Chronological Order

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Maritonic
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Chronological Order

Post by Maritonic »

Please forgive me if this was already a topic, but with a current thread going on (about if other Toho films fit into the Showa timeline), it got me wondering about how I, myself, marathon the Showa Series.

I have always just watched them in release order. I have never swayed from this. But, I saw in this other thread that it's evidently very common that people end their Showa marathons with Destroy All Monsters (which makes sense for multiple reasons).

As I'm new to Forum-life, I'm asking you guys what your Showa Marathon order is? Please feel free to include War of the Gargantuas, Frankenstein, Atragon, War in Space, Rodan, Mothra, etc. I own most of the Showa Toho films except for Space Amoeba (can't shell out the $50 for the dvd) and Gorath.

If I find these lists to be interesting enough, I may marathon them in a new order.

So please, let me know!!
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Re: Chronological Order

Post by Ivo-goji »

I never marathon movies, ever. I find it easier to appreciate kaiju films when viewing them one at a time.
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Re: Chronological Order

Post by Maritonic »

Alright, well, I mean in general. How would you watch them in order? i.e. Watching Destroy All Monsters at the end of the Showa series

Added in 3 minutes 27 seconds:
People were implying watching things like The Mysterians and War in Space help with watching Monster Zero and the like. So I'm asking broadly for the entire order/timeline that people enjoy to watch.

Added in 35 minutes 30 seconds:
Suppose I'm just overthinking this. To my recollection, DAM is the only one with a "date" and that was 1999 which would be the end. So it's just a matter of adding the other Toho films. Sorry for overthinking it.
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Re: Chronological Order

Post by Pkmatrix »

I always watch and think of them in release order, myself. :)

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Re: Chronological Order

Post by Maritonic »

That's what I've always done too, but I want to try something different this time. It sounds fun to include some of the non-Godzilla films in the time-line, and to finish with DAM.
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Re: Chronological Order

Post by gzillafan17 »

Haven't watched them like this, it would be cool though, especially to add non Godzilla Toho films in.
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Re: Chronological Order

Post by tlyon2 »

I know the chronological order that they go in and would be happy to help you out! :D

1.Gojira/Godzilla: King Of The Monsters (1954/1956)
2.Godzilla Raids Again (1955)
3.Rodan (1956)
4.The Mysterians (1957)
5.Varan: The Unbelievable (1958)
6.Frankenstein Conquers The World (1965)
7.Mothra (1961)
8.King Kong vs Godzilla (1962)
9.Atragon (1963)
10.Matango (1963)
11.Mothra vs Godzilla (1964)
12.Dogora The Space Monster (1964)
13.Battle In Outer Space (1959)
14.Ghidrah The Three Headed Monster (1964)
15.Invasion Of The Astro-Monster (1965)
16.War Of The Gargantuas (1966)
17.Godzilla vs The Sea Monster (1966)
18.King Kong Escapes (1967)
19.Son Of Godzilla (1967)
20.Latitude Zero (1969)
21.All Monsters Attack (1969)
22.Space Amoeba (1970)
23.Godzilla vs Hedorah (1971)
24.Godzilla vs Gigan (1972)
25.Godzilla vs Megalon (1973)
26.Zone Fighter (tv series 1973)
27.Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla (1974)
28.Terror Of Mechagodzilla (1975)
29.Gorath (1962)
30.The War In Space (1977)
31.Destroy All Monsters (1968)

There you go, now you can watch them in chronological order anytime you want. :)

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Re: Chronological Order

Post by Mac Daddy MM »

There is no way Gorath fits into the Showa timeline at all. The moon was destroyed in that movie. Can't really have a moon base without a moon. King Kong Escapes also doesn't fit. Pretty sure War in Space isn't in the Showa timeline either.


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Re: Chronological Order

Post by Terasawa »

I've always gone by the order the films were made and released in Japan on the rare occasion I've watched the movies in some sort of order. I can understand why some would watch DAM at the end of the Showa series, but it doesn't appeal to me. It would feel incongruous with the style of the later Matsuri era films.
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Re: Chronological Order

Post by Maritonic »

tlyon2 wrote:I know the chronological order that they go in and would be happy to help you out! :D

