WHO HATES... Showa...!? Whaaaat? (Ignoring '54)

For the discussion of Toho produced and distributed films or shows released before 1980.
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What is your stance on original series (1955-1975) Godzilla films?

I consider these films flawless masterpieces.
5
5%
I love these films.
62
67%
I like these films.
15
16%
I am neutral on these films.
3
3%
I dislike these films.
2
2%
I strongly dislike these films.
1
1%
I literally hate these films.
2
2%
I have never seen these films.
2
2%
 
Total votes: 92

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Jomei
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Re: WHO HATES... Showa...!? Whaaaat? (Ignoring '54)

Post by Jomei »

Speaking of the Showa series, I actually find more to enjoy about them as time goes on. Paradoxically, as their mass appeal fades (clothes, mannerisms, storytelling styles, and even the then-impressive effects seem to some viewers too far removed from their immediate context) they gain appeal as a sort of time capsule of their era. For me, this magnifies many of their charms.
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Re: WHO HATES... Showa...!? Whaaaat? (Ignoring '54)

Post by Legion1979 »

Jomei wrote: Fri Aug 12, 2022 5:09 pm Speaking of the Showa series, I actually find more to enjoy about them as time goes on. Paradoxically, as their mass appeal fades (clothes, mannerisms, storytelling styles, and even the then-impressive effects seem to some viewers too far removed from their immediate context) they gain appeal as a sort of time capsule of their era. For me, this magnifies many of their charms.
That's such a great point! Even when there aren't any special effects on screen, I get lost in just looking at the fashions, the set designs, the cars, etc...

There was something we lost in later Godzilla movies. Once these films decided they were going to be primarily about military attacks, scientists and exepctially Godzllla combat teams, we lost every day locations and businesses and little slice of life moments of characters going about their day. Scenes set at the newspaper office from Mothra vs Godzilla or the police station in Ghidrah fascinate me, because it just feels like every day Japan the way later films don't.
Last edited by Legion1979 on Fri Aug 12, 2022 5:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: WHO HATES... Showa...!? Whaaaat? (Ignoring '54)

Post by JAGzilla »

^ Obviously you're aware, but since someone else will attack you for it if I don't, it's worth pointing out that we don't completely lose that type of scene. G2K, for example, has some scenes in the news office with Yuki, and even if the Shinodas are scientists studying Godzilla, we get some nice "everyday life" stuff with Io cooking dinner, her dad checking her homework, etc. There are plenty of snippets of everyday interactions with the lighthouse keeper, the people in the restaurant, on the train, and more. GMK has a lot of this type of thing, too. Of course, there is a reason those two tend to be held higher than some of the surrounding movies...
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Re: WHO HATES... Showa...!? Whaaaat? (Ignoring '54)

Post by LSD Jellyfish »

Legion1979 wrote: Fri Aug 12, 2022 5:42 pm There was something we lost in later Godzilla movies. Once these films decided they were going to be primarily about military attacks, scientists and exepctially Godzllla combat teams, we lost every day locations and businesses and little slice of life moments of characters going about their day. Scenes set at the newspaper office from Mothra vs Godzilla or the police station in Ghidrah fascinate me, because it just feels like every day Japan the way later films don't.
I agree with this, but I think some of the later entries shouldn't be ignored for them also showing a lot of little scenes here and there. G2000 and GMK are all oozing with lived in and "ordinary" places which provide perfect references for what was going on at the time. This isn't to say that the Heisei and Millennium movies never have these moments (even films like Tokyo SOS and GXM have them, but it's a clear shift away.

