Kaiju Fan Confessions

[Executive Hamster]

I just got the Lava God the other day, and I have Orochi himself. Im going to complete the set in the near future (thats my main collecting goal right now). I really do love that goofy ah movie.

[Tyrant_Lizard_King]

I like Destroyah but really hate how fans wank him in ancillary media, especially the comic books.

[godjacob]

I like Destroyah but really hate how fans wank him in ancillary media, especially the comic books.

To be fair that is inevitable with anyone on battleboards. Godzilla was wanked to god tier thanks to "Killing the Devil" in Godzilla In Hell.

[MaxRebo320]

When veering into Toho's non-Godzilla sci-fi movies, definitely start with the likes of Rodan, Mothra, FCTW, etc. But be sure to also check out their non-giant monster films like Matango, Human Vapor and the Bloodthirsty movies. And don't overlook their non-monster SFX-laden titles either (including some of their war films), as there's so much great stuff. The Godzilla/Kaiju titles are really only the tip of the surface. You're in for a huge world of great titles.

[Leviarex]

To me, 'Shin Ultraman' is just okay, not the flawless masterpiece much of the kaiju/tokusatsu fandom builds it up as.

[Dyrakro]

I dislike everything similar to a big monster being called "kaiju" which is becoming even more a thing the more years are passing.

To me Kaiju is a specific term for Japanese monsters. Ofc for Japanese people any big monster is called "Kaiju" because of it being literally translated as monster /strange beast.
But as a Western person I just find it weird. Godzilla, Dogora, Gamera, Neo Geomos, those are kaijus, as they got their origin in Japanese movies.
Rhedosaurs, Yonggary, etc. ain't tho imo. King Kong is one if it's the Toho version.
The monsters from Pacific Rim are an exception as the whole movie is a whole reference to Tokusatsu.

Starro being called a kaiju in The Suicide Squad is a fun note though. It's a neat lil moment.

And no, I'm not trying to tell others or any of you guys on here to not call every giant monster a kaiju. No one should be allowed to call out on people for sth as stupid as that. And everyone is allowed to call Pulgasari, the Kraken ór The Host a kaiju.
I'm still free to cringe whenever someone does so though haha

[HedorahIsBestGirl]

I dislike everything similar to a big monster being called "kaiju" which is becoming even more a thing the more years are passing.

To me Kaiju is a specific term for Japanese monsters.

I generally agree with all of this. Only difference is I also think of the Korean monsters like Yonggary and Pulgasari as kaiju because they were portrayed in the same style, using the same technique, unlike Rhedosaurus and most other American monsters.

[StardustGenius]

If the monster is more than just a giant animal (Kong is a giant animal, but he is MORE than just that), I'd call them kaiju. I suppose it also depends on their portrayal too. A term like kaiju I am a lot more loose, than say what is tokusatsu.

There's tokusatsu inspired anime nowadays like Godzilla SP, the anime Gridmans, Ultraman, Fuuto PI, Gamera but I call them toku anime (because they are tokusatsu derived etc), and I don't call them tokusatsu, like the way some folks call various mecha and superhero anime out there. I think they are mistaking henshin hero for tokusatsu and that's where I get annoyed.

They're mixing up mediums, which is different than story genres.

[LSD Jellyfish]

I've been pretty anti "everything that is a big creature" is a kaiju. Its silly to call something like Ralph (from rampage) a kaiju or something from an Aslyum movie a kaiju. To me, its something that has to be a monster of Japanese origin, or at least very closely related. I've seen it mainly used in advertisements "kaiju-inspired" which is really shorthand for "we don't want to say we really like Godzilla/were inspired by Godzilla".

As HedorahIsBestGirl points out, some things get a bit ambigious/debateable (Yongary/Kong 63...Peking Man) but a lot of it is cut and dry. I respect the MV for not bothering to call Titans "kaiju" and using their own lexicon.

Worth remembering though, kaiju just means "monster" in Japanese. It's only useful amongst English speaking communities to distinguish between saying "I like monster movies" and "I like Godzilla movies, but also things like Gamera etc...). All sorts of more specific phrases exist in Japanese.

[CyberZilla]

Idk, gatekeeping what a kaiju is to that extent feels absolutely wrong to me. It is literally, by definition, a “strange creature.” As long as it fits a criteria of strange and also is more than just some giant version of an animal, I think it can be counted as a kaiju, especially if the inspiration lines up.

[LSD Jellyfish]

Idk, gatekeeping what a kaiju is to that extent feels absolutely wrong to me. It is literally, by definition, a “strange creature.” As long as it fits a criteria of strange and also is more than just some giant version of an animal, I think it can be counted as a kaiju, especially if the inspiration lines up.

To me at least, no one is gatekeeping, just discussing the interesting nuances surrounding nomenclature that a lot of fans (and outsiders, as in people with no interest in the genre) use. You're right about literal meaning in Japanese, but clearly its taken on a different usage in Western-English speaking fan circles.

[HedorahIsBestGirl]

Idk, gatekeeping what a kaiju is to that extent feels absolutely wrong to me. It is literally, by definition, a “strange creature.” As long as it fits a criteria of strange and also is more than just some giant version of an animal, I think it can be counted as a kaiju, especially if the inspiration lines up.

But there are kaiju that are just "giant animals." Ebirah, Kamacuras, Kumonga... Oodako is probably the most blatant of all, to the point it was initially portrayed by a live octopus.

And as LSDJellyfish said, no one is gatekeeping. I'm not gonna rage if someone calls Reptilicus a kaiju, it just doesn't fit according to my definition.

[Spuro]

Idk, gatekeeping what a kaiju is to that extent feels absolutely wrong to me. It is literally, by definition, a “strange creature.” As long as it fits a criteria of strange and also is more than just some giant version of an animal, I think it can be counted as a kaiju, especially if the inspiration lines up.

