The Special Effects of the Heisei Godzilla Films
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- Опубликовано: 10 фев 2025
- A video essay and breakdown of some of the best later heisei godzilla films series special effects.
The art in the thumbnail is done by me, as well as the singing of the outro.
#godzilla #kaiju #gamera #tokusatsu #heiseigodzilla
When I was a child, I believed that all the scenes from the Heisei era were real, I am surprised how as time has passed, the special effects and CGI of this era have aged very well and still look very incredible.
P.D.: Learn from that Marvel.
Well I think Godzilla films of today can learn from that too, especially the american ones.
You don't always have to have an obvious amazing special effect, the best ones are the ones you don't think you see.
The best example of this is the destoroyah crabs being edited in front of godzilla, but still looking perfect.
Marvel has made so much better special effects than this garbage before 2016.
6:18 this isn't a mistake in the movie, everyone's just so used to Godzilla coming and going it's becoming a part of they're daily life.
Lol
Yeah, yes it is.
@@davidostapenko2578you didn’t get the joke
I gotta say this is a really cool and informative video! It’s weird how it feels like the heisei era doesn’t get much attention nowadays, videos like this really make you appreciate the heisei era
Yeah, but I will say it's always best to come to your own conclusions on a film by watching it yourself.
I've seen many times people just seen clips of films, or people saying how good or bad a film is and they haven't even seen the full movie.
A good example is when I thought son of godzilla was one of the worst films due to the lack in quality of the designs, but after re watching the film it has one of the best stories in the showa godzilla films.
Personally I think that Heisei Godzilla film's special effects are good especially when the fact the Heisei era was made in the in the late 1980's.
Well Heisei Godzilla's films are mostly in the early 1990s. With only two films being in the 80s.
Only 2
@@GSTE_ Yeah the 2 films in the 80s were in 1989
1984 and 1989
It's more like early to mid 90s
Great look into the aspects people don’t talk about when it comes to the era. Helps to contrast to what’s been happening the last 5 years
Well I think a lot of it is due to people don't even know some of these things are special effects. And they only look at the special effects as being lasers and such.
8:53 Damn the Helicopter actually looks pretty damn good for 1995.
當年我以為是疊合起來的視覺效果 但是沒有想到是CG！！雖然我看出了燃燒被冰凍時的確用了CG 但是直升機等確沒有看出來
The heisei era will always have a banger ost my personal favorite bio wars and the kaijus design go hard especially destroyahs bio and space g designs my favorite also great video
Btw have you ever thought of explaining the whole heisei era timeline ?
@@davidalvarado4668 thanks, also yes I have thought of it. I think I could do it since there is a very simple explanation to it.
But It might be sometime in the future.
@@GSTE_ahhh ok
An interesting note about Space Godzillas beam is there is a visable, hook-like blade that seems to be intended to pierce the target before exploding to deal internal damage.
And it works a trick as Godzillas shoulder and MOGUERAs arm can attest.
good observation.
Love your videos! Heisei will always be my favorite. Love Kawakita's style so much.
thanks, yeah his style was great, I didn't know how much he put into the series until watching the behind the scenes where he teaches the suit actors of godzilla and spacegodzila how to walk and how to move properly right before using the laser.
Also thanks!
THANK YOU!
Tired of the Heisei godzilla Film slander nowadays, I think the special effects for the Heisei series are awesome and creative.
Koichi Kawakita was a great sfx director and probably on the same level as Teruyoshi Nakano.
I think The Heisei Godzilla films are overall better than Heisei Gamera.
Yeah, and make sure to share this with other people you think might like this topic as well so that more people can see it.
Thanks for watching.
Great video. The beam effect at 0:10 is one of my personal favorites. I love the way Mothra and Battra’s beams react with and bounce around the scales. It’s something I never picked up on until my most recent rewatch
The Heisei movies still hold up so well to this day and I will forever regard it as my favorite. Great video showcasing such an underrated aspect of this golden era of Godzilla.
Heisei era has the best spacial effects for its time, you cannot deny it.
sorry if i misspelled something.
Also i meant
Heisei era
@@XTP_X_The_Penguin Just edit it, my guy.
@@Heisenberg841 i dont wanna lose the heart.
@@XTP_X_The_Penguinthe heart stays when u edit it lol + GSTE hearts every comment
nice video, i think you have done the series a very nice service pointing out all the innovation and effort that went into making these movies look the way they did. I will be re watching the hesei era now as it has been many years. Cheers!
