Characters / Godzilla: Mothra, Shobijin, and Associated Characters

A character page for Mothra, the Shobijin (her twin fairies), and several similar and related characters.

To return to the main character index, go here. For the Legendary Mothra and Shobijin from the MonsterVerse, go here and see here respectively.

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In General/Toho

Mothra

Debut: Mothra, 1961

Film Appearances: Mothra | Mothra vs. Godzilla | Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster | Ebirah, Horror of the Deep | Destroy All Monsters | Godzilla vs. Gigan^note stock footage | Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth | Godzilla Vs Spacegodzilla | Rebirth of Mothra | Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack! | Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. | Godzilla: Final Wars | Godzilla: The Planet Eater | Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) | Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

Played By: Haruo Nakajima and Katsumi Tezuka (Mothra, as a caterpillar)

^{Click here to see her Larval form}

AKA: The Thing, Guardian of Peace, God of Water

Second only to the Big G himself in iconicity, Mothra is notable for being one of the few Kaiju that is, more or less, always a hero. A pseudo-demigod of a Pacific Island often accompanied by or called forth by her twin Shobijin priestesses, even in her/his (it depends on the film) more villainous roles, Mothra isn't so much 'bad' as angry. Do not touch Mothra's followers and definitely don't touch her eggs. Mothra is one of the few kaiju that has defeated Godzilla in battle with any frequency, and when Godzilla does kill Mothra, you can expect the larvae to show and avenge her.