But there are kaiju that are just "giant animals." Ebirah, Kamacuras, Kumonga... Oodako is probably the most blatant of all, to the point it was initially portrayed by a live octopus.

And as LSDJellyfish said, no one is gatekeeping. I'm not gonna rage if someone calls Reptilicus a kaiju, it just doesn't fit according to my definition.

To play devil's advocate, Kumonga, Kamacurus and Ebirah do have unique design traits that set them apart from their animal counterparts. Ebirah and Kamacurus's asymmetrical claws, Ebirah's beak, Kamacurus's mandibles, Kumonga's mouth stinger...

[edgaguirus]

If we want to split hairs, then Godzilla and company should be referred to as Dai Kaiju. They are giants, differing them from kaiju like the Matango and H Men. To use American examples, the Gillman is a kaiju, while Kong is a dai kaiju.

I feel that kaiju could be used for any monster as we all know the translation. However, I feel kaiju, or dai kaiju, can be used for Non Japanese beasts if they fill a similar role. I haven't seen anyone mention Gorgo, and that film certainly has a kaiju vibe. So does Yongary, Pulgasari, and Peking Man. The Rhedosaurus, Behemoth, and Kraken don't have that same feel, though they are giant and/or may have kaiju like attributes. It really all boils down to your personal expectations of what a kaiju is or can be.

[Dyrakro]

I respect the MV for not bothering to call Titans "kaiju" and using their own lexicon.

This.
No matter what they did wrong when they came up with KotM, gotta give them that calling the monsters 'Titans' surely is a neat addition.

To play devil's advocate, Kumonga, Kamacurus and Ebirah do have unique design traits that set them apart from their animal counterparts. Ebirah and Kamacurus's asymmetrical claws, Ebirah's beak, Kamacurus's mandibles, Kumonga's mouth stinger...

According to this, various versions of Kong except one (good ol' 2005) would be a "kaiju" too then. Does open the question, when a giant version of a real-life animal can be called kaiju or is just a giant animal - which yet again is all up to one's own definition.

Just as LSD and CyberZilla said, ofc to Japanese audience practically any big creature in a movie is a kaiju. It's just for the Western world we can differentiate - but that would be just for your own and no general law.

[JAGzilla]

The idea of a genuinely malicious Godzilla doesn't sit well with me. GMK flies because that was a special case, Godzilla being controlled by human spirits and all. ...I don't know if I've ever actually said that about GMK before. Out of context, it sounds really freaking weird and wrong. Totally works in the movie, though. Anyway, the idea of a Godzilla that is out and out evil towards humanity, and just kills for pleasure or amusement... I've seen fan interpretations like that before, and I can't get behind it. I can buy him lashing out in an animalistic way against a threat, or taking revenge for the pain and suffering caused by his mutation. But he shouldn't enjoy it.

I would say there's only one movie where he displays a personality like this, which would be KKvG, but he was such a buffoon in that incarnation that he didn't come across as edgy or really 'evil'. In a modern movie, I don't know if I could be on board for it. I guess I see Godzilla as inherently good or at least content to be left to his own devices as long as humanity doesn't provoke him.

[Dv-218]

The idea of a genuinely malicious Godzilla doesn't sit well with me. GMK flies because that was a special case, Godzilla being controlled by human spirits and all. ...I don't know if I've ever actually said that about GMK before. Out of context, it sounds really freaking weird and wrong. Totally works in the movie, though. Anyway, the idea of a Godzilla that is out and out evil towards humanity, and just kills for pleasure or amusement... I've seen fan interpretations like that before, and I can't get behind it. I can buy him lashing out in an animalistic way against a threat, or taking revenge for the pain and suffering caused by his mutation. But he shouldn't enjoy it.

I would say there's only one movie where he displays a personality like this, which would be KKvG, but he was such a buffoon in that incarnation that he didn't come across as edgy or really 'evil'. In a modern movie, I don't know if I could be on board for it. I guess I see Godzilla as inherently good or at least content to be left to his own devices as long as humanity doesn't provoke him.

100% agreed with your sentiment. I have no issue with him playing an antagonistic role or being the bigger threat, but explicitly portraying him as an evil entity attacking and destroying for any reason other than retaliation or animalistic instinct is just wrong. Imo it’s as integrally disservicing to the character from the original intent as it gets, IE a being that probably wouldn’t have done anything had it just been left alone and not bombed out of its slumber.
GMK is not my favorite character portrayal because of it but it does work because of the general more mystical vibe of the movie and because the subject matter that causes him to rampage IS genuinely heinous for all intents and purposes.

[SpiderZilla]

The idea of a genuinely malicious Godzilla doesn't sit well with me. GMK flies because that was a special case,

[…]

I would say there's only one movie where he displays a personality like this, which would be KKvG, but he was such a buffoon in that incarnation that he didn't come across as edgy or really 'evil'.

I think you’re overlooking the first Godzilla movie where he marches across Tokyo indiscriminately burning people alive. Aside from GMK I would call that Godzilla’s most malicious behavior.

[JAGzilla]

I think you’re overlooking the first Godzilla movie where he marches across Tokyo indiscriminately burning people alive. Aside from GMK I would call that Godzilla’s most malicious behavior.

In retaliation for being irradiated and turned into a scarred abomination, yes. And he was still very animalistic in that portrayal.

[SpiderZilla]

In retaliation for being irradiated and turned into a scarred abomination, yes. And he was still very animalistic in that portrayal.

Here’s my confession: I never found Godzilla’s attack on Tokyo to be very animal-like. I don’t know of any animals that would choose to enter a major city and wreak havoc. Plus he spends a lot of time looking for victims which doesn’t seem like something an animal would do unless it was hunting for food.