Godzilla (1954 - 2004): Showa Series

Since I was a little boy I would always be captivated by his size and strength. Ladies and gentlemen, the king of the monsters: Godzilla. Looking at the original Godzilla, you can see that he represents fear in the eyes of the Japanese people who have witnessed the atom bomb explosions in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Godzilla is the product of nuclear bomb testings and he takes out his anger on Japan. In my opinion, I believe that Godzilla represents, not only fear of nuclear warfare, but America. The strong force that brutally wiped out everything in its pass and is therefore unbeatable. In the movie Godzilla, Dr. Serizawa creates a device known as the Oxygen Destroyer which has the ability to crush all the oxygen atoms in a given environment leaving the dead carcasses of the animals around them into ashes. This device is then used to kill Godzilla, which ultimately succeeds but Dr. Serizawa, refusing to release the information used to create this device to the world, takes his own life along with Godzilla. However, because of the tremendous international box office success of this movie, the company that made Godzilla, Toho Company, couldn't kill the character off and made a sequel, Godzilla's Counterattack (in the U.S. Godzilla Raids Again) in which another Godzilla emerges to fight his first nemesis: a mutated ankylosaurus named Anguirus (a.k.a Angilas). Godzilla and Anguirus duke it out in Osaka where Godzilla is deemed victorious as the Japanese military soon devise a plan to encase Godzilla in an iceberg trapping him for "eternity". The plan works as the film ends. Godzilla then disappears from the silver screen for another 8 years but then returns in the greatest monster movie battle of cinema history. King Kong vs Godzilla was released in Japan in 1963 and the title of the movie speaks for itself. This film needs no introduction, it is literally King Kong and Godzilla battling in various locations in Japan with Kong winning in a climactic battle. Toho now released that they had a huge profitable movie franchise and created more stories and more monsters to fight the king of the monsters. The next picture was entitled Mothra vs Godzilla (in the U.S. Godzilla vs The Thing), where they bring in the character of Mothra, a large butterfly monsters from Infant Island, from the 1961 Toho movie Mothra to fight Godzilla in which Mothra dies but her two offspring battle Godzilla and finally win. A sequel is then made in which one of the twin offspring dies and fights Godzilla and Rodan, from the 1956 movie Rodan (which was the first monster movie in color) in the movie Three Giant Monsters: The Greatest Battle On Earth (in U.S. Ghidrah The Three Headed Monster), which marks the first appearance of Godzilla's arch nemesis: Kingghidorah. Godzilla, Rodan, and Mothra soon stop fighting and have a final showdown with the golden goliath. A year later, Kingghidorah gets another movie appearance in Great Monster War (in U.S. Invasion of the Astro Monster or Godzilla vs Monster Zero) fighting both Godzilla and Rodan. Starting from the next film, Godzilla starts to become more child friendly and more of a symbol of hope for Japan. In Godzilla, Ebirah, Mothra: Big Duel in the South Seas (in U.S. Godzilla vs The Sea Monster), Godzilla fights a large lobster monster on an island that is taking the natives of Mothra's island, Infant Island, as slaves. After defeating Ebirah, Mothra soon arrives and brings the natives and the main characters of the story to Infant Island after a short fight with Godzilla. The next film is considered to be either the worst of one of the better films entitled Monster Island's Decisive Battle: Godzilla's Son (in U.S. Son of Godzilla). It is literally a battle between a giant mutated pray mantis and spider that battle Godzilla and his new born offspring. The son of Godzilla, dubbed as Minilla ( a.k.a Minya) is a popular character in the series and appearances a couple times. The next film is probably my favorite film in the Showa Series besides the original and Mothra vs Godzilla. The movie was released in Japan in 1968 as Attack of the Marching Monsters (in U.S. Destroy All Monsters) which features 11 monsters that ends in a climactic battle in Mount Fuji where the Earth Monsters lead by Godzilla fights against Kingghidorah in a clash of the titans. This is probably the last film in the Showa Series to get critical praise from the fans and critics. The movie pictures after this one really start to lose direction after the special effects artist, Eiji Tsuburaya, dies. The next film entitled Godzilla, Minilla, Gabara: All Monsters on Parade (in U.S. Godzilla's Revenge) is nothing more then refused footage of previous Godzilla films along with a horrible storyline. Then Godzilla takes on an environmental message as he fights a smog monsters named Hedorah in Godzilla vs Hedorah. In Earth Destruction Directive: Godzilla vs Gigan, Godzilla and Anguirus are matched up with Kingghidorah and a cyborg monsters named Gigan (my personal favorite Godzilla villain). Then another horrible movie which has 70% of the monsters battles being recycled scenes from previous Godzilla films with a horrible partner to Godzilla and very odd villain named Megalon who teamed up with Gigan in the movie Godzilla vs Megalon. Then at last, a breath of fresh air comes when the next movie introduces a more serious tone to the series when Toho brings a new monsters, Mechagodzilla, to fight against Godzilla along with a legendary creature known as King Caesar in the 1974 movie Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla. The year 1975 marked that last movie in the Showa Series and the last Godzilla film directed by Ishiro Honda who has created the character of Godzilla back in 1954. The movie is released in Japan as Mechagodzilla's Counterattack (in U.S. Terror of Mechagodzilla) which featured Godzilla, Mechagodzilla, and a new cyborg monster known as Titanosaurus. Godzilla in the end defeats both of the monsters and swims away into the ocean and waits until Toho decides to reboot the franchise in a new level.