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• Action Girl: Since 1961. Sometimes subverted in that at least one Mothra has been male, specifically the one seen in Ghidorah the Three Headed Monster, though to be fair, that Mothra has a female twin, as both made their first appearance in Godzilla vs. Mothra the year previous. Where the twin vanished off to, nobody knows, but since we see Mothra in adult form in 1966, at least one of them showed up in Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster, and the implication is that the one in 1966 is the female twin. As for the male twin? Who knows at this point?
• Attack Reflector: Several incarnations have had the ability to use their scales to send attacks right back at the one who launched them. Normally this only applies to beams, but the Final Wars version managed to use them to effect Gigan's razor disks, resulting in them boomeranging back wrong and decapitating him.
• Badass Adorable: A very cute-looking giant moth Kaiju who is just as strong as the other Toho monsters (though she starts off as the rather ugly but still very cute Larval stage), and she's quite fluffy to boot which adds to her adorable appeal. She gets even cuter when her babies are with her.
• Benevolent Monsters: She's unique among Toho's roster of kaiju for being unambiguously heroic and peaceful in all her appearances. Just don't harm her larvae or her fairy priestesses.
• Berserk Button: She's pretty peaceful for a giant monster. Just don't touch her egg or the Shobijin.
• Big Good: The closest the series has to one. She is one of the few Kaiju to be unquestionably good and often is the one taking the initiative in the defense of Earth and her peoples.
• Characterization Marches On: Initially debuted as a protector of the Shobijin Fairies and her island. As the series went on, she became a full protector of Earth and one of the few truly heroic Kaiju in the series, and one of Godzilla's biggest allies (or foes, whichever the plot calls for).
• Crisis Cross Over: Possibly the first to start linking all the Kaiju movies together.
• Dangerous Forbidden Technique: In some incarnations, using her scales is a last resort she only uses if she's going to die anyway. In other versions, however, she can use them at will with no restriction.
• Deflector Shields:
  • One of her powers in Tokyo SOS.
  • In Battle For Earth her scales reflected Godzilla's Atomic Breath back at him.
  • This is his/her power in Godzilla: Save the Earth, as it cannot enter Rage Mode.
• Destructive Savior: Mothra genuinely cares for protecting the Earth and cooperating with humanity, she just happens to be destructive by accident. It comes with the territory of being a giant monster.
• Determinator: Despite being perhaps fragile in her Imago stage, Mothra has a lot of guts. As a larva she braved the ocean, trekked across a city, and withstood masers^note To be fair, though, has ANY kaiju ever gotten hurt by a maser? in order to rescue the Shobijin. As an adult, she grabbed Godzilla's tail and dragged him away from her egg for several hundred meters. And let's not forget the male larva in Ghidorah who gives up on getting Godzilla and Rodan's help and crawls off to brave the fury of King Ghidorah all alone. And just will not stay down no matter how many times Ghidorah shoots him with his gravity beams. He actually impresses Godzilla and Rodan so much with this stunt that they join forces with him to drive Ghidorah off the planet!
• Drama-Preserving Handicap: Despite being able to give Godzilla a run for his money, Mothra has never actually defeated him in a clean one-on-one fight. In their first battle, Mothra had her impending death sped up by fighting Godzilla and after that, Godzilla was only stopped by her larvae working together to defeat him. In nearly all subsequent appearances where they're enemies, Mothra has always been forced to team up with allies like Battra, Baragon, or a heroic incarnation of Ghidorah to be able to stop Godzilla.
• Early-Installment Weirdness: In her debut film, Mothra was far more ruthless and less benevolent as she was laser-focused on the safety of her Shobijin and nothing else. Mothra had no problem destroying objects or endangering people directly in her line just to get them back. Example, Mothra sinks an ocean liner named Orion Maru, despite it only being in the way.
• Enemy Mine: With both Battra and Godzilla on occasion.
• Energy Weapon: The Mothra of the Heisei films could fire them from her antennae. The "Rebirth" Mothra had them too.
• Fire-Forged Friends: With Godzilla and Rodan in the case of the male Mothra in Ghidorah during the Showa Era, and this friendship seems to have somewhat translated to the sister in subsequent films, whom has a somewhat belligerent but not entirely antagonistic relationship with Godzilla after this film. Also appears to be the case of the third generation of Mothra larvae in Destroy All Monsters, as it seems to be allied with every monster on Earth during the film and the entire gaggle seem to be more or less friends by the end of the flick.
• Foil: Mothra's genuine heroism and willingness to protect the Earth and humanity is in stark contrast to Godzilla, who has quite a spotty relationship with the humans, and some believe he only fights to save the Earth from threats greater than he is or more likely those bothering him although, later on, he went off his island to attack such threats and show signs of helping others. In general, Mothra and Godzilla are the protectors of Earth, they just have different approaches as to how to do it, and the two definitely clash on occasion.
• Fragile Speedster: She can fly but she is quite easy to damage.
• Gaia's Vengeance: Mothra was initially a monster who protected the people of her island, but in the later series, she evolved into a full protector of Earth. Godzilla vs Mothra: The Battle for Earth says that Mothra was created because her predecessor Battra took the earth-protector job too far.
• Gentle Giant: She's pretty sweet, say, at least non-combatant unless one steals something from her ^note  her fairy companions or her egg, then one's fucked.
• Giant Flyer: In her Imago form she's one of the three iconic flying kaiju, along with Rodan and King Ghidorah.^note There are others capable of flight, but either it's not one of their defining characteristics, or they're just not that notable as a whole.
• Guys Smash, Girls Shoot: Mothra prefers to use her speed, long-ranged lasers and Deflector Shields to fight her opponents. Somewhat justified, as she is a moth and doesn't quite have proper form to fight directly beyond ramming opponents.
• The Heart: Most notably in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster. The Mothra larva tries to break up the fight between Rodan and Godzilla and convince them to join forces and fight Ghidorah. When this fails, he tries to fight Ghidorah himself...and when he's defeated, Godzilla and Rodan immediately stop fighting and rush to his aid.
• Hero Antagonist: Whenever Godzilla is on a rampage, Mothra usually steps in to put him in check. She's perfectly tolerant to him otherwise and even quite protective of him, and will ally with Godzilla to fight bigger threats to the Earth like King Ghidorah.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Ready to give her life to stop Godzilla, worked a little better against Gigan. Her son was ready to do the same against King Ghidorah to bring Godzilla and Rodan to the aid of humanity. Luckily for him, the other two Kaiju come to his aid and they form a Power Trio to defeat the space dragon. Subverted in Final Wars as it looks like Mothra has successfully pulled a Taking You with Me on Gigan, until The Stinger revealed that only she ultimately survived, while only Gigan perished.
• Lady of War: Oddly, yeah. She's the only monster we know for sure is female in most incarnations, is always played as quiet and understanding, is willing to sacrifice herself for others at a moment's notice, is very feminine in appearance (seriously, she's a freaking butterfly) and kicks more ass than anyone save perhaps the titular character.
• The Lancer: To GMK's Ghidorah, also doubled as The Smart Guy.
• Legacy Character: How many Mothras have we gone through? Like ten?
  • The original Mothra; her and her babies in Godzilla vs Mothra; at least one baby out of the pair in Ghidorah whom in both sub and dub versions is claimed to be male, meaning that the other twin is probably still around since later versions are claimed to be female, and the female twin apparently pops up in Sea Monster; that one's baby shows up in Destroy All Monsters!; another appears in a scene on Monster Island in Godzilla vs. Gigan. In the Heisei era there's a new Mothra in Godzilla and Mothra: Battle For Earth; And then there's the original back again and producing two offspring in Tokyo SOS; yet another version altogether in Final Wars; and finally still another Mothra and her son Leo Mothra in the Rebirth of Mothra trilogy. Yeah, that's a lot of Mothras.
  • Her mythology is at least somewhat based on the phoenix, so it could be argued that she is sort of reincarnating through her offspring.
• Mama Bear: Moth, but it still counts. Stealing something she cares for means very possible death and destruction.
• Monster Is a Mommy: Often leaves an heir behind before fighting.
• Moth Menace: Subverted: while she sometimes brings quite the destruction in her wake, she is almost always painted as a benevolent entity which protects her island, Japan or even the Earth.
• No Plans, No Prototype, No Backup: Averted, somewhere Mothra will ALWAYS have an egg somewhere to carry on the legacy. In Final Wars, if the post-credits scene, which has Mothra alive and well on her way back home, is accounted for.
• Not Quite Dead: In Godzilla: Final Wars, Gigan fires two buzz saw/ninja star/boomerang type weapons from concealed launchers in his chest. Mothra avoids these, and disperses some of her scales (a golden dust of sorts) into the air. Gigan then fires his laser at her. The scales ignite, causing a massive explosion that seems to kill Mothra and causes Gigan to evidently forget the saw blades he fired earlier and turn his back on the blaze. Well, they circle back around (made clear by a brief pass through the explosion that briefly causes a disturbance in the flames) and decapitate Gigan, causing the remaining body parts to become disoriented and confused. And then SURPRISE! Mothra wasn't quite dead, comes out of the fire and flies kamikaze-style into the headless Gigan, making an even bigger explosion that supposedly kills both monsters; though The Stinger reveals that only Gigan perished.
• Image Song: The one that the Shobijin sing to her.
• Physical God: Is worshipped by the natives of Birth Island and can battle with other kaiju.
• Power Trio: With Godzilla and Rodan in the Showa era. With Baragon and KING GHIDORAH (!!) in the Millennium era!
• She's a Man in Japan: Zig-zagged. The Mothra larva in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster is referred to as male in the English dub. Originally believed to be female in the original material by some English speaking fans, a re-release of the film in subbed form alongside the English dub jointly released by Genius Entertainment and Classic Media also refers to the larva as male. Whether or not the sub was altered to match the dub is unknown. However as there are some distinct differences in some of the dialogue between sub and dub, it's possible the creature was always intended to be male.
  • The Rebirth of Mothra series introduces Leo Mothra (aka Mothra Leo), who takes his mother's place as protector of Earth and is distinctly claimed to be male by the films.
• Signature Roar: Her high-pitched chiming screech.
• The Smart Guy: Alternating with Rodan, she has to be more careful due to being comparatively weaker but her wits make up for it. Also the larvae use strategy to stop Godzilla in Mothra vs. Godzilla.
• Spotlight-Stealing Squad: Played with — like Rodan, Mothra had her own film first and then was relegated to Godzilla's sidekick, and yet she did manage to get her own solo series, the Rebirth of Mothra Trilogy.
• Stock Ness Monster: In Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack!, Mothra's first appearance is in Lake Ikeda, said to be home to the lake monster Issie, the implication being that Mothra in her larval form is Issie. This is lampshaded by even showing a billboard in a news report after Mothra kills a group of teenagers containing Issie on it.
• Superpower Lottery: Really REALLY varies from film to film. Originally she could fly, then she could spread poison powder. Then the Heisei version could shoot lasers and make barriers. Then the GMK version gave her needles, then Tokyo S.O.S. gave her a barrier to reflect Godzilla's blast.
• Take Up My Sword: Mothra tends to leave heirs, most prominent in the 1st Rebirth film.
• Taking You with Me: In Mothra vs. Godzilla, Mothra knows she will die even if she were to kill Godzilla, so she sees no reason not to dump all her poisonous dust/wing scales as soon as the Big G is pinned. Also how she defeats Gigan in Final Wars, though the trope is averted that time.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Often the case with Mothra allying with Godzilla, her relationship with Godzilla isn't as smooth as Anguirus and Rodan's. Averted in GMK where the guardian monsters become True Companions. Her team-ups with Battra tend to go like this as well.
• Worf Had the Flu: Several times she only loses to Godzilla or another monster because she just reproduced and is weakened and/or is dying of old age.
• Your Size May Vary: Her Showa version may be one of the most major examples in the franchise. In her debut film, she had a wingspan of two-hundred and fifty metres across (making her one of the largest kaiju ever to fly, before or since), but by her second appearance she shrunk to barely more than half that so her size would not absolutely dwarf Godzilla.

