Mechagodzilla (GXMG)

The Millennium Mechagodzilla first featured in Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (Godzilla X MechaGodzilla in Japan), nicknamed Kiryu, was also a purely terrestrial creature.

History
Although the original Godzilla had been killed in 1954 by the Oxygen Destroyer, Japan still found itself under attack from other monsters such as Mothra and Gaira over the decades. When a second Godzilla appeared in 1999, this was the last straw. The Anti-Megalosaurus Force (AMF) division of the Japan Xenomorph Self Defense Force (JXSDF) proposed a shocking plan. What better way to defeat Godzilla than this: dredge up the skeleton of the first Godzilla from Tokyo Bay and use it as a skeleton/framework for constructing a Mechagodzilla?

Cloned DNA from the bones was also inserted into the quasi-organic control computers, intended to take over subconscious motor control functions for the crew. By 2003, the metal monster was ready. kiryu was unleashed, but the cyborg's latent memories were reawakened by Godzilla's own roars. kiryu broke free of its pilot, Akane Yashiro, and proceeded to trash the city (manual overrides being ignored) without Godzilla's help for a couple of hours until its fuel ran out.



The Japanese public was not amused. Hastily recalled, kiryu received quite a few weapon upgrades in addition to new computer control software routines. When Godzilla attacked again a few days later, both branches of the JSDF tried stopping him without the steel dragon's help, but it was useless. With Akane at the ROV controls again, kiryu was sent out.

The second battle went well until kiryu's receiver was damaged. Akane wanted to enter kiryu and affect repairs personally, despite being orderted not to. She then piloted the cyborg directly from its skull, carrying Godzilla out into the bay once more. Akane tried to destroy Godzilla with kiryu's ultimate weapon, the "Absolute Zero Cannon", but the fight ended in a draw. Godzilla went back to the sea (though not before suffering a horribly shredded chest) and kiryu went back to the body shop after suffering a destroyed right arm, damaged Absolute Zero system, and empty powercells.

Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S., taking place one year later, saw Akane sent to America for further flight training. Taking her place in case Godzilla appeared was Akiba, but kiryu engineer Yoshito Chujo is the human focus of the film.

Mothra's twin fairies, the shobijin, appear to warn Japan. They claim that building kiryu using the real bones was a violation of the natural order of things, sure to keep attracting the current Godzilla. The twins also claimed that Mothra would gladly take kiryu's place in protecting Japan if they agreed to dismantle the mechanical beast. Since kiryu had been built partially to defend against a second attack from Mothra herself, the Japanese declined at first.

But when Godzilla did appear and Mothra voluntarily engaged him, Prime Minister Hayato Igarishi was shamed into aiding her. kiryu flew into battle again. Despite this, the current adult Mothra was killed and kiryu's transmitter damaged once again. Just like Akane before him, Yoshito entered kiryu for repairs, but remained inside the mech during the battle after Godzilla's beam had accidentally struck one of the hatch doors jamming it.

Teaming up with the newly-hatched twin Mothra larvae, kiryu was able to use his drill (right arm) and injured Godzilla's chest even more. While Godzilla screamed in pain, kiryua fired his Three Hyper laser at Godzilla, making Godzilla roar to show kiryu his flash back to Yoshito. Godzilla was then wrapped up by the twin Mothra larvae web. Unable to fight, Godzilla dropped to the ground, making kiryu win the battle. Mkiryu broke free of Akiba control. Instead of killing Godzilla, it merely subdued him, carrying Godzilla out to sea. After releasing Yoshito to safety, Mechagodzilla plunged into the depths with its captive and was never seen again. This marked the first time that kiryu was able to defeat Godzilla decisively by the end of a Godzilla film without Godzilla coming back to destroy him.

kiryu was intended to return in the next film, Godzilla: Final Wars. But with so many monsters being revived for the film, each with new looks, the budget costs were enormous. So too was time needed to squeeze all these kaiju into one film. Toho Studios finally nixed kiryu completely from the movie.

Arsenal
This version of Mechagodzilla is sleeker then previous versions. While Showa and Heisei Mechagodzilla are constructed of fictional alloys, it is never specified what Kiryu's armor is made out of. It is the first MechaGodzilla to include organic parts, built from the skeleton of the original Godzilla and using Godzilla DNA in its computer system.

Kiryu is a well balanced machine, and the most agile Mechagodzilla to date, moving with a fluid, almost organic grace. Kiryu is equipped with an Oral Maser Cannon, and when sent into battle, is equipped with a flight back, a pair of shoulder mounted missile pods and two arm mounted laser cannons. This extra equipment can be jettisoned, or even launched at an opponent, in the case of the flight pack and missile pods. It's hand can also turn into a drill, which almost killed godzilla.

Kiryu's most devastating weapon is the Absolute Zero Cannon, (a weapon also utilized by the Gotengo.) It fires a beam at a temperature of absolute zero (or the temperature at which the particles of a substance stop moving completely, 0 Kelvins), which freezes the target on impact, allowing it to be easily shattered. This weapon was replaced by a Triple Hyper Maser Cannon in Tokyo SOS when it proved to be too expensive to repair.

Video Game Appearances
The Millennium Mechagodzilla appeared in the video game Godzilla: Save the Earth for Xbox and PlayStation 2. Millennium Mechagodzilla also appeared in Godzilla: Unleashed for the Nintendo Wii and Playstation 2 under the name "Kiryu".

Kiryu was available in Japan's version of Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee on the Nintendo GameCube. Since that film would take a few years to reach U.S. shores, Kiryu was dropped from the American version of the game. He did appear in the American Xbox version of the game as alongside VS Mechagodzilla.

Trivia

 * When Kiryu is under the possession of Godzilla's spirit, Kiryu's eyes turn red. Yet, when the spirit is not evil, it develops a scar without the red eyes.
 * In Japanese, the word "Kiryu" can be translated as "Metal Dragon". Fitting as it is a mechanical counterpart of Godzilla, a dragon like monster.
 * The idea of having the ghost of the original Godzilla come back to life was tossed around for the cancelled Godzilla vs Godzilla.