Anguirus (GRA)

Anguirus (アンギラス, 'Angirasu') is a mutated ankylosaurus and the second daikaiju to appear in a Toho film, opposing the King of the Monsters himself in Godzilla Raids Again which made him the very first kaiju to appear as an enemy to Godzilla. The original English name given to the monster by Toho was Angilas, which was changed to Anguirus while the title of the movie was changed to Gigantis, the Fire Monster for the 1959 American version of the film. In the mid-1990s, Toho copyrighted the revised name Anguirus, thus making it official. However, he can be referred to as Angilas, Angorous, and most commonly, Anguirus.

Showa Series
When rescuing his longtime friend Kobayashi, Tsukioka witnessed what would soon strike Osaka like a holocaust. The echoing roars, resounding along the craggy cliffs, marked the stage battle between two massive living mountains of flesh and bone. One of which struck terror in the core of the two men, Godzilla, as yet another of the terrifying species of dinosaurs was alive and doing battle. The opposing force, a quadruped spiked shelled beast, dubbed Anguirus, fought with animalistic fury. The twin titans so consumed in their fight, fell from the cliffs, each still clawing and tearing at the other. It was not long before the war drug itself onto the city of Osaka. The monsters trashed what beauty that existed in less than a few hours, but it was the gargantuan beast Godzilla that won, ripping the throat of the Anguirus, and feeling its blood run through his teeth. Roasting the carcass, the monster left the shores and headed back into the seas that he knew so well.

Nearly three decades passed before humanity was able to behold the sight of another. This one had taken home on an island. Coexisting with another resident, Godzilla, the beasts gained respect within their reptilian eyes. In the early 1970's the duo of saviors swam to Japan to stop the rampaging creations of space. Under Godzilla and Anguirus' combined might, the two were able to drive off the team of Gigan and King Ghidorah. When returning to their island, a massive underground volcano rocked the land. Opening its massive soiled maw, the ground swallowed Anguirus, taking him deep into the belly of fire and flame. Eternal and consuming darkness was his womb, tagging and calling out, as the dinosaur moved. Traveling through the layers of rock and stone, the behemoth finally lifted from the strata. Wrenching free, the spiked reptile found himself in the cold artic regions of the Siberian lands. The glacier sheets of ice quaked beneath his howling cries. He sensed a growing evil, and longed to return to Japan.

Diving back into his tomb, the beast dug his way back to Japan. It was not long before he arrived, pulling from the ground and finding a disguised foe. The organically skin covered Mechagodzilla raged as it was attacked. The cloak of deception might have fooled humanity, but not Anguirus. The spiked monster attacked with whole heart, but could not stand against the awesome power that dwelled within the machine Mechagodzilla. Being manhandled, and jaw broken, the monster was forced to give to retreat, and dove back into its hole.

More time passed, giving the monster time to heal its wounds, but in near peak of the 21st century, an alien race invaded Earth. Calling themselves the Kilaakian, the beings took hold of all of the terrestrial monsters of earth, then sending them out to the farthest corners of man's domain, they placed their domination in full swing. Having Anguirus as a guard dog, the beast protected the main bunker base of the aliens with a bloodlust unmatched. It was not until the strength of man was able to sever the link, did the monsters regain their true nature. Fearing that defeat was possible, the Kilaak's released their last ditch monster, King Ghidorah, against the Earth monsters. Yet the space demon could not muster the power, and was killed. Its body disappearing into the ground of which the land it tried to destroy. Leaving Anguirus, and the rest of Earth's giant kaijus to return and live in peace.

Millennium Series
An ancient dinosaur of immense strength, Anguirus was secretly released by the alien race known as the Xiliens. The spiked carapace of the leathery behemoth crashed through downtown Shanghai, China. Thousands were killed, and the news of this dreadful assault spread far and wide. The Earth Defense Force released its aerial warship Karyu to repel the assault. While powerful, Karyu was ultimately no match for Anguirus. In a stunning twist of fate, however, the monster suddenly vanished!

The Xiliens fooled humankind into believing that Anguirus was gone. Several other monsters, which had also assaulted the world’s cities simultaneous to Anguirus’ attack, were also declared annihilated by the duplicitous alien race. Though their intentions seemed noble, their true goals were soon uncovered. It so happened that the Xiliens were planning world domination! As these new allegations were coming to light, Anguirus was released yet again on Shanghai. Karyu was again summoned, but the battleship was sent crashing into the Capitol, killing those unfortunate people within.

The Xiliens’ plans were soon turned upside down, though, when an invulnerable juggernaut was released from its icy crypt in the Antarctic. Godzilla was heading for Tokyo, and the Xiliens began to throw monsters in the creature’s way to halt his progress. Anguirus, along with Rodan and King Caesar, attacked Godzilla at Mt. Fuji. When the aggressive ankylosaur charged, Godzilla merely stomped his head to the ground. This was followed by the slam of his tail, sending Anguirus soaring into the sky and ultimately knocking Rodan out of the air. King Caesar proceeded to kick Anguirus like a soccer ball. Godzilla moved into a defensive position, but the spiked ball turned at the last second and ended up toppling onto the unconscious Rodan. Following King Caesar’s defeat, all three of Godzilla's opponents found themselves stacked on top of one another. Godzilla roared in triumph, and continued his track. But the three monsters fate remains unknown.

Appearance
Anguirus is a four-legged dinosaur that looks similar to an ankylosaurus. He has several horns at the top of his head and a a single horn above his nose like a rhinoceros. His face is long and drawn out, like a crocodile, and has rows of jagged, serrated teeth. His carapace is studded with long, sharp spikes. Anguirus's tail is longer than his body and makes up most of his body length, and is covered with spikes. His hind limbs are longer than his forelimbs, enabling him to stand up on them to his full height, but he generally walks upon all fours.

