APPROVED: Courtney Brannon Donoghue, Committee

Chair Jennifer Porst, Committee Member Robert Weiner, Committee Member Andrea Miller, Interim Chair of the

Department of Media Arts and Dean of the Frank W. and Sue Mayborn School of Journalism

Tamara L. Brown, Executive Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

Victor Prybutok, Dean of the Toulouse Graduate School

Thesis Prepared for the Degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS

May 2021

KING OF THE MERCHANDISE: HOW SHOWA ERA PARATEXTS FOREVER

CHANGED THE GODZILLA FRANCHISE

Dalton Cooper

Cooper, Dalton. King of the Merchandise: How Showa Era Paratexts Forever Changed

the Godzilla Franchise. Master of Arts (Media Industry and Critical Studies), May 2021, 62 pp.,

1 table, 5 figures, 1 appendix, references, 49 titles, filmography, 21 titles.

The Godzilla media franchise is one of the longest running media franchises, which

means the character himself has gone through many changes throughout the years. However, in

American pop culture, the characters of Godzilla is perceived as a hero, a friend of humanity and

defender of Earth. This reputation comes from the Showa Era, where Godzilla often fought on

the side of humanity, rather than trying to destroy them as depicted in the original Gojira. In

recent years, Toho, Godzilla's corporate owners, have been steering the King of the Monsters

back into the villain role. Despite this tone shift by Godzilla's owners, American Godzilla

paratexts still generally depict Godzilla as a hero. These depictions of Godzilla are used to

maintain his status as a family friendly heritage brand and keep a door open for parents to

introduce their children to the brand. Such a strategy allows Godzilla to survive into the modern

day as an international powerhouse franchise.

ii

Copyright 2021

by

Dalton Cooper

iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This project would not have been possible without the love and support from my parents,

Deana and David Cooper, my sister, Darbie Cooper, my thesis committee, Dr. Courtney Brannon

Donoghue, Dr. Jennifer Porst, and Dr. Robert Weiner. In addition, I would like to thank Buddy

Love, Breezy Taylor, Abby Hunter, Mary Seay, and Alexa Reed for listening to me ramble on

about Godzilla for the last three years. A special thanks is owed to J.D. Lees of G-Fan magazine

and YouTube user DMan1954 for assisting in the survey which is connected to this project.

Thank you all. Rock on.

iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES............................................................................................... v CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 2. BRIEF HISTORY OF THE GODZILLA FRANCHISE ........................................ 9 CHAPTER 3. CASE STUDY OF SHOWA ERA TRAILERS AND POSTERS ........................ 23 CHAPTER 4. SHOWA ERA TOYS, GAMES, AND OTHER PARATEXTS ........................... 38 CHAPTER 5. CONCLUSION...................................................................................................... 47

Methods and “Things That I Wish Were Available” ........................................................ 47

Project Conclusions .......................................................................................................... 49 APPENDIX: GODZILLA FAN COMMUNITY SURVEY ........................................................ 56 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................. 58

v

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

Page

Tables

Table 1: Godzilla Films Organized by Eras .................................................................................... 2

Figures

Figure 1: King Ghidorah Statue-Deluxe Edition (SpiralToy.com) ................................................. 6

Figure 2: Godzilla, King of the Monsters! poster by Jewell Enterprises ...................................... 25

Figure 3: Godzilla vs. The Thing, “A” poster by American International Pictures ...................... 26

Figure 4: Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster, poster by AIP ............................................................ 31

Figure 5: Godzilla vs. Megalon, poster by Cinema Shares ........................................................... 35

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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

O people, know that you have committed great sins…If you ask me what proof I have for these words, I say it is because I am the punishment of God. If you had not committed great sins, God would not have sent a punishment like me upon you.

Genghis Khan We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried, most people were silent… “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.”

Robert J. Oppenheimer

It is a still night on Tokyo Bay. In the harbor, fishing boats lazily sway side to side in the

waves of the dark water. The year is 1954 and Japan is still recovering from the devastation of

World War II. Things are about to get much worse, however. Tokyo Bay begins to boil and

churn as steam and smoke faze into existence over the surface. The surface of the water breaks,

and up from the depths rises a towering, 164 feet tall monster, with scaly skin, jagged teeth, and

radioactive breath. As the monster descends on the city of Tokyo, it is as if Hell itself has been

unleashed on the citizens. The Japanese Self Defense Forces (JSDF) tries desperately to stop the

creature, but no weapons can stop him or even slow him down. Little do the people of Japan

know, this monster has started a streak of terror that continues into the modern day. It is unlikely

the creative team behind that first movie ever imagined the juggernaut this monster would

become, but both at home and abroad, he is an icon. From his trademark roar, blue radiation

breath, rogue’s gallery of villains and friends, and his complex relationship with humanity, he

has left his mark on international cinema. He has gone by many names: Gojira, Gigantis, King of

the Monsters, Monster Zero-One, Incarnation of God, Big G, and G-Man being just a few.

However, most people likely know him by his American name, Godzilla.

The Godzilla franchise is one of the longest running, continuous film franchises. As of

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2021 there are thirty-five officially released Godzilla films, with number thirty-six planned for

release on March 31, 2021. Due to the large number of films, Toho, the Japanese company which

owns and controls the rights to the Godzilla franchise, has organized the films into four different

eras (see Table 1): Showa (1954 – 1975), Heisei (1984 – 1995), Millennium (1999 – 2004), and

Reiwa (2016 – 2018). When considering how and when Godzilla movies circulated in the U.S.

market, most American audiences will be familiar with the Showa Era. Traditionally, the 4

American made films are not grouped in with any eras from Toho, however Godzilla 2014,

Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and Godzilla vs. Kong are grouped together in the

“Monsterverse” cinematic universe. Godzilla 1998 stands alone among the other films as its own

release.

Table 1: Godzilla Films Organized by Eras

Year Title

Showa Era

1954 Gojira

1955 Godzilla Raids Again

1962 King Kong vs. Godzilla

1964 Mothra vs. Godzilla

1964 Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster

1965 Invasion of Astro-Monster

1966 Ebirah, Horror of the Deep

1967 Son of Godzilla

1968 Destroy All Monsters

1969 All Monsters Attack

1971 Godzilla vs. Hedorah

1972 Godzilla vs. Gigan

1973 Godzilla vs. Megalon

1974 Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla

1975 Terror of Mechagodzilla

(table continues)

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Year Title Heisei Era

1984 The Return of Godzilla

1989 Godzilla vs. Biollante

1991 Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah

1992 Godzilla vs. Mothra

1993 Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II

1994 Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla

1995 Godzilla vs. Destoroyah

Millennium Era

1999 Godzilla 2000: Millennium

2000 Godzilla vs. Megaguirus

2001 Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack

2002 Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla

2003 Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S

2004 Godzilla: Final Wars

Reiwa Era

2016 Shin Godzilla

2017 Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters

2018 Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle

2018 Godzilla: The Planet Eater

American made films (“Monsterverse” cinematic universe)

1998 Godzilla (excluded from Monsterverse)

2014 Godzilla

2019 Godzilla: King of the Monsters

2021 Godzilla vs. Kong

The Showa Era features the most films in the franchise, and many of them received a

theatrical release in the United States. After the Showa Era ended, only Godzilla 1985, Godzilla

2000, and Shin Godzilla received American theatrical distribution. This is significant, as the

Showa Era featured a large shift in the tone of Godzilla films. The very first Godzilla film, the

original Gojira, features graphic scenes of human suffering in the wake of Godzilla’s attack on

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Tokyo. For example, after Godzilla’s rampage through Tokyo, a young girl with radiation burns

mourns over the body of her mother. The child’s wails are haunting and true sorrow can be felt

in the scene.

After the first film, Godzilla movies became increasingly centered on child-friendly and

light-hearted monster brawls and scenes of destruction, but without the effect on human lives

shown. Some of Godzilla’s most goofy moments can be seen in Invasion of Astro-Monster

(originally released in America as Monster Zero), where Godzilla does a “victory dance” after

defeating the dragon King Ghidorah, which was modeled after a humorous pose from the

Osomatsu-kun manga. In Godzilla vs Hedorah, renamed in America as Godzilla vs. The Smog

Monster, Godzilla curls up in a shrimp like position and uses his atomic breath to take flight in

pursuit of the monster Hedorah. Another case is seen in All Monsters Attack, dubbed Godzilla’s

Revenge in America, a schoolboy dreams of fighting bullies with Godzilla’s son, Minilla, and

has in-depth discussions about bullying with Minilla. There are countless other examples of

Showa Era corniness both from the Japanese and American viewpoint (director Ishiro Honda

notes that the more humanizing moments of Godzilla were “things I truly had a difficult time

making and filming” [Ryfle 230]) but those are some of the highlights. Such goofiness directly

contrasts to the first Showa Era film.

While Toho has since steered Godzilla back into a more serious direction, as seen in their

most recent live action film, Shin Godzilla, American pop culture still perceives Godzilla as a

goofy, child-centric franchise. Why? What happened? Showa Era paratexts are what happened.

What is a paratext? How could paratexts from the 1960s and 70s affect modern day perceptions

of anything, let alone a massive international film franchise like Godzilla? Why have other

campy franchises faded into obscurity, while Godzilla continues to dominate pop culture?

5

According to Jonathan Gray, “Paratexts surround texts, audiences, and industry, as

organic and naturally occurring a part of our mediated environment as are movies and television

themselves” (23). Paratexts are anything which accompanies a text, such as a trailer, poster, tie-

in toy, fast food promotion, viral marketing campaign, anything which serves to enhance or

promote the original text. For example, this paper examines film trailers, posters, and several toy

lines from the Godzilla franchise. Licensers framed the distribution and marketing of the

franchise in the United States, which shaped how Americans saw Godzilla. For clarity’s sake,

while the Showa Era officially ended in 1975, due to the fact it often took several years for the

United States to receive Godzilla media, this paper considers the American Showa Era to be

between 1954 and 1980, which provides a five year buffer. In addition, data collected via a

survey is presented to further exemplify the importance of Showa Era paratexts to Godzilla’s

international image.

The importance of such a revelation is for companies to realize how difficult it is to shake

the established reputation of a character or intellectual property, despite their attempts to rewrite

or rebrand the intellectual property. Especially with international brands, which have high

barriers to entry in the United States, established reputations can be both a blessing and a curse.

On one hand, everyone knows the name of your brand or franchise. On the other, if you take a

different direction with your franchise, you will have an extremely difficult time shaking the

perceptions of international audiences. However, by maintaining the nostalgia in paratexts, even

as the franchise changes, heritage brands can remain relevant in the ever-changing media

landscape.

This paper examines the connection between Showa Era paratexts in America and the

current pop culture image of Godzilla in the U.S. For example, I examine trailers, posters,

6

several toy lines, and a survey of American Godzilla fans to demonstrate how American Showa

Era paratexts helped reinforce Godzilla as media property targeted at children. Even consumers

who have never seen a Godzilla movie have likely seen a commercial, poster, or toy which

features the “Big G.” Primarily, commercials and marketing for the films themselves are

examined. The first few films focused on the horror of Godzilla, using phrases such as “dynamic

violence” and “a monster from the bowels of Hell” to describe the Big G. However, as the

franchise developed, Godzilla became a “defender of Earth” and “man’s friend,” helping to

reframe the character from a social threat to a childhood hero. These massive tonal changes

fostered an environment conducive to licensed toys and games, which have led to Godzilla being

perceived by the American audience as an innocent and playful superhero.

Figure 1: King Ghidorah Statue-Deluxe Edition (SpiralToy.com)

For the purposes of this paper, the terms “toy” and “game” refer to items which, at the

time of initial distribution, were intended to be played with by children. Such a distinction is

necessary as there are some collectible items which could be considered “toys,” but due to their

7

high price tag, are not intended for use outside of exhibition. For example, in 2020, Spiral Toy

Studios introduced a line of statues ranging from $600 to $1,750. While these items are made by

a toy company, it can safely be assumed anyone who spends $1,750 on a statue of King

Ghidorah is not going to play with it in the backyard (see Fig. 1).