But still you're right: I'm thinking of how in the Showa-Era a lot of the films "invited" us, the viewers, into lived in spaces and the homes of the characters.
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Re: WHO HATES... Showa...!? Whaaaat? (Ignoring '54)

Post by Legion1979 »

Absolutely true of G2K and GMK. But that's 2 films out of many in the Heisei/Millennium eras? 13?
Last edited by Legion1979 on Sat Aug 13, 2022 5:39 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: WHO HATES... Showa...!? Whaaaat? (Ignoring '54)

Post by Jomei »

Legion1979 wrote: Fri Aug 12, 2022 5:42 pm
There was something we lost in later Godzilla movies. Once these films decided they were going to be primarily about military attacks, scientists and exepctially Godzllla combat teams, we lost every day locations and businesses and little slice of life moments of characters going about their day. Scenes set at the newspaper office from Mothra vs Godzilla or the police station in Ghidrah fascinate me, because it just feels like every day Japan the way later films don't.
Great point. And thinking about it, this is something the '90s Gamera series also has some of--like shopping scenes, a family sitting down around a meal. I think you've just helped me realize what gives those films such a "cozy" feeling (besides the necessarily smaller sets) that I appreciate so much even aside from the kaiju elements and pleasant characters.

And yes, that's a strength of G2K and GMK as well. But that's quite an interval between those and the Showa films that did them well.

Maybe that's what so many recent Godzilla films lack: A sense that these characters are people with lives outside the immediate kaiju emergency.
Last edited by Jomei on Sat Aug 13, 2022 5:58 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: WHO HATES... Showa...!? Whaaaat? (Ignoring '54)

Post by edgaguirus »

G14 does a little bit of slice of life. In the opening, we see a happy morning as Ford and mother stealthily plan the birthday, and then they all go off to school and work. Later, Ford comes home to a celebration, and after the kid goes to bed, an intimate moment with his wife. These types of scenes are forgotten soon as Ford runs off to Japan, but we do see a little bit of these people's normal lives.
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Re: WHO HATES... Showa...!? Whaaaat? (Ignoring '54)

Post by StardustGenius »

Super sorry for zombie posting, but I find Mac's comment on liking these movies for artificial reasons to just be confusing?

Perhaps people genuinely like these movies, not just because whoever worked on them. Put me in the "I love the Showa" films camp. A lot more ambitious films overall, and I don't just mean Godzilla.

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Re: WHO HATES... Showa...!? Whaaaat? (Ignoring '54)

Post by Legion1979 »

He was high when he created this thread. Don't worry too much about it.

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Re: WHO HATES... Showa...!? Whaaaat? (Ignoring '54)

Post by ShinGojira14 »

Man, all these threads about 'Who Hates Heisei?' and 'Who Hates Showa minus 54?' just going around. I mean, it's not like it matters.




It's not like Shin Godzilla isn't head, shoulders and feet superior to both. :shingodzilla: :huge:

Added in 1 minute 25 seconds:
Side Note: Showa Era includes Godzilla Raids Again, so that automatically makes it superior to Heisei.
Last edited by ShinGojira14 on Tue Oct 04, 2022 3:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: WHO HATES... Showa...!? Whaaaat? (Ignoring '54)

Post by Voyager »

ShinGojira14 wrote: Tue Oct 04, 2022 3:31 pm Man, all these threads about 'Who Hates Heisei?' and 'Who Hates Showa minus 54?' just going around. I mean, it's not like it matters.




It's not like Shin Godzilla isn't head, shoulders and feet superior to both. :shingodzilla: :huge:
You can keep your janky sped-up walk ;)
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Re: WHO HATES... Showa...!? Whaaaat? (Ignoring '54)

Post by ShinGojira14 »

Voyager wrote: Tue Oct 04, 2022 3:33 pm
ShinGojira14 wrote: Tue Oct 04, 2022 3:31 pm Man, all these threads about 'Who Hates Heisei?' and 'Who Hates Showa minus 54?' just going around. I mean, it's not like it matters.




It's not like Shin Godzilla isn't head, shoulders and feet superior to both. :shingodzilla: :huge:
You can keep your janky sped-up walk ;)
Oh, Voyager...you assume too much. :twisted:

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Re: WHO HATES... Showa...!? Whaaaat? (Ignoring '54)

Post by Executive Hamster »

So, believe it or not, I, ExecutiveHamster, one of TK's most notorious Heisei fanboys......do infact love the Showa series. Front to back, side to side, upside down, I love every film in these series....aside from the Mechagodzilla films, but we will get to that. I would go so far as to say that not only is the Showa series EASILY my second favorite series, I'd go so far to say that the Heisei series BARELY beats it. Its VERY close, contrary to how I may have presented it in the past.

