is a Japanese term that is commonly associated with media involving giant monsters. Its widespread contemporary use is credited to ''

tokusatsu is a Japanese term for live-action films or television programs that make heavy use of practical special effects. Credited to special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya, ''tokusatsu'' mainly refers to science fiction film, science fiction, War fi ...

'' (special effects) director

Eiji Tsuburaya was a Japanese special effects director, filmmaker, and cinematographer. A co-creator of the ''Godzilla (franchise), Godzilla'' and ''Ultraman'' franchises, he is considered one of the most important and influential figures in the history o ...

and filmmaker

Ishirō Honda was a Japanese filmmaker who directed 46 feature films in a career spanning five decades. He is acknowledged as the most internationally successful Japanese filmmaker prior to Hayao Miyazaki and one of the founders of modern disaster film, wit ...

, who popularized the ''kaiju'' film genre by creating the ''

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', that debuted in the eponymous 1954 film, directed and co-written by Ishirō Honda. The character has since become an international pop culture icon, appearing in various media: 33 Japanese films p ...

'' franchise and its spin-offs. The term can also refer to the monsters themselves, which are usually depicted attacking major cities and battling either the military or other creatures. ''

'' (1954) is often regarded as the first ''kaiju'' movie. When developing it, Honda and Tsuburaya drew inspiration from the character of

King Kong King Kong, also referred to simply as Kong, is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. The character has since become an international pop culture icon,Erb, Cynthia, 1998, ''Tracking Kin ...

, both in its influential 1933 film and in the conception of a giant monster, establishing it as a pivotal precursor in the evolution of the genre.King Kong’s influence on the giant monster genre: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * During their formative years, ''kaiju'' movies were generally neglected by Japanese critics, who regarded them as "juvenile gimmick", according to authors Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski. ''Kaiju'' are often somewhat metaphorical in nature;

, for example, initially served as a metaphor for

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

s, reflecting the fears of

post-war Japan Postwar Japan is the period in Japanese history beginning with the surrender of Japan to the Allies of World War II on 2 September 1945, and lasting at least until the end of the Shōwa era in 1989. Despite the massive devastation it suffered ...

following the

atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki On 6 and 9 August 1945, the United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively, during World War II. The aerial bombings killed between 150,000 and 246,000 people, most of whom were civili ...

and the '' Lucky Dragon 5'' incident. Other notable examples of ''kaiju'' include

Rodan is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', which first appeared as the title character in Ishirō Honda's 1956 film of the same name, produced and distributed by Toho. Following its debut standalone appearance, Rodan went on to be featured in numer ...

Mothra is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', which first appeared as the title character in Ishirō Honda's '' 1961 film of the same name'', produced and distributed by Toho. Mothra has appeared in several Toho ''tokusatsu'' films, often as a recur ...

King Ghidorah is a fictional dragon-like alien monster, or ''kaiju'', which first appeared in Ishirō Honda's 1964 film ''Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster'', produced and distributed by Toho. The creature was initially created by Tomoyuki Tanaka, Eiji Tsubu ...

, and

Gamera is a fictional giant monster, or ''kaiju'', that debuted in the Gamera, the Giant Monster, eponymous 1965 Japanese film. The character and the first film were intended to compete with the success of Toho's Godzilla (franchise), ''Godzilla'' ...

Origins

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 The ''Classic of Mountains and Seas'', also known as ''Shanhai jing'' (), formerly romanized as the ''Shan-hai Ching'', is a Chinese classic text and a compilation of mythic geography and beasts. Early versions of the text may have existed si ...

''. There are no traditional depictions of ''kaijū'' or ''kaijū''-like creatures among the ''

yōkai are a class of supernatural entities and Spirit (supernatural entity) , spirits in Japanese folklore. The kanji representation of the word comprises two characters that both mean "suspicious, doubtful", and while the Japanese name is simply ...

'' of

Japanese folklore Japanese folklore encompasses the informally learned folk traditions of Japan and the Japanese people as expressed in its oral traditions, Tradition, customs, and material culture. In Japanese, the term is used to describe folklore. The Folklor ...

, although it is possible to find megafauna in their mythology (e.g.,

Japanese dragon Japanese dragons (, ''Nihon no ryū'') are diverse legendary creatures in Japanese mythology and folklore. Japanese dragon myths amalgamate native legends with imported stories about dragons from China, Korea and the Indian subcontinent. The ...

s). After ''

sakoku is the most common name for the isolationist foreign policy of the Japanese Tokugawa shogunate under which, during the Edo period (from 1603 to 1868), relations and trade between Japan and other countries were severely limited, and almost all ...

'' 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 Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure ge ...

and

legendary creature A legendary creature is a type of extraordinary or supernatural being that is described in folklore (including myths and legends), and may be featured in historical accounts before modernity, but has not been scientifically shown to exist. In t ...

s from around the world. For example, the extinct ''

Ceratosaurus ''Ceratosaurus'' (from Greek 'horn' and 'lizard') is a genus of carnivorous theropod dinosaur that lived in the Late Jurassic period (Kimmeridgian to Tithonian ages). The genus was first described in 1884 by American paleontologist Othni ...

''-like cryptid featured in '' The Monster of "Partridge Creek"'' (1908) by French writer Georges Dupuy was referred to as ''kaijū''. It is worthy to note that in the

Meiji era The was an Japanese era name, era of History of Japan, Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feu ...

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...

’s works were introduced to the Japanese public, achieving great success around 1890.

Film genre

Genre elements were present at the end of

Winsor McCay Zenas Winsor McCay ( – July 26, 1934) was an American cartoonist and animator. He is best known for the comic strip ''Little Nemo'' (1905–1914; 1924–1927) and the animated film ''Gertie the Dinosaur'' (1914). For contractual reasons, he w ...

's 1921 animated short '' 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, fighter aircraft, attack aircraft, bombers, attack helicopters, and drones. The official d ...

