Son of Godzilla (Kaijûtô no kessen: Gojira no musuko; Jun Fukuda, 1967)

On a tropical island, a group of scientists led by Doctor Kusumi are working on a device that will control the weather and make some of the Earth's more barren areas habitable. A determined reporter, Goro Maki, comes to the island in search of a story, and Kusumi reluctantly allows him to stay in return for Goro cooking and cleaning for the men. A mysterious signal causes the test of a radioactive balloon to fail, the radiation released resulting in giant mantises called "Kamacuras," which dig up an egg that they break open. The egg, as it turns out, contains a baby Godzilla, whose telepathic cries caused the signal that wrecked the balloon. Soon, Godzilla himself comes to the island seeking his offspring.

Son of Godzilla, introducing the title character, later dubbed Minya, is regarded by some as a shark-jumping moment for the franchise, representing the absolute nadir of the series, especially in comparison to the 1954 original, a surprisingly deep film in contrast to some of the ones that followed, which got increasingly more outlandish. However, this is an unfair assessment. Yes, it's more kiddie-oriented than the original, but it's still entertaining. Minya is much less annoying than Godzooky from the American animated Godzilla series of a few years later, and it's hard not to feel bad for the little guy who puts up with a lot of abuse from the Kamacuras, and even to a lesser extent from his own father, who tries to teach him his ways with some tough love. Godzilla's design is altered beginning with this film to make him less scary-looking, but frankly I think he still looks pretty damn cool. The special effects are awesome, with not only adult and baby Godzillas and the Kamacuras, but also a giant spider called Kumonga. The human characters are generally pretty well-developed, including Goro the reporter and his love interest Seiko, who grew up on the island after the death of her parents. It may not be the best the series has to offer, but it's pretty darn entertaining.