Anguirus (GRA)

"What do you want?"

- Anguirus to Godzilla (Godzilla vs. Gigan)

Anguirus アンギラス (Angirasu) is a mutated ankylosaurus created by Toho that first appeared in the 1955 Godzilla film, Godzilla Raids Again.

Name
The original English name given to Anguirus by Toho was "Angilas", given the pronunciation of the name in Japan, which was changed to Anguirus in the 1959 American release of Godzilla Raids Again, with the film's title being changed to Gigantis, the Fire Monster. In the mid-1990's, Toho copyrighted the revised name "Anguirus," making it official.

Appearance
Anguirus is a four-legged dinosaur-like creature 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' tail is longer than his body and makes up most of his body length, and is also 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. Additionally, because Anguirus curls up into a ball, some have said he's like an armadillo.

Personality
Anguirus is depicted as a very tenacious and fierce fighter. Despite constantly going up against enemies tougher than himself, Anguirus rarely backs down and always puts up a vicious fight. Despite his fierce nature, Anguirus has traditionally been shown in various media as being a close friend of Godzilla. While many of Godzilla's allies have had to work with him out of necessity, such as Mothra and Rodan, Anguirus and Godzilla appear to have a genuine friendship, despite initially being enemies. This is most pronounced in Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla, where Anguirus senses that the Fake Godzilla roaming Japan is not the monster he knows and attacks it, with a character even mentioning that it's strange to see Anguirus attack "his friend" Godzilla.

Origins
In Godzilla Raids Again, it is suggested that Anguirus is a relative of the dinosaur Ankylosaurus that lived around the same time as Godzilla. Like Godzilla, Anguirus managed to survive into the modern day by lying dormant somewhere, presumably underwater, before being awakened and irradiated by nuclear bomb tests in the 1950's. This origin is never discussed further or contradicted in subsequent films.

Godzilla Raids Again
Anguirus first encountered Godzilla in Godzilla Raids Again, on Iwato Island. The two ancient creatures fought then fell into the sea below and disappeared. After some research was carried out, Anguirus was revealed to be an ancient and incredibly strong dinosaur from the Cretaceous Period. The two resurfaced and met each other again in Osaka, Japan, where they fought. After a fierce and destructive battle, Godzilla gained the upper hand when he bit Anguirus in his neck then threw him into a moat near Osaka Castle, before finishing him off with his atomic breath.

Destroy All Monsters
In Destroy All Monsters, Anguirus was now living on Monsterland along with the other Earth monsters in the year 1999. The Earth was invaded by the Kilaaks, however, and he was sent to guard the aliens' earth base. The humans intervened, and freed the monsters from the alien mind control. Anguirus battled King Ghidorah once again, and managed to kill him with the other monsters.

Godzilla vs. Gigan
Almost 30 years after the events of Godzilla Raids Again, in Godzilla vs. Gigan, Godzilla and Anguirus were now living together on Monster Island. Whether this was the same Anguirus that fought Godzilla in 1955 or a different Anguirus entirely is never explained. Godzilla sent him to Japan to check on a strange noise they were hearing. Anguirus swam to the shores of Japan, where he was attacked by the military. The military managed to drive him off, but he returned to Monster Island to inform Godzilla. Godzilla returned with him to Japan, where they fought Gigan and King Ghidorah at the World Children's land. Despite being badly injured in the battle, Godzilla and Anguirus drove off the space monsters and returned to Monster Island in peace.

Godzilla vs. Megalon
Anguirus appeared briefly in Godzilla vs. Megalon, where he was seen on Monster Island with Godzilla and Rodan. The trio of monsters were resting on Monster Island when nuclear tests were carried out nearby, causing the island to split in half. Godzilla managed to escape, but Anguirus toppled over and fell into the growing fissure.

Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla
Three years later, in Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla, Anguirus, having been resting and travelling underground ever since he fell into the fissure a year earlier, traveled to Japan in search of Godzilla. Anguirus knew something wasn't right, when he saw his friend Godzilla was attacking buildings mindlessly and walking around the Japanese countryside with no specific pattern. Anguirus burrowed out of the ground after Godzilla attacked an apartment building, tripping him over. Anguirus then challenged Godzilla, but Godzilla threw him through a bridge and into a valley. As Anguirus got back up, he leapt out of the valley, knocking off some of Godzilla's scales with his claws as he passed, revealing metal underneath. The now-revealed Fake Godzilla then fought back viciously, beating Anguirus and slamming him into the ground. The Fake Godzilla broke Anguirus' jaw in a violent and bloody fashion, forcing Anguirus to burrow back underground and retreat. Chronologically, this wasn't Anguirus' last appearance in the Showa era, as at some point between 1975 and 1999, he was found and taken to Monsterland, his injuries having been completely healed.

