Ranking the Shōwa era of Godzilla
Toho's Shōwa era has consistently released films offering fun monster brawls doubling as cautionary tales and allegories that lay bare the moral, corporate, and political issues facing the pursuit of science in improving the human condition while simultaneously promoting the necessity of a free press. This list contains all of Godzilla's appearances during this era, as well as other movies by Toho with monsters that have since appeared alongside Godzilla after their debut. International localizations are not included.
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- DirectorIshirô HondaStarsTakashi ShimuraAkihiko HirataAkira TakaradaAfter a dinosaur-like beast - awoken from undersea hibernation by atom bomb testing - ravages Tokyo, a scientist must decide if his similarly dangerous weapon should be used to destroy it.The original remains in a class by itself with its darker tonal separation, as well as the elevated sophistication to its writing and symbolism to further its anti-war, anti-nuclear message; from Godzilla being a direct result of nuclear testing, to a monster as metaphor for a hydrogen bomb able to be unleashed against a population without sufficient defense or warning, to a character arc that even parallels that of Oppenheimer in unveiling a dangerous technology.
- DirectorIshirô HondaJun FukudaStarsAkira KuboJun TazakiYukiko KobayashiIn 1999, a race of she-aliens, the Kilaaks, brainwash Earth's monsters into attacking major cities, prompting a team of astronauts to stop the invaders while the monsters battle Ghidorah.Godzilla's ninth film presents an idyllic future state of coexistence not only between nations, but monsters as well, only to be challenged by the return of fascism as aliens attack major cities to establish a new world order. The film features Toho's biggest monster roster of the era as all of Earth's creatures unite to confront an existential threat.
- DirectorIshirô HondaStarsAkira TakaradaYuriko HoshiHiroshi KoizumiWhen opportunistic tycoons refuse to return Mothra's egg to Infant Island, its people must decide if they are willing to answer Japan's own pleas for help when Godzilla arises near Nagoya.While Godzilla at the time of the fourth film has come to represent an unchecked and inevitable destruction, Mothra is a guardian themed around rebirth, renewal and hope for the future. The multiple clashes within the film are as much ideological as they are entertaining.
- DirectorIshirô HondaStarsNick AdamsAkira TakaradaJun TazakiAstronauts encounter the Xiliens, who ask Earth to rid their planet of "Monster Zero", but when one astronaut romances a mysterious woman, he uncovers the Xilien's true intentions.Diplomacy and the risks of political bargaining and scientific/technological shortcuts with the best of intentions are targeted in the sixth film which also cements Godzilla as one of Earth's mightiest protectors.
- DirectorJun FukudaStarsMasaaki DaimonKazuya AoyamaReiko TajimaAn Okinawan prophecy appears to foretell Earth's destruction at the hands of Godzilla, only for the true Godzilla to reveal his doppelganger as a mechanical alien weapon.The penultimate movie of the era offers some great action sequences and shifts its symbolic focus to Japan itself as a rapidly developing nation looking to balance its past (represented by King Caesar) with its technologically advanced future (Mechagodzilla).
- DirectorIshirô HondaStarsFurankî SakaiHiroshi KoizumiKyôko KagawaAn expedition to Infant Island uncovers a native tribe and twin tiny fairy priestesses of a mythical deity, who sets out to rescue the pair after they are kidnapped by a greedy businessman.With Mothra and the location of Infant Island breeding new life at a site known for nuclear testing, we begin to collectively move on from the horrors of war to embrace a future filled with hope rather than despair. The carnage that ensues is ultimately out of love and protection for humanity to ensure the mistakes of the past (the film uses greed, vanity, and enslavement among other sins by the human antagonist) are not furthered.
