Kaiju

"Monsters are tragic beings. They are born too tall, too strong, too heavy. They are not evil by choice. That is their tragedy. They do not attack people because they want to, but because of their size and strength, mankind has no other choice but to defend himself. After several stories such as this, people end up having a kind of affection for the monsters. They end up caring about them."

- Ishiro Honda

Kaiju Japanese: 怪獸 (kaijū), also sometimes romanized kaijyu and kaizyu, is a Japanese word that literally means "strange beast" and is usually translated as "monster" in English. Traditionally, kaijū can refer to any sort of strange creature, but in recent times the word has become associated with a genre of tokusatsu entertainment, specifically Japanese cinema that involved giant monsters. The most powerful kaiju are at times deliberately referred to as daikaiju 大怪獣 (daikaijū), the prefix dai- emphasizing great power or status, and is usually translated as "giant monster."

Concept
Kaiju are typically modeled after conventional animals, mythological creatures, and sometimes even plants; though, 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. While the term kaiju is used in the West to describe monsters from tokusatsu and Japanese folklore, monsters like vampires, werewolves, Frankenstein's Monster, mummies and zombies could fall into this category (Frankenstein's Monster was once a daikaiju in the film Frankenstein vs. Baragon, which was produced by Toho). Kaiju are sometimes depicted as minions 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 seen in daikaiju eiga films, and it wasn't 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."

Variations
Over the years, film studios have introduced monster characters who, while still considered kaiju, may be referred to by a unique title, usually either beginning with the kanji 怪 (kai) or ending in a long "u" in the same vein as kaijū. These include: "Kaiju" may also be substituted for existing Japanese terms such as kaibutsu 怪物, translating to "monster" and used by Varan as well as the Xiliens' designations "Monster Zero," "Monster Zero-One" and "Monster Zero-Two" for King Ghidorah, Godzilla, and Rodan, respectively; seibutsu 生物, translating to "creature" or "organism" and used by monsters such as the Matango, Giant Rats and Zedus as well as in the designation kyodai seibutsu 巨大生物 for the creature resembling Godzilla in GMK, Gaira in Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla and Shin Godzilla; and kyōryū 恐竜, translating to "dinosaur" and used by kaiju who are more dinosaurian in nature, such as Gorosaurus, Titanosaurus and the Godzillasaurus. Furthermore, bakemono 化け物, a term for a type of yōkai that literally means "a thing that changes" and is often translated as "ghost," is used for Godzilla in The Return of Godzilla.
 * Kaijū 海獣, literally "Sea Beast" - a title homophonous to kaiju proposed for Godzilla and later used by the Giant Sea Serpent
 * Bōryū 暴龍, literally "Fierce Dragon" - a title used by Anguirus in contrast to Godzilla
 * Kaichō 怪鳥, literally "Monster Bird" - a title used by Rodan, the Giant Condor and Rhamphorhynchus, as well as La Carcagne in Japan
 * Kaichū 怪虫, literally "Monster Insect" - a title used by the Meganulon
 * Makuryū 膜竜, literally "Membrane Dragon" - a title used by Varan
 * Kaima 怪魔, literally "Monster Demon" - a title used by the Giant Octopus
 * Kairyū 怪竜, literally "Monster Dragon" - a title used by Manda
 * Kyoryū 巨竜, literally "Giant Dragon" - another title used by Manda
 * Gunjū 群獣, literally "Horde Beast" - a title proposed for the scrapped Nezura
 * Kyojū 巨獣, literally "Giant Beast" - a title used by the Gappas and Giant Rats
 * Akujū 悪獣, literally "Evil Beast" - a title used by Guiron
 * Gattaijū 合体獣, literally "Combined Beast" - a title used by the Griffon
 * Majū 魔獣, literally "Demon Beast" - a title used by Jiger, Battra and Desghidorah
 * Kyōjū 恐獣, literally "Terror Beast" - the title used by the monsters in Zone Fighter and the Super Star God Series
 * Kiseijū 寄生獣, literally "Parasitic Beast" - a title used by Shockirus
 * Hakaijū 破壊獣, literally "Destruction Beast" - another title used by Battra
 * Sentōjū 戦闘獣, literally "Combat Beast" - a title used by SpaceGodzilla
 * Shinjū 神獣, literally "Divine Beast" - a title used by Fairy Mothra
 * Idenshijū 遺伝子獣, literally "Genetic Beast" - a title used by the Gyaos
 * Makaijū 魔海獣, literally "Demon Sea Beast" - a title used by Dagahra
 * Densetsujū 伝説獣, literally "Legendary Beast" - a title used by Ghogo
 * Shugojinjū 守護神獣, literally "Guardian Beast" - a title used by the Primitive Mothra
 * Shōryū 翔竜, literally "Flying Dragon" - a title used by Megaguirus
 * Seijū 聖獣, literally "Holy Beast" - the title held by the Guardian Monsters