Recommend! Godzilland
Anguirus appears in animated form in the educational Recommend! Godzilland OVAs. In these OVAS, Anguirus is Godzilla's closest friend, but frequently gets in fights and arguments with him. In the first OVA, Anguirus is running through the forests of Monster Island when Mothra drops an invitation for a picnic onto his head, blinding him and causing him to run into a rock and fall over. Anguirus then races with Godzilla to get to the picnic, and the two of them argue over who got there first. When Mothra asks why Godzilla and Anguirus arrived so late, they reveal that they couldn't read the invitation very well. Mothra then teaches all of the about the hiragana alphabet.

In the second OVA, Anguirus is seen fighting with Godzilla. After a brief fight, the two kaiju become bitter and refuse to speak to each other. MechaGodzilla witnesses the fight and, assuming Godzilla no longer wants to be Anguirus' friend, decides to make Anguirus his new friend. When MechaGodzilla talks to Anguirus, the latter says that he doesn't trust MechaGodzilla or want to be his friend. MechaGodzilla becomes angry and uses his laser vision to destroy the hammock Anguirus is sleeping on, then grabs him and flies to a volcano on the island. Baragon witnesses the kidnapping and tells Godzilla, Gojirin, and Mothra about it, and the four kaiju travel to the volcano to rescue their friend. Once the kaiju arrive, they are forced by MechaGodzilla to take part in a game show where they solve addition problems. After the kaiju get the problems correct, Anguirus is freed. Mothra then convinces Anguirus and the other kaiju to forgive MechaGodzilla and befriend him.

Godzilla: Final Wars
Anguirus was under the control of the Xiliens and was sent to China and attacked Shanghai. He was attacked by the Karyu, but he proved too fast for it. He continued to fight against the humans, but he was recalled by the Xiliens on their commander's orders. Once X killed the Controller and led the Xiliens himself, Anguirus was brought back to Shanghai, and destroyed the Karyu after slamming into it after curling up. After Godzilla was freed by the Gotengo in Antarctica, Anguirus was deployed to the Japanese countryside with Rodan and King Caesar by the Xilien UFOs α, ß and γ, and waited to encounter Godzilla. When Godzilla arrived, Anguirus almost immediately curled up into a ball and tried to ram Godzilla, but Godzilla used this to his advantage, kicking Anguirus into King Caesar and Rodan. After successfully knocking all three monsters unconscious, Godzilla stacked them into a pile and continued to follow the Gotengo to Tokyo.

Abilities
Unlike many of Toho's other monsters, Anguirus lacks any energy or projectile-based attacks and relies more on fighting with his teeth and claws. He has been known to hurl himself backwards at a foe, ramming them with his spiny carapace, as seen in Godzilla vs. Gigan. Anguirus was also shown to be capable of burrowing substantial distances in Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla. In Godzilla: Final Wars, Anguirus demonstrated the ability to curl into a ball and propel himself at tremendous speed.

Anguirus possess astounding stamina and determination, able to keep fighting after absorbing vicious assaults that would force most other monsters into retreat. 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 attack on King Ghidorah in Destroy All Monsters, in which he pierced the dragon's right-most neck with his jaws and held firm on even as his foe took to the air, letting go only when King Ghidorah bit Anguirus' own neck. Anguirus then fell from high in the sky into a ditch, and was mercilessly stomped on by King Ghidorah. But only a few seconds later, Anguirus merely shook the dust off his body and re-entered the fight, showing no discernible fatigue. This same scene occurred as stock footage in Godzilla vs Gigan. A similar incident occurred in Godzilla vs. Megalon, in which Anguirus fell into a fissure on Monster Island and disappeared, only to return a year later when he encountered the Fake Godzilla.

Despite his tenacity, Anguirus has never won a fight in a film without the assistance of Godzilla. By the 1970's, Anguirus' appearances were often utilized to demonstrate how powerful Godzilla's then-new opponent was, highlighting the threat. This is especially pronounced in Godzilla vs. Gigan, in which Anguirus bravely but ineffectively attacked both Gigan and King Ghidorah during the "tag-team" final battle, requiring Godzilla's aid to finish off both foes. A primary reason for this occurrence is that Anguirus was chosen by the film's producers to act as a stand-in for other monsters whose suits were well beyond repair at the time, particularly Baragon. Anguirus would fill in for for his fellow quadruped again in Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla, where he showcased Baragon's burrowing abilities despite the lack of precedent in his earlier appearances. The fact that Anguirus was relegated to frequently appearing as Godzilla's ally in these films eventually contributed to his reputation as Godzilla's closest friend and most trusted ally, despite earlier being his first enemy.

