Kaijū

Kaijū (怪獣, kaijū^?) (from Japanese "strange beast") is a Japanese film genre that features monsters, usually attacking major cities and engaging the military and other monsters in battle. It is a subgenre of tokusatsu (special effects-based) entertainment.

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.

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

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