To be clear, modern resale prices for older toys does not factor into the definition of

“toy.” For example, the Shogun Warriors Godzilla toy has pieces which are removable. As a

result, loose pieces can go for over a hundred dollars on resale sites as collectors will pay top

dollar to finish an incomplete toy. However, since Shogun Warriors Godzilla was produced in

1977 for the purpose of play and use, it is considered a toy for the purposes of this paper.

Furthermore, this paper focuses on paratexts which were officially released in the United

States by Toho or a proper licensee and were officially circulated in the U.S. during the Showa

Era. Bootlegs, imports, and custom made paratexts are not considered. Paratexts which were

originally released in Japan or another foreign country but later received an official release in the

United States are considered. The theatrical trailers and posters for Showa Era films are

analyzed, as are the pressbooks for Godzilla vs. The Thing, Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster, and

Godzilla vs. Megalon. These pressbooks represent films from the beginning of the Showa Era,

the middle of the Showa Era, and the end of the Showa Era, respectfully. They are paramount in

examining how each film was marketed beyond the screen, with live displays, parades, comic

books, buttons, and real weaponry all being suggested as marketing for theaters to use. Lastly,

the results of a survey conducted is evaluated to demonstrate the perceptions of the Godzilla

franchise among Godzilla fans.

For this project, I conducted a survey to gauge various aspects of the Godzilla fan

community. Namely, how they perceived the franchise as a whole, as well as some demographic

8

information. I developed ten questions to gauge demographics of the current Godzilla fan

community, decipher which films in the franchise were the jumping off point for modern day

fans, and determine how the American Godzilla fan community perceives the franchise. To

distribute this survey, I posted the link to it on the Godzilla forums r/Godzilla on Reddit and

TohoKingdom.com. However, I also reached out to J.D. Lees of G-Fan magazine and popular

Godzilla YouTuber Dman1954 to see if they would tweet the survey out to their followers. As

fortune would have it, both G-Fan and Dman1954 agreed to help, and with their help, the survey

received 331 responses, smashing my goal of 50 responses.

All of this analysis is done to showcase Godzilla’s strength as a heritage brand.

According to Avi Santo “While supposedly empowering parents, the goal of children’s heritage

brands is ultimately to gain a foothold among younger consumers by transcending this nostalgic

evocation and establishing the brands’ contemporary relevance” (156). By leaning on these

nostalgic characteristics, even as the franchise becomes less and less like the Showa Era, the

Godzilla franchise always holds a door open for parents to introduce their children to the King of

the Monsters. Then as the children grow up, there will be mature Godzilla media for them to

consume in addition to the child-oriented media. Through this open door, Godzilla is able to

survive for generations the way other heritage brands like Star Wars, Batman, and Mickey

Mouse have while many of his contemporaries like Mr. Magoo and The Lone Ranger have fallen

by the pop culture wayside. This ability to speak to generation after generation by keeping

paratexts rooted in the Showa Era is paramount to Godzilla’s continued success and is something

many other brands could learn from.

9

CHAPTER 2

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE GODZILLA FRANCHISE

I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.

Isoroku Yamamoto Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Japanese Combined Fleet

following the attack on Pearl Harbor. With a purposeful grimace and a terrible sound, he pulls the spinning high-tension wires down.

Blue Öyster Cult, “Godzilla”

To understand the paratextual history of Godzilla, the textual history of Godzilla must be

briefly examined. Such a history allows those unfamiliar with the franchise to understand where

the Godzilla franchise comes from, and to better understand the tonal disconnect between the

early Showa Era, mid Showa Era, and late Showa Era, and how those tonal disconnects can

further be observed in the merchandise of the time. As such, this chapter presents a brief history

of the Godzilla franchise to establish an understanding of the films and the franchise as a whole

for those who are not familiar with the franchise.

The story of Godzilla starts with the end of World War II, specifically the use of atomic

weaponry to destroy the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. To this day, Japan remains

the only nation to ever be bombed by atomic weapons, with estimates from the University of

California Los Angeles stating estimated casualties of over 225,000 people are “conservative.”

What does this have to do with Godzilla? Everything. Like most nations involved in World War

II, Japan’s entire population was part of the war effort. Almost everyone who worked on the first

Godzilla film were affected by the war in some way. Director Ishiro Honda fought in the war in

the Chinese theater, producer Tomoyuki Tanaka and special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya

worked on propaganda films, and composer Akira Ifukube lost his brother to radiation sickness

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(Kalat 22). Despite the war’s end, the nation of Japan had been defeated and the mood of the

nation was somber to say the least.

During this period, while coming home from a failed collaboration with a studio based in

the Philippines, producer Tomoyuki Tanaka stared at the ocean from his airplane and imagined a

giant beast emerging from the water. Then, on March 1, 1954 a civilian fishing boat, Dai-go

fukuryu maru (Lucky Dragon No. 5) sailed too close to a nuclear testing ground in the Marshall

Islands, and the crew developed radiation sickness (Ryfle 86). This event inspired Tanaka, along

with Honda and Tsuburaya to create Godzilla as more than just a King Kong-esque monster, but

rather a metaphor for nuclear weaponry. Despite everyone who heard the idea waving it off on

B-movie grounds, Honda, Tanaka, and Tsuburaya swore to each other “This movie…must depict

the attack of a giant monster as if it were a real event, with the seriousness of a documentary”

(Ryfle 85). And so, it did. On November 3, 1954, Gojira was released to Japanese audiences,

where it became a financial success. However, this was only the first film in what became known

as the Showa Era (named after Emperor Showa, the posthumous name of Emperor Hirohito).

Shortly after its Japanese release, Toho licensed the distribution rights to Gojira to the United

States, where, unlike its other films Toho had licensed to the United States, Samurai (1955) and

The Magnificent Seven (1956), it was a huge hit (Balio 127). Soon Gojira was followed by

Godzilla Raids Again (1956), and right off the bat the tone of the films started to change.

Whereas Gojira was a somber horror film about the end of the world, Godzilla Raids Again

focuses more on Godzilla’s battle with a new monster, Angurius, with the destruction of Osaka

being played up as spectacle rather than showing the consequences of the rampage. In addition,

the human characters laugh and joke with each other, adding a level of levity which is absent in

Gojira. With Gojira being designed as a somber warning on nuclear weapons, Godzilla Raids

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Again presents a ray of hope for Japan’s healing from World War II. This trend of Godzilla being

a place for Japan to vent their feelings about their country or their place in the world continues

throughout the franchise. As Toshio Takahashi states, “Godzilla was and is a powerful antiwar

statement. Besides that, he is a mirror into the Japanese soul” (Kalat 23).

After Godzilla Raids Again, Toho would put the Big G into hibernation for almost ten

years until King Kong vs. Godzilla was unleashed on the world. King Kong vs. Godzilla would

revitalize the franchise, as it was a huge box office hit in Japan, where it remains the Godzilla

franchise’s most attended movie (Kalat 59). Producer Tomoyuki Tanaka would recognize this

success and correlate it with the film’s new direction for Godzilla. King Kong vs. Godzilla

features the titular monsters drawn into combat by humans seeking profit (a theme carried over

from previous Toho films like Mothra [1961]), rather than by their own savage accord. From

here on out, Godzilla’s adversaries would be controlled by wicked humans (Terror of

Mechagodzilla), alien invaders (Destroy All Monsters), or would attack his son (Son of Godzilla).

In addition, the films would only feature property damage, rather than the death or injury of

humans (barring the major exception of Godzilla vs. Hedorah, but those on-screen deaths were

caused by the pollution monster Hedorah rather than Godzilla himself). King Kong vs. Godzilla

would also feature Godzilla’s second-to-last last appearance as the antagonist of a film in the

Showa Era, as he would slip into the hero role in the film Ghidorah the Three-Headed Monster.

Whenever Godzilla would attack humanity in the subsequent Showa Era films, he would do so

either as a controlled slave for aliens, as seen in Invasion of Astro-Monster, or a monster

disguised as Godzilla would attempt to frame him as seen in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla. The

massive success of King Kong vs. Godzilla would change the Godzilla franchise forever, as

12

Tanaka saw the dollar signs from this new formula. For the next twelve years, Godzilla would be

lighthearted and a hero for mankind and the planet Earth.

The rest of the Showa Era would pass according to this formula. Mothra vs. Godzilla

(Godzilla vs. The Thing in the United States) would be Godzilla’s last appearance as the

antagonist until the Heisei Era, Son of Godzilla would introduce Minilla as Godzilla’s adopted

son, and Godzilla and friends would fight aliens more often than Ellen Ripley from Fox’s Alien

franchise. However, after Terror of Mechagodzilla, the last film to feature the team of original

director Ishiro Honda, producer Tomoyuki Tanaka and composer Akira Ifukube (Eiji Tsuburya

passed away in 1970), Toho decided to retire Godzilla for a while. This decision had been a long

time coming and coincided with a “drop of standards” (Kalat 145). The final shot of the film

featured a non-shoot worthy exhibition suit waddling into the ocean. Watching that last shot is

like watching a professional wrestler who should have retired twenty years ago leaving the ring

for the last time. Godzilla is a shell of his former self, still beloved, but fans felt pity more than

genuine good will towards him. To this day, Terror of Mechagodzilla remains the least profitable

Godzilla film ever made (Kalat 145). After this box office failure, Toho would send Godzilla

into a decade long slumber.

In 1984, Godzilla would return to the silver screen in a film fittingly called Return of

Godzilla and would launch the Heisei Era of films. Return of Godzilla would bear witness to a

restoration of Godzilla’s villain status and would serve as a direct sequel to the original Gojira

(even the American version, Godzilla 1985, would see Raymond Burr return as Steve Martin

from Godzilla, King of the Monsters!).

The future of Godzilla depended on returning to the darker style of the early, allegorical Gojira. Certainly (sic) King Kong vs. Godzilla held the record for audience size, but Gojira had a more attractive audience demographic composition. In order to win back the

13

adult viewers who had defected during the seventies, Tanaka decided to abandon the fantastical approach. (Kalat 157)

Producer Tomoyuki Tanaka is quoted from a 1985 People interview as saying, “This character

change was responsible for his decline…it was a mistake” (Carlson) a sentiment echoed by Toho

spokesman Masaru Yabe when he said “The fans did not like Godzilla when he was [morally]

good” (Kalat 157).

While forty years had passed since the devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the

hands of atomic bombs, Toho still saw the opportunity to use Godzilla to once again be a “mirror

into the soul of Japan.” Within Return of Godzilla, Japan is caught in the middle of the two major

cold war powers, the United States and Soviet Union, wanting to destroy Godzilla by dropping

nuclear bombs on him while he is attacking Japan. In addition, during this period in history,

Japan had become prominent in international business and economics and was in the midst of the

“economic miracle” where Japan became the second largest economy until 2010 (Barboza), with

the film’s finance minister of Japan openly worrying about the economic repercussions if

Godzilla attacks Tokyo. Toho made a concentrated effort to make Godzilla a serious series again

with Return of Godzilla, spending a record six millions dollars on the production alone, with a

large portion of that being spent on a brand new, cybernetically enhanced Godzilla suit which

could give the King of the Monsters a moving face to show emotion in direct response to the

cheaply made way the last Showa Era films were made (Kalat 159).

This love and effort can also be seen in the American version, dubbed Godzilla 1985.

Godzilla 1985 maintained its anti-nuclear themes (albeit with more blame pushed on the

Russians than the original film) and even added a eulogy for Godzilla as he falls into a volcano,

as delivered by none other than Raymond Burr, who reprises his role as Steve Martin from the

American version of Gojira. According to director R.J Kizer (who directed the additional

14

American footage), “In fact, when I first met Mr. Burr at the Mondrian Hotel the evening before

the shoot, he answered the door with words to the effect of, ‘Godzilla is a symbol of the nuclear

menace threatening mankind.’ His tone and manner clearly told me that he took the allegorical

aspects of Godzilla quite seriously indeed” (Kalat 166). At this point, Burr was a full-on

celebrity (Perry Mason, Burr’s most famous role, started a year after Godzilla, King of the

Monsters! was released) and it was assumed the production would be unable to get him back.