As for best Showa film? (aside from 54 of course). Ive said it before, and I will say it again: Godzilla vs Ebirah and Son of Godzilla. Im being totally serious here, these two films are the two I am always the most excited to rewatch. Some of the most enjoyable human characters in the whole series.

I mentioned Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla and Terror of Mechagodzilla being the low point of the Showa, and my reasoning is that I personally found them pretty forgetable. I genuinely don't remember a thing that happened in either movie, HOWEVER, it is worth pointing out that I have only seen these two films ONCE each, so perhaps I was being too harsh in writing them off like that. Now obviously, I only had to see films like Hedorah, Gigan, or Ebirah ONCE to know that I absolutely loved them, so the MG films don't get COMPLETELY off the hook just yet. But Im definitely eager to rewatch them and give them another shot.

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Re: WHO HATES... Showa...!? Whaaaat? (Ignoring '54)

Post by Dv-218 »

It was the opposite for me ngl, from all of the Showa series in it’s longevity I always felt that the MG duology acted as some sort of a “second coming” for it and a return to some of the golden 50s-60s era standards in regards to sheer scope and quality. Especially felt this with TOMG, all of the original creative team coming back one last time really felt like a proper bang and hurrah to end such a long period with. Granted as I got older I began to appreciate the midway period movies more for some of the stuff they tried to pull off and present, particularly Hedorah which still surprises me with how relatively bold and thematic it was despite the fact that Toho planned to end the series altogether just two years ago and despite being settled within the decline period. But the MG movies still hold a species place for me, there’s just something so bombastic and entertaining about them that really captures you, especially after something like vs Megalon.

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Re: WHO HATES... Showa...!? Whaaaat? (Ignoring '54)

Post by Executive Hamster »

Which is funny, because I ABSOLUTELY love Godzilla vs Megalon.

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Re: WHO HATES... Showa...!? Whaaaat? (Ignoring '54)

Post by Dv-218 »

Oh don’t get me wrong, despite the visibly rushed production and some crammed in concepts GvM is still a fun as hell experience, especially everything involving JJ. Just always found the sheer contrast between it and the two films that followed wild.

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Re: WHO HATES... Showa...!? Whaaaat? (Ignoring '54)

Post by edgaguirus »

ShinGojira14 wrote: Tue Oct 04, 2022 3:32 pm Man, all these threads about 'Who Hates Heisei?' and 'Who Hates Showa minus 54?' just going around. I mean, it's not like it matters.




It's not like Shin Godzilla isn't head, shoulders and feet superior to both. :shingodzilla: :huge:

Added in 1 minute 25 seconds:
Side Note: Showa Era includes Godzilla Raids Again, so that automatically makes it superior to Heisei.
Shin is good, but can Shin Godzilla fly, do a tail slide or become a magnet? I don't think so.

Seriously, we've already established that no one hates the Showa series.
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Re: WHO HATES... Showa...!? Whaaaat? (Ignoring '54)

Post by Gojira18 »

I've grown a lot more appreciative of the Showa films as I've gotten older and a lot the classic Honda films are among my favorites. That said, while 8 of them are pretty high on my list, the other 7 are pretty low. But overall, I can at least appreciate the creativity put into them, even if not all of them are great.
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Re: WHO HATES... Showa...!? Whaaaat? (Ignoring '54)

Post by GoldenGoat2000 »

I personally view the millennium era as the best, but this is a very, VERY close second place. Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla (1974) is probably my favorite film of all time

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Re: WHO HATES... Showa...!? Whaaaat? (Ignoring '54)

Post by Executive Hamster »

Millennium as the best huh. Thats a rare one lol.

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