Here are the Showa Series

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Here are the Showa Series. Fifteen movies in all shown Godzilla and his change in attitude. The great monster went from horrible menace to Earth's greatest hero. Each of the series here come from 1954-1974, with a release in the US one year after the opening in Japan's theaters. Here are the series in order along with my reviews of the plots. I'll try to include the some of Japanese titles as well. I don't remember them all, some of them will be translated, some of them will be in the actual Japanese format. (Also, I've put the titles in their original Japanese language. So, those of you who do not have the Japanese language installed on your browser...you may have problems, but luckily I have the near exact translations on the side of the gobbeldie gook you're seeing.)

Godzilla: King of the Monsters (ゴジラ) Gojira 1954 (US release 1955): Strange ship disasters stuns Japan as a large monster rises out of the water only to attack Tokyo. This creature lays waste to Tokyo, causing massive damage and loss of life. It is believed that this creature was some dinosaur that lived millions of years ago, survived the ice age and was awaken by the H-bomb testing. The creature was finally destroyed by a chemical weapon called the Oxygen Destroyer. This movie was created not to be cheesy at all. It was created with a lot of darkness and suspense. Godzilla was a monster created by the follies of mankind's struggle to be the dominant species.

Gigantis: the Fire Monster (ゴジラの逆襲) Godzilla's Counter Attack or Godzilla Raids Again 1955 (US release 1956): (I haven't seen this yet)

King Kong vs. Godzilla (キングコング対ゴジラ) 1961 (US release 1962): This one is a little on the cheesy side, but still a good flick to watch. Islanders worship a god who happens to be a gigantic gorilla. Japanese takes this monster back to Japan where it starts to wreck all of Tokyo. Well, then that's when the fun starts. Apparently, Godzilla awakens from his iceberg prison and starts to go on a rampage again. Japan's only hope (well at least in the American release) is King Kong. The two start to fight and finally in the American version, Kong wins. But in the Japanese version, it is Godzilla who wins. Heh, that is funny!

Godzilla vs. the Thing (モスラ対ゴジラ) Godzilla vs. Mothra 1963 (US release 1964): Business men steal Mothra's egg from Infant Island, which of course upsets Mothra and the Twins. Godzilla arrives on the scene, looking at the giant egg and thinking it's breakfast. Mmmmm, omelet! Mothra tries her best to defeat Godzilla, but unfortunately, she has grown too old to fight. She dies, but at her death, births two new Mothra larva hatchlings. The hatchlings proceed to finish the job their mother had started, saving Japan from Godzilla. One final note, this is the last movie in which Godzilla plays the bad guy.

Ghidorah: the Three-headed Monster ( 三大怪獣　地球最大の決戦) Three Giant Monsters Fight a Decisive Battle 1964 (US release 1965) Though I had my doubts about this movie, mostly because of its cheesy plot and holes, but that could be expected out of a Showa movie. I don't hate it, but I don't love it as well. Quite frankly I think Ghidorah could have been introduced in a better movie than this. A Japanese plane crashes down and the only survivor is a princess. She comes to Japan with warning, claming she is from Mars. (Huh?) She warns that the Martian people were destroyed by a great monster with three heads. This monster soon appears in Japan. This monster is a three-headed golden dragon called Ghidorah. It arrives and destroys the land around it. Well, it seems our only hope is Godzilla. Oh, the irony! But Godzilla is busy right now. He and Rodan are in some sort of dispute. The Twins from Infant Island show up with Mothra to convince Godzilla and Rodan to fight Ghidorah and save Japan. Godzilla and Rodan reluctantly team up with Mothra and finally the three kaiju kick Ghidorah's butt back to space. Oh, yeah, Mothra scorns Goji on his poor use of colorful metaphors.

Godzilla vs. Monster Zero (怪獣大戦争)Monstrous Beast, Large War 1965 (US release 1966) Set in the future, somewhere around 1999. Looks like the 1960's to me! A small planet was discovered orbiting Jupiter. The folks on Earth call this planet Planet X. Well, apparently, our new friends have some good news. If we lone them Godzilla and Rodan to defeat a monster that has been causing them problems, they'll give us a miracle cure. They call this monster Monster Zero. Now, Earthlings can be so trusting! The Earth loans them Godzilla and Rodan to go and fight this monster. Oh, the irony! It's Ghidorah! Monster Zero is Ghidorah! Well, both Godzilla and Rodan defeat Ghidorah, much to both the people of Planet X and to Earth's amazement. And Godzilla does his super bowl dance! But now the aliens turn on us, telling us that they wish to take over Earth, using the combined forces of Godzilla, Rodan, and Ghidorah! So it was a trick! Earthlings are very trusting, but we are not dumb either. Japan finds a way to bring Godzilla and Rodan back on their side just in time to defeat Ghidorah at the end.

Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster (ゴジラ・エビラ・モスラ　南海の大決闘) Godzilla, Ebirah, Mothra: Great Battle of Nankai 1966 (US release 1967) On an island out on the Pacific, a faction of terrorists have captured Infant Islanders to do their work. Three men (one being a thief) take a boat out and become ship wrecked on that very same island. Well, it seems that a gigantic sea monster is doing all the damage. This sea monster is a giant lobster. (Now I know why there is a web page called Spacegodzilla and Ebirah Movie Critics. Quite frankly, the way Spacegodzilla beats up on Ebirah is very amusing!) Anyway, Ebirah, the giant Red Lobster dish crashes and smashes boats that don't have this special chemical on board made from a curtain type of fruit. Don't know why, maybe he doesn't like fruit juice! Well, the three guys find Godzilla and decide to wake him up with a jolt of lightning! Cranky and very pissed off, Godzilla proceeds to destroy the base of the terrorist while Mothra swoops in to save the Infant Islanders. Where there are Infant Islanders in trouble, our insect heroine is always on the job. Did I mention that Ebirah and Godzilla play a quick game of volley ball with a large boulder? This is cheese!

Son of Godzilla (怪獣島の決戦　ゴジラの息子) Great Battle on Monster Island with Godzilla and Son 1967 (US release 1968) An expedition sets out to study the monsters on Ogasarawa Island, also called Monster Island. When they arrive, they find an egg that hatches a young creature baring some resemblance to Godzilla. Let's call him Minya and laugh when he cries out "Mama!" I swear it that's what it sounds like. Godzilla adopts the young creature and tries to teach him how to use his atomic breath. Well for right now all that Minya could produce are smoke rings. But when a little pressure is applied to his tail, like Godzilla's foot, Minya can spout atomic fire like his paw! No real plot here, just a lot of cute cheese. Not healthy for some G-fans, but that's what some say. The G-suit used in this movie gave Godzilla a sort of cartoony, cute look. It sort of made him less fearsome and more kid friendly, since that's what Toho was going for.

Destroy All Monsters (怪獣総進撃) Invasion of the Space Monster 1968 (US release 1969) Here we are, the largest monster smack down in the world! I think 10 monsters made their début here, including the Famous Four: Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra, and King Ghidorah. All the monsters of the world are confined to Ogasarawa Island, which the movie calls Monster Land. We G-fans call it Monster Island. The island is attacked by some unknown gas and the monsters break out to attack a major city. It seems that the monsters are being controlled by the people who ran Monster Island, but they are being controlled by these alien women who turn to metal if you freeze them. When the monsters are finally freed from their control, the aliens bring forth their secret weapon--a space monster that they believe is more powerful than all the Earth monsters. Well, yes, it's King Ghidorah, and we all know what happens when two monsters attack him. Well now it's a lot of monsters that tangle with Ghida, and this time, they actually kill him! Perhaps this is why Toho thought they were going to end the Goji movies there. Well, they didn't and Goji goes on for a few more movies.

Godzilla's Revenge (ゴジラ・ミニラ・ガバラ　オール怪獣大進撃) Godzilla and Minya: Rise of Monsters 1969 (US release 1970): Eh, why did they make this movie? I never liked this movie, and I never will! Mostly because this movie has more stock footage than need to be seen in one movie. Well, this little boy named Ichiro loves to pretend, and he loves Godzilla. He been having a tough time with a bully named Gabera. Ichiro ends up in a warehouse where he finds a bunch of mobsters ready to attack a place--can't remember where--my mind went blank half way through the movie. He falls asleep and pretends to take a plane to Monster Island where he finds Minya. Oh, yeah, Minya can talk in a voice that sounds like a cross between Goofy and Barney, the Purple Dinosaur! Aurgh, mind...going...intelligence down to 4%...gray matter dripping from ears. Huh? Well, anyway, Minya has this small problem with a bully who is also named Gabera! This monster looks like a blue cat with purple spots and a single horn on its forehead. The ugliest monster I've ever seen. And Minya shows off his little shrinking/growing trick to Ichiro. Can Godzilla do the same trick? Well, through most of the movie, we see stock footage of Godzilla fighting Ebirah, Godzilla fighting a few bugs, and Godzilla teaching Minya how to breath his fire. One movie made cheaply--too cheaply! The only real footage of Godzilla we see is when he turns around and fights Gabera. Goji gets in trouble and its Minya to the rescue! Well, Ichiro learns how to stand up to his fears and finally faces the mobsters and his own Gabera. If this movie just remained a spy movie, it would have been good. And I can see the message it delivers, but still, I hate this movie!

Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster (ゴジラ対ヘドラ) Godzilla vs. Hedorah 1970 (US release 1971): Disco Goji! As a way to deliver an environmental message, they use their star reptile to fight a monster created from Earth's pollution. Mind you, this movie is one of the most graphic Showa movie out there. Lots of skeletons. Hedorah is a monster created from the sludge and slime of pollution emptied into Tokyo Bay. It arrives in Tokyo, destroying the land and feeding off of the carbon monoxide from the smoke stacks of factories. And this may sound like a good thing, but it's not. It then turns the pollution into worse pollution, suffocating the life around it and turning all living things into skeletons. And Goji is the garbage man! He first enters the movie, setting fire to the sludge in the ocean with his atomic breath. Then, the sludge leads him into Tokyo where he fights Hedorah for the first time. After that, it seems Hedorah goes to Mt. Fuji. Why? I don't know, I guess he has housing stakes there. Godzilla follows the sludge monster to Fuji where they continue their fight. And the humans have whipped up a little surprise of their own. It seems that they can dry out Hedorah with electricity. And this is where Godzilla shows off his brains. The Showa Godzilla is a lot smarter than some think. He knows those tiny humans have been devising something and he decides to help them along. Taking Hedorah to the two panels, he breaths on them to get the charge up, which also fries the sludge and kills the monster. And I forgot that Godzilla can fly in this movie too. Not only that, he also gives the humans a scornful look for creating such a mess in the first place. Then, he goes off back into the water to play garbage man again.

Godzilla vs. Gigan (地球攻撃命令　ゴジラ対ガイガン) Godzilla on Monster Island 1971 (US release 1972): A company decides to build a theme park dedicated to the monsters on Ogasarawa Island. They also build an enormous Godzilla Tower, dedicating it to the Kaiju King himself. They ask a Graphic Artist/cartoonist to help them with the designs. Then, they proceed to tell him that they plan to kill all of the monsters after the park is opened. Of course, there was something to this plan. They hoped to create perfect peace. The artist ran into a woman who stole a tape from the tower. He followed her and then learned that she had a brother held hostage by the his new boss. The woman, the artist, and a hippie played the tape which made sound that they could not understand. But Godzilla and Angilis understood it all the way from Monster Island. The two monsters travel to Japan, talking! For a minute I thought I was hearing things. Godzilla and Angilis both speak in voices that sound like a tape recorder running backwards. As we suspected, the guys who run the Godzilla Tower are up to something, they are alien cockroaches parasites who took over human bodies. Their soul goal is to rule the Earth. (This is sounding like a broken record!) Godzilla and Angilis come to Japan just when the roaches call on their stooge Gigan to destroy the place. And just for fun, they also call King Ghidorah! Yup, dragon-boy is back for one last Showa movie. Four monsters in one movie! The monsters duke it out until the roaches pull a dirty trick. They used laser cannons mounted on the Godzilla Tower to blind our radioactive lizard hero! While Goji is waddling around, his eyes shut tight, Gigan thinks that this is the appropriate time to pound him into the ground. Ghidorah handles Angilis. Both monsters are put out of commission until the tower is destroyed by the human characters of this movie, since that's the only good they are used for. Then, Godzilla and Angilis gang up on Gigan and Ghidorah, until both of the space monsters fly away like the wussies they are.

Godzilla vs. Megalon (ゴジラ対メガロ) 1972 (US release 1973): People who live under the sea--Seatopia, are disgusted by the constant nuclear testing going on around their country. They devise a plan to steal a robot called Jet Jaguar from a scientist, and have it lead their main kaiju, Megalon to Tokyo. But there is something they did not plan on, JJ's creator has a special controller that will bring control of the robot back to him. He sends JJ to Monster Island to get Godzilla's help. This is very humorous, Godzilla and Jet communicate in some sort of sign language. Goji agrees to help and follows Jet back to Japan. Jet first fights Megalon, growing to enormous size. Did Minya teach him that trick? Then, the Seatopians call the roaches from space to barrow Gigan, after JJ pounds Megalon for a while. Funny how all the bad guys have phone books to each other. When one needs help, he just barrows the other guy's monster. Now, it two monsters against one robot. Seems unfair? Gigan and Megalon pound, beat, and batter poor JJ into the ground, literally! That is until the Kaiju King appears. Godzilla pulls JJ out of the ground and prepares to beat the two monsters. Oh, yeah, Jet thanks Goji by shaking his paw a couple of times. That's a hoot to see! The three monsters and the robot begin their fighting, each one talking in sign language. It would have been cool if they were really talking like in the previous movie, but I guess not many people like it. Finally, Godzilla and Jet beat the two up. Gigan flies off in a hurry, probably running home to momma after Goji broke his arm! And Megalon tumbles back to Seatopia. Jet thanks Godzilla again the two part ways. This movie, I felt, showed how 'human' Godzilla acts.