. It was based on a 1905 episode of McCay's comic strip series '' Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend''. The 1925 film '' The Lost World'' (adapted from

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Hol ...

's 1912 novel of the same name), featured many dinosaurs, including a

brontosaurus ''Brontosaurus'' (; meaning "thunder lizard" from the Ancient Greek, Greek words , "thunder" and , "lizard") is a genus of herbivorous sauropod dinosaur that lived in present-day United States during the Late Jurassic period. It was describe ...

that breaks loose in London and destroys

Tower Bridge Tower Bridge is a Listed building#Grade I, Grade I listed combined Bascule bridge, bascule, Suspension bridge, suspension, and, until 1960, Cantilever bridge, cantilever bridge in London, built between 1886 and 1894, designed by Horace Jones ...

. The dinosaurs of '' The Lost World'' were animated by pioneering

stop motion Stop-motion (also known as stop frame animation) is an animated filmmaking and special effects technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exh ...

techniques by

Willis H. O'Brien Willis Harold O'Brien (March 2, 1886 – November 8, 1962), known as Obie O'Brien, 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 im ...

, who would some years later animate the giant gorilla-like creature breaking loose in New York City in the 1933 film ''

''. The enormous success of ''King Kong'' can be seen as the definitive breakthrough of

monster movie A monster movie, monster film, creature feature or giant monster film is a film that focuses on one or more characters struggling to survive attacks by one or more antagonistic monsters, often abnormally megafauna, large ones. The film may also ...

s. This influential achievement of King Kong paved the way for the emergence of the giant monster genre, serving as a blueprint for future kaiju productions. Its success reverberated in the film industry, leaving a lasting impact and solidifying the figure of the giant monster as an essential component in genre cinematography.

RKO Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, is an American film production and distribution company, historically one of the major film studios, "Big Five" film studios of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood's Clas ...

later licensed the King Kong character to the Japanese studio

Toho is a Japanese entertainment company that primarily engages in producing and distributing films and exhibiting stage plays. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. ...

, resulting in the co-productions ''

King Kong vs. Godzilla is a 1962 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd, it is the third film in both the ''Godzilla'' and ''King Kong'' franchises, as well as the first T ...

'' (1962) and ''

King Kong Escapes is a 1967 ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. The film was a Japanese– American co-production between Toho and Rankin/Bass, and stars Rhodes Reason, Linda Miller, Akira Takarada, Mie Hama, E ...

'' (1967), both directed by

. Yoshirō Edamasa directed '' The Great Buddha Arrival'' in 1934. Although the original film is now lost, stills of the film have survived, and it is one of the earliest examples of a ''kaiju'' film in Japanese cinematic history. The 1934 film presumably influenced the production of the ''

Ultraman The , also known as ''Ultraman'', is a Japanese science fiction media franchise owned and produced by Tsuburaya Productions, which began with the television series '' Ultra Q'' in 1966. The franchise has expanded into many television shows, fi ...

'' franchise.

Natalie Natalie may refer to: Places * Natalie, Michigan, an unincorporated community People * Natalie (given name) * Natalie (singer) (born 1979), Mexican-American R&B singer/songwriter * (born 1999), better known as Natalie Zenn, Indonesian act ...

, September 10, 2020
「大仏廻国」はウルトラマンの原点と古谷敏が語る、マッハ文朱も来場して変身ポーズ
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Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury ( ; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of genres, including fantasy, science fiction, Horror fiction, horr ...

's short story published in the Saturday Evening Post, June 23, 1951 "

The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms ''The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms'' is a 1953 American independent monster film directed by Eugène Lourié, with stop motion animation by Ray Harryhausen. It is partly based on Ray Bradbury's 1951 short story of the same name, which was later ...

" served as the basis for the film ''

'' (1953), featuring a fictional dinosaur (animated by

Ray Harryhausen Raymond Frederick Harryhausen (June 29, 1920 – May 7, 2013) was an American-British animator and special effects creator who is regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of both fields. In a career spanning more than 40 ...

), 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 or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear expl ...

test within the

Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the northernmost of the five major circle of latitude, circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth at about 66° 34' N. Its southern counterpart is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circl ...

. 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, ''

'', released in 1954, is commonly regarded as the first Japanese ''kaiju'' film.

Tomoyuki Tanaka was a Japanese film producer, best known as the creator of Godzilla. He produced most of the installments in the ''Godzilla'' series, beginning in 1954 with ''Godzilla'' and ending in 1995 with '' Godzilla vs. Destoroyah''. He was one of the mo ...

, a producer for

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

that arose from the

Daigo Fukuryū Maru was a Japanese tuna fishing boat with a crew of 23 men which was contaminated by nuclear fallout from the United States Castle Bravo thermonuclear weapon test at Bikini Atoll on March 1, 1954. The crew suffered acute radiation syndrome (ARS) ...

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. Kingkongposter.jpg, ''

'' (1933) was a major influence on the Japanese ''kaiju'' genre. The giant escapes.jpg, '' The Arctic Giant'' (1942) is one of pioneering productions to depict

-esque characters to attack a modern civilization. Гамера 1965.jpg, The ''

'' franchise played a significant role in forming kaiju genre along with the ''Godzilla'' franchise. Bouddha Edamasa 1934.jpg, '' The Great Buddha Arrival'' (1934), which potentially inspired ''

'', was one of the earliest kaiju films in Japan along with '' Wasei Kingu Kongu'' (1933) and ''

The King Kong That Appeared in Edo , commonly erroneously translated as ''King Kong Appears in Edo'', is a 1938 Japanese two-part silent ''jidaigeki'' film produced by Zenshō Cinema. It is now considered to be a lost film. Plot One night, Chinami (Reiko Mishima), the daughter of ...

'' (1938).