However, Burr came back to Godzilla, telling Tom Shales of The Washington Post, “But it

wasn’t the large sum of money. It was the fact that, first of all, I kind of liked ‘Godzilla,’ and

where do you get to play yourself 30 years later?” (Shales). Burr’s serious attitude toward the

subject changed the production, with Kizer noting the original script was very tongue-in-cheek

about the subject material until they were able to sign Burr to the production (Kalat 166). This

serious tone shift marked a new age in Godzilla films. With the first film of this new series, Toho

took steps to recover Godzilla’s fearsome reputation as an allegory for Japan. Even as Godzilla

began facing foes both new and old, within the Heisei Era, he was always portrayed as the

antagonist or the lesser of two evils, never the hero or “friend of humanity.”

After Return of Godzilla, Godzilla would take a break for a few years until Godzilla vs.

Biollante was released in 1989. Despite being a return of the “vs” moniker and featuring a new

villain for Godzilla to fight, Godzilla vs Biollante does not slip into the Showa Era silliness of the

previous “vs” films. Godzilla vs. Biollante continues the serious themes of Return of Godzilla,

with bioterrorism, scientific manipulation by politicians, and even Americans resorting to

terrorism to keep their place of power in world politics and business. While Godzilla is the

“hero” of the story, he is only seen as such because of the threat the new monster Biollante

presents to Japan. In fact, when Godzilla awakens from his volcanic tomb, he causes mass panic

15

and fear amongst the populace, a far cry from the “man’s friend” Showa Era films. Despite only

turning a small profit for Toho (and being the last Toho made Godzilla film to be released in the

United States until Godzilla: Millennium in 1999), Godzilla vs Biollante brought in a renewed

push for more “vs” style Godzilla films (Kalat 177). In fact, every single Heisei film after vs.

Biollante was a vs film.

After Godzilla vs Biollante, more traditional Godzilla monsters were brought out of the

vault, such as King Ghidorah, Mothra, Rodan, and Mechagodzilla. However, despite these

Showa Era enemies coming back, the Heisei Era kept the serious tone all the way through. Even

the addition of Godzilla’s son, now simply called “Godzilla Jr.” or “Little Godzilla” and the

addition of more supernatural elements (such as time travel in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah and

telepathy with monsters in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II), the themes continued to be played

seriously. Japanese nationalism (King Ghidorah being sent into the past to destroy Japan for its

economic success in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah), nature vs. technology (the use of

Mechagodzilla to try and kill the real Godzilla in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II), and radioactive

material meltdowns (Godzilla’s fusion powered heart melting down in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah)

are seen in the other Heisei films. The fights between Godzilla and his foes become more brutal,

with blood and gore being common (Godzilla has an eye and hand melt off in vs. Biollante and

has several drills pierce his skin and destroy his second brain in vs Mechagodzilla II) and many

monsters die or almost die on screen, including Rodan and Godzilla Jr. These would all

culminate in the final Heisei Era film, 1995’s Godzilla vs. Destoroyah.

Godzilla vs Destoroyah was created to be the end of the Japanese Godzilla films to make

room for the upcoming American made Godzilla. To usher in the end of Japanese Godzilla film

production, Godzilla was going to die. This would be the first time the King of the Monsters

16

would suffer a confirmed death, on screen or otherwise, since the original Gojira way back in

1954. Toho decided to do this for a few reasons, citing “being out of ideas,” but the main reason

was a deal had finally been reached in Hollywood, soon Godzilla would be appearing in

American films so the current Godzilla had to be retired for his American cousin to take his

place (Kalat 214). It cannot be said Toho did not keep its promise, Godzilla does indeed die in vs

Destoroyah, perishing as a side effect of his nuclear-powered heart melting down due to

absorbing too much radiation. However, Godzilla Jr., thought dead after being attacked by

Destoroyah, absorbs his father’s spirit and matures into a new Godzilla who heads out to sea as

all Godzillas do. Thus, Toho kept their promise in killing Godzilla, but left the door open for him

to return in the future. With this, the Heisei Era came to an end. Godzilla’s story, however, was

far from over.

The road to Godzilla’s next appearance is worthy of a paper all on its own. In 1992,

Sony/TriStar obtained the rights to Godzilla, as reported by John Evan Frook for Variety.

Producer Rob Fried and Carey Woods were tapped to lead the film, with director Jan De Bont

attached for a 1994 release (Frook). However, this film never came to pass, despite Godzilla

models and a script being finalized (Aiken). Instead, Sony would hire director Roland Emmerich

and producer Dean Devlin to make the movie. Thus, Tristar’s Godzilla (stylized as Godzilla

1998) was unleashed on the world. Unfortunately, despite a large marketing campaign (Elliot),

large budget of 130,000,000 dollars (BoxOfficeMojo.com), and large amount of hype, Godzilla

1998 is despised by Godzilla fans, both American and Japanese alike, winning two Golden

Raspberry Awards and being nominated for six while maintaining a 15% approval rating from

critics and a 28% approval rating from fans on Rotten Tomatoes. While Godzilla is portrayed as

the antagonist of the film, the anti-nuclear themes are glossed over and character dialogue

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straight from the bad Showa Era dubs makes an appearance. Emmerich and Devlin use this

platform to take pot shots at Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, who dared dislike their film

Independence Day (1996), and (allegedly) even J.D Lees, author of the Official Godzilla

Compendium, creator of G-Fan magazine and a huge detractor of the film in the first place,

rather than tackle the growing problem of more countries having nuclear weapons than ever

before.* Godzilla ends up being killed by regular missiles, and the comparisons to the Jurassic

Park series are plentiful (such as the Baby Godzillas who resemble velociraptors and chase

humans through Madison Square Garden). While Godzilla 1998 was supposed to launch a trilogy

of films, these follow ups never materialized. To this day, the majority of Godzilla fans (myself

included) curse the names of Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin, going so far as to call the

monster from this film GINO (Godzilla In Name Only). Toho witnessed this train wreck, with

reports of suit actor Kinpatsu Satsuma walking out of a screening saying only “That is not

Godzilla” (Ryfle 344). To put this into context, this would be like if Disney allowed a Russian

studio to make a Mickey Mouse movie, only for the hypothetical Russian Mickey Mouse to be a

child murderer rather than a fun-loving symbol of innocence. Toho knew they would have to

deploy major damage control in order to save their most famous creation from being completely

destroyed.

According to David Kalat, Toho started gathering up crews and discussing a new

Godzilla film less than two months after the premier of Godzilla 1998 (230). From these

meetings, the third Godzilla era was born, the Millennium Era. This era would see a return to

Godzilla’s more fun aspects and would not shy away from the campier aspects of the franchise.

* For full disclosure, I have had small pieces published in G-Fan magazine and have had correspondence with J.D. Lees. This thesis is in no way affiliated with Lees or G-Fan and is simply pointing out the friction between Lees and Emmerich/Devlin.

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The first film in this new era was appropriately titled Godzilla: Millennium, and it was well

received by fans of the franchise, and even got an international theatrical release (the first since

Godzilla 1985) titled Godzilla: 2000. Godzilla became the hero once more, fighting an alien

hive-mind monster known as Orga this time around. However, Godzilla still kills people

knowingly, so the Heisei Era villainous traits had not completely faded. This honeymoon phase

ended the very next year, however, as Godzilla vs. Megagurius flopped hard in the Japanese

market, being the least attended Godzilla film to date (Kalat 237). However, the third film,

Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All Out Attack (stylized as GMK) was a huge

success in the Japanese market, where it made back double its production cost, and is held in

high regards amongst the fandom (Kalat 242). In this film, Godzilla once again becomes the

villain, being the manifestation of tortured souls who were killed by the Japanese in World War

II. David Kalat says it best, “This Godzilla, with his dead, milky-white eyes, kills people” (240).

This return to villainy seen in GMK would continue for the final three films in the Millennium

Era, Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla, Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S, and Godzilla: Final Wars. In

Godzilla: Final Wars, however, while Godzilla is initially man’s archnemesis due to an alien

invasion which wields the combined strength of past Toho monsters, mankind has to release and

team up with Godzilla so he may destroy the other monsters and save humanity from the aliens.

Final Wars plays itself very seriously, but also has plenty of tongue in cheek moments, such as

Godzilla performing a diving move straight out of a soccer goalie’s portfolio. In short, the film

was aimed at kids despite the overdramatic, Matrix-like human characters. As the title suggests,

this would be the final Godzilla film in the Millennium Era, and Godzilla would be regulated to

video games, comic books, and other media for a decade.

Godzilla would return from his decade long hiatus, not in Japanese films, but in

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American films. Dave McNary reported for Variety in 2010 that Legendary Pictures had

obtained the rights to Godzilla and had plans to release the new film in 2012. In 2014, Legendary

Pictures and Warner Bros. released Godzilla (stylized as Godzilla 2014 for clarity) to worldwide

audiences. Legendary Pictures was well aware of the risk, as the property had not fully shaken

off the stain of Godzilla 1998 in the United States market. Legendary CEO Thomas Tull opened

up about the decision to make a Godzilla movie to The Hollywood Reporter’s Gregg Kilday,

“‘We make movies I want to see…I’ve loved Godzilla since I was a kid…’ (Kilday). He

explained that Legendary's reimagining of Godzilla was akin to how Christopher

Nolan reinvigorated Batman in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight…‘Everyone said that

franchise was broken, but Chris had a vision. Sometimes instead of just talking about it, you just

have to do it and show folks this is our version of it’” (Kilday).

This film featured Godzilla as somewhat of an anti-hero who was awakened after ages of

slumber by nuclear testing in the 1940s. Godzilla does not actively attack humanity in this film,

but he does not seem to care for them either as humanity tries to kill Godzilla within the film,

only acquiescing after a bigger threat, a pair of creatures known as MUTOs, appear. Godzilla and

humanity come to an unspoken understanding as Godzilla limps back into the ocean after a hard-

fought battle, and humanity does not open fire while he is weak. Godzilla 2014 would become a

success, becoming the highest grossing American made Godzilla film with a worldwide gross of

525,976,069 dollars (BoxOfficeMojo.com) and would launch a cinematic universe, with other

films like Kong: Skull Island (2017) and a direct sequel, Godzilla: King of the Monsters coming

from Legendary Pictures, culminating in the upcoming Godzilla vs. Kong. Within this series of

films, Godzilla maintains his antihero/indirect ally status. Godzilla does not actively kill humans,

instead focusing his attention on his kaiju rivals. Indeed, the MUTOs, King Ghidorah, and Rodan

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seem to actively attack humanity and are stopped by Godzilla, but humanity’s leaders still do not

trust Godzilla. The point here is Godzilla is not a superhero or guardian of humanity, he is an

alpha predator and simply does not care about the ant-like humans who pester him. However,

back in Japan, a more sinister monster would emerge from the depths.

Just as Toho returned to their atomic mascot after Godzilla 1998 to start the Millennium

Era, Toho would resurrect the Big G in 2016 after the success of Godzilla 2014. However,

whereas the Millennium Era would be a return to the franchise’s more campy and fun aspects,

this new era, dubbed the Reiwa Era, would bring back Godzilla’s status as a monster, a truly

horrific, Lovecraftian, esoteric threat to humanity. 2016’s Shin Godzilla is different from every

single film before it. Unlike all the previous Godzilla films, this would be a fresh start for the

franchise. Up to this point, every film acknowledged the original Gojira as canon in that film’s

universe. For example, Godzilla Raids Again, Return of Godzilla, and Godzilla vs. Megaguirus

are all direct sequels to the original Gojira. However, Shin Godzilla would exist in its own

continuity, with no predecessors. This would be the very first time this world would be attacked

by Godzilla. As such, when Godzilla first emerges out of Tokyo Bay as little more than a large

tail in the water, most scientists and politicians believe him to simply be a large whale who has

gotten too close to the shoreline. However, Godzilla soon evolves and sprouts legs, allowing him

to come ashore in the Kamata neighborhood of Tokyo and begin his rampage. Throughout the

film, Godzilla continues to evolve, growing larger and stronger, until he utterly destroys Tokyo

in a hellish display of power. During his final move on Tokyo, he walks the same path World

War II allied firebombers flew to attack Tokyo. The Japanese government bumbles their way

through every single decision, ultimately resulting in the unnecessary deaths of thousands until

the surviving bureaucrats (who are much younger and less traditional) finally come up with a

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plan to stop Godzilla. In a sequence reminiscent of Return of Godzilla, the United Nations

decides to drop nuclear bombs on Godzilla to try and stop him, which would destroy Tokyo in

the crossfire, so the ragtag group of government outcasts are on a clock to stop Godzilla. Their

plan works and Godzilla is frozen in place, which stops the UN countdown to missile launch as

well. However, the film ends with the promise if Godzilla awakens from his slumber, the timer

would restart, and Tokyo would have no time to evacuate before atomic decimation hits Japan

once again. The lead character, Rando Yaguchi, opines that the world must learn to live with

Godzilla.

Shin Godzilla was made as a direct result to the Japanese government’s lack of action in

the hours and days after the meltdown of the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant in 2011

(Blair). Godzilla once again became “a window into the soul of Japan” by becoming an allegory

for government inaction and inefficiency in the face of natural and manmade disasters. When

Godzilla is frozen, the countdown to destruction stops but does not go away. One disaster is

solved but the next one will be even worse and with less warning if nothing is done now. Shin

Godzilla became a massive hit in Japan, becoming the highest grossing Japanese made Godzilla

film ever (DeSentis), even being nominated for fifteen awards and winning eleven at the 40th

Japan Academy Film Prize including Picture of the Year, Director of the Year, and Best

Cinematography. Even in America, Shin Godzilla was only supposed to be in theaters for one

week but was eventually extended to play in theaters for sixteen days and was nominated for a

Saturn Award for best International Film. Toho jumped on this opportunity and forged a

partnership with Netflix to make a trilogy of anime films. While those films where not as well

received as Shin Godzilla, they kept Godzilla’s evil and vengeful attitude from Shin Godzilla,

and the partnership with Netflix has extended to Netflix’s forte of television as a new anime

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show called Godzilla: Singular Point is scheduled to be released on Netflix in 2021 (Couch). In

short, while the Reiwa Era is still ongoing, it is clear Godzilla has settled into his role of being

the villain, a monster which threatens to destroy all of humanity, just as he was way back in

1954.

Special effects director of Terror of Mechagodzilla, Teruyoshi Nakano, remembers the

last Showa film by saying “We tried to make Godzilla fearsome, but he wasn’t so scary in the

end. We all kept thinking about the children too much, we couldn’t get away from that” (Kalat

145). Nakano’s words are indicative of the Showa Era post King Kong vs. Godzilla. Children

became the main target demographic for the franchise, and the paratexts of the Showa Era reflect

this. Toho’s strategy of marketing towards children was so effective, Godzilla is still seen as a

childish and fun superhero in America, despite his role of villain being long since restored.

While this chapter is far from an extensive history of the franchise, it serves to establish context

for each Godzilla era and how Godzilla as a character and a franchise has evolved throughout the

decades. Despite his evolutions, one thing has remained constant for the Big G. The marketing

towards children.

This chapter served to give readers context into the Godzilla franchise. Despite

Godzilla’s status as an icon in pop culture, it is possible many only know of his exploits through

references and parodies. This brief history demonstrates the longevity of the franchise, as well as

showcasing the various eras and how each one is different. Without this context, the information

presented in the next few chapters would be more difficult to absorb.

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CHAPTER 3

CASE STUDY OF SHOWA ERA TRAILERS AND POSTERS

Moreover, the enemy has begun to employ a new and most cruel bomb, the power of which to do damage is, indeed, incalculable, taking the toll of many innocent lives. Should we continue to fight, it would not only result in an ultimate collapse and obliteration of the Japanese nation, but also it would lead to the total extinction of human civilization.

Emperor Hirohito American eyes, American eyes, view the world through American eyes. Bury the past, rob us blind, and leave nothing behind.

Rage Against the Machine, “No Shelter”

The crux of this project is the disconnect between the tone of Godzilla paratexts and

Godzilla texts themselves. This chapter examines the trailers and posters of Showa Era Godzilla

films as paratexts to make this point. Since there are so many paratexts, toys and other

merchandise are examined in chapter 4. This split is necessary because it keeps this project

organized, as the sheer number of paratexts would make a singular chapter impractical and

unwieldy.

Due to the large number of Showa Era paratexts, the case study for Showa Era paratexts

is broken up into two separate chapters. In this chapter, trends for Showa Era trailers and posters

is examined, and in the next chapter Showa Era toys and merchandise is examined. The Showa

Era is split into three sections to better examine the trends for the paratexts during each time

period. These sections are early Showa Era (1954-1965), mid Showa Era (1966-1971) and late

Showa Era (1972-1980). In addition, official pressbooks for three movies, Godzilla vs. The

Thing, Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster, and Godzilla vs. Megalon are analyzed. Theatrical

pressbooks were sent by film distributors to theaters to show theaters how to market the film to

their local audiences. These pressbooks allow the reader to see how the distribution company

was marketing the film at the time of release. These pressbooks are available online, but I have

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obtained originals for analysis. These originals are necessary as they can be read in their entirety,

as intended, without reliance on some third party’s representations. Within each chapter, the

importance of those paratexts to modern American perceptions of Godzilla is showcased as well.

The official United States trailers for every Showa film has been preserved on the internet

by YouTube user Chaplin1914 who has uploaded them across three different video uploads.

These uploads are used to analyze the trailers. The posters for each film are freely available on

IMDb so they are sourced from each film’s respective IMDb page. For clarity, the American

names for the films is used. For example, Gojira is called Godzilla, King of the Monsters!,

Mothra vs. Godzilla is called Godzilla vs. The Thing and so forth.

For the early Showa Era, the films Godzilla, King of the Monsters!, Gigantis the Fire

Monster, King Kong vs. Godzilla, Godzilla vs. The Thing, Ghidrah, the Three-Headed Monster,

and Monster Zero are examined for trends in their advertising. After Monster Zero, original

director Ishiro Honda and special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya would leave the franchise,

making it the perfect film to cut the first section off. Honda would return for later films, but

Tsuburaya would pass away in 1970.

For the first film in the series, Godzilla, King of the Monsters!, the trailer plays up the

inherent horror of the scenario presented in the film. The narrator of the trailer uses phrases like

“tidal wave of terror to wreak vengeance on mankind” “a psychotic cavalcade of electrifying

horror” “on a rampage of total destruction” “a holocaust of flame,” “is this the end of our

civilization?,” “dynamic violence” (my personal favorite). Images of Godzilla and his rampages

are plentiful, with no mention at all of the love triangle or other human elements in the story.

Indeed, almost every scene featuring Godzilla is shown, with star Raymond Burr only having

around five seconds of screen time in the entire 1 minute 43 second trailer. Nameless JSDF

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soldiers get more screen time than Burr, while main characters Dr. Serizawa, Emiko, Dr.

Yamane, and Ogata, are nowhere to be seen at all. Godzilla’s roar and atomic breath sounds are

constantly heard under the narrator, next to never-ending explosions and gunfire. The human

storyline is mentioned in exactly one sentence. Other than that brief mention, the entire trailer is

devoted to Godzilla and the destruction he causes. With this trailer, it is clear, Godzilla is evil,

and he wants to destroy all of humanity. The poster follows the same trend as the trailer, with

phrases such as “Incredible, Unstoppable Titan of Terror,” “Civilization Crumbles,” and “It’s

Alive!” being prominently displayed (see Figure 2). Across the cover, we see Godzilla breathing

fire on a crowd of fleeing civilians as bullets bounce harmlessly off of him. Godzilla, King of the

Monsters’! poster drives home the fact that Godzilla is brutal and is actively attacking humanity

with the intent of destroying everyone and everything.

Figure 2: Godzilla, King of the Monsters! poster by Jewell Enterprises

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After the first salvo that was Godzilla, King of the Monsters!, Godzilla’s various

distribution partners continued to use much of the same language, imagery, and editing choices

in their posters and trailers. For the sequel, Gigantis the Fire Monster, the trend of Godzilla and

his cohort being referred to in purely evil verbiage is continued. The narrator calls the monsters

“100 tons of hell and fire, “Creatures born in hell to destroy each other, but first they’ll destroy

the world,” and “As they scorch the Earth with 10,000-degree jets of flaming devastation.” More

horror verbiage, like “They’re both alive,” and “Not one but two of the most terrifying creatures

ever loosed on man” show the intention of the marketing was to show the horror and evil of these

giant monsters. As with Godzilla, King of the Monsters!, Gigantis the Fire Monster’s paratexts

were designed to play up the inherent horror of the situation.

Figure 3: Godzilla vs. The Thing, “A” poster by American International Pictures

There would be some changes with King Kong vs. Godzilla, however. We begin to see

the marketing focus primarily on the thrill of the premise while the horror aspect becomes

secondary. Trailers start using verbiage like “brace yourself,” “it’s cataclysmic,” and “The titanic

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terrifying battle between…” However, typical “B” movie exploitation verbiage gets thrown

around by the narrators as well: “Where sensuous maidens offer themselves in ritual sacrifice to

his [King Kong’s] brute embrace,” “See King Kong stamp Tokyo into the ground, holding a

beautiful girl in his grasp.” Godzilla vs. The Thing featured an entire ad campaign based around

how horrifying “The Thing” was, even including a disclaimer on the poster that “those who

cannot take its full horror” should not see the movie (see Figure 3). In reality “The Thing” was

simply Mothra, a giant moth. While there are still horror aspects in these trailers, the main focus

is on the spectacle of two icons fighting each other.

After Godzilla became a full-time hero in Ghidrah, The Three-Headed Monster, we begin

seeing the monsters Godzilla fights as the main threat presented, rather than Godzilla himself.

King Ghidorah becomes Godzilla’s archnemesis and we often see trailers and posters declare

King Ghidorah as the “world’s most terrifying monsters” and “a new high in screen terror.” King

Ghidorah’s size over Godzilla is emphasized, as is the necessity for Godzilla to team up with

other monsters like Mothra and Rodan. At the end of the early Showa Era, we see the first

explicit reference to Godzilla being a hero in the Monster Zero trailer, “Godzilla and Rodan fight

the monster from outer space to save the world” (emphasis added). As the early Showa Era came

to an end, there were still lots of references to Godzilla’s horror roots with B-movie type posters

and trailers. The true essence of the early Showa Era can be seen in the pressbook for Godzilla

vs. The Thing.

Within the pages of the official pressbook, we see the newspaper ads American

International Pictures (the most frequent of Godzilla’s American distributors in the Showa Era)

would sell to theaters to print in local newspapers. They present a few different options, but they

mainly focus on the destruction and terror of the scenario. One headline reads, “Terrifying battle

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of giant monsters wreaks death, havoc in ‘Godzilla vs. The Thing,” opening tomorrow.” Another

reads “All-time greatest fight of giant monsters seen in ‘Godzilla vs. The Thing’ opening here

today.” The ads have such titillating selling points as “Cities are shattered, armies are destroyed,

air forces are rendered powerless when two of the most terrifying fictional monsters ever brought

to screen battle to the death in American International’s ‘Godzilla versus The Thing’,” ‘It’s

spine-tingling, excitement and nerve-shattering thrills that no monster movie fan will want to

miss,” and “Savage rites defy monsters - Panic stricken natives dance their weird, savage rites to

ward off evil influences of monsters in ‘Godzilla versus the Thing.” While these ads are

interesting, the true fun lies in the “Seat Selling Slants” section of the pressbook.

Within the “Seat Selling Slants” section, American International Pictures presents several

alternative methods of advertisement. American International Pictures primarily marketed their

films at the time to teenagers, with Samuel Z. Arkoff devising the “Peter Pan Syndrome”

strategy which read:

A younger child will watch anything an older child will watch, an older child will not watch anything a younger child will watch, a girl will watch anything a boy will watch, a boy will not watch anything a girl will watch, therefore, to catch your greatest audience you zero in on the 19-year-old male. (Doherty 157)

These strategies can be seen in the Godzilla vs. the Thing pressbook. One thing the reader should

note, the quotes below are transcribed exactly as they were written in the original document. As

such, there are some grammar mistakes, these are intentional as to maintain the original feel of

the document.

