopoulos based only on Roland Emmerich's instructions that the monster had to be quick and agile.
• Although Toho had little to do with the making of this design, they still knew what it looked like and nevertheless approved it. Toho's chairman at the time, Isao Matsuoka, even said he felt it kept the essence of Godzilla, though many of Toho's executives and employees would later express their displeasure with the design.
• The animatronic Godzilla was designed by veteran Disney Imagineer Bob Gurr, who also created the giant animatronic King Kong for the Universal Studios Hollywood tour.
• To create Zilla's CGI model for Godzilla Final Wars, Toho scanned Trendmasters' Ultimate Godzilla figure based on the ToraGoji design. Some alterations were made to Zilla's model, such as the removal of the dewlap on his neck and having his dorsal plates point straight upward instead of curving forward, in addition to making his skin a stone-gray color.
  • The comic series Godzilla: Rulers of Earth directly bases Zilla's appearance on the ToraGoji design, complete with the curved dorsal plates and dewlap. However, it portrays Zilla as green rather than blue and adds a fully developed fifth digit to his hands, a trait present neither in the ToraGoji CGI model nor Zilla in Godzilla Final Wars.

References

This is a list of references for ToraGoji. 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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