Loosely translated, Kaiju means monster. Over decades of men squeezing into hundreds of rubber costumes and trampling cardboard cities, Kaiju has become the term used for the genre that features incredibly huge monsters. Since the 1950s, Kaiju have become nearly omnipresent in Japanese movies, television shows, Manga and Anime. Another Japanese term is Mecha, referring to large machines and robots. Japanese pop culture has had a strong influence on American pop culture; enough so, merely dubbing the original source material doesn’t satisfy the U.S. craving. Remakes into American versions have jumped into the market for decades. It’s gratifying to see Kaiju and Mecha paid homage by such a prominent director. And with a budget for more than a giant rubber suit! I’ve haven’t had this much fun watching a Kaiju since I was a little kid watching my favorite Gamera movies.
On a related side note, there is a growing trend: Anime remade as live-action movies. I want to coin a term for this: Gaiking, in honor of the anime by that name, the first to feature a human riding in the head of a giant robot.
