is a Japanese media genre that focuses on stories involving giant monsters. The word ''kaiju'' can also refer to the giant monsters themselves, which are usually depicted attacking major cities and battling either the military or other monsters. The ''kaiju'' genre is a subgenre of ''tokusatsu'' entertainment. The 1954 film '' Godzilla'' is commonly regarded as the first ''kaiju'' film. ''Kaiju'' characters are often somewhat metaphorical in nature; Godzilla, for example, serves as a metaphor for nuclear weapons, reflecting the fears of post-war Japan following the

atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki The United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August 1945, respectively. The two bombings killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and remain the onl ...

and the '' Lucky Dragon 5'' incident. Other notable examples of ''kaiju'' characters include Rodan, Mothra, King Ghidorah and Gamera.

Etymology

The Japanese word ''kaijū'' originally referred to monsters and creatures from ancient Japanese legends; it earlier appeared in the Chinese '' Classic of Mountains and Seas''. After ''

sakoku was the Isolationism, isolationist Foreign policy of Japan, foreign policy of the Japanese Tokugawa shogunate under which, for a period of 265 years during the Edo period (from 1603 to 1868), relations and trade between Japan and other countri ...

'' had ended and Japan was opened to foreign relations in the mid-19th century, the term ''kaijū'' came to be used to express concepts from paleontology and

legendary creature A legendary creature (also mythical or mythological creature) is a type of fictional entity, typically a hybrid, that has not been proven and that is described in folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses ...

s from around the world. For example, in 1908 it was suggested that the extinct '' Ceratosaurus''-like cryptid was alive in Yukon Territory, and this was referred to as ''kaijū''. However, there are no traditional depictions of ''kaiju'' or ''kaiju''-like creatures in Japanese folklore; but rather the origins of ''kaiju'' are found in film. Genre elements were present at the end of Winsor McCay's 1921 animated short '' Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend: The Pet'', in which a mysterious giant animal starts destroying the city, until it is countered by a massive

airstrike An airstrike, air strike or air raid is an offensive operation carried out by aircraft. Air strikes are delivered from aircraft such as blimps, balloons, fighters, heavy bombers, ground attack aircraft, attack helicopters and drones. The offic ...

. It was based on a 1905 episode of McCay's comic strip series. The 1925 movie ''

The Lost World The lost world is a subgenre of the fantasy or science fiction genres that involves the discovery of an unknown Earth civilization. It began as a subgenre of the late- Victorian adventure romance and remains popular into the 21st century. The g ...

'' featured many dinosaurs, including a brontosaurus that breaks loose in London and destroys Tower Bridge. The dinosaurs were animated by pioneering stop motion techniques by

Willis H. O'Brien Willis Harold O'Brien (March 2, 1886 – November 8, 1962) was an American motion picture special effects and stop-motion animation pioneer, who according to ASIFA-Hollywood "was responsible for some of the best-known images in cinema history," ...

, who would some years later animate the giant gorilla-like creature breaking loose in New York City, for the 1933 movie '' King Kong'' (1933). The enormous success of ''King Kong'' can be seen as the definitive breakthrough of monster movies.

RKO Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orphe ...

later licensed the King Kong character to Japanese studio Toho, resulting in the co-productions '' King Kong vs. Godzilla'' (1962) and '' King Kong Escapes'' (1967), both directed by Ishirō Honda. '' The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms'' (1953) featured a fictional dinosaur (animated by Ray Harryhausen), which is released from its frozen, hibernating state by an

atomic bomb A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...

test within the

Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at w ...

. The American movie was released in Japan in 1954 under the title ''The Atomic Kaiju Appears'', marking the first use of the genre's name in a film title. However, ''

Gojira Gojira (ゴジラ) is the original Japanese name for Godzilla, a giant monster at the center of a media franchise. It may also refer to: Films * ''Godzilla'' franchise, known as ''ゴジラ'' (''Gojira'') in Japan ** ''Godzilla'' (1954 film), rele ...

'' (transliterated as ''Godzilla'') is commonly regarded as the first ''kaiju'' film in the west and was released in 1954. Tomoyuki Tanaka, a producer for Toho Studios in Tokyo, needed a film to release after his previous project was halted. Seeing how well the Hollywood giant monster movie genre films ''King Kong'' and '' The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms'' had done in Japanese box offices, and himself a fan of these films, he set out to make a new movie based on them and created ''Godzilla''. Tanaka aimed to combine Hollywood giant monster movies with the re-emerged Japanese fears of atomic weapons that arose from the Daigo Fukuryū Maru fishing boat incident; and so he put a team together and created the concept of a giant radioactive creature emerging from the depths of the ocean, a creature that would become the monster Godzilla. ''Godzilla'' initially had commercial success in Japan, inspiring other ''kaiju'' movies.

Terminology

The term ''kaijū'' translates literally as "strange beast". ''Kaiju'' can be

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the chief foe of the protagonist. Etymology The English word antagonist comes from the Greek ἀνταγωνιστής – ''antagonistēs'', "opponent, competitor, villain, enemy, riv ...

ic,

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

ic, or a neutral

force of nature Forces of nature are literally natural phenomena. Figuratively, the term is also used to describe a thing or person that exhibits qualities which appear to be beyond outside control. Force or Forces of Nature may also refer to: Science * Fundam ...

