Kaiju & Tokusatsu Movies
"Kaiju" is a Japanese term that literally translates to "strange beast" but is generally used to describe giant monsters, such as Godzilla, King Kong, Mothra, Rodan, and Gamera, that appear in Japanese films and TV shows.
Similar terms used in in Japanese science fiction productions include "Kaijin" (strange person), which usually refers to mutant humans, and "Seijin" (star person), which usually refers to aliens.
"Tokusatsu" is a Japanese term that means "special photography." The term is usually applied to Japanese films and TV shows that make heavy use of practical effects. These films tend to be part of the sci-fi, horror, and fantasy genres. In general, all kaiju films will be tokusatsu films, but not all tokusatsu films will be kaiju films.
This list includes kaiju films made in Japan as well as homages and precursors produced in the United States and other countries. It will also include "kaiju-adjacent" tokusatsu films that may not always feature a giant monster.
Similar terms used in in Japanese science fiction productions include "Kaijin" (strange person), which usually refers to mutant humans, and "Seijin" (star person), which usually refers to aliens.
"Tokusatsu" is a Japanese term that means "special photography." The term is usually applied to Japanese films and TV shows that make heavy use of practical effects. These films tend to be part of the sci-fi, horror, and fantasy genres. In general, all kaiju films will be tokusatsu films, but not all tokusatsu films will be kaiju films.
This list includes kaiju films made in Japan as well as homages and precursors produced in the United States and other countries. It will also include "kaiju-adjacent" tokusatsu films that may not always feature a giant monster.
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- DirectorMerian C. CooperErnest B. SchoedsackStarsFay WrayRobert ArmstrongBruce CabotA film crew goes to a tropical island for a location shoot, where they capture a colossal ape who takes a shine to their blonde starlet, and bring him back to New York City.
- Kaiju Featured: King Kong, Allosaurus, Brontosaurus, Stegosaurus, Elasmosaurus, Pteranodon, Pit Lizard
- Production Company: RKO
- U.S. Theatrical Release: April 7, 1933
- DirectorErnest B. SchoedsackStarsRobert ArmstrongHelen MackFrank ReicherThe showman who brought Kong to New York returns to Skull Island and finds Kong's son, a spunky 12-footer with a winning personality and his dad's awesome strength.
- Kaiju Featured: Kiko, Cave Bear, Dragon, Styracosaurus, Sea Serpent, Brontosaurus
- Production Company: RKO
- U.S. Theatrical Release: December 22, 1933
- DirectorEugène LouriéStarsPaul HubschmidPaula RaymondCecil KellawayA ferocious dinosaur awakened by an Arctic atomic test terrorizes the North Atlantic and, ultimately, New York City.
- Kaiju Featured: Rhedosaurus
- Production Company: Warner Bros
- U.S. Theatrical Release: June 13, 1953
- DirectorIshirô HondaStarsTakashi ShimuraAkihiko HirataAkira TakaradaAfter a dinosaur-like beast - awoken from undersea hibernation by atom bomb testing - ravages Tokyo, a scientist must decide if his similarly dangerous weapon should be used to destroy it.
- Kaiju Featured: Godzilla
- Production Company: Toho
- Japanese Theatrical Release: November 3, 1954
- U.S. Theatrical Release: April 27, 1956 as "Godzilla, King of the Monsters"
- DirectorMotoyoshi OdaStarsSeizaburô KawazuMiki SanjôMinoru TakadaA car strikes an unseen object. Blood spreads from an invisible source, which becomes visible as the bleeding man dies. He carries with him a suicide note dedicated to his only friend, who is also an invisible man. An eager young reporter tracks down Takemitsu Nanjo, a war veteran who makes his living visibly, painting his face like a clown's and carrying advertising signs. His favorite neighbor is a little blind girl whose mother is running afoul of local gangsters. The gangsters have been terrorizing the city as "the invisible gang," wrapping themselves up in scarves and trenchcoats so as to be visible to their victims, even though they are supposed to be invisible underneath. Once they discover Nanjo, who is defending his only friends, they beat him and leave him for dead.