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 main enemy or rival of the protagonist and is often depicted as a villain.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 ...

ic, or a neutral

force of nature Force of Nature or Forces of Nature may refer to: * Fundamental interaction: gravity, electromagnetism, weak interaction, strong interaction Film and television * ''Forces of Nature'' (1999 film), an American romantic comedy * ''Forces of Natu ...

, but are more specifically preternatural creatures of divine power. They are not merely "big animals".

, for example, from its first appearance in the initial 1954 entry in the ''Godzilla'' franchise, has manifested all of these aspects. Other examples of ''kaiju'' include

Anguirus is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', which first appeared in ''Godzilla Raids Again'' (1955), the second film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise. Anguirus is the first monster to be shown engaging in combat with Godzilla in a film. Since then, the c ...

, Megalon, Destoroyah, Biollante, SpaceGodzilla,

Cloverfield ''Cloverfield'' is a 2008 American Found footage (film technique), found footage monster movie, monster horror film directed by Matt Reeves and written by Drew Goddard. It stars Lizzy Caplan, Jessica Lucas, T.J. Miller (in his film debut), Mic ...

, Gappa, Guilala, and Yonggary. There are also subcategories including ''

Mecha In science fiction, or mechs are giant robots or machines, typically depicted as piloted, humanoid walking vehicles. The term was first used in Japanese (language), Japanese after shortening the English loanword or , but the meaning in Japan ...

'' ''Kaiju'' (Meka-Kaijū), featuring mechanical or

cybernetic Cybernetics is the transdisciplinary study of circular causal processes such as feedback and recursion, where the effects of a system's actions (its outputs) return as inputs to that system, influencing subsequent action. It is concerned with ...

characters, including

Moguera is a 1957 Japanese epic science fiction film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd., it is the first Honda-Tsuburaya collaboration filmed in both color and TohoScope, and s ...

, Mechani-Kong,

Mechagodzilla is a fictional mecha character, or monster, that first appeared in the 1974 film ''Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla''. In its debut appearance, Mechagodzilla is depicted as an Extraterrestrials in fiction, extraterrestrial villain, a robot created by a ...

, and

Gigan is a fictional monster, or kaiju, that appeared in the 1972 film, '' Godzilla vs. Gigan''. Gigan is a giant extraterrestrial space monster, resembling a species of reptile, who was turned into a cyborg by the alien race known as the Nebulans. G ...

, which are an offshoot of ''kaiju''. Likewise, the collective subcategory ''Ultra-Kaiju'' (Urutora-Kaijū) is a separate strata of ''kaijū'' that specifically originates in the long-running ''

Ultra Series The , also known as ''Ultraman'', is a Japanese science fiction media franchise owned and produced by Tsuburaya Productions, which began with the television series ''Ultra Q'' in 1966. The franchise has expanded into many television shows, fil ...

'' franchise but can also be referred to simply by ''kaijū''. As a

noun In grammar, a noun is a word that represents a concrete or abstract thing, like living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, and ideas. A noun may serve as an Object (grammar), object or Subject (grammar), subject within a p ...

, ''kaijū'' is an '' invariant'', as both the singular and the plural expressions are identical.

''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 , better known by the pen name , was a Japanese author and critic who played a major role in the development of Japanese mystery and thriller fiction. Many of his novels involve the detective hero Kogoro Akechi, who in later books was the ...

's 1936 novel, ''

The Fiend with Twenty Faces is a fictional character who serves as a recurring antagonist for Kogoro Akechi in Edogawa Rampo's mystery fiction. A gentleman thief and master of disguise, he is considered Akechi's archenemy or most famous adversary. Creation and origin Edoga ...

''. The story introduced Edogawa's master detective,

Kogoro Akechi is a fictional private detective created by Japanese Mystery fiction, mystery writer Edogawa Ranpo. Overview Akechi first appeared in the story in January 1925 and continued to appear in stories for a quarter of a century. Edogawa Ranpo (a ps ...

'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 or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...

, the term was modernized when it was adopted to describe the bizarre, genetically engineered and cybernetically enhanced evil humanoid spawn conceived for the ''

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

'' 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 The is a Japanese superhero team media franchise consisting of television series and films produced by Toei Company and Bandai, and aired by TV Asahi. The shows are of the '' tokusatsu'' genre, featuring live action characters and colorfu ...

'' programs premiering in 1975 (later carried over into ''Super Sentai''s English iteration as ''

Power Rangers ''Power Rangers'' is an American media franchise created by Haim Saban, Shuki Levy and Shotaro Ishinomori built around a live-action superhero television series, based on the Japanese tokusatsu franchise ''Super Sentai''. It is currently ow ...

'' in the 1990s). This created yet another splinter, as the ''kaijin'' of ''Super Sentai'' have since evolved to feature unique forms and attributes (e.g.,

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

), 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 ''

''. Specifically, in the subtitle on the original movie poster, ''Suibaku Daikaiju Eiga'' (), lit. "H-Bomb Giant Monster Movie". '' Gamera, the Giant Monster'', the first film of the ''

'' franchise in 1965, also utilized the term where the Japanese title of the film is ''Daikaijū Gamera'' ().

''Seijin''

''Seijin'' ( lit. "star people"), appears within Japanese words for extraterrestrial aliens, such as ''Kaseijin'' (), which means "

Martian Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, has appeared as a setting in works of fiction since at least the mid-1600s. Trends in the planet's portrayal have largely been influenced by advances in planetary science. It became the most popular celes ...

". Aliens can also be called ''uchūjin'' () which means "spacemen". Among the best known ''Seijin'' in the genre can be found in the ''

'', such as Alien Baltan from ''

'', a race of cicada-like aliens who have gone on to become one of the franchise's most enduring and recurring characters other than the Ultras themselves.

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 Daiei Film Co. Ltd. ( Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ''Daiei Eiga Kabushiki Kaisha'') was a Japanese film studio. Founded in 1942 as Dai Nippon Film Co., Ltd., it was one of the major studios during the postwar Golden Age of Japanese cinema, produci ...