I love this Godzilla. It's an incredible film series.
This was really cool! I liked your analysis of all the beams, because I saw so many details I hadn’t noticed before.
Also your drawn Godzilla avatar is cool!
Im glad you're pointing out the special effects of the heisei era. Every discussion is always "miniatures are dull and less detailed than Showa or heisei Gamera, the flying effects are stiff, the camera work is dull and looks tv quality, bandai Destroyah figures, ect...."
Well there are things that can easily be said about heisei gamera and showa godzilla in a negative light, but i wanted to focus more on the good than the bad.
And something interesting is that one of the reasons for the models not being as detailed as they could be is that Godzilla is a lot bigger. While the showa era's godzilla is smaller, and the heisei gamera series has poor monster scaling with making the buildings the right size for a 40 meter tall monster.
I also would say the camera work is far from dull, with it having some of the most creative camera work in the franchise. I might talk about that eventually.
@@GSTE_ I would love a video on the Heisei era camera work.
We appreciate the work you put into your channel 💯
your work in this channel is just wow
There’s a reason why I still feel the heisei films will remain on top along with the original, shin Godzilla, and minus one. The effects for the films were quite impressive.
平成時代擁有非常多的廢案 還有未能在電影裡出現的許多設定稿與分鏡圖
甚至現在的傳奇系列的傳奇哥吉拉使用的諸多能力都是源自對平成時代的致敬 不管是核脈衝 還是吸收輻射為食物 或是核能能增強 還是外部能量的增強 這些都是源自平成
同時平成哥吉拉亦是所有哥吉拉電影中擁有最完整、詳細的怪獸的能力設定、能力特性 人類對戰怪獸武器的詳細設定與數據設定
如殺獸雷射坦克的雷射是多少電壓 多少伏特 溫度多少 熱線的功率等等
例如平成的熱線為50萬度就是源自93赤色熱線 當時的熱線為百萬度高溫 溫度比藍色熱線還要熱上一倍 同時亦解釋了怪獸的生理能力 乃至細胞等的作用
PS:120米高的寶石哥吉拉在亞洲與日本都被視為平成JR 官方亦如此諸多地暗喻 尤其是來自三枝未希的旁白
平成JR東寶給予的是完全繼承平成哥吉拉所有的一切能力與技能跟特性 並且給與威脅度為不明 理由是：由於目擊的次數過少 無法判斷對人類的威脅程度
同時依照平成80米提升至100米高度的熱線功率增強了200倍 溫度由十萬提升至50萬
那麼寶石JR現在的熱線威力至少逼近了赤色熱線的溫度 同時亦能維持好長的時間不會熱能衰退能力
那怕是對戰梅加龍時不足30%的功率與能源儲備 依然還是能把傳奇進化徹底壓制 更別說平成JR還擁有能源逆吸收對方同源核能量的熱線能量恢復自身的能量進行肉搏戰反擊
平成91年之後每年的熱線功率與身體能力都會翻倍提升 熱線溫度雖然沒有往上提升 但是熱線的溫度衰退幾乎不會發生 91時期的平成通常的藍白色熱線50萬度可以維持住五秒後才會緩慢的降低 之後的每年提升之下 熱線每一發的溫度基本上無視了衰退的現象 這還是通常的熱線而非超載負荷之下的螺旋熱線與威力更高的熱線
根據計算93平成赤色熱線的功率換算成核武器當量 每一道熱線威力足以剷平法國面積大小的核武器的威力 95燃燒平成的燃燒熱線的功率溫度前期溫度約在94（90萬度）93（100萬度）之間 但是功率遠超過這兩年發出的赤色熱線的多倍 甚至連超級X3這種與平成MG、94年機甲同樣的裝甲與鑽石塗層都幾乎被熱線直擊下讓機身劇烈震動（畫面中可以看到熱線的波束有溢散與偏折降低了對機身的損害 同時瞬間降溫到0下100度的飛彈與超級鎘彈更是用來降溫與抑制體內劇烈的核分裂反應避免核爆
I wish they used stop motion for theses movies hey imagine how much more epic gvd would have been more than it is already
Yes I know about the gvb one but I wish they kept it or did both in the movies
I have to say the special effects in the Heisei Godzilla movies were fantastic and well done.