- Kaijin Featured: Invisible Man Nanjo, Invisible Man Akita
- Production Company: Toho
- Japanese Theatrical Release: December 29, 1954
- DirectorMotoyoshi OdaIshirô HondaStarsHiroshi KoizumiSetsuko WakayamaMinoru ChiakiScout pilots for a fishing company are startled to discover a second Godzilla, whose battle with rival monster Anguirus threatens to destroy Osaka.
- Kaiju Featured: Godzilla, Anguirus
- Production Company: Toho
- Japanese Theatrical Release: April 24, 1955
- U.S. Theatrical Release: May 21, 1959 as "Gigantis the Fire Monster"
- DirectorIshirô HondaStarsAkira TakaradaAkemi NegishiMomoko KôchiA yeti terrorizes people on top of Mount Fuji.
- Kaijin Featured: Snowman, Snowman's Child
- Production Company: Toho
- Japanese Theatrical Release: August 14, 1955
- U.S. Theatrical Release: May 17, 1957
- DirectorKôji ShimaStarsKeizô KawasakiToyomi KaritaBin YagisawaUFOs are seen around Tokyo. Because they look like giant starfish the aliens cannot approach us without creating panic. Hence one of them sacrifices itself and takes the form of a popular female singer. It/she warns mankind that a meteor will crash on Earth. While the approaching meteor causes hotter and hotter weather, mankind runs and builds a last-chance anti-meteor weapon.
- Seijin Featured: Pairans
- Production Company: Daiei
- Japanese Theatrical Release: January 27, 1956
- DirectorIshirô HondaTerry O. MorseStarsRaymond BurrTakashi ShimuraMomoko KôchiAn American reporter visiting Tokyo becomes a witness to the city's destruction by a dinosaur-like beast awoken from undersea hibernation by atom bomb testing.
- Kaiju Featured: Godzilla
- Distribution Company: Trans World
- U.S. Theatrical Release: April 27, 1956
- DirectorIshirô HondaStarsKenji SaharaYumi ShirakawaAkihiko HirataA mining engineer investigates the deaths of his colleagues, discovering prehistoric nymphs and a creature capable of flying - and wrecking havoc - at supersonic speeds.
- Kaiju Featured: Rodan, Meganuron
- Production Company: Toho
- Japanese Theatrical Release: December 26, 1956
- U.S. Theatrical Release: August 6, 1957
- DirectorIshirô HondaStarsKenji SaharaYumi ShirakawaMomoko KôchiShortly after a giant robot destroys a village, aliens from outer space arrive offering friendship. Will the people of Earth tie these two events together?
- Seijin & Kaiju Featured: Mysterians, Moguera
- Production Company: Toho
- Japanese Theatrical Release: December 28, 1957
- U.S. Theatrical Release: May 27, 1959
- DirectorIshirô HondaStarsYumi ShirakawaKenji SaharaAkihiko HirataWhen a narcotics deal goes sour and a suspect disappears, leaving only his clothes, Tokyo police question his wife and stake out the nightclub where she works. His disappearance stumps the police - until a young scientist appears who claims that H-Bomb tests in the Pacific, evidenced by a "ghost ship" that has turned up in the harbor, have created radioactive creatures - "H-Men" - who ooze like slime and dissolve anyone they touch.
- Kaijin Featured: Liquid People
- Production Company: Toho
- Japanese Theatrical Release: June 24, 1958
- U.S. Theatrical Release: May 28, 1959
- DirectorIshirô HondaMotoyoshi OdaStarsKôzô NomuraAyumi SonodaKoreya SendaOriginal Japanese version. Research in the Tohoku region comes across a monster known to the locals as the mountain god Baradagi.
- Kaiju Featured: Varan
- Production Company: Toho
- Japanese Theatrical Release: October 14, 1958
- U.S. Theatrical Release: December 7, 1962 as "Varan the Unbelievable"
- DirectorEugène LouriéStarsGene EvansAndré MorellJohn TurnerMarine atomic tests cause changes in the ocean's ecosystem resulting in dangerous blobs of radiation and the resurrection of a dormant dinosaur that threatens London.
- Kaiju Featured: Paleosaurus
- Production Company: Allied Artists
- U.S. Theatrical Release: March 3, 1959
- DirectorHugo GrimaldiMotoyoshi OdaJack BernhardStarsMinoru ChiakiShôichi HiroseMiyoko HoshinoThe heavily re-edited American version of Godzilla Raids Again. A prehistoric monster called Gigantis emerges alongside another creature named Angurus.
