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(from Japanese "strange beast") is a film genre that features monsters, usually attacking a major Japanese city or engaging other monsters in battle. It is a subgenre of ''tokusatsu'' (special effects-based) entertainment. Related terms include , a film featuring giant monsters or a single monster; ; and , specifically meaning the larger variety of monsters. Godzilla is an example of a daikaiju; others include Gamera, Mothra, Rodan, King Ghidorah, Mechagodzilla and Daimajin. The term ultra-''kaiju'' is longhand for ''kaiju'' in the ''Ultra Series''. Toho has produced a variety of Kaiju films over the years (many that featured Godzilla and Mothra) but other Japanese studios contributed to expanding the genre in Japan by producing Kaiju films and shows of their own, studios including Daiei Film Co., Ltd., Kadokawa Pictures, Tsuburaya Productions, Shochiku, and Nikkatsu studios. == Concept == Kaiju are typically modeled after conventional animals, insects or mythological creatures; however, there are more exotic examples. ''Chōjin Sentai Jetman'' features monsters based on traffic lights, faucets and tomatoes; ''Kamen Rider Super-1'' includes a whole army of monsters based on household objects such as umbrellas and utility ladders.〔(【引用サイトリンク】work=Igadevil.com )〕 Monsters famous in English stories, such as vampires, werewolves, mummies and zombies, fall into this category. Frankenstein's monster was a starring kaiju in the Toho films ''Frankenstein Conquers the World'', and ''The War of the Gargantuas''. Kaiju are sometimes depicted as cannon fodder serving a greater evil. Some kaiju are elite warriors which serve as the right-hand man to the greater villain and are destroyed by the heroic forces. Others have a neutral alignment, only seeking to destroy buildings and other structures. During the early eras of ''tokusatsu'', "heroic" monsters were rarely seen in ''daikaiju eiga'' films, and it was not until later when television ''tokusatsu'' productions began using ''kaiju'' which aided the hero, saved civilians, or demonstrated some kind of complex personality. These kaiju adopted many classic monster traits, appearing as the "Misunderstood Creature". Some kaiju hung out with the heroes and provided comedy relief, in contrast to the darker approach to these characters from more mature franchises, like Kamen Rider. Godzilla, arguably the most well known of the ''daikaiju'', has played the roles of hero, villain, and force of nature in the course of his existence, one of the few kaiju of any type to be depicted in multiple roles and having those around him react in different ways, depending on how the creature itself was being presented in the films 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Kaiju」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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