• Wherever possible stencil enormous footsteps – 5 to 6 feet or more in length and proportioned – on busy streets and have them leading to your theater, or to “Godzilla versus The Thing” display. The stencils can be lettered “Godzilla was here,” for an effective interest arouser in thriller film.”

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• Spot all places where buildings have been wrecked or razed in your area, or where pre-construction digging is going on and post signs on surrounding fences, reading “Godzilla fought The Thing here!” – another effective attention-getter.

• Get local ice cream parlors to cooperate on “Godzilla” monster sundae specials. They can also set up a “Mystery Thing Sundae” – a monster sundae of mystery ingredients and flavors. This can be used as the basis of a contest with prizes awarded to kids who correctly name the flavors and ingredients used in mystery concoction.

• By all means use Godzilla and giant question mark as theme for theatre front and marquee display, with mystery monster battle themes from ads. These can be enhanced with red flashing eyes for Godzilla and other effects.

• Contact local police and fire departments and Defense Department – armed services offices for weapons display promotion, with sings “These couldn’t stop Godzilla or The Thing”… This display can be used in, lobby or at other central locations.

• In cooperation with local TV kid show, or newspaper, or radio personality, sponsor “Mystery Monster ‘Thing’ Contest” – with prizes awarded to youngster who submits drawing of most frightening monster as his or her idea of what “The Thing” really looks like. This will set up tremendous advance interest in “Godzilla versus The Thing.”

The biggest thing to take away from these slants is the addition of children-oriented

marketing. Almost all of the advertisements to this point have focused on horror and terror,

which are generally not topics suitable for children, but are suitable for AIP’s primary target,

teenagers. Even with this very film, “The Thing” was supposedly so horrific it had to be

censored in the poster. Yet, American International Pictures tells theater owners to team up with

ice cream parlors to give prizes to kids, and to team up with local kids shows to hold a children

art contest, while at the same time telling theaters to get real guns and weapons from local police

and military stations to display as props. After the massive success of King Kong vs. Godzilla,

children became drawn to the Godzilla franchise in droves. William Tsutsui cites a 1964 New

York Times article in his book, Godzilla On My Mind, which reads, “A little girl of 7, beautiful as

a dream in spite of a temporary absence of front teeth, said to a girl who was walking beside her

in a school crocodile supervised by a nun, ‘It was like the fight between Godzilla and King

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Kong’” (125). Such an observation by the New York Times shows the true appeal of King Kong

vs. Godzilla amongst children. Both Toho and its American partners noticed the love of King

Kong vs. Godzilla from children and knew they had a new target demographic. While most of the

marketing for Godzilla vs. The Thing still maintained the franchise’s horror roots; the distributors

began to open up marketing avenues for children. A trend which would continue throughout the

rest of the Showa Era.

The films which make up the mid Showa Era are Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster, Son of

Godzilla, Destroy All Monsters, Godzilla’s Revenge, and Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster. Within

this period of the Showa Era, we see much more varied approaches to marketing Godzilla films

likely due to the wide range of subject material in these films. We also see the first Godzilla

films to be debuted on television, rather than at the movie theater (Kalat 97). As such, there is

less material to analyze, but there is still plenty to derive trends from. In the “vs” films like

Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster, the advertisements run almost like ads for a boxing match.

Godzilla gets hyped up as “the dreaded monster” in the Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster trailer with

his opponent being billed as an exciting upstart bent on wrenching the championship belt from

Godzilla. There is also a lot of questionable advertising, namely by misrepresenting the films

being advertised. The trailers for Destroy All Monsters and Godzilla’s Revenge both feature

inflammatory language which paints Godzilla as the villain, “Godzilla paralyzes New York,” and

“This is man’s last chance to stop Godzilla’s vengeance,” respectively. However, within these

films Godzilla is either controlled by aliens, or does not attack humanity at all.

One of the most interesting aspects of the mid Showa Era is the addition of Godzilla’s

adopted son, Minilla. Minilla brought forth changes in the Godzilla formula, namely adding a

largely comedic element to the franchise. For example, the Son of Godzilla trailer describes the

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movie as a “rollicking monster spectacular” and the poster for Godzilla’s Revenge (called Minya:

Son of Godzilla on the poster) features the tagline “Every boy needs a friend even if it’s a

monster.” In fact, both of those films could be described as coming of age movies, Son of

Godzilla being for Minilla himself and Godzilla’s Revenge being for the human boy Ichiro.

Minilla would even feature in Toho’s attempt to win back adults, Destroy All Monsters (Kalat

105). Despite these comedic elements, there is still plenty of city destruction to be found in the

paratexts of the mid Showa Era. Destroy All Monsters’ trailer features Godzilla, Mothra, Manda,

and many more attacking various cities and causing havoc. In addition, in Godzilla vs. The Smog

Monster’s trailer, we see the titular Smog Monster, Hedorah, openly killing civilians, something

not seen since the original Godzilla, King of the Monsters!

Figure 4: Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster, poster by AIP

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The marketing for Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster, much like the film itself, is a beast

unlike any other and is difficult to pair off or group with any of the other films, not just in the

mid Showa Era, but in the entire Showa Era. We get quotes from the trailer’s narrator which

describe Godzilla as “man’s friend” and asking the question, “Can Godzilla save the Earth from

this mastodon of destruction?” While the marketing clearly portrays Godzilla as a child friendly

hero, we get a classic mature B-movie image of an attractive and provocatively dressed woman

being attacked in the poster (see Figure 4), specifically a woman in a red dress (with a high set

kick pleat) being ensnared by Hedorah’s tentacles in a vaguely sexual manner. Despite the death

of civilians and the woman in a red dress, Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster was still heavily aimed

at children, as can be seen in the pressbook for the film. As Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster is the

last film in the mid Showa Era period, the pressbook demonstrates how this period finished

evolving with its paratexts.

The pressbook for Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster includes articles to publish in local

newspapers, the same way Godzilla vs The Thing’s pressbook did. This time, however, the tone

is quite different. The article headlines read “Anti-smog campaign featured in latest Godzilla

adventure” and “Japanese kiddies groove on monster” with accompanying photo captions which

read, “Godzilla, the prehistoric saurian takes up the cudgels for mankind in ‘Godzilla vs. The

Smog Monster’…” Clearly, the advertising is focusing on the appeal to children, and the best

section is still to come. Instead of a “Seat Selling Slants” section, we get an aptly named

“Exploitation” section. The exploitation section features the following marketing ideas:

• Ecology Figure-Head – The figure of Godzilla as a fighter against pollution might be promoted just as Smokey, The Bear symbolizes the campaign against forest fires. An anti-pollution drive could be set up centered around the symbol of Godzilla with the backing of a local boy and girl scout headquarter officials and 4-H clubs, rallying their memberships to clean up streets and alleys and delivering bottles and cans to re-

33

cycling centers. Make liberal use of cut-outs of the Godzilla figure for counter cards and displays at schools, libraries, playground bulletin boards and recreation centers.

• Pollution Display – Ever pertinent and eye-catching 3-dimensional display can be created in your lobby by setting up cutouts of the monster figures from posters over a mound of rubbish with tin cans and bottles so that the smog monster rises from the heap. Effectiveness depends on the effort in making a realistic display of the pollution. A good accent would be to use a red scrim over the eyes of the monsters with backlighting shining through illuminating them.

• Monster Screams – Have someone record the monster screams from the sound track during the battle scenes on a long-playing cassette tape and play the sound through a tape deck and p.a. amplifier in front of the theatre as an attention grabber from passersby.

• School tie-ups – GODZILLA vs. THE SMOG MONSTER presents a strong case against smog and pollution in language especially suited to grammar school age children. Screen the film from members of the local board of education, principals and teachers to arrange for group showings to their young students. If practical, group rates might be offered. If enough cooperation can be stimulated from the officials, special performances might be arranged on weekend mornings exclusively for these groups. The cooperation will also help in making space available on school bulletin boards and in school libraries and recreation rooms for displays.

• Godzilla Cocktail – Have local bar owner create a new mixed drink labeled the GODZILLA COCKTAIL…IT CLEARS THAT FIVE O’CLOCK SMOG FROM YOUR BRAIN…for use in promoting his cocktail hour offerings. Picture title and playdate can be plugged in his advertising. Gag should be of interest as a humor item to local newspaper columnists and radio and television commentators.”

• Natural Gas Promo – Make a tie-up with local natural gas supplier and municipal and state agencies which have converted their vehicles to natural gas fuels as part of the anti-smog effort. Theme of the campaign would link Godzilla’s battle against smog evil on the screen and the agency’s battle for air purity on the streets.

It is clear that American International Pictures had their aim squarely at children.

Godzilla as a hero on the scale of Smokey the Bear? Teaming up with boy scouts and 4-H clubs?

The same monster, which not even twenty years ago brought fear and death to Japan and served

as a sobering reminder of the evils of nuclear warfare is now being suggested to team up with the

local 4-H club. Whereas Godzilla vs. The Thing’s marketing was mostly adult with a couple of

kid aimed things (monster sundae and monster drawing contest), Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster

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is mostly aimed at kids with a few advertising methods not aimed at kids (Godzilla cocktail).

Anyone who would have seen these paratexts during the film’s run would have certainly

remembered such a sight, Godzilla teaming up with the local girl scout troop to fight pollution.

And anyone who hangs out with the girl scouts must be a superhero for children to enjoy, and

not a horrifying monster from the depths of the ocean irritated by man’s weapons.

The late Showa Era films, Godzilla on Monster Island, Godzilla vs. Megalon, Godzilla

vs. The Cosmic Monster (sometimes called Godzilla vs. The Bionic Monster) and Terror of

Godzilla demonstrates where the franchise completely fell into the superhero phase. As fate

would have it, Godzilla on Monster Island, Godzilla vs. Megalon, and Godzilla vs. The Cosmic

Monster were part of a triple feature release and thus share a trailer. Each film has individual

trailers, but this triple feature deserves a brief mention for what the narrator says. The narrator

proudly declares, “Three of the newest most exciting monster hits starring Earth champion and

protector Godzilla.” Once more affirming Godzilla as a hero and protector of the world, rather

than a scourge and monument to its sins. Every film in this period features an alien monster, so

the trailers and posters make it apparent that Godzilla is fighting on humanity’s behalf against

these invaders. The poster for Godzilla on Monster Island features the quote, “Space monsters

from beyond the stars at war with Godzilla for the Earth,” and the Godzilla vs. Megalon trailer

says, “terror-stricken humanity knew that it was on the brink of total destruction. A once proud

civilization now has to place its trust and hope in Godzilla and his powerful ally, Robot Man [Jet

Jaguar]. In concert they would fight this evil in a duel to the death…this war is an all-out effort

whose ultimate purpose was to save our planet from total destruction” (see Figure 5). All

references to horror or terror are reserved for the enemy monsters rather than Godzilla himself.

The thrill of the fights is heavily emphasized, much like the mid Showa Era trailers and posters.

35

The most heavily promoted film in this period, Godzilla vs. Megalon, provides an excellent case

study of how late Showa Era period films were marketed as a whole, as shown in the film’s

official pressbook.

Figure 5: Godzilla vs. Megalon, poster by Cinema Shares

Mel Maron, the president of Cinema Shares during the latter half of the Showa Era,

revealed in an interview with Steve Ryfle and Stuart Gilbraith IV for Godzilla vs. Megalon’s

DVD release by Media Blasters, that he chose to release Godzilla vs. Megalon “because I saw

Godzilla as a heroic figure by that point and felt the timing was right to show children a hero

who was a friendly monster and not Superman” (Ryfle & Gilbraith IV). Maron and Cinema

Shares spared no expense for this release, as shown by the pressbook. A four-page comic book

was released for theaters to “Pass them out in advance of the playdate through toy departments,

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via radio station giveaways, at sporting events, or any other means of mass distribution.” The

pressbook elaborates, “This full color comic book can be of great help in attracting the younger

crowd.” In addition, a set of four buttons were made depicting the monsters from the film which

were also meant to be given out at the theater, through radio or television stations, or any other

major place. Perhaps the most unique and quirky marketing available to theaters, however, has to

be the Monster Convoy. According to the press book:

There is available, upon special request to Cinema Shares Sales Representatives, giant full color cut-outs of the four monsters featured in the film. These cut-outs plus side panels are especially made to fit on Volkswagen Beetles. Arrangements can be made for these displays to be shipped to you, and cars provided through your local Volkswagen Dealer. This can be a huge promotional plus for your theatre, but it requires a lot of advance planning and work. You can have your local officials declare “MONSTER DAY” or “GODZILLA DAY” and have a parade, or use the convoy to visit shopping centers, or at sports events, etc. Prices for the cut-outs and side panels are dependent on the length of time required. Please call your local Cinema Shares Representative for details.

