‘Godzilla x Kong’: Is Godzilla a kaiju?

We already just lived through the release of the acclaimed and Oscar-winning Godzilla Minus One last fall, but now a new bout of Godzilla-Mania has broken out thanks to Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (if only they replaced the colon with an equals sign).

The latest entry in the mega-successful MonsterVerse, The New Empire switches up the formula from 2021’s Godzilla vs. Kong by seeing the two gargantuan icons teaming up to stop another Titan — franchise lingo for big ol’ monster — from destroying the planet. But, before we go see Godzilla x Kong, let’s just take a moment to make sure we fully understand the deep, subtle complexities of the giant lizard with atomic breath. Let us consider the quandary: is Godzilla a kaiju?

For diehard Godzilla zealots, that question may seem patently absurd. Like asking “is Spider-Man a superhero?” or “is James Bond a spy?” But actually the question is one that’s worth interrogating…

Why you might’ve been wrong to call Godzilla a “kaiju” all along

First of all, just to clear up any confusion, kaiju is a term used for both the popular Japanese movie genre involving giant monsters, as well as a term used to describe the monsters themselves. Godzilla himself is widely considered to be the original kaiju, given that it was the success of 1954’s very first Godzilla film that inspired the explosion of the genre, which eventually spread outward internationally.

Technically, though, if we’re counting King Kong as a kaiju — which he sometimes is — then the big ape could be called the first kaiju as well. Kong debuted in the legendary 1933 film that bears his name, before he met Godzilla in a bunch of Toho’s kaiju movies in the 1960s. And, if you want to get really pedantic, Godzilla was inspired by 1953 American b-movie The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. Most generally agree, though, that as these two creatures weren’t Japan-born, they don’t count as true kaiju.

But Godzilla’s kaiju credentials can’t be questioned, right? You’d think so, but if you want to get into semantics, we might have to take the monster’s kaiju card away from him. The thing is, a literal translation of kaiju is “strange beast.” So a more accurate description for Godzilla and the rest of his ilk would be daikaiju, meaning “giant strange beast.”

In essence, then, this is a bit like the argument that Batman can’t be a superhero because he doesn’t have superpowers. That is true, but he’s nonetheless one of the defining fixtures of the superhero genre so he has to be counted as one. Likewise, kaiju might not exactly be the best way to describe Godzilla, but given that he’s the amphibious face of the great cinematic kaiju tradition, it’s probably fair to say that, yes, Godzilla is a kaiju.

Yes, thank you, I am a lot of fun at parties.