Underrated Godzilla suit actors.
They need more love!!!
Shinji Takagi
Isao Zushi
Toru Kawai (passed in 1996)
Mizuho Yoshida
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Baragon's suit actress, Rie Ota, and how she would roar in the suit
whenever you need a pick me up, just watch a video about a tiny Japanese woman in a Kaiju suit going “Rah”
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KENPACHIRO SATSUMA R.I.P.
I was extremely saddened to learn that suit actor Kenpachiro Satsuma passed away yesterday, December 16, from a bout of pneumonia.
Satsuma-san was apprentice and friend to original Godzilla suit actor Haruo Nakajima. Satsuma-san's first suit role was as the Smog Monster, Hedorah, battling his sensei as Godzilla, in Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971).
Satsuma-san went on to play the space kaiju Gigan in the next two films in the series, Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972) and Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973).
Nakajima-san retired from the role of Godzilla in 1972. When the Godzilla series was revived in 1984 with The Return of Godzilla (aka Godzilla 1985) the role went to his former apprentice, Satsuma-san.
Satsuma-san played Godzilla throughout the entire Heisei series, ending with Godzilla vs. Destroyah (1995), when Toho retired the Big G a second time.
Satsuma-san brought an animalistic fierceness to Godzilla that made the king of the monsters truly terrifying and unpredictable. Gone was the super heroic, somewhat goofy Godzilla of the 1970s, and returned was the menace of the original Godzilla/Gojira (1954).
I had the honor to meet Satsuma-san, and other Toho luminaries, in 2015 during G-Tour 3. He was very polite, gracious and humble, with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. He was a delight to speak with, and I will always remember that visit as one of the highlights of the tour.
(bottom four photos by me)
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I wonder if for kaiju movies they could use quad suits? A quad suit is a type of suit that normally is used by furries to depict a creature that walks on all 4 legs. I think the way it works is that they position the suit actor on their hands and knees and then attach stilts to their limbs for them to walk around on all 4 legs. (It's probably a bit more complex than that but that's the gist of it.) Like for Anguirus they could use a quad suit for him since he's usually depicted as being a 4 legged animal. That and you can avoid the kaiju crawl.
For those of you who don't know what kaiju crawl is, it's a phenomenon during the Showa era of tokusatsu movies where the suit actor has to portray a kaiju that walks on 4 legs so they just crawl on their hands and knees. This is usually because the suit limits them from walking on their hands and feet as a 4 legged animal but also because of the limits of human anatomy which prevent that kind of movement from happening most of the time. There are exceptions like the Baragon suit from GMK but I think that's pretty rare.
So, if they made a quad suit for Anguirus that could be interesting. The only possible problem I see is how they would manage the fight choreography. Since, I'm guessing it's harder to fight in a quad suit than on 2 legs in a Godzilla suit. Maybe they can change the choreography in a way to complement the quad suit, but it probably would be challenging.
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