One of Anguirus' most notable feats outside his film appearances is his victory over Destoroyah in the first issue of the comic series Godzilla: Legends. Even though Destoroyah is one of the most powerful monsters Godzilla has ever faced, Anguirus faced the beast in a one-on-one battle and refused to retreat. Eventually, with the assistance of the military's freezer weapons, Anguirus successfully overcame Destoroyah and forced the creature to retreat. Another one of IDW Publishing's Godzilla comics, Godzilla: Rulers of Earth demonstrated Anguirus' impressive resilience. In one issue, Anguirus was brutally beaten and apparently killed by a MechaGodzilla, but after being transported to Siberia he broke free of the humans' restraints and immediately joined forces with Godzilla to battle an army of MechaGodzillas and Mecha-King Ghidorah. During the battle, Godzilla even utilized Anguirus as a flail, grabbing him by the tail and slamming his carapace against Mecha-King Ghidorah, with Anguirus showing no visible pain. After the battle, Godzilla was visibly exhausted, but Anguirus gave Godzilla a sarcastic glare, almost as if mocking him for being tired by the battle.

In the video games Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee, Godzilla: Save the Earth and Godzilla: Unleashed, Anguirus is finally given a "sonic roar", a roar which is loud enough to hurt monsters and destroy military weapons. It can also destroy, and even pass right through, buildings and rocks. These games also introduced his "rolling" attack, which was later incorporated in his appearance in Godzilla: Final Wars. In the former game, Anguirus' rage attack involves him charging his spikes 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 more powerful variant of his rolling attack.

It appears that, according to a 1955 Japanese manga adaptation of Godzilla Raids Again, which was contemporary with the film, Anguirus may have been originally conceived as a fire-breathing monster as he his depicted several times breathing some sort of flame. Also, the way Anguirus' shell flops around in Godzilla Raids Again, partially split in two and loose from his back, is depicted in the artwork as well, leading to the belief that this may have been intentional, rather than a costume design flaw. When Anguirus appeared in Destroy All Monsters, these traits were not present nor alluded to.

Filmography

 * Godzilla Raids Again
 * Destroy All Monsters
 * All Monsters Attack (Stock footage)
 * Godzilla vs. Gigan
 * Godzilla vs. Megalon
 * Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla
 * Adventure! Godzilland (Animated segments)
 * Recommend! Godzilland
 * Godzilla Island
 * Godzilla: Final Wars

Video Game Appearances

 * Godzilla: Monster of Monsters (Scrapped)
 * Gojira-kun
 * Godzilla (Gameboy)
 * Godzilla (Arcade) (Cameo)
 * Godzilla, King of the Monsters (Gameboy)
 * Godzilla: Archipelago Shock
 * Godzilla: Giant Monster March
 * Godzilla: Battle Legends
 * Godzilla: Great Monster Battle
 * Godzilla: Heart-Pounding Monster Island!!
 * Godzilla Movie Studio Tour
 * Godzilla: Trading Battle
 * Godzilla Generations
 * Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee
 * Godzilla: Save the Earth
 * Godzilla: Unleashed (Wii and PlayStation 2)
 * Godzilla Unleashed: Double Smash
 * CR Godzilla: Descent of the Destruction God
 * Godzilla: Kaiju Collection
 * Godzilla: The Game (PlayStation 4)

Godzilla: Unleashed
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."

Godzilla: The Game
Anguirus appears exclusively in the PlayStation 4 version of Godzilla: The Game as a playable monster. He is modeled after his 1968 appearance from Destroy All Monsters. Anguirus' primary attack involves slamming his spiky carapace against his opponent, though he also possesses the roll attack from the Atari games and Godzilla: Final Wars. Anguirus also has the ability to burrow underground like he did in Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla.

Moveset

 * Square
 * One tap: Right Punch
 * Two taps: Left Punch
 * Three taps: Back Leg Kick
 * Triangle
 * Tap: Tail Attack
 * Roar + Tap: Bite
 * X
 * Tap: Back Tackle
 * Circle
 * Tap: Back Leg Sand Toss
 * Roar + Tap: Anguirus Ball
 * R2
 * Tap: Underground Shelter

Kaiju Guide
Anguirus, the Ferocious Dragon Anguirus is the descendant of the Ankylosaurus, an herbivorous dinosaur from the early Cretaceous Period.