Shobijin/Cosmos/Elias

Debut: Mothra, 1961

Played By: Emi Itō and Yumi Itō (Mothra-Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster), Keito Imamura and Sayako Osawa (Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth), Megumi Kobayashi (Rebirth of Mothra-Rebirth of Mothra 3) and Sayako Yamaguchi (Rebirth of Mothra-Rebirth of Mothra 2), Misato Tate (Rebirth of Mothra 3), Masami Nagasawa and Chihiro Otsuka (Godzilla: Final Wars)

^{Click here to see the Cosmos}

^{Click here to see the Elias}

A pair of tiny twin fairies who serve as the priestesses and caretakers of Mothra and her offspring on Infant Island. They often find themselves embroiled in the affairs of the outside world, and use their powers of telepathy to aid humanity in its various encounters with kaiju.

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• Adapted Out: Not present in GMK or the Monsterverse, though they're invoked in spirit through two pedestrians who hold hands after seeing Mothra fly in the former (this was actually stock footage taken from one of Gamera's films released at the time) and Dr. Chen and her twin sister in the latter.
• Famed In-Story: By Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, the twins have become celebrities, appearing on television programs and acting as ambassadors to the outside world.
• Fluffy Fashion Feathers: One of their outfits sets has short white feather capes and hats trimmed with white feathers.
• Hotter and Sexier: In the Millennium series, they often wear belly-exposing outfits.
• Idol Singer: Tend to be played by them.
• Lilliputians: They never come up even to people's knees.
• Little People Are Surreal: With their strange magical powers, diminutive stature, and tendency to speak in perfect unison, the Shobijin are certainly removed from ordinary humanity.
• Magic Music: They frequently sing together to try to use magic to summon or aid Mothra and in one situation Battra by using Mothra as a battery.
• Psychic Powers: Originally, they were telepathic, having a stable connection to Mothra and able to sense other psychics and understand the "Language" of monsters. In later incarnations, they were given full blown magic powers.
• Single-Minded Twins: They speak in union and generally act as a being with two bodies. The exceptions are Moll and Lora of the Rebirth of Mothra trilogy, who have distinct personalities, don't look alike, and have an evil (at least for a while) older sister known as Belvera.
• Telepathy: All versions of the Shobijin have this power, often using it to translate for the kaiju.
• Teleportation: In Mothra vs. Godzilla, they demonstrate the ability to teleport over short distances to save themselves from the greedy businessmen who're trying to profit with Mothra's egg and plan to also display the two of them as a side attraction.
• The Cutie: These fairies are downright adorable. Especially when you have an equally cute Moth-like Kaiju in Mothra protecting them.

Battra

Debut: Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth, 1992

Film Appearances: Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth | Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla^note stock footage

^{Click here to see his Larval form}

A dark version of Mothra, Battra is the protector of the Earth and its natural processes. However, he doesn't extend this to the creatures living on the planet, especially those that try to change or control the natural order. In ancient times, Battra destroyed the weather-control device of an advanced civilization and then devastated the population, drawing Mothra's ire. The two fought and defeated each other, returning to slumber until they were needed again. That time came in 1992, when a small chunk of an incoming asteroid impacted Earth, awakening Mothra, Battra and Godzilla. Battra sensed Mothra was awake and hurried to find her, engaging Godzilla in battle. After a series of battles, Mothra and Battra made peace long enough to defeat Godzilla, though Battra was mortally wounded and died carrying Godzilla to sea, and Mothra left into space to stop the asteroid in Battra's place.

