This article was published on KaijuRamenMedia.com on June 6, 2022. To read the original, click here
Saturday morning cartoons have been an American staple for many decades. So much so that Godzilla, himself, got in on the action in the late 1970s. Simply titled Godzilla, the series premiered in 1978 and ran for two seasons. Godzilla was an animated series from Hanna-Barbera, the creators of such shows as The Flintstones and Jonny Quest. The series has had a rough history and was basically buried in the annals of history for decades until Toho began releasing the first season on the official Godzilla YouTube channel. Now that all 13 episodes of the first season are uploaded, a trailer released has revealed the second season will begin on June 6th.
Godzilla ran for two seasons in 1978 and followed the crew of the research ship Calico as they went on various adventures. Whenever a Kaiju would surface, the crew would call upon Godzilla to help them defeat the new monster that threatened the world. The show also introduced the world to Godzilla’s nephew, Godzooky, a smaller creature with short stubby wings and a long neck. Godzooky played a similar role that other quirky animal sidekicks did in Hanna-Barbera cartoons, such as Jonny Quest’s Bandit.
Joseph Barbera, one of the creative minds behind Hanna-Barbera loved the idea of doing a series centered around Godzilla. According to Barbera, the series was initially conceived to have a tone more in line with the Japanese films, but an executive demanded that the story be lightened up. This demand was the primary reason for Godzooky’s existence and allowed them to play off of the same tone as the likes of Jonny Quest. In the 90s, Barbera expressed his regret with the show, claiming they struggled with keeping the show truly representative of Godzilla while also stripping back most of the hallmarks that had defined the famous kaiju. In the end, he would simply say “We managed to get a fair show out of it. It was OK.”
Throughout the 21st century, the first season of Godzilla has seen a few releases. Three DVD sets that contain 4-5 episodes each were released and the entire first season was once available on Netflix around 2011. But up until now, the second season never saw any sort of release since its initial airing in 1979. The official Godzilla YouTube account began releasing episodes of the first season in August of 2021, but no one was sure if the second season would see the light of day. Now, Godzilla fans can rest easy, knowing that beginning June 6th, the official Godzilla YouTube account will begin to release the never before released second season.
The second season of Godzilla consists of 13 episodes, that each showcase a new Kaiju and a new adventure for the crew of the Calico and Godzilla. It’s exciting for many Godzilla fans to be able to check out this piece of Godzilla history for, likely, the first time. It may not be the most beloved Godzilla animated show, but it’s a fascinating piece of history for the king of the monsters. Demand will likely never be high for a physical release, but knowing that this long-lost entry in the Godzilla canon is readily available is certainly something to celebrate. You can watch the entire series here