Is Zone Fighter canon to the Showa era?

[Kiryu2012]

According to the Wikipedia article on Zone Fighter, supplementary materials published by Toho confirm it to be canon, but there's no citation for it. Is there any official material that states Zone Fighter to be canon to the Showa era?

[Major sssspielberg!]

I always assumed it was. Gigan gets essploded and I'm pretty sure Ghidorah survives so there's no reason it couldn't be, right?

[Zarm]

I think the real question is the sleuthing work. Plenty of places say Toho says it is... but where does Toho actually say that?

Which is a fair question I hadn't considered before.

[MaxRebo320]

I mean, pretty much every book lists it as such. I see no reason why it couldn't/shouldn't be. Why is this even a debate?

[Zarm]

I'm guessing he just wants to confirm it isn't a popular urban legend, and is actually stated somewhere official.

[KaijuCanuck]

I mean, pretty much every book lists it as such. I see no reason why it couldn't/shouldn't be. Why is this even a debate?

It’s still an interesting question. Like Zarm said, what is the original source? Lots of books say it is, but where did Toho themselves actuallly say it?

[MechaGoji Bro7503]

According to the Wikipedia article on Zone Fighter, supplementary materials published by Toho confirm it to be canon, but there's no citation for it. Is there any official material that states Zone Fighter to be canon to the Showa era?

Did you use Wikizilla or just Wikipedia? I mean, Wikizilla is where it's at.

I view it as canon, I mean it does no harm besides having fans wonder why ZF didn't help Godzilla in the next two movies

[KaijuCanuck]

According to the Wikipedia article on Zone Fighter, supplementary materials published by Toho confirm it to be canon, but there's no citation for it. Is there any official material that states Zone Fighter to be canon to the Showa era?

Did you use Wikizilla or just Wikipedia? I mean, Wikizilla is where it's at.

I view it as canon, I mean it does no harm besides having fans wonder why ZF didn't help Godzilla in the next two movies

Doesn't Zone Fighter leave Earth in the final episode?

[Kiryu2012]

I'm guessing he just wants to confirm it isn't a popular urban legend, and is actually stated somewhere official.

Pretty much this.

[MechaGoji Bro7503]

Doesn't Zone Fighter leave Earth in the final episode?

I don’t think so since a second season was supposed to happen.

[LSD Jellyfish]

Probably. It’s not like something that Toho is ashamed of and continually tries to hide, although it is a bit dissapointing Zone Fighter hasn’t made any sort of appearance in the franchise since.

It adressess what presumably occurred between TOMG and DAM though(maybe I’m wrong, but it works best that way. The events of zone fighter fit neatly into that gap and show the end of Gigan as well as space out whatever Ghidorah was up to in that time span. Strangely enough, Godzilla sortve has a cave that he lives in peacefully, it’s not thatdifferent from what they did with the enclosure on DAM.

[Zarm]

From what I understand, it isvsupposed to be set the same time period t.hat it was made, in between Godzilla vs Megalon and Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla. I do have to say, though- in a retcon sense, filling in that gap before Destroy All Monsters would be a much more satisfying placement.

[szmigiel]

I do have to say, though- in a retcon sense, filling in that gap before Destroy All Monsters would be a much more satisfying placement.

40 years ago Toho, and to be fair most studios, had no interest in creating a detailed canon or history for their films. The kaiju were treated more like actors in each appearance than trying to create a wider shared universe like today.

[GojiDog]

As I've said before, continuity in the Showa era was loose at best. If you want Zone Fighter to count, it probably can fit. If you don't, it is easily ignored.

[Zarm]

To be fair, there's a difference between continuity (how/where do these films fit together, and how well?) and canon (the official list of what entries are part of a series or work). As most modern franchise prequels demonstrate, something can be canon without having very good continuity, since canon is simply an official list, while continuity is the details of how things fit together.

[MaxRebo320]

Doesn't Zone Fighter leave Earth in the final episode?

I don’t think so since a second season was supposed to happen.

From what I have heard (and I guess will soon find out thanks to Zarm), the show's finale is simply the last episode. There is no real closure, the Garogas aren't properly defeated once and for all and the Zone family doesn't leave Earth. But I guess one could assume the Garogas were eventually defeated offscreen, hence their absence in Godzilla movies set after the show.

And I kind of doubt there were plans for a "second season", as Toku shows simply didn't roll like that back then (Or even now). If the was a big hit, they'd either keep pumping out episodes on a weekly basis or make a whole new show as a sequel.

[Zarm]

Doesn't Zone Fighter leave Earth in the final episode?

I don’t think so since a second season was supposed to happen.

From what I have heard (and I guess will soon find out thanks to Zarm), the show's finale is simply the last episode. There is no real closure, the Garogas aren't defeated for good and the Zone family doesn't leave Earth. But I guess one could assume the Garogas were eventually defeated offscreen, hence their absence in Godzilla movies set after the show.

And I kind of doubt there were plans for a "second season", as Toku shows simply didn't role like that back then (Or even now). If the was a big hit, they'd either keep pumping out episodes on a weekly basis or make a whole other show as a sequel.

Yep- I don't know yet, it's the only one we haven't translated, but probably in about a week I will. It's actually killing me, because I'll have to proofcheck it before I get the chance to watch it/the series, and I don't wanna know 'till I get there! Oh well, c'est la vis...

(However, I have heard the same; no closure.)

[Grievous]

*Looks Around*

So...what's Zone Fighter actually like?

It looks fun from the small amount of clips I've seen.

[HillyHulk]

Possibly since it is clearly after Terror of Mechagodzilla given the suit used in the series, indicating it's somewhere between that film and Destroy All Monsters.

[GigaBowserG]

*Looks Around*

So...what's Zone Fighter actually like?

It looks fun from the small amount of clips I've seen.

It's incredibly goofy at times, but it's an entertaining little series. There's an English translation in the works, so I'd recommend waiting for that to finish if you want to check an episode or two.