History YMMV / Godzilla1954

** Godzilla is a WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds version. He was a once a simple ''Godzillasaurus'' living in underground caverns until one day an H-Bomb set off, giving him scars that resemble radiation burns, and powers that he had no idea he can use. Because of this, he vents his frustrations on the populace,, and once he's done, he simply wanted to rest in peace. Unlike the 50's NuclearNasty monsters and an AnthropomorphicPersonification of the weapon that gave him his powers, Godzilla stands out as the prime example of a TragicMonster/[[TragicVillain villain]] whose mutation was not of his choice to begin with, and his death has no epic fanfare. It is nothing but {{Tragedy}} altogether.

* SpecialEffectsFailure: A few scenes. Scene one: A military platoon attacking Godzilla, a solider oddly moves his head in a strange matter. Scene two: A window close-up shows Godzilla's tail. You can see the overhead wires near the tip. And scene 3: The Diet building is seen crumbling twice.

** You can't destroy an element, so the weapon in itself is impossible.

** Godzilla, having vented his revenge and left his message to man, is now content to live in the sea.

* HarsherInHindsight: The last thing Serizawa says to Ogata and Emiko is to be together. As we found out in ''Film/GodzillaVsDestoroyah'', she did not marry him, as she chose to be Serizawa's wife posthumously.

* VisualEffectsOfAwesome: One of the SceneryPorn scenes is when Godzilla heads to the ocean after being discovered is a well-executed map painting.

* Emiko Yamane, surprisingly, is the first female protagonist, if not the very first in a ''Godzilla'' movie. Fans assume it's either Ogata, Serizawa, or her father, but Ogata's role is actually played with and is the DecoyProtagonist. Serizawa's importance only happens near the end of the film, and Kyohei Yamane is MrExposition. While she is no ActionGirl like other females leads had, if she didn't actually try to find a way to stop Godzilla for good, Japan would have been a nuclear wasteland.

** Godzilla is a WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds version. He was a once a simple ''Godzillasaurus'' living in underground caverns until one day an H-Bomb set off, giving him scars that resemble radiation burns, and powers that he had no idea he can use. Because of this, he vents his frustrations on the populace,, and once he's done, he simply wanted to rest in peace. Unlike the 50's NuclearNasty monsters and an AnthropomorphicPersonification of the weapon that gave him his powers, Godzilla stands out as the prime example of a TragicMonster/[[TragicVillain villain]] whose mutation was not of his choice to begin with, and his death has no epic fanfare. It is nothing but {{Tragedy}} altogether.
* VindicatedByHistory: Prior to the debut of the film, the film received very negative reviews due to its TooSoon and NuclearWeaponsTaboo imagery. However like its American counterpart ''Film/KingKong1933'' in Japan, the film was highly praised in America in 2004, where it gained two DVD releases by Classic Media and the Criterion Collection.

* NightmareRetardant: Despite the often primitive effects, the scary parts of the movie work remarkably well, except for... Godzilla's hand-puppet closeups. His unmoving, shriveled arms are in a constant "about to give a hug" position, and he has FishEyes. Combined with the low angles that sometimes make his mouth look like a smile, he looks like all he wants is to hug every building. In another occasion, he turns his head to the side, and ends up looking like one of Franchise/TheMuppets.

* FirstInstallmentWins: After over thirty films, almost all of which have at least some fans, the original is still regarded, almost universally, as the finest entry in the series.

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: Subverted. While it may not be the first giant monster movie with an AlasPoorVillain TragicMonster, it's the first horror monster movie where the monster is sympathetic ''because'' of the circumstances of what it has become. Compared to other movies where the monster dies in a cheerful note (except KingKong1933), ''Godzilla'' is the first movie to show the ''consequences'' of humanity's action, and it has the most famous DownerEnding in movie history. ''No other'' film has this kind of tragedy in a monster movie, Japanese or American, before.
** In yet another subversion, ''Gojira'' remains one of the few popular movies out there where a monster terrorizing a city is treated InUniverse like a real disaster, and the movie is ultimately a tragedy rather than popcorn fluff.
*** On perhaps a more obvious but no less meaningful note, the idea of a monster being created/awakened by nuclear weapons has long been considered a cliche, even by the end of the decade in which ''Gojira'' was made. Because of this, modern viewers are more likely to overlook just how different it was from its contemporaries, and how unorthodox it continues to be as a monster movie.

** Dr. Yamane, the benevolent scientist who discovers the truth about Gojira's origins, is played by noted Japanese thespian Takashi Shimura, who was famous at the time for his role as [[Film/{{Ikiru}} a middle-aged family man dying of cancer]]. Sixty years later, [[Film/{{Godzilla 2014}} the second American remake]] would use Dr. Joe Brody in an almost identical role. Brody, of course, would be played by noted American thespian Creator/BryanCranston...who was best known for his role as [[Series/BreakingBad a middle-aged family man dying of cancer]].

** SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: Subtle? No. Effective? Fairly. Something the world needed to hear in the face of a new world war fought with nuclear weapons? Without a doubt.

** NarmCharm: ...but despite that, it is still easily the most terrifying entry in the series it ended up creating, and even today can be seen as pretty scary.

** NightmareRetardant: Despite the often primitive effects, the scary parts of the movie work remarkably well, except for... Godzilla's hand-puppet closeups. His unmoving, shriveled arms are in a constant "about to give a hug" position, and he has FishEyes. Combined with the low angles that sometimes make his mouth look like a smile, he looks like all he wants is to hug every building. In another occasion, he turns his head to the side, and ends up looking like one of Franchise/TheMuppets.

* HomegrownHero: The film has an all-Japanese cast. When it was dubbed and reedited as ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters'' for American audiences, a subplot was added about an American journalist reporting on Godzilla's rampage.

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: Due to its North American premire in 2004, several fans ''love'' this film more than ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters''.

*** Especially considering Japan wasn't the one to set off the bomb that woke it up in the first place, America was.

* HilariousInHindsight: Dr. Yamane, the benevolent scientist who discovers the truth about Gojira's origins, is played by noted Japanese thespian Takashi Shimura, who was famous at the time for his role as [[Film/{{Ikiru}} a middle-aged family man dying of cancer]]. Sixty years later, [[Film/{{Godzilla 2014}} the second American remake]] would use Dr. Joe Brody in an almost identical role. Brody, of course, would be played by noted American thespian Creator/BryanCranston...who was best known for his role as [[Series/BreakingBad a middle-aged family man dying of cancer]].