Is Showa Godzilla One Character?

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Lesko
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Re: Is Showa Godzilla One Character?

Post by Lesko »

I always saw the Showa Godzilla as one Godzilla. At some points it is hard to see it as a continuous entry from a casual viewer's perspective but there isn't really something that made me think otherwise. I always chalked up the appearances to how the director thought Godzilla should look like at that moment in time. Yeah it is a stretch but I do believe in suspension of disbelief especially in a franchise like Godzilla. It would be hard to explain such drastic changes canonically. I imagine Toho probably said something about the continuity also.

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Re: Is Showa Godzilla One Character?

Post by edgaguirus »

It seemed like the same Godzilla to me. Godzilla's appearance and actions may change, but that's because of different tones, themes, and what the director or audience wanted. The Showa era can be seen as a collection of stories bound by a central character with some stories making subtle connections to past ones.
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Re: Is Showa Godzilla One Character?

Post by Legion1979 »

I had no idea this was something that could even be debated!

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Re: Is Showa Godzilla One Character?

Post by JAGzilla »

Legion1979 wrote: Fri May 21, 2021 9:22 am I had no idea this was something that could even be debated!
Welcome back to Toho Kingdom, where everything can and will be debated. :lol:
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Re: Is Showa Godzilla One Character?

Post by tbeasley »

Showa Gojira wrote: Wed May 19, 2021 11:01 pmGodzilla went through character development in the Showa series. The fine folks at Toho may not have planned for it to happen early on but watching the movies it's clear as day that's what happens with Godzilla. When Showa Godzilla first appears he is destructive but much less so than the original Godzilla, while he does still rampage through towns and cities he doesn't completely destroy them, he's more preoccupied with fighting other monsters he views as threats to his territory and sleeping. After the events of Ghidorah the Three Headed Monster he saves the Earth from a threat far greater than himself and from that point on (alien mind control episodes aside) both he and humanity don't really attack each other again. Godzilla himself explains he feels like humans bully him for no reason, unlike his aggressive predecessor he's happy to mind his own business if he's not attacked.

After finding his son Minya and cooling off a bit (pun fully intended) he becomes a lot friendlier towards humanity and decides from that point on to defend his planet from extraterrestrial threats. After fighting alongside Rodan and Mothra he becomes a lot more prone to befriending other giant monsters as opposed to always trying to kill them. Toho clearly saw that they could not continue the series if they kept Godzilla an antagonist so they started making him something of a hero starting with Ghidorah the Three Headed Monster. With both Ultraman and Gamera proving the idea of a Kaiju fighting hero to be marketable one they continued Godzilla's transition into being a hero with Son of Godzilla and all the following films. Showa Godzilla is my favorite fictional character bar none so I'm pretty sure I would know if he was actually multiple different radioactive monsters.
^ Well said, this is why Showa is my favorite...

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Re: Is Showa Godzilla One Character?

Post by Voyager »

tbeasley wrote: Fri May 21, 2021 12:58 pm
Showa Gojira wrote: Wed May 19, 2021 11:01 pmGodzilla went through character development in the Showa series. The fine folks at Toho may not have planned for it to happen early on but watching the movies it's clear as day that's what happens with Godzilla. When Showa Godzilla first appears he is destructive but much less so than the original Godzilla, while he does still rampage through towns and cities he doesn't completely destroy them, he's more preoccupied with fighting other monsters he views as threats to his territory and sleeping. After the events of Ghidorah the Three Headed Monster he saves the Earth from a threat far greater than himself and from that point on (alien mind control episodes aside) both he and humanity don't really attack each other again. Godzilla himself explains he feels like humans bully him for no reason, unlike his aggressive predecessor he's happy to mind his own business if he's not attacked.

After finding his son Minya and cooling off a bit (pun fully intended) he becomes a lot friendlier towards humanity and decides from that point on to defend his planet from extraterrestrial threats. After fighting alongside Rodan and Mothra he becomes a lot more prone to befriending other giant monsters as opposed to always trying to kill them. Toho clearly saw that they could not continue the series if they kept Godzilla an antagonist so they started making him something of a hero starting with Ghidorah the Three Headed Monster. With both Ultraman and Gamera proving the idea of a Kaiju fighting hero to be marketable one they continued Godzilla's transition into being a hero with Son of Godzilla and all the following films. Showa Godzilla is my favorite fictional character bar none so I'm pretty sure I would know if he was actually multiple different radioactive monsters.
^ Well said, this is why Showa is my favorite...

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Re: Is Showa Godzilla One Character?

Post by Terasawa »

Legion1979 wrote: Fri May 21, 2021 9:22 am I had no idea this was something that could even be debated!
Apparently anything can be debated when fantasy matches are at stake.
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Re: Is Showa Godzilla One Character?

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Terasawa wrote: Sat May 22, 2021 7:50 am
Legion1979 wrote: Fri May 21, 2021 9:22 am I had no idea this was something that could even be debated!
Apparently anything can be debated when fantasy matches are at stake.
Oh my god, you weren't kidding.

I was wondering what in the hell prompted this thread.
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Re: Is Showa Godzilla One Character?

Post by Major sssspielberg! »

Toys and fantasy matches can make anything an argument
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Re: Is Showa Godzilla One Character?

Post by Inferno Rodan »

NSZ wrote: Sat May 22, 2021 8:26 am
Terasawa wrote: Sat May 22, 2021 7:50 am
Legion1979 wrote: Fri May 21, 2021 9:22 am I had no idea this was something that could even be debated!
Apparently anything can be debated when fantasy matches are at stake.
Oh my god, you weren't kidding.

I was wondering what in the hell prompted this thread.
For the record, I'm the type of person that can make essay-length posts in FMs when I get in the mood and even I find this thread absolutely absurd.
Last edited by Inferno Rodan on Sat May 22, 2021 9:07 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Is Showa Godzilla One Character?

Post by miguelnuva »

I've always head cannoned that either the monsters all looked like the newest suit in universe or they all looked like their orginal selves. Showa Godzilla and Rodan look like Sodai Godzilla and Rodan for example.

I remember someone theories Godzilla changed appearance in universe due to regeneration.
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Re: Is Showa Godzilla One Character?

Post by _JNavs_ »

Inferno Rodan wrote: Sat May 22, 2021 9:05 am
NSZ wrote: Sat May 22, 2021 8:26 am
Terasawa wrote: Sat May 22, 2021 7:50 am

Apparently anything can be debated when fantasy matches are at stake.
Oh my god, you weren't kidding.

I was wondering what in the hell prompted this thread.
For the record, I'm the type of person that can make essay-length posts in FMs when I get in the mood and even I find this thread absolutely absurd.
Congrats

Added in 54 seconds:
NSZ wrote: Sat May 22, 2021 8:26 am
Terasawa wrote: Sat May 22, 2021 7:50 am
Legion1979 wrote: Fri May 21, 2021 9:22 am I had no idea this was something that could even be debated!
Apparently anything can be debated when fantasy matches are at stake.
Oh my god, you weren't kidding.

I was wondering what in the hell prompted this thread.
Heh, crazy right? Forums amirite?

Added in 7 minutes 38 seconds:
So for those of you who decide to skim instead of read, my original point was that every film after the original was its own take on the monster, and that no two Godzilla's had continuity unless blatantly stated as such. For which this was confirmed when numerous users here stated that during the time period, films couldn't rely on one set continuity to tell one cohesive narrative.

The very answer we all settled on was that the loosest of continuity, albeit one nonetheless, was the reasoning for this.

Added in 1 minute 50 seconds:
miguelnuva wrote: Sat May 22, 2021 1:04 pm I've always head cannoned that either the monsters all looked like the newest suit in universe or they all looked like their orginal selves. Showa Godzilla and Rodan look like Sodai Godzilla and Rodan for example.

I remember someone theories Godzilla changed appearance in universe due to regeneration.
Imagine Son Of Godzilla's suit replacing the 55 one in that film :lol:
Last edited by _JNavs_ on Sat May 22, 2021 1:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Terasawa
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Re: Is Showa Godzilla One Character?

Post by Terasawa »

_JNavs_ wrote: Sat May 22, 2021 1:30 pm So for those of you who decide to skim instead of read, my original point was that every film after the original was its own take on the monster, and that no two Godzilla's had continuity unless blatantly stated as such. For which this was confirmed when numerous users here stated that during the time period, films couldn't rely on one set continuity to tell one cohesive narrative.

The very answer we all settled on was that the loosest of continuity, albeit one nonetheless, was the reasoning for this.
That's not at all the point the rest of us were trying to make, nor was it agreed that "no two Godzillas shared continuity." I'm pretty sure you're the only one trying to push that idea. The Godzilla in 1955 is the same Godzilla in 1975, and this is true for all Godzillas (and films) in between. It's really just that simple.

To reiterate: audiences who saw each new Godzilla movie when they were released wouldn't have thought each film was a "reboot," because that concept was totally alien until rather recently. They would have acknowledged (as it was intended by the filmmakers) that it was the same Godzilla, and that the inconsistencies from film to film were just that -- inconsistencies. Similarly, it never would have occurred to anyone watching these movies that "ToMG must be in a different universe/isn't connected to GRA," because that's not how film series or even most popular entertainment worked.
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Re: Is Showa Godzilla One Character?

Post by ShinGojira14 »

Yes, Showa Godzilla is just one character.

Why does this thread exist?
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Re: Is Showa Godzilla One Character?

Post by Jermobooka »

ShinGojira14 wrote: Sat May 22, 2021 2:34 pm Yes, Showa Godzilla is just one character.

Why does this thread exist?
Fantasy Matches, man

We go crazy over there :lol:
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Re: Is Showa Godzilla One Character?

Post by _JNavs_ »

Lol yeah let's kill this thread before we have another 6 people hop in here to ask why does this thread exist.
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