How Would You Rate The Heisei Godzilla Series?

[Jermobooka]

I get we’re a bunch of Godzilla hipsters, but it was surprising to find out that, for the most part, TK doesn’t really like the Heisei series, despite the entire rest of the G-fandom loving it

So, in my curiosity, i want to know how the majority here would rate it on a scale from 1 to 10

[_JNavs_]

I think there's a total of 5 to 7 members who aren't keen on the Heisei era.

Vs

Everyone else here lol.

[eabaker]

I get we’re a bunch of Godzilla hipsters, but it was surprising to find out that, for the most part, TK doesn’t really like the Heisei series, despite the entire rest of the G-fandom loving it

So, in my curiosity, i want to know how the majority here would rate it on a scale from 1 to 10

Sorry, what's your source on "the entire rest of the G-fandom"?

I also don't really get the idea of giving a single rating to a collection of seven different movies. Would this be an average of their ratings as individual movies, or a gestalt rating, based on the idea that those movies constitute a single work?

[Jermobooka]

I get we’re a bunch of Godzilla hipsters, but it was surprising to find out that, for the most part, TK doesn’t really like the Heisei series, despite the entire rest of the G-fandom loving it

So, in my curiosity, i want to know how the majority here would rate it on a scale from 1 to 10

Sorry, what's your source on "the entire rest of the G-fandom"?

I also don't really get the idea of giving a single rating to a collection of seven different movies. Would this be an average of their ratings as individual movies, or a gestalt rating, based on the idea that those movies constitute a single work?

I’m mainly referring to how in places like YouTube videos/comment sections and subreddits the Heisei series is way more beloved and regarded higher than it is here on TK

And that would be the latter, rating it as a collective

[_JNavs_]

I get we’re a bunch of Godzilla hipsters, but it was surprising to find out that, for the most part, TK doesn’t really like the Heisei series, despite the entire rest of the G-fandom loving it

So, in my curiosity, i want to know how the majority here would rate it on a scale from 1 to 10

Sorry, what's your source on "the entire rest of the G-fandom"?

I also don't really get the idea of giving a single rating to a collection of seven different movies. Would this be an average of their ratings as individual movies, or a gestalt rating, based on the idea that those movies constitute a single work?

I’m mainly referring to how in places like YouTube videos/comment sections and subreddits the Heisei series is way more beloved and regarded higher than it is here on TK

And that would be the latter, rating it as a collective

Yeah nah I wouldn't really consider comment sections and subreddits as "The entire rest of the G fandom" imo

[Jermobooka]

Sorry, what's your source on "the entire rest of the G-fandom"?

I also don't really get the idea of giving a single rating to a collection of seven different movies. Would this be an average of their ratings as individual movies, or a gestalt rating, based on the idea that those movies constitute a single work?

I’m mainly referring to how in places like YouTube videos/comment sections and subreddits the Heisei series is way more beloved and regarded higher than it is here on TK

And that would be the latter, rating it as a collective

Yeah nah I wouldn't really consider comment sections and subreddits as "The entire rest of the G fandom" imo

I worded that poorly. I meant “despite the majority of the G-fandom being positive towards it”, since praise for Heisei is all i see, except on TK


...now that i think about it this is kinda dumb lol

[goji89]

A ten out of ten.

Some of the TK fans wouldn't know a good series if it fell on their face and started to wiggle.

[Voyager]

A solid eh, it's ok. Better than Millennium and Monsterverse, worse than Showa.

[Jermobooka]

Better than Showa, just as good as Millenium, and worse than Monsterverse

FTFY

[CrimsonBloodX]

I give it a 7/10 because the two films from the 80s are great, with The Return of Godzilla being one of my most favorite Godzilla films ever and the others are being pretty good, except for Godzilla vs Mothra and Godzilla vs King Ghidorah, while still enjoyable, having a wack story filled with plotholes.

[Keizer]

I think I like it better than Millennium as a whole. The only leg Millennium has to stand on in comparison is GMK; the rest of the Millennium films don't really stand out to me, except Final Wars, for good and bad reasons. I do appreciate how all 7 of the films have a distinct continuity, time travel shenanigans aside. The Showa films had this as well, but with much more drastic tonal shifts; the Heisei films tend to be more consistent.

