The second teaser trailer for Godzilla: Singular Point gives fans more information about the upcoming anime, as well as a sample of the new ending theme by Polkadot Stingray. However, what really set the internet on fire was the sight of Jet Jaguar. In the trailer, Goro Otaki is seen munching noodles while exclaiming, "Jet Jaguar! It's strong you know," while Yun Arikawa looks over the robot.
While this version looks slightly different from the Jet Jaguar fans are familiar with, the distinctive head shape and red and white body make it clear that this is the latest form of the fan-favorite kaiju.
Jet Jaguar has a very unique history. In late 1971, the Seiyu group of supermarkets and department stores ran a contest with Toho and Ultraman creators Tsuburaya Productions. This contest, called "Children Monster University," asked elementary school students to develop a monster. The top prize was having your creature featured in the next Godzilla film. This contest was won by a young boy named Masaaki Sano, who submitted the monster "Red Alone." However, when the suit was revealed on Katsura Kokinji's Afternoon Show, it only bore a passing resemblance to the creature Sano had designed both in shape and color scheme.
A common rumor is that this kaiju was going to star in its own film. But this isn't the case. The film was always intended as a Godzilla film primarily. In the original draft of the film, Red Alone underwent some changes, becoming a robot that had a "sharp figure." Godzilla legend Teruyoshi Nakano was then brought in and given the job of redesigning Red Alone. Nakano was unsure what to do, as he wasn't a fan of the amount of Ultraman styled heroes around at the time. However, he eventually decided that rather than making the character look good and sleek, he would instead make it look deliberately ugly, leading to the Jet Jaguar we know and love. The only thing remaining from the original Red Alone design was the pattern and color scheme of the being's torso.
In the released version of Godzilla vs. Megalon, Jet Jaguar is the creation of scientist Goro Ibuki. When the Seatopians come to the surface looking for a way to control and guide their monster Megalon, they take control of Jet Jaguar with the plan of building an army of them. Thankfully, Ibuki regains control of Jet Jaguar and sends him to Monster Island, hoping he can convince Godzilla to help.
Megalon continues its rampage, and the Seatopians enlist Gigan to make sure nothing can stop them. However, when Jet Jaguar returns, he ignores Ibuki's orders and heads off to fight the evil team, suggesting he has developed free will. Jet Jaguar does his best to fight the monsters and holds his own before getting overwhelmed. However, Godzilla turns up, and he and Jet Jaguar save the day. After this film, Jet Jaguar wasn't seen again in the mainline Godzilla films. In fact, Jet Jaguar wouldn't make an appearance until 1997's action-figure based show Godzilla Island. In this show, he was a joke character who acted as the island's nurse and firefighter.
But, over the years, Godzilla vs. Megalon reached cult status due to its ludicrous antics and because it was wrongly thought to be in the public domain. Leading to many cheap home video releases in America. The movie was also the basis for one of the most popular and beloved Mystery Science Theatre 3000 episodes, which famously featured Joel and the bots writing new lyrics for the Jet Jaguar fight song. Jet Jaguar has also been a regular fixture in the Godzilla videogames, getting more people to fall in love with this strange giant robot. Eventually, Jet Jaguar became a meme in the Godzilla fandom, and in 2019, Toho played into this, releasing a fake trailer for a Jet Jaguar film as its April Fools day joke.
Godzilla: Singular Point dedicating a teaser trailer to show off Jet Jaguar shows how much its team loves the Godzilla franchise. It will be exciting to see what other monsters and characters get their moment in the spotlight during this new series.