, but more specifically as preternatural creatures of divine power. Succinctly, they are not merely, "big animals." Godzilla, for example, from its first appearance in the initial 1954 entry in the ''Godzilla'' franchise, has manifest all of these aspects. Other examples of ''kaiju'' include Rodan, Mothra, King Ghidorah, Anguirus, King Kong, Gamera, Daimajin, Gappa, Guilala and Yonggary. There are also subcategories including '' Mecha'' ''Kaiju'' (Meka-Kaijū), featuring mechanical or cybernetic characters, including

Mogera ''Mogera'' is a genus of mammals in the family Talpidae. Moles in this genus differ from Old World moles in the genus ''Talpa'' in having one fewer pairs of lower incisors and in having larger hind premolars in the lower jaw. Species The gen ...

Mechani-Kong is a remote-controlled robot double of King Kong#King Kong (Toho), King Kong introduced in the 1966 animated television series ''The King Kong Show'' and featured again in the 1967 film ''King Kong Escapes''. The robot was created by Dr. Who (who ...

Mechagodzilla is a fictional mecha character that first appeared in the 1974 film ''Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla''. In its debut appearance, Mechagodzilla is depicted as an extraterrestrial villain that confronts Godzilla. In subsequent iterations, Mechagodzill ...

, Gigan, which are an off-shoot of ''kaiju''. Likewise, the collective sub-category ''Ultra-Kaiju'' (Urutora-Kaijū) is a separate strata of ''kaijū'', which specifically originate in the long-running '' Ultra Series'' franchise, but can also be referred to simply by ''kaijū''. As a noun, ''kaijū'' is an ''

invariant Invariant and invariance may refer to: Computer science * Invariant (computer science), an expression whose value doesn't change during program execution ** Loop invariant, a property of a program loop that is true before (and after) each iteratio ...

'', as both the singular and the plural expressions are identical.

''Kaijū eiga''

''Kaijū eiga'' (, "kaiju film") is a film featuring one or more ''kaiju''.

''Kaijin''

''Kaijin'' ( lit. "strange person") refers to distorted human beings or humanoid-like creatures. The origin of ''kaijin'' goes back to the early 20th Century Japanese literature, starting with Edogawa Rampo's 1936 novel, '' The Fiend with Twenty Faces''. The story introduced Edogawa's master detective, Kogoro Akechi's arch-nemesis, the eponymous "Fiend," a mysterious master of disguise, whose real face was unknown; the ''Moriarty'' to Akechi's ''Sherlock''. Catching the public's imagination, many such literary and movie (and later television) villains took on the mantle of ''kaijin''. To be clear, ''kaijin'' is not an offshoot of ''kaiju''. The first-ever kaijin that appeared on film was '' The Great Buddha Arrival'' a lost film, made in 1934. After the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...

, the term was modernized when it was adopted to describe the bizarre, genetically engineered and

cybernetically Cybernetics is a wide-ranging field concerned with circular causality, such as feedback, in regulatory and purposive systems. Cybernetics is named after an example of circular causal feedback, that of steering a ship, where the helmsperson m ...

enhanced evil humanoid spawn conceived for the '' Kamen Rider Series'' in 1971. This created a new splinter of the term, which quickly propagated through the popularity of superhero programs produced from the 1970s, forward. These ''kaijin'' possess rational thought and the power of speech, as do human beings. A successive ''kaijin'' menagerie, in diverse iterations, appeared over numerous series, most notably the '' Super Sentai'' programs premiering in 1975 (later carried over into ''Super Sentais English iteration as '' Power Rangers'' in the 1990s). This created yet another splinter, as the ''kaijin'' of ''Super Sentai'' have since evolved to feature unique forms and attributes (i.e.

gigantism Gigantism ( el, γίγας, ''gígas'', "giant", plural γίγαντες, ''gígantes''), also known as giantism, is a condition characterized by excessive growth and height significantly above average. In humans, this condition is caused by ove ...

), existing somewhere between ''kaijin'' and ''kaiju''.

''Daikaiju''

''Daikaijū'' () literally translates as "giant ''kaiju''" or "great ''kaiju''". This hyperbolic term was used to denote greatness of the subject ''kaiju''; the prefix ''dai-'' emphasizing great size, power, and/or status. The first known appearance of the term ''daikaiju'' in the 20th Century was in the publicity materials for the original 1954 release of '' Godzilla''. Specifically, in the subtitle on the original movie poster, ''Suibaku Daikaiju Eiga'' (), lit. "H-Bomb Giant Monster Movie" (in proper English, "The Giant H-Bomb Monster Movie").

''Seijin''

''Seijin'' ( lit. "star people"), appears within Japanese words for extraterrestrial aliens, such as ''Kaseijin'' (), which means " Martian". Aliens can also be called ''uchūjin'' () which means "spacemen". Among the best known ''Seijin'' in the genre can be found in the '' Ultra Series'', such as Alien Baltan from '' Ultraman'', a race of crustacean-like aliens who have gone on to become one of the franchise's most enduring and recurring characters other than the Ultras themselves. Toho has produced a variety of ''kaiju'' films over the years (many of which feature Godzilla, Rodan and Mothra); but other Japanese studios contributed to the genre by producing films and shows of their own: Daiei Film ( Kadokawa Pictures), Tsuburaya Productions, and Shochiku and Nikkatsu Studios.