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• Adaptational Villainy: Many of his non-film appearances tend to leave out his well-intentioned motivation and instead turn him into just another rampaging monster. Godzilla Unleashed is especially big with this because that incarnation of him is a Mutant, which means if he wins he'll destroy Earth for power, the exact opposite of his motive in his film appearance.
• Alien Blood: When Godzilla dug into Battra's flesh he starts bleeding mustard-yellow blood all over him.
• Ambiguous Situation: One shot shows an ancient mural of a battle between Battra battling Mothra 12,000 years ago during the Cosmos' explanation for the former's origins. The mural apparently does show him being in his imago form, but as soon as he's reawakened from his slumber after being sealed by Mothra, he's shown to be a larva. It's never been fully established if Battra has the ability to potentially swap in-between his larva and imago forms at will.
• Anti-Villain: His goal of protecting Earth is noble, but considers humans to be destructive and murders them on sight.
• Armored Villains, Unarmored Heroes: As a giant insect, he's practically covered in a highly thick and durable exoskeleton which gives him an extremely dangerous and frightening look while Mothra has more of a soft and fluffier appearance.
• Barrier Warrior: In the manga adaptation of Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth, he's capable of forming a cocoon-like energy shield around himself.
• Beam Spam: Pretty much a staple for majority of the kaiju in the Heisei Era. In every scene he's in, he usually resorts to firing his deadly Prism Beams against any target that's in his way whether it's buildings, tanks, a giant raft, Mothra, and of course, Godzilla himself.
• Because You Were Nice to Me: How he comes to Mothra's rescue as a way of displaying his gratitude after being saved from Godzilla's wrath. He no longer becomes destructive and essentially drops his hostile ways.
• Beware My Stinger Tail: Possesses 2 sharp appendages with one small spike portruding in the middle in his larval form, but he doesn't show uses for it in the movie. He still retains the 2 jutting spikes in his imago form. He discharges electricity from his spiked tail in the manga version.
• The Cameo: He briefly appears in Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla along with Mothra, with the latter being one of the possible examples of SpaceGodzilla's origins.
• Darker and Edgier: Pretty much this to Mothra.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Battra isn't an evil or malicious monster, but his role as protector of Earth itself can put him against its inhabitants, who are under Mothra's protection.
• Deadly Gas: He even has his very own version of Mothra's gaseous powder that he releases from his wings in the 166th episode of Godzilla Island where he's shown using it to attack Godzilla. He also utilizes this ability in the PS2 version of Godzilla Unleashed, where it's basically used as a shield of sorts to repel projectile beams, which is justified for that sole reason since he was a re-skinned Mothra by having a Moveset Clone in the game.
• Determinator: Carried Godzilla to the sea despite getting bitten and shot at by the Big G at point blank range!
• Enemy Mine: To Mothra. After Mothra convinces him to join her, Mothra tells Battra she will save the Earth from a oncoming meteor in a few years if something were to happen to him. Then they join forces to defeat Godzilla.
• Evil Counterpart: To Mothra. Battra was created by Earth itself to defend nature, specifically from a weather controlling machine made by Advanced Ancient Humans. However, Battra quickly went overboard, attempting to wipe out human civilization entirely to stop our pollution. Thus Mothra was created to defeat him, and protect humanity along with the earth (although she too can be angered by excessive pollution). However, Battra was eventually willing to work together with Mothra in an Enemy Mine against Godzilla, since they share a common goal of defending Earth.
• Evil Versus Evil: Despite being Mothra's main enemy, he confronts Godzilla as well, perceiving him to be the embodiment of mankind's utter disdain and corruption of the Earth.
• Eye Beams: In larva form, he fires jagged bolts of energy from his eyes that resemble lighting bolts. After he takes his adult form, the wild energy blasts become much tighter, focused energy beams.
• Eye Lights Out: His glowing eyes fade after Godzilla murders him.
• Fallen Hero: Literally as he plummets to the depths alongside Godzilla (the latter survives).
• Gaia's Vengeance: He represents the wrathful side of nature, though he took it too far. Bonus points for him being literally created by the earth itself.
• Glass Cannon: In his imago form his Prism Beams are even more powerful than before, which brought Mothra to the ground, blasted her multiple times setting her ablaze, and even managed to bury Godzilla underneath a skyscraper. However as a result of this transformation, he lost his spiky armored carapace that allowed him to withstand Godzilla's beam and kept fighting. His durability wasn't as strong in his moth stage which was why Godzilla tore into his flesh so easily.
• Good Is Not Nice: Just because he's technically a good guy, doesn't mean he trusts and therefore would give a damn about destructive-enough humanity.
• Good Wings, Evil Wings: His image pretty much speaks for itself. The evil part isn't intentional mind you.
• Heel–Face Turn: His second fight with Godzilla didn't go well in his favor, and was nearly killed by him until Mothra intervened. She turned her attention towards Battra to fully rejuvenate him, but Godzilla recovers and almost ended Mothra by firing his Atomic Ray underneath the parts of the Cosmo Clock 21 to let it crush her. Battra begins to have a change of heart and catches it in the nick of time returning the favor.
• Hero Killer: He was intended to be this for Mothra, and in Godzilla: Rulers of Earth he even goes through with it.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Is killed by Godzilla while helping Mothra carry him out to sea.
• Horn Attack: Only used his horn once when he rammed Mothra out of his path while swimming his way to the sea in the Philippines to confront Godzilla. He also fires electrical bursts of powerful energy from it, but only in his larval form.
• Horns of Villainy: Has a giant one that's jutting out of his head as a larva that he uses to launch energy blasts out of. His singular horn gets split into 3 smaller ones in his imago form. The "villainy" part was mainly just him going overboard with his goal of keeping the Earth safe from human folly until he changes his tone as it becomes highly subverted when he goes over a total Heel–Face Turn by helping Mothra in need after she saved him from Godzilla.
• Improvised Weapon: Uses the Cosmo Clock 21 that was originally going to crush Mothra after Godzilla destroyed the parts underneath it, and carries it into the air as he plows it right into Godzilla's body, which sends him crashing into the ground from the impact.
• Knight Templar: He's devoted to preserving the Earth and its ecosystem, but will not hesitate to attack its sapient inhabitants if they try changing the natural order.
• Moveset Clone: Essentially all of his attacks in the PS2 version of Godzilla: Unleashed are directly the exact same his counterpart's but minus the antenna rays as his Prism Beams are still intact.
• Multi-Armed and Dangerous: In the Playstation 4 game, Imago Battra's main attacks are using his long spine-studded clawed legs to deliver a flurry of scratches and jabs at opponents and buildings.
• '90s Anti-Hero: Kaiju version. Battra is sworn to protect the Earth, and that includes saving it from its own inhabitants. Also lots and lots of spikes!
• Overdrawn at the Blood Bank: A downplayed variation. He gets inflicted with an agonizing wound when Godzilla gores him by ripping into his flesh and neck with his teeth, which causes Battra to bleed out. In fact, the force of Godzilla's powerful bite was so fatal, that Battra kept continuously bleeding out so much that even Godzilla's neck/chest became heavily drenched and stained from his spilled blood.
• Portmanteau: His name, Battra, is a shortening of Battle (Batoru) Mothra, highlighting his more destructive abilities and personality (and also unintentionally making it sound like he's a bat monster).
• Power Glows: His eyes, horns, and the red spiked patterns that are running down his sides are constantly illuminated in his imago form.
• Purple Is Powerful: His deadly Prism Beams, where he blasts them out of his vicious glowing red eyes. In his larval form the beams are a slightly darker shade of purple, compared to his imago form where they're colored a rather bright magenta (with traces of blue electricity wrapped around them) and they're by far his most effective weapons.
• Red and Black and Evil All Over: Looks like a vicious colossal moth by being outfitted with a spiky black armor along with having hints of red patterns that are covering portions of his body and he holds a position of eliminating anyone responsible for disrupting the benefits of the Earth. However, this gets greatly subverted as he's not openly portrayed as a villain but he did take his duty as a protector far too seriously. After Mothra healed him after getting overpowered by Godzilla, he no longer becomes destructive and partners up with her to turn the tables on Godzilla.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: Devilishly red Glowing Eyes and means serious business.
• Redemption Equals Death: Forms an alliance with Mothra after saving her life and both defeat Godzilla with their combined powers. But when he approached Godzilla to ground level, Godzilla sinks his teeth into him while blasting his neck to no end. When both moths were about to dispose him into the sea, one last atomic ray finally puts him out of his misery, forcing Mothra to let go of her former enemy along with Godzilla.
• Shadow Archetype: In a way, he can be seen as a dark mirror to Mothra. Just replace her major compassion and tolerance for humans with disdain and irritation, bringing intentional harm to many of the Earth's inhabitants, and using great powers only for destroying rather than protecting, this is what Mothra would've actually become if she started to take her role as a "protector" with a more different approach.
• She's a Man in Japan: In the IDW continuity (Kingdom of Monsters, Ongoing and now Rulers of the Earth), Battra is established to be female, although this is corrected in Rulers of Earth #20, where Battra is referred to as being male.
• Shock and Awe: In his larva form his Eye Beams are much more like lightning bolts. He can project a similar (albeit different colored) blast from his horn. He can also energize his horn, turning it into a form of Laser Blade.
• Stock Sound Effect: His roar is hardly any different from Rodan's whatsoever (aside from being a bit deeper), he would later gain a darker version of Mothra's chirps and screeches for Godzilla Island.
• Spikes of Villainy: Battra is much spikier than Mothra, both in larva and imago form.
• Super Not-Drowning Skills: He switches targets from Mothra to Godzilla as he brings the latter deeper into the depths with him and engages in an aquatic duel. Throughout the fight so far, Battra never really bothered to rise to the surface for oxygen as he continued to battle his opponent until an oceanic volcanic eruption swallowed them both.
• Super-Strength: For a moth, he's considerably strong regardless of his appearance. He demonstrated this in his larva form by barraging into Mothra, which sent her flying several meters away, shoved Godzilla downwards into the ocean until both monsters reached the ocean floor, and even knocked him over during their fight. In his imago form he stopped the Comso Clock 21 from crushing Mothra, and even used it as a weapon striking Godzilla with it! If that's not enough he even managed to lift him ^note  Heisei Godzilla weighed exactly 60,000 tons. into the skies with a struggle, though Mothra was there to help (both being smaller than Godzilla was).
• Super-Toughness: During an underwater battle with Godzilla, an undersea volcanic eruption occurred. The ocean floor opened up beneath them, with both kaiju falling right into the magma. Both were assumed to killed right? Battra actually survived with no fatal injuries. Justified mostly because he's essentially the spirit of the Earth itself.
• Tsurime Eyes: Both of his threatening-looking eyes are a lot more angular, slanted, and narrow compared to Mothra's circular eyes.
• Unskilled, but Strong: He is by all means an incredibly powerful kaiju in his own right, especially when he's using his ranged attacks such as his Prism Beams. That being said, the main flaw for the usage of his powerful Prism Beams in his larval form tended to have highly irregular and crazed patterns each time he has them fired, almost as if he doesn't have any way of manipulating nor controlling the destructive force behind them as they're often seen swerving at slightly different angles. By the time he evolves into his imago form, the Prism Beams are much more visibly straightened as Battra has precise aiming on what target he's firing at, such as blasting Mothra right out of the sky, and destroyed the weaker areas of the Yokohama Landmark Tower to have it plummet onto Godzilla.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: In reality he just wanted no one else harming his planet for his own sake because it means so much to him as much as it does to Mothra.