Godzilla vs. the Cosmic Monster (ゴジラ対メカゴジラ) Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla 1973 (US release 1974) My favorite robokaiju! Mechagodzilla... A substance called space titanium is found in the island of Okinawa, near old ruins with a prophecy painted on cave walls. A princess of an ancient people (Azume tribe) foretells of a monster appearing at Mt. Fuji, destroying everything in sight. A monster does come and low and behold, it's Godzilla! Godzilla trashes and smashes the buildings around Mt. Fuji, in Yokohama in much of the same style he did back in '54. Until Angilis arrives. Angilis, knowing his best friend in all the world, knows that something is up. He also realizes that the reptile making the big mess isn't Godzilla! Godzilla pounds and punishes Angilis until the ankylosaur scurries off, whining in pain and burrowing under ground to escape. But then, later, the real Goji appears on the scene. The two battle it off, until Godzilla slices his ironic double's skin. Underneath is gleaming space titanium and finally the imposter is revealed, shedding its sheep-skin. It's a robotic duplicate of Godzilla, or Mechagodzilla! And this guy can really dish it out. Armed to the teeth, claws, eyes, kneecaps, chest, and toes, Mecha delivers a wide range of weapons that throws back and nearly kills Godzilla. Oh, yeah, the down side to really cool Mecha is that he's being controlled by green Planet of the Apes rejects who say they come from a planet near a black hole. You know, aliens--control Earth sort of thing again! There's always that alien thing! Goji disappears under the water, mortally wounded. (As you can see, I really like this movie.) Our human characters play an important role as well. At the site of the prophecy was a statue carved in the shape of a lion. The prophecy tells two great beast will arise to defeat the monster attacking Japan. One of these great beasts happens to be a guardian of an ancient people. His name is King Cesar. The statue, when placed in the correct spot at the appropriate time will release Cesar from his sleep. The humans take the statue to that very spot and the princess of the Azume Tribe awakens Cesar, while Mechagodzilla prepares to attack him. Meanwhile, Godzilla comes back after getting a super charge from an electrical storm. Cesar and Godzilla gang up on Mechagodzilla, and the humans foil the apes' plans for world domination.

Terror of Mechagodzilla (メカゴジラの逆襲) Mechagodzilla's Counter Attack 1974 (US release 1975) Yay, Mechagodzilla gets one more try! A submarine crashes near the site where the wreckage of Mechagodzilla laid. All that was left behind was the radio signal from the sub, exclaiming that it was attacked by a giant dinosaur. A marine biologist and a member of the INTERPOL look into the incident. They travel to the house of a scientist, who may have records on the dinosaur that attacked the sub. The scientist's daughter tells them that he has been dead for a long time and that she had burned his notes. But in the end, she was lying about the whole thing. The scientist still lives and is controlling the dinosaur he calls Titanosaurus. It's a silly name, but a fairly cool looking kaiju! And he doesn't like supersonic waves! Must not be a Mariah Carrie fan. Well, as it so happens to be, the scientist was helping our friendly black hole, space monkeys out of revenge! And the monkeys are at it again! They had found the wreckage of Mechagodzilla and rebuilt him! The scientist's daughter, a cyborg who controls Mecha through her anger and revenge. The monkeys were using Tinanosaurus as a guard dog while they rebuilt Mechagodzilla. Using both Mechagodzilla and Tinanosaurus, the monkeys attack Japan. Then, Godzilla appears on the scene. Godzilla, out numbered, but not out matched, tackles both monsters at once. The marine biologist and the agent infiltrates the monkeys' base and finally shut them down. They also kill off the girl who had Mecha's controller in her stomach. And the other INTERPOL agents go and blast Tinanosaurus with supersonic waves, sending him squealing back into the sea. And Mechagodzilla? As usual, he gets recycled. But I loved the scene where Goji holds Tinanosaurus still for the agents to blast him.

That's the end of the Showa Series, about as best as I could remember them...whew!