(

Kadokawa Pictures Kadokawa Daiei Studio Co., Ltd., formerly is the film production division of the Japanese company the Kadokawa Corporation. History In 1945, Genyoshi Kadokawa established Kadokawa Shoten Publishing Co., focusing on the publishing business. ...

Tsuburaya Productions also abbreviated as is a Japanese special effects studio founded in 1963 by special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya and was run by his family, until October 2007, when the family sold the company to advertising agency TYO Inc. The studio is b ...

, and

Shochiku is a Japanese entertainment company. Founded in 1895, it initially managed '' kabuki'' theaters in Kyoto; in 1914, it also acquired ownership of the Kabuki-za theater in Tokyo. In 1920, Shochiku entered the film production industry and establis ...

and

Nikkatsu is a Japanese film studio located in Bunkyō. The name ''Nikkatsu'' amalgamates the words Nippon Katsudō Shashin, literally "Japan Motion Pictures". Shareholders are Nippon Television Holdings (35%) and SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation (28.4%). ...

Studios.

Monster techniques

, who was in charge of the special effects for ''Godzilla'', developed a technique to animate the ''kaiju'' that became known colloquially as " suitmation".Weinstock, Jeffery (2014) ''The Ashgate Encyclopedia of Literary and Cinematic Monsters.'' Farnham: Ashgate Publishing. Where Western monster movies often used

to animate the monsters, Tsubaraya decided to attempt to create suits, called "

creature suit 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 reali ...

s", for a human (

suit actor A is a member of, usually, a Japanese ''tokusatsu'' production who works similar to a stunt performer. However, the suit actor does all of their stunts while in a full costume that normally obscures their identity (typically the transformed char ...

) to wear and act in.Archived a
Ghostarchive
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 – wikt:inanimate, inanimate objects, often resembling some type of human or animal figure, that are animated or manipulated by a human called a puppeteer. S ...

interwoven between suitmation scenes 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 a specific-technology or application of computer graphics for creating or improving images in Digital art, art, Publishing, printed media, Training simulation, simulators, videos and video games. These images ...

(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'' (

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 ...

; 2008) * ''Godzilla'' manga (

Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of comics, magazines, light novels, dictionaries, literature, non-fiction, home media, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but ...

Kodansha is a Japanese privately held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha publishes manga magazines which include ''Nakayoshi'', ''Morning (magazine), Morning'', ''Afternoon (magazine), Afternoon'', ''Evening (magazine), Eveni ...

; 1954–present) *

Go Nagai , better known by the pen name , is a Japanese manga artist and a prolific author of Japanese science fiction, science fiction, fantasy, Japanese horror, horror, and erotica. He made his professional debut in 1967 with ''Meakashi Polikichi'', b ...

Creator of Kaijus ** ''Garla'' (ガルラ, garura)(June 1976 – March 1978 Published by

Tomy (trade name, trading as Takara Tomy in Asia and Tomy elsewhere) is a Japanese toy company. It was established in 1924 by Eiichirō Tomiyama as , became known for creating popular toys like the B-29 friction toy and luck-based game Pop-up Pi ...

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

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 a ...

'' (

; 2009–2021) * '' Kaiju Girl Caramelise'' (2018) * ''

Neon Genesis Evangelion , also known as ''Evangelion'' or ''Eva'', is a Japanese mecha anime television series produced by Gainax and Tatsunoko Production, and directed by Hideaki Anno. It was broadcast on TV Tokyo and its affiliates from October 1995 to March 1 ...

'' (

; 1994 – 2013) * ''

ULTRAMAN The , also known as ''Ultraman'', is a Japanese science fiction media franchise owned and produced by Tsuburaya Productions, which began with the television series '' Ultra Q'' in 1966. The franchise has expanded into many television shows, fi ...

'' (

; 2011–present) * '' Kaiju No. 8'' (

Shueisha is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Shueisha is the largest publishing company in Japan. It was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The ...

; 2020–present)

Novels

* '' Nemesis Saga'' by Jeremy Robinson ( St Martins Press/ Breakneck Media; 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 (

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, manga and Artist's book, art book publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon, by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, O ...

, IDW; 1976–present) * '' Tokyo Storm Warning'' (

Wildstorm Wildstorm Productions (stylized as WildStorm) is an American comic book imprint. Originally founded as an independent company established by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi to publish through Image Comics, Wildstorm became a publishing imprint of DC C ...

; 2003) * '' Enormous'' (

Image Comics Image Comics is an independent American American comic book, comic book publisher and is the third largest direct market comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry by market share. Its best-known publications include ''Spawn (comics) ...

; 2012, 2014, 2021–present) * '' The Kaiju Score'' (

AfterShock In seismology, an aftershock is a smaller earthquake that follows a larger earthquake, in Epicenter, the same area of the Mainshock, main shock, caused as the displaced Crust (geology), crust adjusts to the effects of the main shock. Large earthq ...

; 2020–present) * '' The Stone King'' (

ComiXology Iconology Inc., d/b/a ComiXology (styled comiXology), was a cloud-based digital distribution platform for comics owned by Amazon, with over 200 million comic downloads . At its height it offered a selection of more than 100,000 comic books, g ...

Original; 2018–present) * '' Dinosaurs Attack!'' (

Topps Comics Topps Comics was a division of Topps Company, Inc. that published comic books from 1993 to 1998, beginning its existence during a short comics-industry boom that attracted many investors and new companies. It was based in New York City, at 254 3 ...

/ IDW; 1988, 2013) * The Nemesis Saga comics by Jeremy Robinson and Matt Frank ( American Gothic Press/

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) and is recognized as the fifth-largest comic ...

; 2015–2016) * ''

Behemoth Behemoth (; , ''bəhēmōṯ'') is a beast from the biblical Book of Job, and is a form of the primeval chaos-monster created by God at the beginning of creation. Metaphorically, the name has come to be used for any extremely large or powerful ...

