All 15 Showa era Godzilla movies ranked, from campy curios to kaiju classics

Right, time to wade through the absolute mayhem that is the original Godzilla film run, known to fans and pedants alike as the 'Showa era'. If you’re relatively sane, you might know Godzilla as the giant lizard who trashes buildings, but proper obsessives remember that there’s an entire cinematic universe from Japan’s Showa period, filled with monsters, dodgy alien invaders, and—let’s be honest—a fair few films on the weirder end of the scale.

To be exact, the Showa era covers the original fifteen Toho films, released between Godzilla (1954) and Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975). Why Showa? That’s the name for Emperor Hirohito's reign, and every Godzilla flick from ’54 to ’75 landed during that era. Simple as that.

How I’m Ranking These:

• Watchability (even the trashy ones can be fun)
• Quality of the story and pacing (if there is a story, that is)
• Monster carnage and sheer spectacle
• Visual effects (ranging from 'groundbreaking' to 'what on earth is that suit meant to be?')
• Impact on the Godzilla franchise as a whole
• Rewatch value (some are best experienced asleep on the sofa)

All 15 Showa-Era Godzilla Films, Ranked

1. Godzilla (1954)
   Still the juggernaut after all these years. Proper nuclear horror, a monster movie that’s genuinely unsettling and, when you consider Japan’s real-life trauma, a bit too close to home. Director Ishiro Honda and special effects wizard Eiji Tsuburaya knocked it out of the park—suitmation, miniature Tokyo going up in flames, Ifukube’s haunting music, and a proper love-triangle-meets-end-of-the-world subplot. Not just the best Godzilla film of the lot, but one of the greatest monster movies ever made—no contest.
2. King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)
   Big, bright, and doesn’t take itself too seriously. Honda returns for a crossover that’s as daft as it sounds, pitting Godzilla against King Kong in a full-colour brawl and managing to lampoon commercial TV in the bargain. It’s gleeful, self-aware, and more fun than it has any right to be.
3. Destroy All Monsters (1968)
   The all-out monster rumble everyone had been waiting for. Godzilla and pals go absolutely ballistic when aliens unleash them on various cities worldwide. With a roll-call of nearly every Toho kaiju from the era (and then some), the sense of spectacle is off the charts—plus, Ishiro Honda again at the helm. Set in the impossibly futuristic year ’99.
4. Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)
   A proper monster bash, this one. Mothra and her tiny singing fairies go up against the meanest, sharpest-clawed Godzilla ever, while greedy showmen muck about with stolen monster eggs. Not subtle, but the point about nature versus human greed lands—with a shed-load of brilliant monster set-pieces to sweeten the pill.
5. Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965)
   Godzilla, Rodan, and King Ghidorah, but make it sci-fi. Aliens request to 'borrow' some monsters, and, shock horror, it’s all a trick to invade Earth. This was pumped out for an international audience, so it’s exactly as fast-paced and crowdpleasing as you’d expect. Infamous for Godzilla’s utterly daft victory dance—director Honda hated it, but it’s now one of the series’ iconic oddities.
6. Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964)
   Two film crossover before Marvel even thought about it. Here’s where Godzilla stops being a grim force of nature and starts to morph into the hero, rallying with Mothra and Rodan to fight a three-headed alien dragon. The tone swings wildly—straight-faced sci-fi stuff one moment, then monsters bickering like children the next.
7. Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla (1974)
   Brilliant anniversary entry. Godzilla faces off against his metal double, MechaGodzilla, in a film that’s much slicker and bloodier (seriously, the monsters bleed!) than the previous few. There’s a prophecy, some aliens in naff monkey costumes, and a genuinely epic fight with one of Godzilla’s best enemies.
8. Godzilla Raids Again (1955)
   Not quite as weighty as the original, but historically important. First ‘vs’ film in the series, with Godzilla locking horns with Anguirus across an emptied Osaka. The pace is brisk—probably because they cranked it out in something ridiculous like six months. Characters’ personal lives barely matter, but watching monsters level the city still has its pleasures.
9. Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966)
   The ‘island holiday special’. Smaller in scale than the rest (most of the action’s on an island with minimal city-smashing). Godzilla was only there because King Kong dropped out at the last minute, so there’s a sort of laid-back, cobbled-together vibe. Still, not as bad as its detractors say—there’s a giant lobster, a terrorist group called Red Bamboo, and lightning wakes Godzilla up. Good popcorn fun.
10. Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)
    The swansong for the Showa era, and Honda’s last directorial outing on the franchise. The Simians (monkeys posing as men—yes, really) are back, working with a new dinosaur, Titanosaurus, and of course the rebuilt MechaGodzilla. Solid action, proper Toho weirdness, but the ticket-buying public had moved on by this point (probably more to do with the worsening economy than monster fatigue).
11. Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)
    Easily one of the most divisive Godzillas ever. Godzilla taking on living pollution, with trippy nightclub scenes, animated sequences, and a new composer who seems allergic to traditional monster scores. Director Yoshimitsu Banno wanted an environmental fable inspired by Woodstock and manga, and somehow he convinced Toho to fund the experiment. Series producer called it career-ending, but you can't deny it’s memorable—especially the 30-minute monster-battle climax, and the all-timer moment when Godzilla propels himself through the air using his own radioactive breath.
12. Son of Godzilla (1967)
    Pretty much Godzilla-as-family-sitcom. More kid-friendly than ever, introducing his pint-sized son Minilla (or Minya, or Minira—good luck with the naming). The big G’s design here is downright cuddly. There’s a weather experiment gone wrong, giant praying mantis monsters, a massive spider, and lots of father-son monster bonding. If you want light-hearted kaiju, this is the one.
13. Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)
    By-the-numbers alien-invasion entry, but it’s got Gigan—a cyborg chicken with hooks for hands and a chest buzzsaw. There’s a lot of stock footage padding things out, and the build-up drags (one of the leads is a comic artist—subtle, Toho, subtle), but bloody fights and the weird design of Gigan do save the day by the end.
14. Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)
    The one starring Jet Jaguar (a robot designed by a Japanese primary school kid—Toho actually ran a drawing contest and went with the winner). Godzilla was crowbarred in when execs realised Jet Jaguar wasn’t cool enough to sell tickets. There’s Megalon (giant beetle god, pretty useless), Seatopian invaders, and yet more frantic cost-cutting, meaning stock footage galore. Still, Jet Jaguar’s cult value has aged better than Megalon ever did.
15. All Monsters Attack (1969)
    The lowest of the low, at least for grown-up fans. Ishiro Honda made it almost entirely for children, with a bullied kid who daydreams about befriending Minya on Monster Island. Most of the monster action is repurposed from other films, and it’s only about 70 minutes long. You could show it to your nephew and he’d probably love it, but there’s not much for adults—unless you enjoy seeing Godzilla’s son talk, in full-on dopey voice, about standing up to bullies called Gabara.

