Toho Kingdom

Hello once again fellow board members. Today, I want to bring up was inspired by a certain Nostalgia Critic video regarding what positive aspects there were to the Star Wars Prequel trilogy in spite of the massive stigma the aforementioned films have among audiences. Anyways my point is that in all my years as a Godzilla fan, I have never seen such a magnet for endless nitpicking and bickering (at least on the internet) than the set of films that we all know as the Heisei series.

Whether it be complaints regarding the bodily proportions of the kaiju featured in the films, said kaiju’s over-reliance of projectile beam-weapons or even how time travel effects the series’ overall continuity, it all gets monotonous over time. As someone particularly fond of the Heisei series myself, I would like to point out what positive things that particular set of Godzilla films has as a means to balance out the years of nitpicking (primarily among western fans) they have received. If you have certain things to point out, that would be useful.

My reasons for liking in the Heisei series are :
-Maestro Ifukube had a solid last run even though the majority of his tracks consisted of remixes of themes from the Showa era.
-The presence of Miki Saegusa.
-It actually put effort into making a singular continuity regardless of what issues one may have with GvKG, because trying is better than not doing at all.
-Godzilla’s kindness towards his son in stark contrast to the Showa era.
-An interesting variety to Maser weapons.
-As someone later pointed out, it is the only complete story arc of the series, with a clear-cut beginning, middle and end.
-Godzilla having a consistent design through nearly the entire series
-Godzilla's son actually growing up over time, eventually becoming a badass in his own right.

- The first three movies were awesome
- The musical scores are among the best the franchise has ever had
- The Heisei series actually had a strong arc about Godzilla's character development with a definite beginning, middle, and end that wasn't just random stuff happening to him every year like in the Showa and Millennium series
- Actually building on the lore of Godzilla by having him face challenges relevant to his history (enemies created from his DNA, a nemesis born from the same nuclear explosion that originally created him, a monster spawned from the Oxygen Destroyer...) instead of having him just be the guy who wanders into other monsters' movies
- Miki Saegusa
- Indirectly, without the second wave of Godzilla media to give it a push, the Heisei Gamera trilogy would never have been made

Ivo-goji wrote:- The first three movies were awesome
- The musical scores are among the best the franchise has ever had
- The Heisei series actually had a strong arc about Godzilla's character development with a definite beginning, middle, and end that wasn't just random stuff happening to him every year like in the Showa and Millennium series
- Actually building on the lore of Godzilla by having him face challenges relevant to his history (enemies created from his DNA, a nemesis born from the same nuclear explosion that originally created him, a monster spawned from the Oxygen Destroyer...) instead of having him just be the guy who wanders into other monsters' movies
- Miki Saegusa
- Indirectly, without the second wave of Godzilla media to give it a push, the Heisei Gamera trilogy would never have been made

Well said. Look forward to what others have to say.

-The scores were pretty fantastic (even in the lesser-loved plot-films)
-The non-flying costumes (Heisei Godzills and Biollante especially come to mind) were crafted with a great level of detail and scale;
-Likewise, the miniatures were top-notch, resulting in what (for me) are some of the most 'real' kaiju scenes in the entire canon; the ones I can most believe are actually occurring (a particular standout is Rose Biollante in the lake; another is Godzilla approaching the island in vs. Spacegodzilla)
-For my money, the best 'Mothra summoning' sequence of the franchise, with the lovely sunset cinematography
-Despite the controversial nature of 'beam wars,' the animations are intricate and excellent, and the pyrotechnics great- a visual treat.
-Ongoing continuity provides returning characters and escalating tech in a plausible fashion
-The only complete-story of the series, with a much-loved conclusion
-Great world-building (to me); the casual incorporation of psychics as an almost-casual throwaway plot-points, as well as sci-fi space-planes before Godzilla (or future-tech) has even shown up, make this a fantastic world that embraces being grand in scope

* The awesome posters by Noriyoshi Ohrai.

* The beam and transformation effects were often very pretty, stylish, and colorful, especially in Godzilla vs. Mothra, which I personally consider to be one of the most beautiful and stunning entries in the entire series.





* The new monsters introduced (Shockirus, Biollante, the Dorats, Godzillasaurus, Mecha-King Ghidorah, Battra, Baby Godzilla/Little Godzilla/Godzilla Junior, SpaceGodzilla, and Destoroyah) were all pretty cool additions to Toho's ever growing pantheon of creatures.

* The Super-X and its two successors.

* King Ghidorah's redesign for this series was gnarly looking.

* Akira Ifukube's new scores for this series.

^^ Speaking of the design and visual successes, Burning Godzilla. Whatever you think of the movie, that design is awesome.

- The nuclear pulse is an excellent and very natural-feeling addition to Godzilla's arsenal that really enhances the feeling of his being a walking nuclear powerhouse.

