King Ghidorah
Three-headed space kaiju
A three-headed space kaiju that appears in the Godzilla series. Armed with overwhelming destructive power and gravity beams fired from its multiple heads, it is one of Godzilla's greatest rivals.
Quotes
- King Ghidorah, the absolute god of destruction.
- When the three heads roar, terror descends.
- King Ghidorah is a kaiju that never dies.
- Its golden scales are invincible.
- Gravity beams tear through the sky!
- Godzilla's arch-enemy, King Ghidorah!
Trivia
- Suitmation involved up to more than 25 people.
- The name derives from the Hydra of Greek mythology, with 'Ghidorah' coming from its Russian pronunciation.
- In the Showa era, detailed ecological settings were mostly absent.
- In the anime 'GODZILLA: The Planet-Eater', it is depicted as a higher-dimensional energy body.
- In the 2019 film, each head has its own personality, with names assigned to the necks.
- It is extremely popular in China, matching Chinese preferences for gold color and multi-headed dragons.
Alternate names
King Ghidorah
Ghidorah
King Ghidorah
Monster Zero
Profile
- Species
- Space Kaiju
Appearance
- Overall appearance
- It has three heads and three long, flexible necks, with its entire body covered in golden scales. It possesses large wings that enable flight, two tails, and two thick, sturdy legs, presenting an intimidating dragon form.
- Height
- Approximately 100-160m (varies by work)
- Weight
- Approximately 30,000-140,000 tons (varies by work)
- Distinguishing features
-
- Three heads
- Long necks
- Huge wings
- Golden scales
- Two tails
- Iconic items
-
- Gravity Beam
- Golden wings
- Three necks
Personality and abilities
- Core personality
- Ferocious
- Detailed personality
- Extremely ferocious and aggressive, with high intelligence. It views other kaiju and humans as enemies and attacks mercilessly. It sometimes recognizes Godzilla as a formidable foe and displays intense hatred.
- Keywords
-
- Ferocious
- Hostile
- Destructive
- Resilient
- Regeneration ability
- Intelligent
- Talents
-
- Flight ability
- Multi-directional attacks from three heads
- Firing gravity beams
- Head regeneration ability
- Weather manipulation (storm generation)
- Energy absorption
- Durability and regeneration
- Powerful physical attacks
- Dimension-transcending ability (anime version)
- Skills
-
- Use of various beam weapons
- Tactical combat
- Lack of communication (basically hostile)
- Motivation
- Destruction and domination. Defeating Godzilla and expanding its own influence.
- Habits
- During production, each of the three necks is given distinct personality traits, and there are settings where each neck has a different character.
History
- Backstory
- First appeared in the 1964 film 'Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster'. A kaiju that arrived from space, it is the first space kaiju in Godzilla series history. Its design is modeled after three-headed dragons from Japanese mythology and Russian/Eastern European folklore. Since then, it has appeared in numerous works as Godzilla's arch-nemesis, with multiple variations and subspecies.
- Debut date
- December 19, 1964
- Work title
- Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster
- Media type
- Movie
Debut and special effects technology challenge
- Significant event
- Debut and special effects technology challenge
- Description
- Independent operation of the three necks and wings required about 25 puppeteers, representing an extreme challenge for special effects technology.
Mecha-King Ghidorah in Heisei VS series
- Significant event
- Mecha-King Ghidorah in Heisei VS series
- Description
- Appears as the cyborg Mecha-King Ghidorah with a metallic body and powerful armaments.
Wei Nura in Millennium series
- Significant event
- Wei Nura in Millennium series
- Description
- Reappeared in 'Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack', depicted as an entity cooperating with humanity against Godzilla.
Appearance as higher-dimensional kaiju in anime 'GODZILLA: The Planet-Eater'
- Significant event
- Appearance as higher-dimensional kaiju in anime 'GODZILLA: The Planet-Eater'
- Description
- Depicted as a transcendent higher-dimensional energy body existing in the interstices of dimensions, possessing immense power to devour planets upon materialization.
Latest depiction in 'Godzilla: King of the Monsters'
- Significant event
- Latest depiction in 'Godzilla: King of the Monsters'
- Description
- Rendered with the latest CG technology, standing at about 159m tall and weighing 140,000 tons, leading multiple Earth kaiju as Godzilla's greatest rival.
Appearance in Godzilla Fest series
- Significant event
- Appearance in Godzilla Fest series
- Description
- Continuously appears in event screening short films, acting as a powerful enemy obstructing the team-up of Godzilla and Jet Jaguar.
Relationships
Media appearances
Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster
Movie / Protagonist
1964
Invasion of Astro-Monster
Movie / Protagonist
1965
Destroy All Monsters
Movie / Protagonist
1968
Godzilla vs. Gigan
Movie / Protagonist
1972
Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah
Movie / Protagonist
1991
Rebirth of Mothra III
Movie / Protagonist
1998
Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack
Movie / Protagonist
2001
GODZILLA: The Planet-Eater
Movie / Protagonist
2018
Godzilla: King of the Monsters
Movie / Protagonist
2019
GODZILLA: The Planet-Eater
Anime / Protagonist
2018
Godzilla Fest 4: Operation Jet Jaguar
Event / Protagonist
2023
Godzilla Fest 5: Great Kaiju Decisive Battle
Event / Protagonist
2024
Voice cast and creators
Kōji Uruiki
- Voice actor
- Kōji Uruiki
- Language
- Japanese
- Version or series
- Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster
Shōichi Hirose
- Voice actor
- Shōichi Hirose
- Language
- Japanese
- Version or series
- Invasion of Astro-Monster
Susumu Uemura
- Voice actor
- Susumu Uemura
- Language
- Japanese
- Version or series
- Destroy All Monsters
Kanta Inai
- Voice actor
- Kanta Inai
- Language
- Japanese
- Version or series
- Godzilla vs. Gigan
Kenryū Bari
- Voice actor
- Kenryū Bari
- Language
- Japanese
- Version or series
- Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah
Tsutomu Kitagawa
- Voice actor
- Tsutomu Kitagawa
- Language
- Japanese
- Version or series
- Rebirth of Mothra III
Akira Ōhashi
- Voice actor
- Akira Ōhashi
- Language
- Japanese
- Version or series
- Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack
Naoya Matsumoto
- Voice actor
- Naoya Matsumoto
- Language
- Japanese
- Version or series
- Godzilla Fest 4
Naoya Eguchi
- Voice actor
- Naoya Eguchi
- Language
- Japanese
- Version or series
- Godzilla Fest 5
Shinichi Sekizawa
- Creator name
- Shinichi Sekizawa
- Role
- Original author
Shinichi Sekizawa
- Creator name
- Shinichi Sekizawa
- Role
- Writer
Akira Watanabe
- Creator name
- Akira Watanabe
- Role
- Character designer
Shinji Nishikawa
- Creator name
- Shinji Nishikawa
- Role
- Character designer
Toho Tokusatsu
- Creator name
- Toho Tokusatsu
- Role
- Animation studio
Toho
- Creator name
- Toho
- Role
- Licensee
Related goods
King Ghidorah Sofubi Figure
- Item name
- King Ghidorah Sofubi Figure
- Category
- Figure
- Availability
- Regular
King Ghidorah Plastic Model
- Item name
- King Ghidorah Plastic Model
- Category
- Figure
- Availability
- Regular
King Ghidorah Tokusatsu-related Goods
- Item name
- King Ghidorah Tokusatsu-related Goods
- Category
- Accessory
- Availability
- Regular
King Ghidorah Music CD
- Item name
- King Ghidorah Music CD
- Category
- Digital
- Availability
- Regular