Meaning, if a theater had put in the effort, they could have had a parade of Godzilla cars and pass

buttons and comic books while the parade occurred. Unfortunately, I have been unable to track

down any pictures or proof this Monster Convoy every happened. Clearly, Cinema Shares went

all out with their promotion of Godzilla vs. Megalon and its effects are still felt today. Megalon

was a one-time villain, never again appearing in another film, even in Godzilla: Final Wars, a

movie famous for bringing back Showa Era monsters like Ebirah and Hedorah. Yet, every video

game, comic book series, and board game includes Megalon. For example, in Funko’s board

game Tokyo Clash, the four playable monsters are Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah, and

Megalon. Not Rodan, not Mechagodzilla, not Anguirus, not even Minilla. Megalon. David Kalat

writes of Godzilla vs. Megalon’s legacy, “That it is probably the most accessible and best-known

Godzilla film among Americans is truly a shame” (135).

The Showa Era was a massive era, featuring a wide range of tones and themes for

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Godzilla and friends. However, all things must come to a close. After Terror of Godzilla, the

Showa Era would end and Godzilla media in America would be regulated to toys and the

animated Hanna-Barbera show Godzilla (stylized as The Godzilla Power Hour). These paratexts

and more are discussed in the next chapter. Within this chapter, trailers and posters were

examined to showcase the wide range of tones in Showa Era marketing. Such changes in tone

allow for the disconnect between modern Godzilla films and Showa Era films. When creating

modern additions to legacy franchises, these shifts should be taken into account by franchise

owners to decide how to market their new products, both texts and paratexts.

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CHAPTER 4

SHOWA ERA TOYS, GAMES, AND OTHER PARATEXTS

Godzilla is the son of the atomic bomb. He is a nightmare created out of the darkness of the human soul. He is the sacred beast of the apocalypse.

Tomoyuki Tanaka Supersize our tragedies (You can’t define me, or justify greed), Bought in the land of the free!

Sum 41,“We’re All to Blame”

The most important paratexts which need to be analyzed for this project are the toys,

games, and other merchandise from the Showa Era. This chapter examines these paratexts for the

tonal shift associated with the Showa Era. Godzilla is a legacy franchise which has been able to

continue generation after generation, and part of the reason for its continuation is its ability to

speak to each new generation while keeping bridges to the older generations up. Bridges which

were built by the Showa Era and its paratexts.

During 1977, Star Wars would hit theaters and massively popularize licensed toys of all

shapes and sizes. As Jonathan Gray notes, “Moreover, though Star Wars hardly invented the

licensing and merchandising game, with Lone Ranger and other properties making considerable

profits in previous years, the phenomenal success of its merchandise, along with George Lucas’s

coup of retaining merchandising and licensing rights, began a new era” (177). While Godzilla

saw merchandise before Star Wars, it saw a massive boom after Star Wars, which makes sense

seeing as Godzilla is an instantly recognizable property with the same key demographic as Star

Wars, that being young boys. Furthermore, as elaborated on by Dan Fleming in his book

Powerplay: Toys as Popular Culture, “Luke Skywalker, the young hero of [the Star Wars

trilogy], is actually a rather softly defined character… Identifying with Luke, especially for a

child, will consequently depend on imagining oneself in those contexts rather than isolating Luke

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or actor Mark Hamill from them as an object of reified identification” (96). Much like Luke

Skywalker, Godzilla is not the most well-defined character. Godzilla has switched sides on the

morality scale so many times he can be either a hero or villain, he does not speak any kind of

discernable language, him and his Toho cohort will go from allies to enemies at a moment’s

notice, and he even changes physical design almost every movie. This softly defined character

allows Godzilla, like Luke Skywalker, to become an easy self-insert for any child. Indeed, a

child can fight Godzilla with his Green Army Men or can destroy his LEGO block skyscrapers

with his Godzilla toys. Godzilla’s softly defined character allows for such play variations to

occur.

Aaron Gerow says in his chapter of In Godzilla’s Footsteps: Japanese Pop Culture Icons

on the Global Stage, “Godzilla can offer one window onto what we could call the dual monsters

of textuality and spectatorship in Japanese film history, offering an example of the historical

struggles over what movies mean and who determines that” (63). Ever since Godzilla Raids

Again had a dart and gun toy/game released in 1955 to help promote the film in Japan, toys and

games have been a central part of the Godzilla franchise. The first American toy, however,

would not reach our shores until King Kong vs. Godzilla in 1963. This toy, a board game simply

titled Godzilla Game, would launch the American media empire that is the Godzilla franchise.

To this day, countless toys and games are released by different licensees to differing levels of

success in the United States. In this chapter, the Showa Era games, toys, puzzles, and other

paratexts are examined.

A 1998 book published by Schiffer and written by Sean Linkenback collects every

officially licensed Godzilla product from 1955 and 1998. This book, the Unauthorized Guide to

Godzilla Collectibles, is instrumental in studying toys and games produced for the American

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market, as it was the first comprehensive book on the subject in English. Through the

Unauthorized Guide to Godzilla Collectibles, Wonderland EP vinyl record, Godzilla Game by

Ideal, The Godzilla Game by Mattel, Godzilla King of the Creatures jigsaw puzzle, three puzzles

by HG Toys, Aurora model kits, Knickerbocker plush toys, Godzilla Battles the Tricephalon

Monster playset by HG Toys, and the Godzilla’s Gang and Shogun Warriors lines by Mattel is

analyzed.

The first Godzilla game or toy released in America was, conveniently, Godzilla Game by

Ideal. Godzilla Game coincided with the release of King Kong Game, both of which were

released by Ideal to promote the King Kong vs. Godzilla movie. The box art depicts Godzilla

breathing fire down on a city as civilians flee in typical Godzilla fashion. The instructions give

context for the game “Godzilla…is running amuck. Blinded with rage he goes around destroying

such things as oil fields, railroad yards, and electrical works…Someone must get to the Rocket

Launch Area and fire the Missile (with the radioactive warheads) as this is the only weapon that

will stop him.” Players must spin a tri-colored spinner to move their pieces to the Rocket Launch

Area in order to shoot a wooden disc to stop Godzilla. Here Godzilla is the antagonist and the

players must stop him. According to the instructions, however, Godzilla is merely destroying

property and not attacking humanity itself. Much like the film that inspired it, Godzilla Game is a

more serious toned entry than others examined herein, but it was designed to appeal to children.

After Godzilla Game, Godzilla saw several model kits created and released by Aurora

throughout the 1960s. One model features Godzilla standing among the ruins of a recently

destroyed city, one infamously features Godzilla hunched over the wheel of a small go-kart

while wearing a Speed Racer-esque helmet with a small dragster parachute emerging from a

backpack on Godzilla’s back. These two models could not be further from each other in tone.

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The first model was a more serious Godzilla, with the instruction manual proclaiming, Godzilla

as a “hideous monster” which “destroyed villages and murdered countless numbers of people.”

The second model, dubbed Godzilla’s Go Kart is a goofy toy, with all seriousness lost. These

models would not be the only ones made by Aurora.

In addition to these models, Aurora would release models for Rodan and King Ghidorah.

At the time, toys of villains like Rodan, King Ghidorah (and even to an extent, Godzilla) was

rare. According to Avi Santo, “child rearing experts from the 1930s to the 1950s believed that

children sought to emulate their heroes and that therefore playing with villainous characters

provided children with the wrong role models. These ideas began to erode in the 1960s, as play

was reconceived as a space for children to be imaginative, rather than learn to be good citizens”

(163-164). These Godzilla toys were being released during the same period the ideas of play

were being changed. During the 1960s and 1970s, parents were more likely to be ok with

children playing with toys of villainous characters, however Godzilla had become a hero at this

point, which would make any hesitant parents with holdover ideas from the 1950s, more likely to

be ok with their children playing with a Godzilla toy.

One interesting creation is the Godzilla Battles the Tricephalon Monster playset. Godzilla

Battles the Tricephalon Monster features Godzilla fighting a royalty-free version of King

Ghidorah (as evidenced by its three-headed design) as civilians flee and the military responds.

This set is unique compared to modern sets as it features civilian pieces as well as military

pieces, so the user could pose civilians fleeing from the action in addition to setting up the action

itself. Godzilla Battles the Tricephalon Monster is a prime example of Jonathan Gray’s

explanation of play’s importance to paratexts, as the user can set up their own stories and act

them out via this playset. Within the context of Star Wars toys, Gray explains, “Through play,

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the Star Wars toys allowed audiences past the barrier of spectatorship into the Star Wars

universe, thereby complicating established dichotomies of the authentic text and the hollow,

cash-grabbing paratext” (176). Within the context of Godzilla Battles the Tricephalon Monster,

Godzilla can be the good guy, battling with the military and protecting the civilians against the

evil Tricephalon Monster, or the monster roles could be switched with Godzilla battling the

heroic Tricephalon Monster, or both monsters could be evil and the military could be simply

trying to defend humanity; the possibilities are endless. This method of play as described by

Gray can also be applied to the previously mentioned Aurora models, as both heroes and villains

were created, allowing for endless possibilities.

Much like Star Wars, some of the first post-Star Wars merchandise released were jigsaw

puzzles. One of these was Godzilla: King of the Creatures from American Publishing

Corporation. It came in two versions, a smaller boxed version, and a larger canned version. The

artwork of the puzzle features Godzilla chewing on a train car as, yet again, civilians run from a

burning city. In addition, in 1978 HG Toys got ahold of the Godzilla license and made four

jigsaw puzzles. The puzzles are nothing special, they all feature a distinctly off model Godzilla

either destroying a city, fighting a monster, or fighting some military hardware. However, they

are distinctly aimed at children, rather than adults or even older teenagers.

Wonderland Records released a double-sided LP simply titled Godzilla, King of the

Monsters (stylized as King of the Monsters LP for clarity) which featured two stories, Godzilla

vs. The Alien Invasion and Godzilla vs. Amphibion. The sleeve also advertises other Wonderland

Record releases as “The most complete catalog of children’s records in the world…Entertaining

as well as educational.” The stories presented on this record may be entertaining, but they are

unlikely to be educational unless you do not know what the Bermuda Triangle is. That flavor

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text, while simply being a marketing tool to get parents to buy these records for their children,

does demonstrate the power of targeting children in Godzilla’s media empire. This record is for

children and kids, there is no doubt about it. At this point, Godzilla was deep into the “hero of

Earth” phase and this record continues that legacy as seen in his battle to “save the world from

the dreaded ‘Alien Invasion.’” This particular paratext is unique as it is still in print. It was

rereleased in 1998 as an audio cassette to ride the coattails of Godzilla 1998 and was rereleased

again onto iTunes and other audio streaming platforms in 2014 by TinToy, where it can still be

found, listened to, and purchased to this day.

One of the most famous Godzilla toys is known as Shogun Warriors Godzilla. It stood

nineteen-and-a-half to twenty inches tall (depending on which wave you bought) had a “pretend

flame” which could pop in and out of its mouth to simulate fire breath, could shoot its fist at

enemies, had a removable tail piece, and had wheels under its feet so it could roll around

unimpeded. The tagline for the Shogun Warriors line was “Invincible guardians of world

freedom!” and Godzilla was certainly a welcome addition to this team of guardians. Being up to

twenty inches tall, Shogun Warriors Godzilla dwarfed its Kenner made Star Wars competition

which had a standard four-inch height. Indeed, it is easy to visualize a case where a child could

pit his Star Wars figures up against Shogun Warriors Godzilla to fight to the death. While

Godzilla does have a menacing look (even the second issue box has “blood” on Godzilla’s claws,

which was later removed in further issues) (Linkenback), he is still presented as a hero on the

box. Unfortunately, Mattel did not make figures for any of Godzilla’s Toho counterparts, but

they would make a second line of Godzilla toys, named after the Big G himself.

