Discussion: When did the Showa Age go Wrong?

[King Caesar]

Godzilla started in 1954 (as we all SHOULD know), but as the series progressed, it began to target a different audience, therefore changing how the characters and Kaiju behaved. When did it go wrong?

[TokyoVigilante]

I don't think the Showa era ever "went wrong". Only when Toho started slashing budgets (out of necessity, the Japanese film industry was in a bad place in the seventies) and Honda lost interest do you get less then stellar films.

[Starfishman]

The Showa didn't go wrong but as Toho slashed budgets halfway to Kingdom Come and Honda wasn't really into making movies anymore, the films dipped in quality

[Legionmaster]

>>Implying that targeting a different audience is wrong

If you mean the villain/hero transition, then Ghidorah, the Three Headed Monster.

[Tormentor]

The Showa Era never really went wrong, but if you want a clear reason for the change and why Toho targeted different audiences:

Gamera and Ultraman. (The early takes of them anyway)

Both of these franchises were the cause, Gamera was created in 1965 and managed to rival the success of Toho. Gamera was a super hero kind of monster who became the protector of children and the earth. Ultraman though I'm not sure when exactly it was created, he was a super hero and all, a protector of the earth like Gamera. The only difference was that Ultraman did not started out bad. The young audience loved them.

Anyway, both were booming and were doing very well in surviving on their own, if Toho wanted their Godzilla to survive and continue you on then they needed to turn their own monster into a hero as well. Not of children, but of his own home and the planet. He did not care for humans still, and was not a protector of them.(That's Mothra's job)

He only cared for his own home, his son and the planet. Which done in the right way, Godzilla became a mild kaiju hero.

[Blackout286]

The Showa Era never really went wrong, but if you want a clear reason for the change and why Toho targeted different audiences:

Gamera and Ultraman. (The early takes of them anyway)

Both of these franchises were the cause, Gamera was created in 1965 and managed to rival the success of Toho. Gamera was a super hero kind of monster who became the protector of children and the earth. Ultraman though I'm not sure when exactly it was created, he was a super hero and all, a protector of the earth like Gamera. The only difference was that Ultraman did not started out bad. The young audience loved them.

Anyway, both were booming and were doing very well in surviving on their own, if Toho wanted their Godzilla to survive and continue you on then they needed to turn their own monster into a hero as well. Not of children, but of his own home and the planet. He did not care for humans still, and was not a protector of them.(That's Mothra's job)

He only cared for his own home, his son and the planet. Which done in the right way, Godzilla became a mild kaiju hero.

More or less, this^

[Tamura]

Also, Ultraman was a TV superhero, which meant that people didn't have to go to a theater to see him and a slew of other kyodai heroes fight giant monsters. Thus, theater attendance went down.

[Tyler]

I say it was around the Gigan/Megalon period, but things really picked up with Mechagodzilla. Unfortunately Terror of Mechagodzilla made the least amount of money out of ANY Godzilla movie up to that time, which led to Toho ending the franchise (until 1984 or course).

[Darkness]

I'd say post Destroy All Monsters is when the quality started to go down. The use of stock footage and the increasing cheesiness of the characters really marked the low part of the Showa series, but even then it wasn't too bad. In my opinion, there isn't a boring Showa film. I can watch movies like All Monsters Attack and Godzilla vs. Megalon because they are just so damn cheesy and entertaining. From a critical standpoint, they aren't very good, but enjoyment wise, they're a blast. And even so, Toho picked back up with the two MechaGodzilla movies.

[Hellspawn28]

The Showa Era was fine how it was if you ask me. I enjoy them all expect for GRA, and AMA. I feel like the series after 1999 is where things started to go down hill, but that's just me.

[edgaguirus]

It didn't go wrong. Toho had to change the character, but most of the hero films were still of good quality. Even Megalon, though lesser quality, was still entertaining. What went wrong was Honda's lack of interest and movies with flashier special effects gaining the attention of Japanese audiences.

[King Caesar]

I guess I worded this wrong...when did Godzilla changed into his superhero role and was it a good move? That's kinda what I originally wanted to say.

[Tormentor]

I guess I worded this wrong...when did Godzilla changed into his superhero role and was it a good move? That's kinda what I originally wanted to say.

When: Ghidorah the Three Headed Monster
Was it a good move?: Helped the franchise survive and continue to last against both Gamera and Ultraman. So I'd say yeah, it was a good move.

[King Caesar]

Interesting statement. I look at the All Monsters Attack as the real change. While Toho did change the view significantly with Ghidrah, the Three Headed Monster, there was enough seriousness/plot line that kept the movie up. After DAM (Aka: the 'Last' Godzilla Film') things went bad, but at least there was some benefit with big movies such as GvGi, GvMG, and ToMG. It wasnt the right move, but it didn't seem to costly, just a couple of blunders thats all.

[JVM]

Godzilla's transition from hero begins in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster as mentioned, and I'd say the transition is complete by the ending of Destroy All Monsters.

Personally, if you ask me, the Showa era went wrong after Ebirah, Horror of the Deep. The movies continued to be amazing, but the awesome factor slowly lessened. And then after 1975, it was just gone.

[Mini-Godzilla]

Godzilla, Ebirah, Mothra: Big Duel in the South Seas. That is exactly when the series went wrong, and only a few times has it ever gone right again (before inevitably falling once more). Terrible script, poor direction, uneven performances, unimpressive effects, and obvious cost-cutting...it all started with Godzilla VII.

[King Caesar]

@ Minigodzilla: while yes we can see it's directed towards kids, Godzilla does still have an evil side. He destroys the Red Bamboo base which is similar to how he destroyed cities back in his first few films. After DAM, it all went down the drain though

[Tyler]

It's kind of amazing Toho kept the Godzilla series alive as long as they did, though. Not many movie characters have lasted this long.

[Goji]

@ Minigodzilla: while yes we can see it's directed towards kids, Godzilla does still have an evil side. He destroys the Red Bamboo base which is similar to how he destroyed cities back in his first few films. After DAM, it all went down the drain though

Evil? Hardly. He just wanted to chill...and the Red Bamboo were in his way. That's just how G rolls yo.

[Mini-Godzilla]

@ Minigodzilla: while yes we can see it's directed towards kids, Godzilla does still have an evil side. He destroys the Red Bamboo base which is similar to how he destroyed cities back in his first few films. After DAM, it all went down the drain though

Oh, I'm not talking about when the series became kid-friendly (since I never saw that as the real problem). I'm talking about when the series began to suck. And I stand by my statement: Godzilla Eats a Lobster Dinner is that point of decline.