Belvera

Played by: Aki Hano

Belvera in the first Rebirth of Mothra

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• Bad Boss: Abuses her steed, Garugaru.
• Breath Weapon: Garugaru has one.
• Cain and Abel: The third sibling of the Elias in the Rebirth of Mothra trilogy. Unlike the first two, she's evil.
• Character Development: Goes from a Jerkass cackling villain, to a Well-Intentioned Extremist that doesn't trust children since Humans Are Bastards, to an anti-hero in the last film.
• Dark Is Evil: Wears black while her sisters wear bright colors.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: She gets distraught when one of her sisters is frozen in Rebirth of Mothra III.
• Heel–Face Turn: It starts late in the second film, where her last act was saving the main characters from a firestorm. She does a full-blown one in the middle of the third film when she teams up with Lora to help fend off King Ghidorah.
• Hollywood Cyborg: Garugaru gets some mechanical limbs between the first and second movie.
• Robotic Reveal: Garugaru is revealed to be a robot in the first film. Was presumably fixed in between films.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: In the second film.

Mothra Leo

Debut: Rebirth of Mothra, 1996

Film Appearances: Rebirth of Mothra | Rebirth of Mothra 2 | Rebirth of Mothra 3

AKA: Mothra

The star of the Rebirth of Mothra series of kaiju films, this Mothra is actually a male, a son of the previous Mothra to guard the world.

Leo's first battle came in the form of the space beast Deathghidorah (or Desghidorah), a beast who has a habit of killing life, and has struck Earth before in the time of the Mesozoic, killing off the dinosaurs. He would later be sealed away by the Mothras and their Elias, before being released by a mining team on accident. Upon release, Deathghidorah would begin killing life as he did millions of years ago. Leo's mother quickly begins battling Deathghidorah, but with even the assistance of her offspring, a male larva by the name of Leo, Deathghidorah is simply far too powerful for the aging deity, and Mothra retreats with Leo in tow. Mortally wounded by Deathghidorah, Mothra crashes into the ocean as Leo tries to keep her afloat, but eventually Mothra dies and sinks into the ocean's depths. Leo goes to an ancient tree and cocoons himself, ready to take revenge on Deathghidorah for slaughtering his mother. He emerges from the cocoon in the form of thousands of tiny, bioluminescent moths, and forms into the new Mothra, Mothra Leo. He immediately makes a beeline for Desghidorah in righteous fury and assaults his mother's murderer. Desghidorah could only attempt to defend himself against Leo's assault; and eventually, Deathghidorah's seal was renewed as Leo revived the land Deathghidorah had killed, then returned to Infant Island with Moll and Lora.

