Best Godzilla Memories

[Maritonic]

Wanted to take a moment and make a wholesome thread. We all come from different parts of the globe, different backgrounds, we're different ages, from different paths of life. But we're all here because we love Godzilla, Gamera, Ultraman, King Kong, and monster films.

I want to know your best memories watching Godzilla films, or your best memories related to Godzilla. Maybe it was watching a film with a loved one, or finding that one figure at a comic shop, or seeing old friends at G-Fest.

For me, going to G-Fest with my grandparents when I was 15 is one of my fondest memories. Seeing Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah on the big screen with them. I reflect on it often, now that my grandfather has passed. He used to watch a lot of the Showa era films with me growing up.

Another would be seeing Godzilla 2014 opening night, and seeing this kid, no older than 7 or 8, wearing a Godzilla vs. Megalon shirt, who literally got up and clapped and cheered with a giant grin on his face when Godzilla's spines glowed blue and he unleashed his atomic blast.

So, let's hear it. Any fond memories associated with the monsters we know and love?

[SoggyNoodles2016]

Seeing Shin Godzilla with my mom. We had to book tickets and drive all the way out to Boston (we live in Walpole) to see it, and it was worth it. Seeing such a new and fascinating take on Godzilla, a crowd of people who were Godzilla fans like me, and just having a great time with my mom, who loved it. (She's a casual fan from the creature feature marathon days). Definitely one of the best memories I have about Godzilla.

Another fond memory I have is the days when I started being a Godzilla fan. I would repeatedly rent Final Wars from Blockbuster and rewatch it again and again. I had my parents buy me the High Grade set and a mini figure set of all the monsters for Christmas, so I recreate the fights watching the movie. There's also my memories of binge watching Godzilla The Series on Youtube and my 8 year old mind being blown away by Godzilla 2000.
God, I loved that movie.

[Dr. Professor]

When I was probably like 5 or something, my brother, sister, and I all decided to all hang out in the living room and then sleep there for the night. I remember us all laying on the floor watching Godzilla vs. Monster Zero on VHS together and that's when I fell in love with that movie for the first time. I honestly barely remember that night, but I remember it just enough to look back at it fondly.

Another was a few years later, I was at my Aunt Ginny's house and I brought my Godzilla 2000 VHS. She was a very old woman (somewhere in her 80s at the time), and I remember her seeing Godzilla and going "Oh my, he's ugly!". Every time I think of her, that's the first thing that comes to mind.

The last one I'll talk about for now was when I saw G14 on opening night. I'm known in my family for being the Godzilla lover that I am, and so my dad bought tickets for himself, me, my mom, my brother, my sister, her husband, my other sister, her boyfriend, and my best friend. They all came along because they wanted to share with the experience with me, which gets me a bit emotional when I think about it. And there were a bunch of Godzilla fans that I got to talk to before the movie started. It's very rare that I see other Godzilla fans in person, so getting to express my excitement with them was really great. This whole experience is a big part of the reason why G14 means a lot to me on a personal level. Also, just a sidenote, but once the movie ended, I heard this little kid behind me say "That was better than Jurassic Park!" which made me smile. That night isn't just my favorite Godzilla memory, but probably one of my favorite memories in general.

[PitchBlackProgress]

In long nights in Soviet Russia, Godzilla Movie brought joy for many hours. It has distracted us from harsh reality of brethren dying in Cold Russian Winter outside. And potential of us doing same. Godzilla vs. Robot was best one. I remember mine Papa rummaging for alcohol. He has long day at Mill. We settle in front of television, and bang on antenna until we receive signal. Mine Mama would make dinner, and Papa would scream obscenities at her when the meat came cold. She would call him alcoholic. He would then grab her by hair and pull her into bedroom where there was much screaming. I then got to sit in Papa's chair and watch movie. It was my favorite of movies. Especially part where Godzilla becomes magnet. I wish I could be magnet, but for people. Miss those days…

[KaijuCanuck]

1. Seeing Shin Godzilla with a couple friends who weren’t really fans, and walking away with them both havin a newfound respect for the franchise.

2. Cant remember which Godzilla film it was - but myself and a friend who often derided the movies were watching one. It was college, so let’s just say we’d both taken some *ahem* herbal remedies that night, and my friend must have really bought into the reality of the movie because he suddenly went, “Dude. I see it now. I get why these movies are so great!!”

Unfortunately he was back to normal the next day. But for one beautiful moment, he understood.

[Dr. Professor]

The third time I saw G14 in theaters, it was with my three best friends (at the time), none of whom are Godzilla fans. They all really liked it and I specifically remember when Godzilla first appeared and roared at the screen, one of them looked at me and said "Dude, that gave me chills."

[Tyrant_Lizard_King]

Flipping through channels and came across Godzilla Bash 94 airing on TNT's MonsterVision. Not only that but King of the Monsters was just beginning. Up until that point I had never seen the "original". That plus pretty much every movie showing that night were ones I hadn't seen yet. I missed being able to record a few but luckily the following President's Day Godzillarama showed the same films so I was able to get them recorded as well. That was 5 or 6 Godzilla films I'd never seen before airing back to back on one night. That plus coming across the Trendmasters Godzilla toys at Walmart one night.I'd been stuck with my Imperials for so long actually being able to get American toys of my favorite kaiju outside of Godzilla was a pretty big deal. I think I got the bendy Ghidorah that night. It was also my first exposure the the Heisei designs. At that point I figured they were made up for the toyline.

[MechaGoji Bro7503]

In long nights in Soviet Russia, Godzilla Movie brought joy for many hours. It has distracted us from harsh reality of brethren dying in Cold Russian Winter outside. And potential of us doing same. Godzilla vs. Robot was best one. I remember mine Papa rummaging for alcohol. He has long day at Mill. We settle in front of television, and bang on antenna until we receive signal. Mine Mama would make dinner, and Papa would scream obscenities at her when the meat came cold. She would call him alcoholic. He would then grab her by hair and pull her into bedroom where there was much screaming. I then got to sit in Papa's chair and watch movie. It was my favorite of movies. Especially part where Godzilla becomes magnet. I wish I could be magnet, but for people. Miss those days…

Be at ease comrade, we're here for you now.

[Mr_Goji_and_Watch]

Watching Shin at my local kinoplex was pretty great.

[Shoopwoop17]

Seeing Godzilla 2014 opening night. I was 16 at the time, and had been a fan for 11 years at that point. Many of my greatest friendships had been built around the big guy. I had spent hours ebay surfing for toys. I watched the Godzilla Unleashed website every day waiting to see what new monsters they would reveal. I watched every one of the Toho Kingdom toons, and shared them with my family. Not to mention I have been lurking on this website for just as long, and only just made my account here so...sup guys, Ive been watching.

Anyway, Thursday night, May of 2014. That was a religious experience. The opening sequence, the first time we saw Godzilla, the fatalities. But the one thing that really got me? The first use of the atomic breath. People were posting gifs of it before the movie came out, so I was avoiding them like the plague. The minute that blue glow started, my heart was pounding harder than it ever had, before or since.

[Gojira18]

When I was 3, I found a Godzilla 2000 VHS at my local Schnucks video rental store, and once I saw it, I was hooked.
2014, opening night. I was ECSTATIC, scotching around my seat in excitement when the opening credits were rolling. The Atomic breath scene, The airport reveal, and the Kiss of Death were ON POINT. I saw it with my dad who isn't a fan of Godzilla, and when the Male MUTO escaped, I saw him with his jaw on the floor.
Also, much more recently, a lot of my friends tend to make fun of Godzilla, but after seeing the KOTM trailer, I could just see them all praise the hell out of it. Made me feel very proud.

[Godzillander]

Seeing my first Godzilla movie (Final Wars) on DVD when I was 5 or 6. Reading David Kalat's Godzilla book, which was my biggest experience with him for a long time. And seeing the 2014 one with my Dad and little brother

[GojiDog]

*Seeing Godzilla 2000 in theaters as it was my first Toho Godzilla film experience on the big screen. When I heard the classic Ifukube music play as Godzilla entered for the climax....GAH! Beautiful.

*Seeing Destroy All Monsters for the first time on Sci-Fi Channel. It was the last of the Showa films I had never seen and I made a night out of it. Pizza, Ice cream, the works! And that night, I expected to walk away impressed with Baragon (who did nothing) but I came out of that film LOVING Gorosauras.

*For my 16th birthday, my sister drew me a picture of Godzilla that looked really neat. I wish I still had it, but it got lost in between the many moves I've done over the years.

*I believe it was my 8th birthday where my parents surprised me with most of the Trendmasters Godzilla toyline. My parents always indulged my nerdy hobbies. Transformers, Star Wars, Mighty Max, Wrestling, Ninja Turtles, Goosebumps (which my dad REALLY indulged because it got me into reading, lol), whatever else, but outside of the occasional VHS, Godzilla wasn't one they could go all out with. Well when the Trendmasters line came out, it was like they made up for lost time because they got me almost the entire line. I was in heaven. Just to say I had toys of my favorites Godzilla, Rodan, King Ghidorah, and Mechagodzilla was enough to make me happy.

*Watching Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi. If you haven't seen it, I recommend it as it is an amazing behind the scenes look at the special effects creation for Return of the Jedi and really makes me appreciate the art of practical special effects even more. I bring it up here as not only did they explain how things were done on Return of the Jedi, but they talked about the inspirations for the various effects. Creature from the Black Lagoon and Beast from 20,000 Fathoms were shown, and of course, they also showed footage of a Godzilla film (Destroy All Monsters to be exact). It felt nice to see that despite all the ragging the classic films get nowadays, they were listed as an inspiration for Star Wars. Suck on that one snobs!

*Because of Godzilla and Gamera, I also discovered one of my all time favorite TV shows, Mystery Science Theater 3000. The first two episodes of MST3K I saw were Godzilla Vs. Megalon and Gamera Vs. Zigra. I watched them because I knew those movies already and I got attached to the antics of the puppet robots. And through them I learned how to lovingly mock something, and appreciate sarcasm.


And one more, seeing Godzilla 2014 in theaters. That was honestly one of the best movie going experiences of my life. To see my big cinematic icon get the royal treatment in front of a receptive audience that cheered and applauded his grand moments put a smile on my face.