From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ?
Kaiju (怪獣 kaijū ) is a Japanese word that literally translates to "strange creature". However, the word kaiju has been translated and defined in English as "monster". Specifically, it is used to refer to a genre of tokusatsu entertainment. Kaiju films usually showcase monsters of any form attacking a major Japanese city or engaging another (or multiple) monsters in battle. The most famous kaiju is Godzilla. Other notable kaiju include Gamera, Mothra, King Ghidorah, Mechagodzilla andRodan. The term ultra-kaiju is longhand for kaiju in the Ultra Series. ?
Related terms include kaijū eiga (怪獣映画 kaijū eiga , monster movie), a film featuring giant monsters or a single monster, kaijin (怪 人 , referring to roughly humanoid monsters) and daikaiju (大怪 ?
獣 daikaijū , giant kaiju), specifically meaning the larger variety of ?
monsters.
Major kaiju films[edit] Godzilla (1954) Rodan (1956) Varan the Unbelievable (1958) Mothra (1961) Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964) Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964) Gamera (1965) Frankenstein Conquers the World (1965) The War of the Gargantuas (1966) Daimajin (1966) The Magic Serpent (1966) The X from Outer Space (1967) Gappa: The Triphibian Monster (1967) Yonggary (1967) King Kong Escapes (1967) Destroy All Monsters (1968) The Return of Godzilla (1984) Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995) Gamera: Guardian of the Universe (1995) Gamera 2: Attack of Legion (1996) Rebirth of Mothra (1996) Godzilla 2000 (1999) Gamera 3: Awakening of Irys (1999) Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001) Godzilla: Final Wars (2004) Ultraman: The Next (2004) Negadon: The Monster from Mars (2005) Deep Sea Monster Reigo (2005) Gamera: The Brave (2006) Pacific Rim (2013) (Hollywood) Godzilla (2014) (Hollywood)