The modern-day Anguirus has evolved to ten times its ancestors' body length, becoming a carnivore in the process. With numerous brains positioned throughout its body, Anguirus fights its enemies with agile movements. It made the long journey to Japan in pursuit of Godzilla, who had been similarly revived from hoary antiquity. Thus unfolded an age-old battle for survival of the fittest. Sometime later, a second-generation Anguirus appeared after being preserved in Monsterland, and went on to become an ally and follower of Godzilla. After a long absence it appeared again in the Millennium series, and under the influence of the Xilien invaders, attacks China. Its signature attack, the "Anguirus Ball," involves it curling into a ball and launching itself at a target.

The first version of Anguirus was portrayed using both a glove puppet in addition to the full-body costume that was used in film. The full-body costume version was worn by an actor in the same vein as the first Godzilla.

Once, ages ago, Anguirus battled a mysterious fire monster named "Gigantis" who has since been banished from this plane of existence.

■ Specifications Height: 60 meters Weight: 30,000 tons Abilities: Bite Appearances: "Godzilla Raids Again" "Destroy All Monsters" "Godzilla vs. Gigan" "Godzilla vs. Megalon" Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla" All Monsters Attack"

● "Godzilla: Final Wars" Total Length: 160 meters Body Height: 40 meters Weight: 60,000 tons Abilities: Anguirus Ball Appearances: "Godzilla: Final Wars"

Rampage Godzilla
In this 1955 manga, Anguirus has become friends with Zottos, Gyottos, Osoros and Sugon. Godzilla wants to become a pro-wrestler, and spars with Anguirus and his friends to get stronger.

Godzilla, King of the Monsters
In this manga, Anguirus was a new species on display at a Dinosaur Expo Festival whose remains where irradiated by Doctor Oniyama to turn into a, then he was released by Oniyama to face Godzilla but was eventually killed when Godzilla rammed one of Rodan's shells into its throat, causing him to explode.

Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters
Anguirus appears in Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters. He appears in Mexico and travels to the United States, where he engages Godzilla in battle in California. After being defeated by Godzilla, Anguirus heads east, eventually encountering MechaGodzilla, who defeats him as well.

Godzilla: Ongoing
Anguirus appears in Godzilla: Ongoing, where he is initially seen attacking Edinburgh, Scotland. Boxer and his "Kaiju Kill Crew" intercept Anguirus and try to take him down using their "headache beams." Anguirus puts up a vicious fight against Boxer's team but is eventually neutralized and transported to Monster Island, where the U.S. military is collecting giant monsters for unknown purposes. When the space monsters Hedorah, Gigan, SpaceGodzilla, and Monster X attack Earth, Boxer's estranged son steals Kiryu and flies him to Monster Island to break out Anguirus and the other Earth monsters. Anguirus heads to Hong Kong, where he joins up with Rodan to battle Gigan. Anguirus sustains gruesome wounds in the battle, but with Rodan's help he is able to defeat Gigan, leaving the cyborg blinded with a shattered visor.

Godzilla: The Half-Century War
Anguirus appears in Godzilla: The Half-Century War Issue 2, where he appears in Vietnam and does battle with Godzilla. Anguirus fights fiercely, but retreats from the battle after Godzilla begins to beat him.

Godzilla: Legends
Anguirus appears in Godzilla: Legends issue #1. As a city is attacked by Destoroyah, a scientist named Dr. Anders uses an experimental device to try and call Godzilla to the city to fight. While the device works, it calls Anguirus instead. Anguirus attacks Destoroyah, even though Destoroyah is much larger and stronger. Even with Anguirus' perseverance, and Dr. Anders' second attempt at using the G-signaler, Destoroyah is too powerful for them to do any lasting damage. He almost kills Anguirus until Col. Matsumiya uses a helicopter to send a huge tank of freon to smash into Destoroyah. Anguirus then rolls into a ball and slams into the partially frozen Destoroyah, defeating it and scoring his first victory over another. Afterwards, Godzilla arrives and it seems that Anguirus and he will face off, but Godzilla displays respect towards Anguirus, at least knowing there's a bigger threat to go after.

Godzilla: Rulers of Earth
In Godzilla: Rulers of Earth, Anguirus is considered a land monster that was frozen in an ice cap until he was reawakened along with all the other Earth monsters.