- DirectorIshirô HondaStarsRuss TamblynKumi MizunoKenji SaharaA giant, cannibalistic humanoid's rampage through Tokyo is halted by his more docile twin, but neither their reunion nor their scientist caretakers can prevent their eventual duel.Quasi-Sequel to Frankenstein vs Baragon which arguably places us two steps removed from the Godzilla series proper unless you count the giant octopus as the same giant octopus from King Kong vs Godzilla, which I'll take as this film is too fun to exclude. Radiation allegories, nature vs nurture, what it means to be human, family and morality in conflict, and the valid fear that at any moment a tectonic shift could trigger a surprise volcano for a deus ex machina truly make this a sight to behold.
- DirectorIshirô HondaStarsYôsuke NatsukiYuriko HoshiHiroshi KoizumiA detective protects a princess who prophecies Earth's destruction by a powerful alien dragon, which Mothra and her fairies - aided by Godzilla and Rodan - must battle against.As public consciousness moved further away from the post-war into the anxieties of the space race, the alien Ghidorah was born out of concerns over satellite technologies and a looming threat from above. This movie is the first where Godzilla isn't treated as antagonist.
- DirectorIshirô HondaNorman TokarStarsTadao TakashimaYû FujikiKenji SaharaThe advertising director of a pharmaceutical company seeks to boost the ratings of their sponsored TV program by capturing King Kong, who breaks loose and battles a re-emerged Godzilla.The first color appearance of both titular monsters, as well as the first of the series to broaden its cause messaging beyond radiation acknowledging rising sea levels and corporate negligence. The events of the movie unfold not out of circumstance, but by military intervention and a pharmaceutical company PR stunt.
- DirectorIshirô HondaJun FukudaKengo FurusawaStarsKenji SaharaMachiko NakaTomonori YazakiA latchkey child living in the industrial city of Kawasaki confronts his loneliness through his escapist dreams of Monster Island and friendship with Minilla.The only series installment that is plausibly taking place in the real world as monsters only appear in the imagination of a child (and mostly via footage from earlier movies at that). Lot of Minilla here, but mostly as a way to demonstrate learning by teaching which is admirable.
- DirectorIshirô HondaStarsNick AdamsKumi MizunoTadao TakashimaAn American scientist and his Japanese colleagues study a mysterious feral boy who is seemingly resistant to radiation, while a subterranean dinosaur ravages the Japanese countryside.Baragon would go on to join Godzilla in Destroy All Monsters. As for this incredible movie, the title says it all and I have no notes other than acknowledging it should be Frankenstein's Monster, not Frankenstein.
- DirectorIshirô HondaJun FukudaStarsKatsuhiko SasakiTomoko AiAkihiko HirataAn Interpol investigation uncovers a shunned biologist and his daughter, who are involved in an alien plot to use Mechagodzilla and Titanosaurus to defeat Godzilla and wipe out humanity.The final movie of the era manages to explore what it means to be human and how the pursuit of revenge, money and power can allow us to lose that humanity (amid a mess of monsters, aliens and cyborgs, of course).
- DirectorIshirô HondaShûe MatsubayashiStarsTadao TakashimaYôko FujiyamaYû FujikiWhen an ancient underground civilization and their snake-like guardian plots to reclaim the surface world, those of the surface fights back.This film introduces Manda who would join Godzilla in Destroy All Monsters, and offers a poignant look at the cost and conflicting morals of patriotism in post-WWII Japan.
- DirectorIshirô HondaStarsKenji SaharaYumi ShirakawaAkihiko HirataA mining engineer investigates the deaths of his colleagues, discovering prehistoric nymphs and a creature capable of flying - and wrecking havoc - at supersonic speeds.What is a monster unearthed from a mine other than a parable denouncing the world's continued reliance on fossil fuels? Do you need the film to actually say "Global Warming" to get its point across? Well guess what, it does that too.
- DirectorJun FukudaStarsAkira TakaradaKumi MizunoChôtarô TôginFour men searching for one's brother are shipwrecked on Letchi Island, where they encounter Godzilla, a monstrous lobster, and terrorists who have enslaved the natives of Infant Island.The seventh film returns to the human cost of nuclear weapons; this time through an island military site sustained by slave labor. Ancillary monsters (Mothra, Giant Condor) somewhat deviate from the core messaging of the story, but the special effects and individual character arcs are enjoyable.