'' (

; 2025–present)

Video games

* ''Godzilla'' video games (

, Pipeworks,

Bandai is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Taitō, Taitō, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Toys & Collectables America and Bandai UK, are respectively headquartered ...

; 1983–present) * ''Ultraman'' video games ( Tsuburaya; 1984–present) * ''Gamera'' Video games ( Kadokawa of Games; 1995–present as North American released) * ''

Time Gal is an interactive movie video game developed and published by Taito and Toei Company that was originally released as a LaserDisc game in Japan for the arcades in 1985. It is an action game that uses full motion video (FMV) to display the ...

'' (

Taito is a Japanese company that specializes in video games, Toy, toys, arcade cabinets, and game centers, based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The company was founded by Michael Kogan in 1953 as the importing vodka, Vending machine, vending machines, and Juk ...

; 1985) * ''

Shadow of the Colossus ''Shadow of the Colossus'' is a 2005 action-adventure game developed and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2. It takes place in a fantasy setting and follows Wander, a young man who enters an isolated and abandoned r ...

'' (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 is a Japanese video gaming and interactive entertainment company. It was founded in 1978 as by Eikichi Kawasaki and began by developing arcade games. SNK is known for its Neo Geo arcade system on which the company established many franchises ...

; 1991) * '' Rampage (1986)'' (formerly owned by

Midway Games Midway Games Inc. (formerly Midway Manufacturing and Bally Midway, and commonly known simply as Midway) was an American video game company that existed from 1958 to 2010. Midway's franchises included ''Mortal Kombat'', ''Rampage (franchise), Ra ...

and now owned by its successor

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Warner Bros. Games (formerly Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment) is an American video game publisher based in Burbank, California. The publisher was founded as a division of Warner Bros. on January 14, 2004, as well as the WB Games brand. ...

; 2021) ** '' Rampage: Total Destruction'' (

, 2006) * '' Dawn of the Monsters'' (Developed by 13AM Games and published by

WayForward WayForward Technologies, Inc. is an American independent video game developer and video game publisher, publisher based in Valencia, California. Founded in March 1990 by technology entrepreneur Voldi Way, WayForward started by developing games ...

, 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 product or work, but (unlike a traditional prequel or sequel) does not explicitly continue th ...

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. A Free-to-play version, was released on December 1, 2022, and ...

'' (Developed by Level-5, 2021, 2022) * ''Roarr! The Adventures of Rampage Rex – Jurassic Edition'' ( Born Lucky Games, 2018) * '' Terror of Hemasaurus'' (Developed by Loren Lemcke and published by Digerati Distribution, 2022, 2023) * '' GigaBash'' (Passion Republic, 2022) * '' Robot Alchemic Drive'' ( Sandlot; 2002) * '' DEMOLITION ROBOTS K.K.'' (, 2020, 2021) –

s A Former Dystopian Wars/Robot Killer. * ''

War of the Monsters ''War of the Monsters'' is a fighting video game developed by Incog Inc. Entertainment and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2. Santa Monica Studio assisted on development, The game was released on the PlayStation 2 ...

'' (

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

Incognito Entertainment Incognito Entertainment (formerly Incognito Studios and Incog Inc. Entertainment) was an American video game developer headquartered in Salt Lake City. It was acquired by Sony Computer Entertainment in 2002, making it a first-party developer ...

; 2003) * ''

Peter Jackson's King Kong ''Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie'' (also known as ''Peter Jackson's King Kong'', or simply ''King Kong'') is a 2005 action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft Montpellier and published by Ubisoft, based on the 200 ...

'' (2005) * ''Pacific Rim'' video game (

Yuke's Yuke's Co. Ltd. is a Japanese video game developer based in Osaka. It was established on February 26, 1993 by Yukinori Taniguchi. The company is best known for developing the ''WWE'' video game series, based on the professional wrestling promo ...

/ Reliance; 2013) * ''

City Shrouded in Shadow , known in English as ''City Shrouded in Shadow'', is a 2017 Survival game, survival video game developed by Granzella and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment for the PlayStation 4. The objective of the game is to escape a city ravaged by b ...

'' (

Bandai Namco Entertainment is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game video game publisher, publisher, and the video game branch of the wider Bandai Namco Holdings group. Founded in 2006 as it is the successor to Namco's home and arcade video game ...

; 2017) * Colossal Kaiju Combat ( Sunstone Games; Cancelled) * 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim (

Sega is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...

Atlus is a Japanese video game developer, video game publisher, publisher, Arcade game, arcade manufacturer and distribution company based in Tokyo. A subsidiary of Sega, the company is known for the ''Megami Tensei'', ''Persona (series), Persona'' ...

Vanillaware is a Japanese video game developer based in Osaka. An independent company, it was founded in 2002 under the name Puraguru by George Kamitani, a game developer who had previously worked at Capcom and Atlus, and directed ''Princess Crown'' (1997 ...

, 2019) * '' Fight Crab'' (2020–21, – stage City rampage) * '' DAIKAIJU DAIKESSEN'' (2019, 2021, 2024 OneSecretPseudo) * ''Attack of the Giant Crab'' (2022) * '' I am Titan'' (2024, Entity3)

Board games

* '' Godzilla Game'' * ''Godzilla: Tokyo Clash'' * ''Smash Up'' * '' Monsterpocalypse'' * '' 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 Co ...

'' * ''Campy Creatures''

Television

* '' Marine Kong'' ( Nisan Productions; April 3 – September 25, 1960) * ''

'' (

; January 2, 1966–present) * ''

Ambassador Magma is the title and protagonist of a manga and tokusatsu TV series created by Osamu Tezuka. The TV series, produced by P Productions, aired on Fuji TV from July 4, 1966, to June 26, 1967, lasting a total of 52 episodes. It is the first color t ...

'' ( P Productions; July 4, 1966 – September 25, 1967) * ''

The King Kong Show , commonly referred to as ''The King Kong Show'', is an animated television series produced by Videocraft International and Toei Animation. ABC ran the series in the United States on Saturday mornings between September 10, 1966, and August 31, 1 ...

'' (

Toei Animation is a Japanese animation studio primarily controlled by its namesake Toei Company. It has produced numerous series, including '' Sally the Witch'', '' GeGeGe no Kitarō'', '' Mazinger Z'', '' Galaxy Express 999'', '' Cutie Honey'', '' Dr. Slu ...

; September 10, 1966 – August 31, 1969) * '' Kaiju Booska'' (

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

Captain Ultra Captain Ultra (Griffin Gogol) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Roy Thomas, George Pérez, and Joe Sinnott, the character first appeared in ''Fantastic Four'' #177 (December 1976). Captain ...

'' (

Toei Company , simply known as Toei Company or Toei, is a Japanese entertainment company. Headquartered in Ginza, Chūō, Tokyo, it is involved in film and television production, distribution, video game development, publishing, and ownership of 34 movi ...

; April 16 – September 24, 1967) * '' Kaiju ouji'' ( P Productions; October 2, 1967 – March 25, 1968) * ''

Giant Robo is a Japanese manga series by Mitsuteru Yokoyama. The manga, which was first published in 1967, spawned a live-action ''tokusatsu'' television series of the same name, as well as a series of original video animations called '' Giant Robo: ...

'' (

; 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-released ...

'' (

Nippon Television JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as (NTV) or Nippon TV, is a Japanese television station serving the Kantō region as the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned and operated by the , a sub ...

; January 2–8, 1968) * ''

Mighty Jack is a tokusatsu science fiction/espionage/action TV series. Created by Japanese effects wizard Eiji Tsuburaya, the show was produced by Tsuburaya Productions and was broadcast on Fuji TV from April 6, 1968 to June 29, 1968, with a total of 13 on ...

'' (

; April 6 – June 29, 1968) * '' Spectreman'' ( P Productions; January 2, 1971 – March 25, 1972) * ''

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

'' (

; 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 ...

'' (

; December 5, 1971 – November 26, 1972) * '' Redman'' (

; April 3 – September 8, 1972) * '' Thunder Mask'' (

; October 3, 1972 – March 27, 1973) * '' Ike! Godman'' ( Toho Company; October 5, 1972 – April 10, 1973) * '' Assault! Human!!'' ( Toho Company; October 7 – December 30, 1972) * '' Iron King'' ( Senkosha Productions; October 8, 1972 – April 8, 1973) * '' Jumborg Ace'' (

; January 17 – December 29, 1973) * '' Fireman'' (

; January 17 – July 31, 1973) * '' Demon Hunter Mitsurugi'' ( International Television Films and

Fuji TV JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as or , is a Japanese television station that serves the Kantō region as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network System (FNS). The station is owned-and- ...

; January 8, 1973 – March 26, 1973) * ''

Zone Fighter ''Zone Fighter'', known in Japan as , is a tokusatsu science fiction superhero television series. Produced by Toho Company Ltd., the show aired on Nippon Television from April 2 to September 24, 1973, with a total of 26 episodes. This was Toho' ...

'' ( Toho Company; April 2 – September 24, 1973) * ''

Super Robot Red Baron is a Japanese tokusatsu series that aired from July 4, 1973, to March 27, 1974. It was produced by Nippon Gendai Kikaku and Senkosha Productions (Senko Planning). Its story was later retold in the anime ''Red Baron Red is the color at the ...

'' (

; July 4, 1973 – March 27, 1974) * '' Kure Kure Takora'' ( Toho Company; October 1, 1973 – September 27, 1974) * '' Ike! Greenman'' ( Toho Company; November 12, 1973 – September 27, 1974) * ''

'' (

; April 3, 1975–present) * '' Daitetsujin 17'' (

; March 18, 1977 - November 11, 1977) * '' Super Robot Mach Baron'' (

; October 7, 1974 – March 31, 1975) * '' Dinosaur War Izenborg'' (

; October 17, 1977 – June 30, 1978) * ''

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

'' (

and

; May 17, 1978 – March 14, 1979) * ''

'' (

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ; formerly known as H-B Enterprises, Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. and H-B Production Co.), simply and commonly known as Hanna-Barbera, was an American animation studio and production company, which was acti ...

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

Megaloman is the name and titular superhero of a tokusatsu SF/superhero/kaiju/Kyodai Hero TV series. Created by Tetsu Kariya, the show was produced by Toho Company Ltd., and aired on Fuji TV from May 7 to December 24, 1979, with a total of 31 half-hour e ...

'' ( Toho Company; May 7 – December 24, 1979) * ''

Metal Hero Series The is a metaseries of tokusatsu superhero TV series produced by Toei for Japanese television. The protagonists of the ''Metal Hero Series'' are mainly space, military and police-based characters who are typically either androids, cyborgs, ...

'' (

; March 5, 1982 - January 24, 1999) * ''

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 inte ...

'' ( Toho Company; 1992 – 1996) * ''

Gridman the Hyper Agent , known as ''Gridman the Hyper Agent'' in some English-speaking territories, is a 1993–1994 Japanese tokusatsu " Giant Hero" series created by Tsuburaya Productions (the producers of ''Ultraman'') and would be Tsuburaya's last non-Ultra superher ...

'' (

; April 3, 1993 – January 8, 1994) * ''

'' (

Saban Entertainment BVS Entertainment, Inc., previously known as Saban Productions, Saban Entertainment and Saban International, is a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company. Founded on April 24, 1980, as a music production company by Haim Saban and Shuki Levy, it ...

and

; August 28, 1993–present) * ''

'' (

Gainax Gainax Co., Ltd. (stylized as GAINAX; , Hepburn: ) was a Japanese anime studio famous for original productions such as '' Neon Genesis Evangelion'', '' Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise'', '' Gunbuster'', '' Nadia: The Secret of Blue ...

