Godzilla is a fictional monster, or kaiju, that debuted in the eponymous 1954 film, directed and cowritten by Ishirō Honda. The character has since become an international pop culture icon, appearing in various media: 33 Japanese films produced by Toho Co., Ltd., five American films, and numerous video games, novels, comic books, and television shows. Godzilla has been dubbed the King of the Monsters, an epithet first used in Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956), the American localization of the 1954 film.
Kaiju is a Japanese term that is commonly associated with media involving giant monsters. A subgenre of science fiction, it was created by Eiji Tsuburaya and Ishirō Honda. The term can also refer to the giant monsters themselves, which are usually depicted attacking major cities and battling either the military or other monsters.
Gamera is a fictional monster, or kaiju, originating from a series of Japanese films. Debuting in the 1965 film Gamera, the Giant Monster, the character and the first film were intended to compete with the success of Toho's Godzilla film series. Since then, Gamera has become a Japanese icon in his own right, appearing in a total of 12 films produced by Daiei Film and later by Tokuma Shoten and Kadokawa Daiei Studio respectively, and various other media such as novelizations, manga, video games, and so on.
Rodan is a fictional monster, or kaiju, which first appeared as the title character in Ishirō Honda's 1956 film Rodan, produced and distributed by Toho. Following its debut standalone appearance, Rodan went on to be featured in numerous entries in the Godzilla franchise, including Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, Invasion of Astro-Monster, Destroy All Monsters, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II and Godzilla: Final Wars, as well as in the Legendary Pictures-produced film Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
Mothra is a fictional monster, or kaiju, that first appeared in the 1961 film Mothra, produced and distributed by Toho Studios. Mothra has appeared in several Toho tokusatsu films, most often as a recurring monster in the Godzilla franchise. She is typically portrayed as a colossal sentient larva (caterpillar) or imago, accompanied by two miniature fairies speaking on her behalf. Unlike other Toho monsters, Mothra is a largely heroic character, having been variously portrayed as a protector of her own island culture, the Earth and Japan. Mothra's design is influenced by silk worms, their imagos, and those of giant silk moths in the family Saturniidae. The character is often depicted hatching offspring when approaching death, a nod to the Saṃsāra doctrine of numerous Indian religions.
Anguirus is a fictional monster, or kaiju, which first appeared in Godzilla Raids Again (1955), the second film in the Godzilla franchise. Anguirus is the first monster to be shown engaging in combat with Godzilla in a film. Since then, the character has appeared conversely as an enemy and an ally of Godzilla in numerous films produced by Toho, including Destroy All Monsters, Godzilla vs. Gigan, Godzilla vs. Megalon, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, and Godzilla: Final Wars. He has also appeared in other media, including comic books and video games.
King Ghidorah is a fictional monster, or kaiju, which first appeared in Ishirō Honda's 1964 film Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster. The monster was initially created by Tomoyuki Tanaka, Eiji Tsuburaya and Shinichi Sekizawa as an homage to the eight-headed mythological Japanese dragon Yamata no Orochi. Although the name of the character is officially trademarked by Toho as "King Ghidorah", the character was originally referred to as Ghidorah or Ghidrah in some English markets.
Godzilla vs. Destoroyah is a 1995 Japanese kaiju film directed by Takao Okawara, with special effects by Kōichi Kawakita. Distributed by Toho and produced under their subsidiary Toho Pictures, it is the 22nd installment in the Godzilla franchise, and is the seventh and final film in the franchise's Heisei period. The film features the fictional monster characters Godzilla, Godzilla Junior and Destoroyah, and stars Takuro Tatsumi, Yōko Ishino, Yasufumi Hayashi, Sayaka Osawa, Megumi Odaka, Masahiro Takashima, Momoko Kōchi and Akira Nakao, with Kenpachiro Satsuma as Godzilla, Hurricane Ryu as Godzilla Junior, and Ryo Hariya as Destoroyah.
Godzilla: Monster of Monsters! (ゴジラ) is a Nintendo Entertainment System video game released in Japan in 1988 and in 1989 in the US by Toho Co., Ltd. The North American version removes all references to Toho Cenfile-Soft Library and Compile, crediting the game to Toho Eizo on the title screen instead.