I love to make a Vampire trilogy but it takes place in this era of Godzilla films, like they share the same world. It would be cool if Vampires existed alongside Kaiju.
Great video! The Heisei era wasn’t the greatest story wise but man the effects were great
Pretty excellent overview of underrated aspects of these films. I personally think Godzilla vs. Destoroyah and MG93 probably have the best effects overall.
That should also surprising considering Godzilla vs Destoroyah had the least budget out of the series, had the most rushed production, as well as multiple animatronics stolen during filming.
Yet you don't really hear this talked about much.
Loved the special effects of the Heisei era. I do wanna see Toho make a practical godzilla movie, using a suit again but it seems unlikely due to shin and minus 1 being cgi. I would love to see the practical effects again. Also I like ur videos man keep it up!
Thanks for watching, I personally like the Heisei Godzilla special effects, a lot of the later ones are perfect examples of hidden animation being used to make the films more believable.
1:40 Whaat? I personally prefer the special FX for the Heisei Gamera trilogy over Heisei Godzilla. But aside from that, this video was quite interesting and informative. Learning about the special FX used in the Heisei Godzilla series really made me appreciate them more. 👍 (accidentally said trilogy on accident for heisei godzilla)
Well it's just an opinion
Some of Guardian of the Universe had good special effects, but some of them are poorly done and other just look bad. Gamera 2 has special effects as good or better than the heisei godzilla series. And Gamera 3 in exchange for only having like 10 model buildings and using angles that make it hard to see anything has the best kaiju special effects for it's time.
But for it's time and technology the Heisei Godzilla films were far more impressive than heisei gamera's 1995 film.
Also I wouldn't call it a trilogy since the series of godzilla films was for 7 movies.
@@GSTE_ Yeah, I can agree that Heisei Godzilla’s special FX are definitely more impressive than 1995. Overall, I now appreciate the special FX for Heisei Godzilla a lot more than before thanks to your video.
Edit: Alright watching both the Heisei Godzilla and Gamera movies, I gotta say that including the first Heisei Gamera movie, his special effects were done better than the Heisei Godzilla films. Even then, the special effects of the Heisei Godzilla films are still good in their own right.
@@captorraider thanks.
@@captorraider so what was the most interesting special effect that I showed.
Thumbnail art was so good, I thought it was the actual still
Thanks, I drew it myself.
The effects of the Heisei era are one of the few consistently good elements of the series. While some effects have aged poorly and some choices were pretty stupid (like the sparks whenever a kaiju does just about anything) I think most still holds up and look quite good.
I highly disagree about the sparks, I think they make the physical combat have more impact.
A good example of what the heisei godzilla fights would look like without them is godzilla vs megaguirus, where megaguirus's claws hitting godzilla have as much impact visually as a pool noodle.
The sparks are sort of like in animated shows like batman how the screen flashes white when batman hits something in order to create more impact.
But that's just my thoughts on it.
@@GSTE_ I get that and even agree, but I feel as if they over do it. For example, in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla 2, Rodan flies over the water while fighting Godzilla causing sparks. Stuff like that is stupid and doesn’t make sense.
@@Jurassicstudios well I agree with that. But that has more to do with the use of sparks rather than the sparks as a whole. I feel like that scene doesn't work mostly because there are only like 4 explosions and they don't match the flying that well.
But with other scenes like rodan flying into Godzilla's head or chest, those sparks are very well utilized.
But the timing of the sparks also have to be perfect, mostly because they slow down the footage a lot. So If something is even a little bit off it ruins the whole scene.
Which makes it impressive how even most of the fights look that good.
@@GSTE_ Yeah, you’re right. My biggest problem with the sparks is the usage at times, though otherwise they work.
@@Jurassicstudios I think the main thing that bothers me is the flashing of lights randomly. Mostly again due to everything in real time taking place in a split second, but lasting multiple seconds in the film.
The flashing of lights is apparent in the destruction of mechagodzilla 2 from godzilla red heat ray, and the destruction of biollante.
Thumbnail Rizz
The heisei Era is the best Era in the whole godzilla franchise
I've always wished that Toho would remake every movie from 1984-2004 in CGI. Suitmation is cool but seeing then Kaiju more expressive and life like would be fun.
The special effects for the most part in the 90's films re very good for their time. Even composition shots (like how you pointed out) look far better than similar shots that were done in the 2000's films.