Monster techniques

Godzilla Raids Again (1955) Anguirus suit

Eiji Tsuburaya, who was in charge of the special effects for ''Godzilla'', developed a technique to animate the ''kaiju'' that became known colloquially as "

suitmation Creature suits are realistic costumes used to disguise a performer as an animal, monster, or other being. They are used in film, television, or as costumed characters in live events. Unlike mascots, they are often made with a high degree of real ...

".Weinstock, Jeffery (2014) ''The Ashgate Encyclopedia of Literary and Cinematic Monsters.'' Farnham: Ashgate Publishing. Where Western monster movies often used stop motion to animate the monsters, Tsubaraya decided to attempt to create suits, called " creature suits", for a human ( suit actor) to wear and act in.Archived a
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and th
Wayback Machine
This was combined with the use of miniature models and scaled-down city sets to create the illusion of a giant creature in a city.Allison, Anne (2006) ''Snake Person Monsters: Japanese Toys and the Global Imagination.'' Oakland: University of California Press Due to the extreme stiffness of the latex or rubber suits, filming would often be done at double speed, so that when the film was shown, the monster was smoother and slower than in the original shot. ''Kaiju'' films also used a form of

puppetry Puppetry is a form of theatre or performance that involves the manipulation of puppets – inanimate objects, often resembling some type of human or animal figure, that are animated or manipulated by a human called a puppeteer. Such a perform ...

interwoven between suitmation scenes which served for shots that were physically impossible for the suit actor to perform. From the 1998 release of ''Godzilla'', American-produced ''kaiju'' films strayed from suitmation to

computer-generated imagery Computer-generated imagery (CGI) is the use of computer graphics to create or contribute to images in art, printed media, video games, simulators, and visual effects in films, television programs, shorts, commercials, and videos. The images may ...

(CGI). In Japan, CGI and stop-motion have been increasingly used for certain special sequences and monsters, but suitmation has been used for an overwhelming majority of ''kaiju'' films produced in Japan of all eras.

Selected media

Films

Manga

* ''

Cloverfield/Kishin is a manga and cross-media tie-in to the 2008 film ''Cloverfield''. The '' Shōnen Ace'' magazine published the manga on Kadokawa Shoten's website. It was released once a month and consists of four chapters. The story details the lives of ...

'' (

Kadokawa Shoten , formerly , is a Japanese publisher and division of Kadokawa Future Publishing based in Tokyo, Japan. It became an internal division of Kadokawa Corporation on October 1, 2013. Kadokawa publishes manga, light novels, manga anthology magazines su ...

; 2008) * Go Nagai Creator of Kaijus ** ''Garla'' (ガルラ, garura)(June 1976 – March 1978 Published by Tomy Company, Ltd.) ** ''MachineSaur'' (マシンザウラー, マシンサウル, Machine Sauer, Mashinzaura)(December 1979 – March 1986 Published by Tomy Company, Ltd.) * ''

Attack on Titan is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hajime Isayama. It is set in a world where humanity is forced to live in cities surrounded by three enormous walls that protect them from gigantic man-eating humanoids referred to as ...

'' (

Kodansha is a Japanese privately-held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha is the largest Japanese publishing company, and it produces the manga magazines ''Nakayoshi'', ''Afternoon'', ''Evening'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' an ...

; 2009–2021) * ''

Kaiju Girl Caramelise is a ''seinen'' manga series by Spica Aoki. The plot centers around a student named Kuroe Akaishi who suffers from a mysterious illness, and how it may impact her newfound love interest. ''Kaiju Girl Caramelise'' appeared as a serial in the ...

'' (2018) * ''

Neon Genesis Evangelion , also known simply as ''Evangelion'' or ''Eva'', is a Japanese mecha anime television series produced by Gainax and animated by Tatsunoko, directed by Hideaki Anno and broadcast on TV Tokyo from October 1995 to March 1996. ''Evangelion' ...

'' (

; 1994 – 2013) * '' ULTRAMAN'' ( Shogakukan; 2011–present) * ''

Kaiju No. 8 , also known in English as ''Monster #8'', is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoya Matsumoto. It has been serialized for free on Shueisha's ''Shōnen Jump+'' application and website since July 2020, with its chapters collec ...

'' ( Shonen Jump+; 2020–present)

Novels

*''

Nemesis Saga The Nemesis Saga is a series of six '' kaiju'' thriller novels written by American author Jeremy Robinson, featuring the massive ''Goddess of Vengeance'' Nemesis. Premise Nemesis is the ancient Goddess of Vengeance, a massive ''kaiju'' th ...

'' by

Jeremy Robinson Jeremy Robinson (born October 22, 1974), also known as Jeremy Bishop, Jeremiah Knight, and other pen names, is an author of sixty novels and novellas. He is known for mixing elements of science, history, and mythology. Many of his novels have b ...

