Anguirus

Anguirus (アンギラス Angirasu) is a kaiju that first appeared in 1955's Godzilla's counterattack.

## Physical description

### Height

50 meters?60 meters.90 meters (295 ft) heisei?

## History

### Godzilla's counterattack

When pilot Shoichi Tsukioka landed on Iwato Island to rescue his friend and colleague Kojikawa Kobayashi, the two men discovered Anguirus and Godzilla locked in battle on the island. The two monsters eventually tackled each other into the ocean, and disappeared. The pilots reported their story to the authorities in Osaka, who determined that Anguirus was a creature that lived alongside Godzilla in prehistoric times, and like Godzilla had been reawakened by nuclear testing. The JSDF enforced a blackout on the city and used flares to draw Godzilla away, but when a group of prisoners escaped from a prison bus as it was evacuating, they led the police on a high-speed chase that ended with a gasoline truck crashing into a refinery and starting a huge fire. This fire quickly spread and drew both Godzilla and Anguirus into Osaka, where they resumed their battle. The monsters tore apart the city as their battle reached Osaka Castle. Godzilla tackled Anguirus into the building, then bit down on his opponent's neck. Anguirus roared out in agony as he began to bleed profusely, and was thrown into a moat by Godzilla. As Anguirus attempted to stagger back to his feet, Godzilla unleashed his atomic breath, incinerating his foe and leaving him victorious.

### Destroy All Monsters

By the end of the 20th century, Anguirus was one of several kaiju contained on the human-monitored Monsterland in the Ogasawara Islands. When the Kilaaks assaulted the island, they took control of Anguirus and the other monsters and unleashed them across the globe to do their evil bidding. Anguirus was sent to battle the humans' military forces in the Japanese countryside along with Godzilla and Rodan. When the crew of the Moonlight SY-3 managed to destroy the Kilaaks' mind-control device located under the lunar surface, Anguirus and the Earth monsters were all freed from the invaders' command. Godzilla soon led the monsters in an assault against the Kilaaks' base under Mount Fuji, but they were attacked by the Kilaaks' trump card, King Ghidorah. Anguirus took part in direct combat with King Ghidorah alongside Godzilla, Gorosaurus and Minilla. Anguirus bit down on one of King Ghidorah's necks, causing the space monster to take flight. Anguirus clamped his jaws on his enemy's neck and continued hanging on as King Ghidorah flew high into the sky. King Ghidorah finally bit Anguirus' neck with one of his heads, forcing him to let go and plummet to the ground below. King Ghidorah dropped down and stomped Anguirus into the dirt, then attacked Godzilla and the other monsters. However, Anguirus simply shook the dirt off himself and re-entered the fray. The Earth monsters gained the upper hand against King Ghidorah, and successfully killed him. Godzilla soon destroyed the Kilaaks' base and ended their invasion once and for all. Anguirus and the other monsters were then returned to Monsterland to live out their days in peace.

### All Monsters Attack

When young Ichiro Miki dreamed of going to Monster Island, Anguirus was one of the monsters he saw living there.

### Godzilla vs. Gigan

Almost 20 years after the death of the first Anguirus, a second one had taken up residence on Monster Island and become a friend of Godzilla. When Godzilla overheard one of the M Space Hunter Nebula Aliens' "action tapes" containing their plans for the conquest of Earth, Godzilla sent Anguirus to Japan to investigate. When Anguirus arrived in Japan, he was immediately attacked by the JSDF, who were unaware of his intentions. Rather than fight back, Anguirus swam back to Monster Island to recruit Godzilla's help. Godzilla joined his companion and the two monsters swam to Tokyo, where Gigan and King Ghidorah were causing destruction under the Nebulans' orders. Godzilla and Anguirus fought back against the space monsters, but found themselves overwhelmed by the enemy. Godzilla was knocked out of commission by the repeated attacks of Gigan and the Nebulans' Godzilla Tower, leaving Anguirus to unsuccessfully attempt to carry on the battle against King Ghidorah. Thankfully, a group of humans were able to destroy Godzilla Tower and sever the Nebulans' control over the space monsters. While Gigan and King Ghidorah were able to maintain their onslaught at first, they quickly became disorganized and confused without their masters commands and began to bicker and argue with each other. Godzilla and Anguirus regrouped and mounted their counterattack against Gigan and King Ghidorah, eventually forcing both monsters to retreat back to outer space. Godzilla and Anguirus then swam back to Monster Island, victorious.

### Godzilla vs. Megalon

In 197X, Anguirus was resting on Monster Island along with Godzilla and Rodan when nuclear testing thousands of miles away in the Aleutian Islands triggered a massive earthquake. As the island began to split in half, Godzilla and Anguirus made an attempt to escape. While Godzilla was successful and made it to the ocean, Anguirus toppled over and fell into the growing fissure.

### Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla

Sometime after he disappeared into the fissure on Monster Island, Anguirus surfaced in a barren area and began to roar. Sensing something was wrong in Japan, Anguirus burrowed his way to the Japanese mainland in search of Godzilla. When he saw what looked like his friend Godzilla attacking buildings mindlessly and walking around the Japanese countryside with no specific pattern, Anguirus immediately sensed that it was an impostor. 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.

### Get Going! Godzilland

Anguirus appeared in animated form in the educational *Get Going! Godzilland* OVAs. In these OVAS, Anguirus was Godzilla's closest friend, but frequently got into fights and arguments with him. In the hiragana OVA, Anguirus was running through the forests of Godzilland when Mothra dropped an invitation for a picnic onto his head, blinding him and causing him to run into a rock and fall over. Anguirus then raced with Godzilla to get to the picnic, and the two of them argued over who got there first. When Mothra asked why Godzilla and Anguirus arrived so late, they revealed that they couldn't read the invitation very well. Mothra then taught all of the kaiju about the hiragana alphabet.

In the addition OVA, Anguirus was seen fighting with Godzilla. After a brief fight, the two kaiju became bitter and refused to speak to each other. Mechagodzilla witnessed the fight and, assuming Godzilla no longer wanted to be Anguirus' friend, decided to make Anguirus his new friend. When Mechagodzilla talked to Anguirus, the latter accused Mechagodzilla of being violent. Mechagodzilla became angry and used his laser vision to destroy the hammock Anguirus was sleeping on, then grabbed him and flew to a volcano on the island. Baragon witnessed the kidnapping and told Godzilla, Gojirin, and Mothra about it, and the four kaiju traveled to the volcano to rescue their friend. Once the kaiju arrived, they were forced by Mechagodzilla to take part in a game show where they solved addition problems. After the kaiju got the problems correct, Anguirus was freed. Mothra then convinced Anguirus and the other kaiju to forgive Mechagodzilla and befriend him.

### Godzilla Island

in Godzilla island Anguirus was one of the peaceful kaiju meaning no harm but loved to dance.

### Godzilla: Final Wars

In the year 20XX, 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 the Controller of Planet X killed the Commander and led the Xiliens himself, Anguirus was brought back to Shanghai, and destroyed the Karyu by 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.

### GODZILLA: Planet of the Monsters

Anguirus first appeared in November 2005 and attacked Beijing, causing 8.2 million deaths in tandem with Rodan. Both monsters were eventually killed by the Chinese bioweapon Hedorah, which left behind their skeletal remains and proceeded to lay waste to the surrounding area.

### Godzilla: King of the Monsters

A skeleton closely resembling that of Anguirus was present outside of Godzilla's lair in the Hollow Earth. It was destroyed along with the surrounding ancient sunken city when Ishiro Serizawa detonated a nuclear warhead to revitalize Godzilla.

## Abilities

### Durability

Anguirus' spiky carapace and armored hide grant him impressive resistance to attacks from enemy monsters. He was able to withstand having his neck bitten by King Ghidorah and being dropped from a great height and stomped into the ground, and even quickly got back to his feet and reentered the battle. He also survived grievous injuries in his battles with Gigan and Fake Godzilla, having his face sawed open in the first instance and his jaw broken in the second, and even shrugged off a blast from Godzilla's atomic breath from point-blank range in *Godzilla Raids Again*. In *Godzilla vs. Megalon*, Anguirus was swallowed by a tectonic fissure on Monster Island, but survived and was able to simply burrow underground.

Anguirus' durability is also highlighted in the comic *Godzilla: Rulers of Earth*, where after being beaten nearly to death by a Cryog Mechagodzilla, he quickly recovers and immediately assists Godzilla in battle against Mecha-King Ghidorah and an army of Mechagodzillas.

### Physical Abilities

Anguirus possesses rows of extremely sharp teeth that he will use in battle. These, with the added bite force Anguirus can generate, cause pain to any kaiju that finds itself in Anguirus' jaws. The attack was shown to be strong enough to break King Ghidorah's skin and draw blood. He also tends to attack with his claws and by charging opponents, as demonstrated in his battle with Godzilla in *Godzilla Raids Again*.

Moreover, he may use his spiked tail to swing around at opponents. In Kodansha's *Godzilla, King of the Monsters* manga, his tail is prehensile, and he uses it to grapple with and restrain opponents

### Spiked Carapace

Anguirus' greatest asset in combat is his spiked carapace. He often slams his back into opponents in order to injure them with his spikes. In *Godzilla vs. Gigan*, Anguirus launched himself at King Ghidorah while Godzilla held him still from behind. In *Godzilla: Rulers of Earth*, Godzilla lifted Anguirus by his tail and used him like a flail, swinging his spikes into Mecha-King Ghidorah's chest and damaging the cyborg.

