In Anisfield's (1995) article, the evolution of Gojira was nicely presented, in a way which shows that Gojira has indeed 'evolved' from a 'prehistoric monster' to a more sophisticated national hero through the decades of sequels after the original film. Although Gojira has always been seen as a heroic figure in Japan, it's first appearance in the original 1954 film shows a massive monster tearing through the city without much of a personality attached. Anisfield points out how Gojira was presented with a more “anthropomorphic personality” in the third film, as a precaution to “survive through any number of sequels” (1995, pg.1). Gojira became less 'scary', and the target audience shifted from general history-conscious adults to franchise-loving children. Also as noted by Anisfield, Gojira, by the tenth film, is a superhero to children – having evolved from a “horrifying beast who instilled nothing but panic and terror to a friend and a buddy” (1995, pg.2). This statement is supported by Kimmel (2000) who believes that the Gojira film series in the 1960s were targeted to a much younger – or “kiddie” – audience in both Japan and America.
Here comes the big question - is Gojira a hero or a comic icon? Perhaps it is both. As previously mentioned, Japan has always viewed Gojira more as a national protector, a symbol of the Japanese society post-war, a figure to be sympathised with (Noriega 1987, pg.64). America, however, views Gojira - in the words of Noriega - as nothing more than a comic icon. Noriega believes that the reason leading to this is probably because, "unlike the Americans... the Japanese have a strong consciousness of history. They see themselves in historical perspective. They will delve a thousand years and more into their past in analyzing their contemporary traits" (1987, pg.65). Another way to view Gojira, according to American teen magazine, Know Your World Extra, is as a 'big bully' who makes a mess as 'he' rampages through Tokyo (2004, pg.5). What intrigues me, though, is that this very same magazine uses terms which its readers can empathise with, whereby terms used to describe Gojira and 'his' rival kaijūs are relatable to modern-day American classroom situations and reminiscent of American hero-vs-foe movies. It is as though the author of the article has tried his/her best to make Gojira more 'local' or less foreign, and familiar to American children.