As a whole, the Heisei films tend to be decent to great, with Godzilla VS Mothra and Godzilla VS Spacegodzilla being the only real exceptions. Both suffered from being terribly boring, and the latter specifically suffered from introducing one of the worst Godzilla monsters. Those two aside, though, the Heisei films are generally good. It had a strong start with Godzilla 1984 and Godzilla VS Biollante, a step down with Godzilla VS King Ghidorah, a dire decrease in quality with Godzilla VS Mothra, a few steps up with Godzilla VS Mechagodzilla, another decrease with Godzilla VS Spacegodzilla, and finally, a pretty good finale in Godzilla VS Destoroyah, which I consider about as good as GVKG.

One disadvantage the Heisei era has is a moderate lack of originality. Though they did make an effort to reinvent many old monsters, they are still the old monsters all the same. They did introduce the fantastic monster Biollante, but they also added Spacegodzilla, who is... Spacegodzilla, Batrra, who doesn't do a whole lot for me, in spite of being an "Anti-Mothra" of sorts, and Destoroyah, who is okay, but a little on the generic side.

One thing that I did like, however, was Baby Godzilla's arc. I really enjoyed how it went from a helpless little creature to a decently badass monster by the end. Seeing it manage to defeat Destoroyah's less evolved forms was very cool, and seeing him get killed was genuinely upsetting, even if it was undone. I also really appreciate the idea of Burning Godzilla; not only is it visually striking, but it also gives them a more feasible excuse for Godzilla to die, and his death scene is more sad than you may think.

As a whole, I would have to give the Heisei Era about a 7/10. Not a very exciting ranking, but I do think it fits; it is an overall good revival of the Godzilla franchise, albeit with some major speedbumps along the way. Still a very worthwhile era, though, and I do consider it better than Millennium as a whole. Heisei doesn't have the highest highs or lowest lows, which works both for and against it.

[Voyager]

Showa is a far better film series, and nothing compares. Especially Heisei and MonsterVerse.

FTFY

FTFY

[GodzillavsJason]

I give it about a 6.

- Love the two 80s films.
- Don't really care for vs. King Ghidorah.
- Hate Battle for Earth
- Really enjoyed vs. Mechagodzilla 2, but that could go through another draft.
- Hate vs. SpaceGodzilla
- vs. Destoroyah is just passable.

[1tisoygoji]

The Heisei Series is really mediocre. It starts off strong with G84 and Biollante, but it never gets any better.

-GvKK is mostly enjoyable but the time travel and writing handicaps the entire movie
-vs. Mothra is awful
-vs. MG2 is a childhood favorite, but it still contains many flaws
-SpaceGodzilla is a horrible mess of a movie
-Destoroyah is also a mess, but it has its moments

I'd honestly consider the Heisei series to be the weakest era.

5/10

[Voyager]

6/10 for me.

G84: Not for me, really.
Bio: Yes, peak Heisei kino.
GvKG: Childhood favourite, favourite 90s film.
GvM: Boring’s the name and so’s the game (movie in this case).
GvMG: Meh.
GvSG: Fucking mess of a film.
GvD: Also a mess, but less messy.

[Rando Yaguchi]

6/10 seems like a good score to me, because reasons.

[KaijuKingGojira]

8/10

The 80’s movies are masterpieces.
Godzilla vs KG is pretty good and fun but not amazing
Godzilla v Mothra is very eh
Godzilla v MG is so good
Godzilla v SG is so bad
Godzilla v Destroyah is damn amazing, I don’t care what anyone else says, I tear up every damn time.

It’s even with Showa to me and far beyond Millennium.

[Spuro]

Well, a quick look at my letterboxd account reveals I ranked the Heisei Godzilla movies as follows:

The Return of Godzilla: 8/10
Godzilla vs Biollante: 8/10
Godzilla vs King Ghidorah: 4/10
Godzilla vs Mothra: 5/10
Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla: 4/10
Godzilla vs Spacegodzilla: 3/10
Godzilla vs Destoroyah: 6/10

Calculate the average between these rankings and you have a 5.4/10 for the entire Heisei series; round that down to 5/10, and you have my answer for this poll. My distaste for GvKG and GvMG seems to bring my overall rating down, huh?