(

St Martins Press St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, in the Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under si ...

Breakneck Media Breakneck is an English adjective meaning dangerous or reckless. It may refer to: * Breakneck Creek, a tributary of Connoquenessing Creek in western Pennsylvania * Breakneck Hill, in Allegany County, Maryland * Breakneck Ridge, a mountain along the ...

; 2013–2016). A series of six novels featuring Nemesis, Karkinos, Typhon, Scylla, Drakon, Scryon, Giger, Lovecraft, Ashtaroth and Hyperion (Mechakaiju) *'' The Kaiju Preservation Society'' by John Scalzi (Tor; 2022).

Comics

* ''Godzilla'' comics ( Toho and IDW; 1976–present) * ''

Tokyo Storm Warning ''Tokyo Storm Warning'' is a three-issue comic book mini-series published in 2003 by WildStorm imprint Cliffhanger. It was written by Warren Ellis, with art by James Raiz and Andrew Currie. Publication history Named after an Elvis Costello so ...

'' ( Wildstorm; 2003) * '' Enormous'' (

Image Comics Image Comics is an American comic book publisher and is the third largest comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry in both unit and market share. It was founded in 1992 by several high-profile illustrators as a venue for creator-ow ...

; 2012, 2014, 2021–present) as Future Released. * ''

The Kaiju Score ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...

'' (

AfterShock In seismology, an aftershock is a smaller earthquake that follows a larger earthquake, in the same area of the main shock, caused as the displaced crust adjusts to the effects of the main shock. Large earthquakes can have hundreds to thousand ...

; 2020–present) * ''

The Stone King ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

'' ( ComiXology Original; 2018–present) * ''

Dinosaurs Attack! ''Dinosaurs Attack!'' is a trading card series by Topps released in 1988 and containing 55 base cards and 11 sticker cards. The cards tell the story of dinosaurs transported through time into the present day through a freak accident and wreaking ...

'' ( Topps Comics/ IDW; 1988, 2013) * The

comics by

and

Matt Frank Matt may refer to: *Matt (name), people with the given name ''Matt'' or Matthew, meaning "gift from God", or the surname Matt *In British English, of a surface: having a non-glossy finish, see gloss (material appearance) *Matt, Switzerland, a mu ...

(

American Gothic Press American Gothic Press is an American comic book imprint of ''Famous Monsters of Filmland'' magazine. Established in the spring of 2015, it focuses predominantly on the '' kaiju'', science fiction, fantasy and horror genres, reflecting the tastes ...

IDW Publishing IDW Publishing is an American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. It was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of Idea and Design Works, LLC (IDW), itself formed in 1999, and is regularly recog ...

; 2015–2016)

Video games

* ''Godzilla'' video games ( Toho, Pipeworks, Bandai; 1983–present) * ''Ultraman'' video games (

Tsuburaya was a Japanese special effects director and cinematographer. Known as the he worked on 250 feature films in a career spanning 50 years. He is regarded as one of the co-creators of the ''Godzilla'' series, as well as the main creator of the ' ...

; 1984–present) * ''Gamera'' Video games ( Kadokawa of Games; 1995–present as North American released) * '' Time Gal'' ( Taito; 1985) * '' Shadow of the Colossus'' (developed by SCE Japan Studio and Team Ico, and published by Sony Computer Entertainment, 2005) ** '' Shadow of the Colossus remake'' (developed by Bluepoint Games, and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, 2018) * '' King of the Monsters'' ( SNK; 1991) * '' Rampage (1986)'' (formerly owned by

Midway Games Midway Games Inc., known previously as Midway Manufacturing and Bally Midway, and commonly known as simply Midway, was an American video game developer and publisher. Midway's franchises included ''Mortal Kombat'', ''Rampage (series), Rampage'' ...

and now owned by its successor Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment; 2021) ** '' Rampage: Total Destruction'' (

, 2006) * ''

Dawn of the Monsters ''Dawn of the Monsters'' is a beat'em up video game developed by 13AM Games and published by WayForward. The game was released in March 2022 for Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, Xbox Se ...

'' (Developed by

13AM Games ''Runbow'' is a platform game, platform racing video game made for the Wii U and later ported to Microsoft Windows, New Nintendo 3DS, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch. ''Runbow'' was developed by Canada, Canadian Independent video ga ...

and published by WayForward, 2022) as a

spiritual successor A spiritual successor (sometimes called a spiritual sequel) is a product or fictional work that is similar to, or directly inspired by, another previous work, but (unlike a traditional prequel or sequel) does not explicitly continue the product lin ...

to SNK's King of the Monsters * ''

Megaton Musashi is a Japanese multimedia franchise by Level-5. An action role-playing video game was released in Japan for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, in November 2021. An enhanced version of the game, Megaton Musashi Wired, will be ...

'' (Developed by Level-5, 2021, 2022) * ''Roarr! The Adventures of Rampage Rex – Jurassic Edition'' ( Born Lucky Games, 2018) * '' GigaBash'' (Passion Republic, 2022) * '' Robot Alchemic Drive'' ( Sandlot; 2002) * ''

DEMOLITION ROBOTS K.K. Demolition (also known as razing, cartage, and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down of buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a bu ...