; October 4, 1995 – March 27, 1996) * ''Godzilla Kingdom'' ( Toho Company; October 1, 1996 – August 15, 1997) * '' Godzilla Island'' ( Toho Company; October 6, 1997 – September 30, 1998) * '' Godzilla: The Series'' (

Sony Pictures Television Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production company, production and broadcast syndication, distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, California, it is a division o ...

; September 12, 1998 – April 22, 2000) * ''Godzilla TV'' ( Toho Company; October 1999 – March 2000) * '' Betterman'' (

Sunrise Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning, at the start of the Sun path. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon. Terminology Although the S ...

; April 1, 1999 – September 30, 1999) * '' Dai-Guard'' (

Xebec A xebec ( or ), also spelled zebec, was a Mediterranean sailing ship that originated in the barbary states (Algeria), it was used mostly for trading. Xebecs had a long overhanging bowsprit and aft-set mizzen mast. The term can also refer to a ...

; 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'' (

Media Factory , formerly known as , was a Japanese publisher and brand company of Kadokawa Future Publishing. History The company was founded on December 1, 1986, and was a subsidiary of Recruit (Japanese company), Recruit Co., Ltd., based in Shibuya, Tokyo. ...

; October 23, 2000 – March 24, 2001) * '' SFX Giant Legend: Line'' (

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

; April 25 – May 26, 2003) * ''

Chouseishin Series The is a tokusatsu superhero TV franchise which debuted in Japan from 2003 through 2006. The ''Chouseishin Series'' was produced by Toho Company, Ltd., in association with Konami, to emulate and partner the success of Toei's ''Super Sentai'' ...

'' ( Toho Company; October 4, 2003 – June 24, 2006) * ''

Bio Planet WoO is a Kyodai Hero tokusatsu series produced by Tsuburaya Productions, that premiered April 9, 2006 and aired at 7:30pm on NHK and ran for 13 episodes. ''WoO'' was one of many unused ideas created by Eiji Tsuburaya as story connecting to the show ...

'' (

; April 9 – August 13, 2006) * ''

Daimajin Kanon is a Japanese ''tokusatsu'' television drama produced by Kadokawa Pictures and broadcast on TV Tokyo. The series premiered on April 2, 2010. The series retells the story of the original ''Daimajin'' film in a modern Japanese setting. Consistin ...

'' (

; April 2 – October 1, 2010) * '' SciFi Japan TV'' ( ACTV Japan; August 10, 2012–present) * ''

'' (

Wit Studio , stylized as WIT Studio, is a Japanese animation studio founded on June 1, 2012, by producers at Production I.G as a subsidiary of IG Port. It is headquartered in Musashino, Tokyo, with Production I.G producer George Wada as president and ...

and

MAPPA is a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Nakano, Tokyo (formerly 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 I ...

; April 7, 2013 – scheduled) * '' Kong: King of the Apes'' (

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

; April 15, 2016 – May 4, 2018) * '' Mech-X4'' (

Disney XD Disney XD is an American pay television television channel, channel owned by the Disney Branded Television and Disney Entertainment units of The Walt Disney Company. The channel is aimed primarily at older children ages six to eleven years old ...

; November 11, 2016 – August 20, 2018) * ''

Darling in the Franxx , abbreviated as , is a Japanese science fiction mecha romance anime television series co-produced by A-1 Pictures and Trigger and animated by Trigger and CloverWorks that premiered in January 2018. The series was announced at Trigger's ...

'' (

Studio Trigger , also known as Studio Trigger, is a Japanese animation studio founded by former Gainax employees Hiroyuki Imaishi and Masahiko Ōtsuka in 2011. It has produced anime works including '' Kill la Kill'' (2013), ''Little Witch Academia'' (short fi ...

; January 13, 2018 – July 7, 2018) * ''

SSSS.Gridman ''SSSS.Gridman'' (stylized as ''SSSS.GRIDMΛN'') is a Japanese anime television series jointly produced by Tsuburaya Productions and Trigger. It is the first installment in the shared ''Gridman Universe'' and an adaptation of the 1993� ...

'' (

and

; October 7, 2018 – December 23, 2018) * ''Godziban'' ( Toho Company; August 9, 2019–present) * ''I'm Home, Chibi Godzilla'' ( Toho Company; July 15, 2020–present) * '' Pacific Rim: The Black'' (

Polygon Pictures is a Japanese 3DCG animation studio. History Polygon has animated a wide variety of content, from commercials for Shiseido featuring the studio's original penguin characters , to the 3D CG anime television series ''Digital Tokoro-san'' and ...

; March 4, 2021 – April 19, 2022) * ''

Godzilla Singular Point is a Japanese anime television series directed by Atsushi Takahashi and written by Toh EnJoe. Produced by the animation studios Bones and Orange and licensed by Netflix, the series premiered on March 25, 2021, on Netflix in Japan, and on Tok ...

'' ( Toho Company; April 1, 2021 – June 24, 2021) * ''

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

'' (

and

; April 2, 2021 – June 18, 2021) * Super Giant Robot Brothers (

Reel FX Creative Studios Reel FX Animation (Reel FX), formerly known as Reel FX Creative Studios and Reel FX Entertainment, is an American computer animation and visual effects studio based in Dallas, Texas, with offices in Hollywood, California, and Montreal, Quebec. ...

Assemblage Entertainment Assemblage Entertainment is an Indian animation studio based out of Mumbai, founded in December 2013, by industry veteran AK Madhavan (fondly known as Madmax). The studio distributes animation productions of major Hollywood studios and other in ...

;

; August 4, 2022) * '' Monarch: Legacy of Monsters'' ( Legendary Television;

Apple TV Apple TV is a digital media player and a microconsole developed and marketed by Apple. It is a small piece of networking hardware that sends received media data such as video and audio to a TV or external display. Its media services include ...

