Category:Kaiju

Monster Island

In 1965, the Qularr landed on a large volcanic island located one hundred miles off the east coast of Japan and used it as a breeding ground for giant monsters. The Qularr were defeated, but the giant monsters were not quite as easy to beat. And so Kaiju Shima (as Monster Island is known in Japan) became a natural preserve of the most terrifying creatures on Earth.

Kaiju can come up in different shapes and sizes, that vary from feral to anthropomorphic, couple of meters to various hundreds of meters high, their skin can be of a thick layer of scales or fur.

Terminology

Kaiju

The term Kaiju translates to "strange beast". Godzilla is an example of a kaiju; others include Mothra, King Ghidorah, Mechagodzilla, Rodan, Gamera, Gyaos, Daimajin and Gappa. The term ultra-kaiju is longhand for kaiju in the Ultra Series.

Daikaiju

(Daikaiju|大怪獣|daikaijū|large kaiju) roughly translates as large strange beast, and refers to the larger monsters. The literal translation is about a size difference between a kaiju and a daikaiju, with the implication that the daikaiju is the greater of the two types. The exact definition of what determines a kaiju from a daikaiju is debated. This term is used for the most powerful kaiju, the prefix dai- emphasizing great power or status. The first appearance of Daikaiju is in the Japanese title Rodan (film), Sora no Daikaijū Radon|空の大怪獣 ラドン "Radon, Giant Monster of the Sky". Godzilla, Rodan and Mothra are the san daikaiju, the three great kaiju. An example of the term exists in a 1908 book.

Kaijin

Kaijin refers to humanoid kaiju found in tokusatsu, and is literally translated as "monster man" or "mystery man". The Villain of the week from the Kamen Rider Series are examples of kaijin.