- Kaiju Featured: Gigantis (Godzilla), Anguirus
- Distribution Company: Warner Bros
- U.S. Theatrical Release: May 21, 1959
- DirectorHiroshi InagakiStarsToshirô MifuneYôko TsukasaAkihiko HirataA prince, framed for murder and starved for affection from his father, is sent on a quest.
- Kaiju Featured: Orochi
- Production Company: Toho
- Japanese Theatrical Release: November 1, 1959
- U.S. Theatrical Release: December 20, 1960
- DirectorIshirô HondaStarsRyô IkebeKyôko AnzaiMinoru TakadaThe nations of the Earth unite in a common cause to fight off an invader from outer space.
- Seijin Featured: Natarls
- Production Company: Toho
- Japanese Theatrical Release: December 26, 1959
- U.S. Theatrical Release: July 8, 1960
- DirectorJun FukudaStarsKôji TsurutaYumi ShirakawaSeizaburô KawazuMen are being murdered by a psycho called "The Telegian," who uses a matter-transmitting device to locate his victims.
- Kaijin Featured: Telegian Sudo
- Production Company: Toho
- Japanese Theatrical Release: April 10, 1960
- DirectorIshirô HondaStarsTatsuya MihashiKaoru YachigusaYoshio TsuchiyaA librarian is subject to a scientific experiment which goes wrong and transforms him into 'The Human Vapour'. He uses his new ability to rob banks to fund the career of his girlfriend, a beautiful dancer. The Human Vapour is ruthless in his quest for money and kills anyone who stands in his way, especially police. He soon becomes Tokyo's most wanted criminal. Can he be stopped before he kills again?
- Kaijin Featured: Gas Man Mizuno
- Production Company: Toho
- Japanese Theatrical Release: December 11, 1960
- U.S. Theatrical Release: May 20, 1964
- DirectorEugène LouriéStarsBill TraversWilliam SylvesterVincent WinterGreedy sailors capture a giant lizard off the coast of Ireland and sell it to a London circus, inciting the wrath of the creature's much-larger mother.
- Kaiju Featured: Gorgo, Ogra
- Production Company: King Brothers
- Japanese Theatrical Release: January 10, 1961
- U.S. Theatrical Release: March 29, 1961
- DirectorIshirô HondaStarsFurankî SakaiHiroshi KoizumiKyôko KagawaAn expedition to Infant Island uncovers a native tribe and twin tiny fairy priestesses of a mythical deity, who sets out to rescue the pair after they are kidnapped by a greedy businessman.
- Kaiju & Seijin Featured: Mothra, Shobijin
- Production Company: Toho
- Japanese Theatrical Release: July 30, 1961
- U.S. Theatrical Release: May 10, 1962
- DirectorShûe MatsubayashiStarsFurankî SakaiAkira TakaradaYuriko HoshiThis Japanese film speculates on the events which lead the U.S. and the Soviet Union into a nuclear Armageddon.
- Production Company: Toho
- Japanese Theatrical Release: October 8, 1961
- U.S. Theatrical Release: January 8, 1967
- DirectorIshirô HondaStarsRyô IkebeYumi ShirakawaAkira KuboA Tokyo scientist and his colleagues shift Earth to avoid a red-hot planet on a collision course.
- Kaiju Featured: Maguma
- Production Company: Toho
- Japanese Theatrical Release: March 21, 1962
- U.S. Theatrical Release: May 15, 1964
- DirectorTokuzô TanakaStarsKyôko EnamiShiho FujimuraKôji FujiyamaA fishing village is terrorized by a giant whale, and the fishermen are determined to kill it. A Japanese variation of the "Moby Dick" story.
- Kaiju Featured: Whale God
- Production Company: Daiei
- Japanese Theatrical Release: July 15, 1962
- DirectorIshirô HondaNorman TokarStarsTadao TakashimaYû FujikiKenji SaharaThe advertising director of a pharmaceutical company seeks to boost the ratings of their sponsored TV program by capturing King Kong, who breaks loose and battles a re-emerged Godzilla.
- Kaiju Featured: King Kong, Godzilla, Giant Octopus
- Production Company: Toho
- Japanese Theatrical Release: August 11, 1962
- U.S. Theatrical Release: June 26, 1963