Favorite aspects of the Showa Godzilla films

[Undertaker Goji]

It's old school; it's just fun to watch. With the exception of the first Godzilla, and maybe Godzilla vs. Hedorah, the films aren't trying to be some uber-serious moral dialogue, they're just fun to watch. You don't see that as much in movies nowadays, and it's the reason that I think, while Godzilla 2014 was a great launching pad for a series reboot, they need to stop trying make Godzilla movies so realistic in the future. Sure, it doesn't need to be as campy as Godzilla's revenge, but it's not supposed to be The Dark Knight.

Plus, Showa had the most variety when it came to monsters.

[RumbleJapan]

It's old school; it's just fun to watch. With the exception of the first Godzilla, and maybe Godzilla vs. Hedorah, the films aren't trying to be some uber-serious moral dialogue, they're just fun to watch. You don't see that as much in movies nowadays, and it's the reason that I think, while Godzilla 2014 was a great launching pad for a series reboot, they need to stop trying make Godzilla movies so realistic in the future. Sure, it doesn't need to be as campy as Godzilla's revenge, but it's not supposed to be The Dark Knight.

Plus, Showa had the most variety when it came to monsters.

I honestly think the clunky movies were made for one reason: money. Godzilla became a cash cow and this was especially relevant to young kids because every 5 year old thinks its awesome seeing two monsters duke it out. They could care less about the substance of the plot. Hardcore kaiju fans learned to appreciate this fault and bask in the films' cheesiness, but to the average film aficionado these movies wouldn't do much. Though, there are a handful of Godzilla films that are decent enough to watch on netflix during a casual night. I like this new approach on Godzilla though because am influential pop icon of Japan deserves a movie that critics can take seriously. Thats just me though.

[KaijuFiend]

The crazy alternate titles! Mothra:The Flying Dracula Monster? Gorgo and Superman meet in Tokyo? Watang in Fabulous Empire of Monsters? WATANG IN FABULOUS EMPIRE OF MONSTERS?!

My favorite is Godzilla vs The Thing, because it reminds me of just how brutally awesome it would be to have Godzilla go up against John Carpenter's The Thing.

[The Robber]

My favorite things about the showa films (though I'm talking mainly about the first half of the series) are the superb craftsmanship, the sense of wonder, and a kind of gravitas that comes through no matter how goofy things get.

[Darksenshi]

The thing I love about the Showa era Godzilla is that Godzilla actually had a personality. He had sooo much character. Unlike the Heisei Godzilla the Showa versions weren't mindless brutes and made calculated attacks. What I've always disliked about the Heiaei Godzilla is that the suit was so massive and restrictive that the monster fights reflected that fact. He basically could only resort to firing his atomic breathe standing mostly in one spot.....boring ain't it? The Showa Godzilla will always be my favorite because his own screen appearances will always be memorable and epic. That's more than most people can say about the Heisei and millennium versions in my opinion. They may be meaner and more powerful but strength isn't everything without brains.

[Legion1979]

They were simply much more sincere films than anything made afterwards. There's a life and spirit to them that isn't present in later movies.

[Darksenshi]

They were simply much more sincere films than anything made afterwards. There's a life and spirit to them that isn't present in later movies.

Exactly. If it weren't for the Showa era I wouldn't be as big of a diehard fan as I am today. Godzilla was my world when I was a kid.

[Legion1979]

I got into Godzilla because of movies like DAM, Terror of Mechagodzilla, Ghidrah and Godzila vs the Smog Monster. They're all just fun, entertaining films with a lot of character and heart. I don't think I would have become a fan if I was a kid 10-15 years ago being exposed to stuff like G2K or GxM.

[Darksenshi]

Yup I have fond memories jumping into a recliner as a kid waiting for Super Scary Sarurday to come on so I can record whatever Godzilla movie was showing that day. Ahhhh those were the days.

[he-ba]

I just love the Showa for………………………… being the Showa

There literally is nothing like it. People make fun of the cheese that just oooooozes from it, but seriously, because of that he is so memorable. Plus, because the Heisei and Millenium movies never aired like they did in the 70's and 80's, many people only remember the cheese and the only serious ones from the 50's.

[Omegazilla]

I'd say I like how the Showa series reflected the times they were made in. We go from nukes in Gojira, to space exploration and such. The series was unique not only for camp flair, but for it's quirky sci fi elements as well.

[DrBreakfastMachine]

My favorite thing about the Showa films is the treatment of the monsters themselves. They way the filmmakers handle their monsters can make or break a film more than anything, because they are the stars of the show after all, and I think that it became something of a lost art after the Show Era ended.

When Toho was dealing with a villain monster in the Showa times, they were great at completely selling you on the fact that they were a legitimate threat to the human race. Godzilla was treated like an angry god in his first appearance. The Rodans are inescapable and practically omnipotent against the military because of their speed. Ghidorah is like a living thunderstorm that won't leave until everything below is leveled. Even relatively silly monsters like Gigan and Megalon come across as menaces that could cause serious harm to the world if there weren't other monsters to stop them. Good monsters were handled well too. When Godzilla became a hero, he got full hero treatment, with heroic music and plenty of fans rooting for him in each movie. Mothra feels divine and almost angelic. Not to mention every monster had its own personality, especially Gigan.

In the Heisei and Millennium films though, I think all that started to get away from them. The only truly scary post-70s villains were Destoroyah and Godzilla himself in Return and GMK. The movies started to feel like they were less about the monsters and more about the people, instead of having a good balance. None of the monsters really got a personality, and a lot of them were barely mobile during the 90s due to the increasingly bulky suits. And then there's Final Wars, the black hole of monster treatment where you wonder if the filmmakers even understood that they were making a Godzilla film until 90% of the way through filming.

[Red Yoshi]

It had a style much different than the Heisei and Millennium series. Possibly just how creative and drastically each movie changed, as well as the interesting story in the movies that keep me interested in them. These qualities really don't show in any other series, in my opinion.

[MustafaDaisenso]

I love the unrestrained zaniness of the era. Few of the movies are bogged down by being overly serious, and as a result they are (mostly) extremely entertaining. Besides, I think kaiju movies excel in the bizarre and the surreal. That atmosphere is something unique to Japanese sci-fi that similar American movies just can't recreate.

On a side note, the only Godzilla film I've watched while high is Hedorah, but I can only imagine how great the other Showa films would be in that state.

Nowadays I feel like most Godzilla movies have just been reinventing the past, which was especially obvious in the movies that came after Biollante during the Heisei era, and after Megaguirus during the Millennium. Back in the Showa days, even if some plot angles got overplayed there was still a great variety of monsters, characters, settings, etc. Even the alien invasion films are all pretty distinct from one another. It still felt like there were refreshing (if sometimes off-key and just plain weird) ideas being introduced to the series.