Later in 1978, Mattel would release a line of toys they licensed from the Popy toy

company in Japan under the name Godzilla’s Gang. Ironically, despite the name of the toy line

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being Godzilla’s Gang, Godzilla is the only Toho monster which was licensed, all the other

monsters are from the popular kaiju franchise Ultraman, none of which have ever appeared in a

Godzilla film. To put this in perspective, this would be like if Japan licensed a random line of

Star Wars toys, called them “Vader’s Squadron” but featured Star Trek or Battlestar Galactica

characters with only Darth Vader as a Star Wars representative. These figures were much more

in line with their Star Wars rivals, being approximately six inches tall and featured the collecting

aspect of finding each of the eight monsters. After two lines of toys, Mattel was not yet done

with the Godzilla franchise, as they had one more product they wanted to release.

In a move eerily similar to Ideal’s Godzilla Game, Mattel would release their own board

game starring the king of the monsters, also called… Godzilla Game (stylized as Godzilla Game:

Mattel for clarity). In this game, Godzilla takes on the role of the antagonist as you must avoid

him to keep your spaceships intact, while hoping your opponent’s spaceships were all destroyed

by Godzilla. The last person with remaining spaceships is the winner. Godzilla would pop out of

the board to “eat” any spaceships which got to close to his position on the board. The front of the

box features art of Godzilla eating a spaceship, with three small children playing the game in a

small window view. This time, the recommended age is over five years old instead of three.

Interestingly, whereas the first Godzilla Game’s goal was to defeat Godzilla, Godzilla Game:

Mattel’s goal was to simply survive Godzilla’s onslaught. While Godzilla is the antagonist in this

game, he is still child friendly, as evidenced by the photo of the children playing on the front of

the box.

One of the most well-known paratexts of the time was a children’s book published by

Crestwood House and written by Ian Thorne simply titled Godzilla (stylized as Godzilla:

Crestwood for clarity). Godzilla: Crestwood was part of Crestwood’s extremely popular monster

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series, with other entrants including King Kong, Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, and

many more. Thorne’s first few sentences sum up the tone of the book, and the view of Godzilla

by American audiences, flawlessly, “He’s green! He’s scaly! He’s as tall as a skyscraper! He

breathes fire! He chews up trains! He stomps whole cities into rubble when he’s in a bad mood!

Somehow, in spite of all this, he’s very, very lovable. People all over the world have cheered him

in movies and on TV. He’s Godzilla, King of the Monsters” (Thorne 7). Throne’s book is a

lovely, heartfelt tribute to the King of the Monsters; however, it does have its flaws. Thorne

repeats several mistakes and errors which were common at the time, such as asserting King Kong

won the fight in King Kong vs. Godzilla in western regions, whereas Godzilla won in the oriental

sections of the world, which is false (King Kong wins in all versions of the film) and the multiple

misnamings of Toho’s monsters (calling Anguirus “Anzilla” or Kumonga “Aspiga”). However,

Thorne does a great job informing the younger readers of Godzilla’s history, with a rather down-

to-Earth description of why Godzilla was created as an allegory to the atomic bomb and even

mentioning the difference between Gojira and Godzilla, King of the Monsters!. Thorne even

gives a nice diagram and breakdown of how Eiji Tsuburaya and his crew made the special effects

in the Godzilla films, potentially inspiring countless aspiring young special effects workers. On

the last page of the book, Throne give his views on the franchise at the time.

Some people have said that the Godzilla movies are like a comic book, and so they are, but what’s wrong with that? Many other critics have enjoyed the movies. Their special effects are wonderful. And the plots are almost always good fun for both adults and children. It doesn’t matter that all Godzilla’s actions aren’t realistic. Millions of people, all around the world, wouldn’t miss a monstrous moment of them. (Thorne 46) The Showa Era was filled to the brim with Godzilla paratexts. This case study is in no

way exhaustive, but it gives some context into the popularity with children the Godzilla franchise

continues to enjoy to this day. Being a Godzilla fan in the United States is difficult and was even

46

more so during the Showa Era. Movie releases would come out years later than in Japan, weird

English dubs, and being shamed by peers for liking something that is not “a NFL franchise, a

favored NASCAR driver, or Oprah” as William Tsutsui says, were never the best things to

experience. To remedy these things, the paratexts allowed fans to fill the gap between movies

with their own stories the same way kids did for Star Wars when the original trilogy was in

production. “The late 1970s and early 1980s came before the ubiquitous presence of VHS in

Western homes, and so if Star Wars was to live and be saved from becoming its own cold war, it

had to enter the body of paratexts” (Gray 181). Godzilla had to survive in the United States in the

same manner, through toys, games, and other paratexts. Even if a monster who appeared in a toy

did not appear in a Toho made movie, like the Amphibion or Tricephalon, they still became

important to those who played with their toys.

The examination of these paratexts serves to remind legacy franchise owners that play is

important to the legacy of your franchise. The very nature of play allows for consumers to make

their own stories, both serious and silly, for the characters involved. A more loosely defined

character, such as Godzilla, allows for more ways to play. Licensees and franchise owners

should take into consideration the importance of play and loosely defined characters when

creating new texts within their franchises, as it allows for a greater play potential.

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CHAPTER 5

CONCLUSION

As long as the arrogance of mankind exists, Godzilla will survive. Tomoyuki Tanaka

Beneath the seas I searched and had a different view of us on Earth: The sinking ship of men.

GOJIRA “Flying Whales”

Within this chapter, the final conclusions of this paper are drawn to show the strength of

legacy brands which lean into and embrace their goofy past while still evolving and changing as

they create new texts. In addition, the methodology of collecting these paratexts is discussed

briefly to give the ready insight into how this project advanced and to demonstrate to the reader

how difficult it can be to find some of these older and out of print paratexts.

Methods and “Things That I Wish Were Available”

The process of searching for and obtaining Godzilla paratexts is an adventure worthy of

its own paper. There are endless Godzilla paratexts, and not all of them are well documented. For

example, there is only one known photograph of the first ever Godzilla toy, a Japanese only gun-

and-target game. In fact, the first English language collection of Godzilla paratexts, Sean

Linkenback’s An Unauthorized Guide to Godzilla Collectibles is out-of-print and hard to find. I

obtained my copy by searching through old and abandoned Godzilla forums, and found reference

to it being available at the Brooks Memorial Library in Brattleboro, Vermont. After calling the

library, the book was made available for purchase from the Friends of Brooks Memorial Library.

Using this book, this researcher was able to narrow down dates and manufactures for Godzilla

paratexts in the United States. For pressbooks, film reels, and other rare books, eBay was used to

find and obtain them. The contents of pressbooks are online, however they are not always fully

48

scanned, so tracking down the original documents was necessary to truly understand how

Godzilla films were marketed in the U.S. during the Showa Era. Original Showa Era film trailers

were found on YouTube, where user Chaplin1914 uploaded the trailers for every Showa Era film

across three compilation videos, however an original 35mm print of a trailer for Monster Zero

was also found to ensure accuracy. Online Godzilla forums TohoKingdom.com, r/Godzilla on

Reddit, and other Godzilla fan blogs provided original photos of toys and other paratexts when

photos were not found in An Unauthorized Guide to Godzilla Collectibles.

In a perfect world, every Godzilla paratext or reference guide would be available in

English. Alternatively, I would be able to speak Japanese. Neither of these things are true, and

they led to some hiccups in research. For example, there is a book titled The Intellectual History

of Godzilla by Figyuru Aya, which it probably a fantastic source. However, it is exclusively in

Japanese. In addition, any toy or merchandise catalogs from Japan are going to be in Japanese. In

the future, it would be beneficial for me to learn to read some Japanese, or perhaps partner with a

researcher who does know how to read Japanese. In the future, it would be beneficial to get in

contact with Toho directly to discuss their marketing strategies in the United States. I did call

Toho’s Los Angeles office in an attempt to get in contact with Rui Machida, the Licensing

Manager of Toho International, but the office seems to be closed (likely due to the effects of the

ongoing Covid-19 Pandemic) and no one ever returned my calls. Perhaps when the Covid-19

Pandemic passes, the offices will reopen, and Rui Machida will be able to be reached.

One big issue with any Godzilla project is the overall lack of academic writing on the

subject. William Tsutsui, Jason Barr, and Susan Sontag are pretty much the only academics who

have written extensively on Godzilla, with others like David Kalat, Stuart Gilbraith IV, Steve

Ryfle, and Ed Godziszewski being extremely well researched and knowledgeable, but not

49

academic. This is why broader writings on paratexts from Jonathon Gray and Avi Santo were

used to help fill in the gaps. Hopefully, Godzilla will be taken more seriously in the academic

profession and more will be written on the franchise in the future to further all projects related to

the franchise.

Lastly, a bigger project would at the very minimum need to analyze the paratexts of

Godzilla 1998. While the film is reviled and shunned by not just the Godzilla community, but by

film critics and casual film watchers alike, it is an important part of the franchise. Godzilla 1998

was the first American made Godzilla film and had a massive marketing campaign. Pinball

machines, handheld electronic games, an animated series, countless toys, an online computer

game, and a team up with Taco Bell all came from Godzilla 1998 as it was supposed to launch a

trilogy of American made films. In fact, according to the survey conducted for this project,

Godzilla 1998 was the film most likely to be the first exposure Americans had to the Godzilla

franchise (beating the original Godzilla, King of the Monster! by a single vote). Some may

consider my exclusion of Godzilla 1998 paratexts as a grave sin, but this was done because it has

been over twenty years since that film was released, and the franchise has left Godzilla 1998

behind. There are new American movies, new American tie ins and toys and other merchandise,

the Godzilla 1998 generation has grown up and has been replaced with Godzilla 2014. I would

not be surprised if the survey were reran in twenty years, Godzilla 2014 would be the starting

point for the majority of respondents rather than Godzilla 1998. A bigger project, however,

would certainly require a dive into Godzilla 1998’s tuna infested marketing.

Project Conclusions

In 2020, Toho teamed up with several American companies to make a new line of board

games featuring Godzilla. One of these was a new original game by Funko called Godzilla:

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Tokyo Clash. Within the game, players take control of one of four monsters: Godzilla, Mothra,

King Ghidorah, or Megalon, in order to battle each other all while the military builds the oxygen

destroyer to force both players to lose. What is interesting about this game is the many Showa

Era references and call backs. The biggest example is the inclusion of Megalon as a playable

monster. Godzilla is the main character so it is given he will be playable, Mothra and King

Ghidorah are part of Toho’s “Big Five” along with Rodan and Mechagodzilla and are iconic to

the franchise so it makes sense they would make the cut, but Megalon was a onetime villain. In

2019 Legendary’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters featured Mothra, King Ghidorah, and Rodan

in their first American movie, why not include Rodan to make it more of a tie in? Or if the

concern is that Rodan is not villainous enough because he has teamed up with Godzilla several

times before, and they wanted two heroes and two villains, why not Gigan? Gigan has been in

three times as many movies as Megalon has and has even teamed up with King Ghidroah several

times. They had endless options for a fourth monster, and they chose the goofy monster from a

late Showa Era film. Why? Because Megalon is one of the most recognizable monsters in

Godzilla’s rogue gallery. For a long time, Godzilla vs. Megalon was the quintessential Godzilla

film in the United States. As previously mentioned, David Kalat called it the “most accessible

and best-known Godzilla film among Americans” (135). It was lampooned in the original run of

Mystery Science Theater 3000, and most notably, it received a primetime television premier on

NBC which was hosted by famed comedian John Belushi (unfortunately the buffers featuring

Belushi have not been seen since the original broadcast and are considered lost media). Despite

Godzilla vs. Megalon’s well-earned reputation as a bad movie, it was everywhere and is one of

Godzilla’s most identifiable romps. In order to cash in on that Showa Era nostalgia, Funko likely

chose Megalon to be the fourth monster in Tokyo Clash over his more qualified peers. This

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Showa Era nostalgia and basis would continue into the other board game this paper examines.