'' (, 2020, 2021) – Mechas A Former

Dystopian Wars ''Dystopian Wars'' is a Victorian super science-fiction miniature wargame with steampunk elements published and manufactured by Warcradle Studios. It is set in an alternate timeline in 1870. In this world, technological advances have occurred ove ...

/Robot Killer. * '' War of the Monsters'' ( Sony, Incognito Entertainment; 2003) * '' Peter Jackson's King Kong'' (2005) * ''Pacific Rim'' video game ( Yuke's/ Reliance; 2013) * ''

City Shrouded in Shadow is a video game for the PlayStation 4 developed by Granzella, who confirmed that it is the spiritual successor to their ''Disaster Report'' series of games, and several characters from that series also make cameo appearances in the game. The o ...

'' (

Bandai Namco Entertainment is a Japanese multinational video game video game publisher, publisher headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Entertainment America and Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe, are respectively headquartered in ...

; 2017) *

Colossal Kaiju Combat Colossal may refer to: * ''Colossal'' (film), a 2016 science fiction film starring Anne Hathaway * (Colossal) Pictures, entertainment company which closed in 2000 * Colossal (band), American punk band formed in 2001 * "Colossal", a song by Scale ...

(

Sunstone Games Sunstone is a microcline or oligoclase feldspar, which when viewed from certain directions exhibits a spangled appearance. It has been found in Southern Norway, Sweden, various United States localities and on some beaches along the midcoast of ...

; Cancelled) * 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim (

Sega is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...

Atlus is a Japanese video game developer, publisher, arcade manufacturer and distribution company based in Tokyo. A subsidiary of Sega, the company is known for video game series such as ''Megami Tensei'', ''Persona'', ''Etrian Odyssey'' and ''Trau ...

, Vanillaware, 2019) * ''

Fight Crab Combat (French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...

'' (2020–21, – stage City rampage) * '' DAIKAIJU DAIKESSEN'' (2019, 2021, 2022 OneSecretPseudo) * ''Attack of the Giant Crab'' (2022)

Board games

* ''

Godzilla Game ''Godzilla Game'' was a board game released by Mattel in 1978. Between two and four people could play. Each player controlled six spaceships. One player's spaceships were all green, another's were all yellow, another's were all orange, and anoth ...

'' *''Godzilla: Tokyo Clash'' * ''Smash Up'' * ''

Monsterpocalypse ''Monsterpocalypse'' is a Kaiju-themed collectible miniatures game which is published by Privateer Press. Released series include ''Rise'', ''I Chomp NY'', ''All Your Base'', ''Monsterpocalypse Now'' and the current series ''Big in Japan''. A Vol ...

'' * '' King of Tokyo'' * ''King of New York'' * ''Monsters Menace America'' * ''Smash City'' * ''

The Creature That Ate Sheboygan ''The Creature That Ate Sheboygan'' is a science fiction board game released in 1979 by Simulations Publications (SPI). The game received good reviews and won an industry award. Gameplay ''The Creature That Ate Sheboygan'', designed by Greg Cost ...

'' * ''Campy Creatures''

Television

* ''

Marine Kong is a 26-episode 1960 Japanese television series (told in two thirteen episode chapters) produced by Nisan Productions. It aired on the Fuji Television network every Sunday from April 3 to September 25. The series was about a giant dinosaurian robo ...

'' ( Nisan Productions; April 3 – September 25, 1960) * '' Ultra Series'' ( Tsuburaya Productions; January 2, 1966–present) * '' Ambassador Magma'' ( P Productions; July 4, 1966 – September 25, 1967) * '' The King Kong Show'' ( Toei Animation; September 10, 1966 – August 31, 1969) * ''

Kaiju Booska is a famous children's sitcom, and the first to feature the friendly monster Booska. Produced by Tsuburaya Productions, the show aired on Nippon TV from November 9, 1966 to September 27, 1967, with a total of 47 episodes. There was a Booska reviva ...

'' ( Tsuburaya Productions; November 9, 1966 – September 27, 1967) * ''

Captain Ultra Captain Ultra (Griffin Gogol) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history He first appeared in ''Fantastic Four'' #177 (Dec. 1976) and was created by Roy Thomas, George Pérez and Joe Sinnott ...

'' ( Toei Company; April 16 – September 24, 1967) * ''

Kaiju ouji {{nihongo, ''Kaiju Ouji'', 怪獣王子, Kaijū Ōji, , also known as "The Monster Prince" is a Japanese dinosaur-themed tokusatsu/kaiju television series, produced by P Productions and ran on the Fuji Television, Fuji Television Network from Octo ...

'' ( P Productions; October 2, 1967 – March 25, 1968) * '' Giant Robo'' ( Toei Company; October 11, 1967 – April 1, 1968) * ''

Giant Phantom Monster Agon is a 1964 black-and-white Japanese Kaiju miniseries. Produced by Nippon Television, the miniseries aired on Fuji TV from January 2, 1968, to January 8, 1968. Internationally, the film is known as ''Agon: Atomic Dragon''. The series was re-release ...

'' (

Nippon Television JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as , is the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned-and-operated by the which is a subsidiary of the certified broadcasting holding company , itself a listed su ...