He would later end up being called upon by Moll and Lora to duel with the pollution-creating beast Dagahra, awoken by the increased oceanic pollution, as well as his toxic, starfish-like Barem; however, this time he will need the power of the lost castle Ninai Kinai, the same civilization that created Dagahra. Leo battles with Dagahra, but is ultimately defeated when the sea monster takes Leo into his element, the water, and covers him with Barem. Leo flees and lands the newly-raised temple, and as Dagahra attempts to finish off the incapacitated Leo, the castle itself activates and defends Leo from the sea monster's wrath. With Leo out of his way, however, Dagahra can go on a rampage unopposed. A while later, Leo is revitalized by Lora and Moll using Ghogo's energy, turning him into Rainbow Mothra, and promptly destroys the Barem covering his body. He then assaults Dagahra heavilly, and he turns into Aqua Mothra to pursue the sea monster when Dagahra retreated into the ocean. Now able to overpower the sea monster, Leo is able to split off into thousands of tiny versions of himself and destroy the Barem, and Dagahra with them. The temple crumbles away into the seas as Leo reforms into one whole Mothra, and then returns to his Rainbow Mothra form and leaves, as Lora and Moll follow on Fairy. Having saved the world once more, Leo returns to Infant Island with Lora, Moll and Fairy.

Leo would be called upon to save Earth one last time, but this was to be his most challenging battle ever. Moll and Lora call upon him to save the world from the formidable space beast King Ghidorah, who had previously visited Earth during the time of the dinosaurs, and is thought to have aided in the extinction that took place at that time. Leo attempts to battle the space demon, but is horrendously overwhelmed by King Ghidorah and barely survives the battle. Later, Lora is possessed by Ghidorah and attempts to attack Moll and Fairy, but the two escape before the possessed Lora can drag them into Ghidorah's pulsating organic dome, in which he is storing the children he abducts, and preparing to use them for a horrible purpose; to feed upon their life-force. Belvera and Garu-Garu are both dragged into the dome by serpent-like beings, and King Ghidorah then assaults the city. Lora, still under Ghidorah's control, attempts to kill Shota, a child they had met earlier on, and Belvera tries to reason with her. Lora takes Belvera's section of the Elias Triangle and merges it with Moll's, creating one large sword. Belvera engages in a swordfight with Lora. Meanwhile, Moll and Leo realize that Leo must travel back to the Mesozoic to defeat King Ghidorah at a far younger, weaker King Ghidorah. The two duel, with Ghidorah holding the advantage for most of the battle, but eventually Leo manages to blast off one of Ghidorah's tails and drops the young Cretaceous King Ghidorah into a volcano. Unknown to Leo, the severed tail burrows into the ground and begins regenerating. Back in the present, Ghidorah reappears in a massive fireball, this being the severed tail of Cretaceous King Ghidorah, regenerated into a new body. Back in the Cretaceous, Leo re-emerges from the volcano close to death, but he is saved by his ancestors and re-emerges in the present in a new, armored form. The newly-emerged Armor Mothra re-engages with Ghidorah in the present and quickly overwhelms and destroys King Ghidorah, ending the beast's terror. Lora and Belvera use the sword to revive Moll, and the three sisters share a reunion. With King Ghidorah destroyed and the world safe once more, Leo sheds his armor and becomes Eternal Mothra, and he, along with a Fairy-mounted Moll and Lora, fly off into the sunset, returning to Infant Island once more, as the children are reunited with their parents, and Leo can retire from fighting.

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• Badass Adorable: Even when he was a larva he managed to actually hold his own while fighting along with his mother. His imago form is his (obviously) most powerful form who can fight to the end while looking like a plush toy.
• Beam Spam: The Heisei Era was known for producing several monsters with a large array of colorful beam attacks, but Leo takes the cake. After graduating from his larval stage, he wound up with an arsenal of various beam-related abilities. Furthermore, each successive Rebirth of Mothra movie winds up with him getting some kind of evolution, which, inevitably, results in him ending up with even more beam attacks and new forms that come with an absurd number of beam attacks of their own.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Just like his mother he's a peaceful and kind-hearted kaiju with no illness towards the human characters, that doesn't mean he'll show mercy towards his enemies who plan to threaten the earth.
• Chest Blaster: He can fire a sea-green beam attack out of his chest in both his larva and imago form. Rainbow Mothra has a version of it too.
• Chrome Champion: As Armored Mothra. In a nutshell he's basically Colossus in moth form.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Whenever he gets an upgrade. He easily handles Desghidorah after growing into his imago form, and later lays a good smackdown on Grand King Ghidorah after becoming Armor Mothra.
• Everything's Better with Rainbows: Has dozens of abilities that are mostly rainbow colored, his rainbow form takes it up a notch.
• Flying Brick: His final form Armored Mothra.
• Flying Firepower: A giant moth with TONS of various beams and fires them like no else's business. Three beams from his forehead (in original imago, Rainbow, Aqua and Armor forms), antenna beams (in Aqua), a beam from his chest (as Imago and Rainbow), lightning bolts from his wings (Imago and Rainbow), a different blast of energy from his wings (Rainbow), jade energy rings released when he flies upright (Imago), summons energy bolts from the ground, rains down powder in a circle before a giant beam of blistering emerald energy comes from the sky (both in Imago), and two different charged tackles (Excel Dash in original Imago, and the Transcending Fate move in Armor form, which actually pierces the foe and turns them to crystal before they explode). That's a lot of attacks.
• Gentle Giant: Why wouldn't he be?
• Generation Xerox: Has his own Shobijin, (whom were originally affiliated with Mothra) a savior of humans he protects, fights any kaiju that are destroying the inhabitants, and is loved by children. He's Mothra's son alright.
• Glass Cannon: He can take beam weapons pretty well at least and his powers are definitely a match for any kaiju he faces but physical blows tend to floor him to the ground a lot.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Twice. Willing to be trapped in the past to defeat Prehistoric Ghidorah. A second time when he carried young Ghidorah into a volcano, flies out, and seemingly dies.
• Legacy Character: Takes his mother's role as the protector of earth after her demise. He's pretty good at his job.
• Me's a Crowd: In his imago, Rainbow and Aqua forms, he demonstrates the ability to split up into thousands of smaller Mothras. His micro forms are most prominently used as Aqua Mothra, when he used them to enter Dagahra's body and badly injure it from the inside while wiping out the Barems.
• A Minor Kidroduction: Gets a lot of screen time as an infant by hatching out and traveling across the Pacific to finally face Desghidorah.
• Next Tier Powerup: Each film sees Leo going from an older form to a new and more powerful one — from larva to imago to Rainbow Mothra to Armor Mothra.
• New Powers as the Plot Demands: He could be the poster boy for this trope. In the first movie he has several beam weapons and a wing dust shield; in the second film he gains the Aqua Mothra form with more new powers; in the third film he gets Lightspeed Mothra to travel back in time, is cocooned by Mothra larvae of the past to become Armor Mothra, and then sheds the armor to reveal Eternal Mothra (and as the name suggests, he's immortal).
• Razor Wings: Gains them in his Armor Mothra form for the final battle against Ghidorah.
• She's a Man in Japan: The English dubs tend to typically say he's a female because of his appearance but he's apparently the only male member of his species.
  • Truth in Television The shape and size of Leo's antennae resembles a male moth's antennae which is another way of distinguishing the difference between a male and female moth.
• So Last Season: By the next film his upgrades are obsolete. Except for Rainbow Mothra in the third film where he actually wins a battle before the upgrade.
• Strong Family Resemblance: As a larva he hardly looked any different from how his mother was in that form and the other Mothra larvae from movies prior. Downplayed in his adult form, while sharing the same body shape he still looked vastly different. Although in Rebirth of Mothra 3 he did have some of his mother's features such as parts of the coloration of his wings and especially the blue eyes.
• Super Power Lottery: Of the Rebirth of Mothra trilogy so much!
• Superior Successor: Basically Mothra 2.0 and then some.
• Swiss-Army Hero: Gains this ability as Rainbow Mothra, by virtue of being able to change into Aqua Mothra for underwater fights and further into Lightspeed Mothra for time travel, while reverting to Rainbow Mothra as his base form afterward. He loses it when he upgrades again into Armor Mothra.
• Took a Level in Badass: When he gets his upgrade in the third film, unlike the other two, it's very awesome.

