“Best of Godzilla” Vote Determines Japan’s Favorite Godzilla Feature

Top four Godzilla films voted on by Japanese fans.

In preparation for the July 25th release of Legendary’s Godzilla in Japan, a public vote was held to determine the top four Japanese Godzilla films. Taking the top spot is 1989’s Godzilla vs Biollante. The film was the 17th in the series and just the second in the Heisei series of Godzilla films. At the time of release it was considered a spectacle due to the usage of a brand new monster rather than a simple reworking of one of Godzilla’s rogue gallery. Coming in second was the original, 1954’s Gojira. The film that sparked the monster boom in Japan, considered the origins of modern day tokusatsu. This film showed the big green monster as a true threat and villain that must be feared, playing itself completely straight, as opposed to the camp fair that would come later. Released in 1995, Godzilla vs Destroyah was voted as the third favorite film in the series. The film featured a cameo from an original movie actor and served as the end of the story for the Heisei series of films. Mothra vs Godzilla, released in 1964, stands as the 4th favorite film. This film marked the first encounter between Mothra and Godzilla since its debut in 1961’s Mothra.

Source: Nihon Eiga