; January 2–8, 1968) * '' Mighty Jack'' ( Tsuburaya Productions; April 6 – June 29, 1968) * ''

Spectreman is a tokusatsu science fiction superhero television series. Produced by P Productions and created by producer Souji Ushio, the series aired on Fuji TV in Japan from January 2, 1971 to March 25, 1972 with a total of 63 episodes (divided into thre ...

'' ( P Productions; January 2, 1971 – March 25, 1972) * ''

Kamen Rider The , also known as ''Masked Rider Series'' (until Decade), is a Japanese superhero media franchise consisting of tokusatsu television programs, films, manga, and anime, created by manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori. ''Kamen Rider'' media generall ...

'' ( Toei Company; April 3, 1971–present) * '' Silver Kamen'' ( Senkosha Productions; November 28, 1971 – May 21, 1972) * ''

Mirrorman is a Japanese ''tokusatsu'' science fiction television series produced by Tsuburaya Productions, the series aired on Fuji TV from December 5, 1971 to November 26, 1972, with a total of 51 episodes. This was Tsuburaya Productions' first non-Ultra ...

'' ( Tsuburaya Productions; December 5, 1971 – November 26, 1972) * '' Redman'' ( Tsuburaya Productions; April 3 – September 8, 1972) * '' Thunder Mask'' (

; October 3, 1972 – March 27, 1973) * ''

Ike! Godman is a Japanese tokusatsu Kyodai Hero kaiju television series by Toho. It ran from October 5, 1972, to April 10, 1973. It was pulled from reruns on September 28, 1973, and it was replaced by '' Ike! Greenman''. While on air Monday through Saturd ...

'' (

Toho Company is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the produce ...

; October 5, 1972 – April 10, 1973) * ''

Assault! Human!! ''Assault! Human!!'' (突撃! ヒューマン!! ''Totsugeki! Hyūman!!'') is a 1972 ''tokusatsu'' series produced by Toho. Plot King Flasher, a mysterious being, and his army of Flashers threaten the safety of the Earth, starting by targeting c ...

'' (

; October 7 – December 30, 1972) * '' Iron King'' ( Senkosha Productions; October 8, 1972 – April 8, 1973) * ''

Jumborg Ace is the titular superhero of a tokusatsu science fiction/kaiju/superhero TV series. Produced by Tsuburaya Productions, the show was broadcast on Mainichi Broadcasting System from January 17 to December 29, 1973, with a total of 50 episodes. This wa ...

'' ( Tsuburaya Productions; January 17 – December 29, 1973) * '' Fireman'' ( Tsuburaya Productions; January 17 – July 31, 1973) * ''

Demon Hunter Mitsurugi A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, ...

'' (

International Television Films International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

and Fuji TV; January 8, 1973 – March 26, 1973) * '' Zone Fighter'' (

; April 2 – September 24, 1973) * '' Super Robot Red Baron'' (

; July 4, 1973 – March 27, 1974) * ''

Kure Kure Takora {{nihongo, ''Kure Kure Takora'', クレクレタコラ, , translation: "Gimme Gimme Octopus" is a tokusatsu children's comedy show from Japan. Produced by Toho Company Ltd., the show ran for 260 episodes and aired on Fuji TV from October 1, 1973 ...

'' (

; October 1, 1973 – September 27, 1974) * ''

Ike! Greenman is a tokusatsu television series Kyodai Hero kaiju produced by Toho in 1973. It ran from November 12, 1973, to September 27, 1974. It emerged as a follow-up series to ''Ike! Godman'', but the two share no continuity. Compared to the anthology-lik ...

'' (

; November 12, 1973 – September 27, 1974) * '' Super Sentai'' ( Toei Company; April 3, 1975–present) * '' Super Robot Mach Baron'' (

; October 7, 1974 – March 31, 1975) * '' Dinosaur War Izenborg'' ( Tsuburaya Productions; October 17, 1977 – June 30, 1978) * ''

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...

'' ( Toei Company; May 17, 1978 – March 14, 1979) * '' Godzilla'' (

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...

; September 9, 1978 – December 8, 1979) * '' Megaloman'' (

; May 7 – December 24, 1979) * ''

Godzilland , or ''Godzillaland'', refers to a series of Japanese children's educational television series produced by Toho and based on the ''Godzilla'' franchise. The first series, a trivia show titled , aired on TV Tokyo in 1992. The series was in ...

'' (

; 1992 – 1996) * '' Gridman the Hyper Agent'' ( Tsuburaya Productions; April 3, 1993 – January 8, 1994) * '' Power Rangers'' ( Saban Entertainment and Toei Company; August 28, 1993–present) * ''

'' (

Gainax Gainax Co., Ltd. (stylized as GAINAX; ja, 株式会社ガイナックス, Hepburn romanization, Hepburn: ) is a Japanese anime studio famous for productions such as ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'', ''Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise, Roya ...

