History of Kaiju
By Alyssa Gibbons
The first Godzilla film was made in 1954 and started the Kaiju (ka-ee-gu) movie genre consisting of giant monsters destroying cities and fighting each other. Then, in 1995, a new movie called Godzilla Raids Again! Introduced a new Kaiju, Anguirus. From there, more and more monsters started appearing, sometimes with standalone movies. Some were very popular and made a huge hit, like Godzilla, but some weren’t very popular and died out soon after being created, like Varan the Unbelievable.
There are multiple “eras” of Godzilla and Kaiju types, starting with the Showa Era, spanning from 1954 to 1975, Godzilla began turning into a protector of cities and started battling more evil monsters, like King Ghidorah. Movies like these started showing allies and enemies of Godzilla, like Anguirus who was at first an enemy, but then became allies and started working together with other kaijus to take down the baddies.
Next came the Heisei era of Godzilla movies, resurrecting it with The Return of Godzilla. They introduced even more kaijus, but without Godzilla’s allies, like Godzilla vs. Biollante. They also bring him back as a giant city-destroying creature while also fighting competitors. This era raged from 1984-1995.
After that came the Millennium era, starting with Godzilla 2000. The film makers decided to go back to Godzilla being a protector and fighter of evil Kaiju, usually making movies like Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla. They also included monsters like Hedorah from its standalone film into Godzilla vs. Hedora, making its way to being a Kaiju.
Lastly, but not least, is the Toho Reboot era, going from last year to right now, film producers are thinking of restarting the Godzilla franchise, with Godzilla in 2017, featuring a new animation of Godzilla: Anime! We don’t know much of this new movie other than that, but I’m excited to find out.
Credits go to Wikipedia for keeping me in on this info.
By Alyssa Gibbons
The first Godzilla film was made in 1954 and started the Kaiju (ka-ee-gu) movie genre consisting of giant monsters destroying cities and fighting each other. Then, in 1995, a new movie called Godzilla Raids Again! Introduced a new Kaiju, Anguirus. From there, more and more monsters started appearing, sometimes with standalone movies. Some were very popular and made a huge hit, like Godzilla, but some weren’t very popular and died out soon after being created, like Varan the Unbelievable.
There are multiple “eras” of Godzilla and Kaiju types, starting with the Showa Era, spanning from 1954 to 1975, Godzilla began turning into a protector of cities and started battling more evil monsters, like King Ghidorah. Movies like these started showing allies and enemies of Godzilla, like Anguirus who was at first an enemy, but then became allies and started working together with other kaijus to take down the baddies.
Next came the Heisei era of Godzilla movies, resurrecting it with The Return of Godzilla. They introduced even more kaijus, but without Godzilla’s allies, like Godzilla vs. Biollante. They also bring him back as a giant city-destroying creature while also fighting competitors. This era raged from 1984-1995.
After that came the Millennium era, starting with Godzilla 2000. The film makers decided to go back to Godzilla being a protector and fighter of evil Kaiju, usually making movies like Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla. They also included monsters like Hedorah from its standalone film into Godzilla vs. Hedora, making its way to being a Kaiju.
Lastly, but not least, is the Toho Reboot era, going from last year to right now, film producers are thinking of restarting the Godzilla franchise, with Godzilla in 2017, featuring a new animation of Godzilla: Anime! We don’t know much of this new movie other than that, but I’m excited to find out.
Credits go to Wikipedia for keeping me in on this info.