Gigan is a kaiju from Toho's Godzilla franchise who first appeared in Godzilla vs. Gigan. Gigan is a space monster resembling a species of reptile who was turned into a cyborg by the Nebulans. Gigan sports a huge buzzsaw in its frontal abdominal region and large metallic hooks for hands. Gigan is considered one of Godzilla's most brutal and violent opponents, and the first kaiju in the Toho sci-fi series to make him noticeably bleed. Complex listed the character as No. 2 on its "The 15 Most Badass Kaiju Monsters of All Time" list.
Hedorah, also known as the Smog Monster, is a kaiju monster who first appeared in Toho's 1971 film Godzilla vs. Hedorah. The huge monster was named for Hedoro (へどろ), the Japanese word for sludge, slime, vomit or chemical ooze.
Mechagodzilla is a fictional mecha character that first appeared in the 1974 film Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla. In its debut appearance, Mechagodzilla is depicted as an extraterrestrial villain that confronts Godzilla. In subsequent iterations, Mechagodzilla is usually depicted as a man-made weapon designed to defend Japan against Godzilla and other kaiju. In all incarnations, the character is portrayed as a robotic doppelgänger with a vast array of weaponry, and along with King Ghidorah, is commonly considered to be an archenemy of Godzilla.
Zilla is a fictional monster, or kaiju, in Toho Co., Ltd.'s Godzilla media franchise. The character first appeared in Godzilla (1998), released by TriStar Pictures. It was initially created as a reimagining of Godzilla but was later re-branded as a separate character appearing alongside Toho's Godzilla. Patrick Tatopoulos designed it after iguanas with a slim theropod appearance rather than the thick, bipedal designs of Toho's Godzilla. TriStar's Godzilla, both the film and character, were negatively received by fans and critics. In 2004, it was featured in Toho's Godzilla: Final Wars as "Zilla". Afterwards, Toho trademarked new incarnations as Zilla, with only the iterations from the 1998 film and animated series retaining the Godzilla copyright and trademark.
Biollante is a rose, human, and Godzilla mutant hybrid kaiju who first appeared in Toho's 1989 film Godzilla vs. Biollante, and has since appeared in numerous licensed video games and comic books. The creature is portrayed as a genetically engineered clone of Godzilla spliced with the genes of a rose and a human. As the character was created during the end of the Cold War and a wane in the concerns over nuclear weapons represented by Godzilla, Biollante was conceived as a symbol of more contemporary controversies regarding genetic engineering.
Varan is a fictional monster, or kaiju, that first appeared in the 1958 film Varan the Unbelievable directed by Ishirō Honda and produced and distributed by Toho. Varan is depicted as a giant prehistoric reptile capable of gliding flight, and has gone on to appear in the 1968 film Destroy All Monsters, the ninth film in the Godzilla franchise.
Baragon is a fictional monster, or kaiju, which first appeared in Ishirō Honda's 1965 film Frankenstein vs. Baragon, produced and distributed by Toho. Depicted as a burrowing, four-legged, horned dinosaur-like creature with large ears, Baragon appeared alongside Godzilla and other monster characters in films in the Godzilla franchise, also produced by Toho, including Destroy All Monsters and Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack.
SpaceGodzilla is a Godzilla clone kaiju that first appeared in Toho's 1994 film Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla, as the main antagonist.
Godzilla is a Japanese monster, or kaiju, media franchise consisting of films, television series, novels, comic books, video games, and other merchandise. The franchise is centered on the fictional kaiju Godzilla, a prehistoric reptilian monster awakened and powered by nuclear radiation. The franchise is recognized by the Guinness World Records as the "longest continuously running film franchise", having been in ongoing production since 1954, with several hiatuses of varying lengths. The film franchise consists of 38 films: 33 Japanese films produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd.; and five American films, the first of which was produced by TriStar Pictures and the remaining four by Legendary Pictures, with the latest being released in March 2024.
As an enduring and iconic symbol of post-World War II cinematic history, the fictional giant monster Godzilla has been referenced and parodied numerous times in popular culture. Godzilla and other atomic monsters have appeared in a variety of mediums, including cartoons, film, literature, television, and video games.
