The Art of Godzilla

12.22.14

Growing up collecting Godzilla toys and books was defined by the artwork and illustrations as much as the movie stills and photography. Every picture was memorable and cherished because there was no Google. Beautiful Godzilla full-color illustrations and black-and-white line art could be found on the original movie posters, model kit boxes, the labels and tags of vinyl toys and in Japanese Godzilla books and American magazines like Famous Monsters of Filmland. With the help of Google here is a sample of the impressive artwork of the Showa Godzilla era.

The earliest renditions of Godzilla can be found in the collateral for Shodai Godzilla. Godzilla as a dinosaur is found on Shigeru Kayama’s original story. Godzilla’s portrayal was whimsical. The color of the cover art below is a bit muted and limited. Artists appeared to have creative freedom when rendering their version of the radioactive dinosaur.

Some of the earliest incarnations of Godzilla are found in the storyboards for Gojira. These sketches contain strokes and elements reminiscent of traditional Japanese art.

Several Showa-era movie posters feature illustrations rather than photographic representations of Godzilla and his foes. Unlike the majority of Showa posters, Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla (1974) and its sequel The Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975) were illustrations. Illustrated posters would be produced later for each of the Heisei films.

The art of Godzilla evolved with more detailed, color, and drama. Godzilla was portrayed in forms closer to that of the movies. Godzilla stories were retold and captured in children’s books and manga. Scenes, foes, and battles were imagined that never appeared in any film. Books revealed the inner workings of Toho’s kaiju with detailed diagrams.

Godzilla and art and illustrations was readily available in a variety of books for children and adult collectors. Godzilla could be found in detailed paintings to simply line art.

Godzilla art was also prominently featured on the covers of popular vinyl album. Before there were iPods and CD players, there were vinyl records. Albums were very popular in their day and still cherished and collected today.

The work of Takashi Minamimura (南村喬之 みなみむら たかし) defined Godzilla, Ultraman, and the many kaiju in iconic illustrations. His work pit monsters against each other that have not battled in films. Most of the Showa work shown above is from Minamimura’s masterful hand. Whether a battle scenes, diagrams or record covers it is mostly like his work.

Godzilla toys and models featured Godzilla illustrations. The art of Yuji Kaida (開田裕治) on the Godzilla and Mechagodzilla featured on the Bandai Tokusatsu Collection model kits (プラモデル バンダイ ザ特撮コレクションシリーズ3) were defining. Vintage Godzilla art can also be found on the paper tags for vinyl toys from company’s like Marmit feature vintage Godzilla art.

The art of Yuji Kaida left its mark on the Showa era. Kaida-san is a commercial artist who has created images for books, magazines, comics, and packaging artwork for video games. His work spans from the Showa era until the present. His work was featured in a gallery exhibit in 2014.

Posters and other printed collateral features an array of art styles and techniques to depict Godzilla and the host of Toho monsters.

A number of books have been published to present these great artists and their work.