Special Abilities
Anguirus does not have any "special" abilities in particular, so he uses his teeth, claws, horns, and spiked carapace as his weapons. This has contributed to his appeal among fans of "no-frills" Japanese monsters. He has been known to hurl himself backwards at a foe, ramming them with his spiny carapace (Godzilla vs. Gigan). He is also capable of burrowing substantial distances (Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla). Recently, the Anguirus that appeared in Godzilla: Final Wars has shown the ability to curl himself into a ball and propel himself at tremendous speed, an ability most likely inspired by the video game Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee (see below).

Anguirus also has remarkable stamina and determination, able to take a vicious beating before going down. Despite repeatedly facing more powerful opponents than himself, most notably Godzilla, King Ghidorah, and Mechagodzilla, he has never retreated from a fight without first taking substantial punishment. Perhaps the finest example of Anguirus' persistence was his performance against King Ghidorah in Destroy All Monsters, in which he attached himself to one of King Ghidorah's necks with his jaws, staying on as King Ghidorah was flying away, until King Ghidorah bit Anguirus' own neck, causing him to fall. The same scene occurred as stock footage in Godzilla vs Gigan.

Despite his tenacity, Anguirus is traditionally on the low end of the totem pole as Japanese monsters are concerned. He has never won a fight without the assistance of Godzilla, and by the 1970s he essentially played the role of a punching bag for the latest Godzilla foe to beat up on, highlighting the threat. This tendency is especially pronounced in Godzilla vs. Gigan, in which Anguirus bravely but uselessly attacks both Gigan and King Ghidorah during the "tag-team" final battle, requiring that Godzilla finish off both foes with little help. In Godzilla Final Wars, Anguirus was being used like a soccer-ball when he teamed up with King Caesar and Rodan against Godzilla.

In the video games Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee and Godzilla: Save the Earth, Anguirus is finally given a ranged attack: a "sonic roar" loud enough to hurt monsters and destroy military weapons in a large cone. It can also destroy (and even pass right through) buildings and rocks. In the former game, Anguirus' "rage" attack involves him charging his spines with some undefined energy, then jumping far up into the air, shooting them off while performing multiple flips. In the latter, it is simply a variant of his "rolling" attack used in the first game as well as Godzilla Final Wars. Anguirus is also playable in Godzilla: Unleashed for the PS2, Wii and DS.

It appears that, according to a 1955 Japanese manga adaptation of Godzilla Raids Again (contemporary with the film), Anguirus may have been originally conceived as a fire-breather as he his depicted several times breathing some sort of flame. Also, the way Anguirus' dorsal spike covering flops around in Godzilla Raids Again (partially split in two and loose from his back) is depicted in the artwork as well, leading one to believe that this may have been intentional, rather than a costume design flaw as it appears to be.

Godzilla Unleashed Bio
Height:80 meters Weight:54,000 tons

"Anguirus is a loyal Earth Defender. Although he is neither the largest, strongest, or fastest of Earth's vanguard, he possesses a tenacity of spirit that makes him a fearsome opponent for any monster. Anguirus can stun nearby opponents with his fearsome Sonic Roar, or use his powerful jaws to leave an impression. Anguirus' most unique attribute is his ultra-hard spiked carapace, which can parry any physical attack and inflict heavy edged damage in response. Anguirus can tuck his head and limbs beneath his shell and roll forward-this offers him excellent resistance to attack and allows him to plow through terrain and opponents alike. When the earth is threatened, Godzilla will come to its defense-and Anguirus will be right beside him, until the end."

Trivia

 * Despite being an ankylosaur, Anguirus actually resembles a mix of a crocodile, ankylosaur, and a styracosaurus.
 * Anguirus had many names over the years. This includes: Angilas, Anguirusaurus, Angilasaur, Anguirusaurus, Killer of the Living, Angorous, Anzilla, and Angzilla.
 * Anguirus is the very first monster Godzilla ever fights, and years later a new Anguirus would come and befriend Godzilla.
 * The military was able to defeat Anguirus in Godzilla vs. Gigan.
 * Before his appearance in GFW, Toho planned to use Anguirus twice in the Millenium series. First, he was a planned monster for the original GMK, replacing either Mothra or King Ghidorah, though he was cut when Toho decided he was too unknown to draw large crowds. Again, in Tokyo SOS, he was originally the monster found washed up dead on the beach. However, Toho chose to add Kamoebas instead, both to placate Anguirus fans and get a dig in at Gamera.
 * For similar reasons, a scene of Godzilla destroying the helpless Rodan, Anguirus, and King Ceasar was cut, making Anguirus one of the only five surviving monsters at the end of GFW. Fans say Godzilla spares them because they were once Godzilla's allies in several movies. However in a deleted scene was that Godzilla did destroyed the three monsters. After Godzilla defeats them it wasn't shown that he killed them off-screen or simply walked away, they weren't seen or mentioned for the rest of the film.
 * It has been speculated that the Anguirus suit used in Godzilla: Final Wars was modeled off of the Dagahra suit from 1997's Rebirth of Mothra 2, due to the similarities between the two suits. This, however, has been flatly denied by Toho.
 * His roar was used in many video game series such as Street Fighter and Metroid.
 * Alongside with Rodan, and Mothra, Anguirus is considered Godzilla's best friend and ally.
 * In the Toho Kingdom toons he is, like in the movies, Godzilla's closest friend. In the Toho Kingdom parody of Star Wars he is a parody of Han Solo.
 * Anguirus is a very famous godzilla monster and in a popularity poll, he came in third place behind gamera (second) and Godzilla (first)

Roar
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