History Film / TerrorOfMechagodzilla

* TheyCalledMeMad: Dr. Mafune was ridiculed for his staunch belief that there was a dinosaur living underwater near Japan. Apparently, no one ever sought him out and apologized to him after a certain event in 1954. Sure, he was referring to a completely different dinosaur, but still.
** He also has apparently ''become'' mad as well, unfortunately.
** Not only that, but according to the dialogue this happened in 1960 (5 years after the [[Film/GodzillaRaidsAgain second Godzilla's first appearance]]), which means Japan had just recently dealt not only with two Godzillas and Angilas but also Rodan and Varan!
** It wasn't necessarily the dinosaur that got Dr. Mafune scorned by the scientific community, but that he claimed that he could ''control'' the creature and ''all marine life.'' Even for the people that didn't necessarily believed his claim as ludicrous, they definitely believed that humans shouldn't be allowed to possess that kind of power.

* UncertainDoom: Titanosaurus gets blasted by Godzilla off a cliff into the ocean at the end of the film. Whether or not the blast kills him is still a mystery.
* {{Villain Protagonist}}s: The villains drive the most of the plot in the film while heroes are trying to uncover their plot. The Siminians and Mafunes cover the first two acts of the fim until the third with Godzilla faces Titanosaurus and Mechagodzilla and Ichinose is forced to face the Siminians and Mafunes himself.

* WhateverHappenedToTheMouse: In the theatrical US release (and the home video releases of it), Katsura's suicide was cut out, and she vanishes without a trace after the aliens are defeated.

*** At least one of these scenes (Katsura's Suicide) manages to make it into the Toho Master Collection rerelease of the English-language version.
%%* TheXOfY

** Also Interpol agent Kusakari, who disappears in the US cut because the scene of him getting executed by the aliens was deleted.

* DarkestHour: Even the might of Godzilla is no match for the combined might of Mechagodzilla and Titanosaurus. The Big G is taken down and it looks like all hope is lost, until the humans manage to distract Titansosaurus with the Sonic Wave Oscillator.

* BadBoss: Mugal has [[YouHaveFailedMe three of his mooks executed]] when Ichinose and Murosaki managed to escaped unharmed.

* YouHaveFailedMe: Mugal sentences three mooks to death for letting Ichinose and Murosaki escape.

The final film of the original series, also known as the Showa Era of the ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'' series (while ''Film/DestroyAllMonsters'' is the last film chronologically), and directly taking place after the previous year's ''Film/GodzillaVsMechagodzilla''. It is the final Godzilla film directed by the legendary Creator/IshiroHonda, and is called ''Mekagojira no Gyakushū'' (''Mechagodzilla's Counterattack'') in Japan. Also went under the title "The Terror Of Godzilla" in it's initial U.S release.

** ''May'' have been justified by the claims he was making didn't just include the fact that he had discovered Titanosaurus. He claimed that the creature was ''benevolent'' and that he had a means to ''control'' the creature. At the time he would have made said claims (1962-3), two Godzillas had attacked, one had fought King Kong, two Rodans had rampaged across Japan, and Mothra had just left Japan in shambles a year before Kong had fought the second Godzilla, and at the time the idea of being able to '''''control''''' these creatures seemed utterly ludicrous. If he had simply claimed to have discovered Titanosaurus and left it at that, he might not have been met with such derision.

* GenreThrowback: ''Terror of Mechagodzilla'' seems more like a ''kaiju'' film from the 1950s and early 1960s. It has a [[DarkerAndEdgier serious tone]], a [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman weighty theme]], a [[SceneryGorn lavish city destruction spectacle]], a new monster antagonist that looks more like a natural animal, significant scenes of evacuation and human fear, and a well-developed human plot. This contrasts it with the ''kaiju'' films of the late Sixties and 1970s, which were [[{{Camp}} campy]], had fights takes place in barren wilderness rather than cities, featured outlandish monsters, and whose human plots were almost [[JustHereForGodzilla exclusively there to set up the monster fights]]]. This was a conscious choice on the part of producer Tomoyuki Tanaka for artistic and monetary reasons, believing that ''[[Franchise/{{Godzilla}} Godzilla]]'' had gotten too wacky and that this was the reason ticket sales were declining. Part of arresting this trend was bringing back Ishiro Honda and Akira Ifukube.

* GenreThrowback: ''Terror of Mechagodzilla'' seems more like a ''kaiju'' film from the 1950s and early 1960s. It has a [[DarkerAndEdgier serious tone]], a [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman weighty theme]], a [[SceneryGorn lavish city destruction spectacle]], a new monster antagonist that looks more like a natural animal, significant scenes of evacuation and human fear, and a well-developed human plot. This contrasts it with the ''kaiju'' films of the late Sixties and 1970s, which were [[{{Camp}} campy]], had fights takes place in barren wilderness rather than cities, featured outlandish monsters, and whose human plots were almost [[JustHereForGodzilla exclusively there to set up the monster fights]]]. This was a conscious choice on the part of producer Tomoyuki Tanaka for artistic and monetary reasons, believing that ''[[Franchise/{{Godzilla}}]]'' had gotten too wacky and that this was the reason ticket sales were declining. Part of arresting this trend was bringing back Ishiro Honda and Akira Ifukube.

