Showa era

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Series
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Showa
Heisei

The Showa series (昭和シリーズ,   Shōwa shirīzu), also known as Showa era and Showa period, is a term used to identify the years between 1926 and 1989 under the reign of Japanese Emperor Hirohito.

The first Godzilla film was to begin the Showa era of the kaiju industry, and Godzilla is the usual kaiju to be affiliated with this era. During the beginning of this era, Godzilla was mainly antagonistic in nature, taking on the likes of Anguirus and Mothra. By the time of Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, Godzilla adopted what would soon become his most famous image: a heroic monster, battling terrible villains with other monsters by his side.

The Showa era saw many other film studios such as Daiei, Shochiku and Nikkatsu attempt to enter the new genres of Tokusatsu and kaiju films with their own creations, including Gamera, Daimajin, Guilala and Gappa.

After the formation of Tsuburaya Productions and the creation of their most famous series, the Ultraman franchise, Toho produced a significant number of tokusatsu television programs in the Showa era, one of which, Zone Fighter, even featured appearances by Godzilla and some of his other monster co-stars and is considered part of the official continuity of the Showa Godzilla films.

Films

Godzilla Series

The Showa Godzilla series ran from 1954 through 1975, and consists of 15 films. While a seven year hiatus took place between the second and third films in the series, a new Godzilla film was produced almost annually from 1962 through 1975. The ninth film in the series, Destroy All Monsters, was originally intended to be the final film, but Toho elected to continue the series the following year with All Monsters Attack, and continued producing new Godzilla films throughout the first half of the 1970's. The series was placed on hiatus following the release of Terror of Mechagodzilla in 1975, and despite numerous unsuccessful attempts to produce a new film in subsequent years the series would not be revived until 1984 with The Return of Godzilla, thus beginning the Heisei series.

Gamera Series

The Showa Gamera series ran from 1965 to 1980, and consists of eight films. The final film in the Showa Gamera series, Gamera: Super Monster, was produced nine years after the previous film, Gamera vs. Zigra, due to Daiei going bankrupt. Super Monster's monster scenes consist almost entirely of stock footage from previous films, and its continuity with the rest of the Showa Gamera series is unclear.

Other Toho Films

In addition to the Godzilla series, Toho produced numerous other kaiju and science-fiction films during the Showa era, some of which would introduce monsters that would go on to make appearances in the Godzilla series.

Other Daiei Films

Toei Films

Other Films

Television

During the late 1960's, Toho began producing numerous tokusatsu television series, many featuring kaiju, in a similar vein to Tsuburaya Productions' popular Ultra Series. Two of these series, Go! Godman and Go! Greenman, often reused monsters from other Toho shows or even from some of Toho's films, including the Godzilla films. The series Zone Fighter is particularly notable for featuring guest appearances from Godzilla himself, along with his costars Gigan and King Ghidorah. Zone Fighter is considered to be part of the continuity of the Showa Godzilla films, set between the events of Godzilla vs. Megalon and Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla.

Monsters Introduced

Godzilla Series

Gamera Series

Other

Television

See Also

Trivia

  • The Showa series is currently the longest of the defined eras of Godzilla films to date, as it had 15 films created over the span of 21 years.
  • Politically, The Return of Godzilla is a Showa film, as it was the last film to be made in the Showa era of Japan, with the Heisei era beginning on the 8th of January 1989.
  • Despite the fact that the Showa era of the Godzilla franchise concluded in 1975, several unmade films that were to be released during the latter years of the 1970's indicate that this hiatus may have been unintended, with each successive cancellation inadvertently further increasing the length of the hiatus.
  • This era features the majority of appearances for several monsters. Rodan, for example, appears in four films (or around ten, including stock footage appearances) in the Showa era, whereas in the Heisei and Millennium eras, he only has one appearance in each.
  • With the exception of Mechagodzilla, none of the monsters and mechas introduced in the Godzilla series after Invasion of Astro-Monster made any appearances in the Heisei series. Ebirah, Minilla, Kamacuras, Kumonga, Hedorah, Gigan and King Caesar were all reintroduced in the final film of the Millennium series, Godzilla: Final Wars, leaving Gabara, Megalon, Jet Jaguar and Titanosaurus as the only characters to have not appeared in a film since their debut, with the exception of cameos, stock footage, and appearances in other media.
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