Why is Heisei Godzilla Toho's Favorite Incarnation?

[Bigdog]

I could sum it up, via my own opinion/educated guess:
1. The regal, dragon-like appearance of BioGoji to DesuGoji, and its ties to ShodaiGoji and KinGoji. Both of those incarnations were from highly successful films in their own right and the Heisei series is connected with the former. The head of the Heisei Godzilla evokes ferocity and power, something that really hasn't been evoked in the franchise before and after, save for the Legendary Godzilla [again, my opinion.], since the first film.

2. Like most 90's franchises, many kids who grew up with that incarnation of Godzilla are now adults and make up a sizable part of the viewing audience. Much of the viewers were women, actually, taking their kids to the films. The effect of capitalizing on nostalgia is better than using other less recognizable versions of the creature. Shodai's only really known by very old filmgoers or cinephiles, the Showa incarnations descend to a quality that aren't mascot material, and the Millennium versions are too new in the audience's eyes to really make a difference. The only Godzilla that could be used from Millennium within reason is either MiraiGoji or KiryuGoji, which starred in the majority of the Godzilla films of the era. But honestly, neither evoke nostalgia yet. The Heisei is just this fantastic middle ground that was used throughout the 90's and through newer media like the comics that Toho doesn't have to go out on a limb. Why not use something that has so much nostalgia?

3. Having a consistent design was a massive first for the franchise. Before, they would change the appearance, to inconsistent effect, on a per film basis. Showa was more based on need and budget concerns, and making the suit not a living hell to actually maneuver and die from heat stroke in. The result was an increasingly anthropomorphized Godzilla that while better on the suit actor, didn't evoke the same terror its first incarnation did on November 1954. Then again, that was from several other factors such as changing audiences and competition from television, but I'll cut it off here. For the first time, technology allowed Toho and Koichi Kawakita to keep them relatively consistent with each other.

[Dillyziller]

I noticed Toho has a thing when using Heisei Godzilla nowadays they use Bio/GhidoGoji but give him the fiery orange eyes that the later Heisei suits had. Just look at him in the new PS4 game.

[JVM]

In addition to aforementioned points, isn't it generally known that the Heisei series is more iconic in Japan than any later films and some of the later Showa films?

I also think Mechagigan makes an excellent point that the Heisei Godzilla has a "traditional" appearance, with classic spines, grey coloring, etc. It also doesn't hurt that BIOLLANTE was recently voted the favorite Godzilla movie by Japanese fans... the core audience in Japan clearly likes that version of Godzilla.

Interesting note! Glad to hear it's renaissance carried over.

[Piccolo]

I knew the Heisei movies were popular but I never realized they made the most money. I suppose its not surprising though. I remember a lot of Godzilla merchandise being sold in the 1990s and the Heisei movies were always getting rented out at Blockbuster and similar stores.

Heisei Godzilla is definitely iconic.

[GodzillaRangerPrime]

I'm surprised they didn't go and straight up reuse the Heisei design for 2016

[Giga Kaiju]

Umm, because it was used in consecutive films of at the time, it had a consistent appearence, (not very different from Showa, but technically, in those years, the suit changed...), it was modern and such?

[Panther10]

I know this is an old thread but I'm pretty sure that the writers, director's and producers who all worked on the Heisei era Godzilla films still have a lot of clout at the toho offices today. Some of them even hold executive level jobs which is a pretty nice reward for a group who saved Toho from Bankruptcy back in the 80's and 90's.

[Chrispy_G]

With no disrespect to other eras, it just feels like the most 'prime' look of the character. Others have made excellent points. The financial success of the films, and as a child of the early 90s I can attest the 'merchandising' side of it. Before many of those 90s movies were out here in the states, I owned a bunch of Godzilla toys that sported that look.

Also, while there are tweaks and changes across the films...generally the Heisei look is the Heisei look. You basically had a 7 film sequence of successful, popular films that had pretty much the same look for Godzilla.

The 60s and 70s eras saw his design change and evolve and get a little cartoony, and as in virtually every aspect, the Millennium series never had any consistency or momentum to any of the designs...the max any 'look' got was 2 films before there was some kind of radical re-design.

And also...continuity. Not just of the suit design, but of the films. When you watch a 60s or 70s G film you don't always get a strong sense of it being part of a franchise or a larger story...a lot of the films feel and function almost entirely like one-offs.

But with the Heisei films you get a sense that you are seeing one film in a multi-film series. Renting the tapes from Blockbuster was a pretty popular thing. You rent Biollante and Godzilla is awakened from a volcano and there is something called a 'Super X2', you see Destoroyah and you've got a nearly full grown little Godzilla and something called a 'Super X3', Godzilla vs MechaGodzilla II shows the remains of Mecha King Ghidorah being used to create MechaGodzilla and features the birth of a Baby Godzilla. There were characters that carried over from film to film.

So the stronger sense that those films were part of a larger franchise/continuity would naturally lead to people renting more of the films and having an interest in watching them in order to experience the progression of the series....which only creates a stronger identification with it as a sort of 'definitive' interpretation of the character.

[Jermobooka]

Two reasons, I think.

For one, the Heisei series made a boatload of money.

Secondly, Heisei Goji is arguably the most recognizable and merchandisable Godzilla alongside G2000, Shin Goji, and Legendary Goji.