Which Suit is the Face of the Showa Era?

[LegendZilla]

The one downside of the Mosugoji suit is that it looks like he has jowls.

[Kaltes-Herzeleid]

For me, it's 1964-1966.

[Mac Daddy MM]

1968-1972 for me. It just has a look I think could be retconed to be in each film without being too out of place. While '54 is hard to replace and this may be a fandom sin to say, but if Toho ever went the Lucas route and "special editioned" the films for continuity, this is the design I could see working all 3 decades of the Showa era.

[Dv-218]

I think 1964 and 1968-1972 both stand up equally in this regard. The former for how iconic and recognizeable it is design wise and the latter due to how it encapsulates such a large chunk of the films. It's always either one of these that pop up in my mind when I hear "Showa".

[edgaguirus]

While Mosu is my choice, the Soshinggeki design does span more films, giving it more exposure to viewers. That could make it the suit most people think of.

[mikelcho]

I agree; my choice is between the 1964 suit and the 1968 suit, although the 1962 suit is also up there with those two.

[Jetty_Jags]

Shoshingeki, while there is more deviation of the Godzilla design at the beginning of his career, the shoshingeki design looks like the most averaged of all the showa designs. It both looks somewhat similar to the suits before it, and blends nicely into the suits after it, I’d say it’s the best rendition of a “general” Showa look.

[Red-Death Gigan]

DaisensoGoji. Well detailed head(s) & body, used in 2 of my favorite Showa movies, & used still for several additional Godzilla movie "water scenes".

[PuzzledAmphibian]

The one downside of the Mosugoji suit is that it looks like he has jowls.

Isn't that on purpose?

[Kaltes-Herzeleid]

DaisensoGoji. Well detailed head(s) & body, used in 2 of my favorite Showa movies, & used still for several additional Godzilla movie "water scenes".

Good taste.

I really like Nakajima's performance in those two films as well. Godzilla had a lot of personality and energy to him.

[miguelnuva]

I think Soshingeki works as the face of Showa in general. runner ups are MosuGoji and than the 73-75 look.

Added in 2 minutes 5 seconds:

I don't know about these days, but for a long time the fandom as a whole really seemed to regard Mosugoji as the champion Godzilla design of the Showa era. And it was certainly the one that future suits of the period would be most closely patterned on - every subsequent Showa suit is more or less a variant on Mosugoji (or at least on it's less dour modified version from GtTHM).

I remember when KingGoji was viewed as the be all in all showa suit.

[shadowgigan]

DaisensoGoji. Well detailed head(s) & body, used in 2 of my favorite Showa movies, & used still for several additional Godzilla movie "water scenes".

Good taste.

I really like Nakajima's performance in those two films as well. Godzilla had a lot of personality and energy to him.

I'd like to reiterate my argument that this is the wrong way to analyze this question. In terms of influence, representation, and availability of products, Shodaigoji has to be the objectively correct answer. As possibly the face of the franchise as a whole, how can it not be the face of the Showa era?

[miguelnuva]

DaisensoGoji. Well detailed head(s) & body, used in 2 of my favorite Showa movies, & used still for several additional Godzilla movie "water scenes".

Good taste.

I really like Nakajima's performance in those two films as well. Godzilla had a lot of personality and energy to him.

I'd like to reiterate my argument that this is the wrong way to analyze this question. In terms of influence, representation, and availability of products, Shodaigoji has to be the objectively correct answer. As possibly the face of the franchise as a whole, how can it not be the face of the Showa era?

Because ShodaiGoji is not Showa Goji. ShowaGoji is the asskicking, superhero sometimes Dad, sometimes Destroyer Godzilla that teams up with other monsters for brawls and does Kung fu.

54 Godzilla I'd argue has never been the face of the brand he's just the first Godzilla who he gets treated with respect.

[Legion1979]

DaisensoGoji. Well detailed head(s) & body, used in 2 of my favorite Showa movies, & used still for several additional Godzilla movie "water scenes".

Good taste.

I really like Nakajima's performance in those two films as well. Godzilla had a lot of personality and energy to him.

I'd like to reiterate my argument that this is the wrong way to analyze this question. In terms of influence, representation, and availability of products, Shodaigoji has to be the objectively correct answer. As possibly the face of the franchise as a whole, how can it not be the face of the Showa era?

BINGO

When you see Japanese photo or art collages of the various Godzilla designs, what is the one Showa suit you see every single time? 1954. Period.

I think people are overthinking this. The fact that now people are mentioning the 1965 suit is pretty much proof that there are people here who don't even understand the question.

[Voyager]

I think people are overthinking this. The fact that now people are mentioning the 1965 suit is pretty much proof that there are people here who don't even understand the question.

I intended the question to be like “which suit represents the era the best?”, and Daisenso does not fit that bill. 68 however does. It represents the era the best. 1954 is very iconic, but it does not represent what the Showa Era is. The 1954 suit cannot and does not represent the villainous days, anti-hero days and heroic days.

[miguelnuva]

Good taste.

I really like Nakajima's performance in those two films as well. Godzilla had a lot of personality and energy to him.

I'd like to reiterate my argument that this is the wrong way to analyze this question. In terms of influence, representation, and availability of products, Shodaigoji has to be the objectively correct answer. As possibly the face of the franchise as a whole, how can it not be the face of the Showa era?

BINGO

When you see Japanese photo or art collages of the various Godzilla designs, what is the one Showa suit you see every single time? 1954. Period.

I think people are overthinking this. The fact that now people are mentioning the 1965 suit is pretty much proof that there are people here who don't even understand the question.

54 gets that treatment because it is the first Godzilla not because it is the face of Godzilla. Japan is more inclined to respect what came first which is why 54 is treated the way it is.

MostGoji or SoshingekiGoji are the faces over even 53 Goji.

SoshingekiGoji is even the one who met Gamera.

[Legion1979]

It's funny how this conversation keeps going despite Toho themselves answering the question time and again.

[miguelnuva]

It's funny how this conversation keeps going despite Toho themselves answering the question time and again.

When has Toho said which suit is the face of the Showa era?

[Ivo-goji]

The version of Godzilla who appears in Daicon IV looks like Mosugoji.

[JAGzilla]

It's funny how this conversation keeps going despite Toho themselves answering the question time and again.

The obvious problem here is that we're not all approaching this question in the same way, which results in different answers. There is no single answer that covers all of the angles here.