- DirectorMotoyoshi OdaIshirô HondaStarsHiroshi KoizumiSetsuko WakayamaMinoru ChiakiScout pilots for a fishing company are startled to discover a second Godzilla, whose battle with rival monster Anguirus threatens to destroy Osaka.The second film is notable for providing Godzilla's first monster battle, but struggles as a product rushed to market to capitalize on the original's success. There is one brief moment that recaptures some of the terror and helplessness of the original in the reveal that the human defense strategy repels one monster while attracting the other, but beyond that it's rather forgettable.
- DirectorIshirô HondaStarsRhodes ReasonMie HamaLinda MillerThe evil Dr. Who captures King Kong to dig for Element X when his robot duplicate, Mechani-Kong, is unable to do the job, but Kong soon escapes and battles his doppelganger.Quasi-sequel to King Kong vs Godzilla that also introduces Gorosaurus who would appear in Destroy All Monsters. Here we have another fight for resources to enter the nuclear arms race mixed with a callous disregard for indigenous cultures; potent backdrop for storytelling but the film is somewhat incohesive I assume due to being a co-production, as well as repurposing earlier ideas from the Godzilla team's cutting room floor.
- DirectorYoshimitsu BannoIshirô HondaStarsAkira YamanouchiToshie KimuraHiroyuki KawaseA toxic, ever-evolving alien life-form from the Dark Gaseous Nebula arrives to consume rampant pollution, threatening to destroy all life in its wake unless Godzilla is able to stop it.It's not necessarily that other movies are subtle about their messaging, but this one is aggressively about pollution to the point of distraction. One positive is that human innovation and technology directly aids Godzilla in defeating the monster, as humans need to be involved in the real-world fight as well.
- DirectorJun FukudaStarsTadao TakashimaAkira KuboBibari MaedaA reporter stumbles upon weather experiments on a tropical island, discovering giant mantises, a castaway woman, and an infant monster that Godzilla must learn to raise as a son.The eighth film introduces Minilla for better or worse. There's something to be said for Godzilla becoming a parent in a film acknowledging overpopulation as a concern for the future, but Minilla can be a lot to endure.
- DirectorIshirô HondaMotoyoshi OdaStarsKôzô NomuraAyumi SonodaKoreya SendaOriginal Japanese version. Research in the Tohoku region comes across a monster known to the locals as the mountain god Baradagi.Varan would join Godzilla in Destroy All Monsters, but this movie presents something of an outlier for the Shōwa era in that military action and explosions end up yielding positive results. It's exciting, but what are we supposed to learn from this?
- DirectorJun FukudaYoshimitsu BannoIshirô HondaStarsHiroshi IshikawaYuriko HishimiMinoru TakashimaAfter a manga artist and his friends uncover a plot by his employers at an amusement park to lure aliens Ghidorah and Gigan to Earth, Godzilla and Anguirus set out to defeat them.Gigan is a cool monster, but so many details, plot points, and even canned footage from earlier movies returning make this feel like such a retread. Godzilla and Anguirus now talk in speech bubbles which I'd argue was an inappropriate addition for Haruo Nakajima's final appearance in the suit with 12 movies of expressive pantomime.
- DirectorJun FukudaYoshimitsu BannoIshirô HondaStarsKatsuhiko SasakiHiroyuki KawaseYutaka HayashiMegalon, the monster god of the vengeful underground kingdom of Seatopia, is aided by Gigan in attacking the surface world, until android Jet Jaguar teams up with Godzilla to fight them.Score one for the humans for quasi-entering the actual fight this time in creating Jet Jaguar, but this is the series at its absolute goofiest (yes this is the one with the big flying kick) with Godzilla reduced to a friendly monster summoned by Lassie to pull Timmy from a well. It's very silly, but still decidedly anti-nuclear with the conflict in response to the continuation of nuclear weapons testing.