; October 4, 1995 – March 27, 1996) * ''Godzilla Kingdom'' (

; October 1, 1996 – August 15, 1997) * '' Godzilla Island'' (

; October 6, 1997 – September 30, 1998) * '' Godzilla: The Series'' ( Sony Pictures Television; September 12, 1998 – April 22, 2000) * ''Godzilla TV'' (

; October 1999 – March 2000) * '' Betterman'' ( Sunrise; April 1, 1999 – September 30, 1999) * '' Dai-Guard'' ( Xebec; October 5, 1998 – March 28, 2000) * '' Kong: The Animated Series'' (

BKN Bohbot Entertainment was an American advertising and marketing company specializing in the children's market founded in 1985, and had traded under various different names over the years. The company produced and distributed programming under thei ...

; September 9, 2000 – March 26, 2001) * ''

Tekkōki Mikazuki is a 2000 Japanese tokusatsu television series created and directed by Keita Amemiya, written by Toshiki Inoue, and distributed by Media Factory. The series aired on Fuji TV JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is ...

'' ( Media Factory; October 23, 2000 – March 24, 2001) * '' SFX Giant Legend: Line'' ( Independent; April 25 – May 26, 2003) * '' Chouseishin Series'' (

; October 4, 2003 – June 24, 2006) * '' Bio Planet WoO'' ( Tsuburaya Productions; April 9 – August 13, 2006) * '' Daimajin Kanon'' ( Kadokawa Pictures; April 2 – October 1, 2010) * '' SciFi Japan TV'' (

ACTV Japan ACTV Japan, officially Access Television Limited (also referred to as ACTV), is a Japanese video and television production company based in Shibuya, Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=n ...

; August 10, 2012–present) * ''

'' ( Wit Studio and

MAPPA is a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Suginami, Tokyo. Founded in 2011 by Madhouse co-founder and producer Masao Maruyama, it has produced anime works including ''Terror in Resonance'', ''Yuri!!! on Ice'', ''In This Corner of the Wo ...

; April 7, 2013 – scheduled) * '' Kong: King of the Apes'' ( Netflix; April 15, 2016 – May 4, 2018) * ''

Mech-X4 ''Mech-X4'' is an American sci-fi adventure comedy television series created by Steve Marmel that aired on Disney Channel from November 11 to December 4, 2016, and on Disney XD from April 17, 2017 to August 20, 2018. The series stars Nathani ...

'' ( Disney XD; November 11, 2016 – August 20, 2018) * '' Darling in the Franxx'' ( Studio Trigger; January 13, 2018 – July 7, 2018) * ''

SSSS.Gridman ''SSSS.Gridman'' (stylized as ''SSSS.GRIDMΛN'') is a Japanese anime television series adaptation of the 1993–1994 ''tokusatsu'' series '' Denkou Choujin Gridman''. The production is a joint collaboration between Tsuburaya Productions, ...

'' ( Tsuburaya Productions and Studio Trigger; October 7, 2018 – December 23, 2018) * ''Godziban'' (

; August 9, 2019–present) * ''I’m Home, Chibi Godzilla'' (

; July 15, 2020–present) * '' Pacific Rim: The Black'' ( Polygon Pictures; March 4, 2021–present) * '' Godzilla Singular Point'' (

; April 1, 2021 – June 24, 2021) * ''

SSSS.Dynazenon ''SSSS.Dynazenon'' (stylized as ''SSSS.DYNΛZENON'') is a 2021 Japanese anime television series produced by Trigger. It is the sequel to the 2018 anime '' SSSS.Gridman'' and the second installment in the shared ''Gridman Universe'' media establ ...

'' ( Tsuburaya Productions and Studio Trigger; April 2, 2021 – June 18, 2021) * Super Giant Robot Brothers ( Reel FX Creative Studios, Assemblage Entertainment; Netflix; August 4, 2022-present) * ''Hourglass'' (Legendary Television; to be released) * ''Skull Island'' (Legendary Television; Netflix; to be released)

Other appearances

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...

cited '' Godzilla'' as an inspiration for ''

Jurassic Park ''Jurassic Park'', later also referred to as ''Jurassic World'', is an American science fiction media franchise created by Michael Crichton and centered on a disastrous attempt to create a theme park of cloned dinosaurs. It began in 1990 when ...

'' (1993), specifically '' Godzilla, King of the Monsters!'' (1956), which he saw in his youth. During its production, Spielberg described ''Godzilla'' as "the most masterful of all the dinosaur movies because it made you believe it was really happening." One scene in the second movie ('' The Lost World: Jurassic Park''), the T-Rex is rampaging through San Diego. One scene shows Japanese businessmen fleeing. One of them states that they left Japan to get away from this, hinting that Godzilla shares the same universe as the Jurassic Park movies. ''Godzilla'' also influenced the Spielberg film '' Jaws'' (1975). *In the Japanese language original of '' Cardcaptor Sakura'' anime series, Sakura's brother

Toya Toya may refer to: Places *Tōya, Hokkaidō, a former village in Abuta District, Iburi, Hokkaidō, Japan *Tōyako, Hokkaidō, a town incorporating Tōya, Hokkaidō **Tōya Station (Tōyako), a railway station in Tōyako *Lake Tōya, a volcanic lak ...