What’s Essential Viewing?

If you’re just dipping in, I’d say don’t bother with everything on that list. The absolute must-watch entries:

• Godzilla (1954)
• King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)
• Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)
• Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964)
• Destroy All Monsters (1968)

Quick Answers to Questions Nobody Asked, But Everyone Googles Anyway

How many Showa Godzilla films are there? Fifteen in total. ‘54 through to ‘75, with a couple of oddball TV crossovers on the side (see, for instance, the Zone Fighter series, which had Godzilla popping up, but isn’t counted as a proper film entry).

Which is the most underrated? I reckon Ebirah, Horror of the Deep deserves a break. It’s simple, good fun, and Godzilla gets woken up by a lightning strike, which is just brilliant slapstick.

Which film brought us King Ghidorah? That would be Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964). He soon became Godzilla’s go-to sparring partner.

Best monster battles? Destroy All Monsters and Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla are top of the heap. If you like your monsters banding together to batter something new, Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster invented that trick.

Was Zone Fighter part of the Showa-era canon? Technically, yes and no. It was a live-action TV show from '73, and Godzilla shows up for a few tag-team fights, but it’s considered a TV spin-off rather than one of the films.

What ended the Showa era? Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975) wrapped it up for a decade. The series went off the boil for a while and didn’t get revived until The Return of Godzilla in 1984.

In what order were they released? Chronological list for the completists:

• Godzilla (1954)
• Godzilla Raids Again (1955)
• King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)
• Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)
• Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964)
• Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965)
• Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966)
• Son of Godzilla (1967)
• Destroy All Monsters (1968)
• All Monsters Attack (1969)
• Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)
• Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)
• Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)
• Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla (1974)
• Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

A couple of final bits for the real obsessives: the original film is the gold standard, the bottom of the pile is kids-only fluff, and if you want to see a robot designed by a primary schooler save Tokyo—well, they made that too.