History YMMV / ZoneFighter

** Somewhat averted with Godzilla. While he serves as the TeamPet in most of his appearances, he's no less capable of kicking serious ass when he appears. However, according to WordOfGod (Jun Fukuda, director of many Godzilla movies and many eipsodes of this series), this Godzilla is ''not'' the one in the films[[note]]And yet Toho, who is more WordOfGod, says that the show is canon with the Showa films and that Gigan doesn't show up in any more films because he died in the show. Fans are still disputing whether or not to count the show as canon[[/note]].

** Godzilla is reduced to being the TeamPet. However, according to WordOfGod (Jun Fukuda, director of many Godzilla movies and many eipsodes of this series), this Godzilla is ''not'' the one in the films[[note]]And yet Toho, who is more WordOfGod, says that the show is canon with the Showa films and that Gigan doesn't show up in any more films because he died in the show. Fans are still disputing whether or not to count the show as canon[[/note]].

%%* HoYay: Zone Fighter and Godzilla's friendship could be a ''mild'' variation of this.

* SpecialEffectFailure: Numerous instances; one episode, for example, featured a gorilla being obviously played by a man in a cheap gorilla costume. Due to the economic depression affecting Japan at the time, the show suffered from this as much as the contemporary ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'' movies and most other {{Toku}} of the period.

* SpiritualSuccessor: To Series/UltramanAce, unsurprising as many people who worked on Ace would later go on to work on Zone Fighter.

* FollowTheLeader: This show shares a ton of similarities to the newest Ultraman show at the time ''Series/UltramanAce''. We got the fact that Ace and Zone Fighter use the same sound effects, a similar plot about an overarching villain (or in the case of the Garoga aliens, villains) sending down monsters to take down the heroes, and even the monster designs are similar (one could easily imagine many ''Zone Fighter'' kaiju as ''Ultraman Ace'' monsters and vice versa. For example ([[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/godzilla/images/5/58/Spylar_standing.jpg Spyler]] looks an awful lot like Vakishim and Velokron's love child, having the color scheme of the former and general body shape of the latter.) It should be noted that much of the special effects team, suit maker, and monster designer worked on Ace, which can explain the similarities.

* FollowTheLeader: This show shares a ton of similarities to the newest Ultraman show at the time ''Series/UltramanAce''. We got the fact that Ace and Zone Fighter use the same sound effects, a similar plot about an overarching villain (or in the case of the Garoga aliens, villains) sending down monsters to take down the heroes, and even the monster designs are similar (one could easily imagine many ''Zone Fighter'' kaiju as ''Ultraman Ace'' monsters and vice versa. For example ([[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/godzilla/images/5/58/Spylar_standing.jpg Spyler]] looks an awful lot like Vakishim and Velokron's love child, having the color scheme of the former and general body shape of the latter.))!

* FollowTheLeader: This show shares a ton of similarities to the newest Ultraman show at the time ''Series/UltramanAce''. We got the fact that Ace and Zone Fighter use the same sound effects, a similar plot about an overarching villain (or in the case of the Garoga aliens, villains) sending down monsters to take down the heroes, and even the monster designs are similar (one could easily imagine many ''Zone Fighter'' kaiju as ''Ultraman Ace'' monsters and vice versa)!

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Just like Varan, Zone Fighter is mostly obscure even to fans but thanks to the internet some fans are shouting for DVD's of the show to be sold out of Japan and some fans are even asking to get Zone Fighter in a game.
%%* SugarWiki/FunnyMoments: Zone Fighter playing rock, paper, scissors is pretty funny.

* FollowtheLeader: This show shares a ton of similarities to the newest Ultraman show at the time ''Series/{{Ultraman Ace}}. We got the fact that Ace and Zone Fighter use the same sound effects, a similar plot about an overarching villain (or in the case of the Garoga aliens, villains) sending down monsters to take down the heroes, and even some of the designs of the monsters are similar! Want proof? [[https://wikizilla.org/wiki/Spyler This is a link that sends you to a Wikizilla page of Zone Fighter monster Spyler]]. [[https://ultra.fandom.com/wiki/Vakishim And this is a link that sends you to an Ultraman Wiki page of Ace monster Vakishim]]. Look as these photos and tell me that Toho wasn't ripping off Vakishim's design for Spyler!

%%* SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome: Far too many to list though fighting King Ghidorah in space has to count as one.
%%* SpecialEffectFailure: Due to the economic depression affecting Japan at the time, the show suffered from this as much as the contemporary ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'' movies and most other {{Toku}} of the period.