Other continuities

Anime Mothra

Debut: Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle, 2018

A giant moth worshiped by the Houtua tribe. Before the series starts, she fought Godzilla several times before being killed.

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• Action Girl: Notably according to the tie-in novels, she actually beat Godzilla in their first fight and forced him back, even if he eventually killed the adult Mothra. It's mentioned that had Battra not fought Godzilla prematurely and lost, the two could actually have been able to finish him off completely.
• Adaptational Badass: This version of Mothra is one of the very few creatures capable of fighting this iteration of Godzilla head on and beating him in a straight fight.
• Attack Reflector: How she beat Godzilla in their first fight: she can generate scales that sent his atomic breath right back at him.
• Big Good: She was the main opposing force of Godzilla and was powerful as him, until her death.
• God of Good: As opposed to Godzilla and Ghidorah, who are seen as Gods of Destruction by the Exif, the Houtua worship Mothra as their benevolent goddess. She also saved them from Godzilla and empowered them to survive in the altered world. The unborn infant Mothra also instructs her worshipers to help Haruo and company.
• Goo-Goo-Godlike: The Houtua worship the egg as they did the adult. Notably said egg communicates telepathically with them and seems to have a limited ability to predict the future.
• Physical God: She was worshipped as a benevolent deity by the humans who remained on Earth, protecting them from Godzilla and empowering them to survive in the drastically-altered world. She's also one of the very few kaiju as powerful as Godzilla, having managed to actually win at least one fight against him.
• Posthumous Character: The adult Mothra was killed by Godzilla long ago, but her egg survived.
• Small Role, Big Impact: Because her egg hasn't hatched yet, she never appears physically in the films, but her psychic powers are able to momentarily jar Haruo from Metphies' control, which takes the form of a giant moth silhouette.
• Token Heroic Orc: Is one of the only kaiju decisively on humanity's side, the other being King Caesar (who is absent and presumably dead come present day), although Titanosaurus and Gigan are said to have fought for humanity as well (even if they were technically forced to), and Battra also fought against (and was killed by) Godzilla.

Miana and Maina

Portrayed By: Ari Ozawa (Miana), Reina Ueda (Maina) (JP); Rachelle Heger (Miana), Kendall Gimbi (Maina) (ENG)

Debut: Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters (2017)

Miana (left) and Maina (right)

Twin girls who appear in Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters, Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle, and Godzilla: The Planet Eater; they are members of the Houtua tribe and worship Mothra, making them the anime trilogy's equivalent of the Shobijin.

