Reply #8: Heisei series OF GODZILLA

[Demeter]

The Heisei-era Godzilla film series lasted from 1984 to 1995 totaling seven films for the second series.

The Heisei-era films differed drastically from the Showa-era films in a variety of ways. The most prominent difference being that Toho did away with portraying Godzilla as a hero. While occasionally Godzilla would take the role of an antihero, he was still hazardous to humanity. The Godzilla suit was updated to look more realistic and much more intimidating than previous outfits. Another significant difference is the series was given an overall plotline with story arcs. Each movie happened in some sort of sequence, and referenced previous movies to further the plot of the series.

As in the Showa era, the first movie of the Heisei era, The Return of Godzilla, had Godzilla as the only monster to make an appearance. All succeeding Heisei-era movies would have Godzilla fight other monsters. In this series' final movie, Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, Godzilla dies after undergoing a nuclear meltdown.

In the same way the Showa era spoke to audiences of its time, the Heisei-era Godzilla films took on popular themes of the 1980s and 1990s. In Godzilla vs. Biollante, the movie explores advancing technology and the negative effects of genetic engineering. Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah touched on US-Japanese relations stemming from World War II and introduced a time-travel plot. Other themes included commenting on research into hazardous material and making environmental statements.