Showa Series

In the terminology of daikaiju eiga (Japanese giant monster films) the Shōwa Era refers not to the actual reign of the Shōwa emperor but to all daikaiju eiga made between 1954 (Toho's original Godzilla and the beginning of daikaiju eiga) and 1980 (Daiei's Gamera: Super Monster). There followed a four-year period in which no notable daikaiju eiga were produced by the major Japanese film studios before the Heisei era began with The Return of Godzilla in 1984. This term is also used within the Godzilla and Gamera film franchises to refer to the films in each series produced during this time, with the Showa Godzilla series lasting from 1954's Godzilla to 1975's Terror of Mechagodzilla and the Showa Gamera series from 1965's Gamera to 1980's Gamera: Super Monster.