Network of All Monsters

The graph below is too complicated to learn much from. A brief summary follows, after which more meaningful figures are discussed.
Each monster appearing in a Godzilla film during the years 1954-2004 is shown in the graph as a vertex. A line segment connecting two vertices (an edge) indicates that those monsters appeared in the same movie at least once. The number next to each edge indicates how many times those monsters appeared in the same movie. This figure includes every monster appearance, no matter how brief or insignificant.

Figure 1: Network graph of all monster appearances, 1954-2004.

The geometry and arrangement of vertices in this graph shouldn't be given too much attention, but it does contain some information. Roughly, the Matlab algorithm I used places monsters on the fringe when they have little interaction with others, and places them close to the core when they have a lot of interaction. For example, the outermost monster, baby Zilla, only appears with Zilla in the 1998 American movie, and never appears with the real Godzilla or any of his friends and foes.

It shouldn't be assumed that a monster on the fringe plays a small role in the Godzilla universe, only that this monster has a low amount of interaction with other monsters. For example, Destroyah is on the fringe, despite his enormous impact on Godzilla. In contrast, Zilla is close to the core, despite his unimportance, owing to his brief appearance in "Godzilla: Final Wars," a movie containing many monsters.

Network of Significant Monsters

By ignoring monster appearances which were extremely brief or insignificant, a slightly simpler graph is produced. The graph below indicates that many monsters do indeed appear in only one movie, but that a clustered subset of monsters appears frequently, often in tandem with each other.

Figure 2: Network graph of significant monster appearances, 1954-2004.

There are still too many overlapping edges and vertices to make sense of most of the network, but some information can be gleaned. Notice that certain individual movies can be discerned by looking at subnetworks. For example, the cycle containing Fairy Mothra, Moguera, Little Godzilla, and Space Godzilla shows us the significant monsters in "Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla".

Network of Primary Monsters

By ignoring any monster which was not a primary part of the movie plot, an even simpler graph is produced. The monsters in this graph are typically the primary foes and allies of Godzilla. From this visualization, many questions can be addressed. Did Mothra and Megalon fight? No. What is the relationship between Mothra and Megalon? They both appeared in movies with Gigan. Which monsters appeared most often? Mothra and King Ghidorah, followed by Anguirus and Mechagodzilla. Which monsters have the weakest interaction with the Godzilla universe? Biollante, King Kong, and Shockirus; each had only one primary appearance and that appearance didn't include any other primary monsters.

Figure 3: Network graph of primary monster appearances, 1954-2004.

In addition to the simpler observations made above, some subtle ideas also emerge. By counting the number of edges emanating from each vertex, we learn the degree of that vertex, which in this context indicates how many different monsters that vertex monster interacted with. King Ghidorah was a primary foe of Godzilla six times, yet his degree is only seven. Anguirus made five primary appearances, yet his degree is 15. This suggests that, when Ghidorah appears, the movie is more likely to be focused on his fight with Godzilla, while Anguirus tends to be involved in less-focused multi-monster movies. So, the graph structure tells us some things about script writing and directing choices.

Take some time to make your own observations.

More graphs and data yet to come...