Kaiju
Kaijū ( Japanese 怪 獣 , literally: "strange beast, enigmatic beast") is a Japanese term that refers to strange creatures, especially giant monsters such as those shown in Japanese fantasy films , series ( Tokusatsu ) and anime . The giant monsters are called more precisely Daikaijū ( 大 怪 獣 , German "giant monster"). The similar term Kaijin ( 怪人 ) refers to human-like monsters ( humanoids ) of this genre. The most famous of these monsters is Godzilla with 30 films now. The corresponding film genre is called Kaijū Eiga (monster film).
Other well-known Kaiju are, for example, Gamera , for which there have been twelve films in 40 years, Mothra , which after her debut film Mothra Threatening the World only appeared as Kaiju in Godzilla films, but later received its own trilogy, or Guila , a kind of oversized one Chicken. Ultraman ( ウ ル ト ラ マ ン , Urutoraman ) is usually not considered a kaijū (animal) in Japan . The term Ultra-Kaijū ( ウ ル ト ラ 怪 獣 , Urutora-Kaijū ) refers to monsters in the Ultra series , in which Ultraman mostly appears.
The best-known and most of the Kaiju Eiga come from the studios of the production company Tōhō . Eiji Tsuburaya was responsible for the special effects , who later founded his own production company under the name Tsuburaya Productions.
In the movie Pacific Rim , the gigantic alien monsters that attack Earth are named as Kaiju .
Examples
- Frankenstein ( フ ラ ン ケ ン シ ュ タ イ ン )
- Gamera ( ガ メ ラ )
- Godzilla ( ゴ ジ ラ , Gojira )
- King Ghidorah ( キ ン グ ギ ド ラ , Kingu Gidora )
- King Kong ( キ ン グ コ ン グ , Kingu Kongu )
- Mothra ( モ ス ラ , Mosura )
- Yamata no Orochi ( 八 岐 大蛇 )