### Anguirus Ball

In many Godzilla video games and in the film *Godzilla: Final Wars*, Anguirus was shown to be able to retreat inside of his carapace and curl into a ball, an ability dubbed the **Fierce Dragon Monster Ball Violent Bullet** (暴龍怪球烈弾 *Bō Ryū Kai Kyū Retsu-dan*) or simply **Anguirus Ball** (アンギラスボール *Angirasu Bōru*). This allows Anguirus to travel quickly by rolling while also damaging any structures or enemies in his path.

### Rotating Disc

In the Kodansha manga series *Godzilla, King of the Monsters*, Anguirus can retract into his shell and quickly zip around in the air while rotating at extremely high speed, condensing his body into the shape of an ultra-sharp disc that can cut Godzilla.

### Tail

In the Showa series, Anguirus' tail is tipped with a sharp curved spike. While he never seems to use it in battle onscreen, Anguirus does attack with his tail spike in most video games featuring him. In *Godzilla: Final Wars*, his tail instead ends with a fan-shaped spiked club. In the Kodansha *Godzilla, King of the Monsters* manga, Anguirus' tail is prehensile, and he is able to constrict it around Godzilla's throat.

### Burrowing

In *Godzilla vs. Megalon*, Anguirus survived being swallowed by a seismic fissure on Monster Island. In the next film, Anguirus was able to burrow underground, eventually making his way to the Japanese mainland where he emerged and attacked Fake Godzilla.

### Agility

Anguirus is quite agile, charging at enemies with surprising speed and having the ability to make surprise attacks on unsuspecting foes. In his first battle with Godzilla on Iwato Island, Anguirus surprised Godzilla by attacking him from behind. In *Godzilla vs. Gigan*, Anguirus leapt into the air and over a considerable distance in order to slam his spiky carapace into King Ghidorah.

### Intelligence

Anguirus is extremely intelligent for a giant monster: he is able to communicate with Godzilla, understanding his orders to investigate a disturbance in Japan and then asking him for help after learning of the situation. Both Anguirus and Godzilla are able to understand the M Space Hunter Nebula Aliens' "action tapes" which contain their plans and cannot be comprehended by humans. In their battle with Gigan and King Ghidorah, Anguirus and Godzilla formed strategies and attack plans and were able to triumph while Gigan and King Ghidorah bickered and argued once they stopped receiving commands from their alien masters. In *Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla*, Anguirus immediately recognized that the Godzilla that emerged from Mount Fuji was a fake, while the humans were fooled by the disguise. In *Godzilla: Final Wars*, Anguirus coordinated with Rodan and King Caesar to try to take down Godzilla.

### Swimming

Anguirus is an extremely adept swimmer and is shown being able to swim at speeds comparable to Godzilla. He was able to swim great distances in a short period of time without any signs of fatigue.

### Ultrasonic Roar / Sonic Roar

In *Godzilla Raids Again*, Anguirus briefly lets out powerful **ultrasonic roars** which caused Osaka Castle to crumble during his fight with Godzilla. This ranged attack returned in the Atari/Pipeworks Godzilla video games as a **sonic roar**, capable of damaging monsters, buildings, rocks, and military weaponry. The sonic roar is unable to engage in beam locks with other monsters' energy weapons.

### Incandescent Light

During the planning stages of *Godzilla Raids Again*, Anguirus was to be able to fire an **Incandescent Light** (白熱光 *Hakunetsu Hikari*) from his mouth, just like Godzilla. In the tie-in manga *Rampage Godzilla*, Anguirus briefly uses this attack.

## Films & TV

* *Godzilla Raids Again* (1955)
* *Frankenstein vs. Baragon* (1965) [maquette]
* *Destroy All Monsters* (1968)
* *All Monsters Attack* (1969) [stock footage]
* *Godzilla vs. Gigan* (1972)
* *Godzilla vs. Megalon* (1973)
* *Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla* (1974)
* *Adventure! Godzilland 2* (TV 1993) [animated segments]
* *Get Going! Godzilland* (OVA 1994, 1996) [four OVAs]
* *Godzilla Island* (TV 1997-1998) [79 episodes]
* *Godzilla: Final Wars* (2004)
* *GODZILLA: Planet of the Monsters* (2017) [skeletal remains]
* *Godzilla: King of the Monsters* (2019) [skeleton]
* *Godziban* (TV 2019-2020) [episodes 5-7, 18-21, 23, and 27; special]