- First 3 films were pretty good.
- Awesome kaiju designs.
- The new soundtracks and the return of Akira Ifukube.

That's really all I have.

Gerdzerl wrote:* The awesome posters by Noriyoshi Ohrai.

Hah, didn't think about that. Those posters are awesome.

Another point- without the Heisei series returning Godzilla to his roots as an antagonistic kaiju, the films from the Millennium series onward featuring Godzilla as a villain/anti-hero might never have come to pass. Most people would see Godzilla as his purely heroic late Showa incarnation.

Godzilla 1984 was cool.

Biollante and King Ghidorah are decent movies and some of the optical effects are nice.

Although overall I like the Showa series best, to me the Heisei series has the definitive Godzilla in terms of design and characterization.

Zarm wrote:-Likewise, the miniatures were top-notch, resulting in what (for me) are some of the most 'real' kaiju scenes in the entire canon; the ones I can most believe are actually occurring (a particular standout is Rose Biollante in the lake; another is Godzilla approaching the island in vs. Spacegodzilla)

For me, Return of Godzilla stands out as the movie where I have the clearest sense of scale, and the most feeling of a "real" Godzilla occupying actual space in a city.

eabaker wrote:

Zarm wrote:-Likewise, the miniatures were top-notch, resulting in what (for me) are some of the most 'real' kaiju scenes in the entire canon; the ones I can most believe are actually occurring (a particular standout is Rose Biollante in the lake; another is Godzilla approaching the island in vs. Spacegodzilla)

For me, Return of Godzilla stands out as the movie where I have the clearest sense of scale, and the most feeling of a "real" Godzilla occupying actual space in a city.

I really agree. In particular, the shot of Godzilla in the background, his back to us as he heads out to follow the bird signal, with the characters watching him in the foreground (I believe it's framed by a hole in a building?) comes to mind. One of the best shots of the entire series.

- The first two films were great.

- It ended.

I've always had a soft spot for the Heisei series, for pretty much all the reasons other users have already listed in this thread. I personally think The Return of Godzilla, Godzilla vs. Biollante and Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah are three of the finest entries in the franchise, though they aren't without their flaws. Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II also happens to be my absolute favorite Godzilla film. I think the early Heisei films were a fantastic way to rejuvenate the franchise and bring it forward into the late 20th century, but unfortunately the series sort of became stagnant as it continued on, though I still enjoy all of its films.

- Some of the best soundtracks of the series.
- They developed Godzilla as a character.
- A complete story with a beginning, middle, and end.
- My favorite Godzilla suit.
- I personally enjoy all of the films.
- Destroyah and 85 are my two favorite Godzilla films.
- Some great special effects.
- Introduced some of my favorite kaiju like Battra.

- Mothra and Battra's strings looked nice.

- The meteorites Spacegodzilla flies by as he travels to Earth look amazingly real.

- In Godzilla vs. Destroyah, the military was finally efficient in killing the monster attacking the city for once.

- Best dubbing in the entire series.

- It's the longest series to have a consistent Godzilla in terms of character and design.
- It managed to give Minilla a genuinely badass replacement.
- It has characters who last more than two films.
- It has some awesome special effects.
- MOGUERA's drill nose stabbing into Spacegodzilla.
- GvD's awesome callbacks to 1954.
- G84's music.
- G84's bleak tone.
- G84's insight into Japan's Cold War situation and feelings.
- Akira Ifukube's score.
- The music that Akira Ifukube didn't do.
- The ending.
- Giving Shinji Higuchi money and experience.
- The best atomic breath scene ever in G84 (the battle at the docks).

But, I do have to point out some negatives.

- GvM's heavy-handedness.
- GvKG's poorly explained story.
- American actors picked up off the street.
- Destoroyah's death.
- King Ghidorah being a creation of mankind.
- Spacegodzilla being a better King Ghidorah than the actual King Ghidorah.
- Godzilla beating Mechagodzilla because a dead Pterosaur crashed on him.
- Too many beams, not enough hand-to-hand fighting.
- Not giving Shinji Higuchi credit.

And if you count G85 as part of the Heisei series, then there's one more positive...

- Raymond Burr.

And one more negative...

- Replacing magnets with birds.

Cybermat47 wrote:
- Godzilla beating Mechagodzilla because a dead Pterosaur crashed on him.

I haven't seen the movie in a few years, but wasn't it implied that Rodan intentionally landed on Godzilla and let himself break down in order to revive and power up Godzilla with his body's radiation? I remember Fire Rodan's bio on Rodan's Roost said something to that effect, anyway, but I don't know if the movie itself did anything to make that clear.

Guys, this thread is about 'positive things about the Heisei series.' You don't need to qualify it with negatives, that's what literally every other thread on the forums is apparently for.