Kaiju Toys

2008-07-18T08:16:00.001-07:00

Kaiju Toys - Monsters of the Japanese World

Kaiju Toys are they a collector's dream or a child's nightmare? It seems to depend on how much exposure you've had to them.

Kaiju is a Japanese word that means "strange beast" or loosely translated in English as "monster".

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Actually, it is used to refer to a genre of Tokusatsu TV shows and movies. Tokusatsu had a huge influence on both ugly doll creators Sun-Min and David since they were small children , and now wish to create genuine Kaiju figures to honour those cherished memories.

Tokusatsu, is a Japanese word that literally means "special effects." In particular, Tokusatsu means the use of special effects in live action film or television dramas.

Tokusatsu TV depicts the three main elements of fantasy, horror and science fiction, yet strangely enough TV shows and films in other genres can also be considered to be Tokusatsu too.

The Godzilla and Gamera film series are great examples of this type of Kaiju monster movies, Superhero TV serials like the Kamen Rider and Metal Heroes series .

This genre of television and film-making, is one of the most popular forms of Japanese entertainment and most recently has attracted a small but intensely loyal fan-base around the world.

Conventional animals insects and mythical figures are all used in the creation of Kaiju toys.

Even traffic lights, faucets and vegetables like tomatoes are all grist to the artists imagination when creating these super creatures.

Then there's Kamen Rider Super-1 includes a whole army of monsters based on everyday objects such as ladders and umbrellas.

Strange beasts from Tokusatsu and Japanese folklore or "kaiju" are described as "monsters" in the West. From the Japanese point of view though vampires, werewolves, zombies and mummies from Wetern mythology belong to this genre too and are credited as the inspiration behind the many Kaiju creations.

Kaiju toys are usually depicted as foot soldiers for evil warlords. Kaiju can also be featured as the right-hand men to the chief villaind but morality soon intervenes when they are destroyed by advancing hero figures.

Kaiju started becoming popular after they were cast alongside heroes in the story so people could easily identify with them. These figures were seen saving civilians from the evil warlords and were also shown demonstrating complex personalities.

And since their popularity has spread overseas these Kaiju toys are now a much sought after collector's piece.

Investing in Kaiju toys now will no doubt stand the collector in good stead in the future as their popularity spreads ever wider.