I kinda want to do this for the other series now...

[Andagi1]

Godzilla/Return of Godzilla: My favorite Godzilla movies will always be the solo ones.
Godzilla vs Biollante: Has a whole bunch of human and monster plot points that somehow manage to mesh together fairly well.
Godzilla vs King Ghidorah: Changing Ghidorah's origin and having him lose rather quickly makes him seem underwhelming compared to Showa.
Godzilla vs Mothra: Battra is one of my favorite Kaiju, but he doesn't make up for the mostly uninteresting/shallow plot.
Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla: Nice to see Mechagodzilla give Godzilla a hard time, though Godzilla having a son will always be ridiculous to me.
Godzilla vs Spacegodzilla: Uninteresting/messy plot, Moguera can't compare to MG, Junior redesigned to look like a marketable plush.
Godzilla vs Destoroyah: Buildup towards Godzilla's meltdown is satisfying, though Destoroyah is what really makes the movie enjoyable.

8/10 if only for the first two films and monster designs.

[GodzillaXGomoraFight]

Per my 2019 marathon and ranking of all Godzilla and Toho SFX films, here is how I ranked the Heisei Godzilla films:

1) The Return of Godzilla: while maybe not my favorite to watch personally, critically I find this movie to be the strongest of the bunch. In terms of solo G films, I prefer 54 more but I do like this movie more than Shin. The costume looks off in some angles yet at the same time it is one of my top 5 Goji designs. A bridge film in effects between Showa and what we would see from Biollante on.

2) Godzilla vs. Destoroyah: if you like the Heisei Series, the emotional payoff of this movie is big when watching from beginning to end. Destoroyah is a very impressive villain and the 54 movie tie ins are great. Some things irk me like the Aliens scene, the beam spam, and Destoroyah being killed by the military, but otherwise a great and emotionally charged Godzilla movie.

3) Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah: if I watch this movie without thinking too hard about the time travel loopholes or the Terminator 2 homages, this movie ends up being a very enjoyable watch. Does a great job in showing the scale of the monsters and the battle, especially in the Mecha King Ghidorah fight. Has a strong human plot, great monster designs, and iconic scenes throughout. The ending of Godzilla waking up underwater angry as heck with the theme slapping is one of my absolute favorite visuals in the entire franchise

4) Godzilla vs. Biollante: I admit it is a good Godzilla movie critically, but the fights leave a lot to be desired in my opinion. Biollante is one of the coolest designs and her fight with Godzilla is so short and at the very end. If the fights were longer, this movie would rank higher than both Desotoryah and King Ghidorah for me.

5) Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla: a personal favorite of mine as Spacegodzilla is my favorite villain behind King Ghidorah. I have a lot of nostalgia for this movie and I don't find it to be completely awful as many say online. The first four movies I mentioned are all definitely stronger, but I question if the movies below are really that much better than this one.

6) Godzilla vs. Mothra: I have a soft spot for this movie for the soundtrack and Battra, but otherwise that is it. Mothra and Battra carrying Godzilla off to the ocean is too reminiscent of the better finale of Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah and distracts for me. The divorce/family at the core of this movie doesn't do it for me.

7) Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla 2: My least favorite Heisei film by a longshot. Two things hurt this movie for me: the Pteranodon guy and the woman who cares for Baby Godzilla. The Pteranodon glider thing is completely ridiculous and bothers me so much whenever I see it. Plus, whenever the woman looks to Baby Godzilla and calls him "Baby" in the Japanese version, it makes me chuckle. The fights themselves are not bad and I do like the Godzilla/Rodan battle in the beginning quite a bit. My issues with the kaiju are the design of Rodan (reminds me of a duck with his beak) and Mechagodzilla II lacks the close quarter combat ability of Showa MG and Kiryu. If there was one movie that I have a problem with spamming, it is the battle between Godzilla and MGII.


As a whole, I think the Heisei era earns a 7/10. It is the most consistent of all eras due to it being a single story and having similar creative minds across most of the films. I am tempted to rank it down to 6, but the first four movies are strong enough to bump up the score.