* FollowtheLeader: This show shares a ton of similarities to the newest Ultraman show at the time ''Series/{{Ultraman Ace}}. We got the fact that Ace and Zone Fighter use the same sound effects, a similar plot about an overarching villain (or in the case of the Garoga aliens, villains) sending down monsters to take down the heroes, and even some of the designs of the monsters are similar! Want proof? [[https://wikizilla.org/wiki/Spyler This is a link that sends you to a Wikizilla page of Zone Fighter monster Spyler]]. [[https://ultra.fandom.com/wiki/Vakishim And this is a page that sends you to an Ultraman Wiki page of Ace monster Vakishim]]. Look as these photos and tell me that Toho wasn't ripping off Vakishim's design for Spyler!

* BadassDecay: Poor, ''poor'' Gigan. He's completely stripped of his ability to fly and use his buzzsaw, and is easily shafted in a CurbStompBattle.
** And Godzilla is reduced to being the TeamPet. However, according to WordOfGod (Jun Fukuda, director of many Godzilla movies and many eipsodes of this series), this Godzilla is ''not'' the one in the films[[note]]And yet Toho, who is more WordOfGod, says that the show is canon with the Showa films and that Gigan doesn't show up in any more films because he died in the show. Fans are still disputing whether or not to count the show as canon[[/note]].
* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: Being a kids show made in Japan there are a lot, but if one takes the cake it's Zone Fighter jumping into a TV and then appearing over the city the TV was showing being attacked by a monster. Funny enough, that would be repeated some 20 years later in ''Series/KyoryuSentaiZyuranger''.

* CrowningMomentOfAwesome: Far too many to list though fighting King Ghidorah in space has to count as one.
* CrowningMomentOfFunny: Zone Fighter playing rock, paper, scissors is pretty funny.
* CrowningMusicOfAwesome: The theme song is catchy as and the music for the second fight with King Ghidorah is also pretty good.

* HoYay: Zone Fighter and Godzilla's friendship could be a ''mild'' variation of this.
* SpecialEffectFailure: Due to the economic depression affecting Japan at the time, the show suffered from this as much as the contemporary ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'' movies and most other {{Toku}} of the period.

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: Being a kids show made in Japan there are a lot, but if one takes the cake it's Zone Fighter jumping into a TV and then appearing over the city the TV was showing being attacked by a monster.
** The entire series could count as this to the Showa Godzilla universe; while by this point Godzilla has already been established as a good guy, his human allies, the Terror Beasts, and their masters the Garoga, are never referenced by the films which followed. Granted, this is the Showa Godzilla universe, so it's likely most people just chalked the Terror Beasts up as more monsters of the week for Zone and Godzilla to put down. Since only Ghidorah would survive to be a menace again, and Ghidorah ''is'' acknowledged in the later films (and killed in ''Destroy All Monsters'') it's possible the Terror Beasts' attacks were so short-lived most people simply forgot about them.

* VindicatedByHistory: ''Zone Fighter'' was brushed off by many in its day as a mediocre ''Series/{{Ultraman}}'' clone ([[FollowTheLeader one of many in the 70s]]), hence its short lifespan. But with the rise of the internet, there has been renewed interest in the series, with some praising its usage of the family dynamic over the stock paramilitary one. After all, how many other ''Ultraman'' wannabes can say they've teamed up with ''Godzilla''?

** And Godzilla is reduced to being the TeamPet. However, according to WordOfGod (Jun Fukuda, director of many Godzilla movies and many eps of this series), this Godzilla is ''not'' the one in the films.
*** And yet Toho, who is more WordOfGod, says that the show is canon with the Showa films and that Gigan doesn't show up in any more films because he died in the show. Fans are still disputing whether or not to count the show as canon.
*** Jun Fukuda is not so much WordOfGod in this instance, as a hired gun.

* SpecialEffectFailure: Common for a show like this.

*** Jun Fukuda is not so much WordofGod in this instance, as a hired gun.

*** And yet Toho, who is also WordOfGod, says that the show is canon with the Showa films and that Gigan doesn't show up in any more films because he died in the show. Fans are still disputing whether or not to count the show as canon.

* CompleteMonster: The Garoga.

* CrowningMusicOfAwesome: The theme song is catchy as all hell and the music for the second fight with King Ghidorah is also pretty damn good.

* SpecialEffectsFailiure: Common for a show like this.

* SpecialEffectFailiure: Common for a show like this.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Just like Varan, Zone Fighter is mostly obscure even to fans but thanks to the internet some fans are shouting for DVD's of the show to be sold out of Japan and some fans are even asking to get Zone Fighter in a game.

*** And yet Toho, who is also WordOfGod, says that the show is canon with the Showa films and that Gigan doesn't show up in any more films because he died in the show. Fans are still disputing whether or not to count the show as cannon.

*** And yet Toho, who is also WordOfGod, says that the show is cannon with the Showa films and that Gigan doesn't show up in any more films because he died in the show. Fans are still disputing weather or not to count the show as cannon.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Just like Varan Zone Fighter is mostly obscure even to fans but thanks to the internet some fans are shouting for DVD's of the show to be sold out of Japan and some fans are even asking to get Zone Fighter in a game.