1.Gojira/Godzilla: King Of The Monsters (1954/1956)
2.Godzilla Raids Again (1955)
3.Rodan (1956)
4.The Mysterians (1957)
5.Varan: The Unbelievable (1958)
6.Frankenstein Conquers The World (1965)
7.Mothra (1961)
8.King Kong vs Godzilla (1962)
9.Atragon (1963)
10.Matango (1963)
11.Mothra vs Godzilla (1964)
12.Dogora The Space Monster (1964)
13.Battle In Outer Space (1959)
14.Ghidrah The Three Headed Monster (1964)
15.Invasion Of The Astro-Monster (1965)
16.War Of The Gargantuas (1966)
17.Godzilla vs The Sea Monster (1966)
18.King Kong Escapes (1967)
19.Son Of Godzilla (1967)
20.Latitude Zero (1969)
21.All Monsters Attack (1969)
22.Space Amoeba (1970)
23.Godzilla vs Hedorah (1971)
24.Godzilla vs Gigan (1972)
25.Godzilla vs Megalon (1973)
26.Zone Fighter (tv series 1973)
27.Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla (1974)
28.Terror Of Mechagodzilla (1975)
29.Gorath (1962)
30.The War In Space (1977)
31.Destroy All Monsters (1968)

There you go, now you can watch them in chronological order anytime you want. :)

Thanks for this. This is EXACTLY what I was looking for. I constructed the order myself while I was waiting for a response and I was actually spot on EXCEPT with my placement of Frankenstein, which I had closer to War of the Gargantuas for some reason.

Thanks very much for this.



I so look forward to this marathon. I started it yesterday and did Gojira, Godzilla Raids Again, and Rodan. I've never done a marathon including the non-Godzilla films so this will be REALLY awesome.
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Re: Chronological Order

Post by Terasawa »

MM Raids Again wrote:There is no way Gorath fits into the Showa timeline at all. The moon was destroyed in that movie. Can't really have a moon base without a moon. King Kong Escapes also doesn't fit. Pretty sure War in Space isn't in the Showa timeline either.
This this this.

You know what Godzilla movies reference non-Godzilla movies? Ghidrah. That's the only one, and it's almost an indirect reference to Rodan. I don't even think Mothra vs. Godzilla directly references the original Mothra. What about DAM? Sure, that film has monster characters originating in non-Godzilla movies, but those films are largely unimportant to what DAM and later Godzilla movies are doing with those characters.

On the other hand, what non-Godzilla movies reference the events of the Godzilla films? To my knowledge, none.

So yeah, you could go about building a big timeline using cryptic clues from certain films to determine that Frankenstein Conquers the World takes place some time prior to King Kong vs. Godzilla. And there's nothing in most of these films that prevents you from doing that. (Although MM is right, the same moon featured in DAM is destroyed in Gorath.) tylon's list is well-researched, but wouldn't it be odd to watch a film produced during Toho's golden era (Gorath, 1962) after some of the studio's cheapest output (the Matsuri Godzillas), followed by the ultra-cheap The War in Space, and cap it off with DAM (which is something technically in the middle of all that)? Gorath and The War in Space both take place in the 1980s, but were made fifteen years apart, and they look it. That's far too jarring for me.

I'd get it if all these movies had narrative beats that built up into the climax of DAM, but they don't. The connections between Matango, Dogora, and Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla are all behind the scenes. It makes much more sense to me to watch the movies in the order they were produced.
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Re: Chronological Order

Post by Mac Daddy MM »

I don't even think Mothra vs. Godzilla directly references the original Mothra
It doesn't. IIRC, Toho has stated before that the original film is NOT part of the Showa Godzilla timeline and doesn't actually flow into the G-series until the Kiryu saga.


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Re: Chronological Order

Post by BooLugosi »

I really don't count DAM as part of the same timeline as the rest of the Showa films.

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Re: Chronological Order

Post by Maritonic »

I have watched the Godzilla films in release order for as long as I can remember and more times than I can count. I'm just looking for something fun and interesting to do. And so far I'm really enjoying it.

Added in 27 minutes 28 seconds:
I think this is coming across as something more serious than what was intended. This is more or less just an excuse to rewatch the Showa era films, but in a different way rather than just release order. MOST remain in release order anyway.
My original point should have been more clear; I have never included non-Godzilla films in a marathon like this. This is the first time in my 15 something years as a fan including non-Godzilla Toho Showa films in the marathon and I was looking for a list like what was provided.
I know there isn't some huge Heisei like continuity here. Was merely looking for a fresh take on an old marathon.
Apologies for not being more clear and I thank everyone for their input. I may remove Gorath from the list.
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MechaGoji Bro7503 wrote: Tue Jan 31, 2023 3:24 pm Don't go to a friend's wedding, send him 100 copies of Gamera vs Zigra instead. Be a man.

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