Monsters over Tokyo!!!

Let's get one thing straight, I absolutely love Mothra. She is my second favorite Kaiju (first being Godzilla of course). The rebirth of Mothra trilogy gets a bad wrap on account of how childish they are. Just keep in mind that these are children's fantasy films and if you view them as such, They're a lot of fun. Besides, King Ghidorah is almost as much of a foe for Mothra as he is Godzilla and it's kind of cool to see a retooled version of him in this trilogy. Also interesting is the creation of the evil fairy, Belvera as a foe for Mothra's twin fairies.

I consider this to be the last film in the golden age of Toho monster movies. The godzilla movies of the 70's would devolve into psychedelic weirdness (although, they're kind of fun too) and the death of Eiji Tsuburaya and slashing of budgets would contribute to the slow death of Toho's giant monster movies. I'm a big fan of the origin of the monsters and the island setting gives you a real feeling of isolation.

I always thought that this one was fairly underrated. The Toho Frankenstein is an interesting creation and there are scenes with him that are very atmospheric and memorable. This would also introduce Baragon, one of my favorites of the Toho monster menagerie.

The monster Manda is only seen briefly and barely consequential to the plot, but the underwater scenes and design of the submarine, Gotengo are incredible.

This is Toho's first Alien invasion film and you can really see the influence that it would have on later entries in the Godzilla series. Moguera is also one of the strangest looking robots that you'll ever see in a movie and is special for being one of the first giant robots of the silver screen. The score by Akira Ifukube is also worth noting as it introduces some of his best military marches.

This was Ishiro Honda's attempt to instill some dignity back into the Godzilla films after a series of weaker efforts. Akira Ifukube was also back, delivering a score that reinforces the darker tone of this film in comparison with the others in the series. Mechagodzilla is still an amazing foe, The human drama is more engaging than it had been in some time, and Godzilla walks off into the sunset, a fitting end to the Showa series. Not to completely discredit Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla, which is a lot of fun, this is just a far superior effort.

This is the first Godzilla movie to introduce Aliens into the fold. It also gives Godzilla and company a truly worthy opponent in King Ghidorah, and fully established the Toho films as a shared film universe.

With it's awesome special effects, well choreographed fight scenes and incredible score by Ifukube, this is one of the better efforts in the Heisei series. It was nice to see Mechagodzilla, Rodan, and baby Godzilla getting dusted off and retooled for a new era. Although, if I had any gripe it would be that I prefer Mechagodzilla as a villain.

Mothra is interesting in that she's a sympathetic monster and kind of a god, which separates her from every giant monster that came before. I absolutely love that there's a spiritualism with the character as opposed to the usual atomic radiation origin. Mothra is just a very unconventional giant monster movie.

I would go so far as to say that this movie has the best special effects of any Kaiju film to date. It's an absolute beauty to behold. The human characters are compelling and I love that it introduces a villain that is truly a cracked mirror image of Gamera and his relationship with Asagi. The film also brings back the Gyaos, perfectly book ending the trilogy.

Just a truly beautiful fantasy movie that serves as a wonderful piece of Japanese Mythology.

I like this film a lot less than a lot of people do, but it's still a decent Godzilla movie with a ton of incredible moments. Godzilla's orange glowing visage is really awesome looking and it's pretty cool that a villain that recalls the oxygen destroyer from the first movie was chosen, which seems like a perfect send off to our favorite giant monster. The scene where Godzilla melts down is also the single most heart wrenching scene in monster movie history.

I used to think that this movie was incredibly overrated until I finally got ahold of the Japanese version. The American version contains a ton of useless scenes with American actors and Ifukube's amazing score is replaced by music from Creature from the black lagoon and others in the universal library. What a difference a score really makes. King Kong vs Godzilla is a lot of fun and with Ifukube's memorable score, the climactic battle is truly unforgettable.

Biollante is one of Godzilla's most original and fully realized opponents. This film also has my favorite Godzilla suit and the special effects are really at their best.

This one has it all; The zaniest Aliens ever to come out of one of these movies, space travel, and lots of monster destruction. The human drama is also quite good and the two leads are a lot of fun. I adore this movie and consider it to be the poster child for 1960's monster movies.

Rodan is a beautiful monster design and his look here would never be improved upon. In fact, I would go so far as to say that the original Rodan is the most fully realized monster suit of the 50's-70's. Rodan is also interesting in that it begins as more of a horror film, with the human characters having to deal with a more personal and horrific foe, which then escalates into a giant monster invasion that soon effects the entire country. Rodan is also different in that he's a sort of tragic monster.

I've always thought that this one was really underrated. It's a return to the dark, serious Godzilla and I think that it's done very well. I love that it attempts to show how the cold war era world would deal with an attack by a giant monster. I'm also a fan of the Godzilla suit in this one, retaining the mythological beast quality of the original, without falling into the more animalistic look that he would gain in the sequel. The miniatures in this are also incredibly beautiful. This was also the first Godzilla movie that I ever saw and it will always hold a special place in my heart.

The single most unique monster movie of all time. I love that it's set in feudal Japan and that Daimajin is a mystical force. The effects here are also top notch and everything about it is completely atmospheric. This is just an amazing movie. There's a real scope to it that was unseen in most movies of the time.

The Millennium series got off to a fairly rough start, but this one is a return to form. It's a lot of fun and the monster brawls are some of the best ever. While I don't buy Ghidorah as a good monster, it is awesome to see Godzilla at his most evil and aggressive.

Cain and Abe; at 50 stories! The characterization of the monsters and their growing rivalry is really interesting. I appreciate any monster movie where the monsters are treated as actually characters with motivations and can interact with the human characters. Given the more humanoid look of the monsters, the suits enable the actors to move more fluidly, giving this some of the most awesome fight scenes of any giant monster movie.

Legion is a truly terrifying and nasty villain for Gamera. The effects are a huge leap forward after the first movie, which was already an achievement. Gamera reveals new abilities and an awesome makeover. It's also cool that a new monster was created for the film, rather than a retooling of an old one.

The ultimate monster brawl. This movie features an astonishing collection of Giant monsters and the majority of them are given a decent amount of screen time. The plot is insanely entertaining and it introduces monsterland (monster island) to the Godzilla lore. Destroy all monsters includes my favorite staples of Japanese monster movies, Aliens, space travel, and mind control over earth's monster, a plot device that was also used in Monster zero to great effect.

The first pairing between Godzilla and his greatest foe, Mothra. It's interesting that both the nuclear metaphors and spirituality are able to work hand in hand in this one, showcasing just how different the two monsters really are.

I have to say that I love the old Gamera movies. They are silly and a fun alternative to the movies from Toho. However, it's the 90's Gamera trilogy that established everyone's favorite giant turtle as more than just a Godzilla knock off. This movie (and it's sequels) completely one up everything that was already great about the Heisei Godzilla movies.

So much has been written about this one that I hardly know what to say. It's moody, somber, and stays with you long after viewing it. The original Godzilla is incredible and totally unforgettable. Even though it's inferior, the American cut is also special to me because it was my favorite movie when I was a child.