In Rulers of Earth 14, Anguirus is ambushed by a MechaGodzilla that was built by the Cryog leader disguised as a Russian warmonger. The mecha badly wounds Anguirus and nearly snaps his jaw. Eventually, MechaGodzilla blasts Anguirus with several weapons and leaves him for dead. When Lucy Casprell and her team arrive, they discover that Anguirus is still alive and send Kiryu to retrieve him and bring to the Monster Islands. Kiryu is suddenly given new orders to bring Anguirus to a Russian facility, and flies off with the downed saurian. Along the way, Kiryu is shot down by a group of more MechaGodzillas near a robotics facility in Russia. Anguirus manages to escape Kiryu's grip and enters the facility, which the Cryog leader has converted into an arena where Godzilla is doing battle with Mecha-King Ghidorah and more MechaGodzillas. Anguirus joins the battle alongside Godzilla. Godzilla uses Anguirus as a club and slams him into Ghidorah's chest, critically damaging him. Eventually, Godzilla destroys the remaining MechaGodzillas while Mecha-King Ghidorah retreats. Godzilla and Anguirus then leave the arena together, but not before Godzilla completely destroys it with his atomic breath. Eventually, Anguirus was captured by the Trilopods, who absorbed his DNA, and was imprisoned in their hive in Los Angeles. When King Caesar allowed himself to be captured by the Trilopods, he freed the other inside the hive, and they all joined together to help Godzilla, Zilla, and Jet Jaguar battle against the Trilopod hybrids. After the Trilopods were defeated, the giant Trilopod Magita was unleashed and attacked the monsters. Anguirus attempted to battle Magita, but was knocked aside by the massive creature. After Godzilla destroyed Magita using his hyper spiral ray and nuclear pulse, Anguirus and the other monsters followed him out to sea, then dispersed around the globe to live in peace.

Godzilla: Cataclysm
Anguirus appears in a flashback in Godzilla: Cataclysm #1, where he is seen battling Manda in Tokyo, while several other monsters battle each other as well.

Godzilla in Hell
A demonic version of Anguirus appeared in the second issue of the IDW mini-series Godzilla in Hell. He was seen in a frozen wasteland in Hell after Godzilla defeated the demon Rodan and thawed out after sensing Godzilla's presence. He confronted Godzilla and bit him on the arm, but Godzilla flung him off and onto the ice, causing it to shatter and sending Godzilla careening through the ice.

Sightings

 * Anguirus roar was used in many video game series such as Street Fighter and Metroid.
 * Anguirus' roars were reused for the Draygon boss of the Metroid series.
 * In Dairanger, Daimugen reuses Anguirus' roar.

In Other Languages

 * Basque: Erraldoien
 * Serbian: Ангуирус
 * Yiddish: אַנגוירוס
 * Russian: Ангирус
 * Chinese: 安吉拉斯

Trivia

 * Anguirus was the second in the Godzilla series.
 * Anguirus was the first to be defeated by Godzilla.
 * Anguirus was the first Godzilla ever fought, and would go on to become his most loyal ally and friend.
 * Before his appearance in Godzilla: Final Wars, Toho planned to use Anguirus twice in the Millennium series and once in the Heisei series. First, he was supposed to appear in Godzilla vs. Ghost Godzilla, which was supposed to be the last film in the Heisei series. In the Millennium series, he first was one of the Guardian Monsters, the God of the Sea, in Godzilla X Varan, Baragon and Anguirus: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, the original version of Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack. He was cut when Toho decided they could make a larger profit if they replaced him for a more popular : Mothra. Again, in Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S., he was originally the monster found washed up dead on the beach with a large neck wound received from Godzilla. However, Toho replaced him with Kamoebas out of concerns that fans would take offense to such an appearance.
 * A scene in Godzilla: Final Wars of Godzilla destroying Rodan, Anguirus, and King Caesar was not filmed, making Anguirus one of the only five surviving monsters at the end of Final Wars. The film originally had Godzilla destroy the three monsters. Because they were spared, fans hypothesize that Godzilla spares them because they were his allies in the past.
 * Along with Rodan, Anguirus is considered to be Godzilla's closest ally.
 * During early production of the Godzilla vs. Ghost Godzilla in 1995, Anguirus was originally planned to appear, but due to fact that Godzilla fought against creatures that simply resembled him, the project was dropped and Anguirus didn't appear in another Godzilla film until 2004. Even though Anguirus didn't appear in the Heisei era, there is concept art commissioning on how he would have looked like.

Poll
Do you like Anguirus? Yes! No. Kind of.