Godzilla, home town giant lizard, makes good. No word on how they were able to grow the city officials to 600 feet high in order to pose for this picture, nor how they were returned to their normal size.
It all begins with Godzilla’s world-bending debut on the silver screen in Ishiro Honda’s 1954 motion picture released by Toho Co., Ltd. of Japan. Titled simply Godzilla, we watched in awe as the 600 foot tall lizard from beneath the sea casually strolled through Tokyo destroying everything in his path. He went on to make an amazing total of 28 movies, each with a similar theme. He opened the floodgates for three generations of kaiju entertainment.
Now, at long last, all those years spent literally eating the scenery have paid off, though, thanks to a new decree from the Tokyo ward of Shinjuku making Gojira (Godzilla’s name in Japan) an official resident of Japan.
The move comes after the King of Monsters, or at least his head, ascended to the top of the Toho cinema complex in a special ceremony naming him a tourism ambassador to the area. The giant head, by the way, is permanent. Only in Tokyo would you see something like this:
The certificate reads: Name: Godzilla Address: Shinjuku-ku, Kabuki-cho, 1-19-1 Date of birth: April 9, 1954 (the year of the release of the very first Godzilla film) Date of becoming a Shinjuku resident: April 9, 2015 Reason for special residency: Promoting the entertainment of and watching over the Kabuki-cho neighborhood and drawing visitors from around the globe in the form of the Godzilla head built atop the Shinjuku TOHO Building. Previous visits to Shinjuku Ward: 3 times; Godzilla (1984), Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991), Godzilla 2000 Millennium (1999)
In gratitude for the big guy’s contribution to Japanese society, Shinjuku Prefecture awarded him a plaque commemorating his citizenship.
Although the official ceremony took place in April, Shinjuku just recently made certificate copies of Godzilla’s plaque available to the first 3,000 Japanese fans who request proof of his residency status.
Meanwhile, on the studio side of Toho Co., creators including Neon Genesis Evangelion‘s Hideaki Anno are hard at work producing the latest addition to the Godzilla franchise.
Reports are that Gamera, Guardian of the Universe and Friend to all Children, is slighted. We think we side with Gamera on this one. Sure, he’s a giant turtle that flies through the air by shooting flames from his butt, but we’ve all got our faults.
We just want to know if those officials pictured with Godzilla are also 600 feet tall, and if so, who does their laundry?
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