If you’ve ever seen (or at least know what) a Godzilla film is, then you already know what kaiju is. Some people would argue this example, but — to be honest — it is accurate. Kaiju is a Japanese word that means “strange creature” and was originally coined to describe movies and television shows staring monstrous beasts that were modeled after conventional animals, insects, household items, pretty much anything. One of which, the most famous of which, most certainly is Godzilla. As I said, the term comes from the Japanese entertainment industry, particularly that part known as tokusatsu (trans. “special filming,” which meant to imply any film or television show that relied heavily on special effects). These tokusatsu films were divide into three main categories: ”But what does this all have to do with Designer Toys?” you might be thinking. Well, the Designer Toy community embraced the term Kaiju to describe any strange or outlandish character done in that Japanese style, such as:
Mockbat by Paul Kaiju
yōkai (trans. “strange apparition,” which indicated supernaturally based productions including ghosts, demons, or the sort);
kaijin (trans. “mysterious person,” which indicated
super-human masked individuals… think either super-hero or super-villain based); AND
kaiju (trans. “strange creature,” which indicated giant monsters).
Sushi Kaiju by Paul Shih
Kaiju toys are slightly difficult to nail down in terms of consistent factors. You could say they had to be actually made in Japan (as Paul Kaiju’s “Mockbat” at the top to the right is), but Jeff Lamm’s “M5 Bravo” (on the bottom to the right) was actually produced in China. Maybe they have to be made out of vinyl, except Paul Shih’s “Sushi Kaiju” (in the middle to the right) is actually cast in resin. Even paint job isn’t a factor, as the “Mockbat” and “Sushi Kaiju” are handpainted by the artist while the “M5 Bravo” has sprays applied at the factory… though any of these could also be sold unpainted without affecting their being Kaiju. So how do you identify Kaiju Designer Toys? The simplest method I can use is this: close your eyes and imagine the figure as a giant, rampaging through city streets, wreaking havoc in it’s wake. Now have it fighting Godzilla. Did it look like it fit? If so, it’s safe to call in Kaiju. Or, as some people prefer, Neo-Kaiju. To some purists, the term Kaiju should only be applied towards Designer Toys directly based on the creatures from these style films and thus a new term — Neo-Kaiju — was adopted. Literally meaning “New Strange Creatures,” Brian Flynn (founder of Super7) explains that: “Neo-Kaiju is a term I came up with in 2002 to describe the kind of 80 | Clutter 28
M5 Bravo by Jeff Lamm & Unbox Industries