Also in 2020, Hasbro and Parker Brothers teamed up with Toho to release Monopoly:

Godzilla Edition. Monopoly: Godzilla Edition is a love letter to the franchise, featuring

references to every era and even makes reference to the classic Blue Öyster Cult song

“Godzilla.” Since Monopoly can be played with up to six players, they needed six monsters to

use as game pieces, so they chose Toho’s Big Five (Godzilla, Mothra, Rodan, King Ghidorah,

and Mechagodzilla) and for number six they chose none other than Godzilla’s son, Minilla. Once

again, they could have picked Destoroyah, Jet Jaguar, Zilla (the renamed design of the 1998

Godzilla), Angurius, literally anyone, but they chose one of the most reviled members of

Godzilla’s family. Just like Megalon with Tokyo Clash, the designers for Monopoly: Godzilla

Edition knew Minilla, while being hated by the Godzilla fandom, is also an extremely iconic part

of the Godzilla franchise, and a monster both Godzilla fans and the general public would

recognize as part of the Godzilla family. However, Minilla is just the tip of the Showa Era

iceberg in Monopoly: Godzilla Edition. Along with the property name, each property features

and image of the monster who is most associated with that property in the films. Ebirah,

Anguirus, Varan, Manda, Gorosaurus, Baragon, Titanosaurus, Jet Jaguar, Hedorah, King Caesar,

Gigan, and Megalon are all Showa Era monsters which can be bought, along with Showa Era

hazards like the Xiliens, Red Bamboo, and the Atragon. The most interesting thing about these

Showa Era monsters is even if they made appearances in other eras, the game uses the designs

and names from the Showa Era. Ebirah, Anguirus, Manda, Baragon, Hedorah, King Casear,

Gigan, the Xiliens, and the Atragon have all appeared in the Millennium Era, but the game

designers chose to use their Showa Era designs. In the case of the Atragon, they even used its

Showa Era name as the ship is now known as the Gotengo. There are, of course, references to the

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Heisei Era and the Millennium Era, but the Showa Era has the most representation in Monopoly:

Godzilla Edition.

The Showa Era’s representation in these board games bring back memories of the fun and

lighthearted parts of the Godzilla franchise. As shown by the Reiwa Era Godzilla films, however,

Godzilla is not the same father figure, hero of Earth he was in 1975. In Japan, Godzilla is back to

his roots as an omen of global death and destruction. In Shin Godzilla he wantonly destroys

Tokyo and is speculated to want to destroy the entire world via his constantly evolving biology

and weaponry. In the anime trilogy, Godzilla kills so many people, he forces humanity to

evacuate the Earth, and has an unexplained hatred for humanity, actively hunting them down

across the Earth, no matter how small or weak of a group. Godzilla is the devil in the Reiwa Era,

a reminder that humanity cannot outrun its sins, even if they traverse through space for 20,000

years, when they return to Earth, Godzilla will still be there, waiting for them so he can finish the

job. Even in the American films, Godzilla is not a true hero or protector of humanity, he is

simply an alpha predator trying to maintain his natural habitat. He has no love for humanity in

the American films, he simply lives on the same planet as them. Humanity has tried several times

to kill Godzilla in the Legendary Pictures films, but each time they had failed, and the one time

they got close, the only reason Godzilla did not retaliate was because the organization Monarch

revived him and Godzilla had a bigger issue (namely King Ghidorah) to deal with. Yet, the

Showa Era continues to endure. This is because Toho and its licensees know, the Showa Era is

the gateway to the Godzilla franchise for children.

According to the survey I conducted for this paper, over half, 56.63% of the respondents’

first movie in the Godzilla franchise was a Showa Era film. Thusly, it should be no surprise that

43.6% of respondents reported the Showa Era as their favorite Godzilla Era, which is not a

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majority but was the plurality vote winner. To prove the Godzilla’s franchise appeal to kids, we

see in my survey that 89% of respondents were ten years old or younger when they saw their first

Godzilla movie. Furthermore, 95.9% of respondents answered they would let their children

under the age of thirteen to see a new Godzilla movie if it was rated PG-13 by the MPAA.

Similarly, 64% of respondents said they would let their children under the age of eighteen see a

new Godzilla movie if it was rated R by the MPAA. And the cherry on top of it all, 86.4% of

respondents claimed they believed Godzilla is a child-friendly franchise. It is important to note

that out of the 331 respondents, the average age of the respondents was 28.47 years old, with a

mode age of 21 years old.

The Showa Era is the most influential era of the Godzilla franchise. It featured the most

monsters, the most American distribution, the most movies, the most iconic parts of the

franchise, and, as my survey shows, the jumping off point for most American Godzilla fans.

From the cold seriousness of Gojira, to the over-the-top silliness of Godzilla vs. Megalon, the

Showa Era is a rollercoaster ride through Godzilla, both as a franchise and as a character. The

world has seen Godzilla hunt humanity down to the last member of the species the way radiation

hunts cells in the human body, and we have seen Godzilla fight entire alien invasions himself to

save humanity from the horrors of enslavement. During this wild journey, one thing has

remained constant, Godzilla sells toys. While Godzilla was supposed to perish forever at the end

of Gojira, “movie monsters that make a lot of money never die…and Godzilla was a

blockbuster. So, the monster returned” (Thorne 16).

Godzilla, from the very beginning, has been a tale of two countries. First, we have the

originators, Japan, and we have the licensees, the United States. Being a child of the atomic

bomb, Godzilla is tied to these two countries. Godzilla is both punishment and the future for

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Japan following their defeat in World War II. Ever since the end of the war, debates have been

had over the ethics of the use of atomic weaponry against the Japanese, even in the face of

Japan’s endless war crimes which some have argued were just as bad as the crimes of Nazi

Germany, but this paper is not an examination into the ethics of war. The facts are, Japan

committed travesties in World War II, even original director Ishiro Honda could have faced trial

as he ran a “comfort camp” (essentially a brothel for Japanese servicemen where the women

were mostly sourced from the local area) and the war ended after the United States dropped two

nuclear weapons on Japan. Godzilla, as an allegory of these atomic weapons, is part of that story.

Godzilla “is a mirror into the Japanese soul” (Kalat 23), which is why he is a constantly

evolving monster in Japan. However, in the United States, he is firmly rooted in the actions of

his heroic phase. As William Tsutsui puts it, “the image rooted in America’s pop culture

subconscious is that of Godzilla the goofy champion, the saurian defender of the world, the judo-

kicking, karate-chopping, bug-eyed, technicolor creature from the films of the 1960s and the

1970s” (43). Godzilla is a pop culture icon in the United States, just as he is in his homeland of

Japan, just for different reasons. The United States leans into the Showa Era heroism of the

character, which is both reflected in and multiplied by American paratexts. Even today, as Toho

and even American production companies steer Godzilla into a more villainous or anti-hero role,

Godzilla’s merchandise and paratexts show him in a heroic light. Unlike villains like Freddy

Krueger who also got children’s toys back in the day and have since stopped making children’s

toys, Godzilla still gets children’s toys and other paratexts. While the modern era of Godzilla is

still young, it is likely this trend will continue.

Avi Santo writes about heritage brands, “heritage brands, while lucrative, also pose

complex managerial challenges because of their need to consistently strike the right balance

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between nostalgia and innovation.” (191). Godzilla presents its own challenges when it comes to

brand management, due to its status as an international icon which is not owned by an American

company, its reputation as a B-movie schlock franchise, and its disastrous first American made

film. However, while some legacy brands fail to make marks in the modern marketplace,

Godzilla continues to thrive. The franchise does so due to its understanding of the importance of

the Showa Era, and continues to use Showa Era movies and strategies for its modern day

paratexts. Even when Godzilla is not a hero, his paratexts allow for him to be whatever the

children who buy his toys need him to be. Rights owners who own intellectual properties that

have long since seen their heyday can implement similar strategies Toho and its licensees use to

keep Godzilla profitable. So long as the Godzilla franchise continues to understand the

importance of the Showa Era paratexts, it will continue to survive in the modern media climate.

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APPENDIX

GODZILLA FAN COMMUNITY SURVEY

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The following are the questions asked to members of the Godzilla fan community during an

online survey which started on October 19, 2020.

1. How were you first exposed to the Godzilla franchise?

2. Which Godzilla film was the first one you watched?

3. Which Godzilla Era is your favorite?

4. About how old were you when you first saw a Godzilla film?

5. If the next Godzilla film was rated PG-13, would you allow your children (under the age of 13) to see it?

6. If the next Godzilla film was rated R, would you allow your children (under the age of 18) to see it?

7. As a child, did you own a Godzilla toy, video game, or board game? Please specify.

8. As a child, did you watch the Hanna-Barbera animated series Godzilla (sometimes called The Godzilla Power Hour)?

9. Do you think Godzilla is a child-friendly franchise?

10. How old are you?

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All Monsters Attack. Dir. Honda, Ishiro. Prod. Tanaka, Tomoyuki, and Henry G. Saperstein. Toho, United Productions of America, 1969. Film.

Destroy All Monsters. Dir. Honda, Ishiro. Prod. Tanaka, Tomoyuki. Toho, 1968. Film.

Ebirah, Horror of the Deep. Dir. Fukuda, Jun. Prod. Tanaka, Tomoyuki. Toho, 1966. Film.

Ghidroah, the Three-Headed Monster. Dir. Honda, Ishiro. Prod. Tanaka, Tomoyuki. Toho, 1964a. Film.

Gigantis the Fire Monster. Dir. Oda, Motoyoshi. Prod. Schreibman, Paul, and Tomoyuki Tanaka. Toho, Warner Bros., 1959. Film.

Godzilla. Dir. Edwards, Gareth. Prod. Banno, Yoshimitsu. Legendary Pictures/Warner Bros., 2014. Film.

Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle. Dir. Seshita, Hiroyuki, and Kobun Shizuno. Prod. Furusawa Yoshihiro, and Takashi Yoshizawa. Polygon Pictures/Toho, 2018a. Film.

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Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters. Dir. Seshita, Hiroyuki, and Kobun Shizuno. Prod. Furusawa Yoshihiro, and Takashi Yoshizawa. Polygon Pictures/Toho, 2017. Film.

Godzilla: The Planet Eater. Dir. Seshita, Hiroyuki, and Kobun Shizuno. Polygon Pictures/Toho, 2018b. Film.

Godzilla vs. Gigan. Dir. Fukuda, Jun. Prod. Tanaka, Tomoyuki. Toho, 1972. Film.

Godzilla vs. Hedorah. Dir. Banno, Yoshimitsu. Prod. Tanaka, Tomoyuki. Toho, 1971. Film.

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla. Dir. Fukuda, Jun. Prod. Tanaka, Tomoyuki. Toho, 1974. Film.

Godzilla vs. Megalon. Dir. Fukuda, Jun. Prod. Tanaka, Tomoyuki. Toho, 1973. Film.

Invasion of Astro-Monster. Dir. Honda, Ishiro. Prod. Tanaka, Tomoyuki, and Henry G. Saperstein. Toho, United Productions of America, 1965. Film.

King Kong vs. Godzilla. Dir. Honda, Ishiro. Prod. Tanaka, Tomoyuki, and John Beck. Toho, RKO General Pictures, 1962. Film.

Mothra vs. Godzilla. Dir. Honda, Ishiro. Prod. Tanaka, Tomoyuki. Toho, 1964b. Film.

Shin Godzilla. Dir. Anno, Hideaki, and Shinji Higuchi. Prod. Ichikawa, Minami. Toho, 2016. Film.

Son of Godzilla. Dir. Fukuda, Jun. Prod. Tanaka, Tomoyuki. Toho, 1967. Film.

Terror of Mechagodzilla. Dir. Honda, Ishiro. Prod. Tanaka, Tomoyuki, and Henry G. Saperstein. Henry G. Saperstein Productions, Toho, 1975. Film.