Still though, you got scenes like SpaceGodzilla and MOGUERA'S asteroid fight that are just....very bad lol! That really seemed like a last minute addition to the script in order to get another monster fight in the movie. Since technically there is just 1 major fight in the film that goes on for the whole second half.
True, but I think king ghidorah's fight against the jets was a lot worse of a scene overall. Mostly due to the models.
I still think even that space fight scene used pretty good special effects in the lasers and such. It's mostly the models that weren't lit properly for an outer space battle.
But there were not so good scenes for the showa godzilla films as well, such as multiple space scenes clearly showing the painting in the background with it having wrinkles in it.
As well as the models looking completely fake in films like invasion of the astro monster.
I've always disliked the way Godzilla movies have sometimes been dismissed as just men in rubber suits doing some amateur wrestling (not to be confused with the way fans, myself included, sometimes lovingly say the same thing) as the work that goes into the special effects has always felt very special to me, not to mention charming. So I greatly appreciate videos like this, just someone gushing over and wondering about bits they like.
Heisei Godzilla does have some impressive special effects. I can’t wait to finish the series for myself. The only part of this video I don’t agree with is the digs at GMK but maybe that’s because it’s one of my favorite Godzilla movies.
Well GMK has the only atomic breath that looks like it was done on gimp. With it having weird lighting at night, and just not looking very good, as well as a lot of scenes looking not good in terms of special effects.
But that's just my thoughts on it, I like Godzilla 2000 and megaguirus more as movies, but they both have some of the worst aging special effects.
@@GSTE_ I used to not care much for the atomic breath for those reasons, but I think it makes it stand out from the others. GMK is still one of my all time favorites.
@@jurassicswine Cool.
@@GSTE_ and since you mentioned it here, does the color grading issue effect all Heisei films or just vs Destroyah on Blu-ray?
@@jurassicswine It only affects Godzilla vs Destoroyah in general. The other heisei films are about the same as the japanese version with just having a little less quality.
But Godzilla vs Destoroyah is very different from the dvd version to the bluray to the japanese bluray. With the Japanese version having the most detail, color, and adding a darker tone to the film.
Holy Hell I didn't even know a number of those edits!
How would you say later Millennium compares? Like the Kiryu films and Final Wars?
Yeah the most impressive scenes I think are the destoroyah crabs in front of godzilla, or the use of fake sparks matching the real ones almost perfectly.
Which is one of the reasons why I think the millenium films in general lack the punch heisei godzilla does. Despite their technology for animation being better, they do far less with it.
The heisei era used animation similar to practical effects, creating lighting in scenes with none, and creating sparks or flashes of light to make the lasers feel more powerful. Which is why when monsters hit each other in the millenium era, except for final wars, it looks like rubber toys hitting each other. The best example being Megaguirus's claw hitting Godzilla's head.
Final wars's animation isn't very good, having scenes more like the early millenium era. With nothing really looking real. Although the camera work and fights are cool, the special effects themselves aren't very impressive.
I'm not really a fan of the Kiryu films in general, but tokyo sos objectively has the most realistic animation out of all the films from 1954 to 2004.
I'm still not a fan of the style that much with most edits, but it's undeniably good.
@@GSTE_ Interesting, do you think the short films released on Godzilla's anniversaries (FW Godzlla vs Hedorah-Gigan-Jet) have improved on Final Wars' VFX usage?
@lakingofthemonsters5812 I think the gigan short film in 2022 was pretty good as I said in my review of that film. Using a lot of techniques and camera angles from the heisei godzilla series.
Also having a gigan designed by a man who helped make the heisei monster designs.
I haven't really looked that much into the short film in 2023 that much though so I don't really know.
But the special effects looked pretty good from what I saw. Being more based on gamera 1999 than anything, which isn't a terrible thing, since Gamera 1999 based a lot of things off of the heisei era as well.
Also I didn't see that you said all three of the short films when writing this. I really don't like the first short film with hedorah. In fact I think it's pretty bad in everything from physical combat, camera work, to it's special effects that are worse than any godzilla film.
Hello there!.
@@XTP_X_The_Penguin Hello
I LOVE YOUR VIDEOS
6 months late but finally someone gets it
What do you mean by "finally"? Literally everyone thinks like that.
This was an awesome video other than the unnecessary strays the Millennium era was catching.
The video is really cool
surprised you didnt mention the early blue spiral rays in gvk
Well It's basically the same thing as the atomic breath from King of the monsters except more blue.