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• Always Identical Twins: Miana and Maina are virtually identical to one another, which naturally confuses the main cast when they fight Maina, only for Miana to show up seconds after she retreats.
• Ambiguously Brown: Their skin — while mostly obscured by their scales — is paler than the Bilusaludos' but darker than the other humans'.
• Babies Ever After: At the end of The Planet Eater, Maina is shown to be pregnant with Haruo's child; and Word of God is that Miana also got married and had children with a member of the Houtua tribe.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Miana is generally sweet and gentle, but when angered she becomes just as stern and forceful as her sister, and is a capable warrior to boot.
• Body Paint: Their bodies are decorated with a variety of white and red marks. Subverted in that it only looks like Body Paint: it's actually biological moth-like scales inherited from Mothra's "monster factor", as Martin speculates.
• Cool Mask: They wear painted wooden masks with a series of vertical gashes for eye-holes.
• Date Peepers: They sneak into the Mobile City (a place their people believe to be cursed) to spy on Haruo while he's talking to Yuko, and are surprised when she kisses him — Miana reacting with dismay, and Maina with irritation.
• Expy: They are the films' iteration of the Shobijin—being psychic priestesses to the Houtua's deity—though unlike previous incarnations, they're not tiny.
• Hopeless Suitor: In City on the Edge of Battle, Miana develops a crush on Haruo but loses out to Yuko Tani. In The Planet Eater, she takes advantage of Yuko being brain-dead to ask Haruo to "connect life" with her after he confides his despair in her. However, he turns her down and instead sleeps with Maina after realizing he owes her his life.
• Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: They are considerably shorter than the male leads and even Yuko. Maina is barely any taller to Haruo's chest for starters.
• Identical Twin Mistake: It's initially believed that Miana was the Houtua twin who saved Haruo's life and treated his injuries at the end of Planet of the Monsters. However, The Planet Eater reveals that Maina was the one who saved him when Miana couldn't take off his suit (which would have been necessary to heal him in the first place) while offering to have sex with him.
• Imminent Danger Clue: Miana uses her psychic powers to warn Haruo of oncoming danger throughout City on the Edge of Battle, such as when he is about to be attacked by Ground-type Servum and when Godzilla Earth tries to blast him with Atomic Breath.
• Identical Twin ID Tag: Haruo notes that Miana has a softer expression than Maina does, though he's seemingly oblivious as to why. However, as seen when she confronts Metphies in The Planet Eater, Miana is capable of being every bit as stern as her sister, while Maina betrays a softer side to Haruo.
• The Medic: It is assumed that Miana rescued Haruo from being trapped under the wreckage of a destroyed mecha and used her scales to nurse him back to health. In The Planet Eater, it's revealed that it was actually Maina who saved him.
• Polar Opposite Twins: Miana is more curious towards the United Earth humans, while Maina is cautious and distrustful, leading an attack against the survivors of Godzilla Earth's awakening. This doesn't stop Maina from saving Haruo's life before that, though. Additionally, Hiroyuki Seshita commented that while Miana tried to stop Haruo when he left to destroy the remaining nanometal, not understanding why he would want to sacrifice himself; Maina understood and accepted his decision, showed no outward reaction to him leaving, and immortalized his sacrifice in a ritual for future generations of Houtua to learn from.
• Relationship Upgrade: Miana attempts this in The Planet Eater, offering Haruo Sex for Solace, but he turns her down. Soon afterward, Maina comes to him for the same thing, and he gives in after realizing she was the one who saved his life.
• Rescue Romance: With Haruo. The rescuer is revealed to be the more-guarded Maina, instead of Miana as previously believed (though a Rewatch Bonus of Planet's ending reveals that the demeanor of the twin who appears is closer to Maina's).
• Romantic False Lead: An interesting variation occurs throughout the trilogy. At first, Haruo is more interested in Yuko up until the ending of the second movie, where she's rendered braindead by Mechagodzilla. Miana, who had bonded with Haruo and developed feelings for him throughout the film, later offers herself to Haruo in the final movie. Surprisingly, it was Maina who ends up with Haruo, despite seemingly being the least-interested of his romantic interests.
• Shameless Fanservice Girl: Miana strips herself in front of Haruo to offer herself to him, but he rejects her when he realizes she wasn't the one who saved him, as he'd previously assumed. Maina does the same thing, and he accepts her offer after finding out she was the one who saved his life.
• Ship Tease: Miana takes an interest in Haruo in City on the Edge of Battle, resulting in her and Yuko becoming jealous of each other. She offers to have sex with him in The Planet Eater, but he turns her down and ends up sleeping with Maina instead.
• Someone to Remember Him By: By the end of The Planet Eater, Maina is pregnant with Haruo's child.
• What the Hell, Hero?: While Maina understands and stoically accepts Haruo's decision to sacrifice himself, Miana berates him — paralleling their conversation earlier in the third film.
• Women Prefer Strong Men: Hiroyuki Seshita and Reina Ueda commented that unlike Miana's crush, which is derived from her boundless curiosity, Maina slowly falls in love with Haruo due to his fearlessness in facing Godzilla.

Chibi Mothra

First Appearance: Close Friends, Chibi Godzilla (2019)

Voiced by: Hina Tachibana (I'm Home, Chibi Godzilla), Rie Takahashi (Chibi Godzilla Raids Again)

The Chibi version fo Mothra, as appears in the Chibi Godzilla media.

In the children's book series, Chibi Mothra have a gentle personality and always comfort Chibi Godzilla when the latter's crying.

In Chibi Godzilla Raids Again, Chibi Mothra is a resident on Monster Island. She is very shy around other chibi kaiju and typically only interacts with the more outgoing Shobijin sisters, and can easily gets flustered by conversation with others. When she cry, she will release the poisonous scales.

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Tropes that applies to Chibi Mothra in general

• Adapted Out: Chibi Mothra only appear in her imago form in all Chibi Godzilla media.
• Dangerous Forbidden Technique: Subverted, as she can releasing her scales with no ill effect. However, doing so can cause inconvenient to others, ranging from her sparkling scales almost blinding Chibi Godzilla who is watching movie in the cinema (the first ''Chibi Godzilla'' movie manner PSA before the Raids Again one), to her poisonnous scales knock out everyone around her (Chibi Godzilla Raids Again).

Tropes that applies to Chibi Mothra in Chibi Godzilla Raids Again

• Adaptational Personality Change: Whereas Chibi Mothra in the children's book series is a gentle individual, Chibi Mothra in this adaptation is a very shy chibi kaiju.
• Situational Sociability: When first introducted in the show, Chibi Mothra rarely talks to other Chibi kaiju due to her shyness, but can talk normally to the Shobijin sisters.

Shobijin (Chibi Godzilla Raids Again)

First Appearance: Chibi Godzilla Raids Again (2023)

Voiced by: Reina Ueda (Elder), Akari Kitou (Younger)

A version of the Shobijin, as appear in Chibi Godzilla Raids Again.

The pair are friends to Chibi Mothra. Due to Chibi Mothra's shy nature, they act as her psychic interpreters...and does a horrible job on it. And they failed to translate Chibi Anguirus's unintelligible roars too.

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• Always Identical Twins: The Shobijin sisters are nearly-identical to each others. The only difference is the location of the flower accessory placed on their hairs.
• Gyaru Girl: While not look like one, the Shobijin sisters usually talks like Gyaru when not try to translate someone's words to others.
• Single-Minded Twins: Subverted, as the Shobijin sisters can talk individually when not doing their duty of talking for Chibi Mothra.

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