* GenreThrowback: ''Terror of Mechagodzilla'' seems more like a ''kaiju'' film from the 1950s and early 1960s. It has a [[DarkerAndEdgier serious tone]], a [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman weighty theme]], a [[SceneryGorn lavish city destruction spectacle]], a new monster antagonist that looks more like a natural animal, significant scenes of evacuation and human fear, and a well-developed human plot. This contrasts it with the ''kaiju'' films of the late Sixties and 1970s, which were [[{{Camp}} campy]], had fights takes place in barren wilderness rather than cities, featured outlandish monsters, and whose human plots were almost [[JustHereForGodzilla exclusively there to set up the monster fights]]]. This was a conscious choice on the part of producer Tomoyuki Tanaka for artistic and monetary reasons, believing that ''[[Franchise/Godzilla]]'' had gotten too wacky and that this was the reason ticket sales were declining. Part of arresting this trend was bringing back Ishiro Honda and Akira Ifukube.

* GenreThrowback: ''Terror of Mechagodzilla'' seems more like a ''kaiju'' film from the 1950s and early 1960s. It has a [[DarkAndEdgier serious tone]], a [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman weighty theme]], a [[SceneryGorn lavish city destruction spectacle]], a new monster antagonist that looks more like a natural animal, significant scenes of evacuation and human fear, and a well-developed human plot. This contrasts it with the ''kaiju'' films of the late Sixties and 1970s, which were [[{{Camp}} campy]], had fights takes place in barren wilderness rather than cities, featured outlandish monsters, and whose human plots were almost [[JustHereForGodzilla exclusively there to set up the monster fights]]]. This was a conscious choice on the part of producer Tomoyuki Tanaka for artistic and monetary reasons, believing that ''[[Franchise/Godzilla]]'' had gotten too wacky and that this was the reason ticket sales were declining. Part of arresting this trend was bringing back Ishiro Honda and Akira Ifukube.

As this is the last film of the Showa Godzilla storyline, it is followed by ''Film/TheReturnOfGodzilla'' which starts the Heisei Godzilla story arc despite being a Showa film.

* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism: Despite being in the late Showa era, this is pretty much a wrestling match with the heroes and villains. Including the monsters. Eventually, the cynical villains lose while the humans will have a (eventual) hopeful future.

** Possibly subverted because it's a major "Or does he?" moment.
* BigGood: Godzilla.

* {{Villain Protagonist}}s: The villains drive the most of the plot in the film while heroes are trying to uncover thir plot. The Siminians and Mafunes cover the first two acts of the fim until the third with Godzilla faces Titanosaurus and Mechagodzilla and Ichinose is forced to face the Siminians and Mafunes himself.

The final film of the original series, also known as the Showa Era of the ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'' series (while ''Film/DestroyAllMonsters'' is the last film chronologically), and directly taking place after the previous year's ''Film/GodzillaVsMechagodzilla''. This is the final Godzilla film directed by the legendary Creator/IshiroHonda, and is called ''Mekagojira no Gyakushū'' (''Mechagodzilla's Counterattack'') in Japan. Also goes under the title "The Terror Of Godzilla" in it's initial U.S release.

* ArbitrarySkepticism: The scientists don't believe Mafune's theory of a dinosaur living near Japan despite the fact that two Godzillas had already come to Japan before doing such (The first was a [[{{Film/Gojira}} villain]] while the other in [[Film/GodzillaRaidsAgain 1955]] had a HeelFaceTurn, serving as Japan's protector). Not to mention that other prehistoric monsters like [[Film/{{Rodan}} Rodan]], Anguirus, and [[Film/VaranTheUnbelievable Varan]] had made rather significant appearances by that point.

* BuriedAlive: After Titanosaurus kicks Godzilla into a deep pit, Mechagodzilla blasts down mountains to bury Godzilla in it, and Titanosaurus presses on the dirt jumping on it to insure Godzilla can't get out until the humans arrive in a helicopter and weaken Titanosaurus with sonic waves, allowing Godzilla to dig out of it.

* TheXOfY

* HumanBulletproofShield: Mugan uses Mafune as this to save his own skin against the Interpol agents.

The movie was not well received when it was released, and Toho would not produce another Godzilla movie until the king's 30th anniversary in 1984. The film was one of only two Godzilla films to have less than a million tickets sold. It would remain the least successful Godzilla film until ''Godzilla: Final Wars'' in 2004. The music was composed by Akira Ifukube, and the special effects were directed by Teruyoshi Nakano. The film was produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka.