Talk:Kaiju

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"Daikaiju" in disuse?
The term "daikaiju" is in disuse? That's the first I've ever heard of that.
 * Seconded. I went and did a bit of an overhaul of this article, removing that bit and correcting others. Still far too short, but that should be remedied in a due time. Thanks for pointing this out.--SB | T 22:18, 26 June 2006 (UTC)

Daigoro vs Goliath
Ever heard of this Movie? See Toho Kingdom

Image
The photo featured appears to have been taken at night.

68.84.228.122 19:04, 4 November 2006 (UTC)


 * We really need a different one. I can't see what's going on in that; it's almost black. --Masamage 18:19, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Bad Picture
The pic at the beginning should be changed. It is too dark to see what monsters are supposed to be shown. I'm new and can't really figure out the editting interface. Can someone put up a clearer pic?

Kaiju and Daikaiju translations
I've heard that "Kaiju" translates as "battling monster" and "Daikaiju" as "holy" or "sacred" battling monster. You might want to verify these translations.

"Dai" means big, so "Big Mysterious Creature" or something like that...?--68.227.65.46 19:18, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

怪, the "kai" in "kaiju" (the "ju" meaning, correctly, "beast") does not mean "giant", and so to state that "kaiju" means "giant beast" "literally" is completely false. 怪 means "suspicious", "mysterious", or "apparition-al" (though not with the connotation of "immaterial" that would be present in English). Thus, the first part of the second sentence, "The word has been translated and defined in English as 'strange monster'..." carries the actual, LITERAL meaning. The article should be altered to reflect this, excising the incorrect statement, and re-working the correct statement to take its place. --2601:7:7E00:C3:7973:F036:A374:25FF (talk) 20:25, 10 September 2014 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Millenium Godzilla.jpg
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BetacommandBot (talk) 16:57, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

Occidental Kaiju
this section simply mentiones King Kong and Cloverfield, however it should note that any number of creatures, especially early monster movies such as the Beast of 20,000 fathoms and others would also constitute, and in fact America's giant monster movies have been cited as inspiring the early Japanese giant monster movies (Toho admits that Godzilla was inspired by the Beast of 20,000 fathoms) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.74.202.0 (talk) 06:34, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

Kaiju Big Battel example
Include world cultural influence, such as Kaiju Big Battel. 99.112.212.108 (talk) 01:56, 31 August 2011 (UTC)

Pacific Rim: Tales from Year Zero - Kaiju Def
Did anyone else notice that the definition of "kaiju" near the back of the book was taken directly from the way the first paragraph was written at the time. Even now it's only a few words different. LOL 97.124.73.221 (talk) 23:22, 25 July 2013 (UTC)

'Media' List
The list of Japanese films here is woefully incomplete. I've changed the title of this section from 'Media' to 'Selected Media' to indicate this, but I would further propose this list should be removed completely, as more comprehensive lists for the various studios are located elsewhere, and this article would be unwieldy if the list were exhaustive. Walkersam (talk) 05:01, 26 November 2016 (UTC)

Origin ?
There is no mention of the history/origin of the word nor when it was coined or came into POPULAR use.

The first time I ever heard the term was in the 2013 movie "Pacific Rim" and thought it a creation of the script writers.

In neither "The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction" (1993/1995; eds. John Clute & Peter Nicholls) nor "The Encyclopedia of Fantasy" (1997; eds. John Clute & John Grant) does the term have its own entry --- as such, it is NOT defined. What "kaiju" entries there are, the term is ONLY part of the original Japanese movie titles.

So, how about something on the origin/history of the word?

Just a thought. 2600:8800:50B:6700:C23F:D5FF:FEC5:89B6 (talk) 07:07, 5 December 2016 (UTC)

This article is in rather poor shape. According to the kaiju entry in Wiktionary, the terms derives from Japanese " 怪獣 " ‎(かいじゅう, kaijū), from Dimadick (talk) 18:02, 6 December 2016 (UTC)

King Kong inclusions
Wasei Kingu Kongu and King Kong Appears in Edo - Despite the names, neither of these involve a giant ape. The first one is about an actor in a costume, the second a non-giant ape.

Meanwhile, some of the American King Kongs should probably be added. ZeroSD (talk) 09:42, 2 March 2017 (UTC)

Pulgasari
Where's Pulgasari? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2804:7F1:C180:A63C:8258:F8FF:FEE9:FC6B (talk) 15:18, 15 April 2017 (UTC)

Clifford the Big Red Dog
Just to say I tried, I wanted to make a post here for people who genuinely believe Clifford is a kaiju. I mean genuine belief and not just because it's an old joke recently revitalized by the Game Grumps. That belief has to include more than 'Clifford is a big dog, and that's pretty strange' because that is not sufficient. Kaiju is a Japanese film genre, that is a sub-genre of Tokusatsu. Special effects are the defining factor in Tokusatsu, of which Clifford has none (and being a cartoon does not constitute special effects) and it is not Japanese.

More than likely no one actually believes Clifford is a kaiju and are just making silly jokes, considering how all the edits are by IP-Users or new accounts with only the disruptive edits in their contributions. However, I would hate for someone with a legitimate opinion to not have a chance to express that view so I made this discussion anyway.

I like the Game Grumps, but let's not be disruptive to Wikipedia over jokes they make while also running those jokes into the ground.

 Denied Club  ❯❯❯ talk?   21:51, 11 December 2018 (UTC)

Clifford fits all the criteria to be a Kaiju. He's as much of a Kaiju as King Kong and the clay guys mentioned in the same example lines and for the same reasons. The plot of most Clifford stories are even about the unintentional problems his size causes while he just tries to be a dog despite his size. Much of the plots to King Kong, Godzilla, and Gamera occur repeatedly for Clifford. I don't even know where to begin with you bringing in Tokusatsu despite the large number of non-tokusatsu examples already included.. Leave Clifford up and educate yourself more on a subject before you edit a page. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2604:2D80:8C82:7A00:155E:6AA:C599:84CB (talk) 08:59, 7 June 2019 (UTC)


 * Clifford the Big Red Dog is not a kaiju, according to the definition in this article. Clifford is not a giant monster from ancient Japanese legends who attacks major cities and engages the military and other monsters in battle. Not all unusually large animals are kaiju. The Clifford mention in this article appears to have been a reference to a joke by Game Grumps. = Brian Kendig (talk) 03:54, 8 June 2019 (UTC)
 * Then References to King Kong and 20,000 Fathoms, and even Godzilla should be removed. Godzilla is also not from ancient japanese legends but was inspired by the Rhedosaurus of 20,000 fathoms. You seriously have to complete some mental gymnastics to come up with a Kaiju definition that includes Godzilla's inspirations and Godzilla but not Clifford. You can't even go the 'resembles something from japanese legends' route because Clifford is very clearly a primary colored giant Inu that feeds on emotions for power. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2604:2D80:8C82:7A00:990D:3463:290D:CA6E (talk) 04:12, 8 June 2019 (UTC)
 * Whoever keeps adding the Kool-Aid man though needs to stop. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2604:2D80:8C82:7A00:990D:3463:290D:CA6E (talk) 04:14, 8 June 2019 (UTC)


 * 2604:2D80:8C82:7A00:155E:6AA:C599:84CB, please provide a reliable source which identifies Clifford as a kaiju. - Brian Kendig (talk) 04:27, 8 June 2019 (UTC)
 * Kool-Aidman was left there for months without source, finally removed today. Most of the page examples listed have no source. And your attempt at applying a definition that excludes Clifford also excludes Godzilla himself. Your demand for a source for this one example is therefore hypocritical. If seeing Clifford and removing the Kool-Aid man upsets you that much maybe you should not be editing this page. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2604:2D80:8C82:7A00:990D:3463:290D:CA6E (talk) 04:54, 8 June 2019 (UTC)


 * You may have a point for King Kong, the Rhedosaurus from 20,000 Fathoms, and Godzilla not being kaiju; if they don't strictly fit the definition given in the article, then please feel free to make a case for removing them (or be bold and remove them and, if someone challenges you, defend your decision here on the Talk page). But I don't see any way in which Clifford fits the definition. You say that Clifford is "very clearly a primary colored giant Inu that feeds on emotions for power" - please provide a citation for that assertion, and avoid WP:OR. Meanwhile I am going to reinstate my removal of the references to Clifford. If you'd like, we can bring this to the Dispute resolution noticeboard. - Brian Kendig (talk) 04:53, 8 June 2019 (UTC)
 * Dispute resolution may be neccesary. In the meantime you bring to light an interesting point, the article has a definition for kaiju that does not include Godzilla or his inspirations despite the term being for Godzilla and his inspirations. Nothing given on the page justifies leaving Kool-Aid man on there for months and only being triggered now. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2604:2D80:8C82:7A00:990D:3463:290D:CA6E (talk) 05:01, 8 June 2019 (UTC)

The page's definition is specifically NOT folklore. "However, there are no traditional depictions of kaiju or kaiju-like creatures in Japanese folklore but rather the origins of kaiju are found in film.[7]" What even is your argument? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2604:2D80:8C82:7A00:990D:3463:290D:CA6E (talk) 05:15, 8 June 2019 (UTC)

Hello Mediacom Communications customer. When you write a comment, hit "~" (the tilde) four times in a row at its end. -- Hoary (talk) 05:25, 8 June 2019 (UTC)

2604:2D80:8C82:7A00:155E:6AA:C599:84CB, your language is provocative: "educate yourself more on a subject before you edit a page", "Your demand for a source for this one example is therefore hypocritical", "If seeing Clifford and removing the Kool-Aid man upsets you that much maybe you should not be editing this page." Please WP:Assume good faith. Also, the fact that an edit is only being challenged months after it was made is not, itself, a reason to keep the edit. - Brian Kendig (talk) 05:33, 8 June 2019 (UTC)

Failing to challenge the Kool-Aid Man and only caring about the presence of Clifford shows an obvious bias. It's not provocative language, it's a description. While editing this page you left up Kool-Aid Man. Someone else removed it, finally. Why was Kool-Aid Man more of a kaiju to you? 2604:2D80:8C82:7A00:990D:3463:290D:CA6E (talk) 14:21, 8 June 2019 (UTC)


 * I was the one who removed the Kool-Aid Man. - Brian Kendig (talk) 15:45, 8 June 2019 (UTC)

Is this really the end of the discussion? Someone needs to put this to a vote. It's so obviously an attempt to be silly, and there is no citation. sugarfish (talk) 07:33, 13 August 2020 (UTC)


 * Clliford is not a kaiju Monster 1954 (talk) 17:31, 26 February 2024 (UTC)
 * Clliford was never a kaiju or Kool aid man they dont fit but Godzilla kong and rhedosauarus do Clliford fit the rules of being a kaiju Big yes but that it Monster 1954 (talk) 16:38, 27 February 2024 (UTC)

Missing character in a section
The fourth Japanese character in the section "Kaiju eiga" is missing. Can it be replaced, please?Malcolmlucascollins (talk) 09:52, 18 December 2018 (UTC)
 * Sure! You can make the edit by the way. Wikipedia encourages editors to be bold and take the initiative :)  Denied Club ❯❯❯ talk?  20:48, 22 December 2018 (UTC)

Semi-protected
The edit war was getting tiresome, and of course a waste of resources. I've therefore semi-protected the article for ten days.

Propose any change here, discuss it here, get agreement for it here, and only then (if you have a user ID with some edits behind it) make the change to the article. -- Hoary (talk) 04:52, 8 June 2019 (UTC)


 * El C, you beat me to reprotection of the article. Though since ten days clearly hadn't been long enough for the [insert description here] to lose interest, I was about to s-protect for one month. -- Hoary (talk) 01:19, 20 June 2019 (UTC)


 * Sure, one month it is. El_C 01:56, 20 June 2019 (UTC)

King Kong
I've never heard of Clifford the whatever, but I have seen King Kong (only the original one). There's some talk above that this is not a kaijū film. (Or perhaps that King Kong, the fictional character, isn't a kaijū'). Is it, or isn't it? Presumably this would depend on one's definition of kaijū, or of kaijū eiga, or whatever. But the notion that the 1933 King Kong is the original kaijū eiga seems common in Japan. As an example:
 * １９３３年の大恐慌時代のアメリカで生まれた映画『キング・コング』は、怪獣映画をはじめとする、あらゆる娯楽映画のパイオニアとなりました.

(source) -- Hoary (talk) 05:45, 8 June 2019 (UTC)
 * Larger-than-average ape, probably born the normal way. Freakier than a sasquatch or direwolf. But not on post-Gojira levels of astonishment, amazement or wonder, in my eyes, even before Nintendo turned him into a donkey. InedibleHulk (talk) 05:40, 9 July 2019 (UTC)
 * King Kong is one of the big inspirations for later Kaiju/arguably the first Kaiju movie. Abnormally large animals aren't rare in the genre, and there's a number of later listed examples in the same size class like The Host or the Rhedosaurus from The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. I feel we'd be remiss if we didn't include Kong, even before getting into the other later larger versions, and would even go so far to say it's one of the most influential movies to the genre. ZeroSD (talk) 22:44, 9 December 2019 (UTC)
 * King kong should count as the first Kajiu film Monster 1954 (talk) 17:32, 26 February 2024 (UTC)

Kaijū outside popular culture?
There's a lengthy section on kaijū "In popular culture".