; 2023–present) * '' Skull Island'' ( Legendary Television;

; 2023) * ''

Gamera Rebirth ''Gamera Rebirth'' (stylized as ''GAMERA -Rebirth-'') is a Japanese original net animation (ONA) series directed and co-written by Hiroyuki Seshita (:ja:瀬下寛之, jp). Produced by Kadokawa Corporation and animated by ENGI, it is a reboot ...

'' ( Kadokawa Studio;

; 2023–Present)

Other appearances

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...

cited ''

'' as an inspiration for ''

Jurassic Park ''Jurassic Park'', later referred to as ''Jurassic World'', is an American science fiction media franchise created by Michael Crichton, centered on a disastrous attempt to create a theme park of De-extinction#Cloning, cloned dinosaurs. It bega ...

'' (1993), specifically ''

Godzilla, King of the Monsters! is a 1956 ''kaiju'' film directed by Terry O. Morse and Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. It is a heavily re-edited American localization, or "Americanization", of the 1954 Japanese film ''Godzilla (1954 film), Godzilla'' ...

'' (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 San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

. 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). * The popular ''

Pokémon is a Japanese media franchise consisting of List of Pokémon video games, video games, Pokémon (TV series), animated series and List of Pokémon films, films, Pokémon Trading Card Game, a trading card game, and other related media. The fran ...

'' media franchise has been inspired by ''kaiju'' culture since its inception, and many of its monster designs are based on ''kaiju''. * In the Japanese-language original of the ''

Cardcaptor Sakura , abbreviated as ''CCS'', is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by the manga group Clamp. Serialized monthly in the ''shōjo'' manga magazine '' Nakayoshi'' from the June 1996 to August 2000 issues, it was also published in ...

anime series is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

, 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 miniseries " Bolek and Lolek's Great Journey" by featuring a robot bird (similar to

) and a saurian monster (in reference to

) as part of a Japanese director's monster star repertoire. * The ''

Inspector Gadget ''Inspector Gadget'' is a media franchise that began in 1983 with the DIC Entertainment animated television series '' Inspector Gadget''. Since the original series, there have been many spin-offs based on the show, including additional animated ...

'' film had Robo-Gadget attacking San Francisco à 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'' –

, and

Daimajin is a Japanese ''tokusatsu'' series centering on an eponymous fictitious giant warrior god. It initially consisted of a film trilogy shot simultaneously and released in 1966 with three different directors and predominantly the same crew. The seri ...

– appear in the ''

Usagi Yojimbo is a comic book series created by Stan Sakai. It is set primarily at the beginning of the Edo period of Japanese history and features anthropomorphic animals replacing humans. The main character is a rabbit '' rōnin'', Miyamoto Usagi, whom ...

'' " 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 ''Return of the Jedi'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi'' is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas. The sequel to '' The Empire ...

'', the

rancor The universe of ''Star Wars'', a space opera media franchise, features a broad variety of different alien creatures. These aliens can be sentient or non-sentient, serving as species for characters, setting pieces, plot devices, and backgrou ...

was originally to be played by an actor in a suit similar to how ''kaiju'' films like ''Godzilla'' were made. However, the rancor was eventually portrayed by a puppet filmed in high speed. * 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 boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand the ...

'' episode "

Mecha-Streisand "Mecha-Streisand" is the twelfth and penultimate episode of the South Park season 1, 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 ...

" features parodies of Mechagodzilla, Gamera, Ultraman, and Mothra. * ''

Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters ''Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters'' is a 2007 American adult animated surreal black comedy film based on the Adult Swim animated series ''Aqua Teen Hunger Force''. The film was produced, written and directed by series creat ...

'' 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 A is a type of Genre fiction, popular literature novel from Japan usually classified as young adult fiction, generally targeting Adolescence, teens to Young adult, twenties or older. The definition is very vague, and wide-ranging. The abbr ...

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 The are the military forces of Japan. Established in 1954, the JSDF comprises the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force. They are controlled by the Ministry of Defense wi ...

's tradition to fight such monsters in the films, as well as comparing said dragon with

at one point. * Godzilla and Gamera had been referenced and appear many times throughout the

Dr. Slump is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. It was serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from February 1980 to September 1984, with the chapters collected in 18 volumes. The series ...

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 the "

Sorcerous Stabber Orphen is a Japanese light novel series written by Yoshinobu Akita. It was adapted into manga, two anime television series and a Orphen: Scion of Sorcery, video game. As of December 2019, the novels had over 14 million copies in ...

" 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 appeared 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 '' Nemesis Saga'' series of novels, Kaiju, also known as "Gestorumque", are genetic weapons sent by an alien race. *

Naoki Urasawa is a Japanese manga artist and musician. He has been drawing manga since he was four years old, and for most of his professional career has created two series simultaneously. The stories to many of these were co-written in collaboration with hi ...

's 2013 one-shot manga " Kaiju Kingdom" follows a "kaiju

otaku is a Japanese word that describes people with consuming interests, such as anime, manga, video games, computers or other highly enthusiastic hobbies. Its contemporary use originated with a 1983 essay by Akio Nakamori in '' Manga Burikko''. ...

" in a world where kaiju actually exist. * In the 2019

video game '' 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim'', protagonists battle large mechanized aliens called Kaiju. * In

John Scalzi John Michael Scalzi II (born May 10, 1969) is an American science fiction author and former president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. He is best known for his ''Old Man's War'' series, three novels of which have been n ...

's 2022 book '' The Kaiju Preservation Society'', kaiju are a species of gigantic monsters that exist in a parallel earth accessible through radiation sources. * In '' What If...?''

season 3 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

episode " What If... the Hulk Fought the Mech Avengers?",

Bruce Banner The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk ...

attempts to cure himself from the Hulk by bombarding himself with Gamma radiation, only to a kaiju-like monster called the "Apex Hulk", which serves as the episode's antagonist.

References

External links

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