But it still is only one solid color.
Little question >:) Is the heisei era your favorite era or do you just like to make videos about it. Personally in my opinion the heisei godzilla series is my favorite
It's definitely my favorite era, mostly because other series of godzilla films have too many that I either don't like or think are good.
With the showa godzilla films probably being my second favorite.
you are the best youtuber
Is it just me or do some of these movies have better effects than the millennium films?
I would say so, except for Godzilla against MechaGodzilla, and tokyo sos.
They really had to try to make it look good.
Pretty interesting
heisei era is my favorite
Godzilla's atomic breath in the night scenes of Godzilla vs Biollante was more white
Godzilla's atomic breath was actually less white in that film that most of the other Heisei Godzilla atomic breaths. With it sometimes being see through.
And instead of the more natural colors they would use later they instead used a mix of purple and blue for the atomic breath, which that added to the see through look make the atomic breath appear to be flat.
@@GSTE_ i mean the entire beam, not just the inside
@@TheWatermelonSquad1000 If you were to say the daytime scenes I would agree with you, but they used a different technique which didn't look as good for the night scenes.
The daytime scenes show Godzilla's atomic breath be mostly white which a little bit of blue around the atomic breath, which again makes it look flat, which is why they changed it for a much better technique later on.
These would be good special effects……….. if Jurassic Park didn’t come out in 1993 the same year Godzilla Vs MechaGodzilla 2 came out 💀
Well using that same logic, Godzilla 1954 would also have had good special effects, if king kong didn't come out in 1933.
And people say the gamera Heisei era is better.
That's mostly due to it's "dark and edgy" nature. Similar how Godzilla vs Biollante is the most praised Heisei Godzilla films despite it having the exact problems these same people complain about the later Heisei Godzilla films.
As for the Heisei Gamera films, those films lack any substance, and their film making isn't very good although the special effects in Revenge of Iris are very good.
People talk about quality over quantity. With that in mind I guess getting a small circle of fancy rice that costs a fortune is better than a country diner's hamburger.
The heisei gamera films set everything up in very small takes, making it appear things are actually happening with low angles and camera shaking. When in reality there is nothing going on.
Just the final fight of Godzilla vs Destoroyah has more things actually happening than almost all the Heisei Gamera fights combined. And it is also incredibly well done without having to block the fights or use camera tricks.
Overall in terms of creativity of fights, special effects, and monsters the Heisei Godzilla films were easily better and did more with what they had at the time.
@@GSTE_I realize this is a matter of preference, but to say that these films lacked substance is just ignorant. That being said I completely agree that they have been overblown fans who just want to mock the Heisei Godzilla movies without admitting that the Gamera has its own flaws. I grew up with both and I love them both. I love the Heisei Goji movies for their focus on the monsters as characters, flashy effects, and incredible sets. But I also love the Heisei Gamera movies for their innovative stories, grit, and human characters.
5:52 do those work in america? If so, i want
They do work on a generic blu ray player since they are in region a which counts both america and japan as well as other places. The japanese heisei godzilla films don't have english subtitles and the main menu is hard to navigate, but there are deleted scenes, and very interesting special features that you have to dig around to find.
@@GSTE_ Shoot. English subtitles would have made it a no brainer.
Uh, Rodan doesn’t have an atomic breath.
Yeah he does. It's urainium. Only heisei Fire Rodan has it.
9:51 :(
End credits song?
The end credits song is called "Love You Inside Out" originally sang by the Bee Gees, but I sang the one I use in my outro although I used a little part of my version that I thought was the best.
I hope that answered your question
@@GSTE_ man you have great taste in music i can tell
@@LafayetteTerrellCollins thanks, I didn't really think anyone would notice the ending song, maybe I'll upload the full version of me singing it eventually.
I have a whole playlist of other great songs if you like that type of music.
@@GSTE_ please do
LaZer!
the satalite was odvosly fake but the rest was good
Don't be mean, but he looks like Sid from Ice Age
Yeah he kind of does, I never noticed that before.
Who’s he
@@Kajiufan2021 I think he means my drawing of my profile picture I use throughout this vid
1:43 but Gamera is still better
Change my mind!!!
I could try if you have the time.
If you want you could list the reasons you think Gamera is better in order to give me some points to go off of.
So I guess that's a no then.
Love your videos! Heisei will always be my favorite. Love Kawakita's style so much.