To me, this implies that the rest of the article is about kaijū outside popular culture. But clearly it isn't. So how about retitling to "Other appearances", "Fleeting appearances", or similar? -- Hoary (talk) 01:25, 20 June 2019 (UTC)

Kaijū
The term kaijū translates literally as "strange beast". It is a science fiction and fantasy giant creature that is often antagonist, protagonist, or force of nature. Godzilla is an example; others include Rodan, Mothra, King Ghidorah, Mechagodzilla, King Kong, Rhedosaurus, Gorgo, Gamera, Gyaos, Daimajin, Gappa, Gort, Gaira and Sanda (from War of the Gargantuas),Clifford The Big Red Dog, and Guilala. The term urutora-kaijū ("ultra-kaiju") is longhand for kaijū in the Ultra Series. 170.94.252.162 (talk) 12:41, 3 July 2019 (UTC)


 * You mean, you want to add Clifford the Big Red Dog? If so, then no, not until you provide evidence that Clifford the Big Red Dog is standardly referred to (by authoritative sources) as a "kaiju". -- Hoary (talk) 13:00, 3 July 2019 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 4 July 2019
Was Trying to add the game "Ark Survival Evolved" to the Video Games section as it Classifies the Forest,Ice,Desert and King Titans as Kaiju. NonstopChaos (talk) 14:17, 4 July 2019 (UTC)


 * Do you have a reliable source for this? -- Hoary (talk) 22:50, 4 July 2019 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. —Compassionate727 (T·C) 19:14, 12 July 2019 (UTC)

"Kaimono" listed at Redirects for discussion
An editor has asked for a discussion to address the redirect Kaimono. Please participate in the redirect discussion if you wish to do so. signed,Rosguill talk 01:25, 10 November 2019 (UTC)

Spider-Man but not Super Sentai
Why is Toei’s Spider-Man listed as a kaiju tv show but not Super Sentai and by extension Power Rangers?

Video game examples
Excuse me, but what is up with some of these video game examples? There are "examples" of games that straight-up don't exist (like "Hero GigaMon Defenders" or "Giant Combat Turtles"), developer names that don't sound like they're real ("Other in selections"?), and just wrong information (it claims that "Colossal Kaiju Combat was Replaced Title game by GigaBash", despite those two games having no connection to each other), not to mention some atrocious grammar (I refer back to "was Replaced Title game") 87.185.123.83 (talk) 09:40, 1 August 2021 (UTC)

Edit warring going on? Solutions?
Looking over the page history for this article, something that caught my eye was a dispute over certain media in the "Selected Media" section of this article:


 * 1 One editor deletes some media from the list, no edit summary
 * 2 Another editor reinstates the same content: "Why would you remove all this only to leave a list that features several movies that are not even kaiju and doesn't even feature half of what's listed here."
 * 3 First editor again removes of some of the previously deleted content, no edit summary
 * 4 Another editor includes the media again: "these are still considered by many to be apart of the genre"
 * 5 First editor removes the previously removed content again, and also removes more: "Just because they are allowed on Wikizilla doesn't mean they should be listed as Kaiju films here on Wikipedia"

This seems like an unideal dispute. Is there some criteria that can be established about inclusion/deletion of works in the "Selected Media" section? HenryMP02 TALK  09:28, 26 December 2021 (UTC)
 * Sorry for not replying sooner, but the reason I was deleting that list is that there is already a list article featuring giant monster films from all around the world. But since kaiju is solely an Asian film genre I pledge further discussion on this talk page. - Eiga-Kevin2 (talk) 14 December 2022 (UTC)


 * I see, that clears things up. HenryMP02 (talk) 01:23, 4 January 2023 (UTC)

"Kaiju" in Japanese Folklore
"However, there are no traditional depictions of kaiju or kaiju-like creatures in Japanese folklore; but rather the origins of kaiju are found in film.[6]"

Doesn't Japanese folklore have depictions of enormous catfish trapped underground (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namazu), that when they awake their movements cause earthquakes? And what about the Umibozu (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umib%C5%8Dzu), a gigantic human form that stands in the ocean and haunts ships? Not to mention various other giants and huge demons in various myths. I'd argue there are some pretty significant Kaiju-like things in Japanese Folklore that have directly influenced the genre.

Araanim (talk) 14:41, 6 April 2022 (UTC)