Happy Godzilla Day

[Husky_Khan]

Sixty six years ago, on November 3rd 1954, Godzilla rose from the depths of the Pacific to reign atomic fire upon Japan for the second third time in only a decade. Godzilla has become so popular that even smart nerds pontificate on the metaphorical meaning of Godzilla and the themes of the films. Is Godzilla more then just a powerful metaphor of nuclear weapons? Is it meant as a reminder of how helpless Humanity is in the wake of the force of nature? Or is it commentary on natural disasters, the sins of Japan's Imperial Past and so on and so forth.

One thing is sure, Godzilla is cool and awesome and we all must cower in fear and reverence for the big G.

Ever since then, Kaiju have continued to plague our planet and bless our media.

Godzilla Day 2020: 66th Godzilla Anniversary - Toho Kingdom

Toho is celebrating Godzilla Day 2020, the 66th anniversary of the character, with a virtual festival and by expanding licensing deals in the United States.

www.tohokingdom.com

Now comes the natural question, which version of Godzilla is your favorite?

Showa era (1954 to 1975): Though the first Godzilla film was played relatively straight, many (though not all) subsequent films were adapted to be friendly to children and included a great deal of slapstick comedy and campy themes.

• Godzilla (1954)
• Godzilla Raids Again (1955)
• King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)
• Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)
• Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964)
• Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965)
• Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966)
• Son of Godzilla (1967)
• Destroy All Monsters (1968)
• All Monsters Attack (1969)
• Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)
• Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)
• Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)
• Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974)
• Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

Heisei era (1984 to 1995): These films served as a direct sequel to the 1954 Godzilla film and ignored the subsequent Showa era films. Here Godzilla is seen as a force of nature, but also sets up a very odd origin story where Godzilla was originally an actual species of dinosaur that survived on a small pacific island before being mutated by atomic weaponry.

• The Return of Godzilla (1984)
• Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989)
• Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991)
• Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992)
• Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993)
• Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (1994)
• Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

Millenium era (1999 to 2004): Godzilla films of this time were treated more as an anthology that featured the same Godzilla but didn't care too much about continuity and ended with the epic Godzilla Final Wars where we had UFC fighter Don Frye flying around on a spaceship fighting aliens alongside Godzilla. Quality content.

• Godzilla 2000: Millennium (1999)
• Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)
• Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001)
• Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2002)
• Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. (2003)
• Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)

Reiwa era (2014 to present): After a ten year hiatus, Toho came back with Shin Godzilla which had a bit more 'realistic' take on the Godzilla franchise. It also released an anime series and even announced a future television series Godzilla: Singularity Point which will be on Netflix and Japanese television sometime in 2021. There is actually no plans for a Shin Godzilla 2 but once the contract with Legendary expires, Toho plans on restarting a new Kaiju/Monster universe setting.

• Shin Godzilla (2016)

And of course... the obligatory...

Godzilla (1998): Otherwise known as Zilla... as made by Tristar. It liked fish and got tangled in a bridge and then was killed by fighter jet missiles. Ferris Bueller was the hero. This also spawned a far superior cartoon TV series aptly named Godzilla: The Series.

Legendary Films Monsterverse (2014 to present): An American film series (with other media) that was licensed from Toho so an American studio (Universal and Warner Bros in particular) to make their own take on Godzill and his friends (three of them anyways).

• Godzilla (2014)
• Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
• Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)

 

[Guncannon]

Can't beat the original. I think the most creativity in kaiju design (besides Biollante) appears in the Showa era.

 

[DarthOne]

I kind of have to credit the 90’s Godzilla cartoon series for taking something so poor and making it good.

 

[Zachowon]

I love the newest movie as it is what a Godzilla movie should be

 

[Husky_Khan]

Happy Godzilla Day



Sixty eight years old!

Or far older depending on the canon you accept...

 

[Zachowon]

He is only 8 years older then my dad

 

[Sailor.X]

I voted Showa but I wish I could also vote for the Hanna Barbara Cartoon Godzilla. Who is the most powerful Good Guy Godzilla. His durability exceeds all other Good Guy Godzillas. No joke look up his feats.

 

[Husky_Khan]

Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla which came out in 1994 is apparently free to watch on YouTube, hosted on a large YouTube channel called 'Creature Features.' Looks legitimate and its been up for months.



It's the dubbed version though if that's an issue.

Looks fairly hectic, this being the second to the last Heisei era Godzilla film that means there's a lot of wacky lore built up by now.

 

[Husky_Khan]

Kenpachiro Satsuma, the suit actor who portrayed Godzilla during the Heisei-era films, passed away at the age of 74.

Kenpachiro Satsuma

Kenpachiro Satsuma (薩摩 剣八郎, Satsuma Kenpachirō), formerly known by the stage names Kengo Nakayama (中山 剣吾, Nakayama Kengo) and Ryuma Kusaka (久坂 龍馬, Kusaka Ryūma), was a Japanese actor. Satsuma worked as a suit actor in the Godzilla films of the 1970s, starring as the villainous monsters...

wikizilla.org

 

[Aldarion]

I'm going to vote Godzilla 1978 simply for nostalgia factor... that cartoon is the first time I actually saw Godzilla:

 

[Sailor.X]

I'm going to vote Godzilla 1978 simply for nostalgia factor... that cartoon is the first time I actually saw Godzilla:

Ah yes the actual most powerful Godzilla. No really look up his feats it is insane.