likes to tease her by regularly calling her "''kaiju''", relating to her noisily coming down from her room for breakfast every morning. *The Polish cartoon TV series '' Bolek and Lolek'' makes a reference to the ''kaiju'' film industry in the mini-series " Bolek and Lolek's Great Journey" by featuring a robot bird (similar to Rodan) and a saurian monster (in reference to Godzilla) as part of a Japanese director's monster star repertoire. *The '' Inspector Gadget'' film had Robo-Gadget attacking San Francisco a'la Kaiju monsters. In addition, similar to ''The Lost World'', it shows a Japanese man while fleeing from Robo-Gadget declaring in his native tongue that he left Tokyo specifically to get away from this. *Alternate versions of several ''kaiju'' – Godzilla, Mothra, Gamera, King Ghidorah and Daimajin – appear in the '' Usagi Yojimbo'' " Sumi-e" story arc. *In the second season of '' Star Wars: The Clone Wars'', there is a story arc composed of two episodes entitled "The Zillo Beast" and "The Zillo Beast Strikes Back", mostly influenced by ''Godzilla'' films, in which a huge reptilian beast is transported from its homeworld Malastare to the city-covered planet Coruscant, where it breaks loose and goes on a rampage. *In '' Return of the Jedi'', the rancor was originally to be played by an actor in a suit similar to the way how ''kaiju'' films like ''Godzilla'' were made. However, the rancor was eventually portrayed by a puppet filmed in high speed. *In '' The Simpsons'' episode " Treehouse of Horror VI" segment "Attack of the 50-Foot Eyesores", Homer goes to Lard Lad Donuts; unable to get a "Colossal Doughnut" as advertised, he steals Lard Lad's donut, awakening other giant advertising statues that come to life to terrorize Springfield. When Lard Lad awakes, he makes a Godzilla roar.

Guillermo del Toro Guillermo del Toro Gómez (; born October 9, 1964) is a Mexican filmmaker, author, and actor. He directed the Academy Award–winning fantasy films ''Pan's Labyrinth'' (2006) and ''The Shape of Water'' (2017), winning the Academy Awards for Be ...

directed the ''

Treehouse of Horror XXIV "Treehouse of Horror XXIV" is the second episode of the twenty-fifth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' and the 532nd episode of the series. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 6, ...

'' couch gag which made multiple references to Godzilla and other ''kaiju''-based characters, including his own ''

Pacific Rim The Pacific Rim comprises the lands around the rim of the Pacific Ocean. The ''Pacific Basin'' includes the Pacific Rim and the islands in the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific Rim roughly overlaps with the geologic Pacific Ring of Fire. List of co ...

'' characters. *The ''

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boys Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand th ...

'' episode "

Mecha-Streisand "Mecha-Streisand" is the twelfth and penultimate episode of the first season of the American animated television series '' South Park''. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on February 18, 1998. In the episode, Barbra Streis ...

" features parodies of Mechagodzilla, Gamera, Ultraman, and Mothra. *'' Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters'' features the "Insanoflex", a giant robot exercise machine rampaging downtown. *In the 2009 film '' Crank: High Voltage'', there is a sequence parodying ''kaiju'' films using the same practical effects techniques used for tokusatsu films such as miniatures and suitmation. *The Japanese light novel series ''Gate'' makes use of the term ''kaiju'' as a term for giant monsters – specifically an ancient Fire Dragon – in the Special Region. Also, one of the Japanese protagonists refers to the JSDF's tradition to fight such monsters in the films, as well as comparing said dragon with King Ghidorah at one point. *Godzilla and Gamera had been referenced and appear many times throughout the Dr. Slump series. *In '' Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero'', there is a dimension that is filled with giant monsters that live on one island where they co-exist with humans that live on a city island. *In " Sorcerous Stabber Orphen" series ''kaiju'' are sent as a form of punishment for the breakage of everlasting laws of the world by the Goddesses of Fate. *Batholith The Summit Kaiju (Japanese: バソリス) is a mountain (kaiju) originating from "Summit Kaiju International" an American media company based in Denver, Colorado. Batholith was first introduced to Godzilla fan during G-Fest 2017, which is an annual convention devoted to the Godzilla film franchise. Batholith The Summit Kaiju has appearing in various print media, including Famous Monsters of Filmland "Ack-Ives: Godzilla Magazine, MyKaiju Godzilla Magazine MyKaiju Godzilla Magazine, Summit Kaiju online video series and other online media related to the Godzilla and Kaiju genre. *In the "

" series of novels, Kaiju, also known as Gestorumque, are genetic weapons sent by an alien race. * Naoki Urasawa's 2013 one-shot manga " Kaiju Kingdom" follows a "kaiju otaku" in a world where kaiju actually exist. *In the 2019 Vanillaware video game 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, protagonists battle large mechanized aliens called Kaiju. *In John Scalzi's 2022 book The Kaiju Preservation Society, Kaiju are a species of gigantic monsters that exist in a parallel earth accessible through radiation sources.

References

{{Film genres Film genres Giant monster films Japanese entertainment terms Postwar Japan Fantasy genres Anime and manga genres

Etymology

Terminology

''Kaijū eiga''

''Kaijin''

''Daikaiju''

''Seijin''

Monster techniques

Selected media

Films

Manga

Novels

Comics

Video games

Board games

Television

Other appearances

See also

References