Non-Millennium Era Godzilla Films

## Showa Era (1954-1975)

This is the first era of Godzilla films that started with the 1954 film, Godzilla. And ended with Terror of Mechagodzilla in 1975. It should be known however as the first film of this era is almost canon to every Millennium Godzilla film.

Some None-Godzilla showa films are also part of the Kiryu Saga. Overall, the Showa Era is split into three distinct cycles of films starting with the original Duology that started with the 1954 Film and ended with its sequel in 1955, Godzilla's Counter Attack or Godzilla Raids Again, and were followed by a seven-year hiatus during which Toho produced several other kaiju films, including *Rodan*, *Varan*, and *Mothra*. The series was revived in 1962 with *King Kong vs. Godzilla*, after which a new film was produced almost annually throughout the 1960's. During this period, Godzilla gradually began to transition from a villainous destructive monster to a more sympathetic and heroic character. 1968's *Destroy All Monsters* was originally planned to be the final Godzilla film, but Toho went on to produce six more films afterward from 1969 to 1975, as features for the Toho Champion Festival children's matinee program. The Godzilla films released during this period, collectively dubbed the "Champion Series" by kaiju historian August Ragone, in particular cemented Godzilla's image as a heroic monster "superhero," and all of its films take place chronologically after *Son of Godzilla* but before *Destroy All Monsters*, with the exception of *All Monsters Attack*, which is often considered to be set in its own continuity. The series was placed on hiatus again after the box office failure of *Terror of Mechagodzilla* in 1975, and despite several attempts by Toho to continue the series another Godzilla film would not be produced until 1984, thus beginning the Heisei series.

### Original duology (1954-1955)

* Godzilla (1954) ***(Canon to some Millennium Godzilla films)***
* Godzilla Raids Again (1955)

### Revival (1962-1968)

* King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)
* Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)
* Ghidorah, the three-headed dragon (1964)
* Invasion of astro-monster (1965)
* Ebirah, horror of the deep (1966)
* Son of Godzilla (1967)
* *Destroy All Monsters* (1968)

### Champion Series (1969-1975)

* *All Monsters Attack* (1969)
* *Godzilla vs. Hedorah* (1971)
* *Godzilla vs. Gigan* (1972)
* *Godzilla vs. Megalon* (1973)
* *Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla* (1974)
* *Terror of Mechagodzilla* (1975)

## Heisei Era (1984-1995)

The Heisei series of *Godzilla* films lasted from 1984 to 1995, and has also been nicknamed the **VS. Series** (VSシリーズ *Buiesu shirīzu*) in Japan due to the word VS. (*buiesu*) being featured in most of the films' titles. The Heisei series follows a different continuity from the Showa films, ignoring every movie except the original 1954 *Godzilla*. The Heisei series ran for a total of seven films, with the last film, *Godzilla vs. Destoroyah*, intended to be the final Japanese Godzilla film for a period of at least ten years, while TriStar Pictures was expected to produce a trilogy of American-made *Godzilla* films in that time frame. Toho revived the franchise early in 1999 after seeing an opportunity following the release of TriStar's 1998 American *Godzilla* film, thus beginning the Millennium series. It should be noted that *The Return of Godzilla* was released during Japan's Showa era rather than Heisei, but is included in the Heisei series retroactively due to it rebooting the franchise and sharing continuity with the Heisei films that followed it.

(It should be mentioned that these films also appeared in the intro of Godzilla: Final Wars)

* *The Return of Godzilla* (1984)
* *Godzilla vs. Biollante* (1989)
* *Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah* (1991)
* *Godzilla vs. Mothra* (1992)
* *Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II* (1993)
* *Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla* (1994)
* *Godzilla vs. Destoroyah* (1995)

## Tristar Era (1998-2003)

Tristar Era is an unofficial term used for the North American Godzilla era during the late 90s and early 2000s. Despite a planned trilogy of american godzilla films, it was never made and the only true sequel to the film is the Animated Series from 1998 to 2000.

* GODZILLA (1998) ***(Canon to some Millennium Godzilla films)***