My name is Jose, I’m a cosplayer from California. I built this Godzilla suit and have had it for 4 years going on 5. It was made mainly using foam and metal underwire and is largely held together with 3M spray adhesive. I have gone to many conventions within the state and love taking photos with other cosplayers and people who want a picture!

Brief Q&A With GenericCosplay

KU: When did you decide you wanted to build an entire Godzilla suit?

GC: It was 2017 I think. My friends and I were also into cosplaying and going to conventions at that point. They were really getting serious about committing to making/buying their own costumes based on their favorite characters. So I thought to myself “Which character would I love to cosplay as above all others” and naturally I went for the big guy.

KU: Favorite kaiju film? Favorite monster? Why that one?

GC: My favorite kaiju film is GODZILLA X MECHAGODZILLA. I’ve always loved the characters and story, as well as Michiru Oshima’s amazing score. I loved the re-imagining of Mechagodzilla and how it tied into the movie’s themes of life and redemption, as well as how it tied into Akane’s development.

As for monsters, I’ve always loved Anguirus. He combines many cool dinosaurian aspects and has that old school feel of the early Toho monsters. He’s to an extent pretty simple,e or, if we’re really lucky, a follow up to Minus One.

KU: What were the biggest challenges in building a suit?

GC: I would say the biggest hurdle I’m still working with is texturing. For the suit I individually cut the scales (each being around 1-2 inches long), placed them on the body and then painted them. I feel sometimes the paint covers some of the detail, and it’s something I’d like to improve in the future.

Another hardship was fidelity to the original suit proportions. I try to translate the length/width of each body part from an 8 inch Godzilla Final Wars figure and scale them to my height. Some aspects like the width of the legs and parts of the face aren’t as accurate as I’d like and I hope to improve that in the future.

KU: How have fans and convention attendees reacted to your suit at appearances? What was the most memorable experience with your cosplay?

GC: I have attended several around the Bay Area, maybe around ten. My favorite experience was at GodzillaFest in San Francisco. The organizers were really kind and I got to be around so many other Godzilla fans. The highlight was getting to meet Tsutomu Kitagawa! He was very kind and energetic, he even showed me some of his moves and poses he did for Godzilla while we took photos.

KU: On a deeper level, what does Godzilla mean to you?

GC: Godzilla has been something I loved since I was four, ever since my cousin showed me Godzilla 1985. To me, Godzilla has always felt connected to themes of mankind’s hubris, humanity’s conflict with nature and taking things too far. However, he’s also a very versatile character. He’s the kind of character you can project many different aspects and themes upon, and unlike most long running franchises I feel it lends itself well to that diverse range. Godzilla can be a positive, heroic figure like the 60s/70s, he can be a more destructive force tied to natural disaster, or used as a conversation for the evils of mankind and the dangers of forgetting the past like in GMK… and all of them don’t feel out of place or out of the character.

I guess I feel Godzilla means a lot of things to me, but above all he’s a character I always enjoy seeing and I always look forward to seeing what new direction or interpretation he goes in.