Why do you watch Kaiju Movies?

[Jetty_Jags]

Why do you guys watch kaiju films? We all know the general consensus/belief is for the monster fights, but lets dig into that further, or elaborate on other qualities we enjoy. What attracts you to these movies? I think there is more nuance here than we usually consider, and I'd like to see what different reasons you guys have.
I have a couple reasons myself, ranging from admiring the spectacle they provide, to the cheerful blend of science fiction and fantasy aesthetics, to even the optimistic "brotherhood of man" that exists especially in Honda's films.

[Kaltes-Herzeleid]

To see meditations on divinity, the wonders and horrors of the human condition and its relation to the world and universe around it, the work of passionate and talented filmmakers creating something unique in the wide variety of cinematic art that exists. Creativity.

Essentially, to experience pure, raw kino. The same reason I watch any great film. For the experience.

[Tyrant_Lizard_King]

Watching the physical embodiments of nature's wrath laying waste to civilization and mankind's pathetic attempts at stopping it.

[Spuro]

In all honesty, for a number of reasons.

1. I've been watching them for as long as I can remember.
2. I love their old school practical effects.
3. I'm a sci-fi/fantasy and horror buff.
4. I'm a blossoming film buff, so exploring film history is fun and important to me.
5. Watching a kaiju film usually puts me in a good mood. They're my comfort movies.

[SpaceG92]

https://i.imgur.com/bi3KFci.gif?noredirect



In all honesty, for a number of reasons.

1. I've been watching them for as long as I can remember.
2. I love their old school practical effects.
3. I'm a sci-fi/fantasy and horror buff.
4. I'm a blossoming film buff, so exploring film history is fun and important to me.
5. Watching a kaiju film usually puts me in a good mood. They're my comfort movies.

^this

Mainly though -


Enjoyment ~

I can really careless about racking my brain about "THE DEEP PHILOSOPHICAL" about a Kaiju film. End of the day for me, what keeps me going. Entertainment and enjoyment. Whether it be from the Kaiju themselves, the supporting human cast, the world building or a narrative.

[Rando Yaguchi]

Sense of wonder.

[edgaguirus]

I'm a lover of sci fi and sci fi/horror, and have been for a long time. Second, I have an interest in paleontology, and Godzilla and some other kaiju are dinosaur based. Those are the main reasons why I watch them. I also enjoy the various aspects of the films, from their themes, music scores, and spectacle. Overall, however, I just enjoy them.

[CrimsonBloodX]

Pretty much the same reasons as everyone else who replied.

[Zasraniec]

Well I love the monster fights for one. I also love Japanese entertainment such as anime along with sci-fi. So naturally this is a no brainer.

[eabaker]

Considering that the two movies that were most important in my becoming a Godzilla fan don't feature any kind of enemy monsters, I think it's fair to say that monster fights are not the primary reason I'm a Godzilla fan.

I think the biggest draw, for me, is in the way that kaiju represent a disruptions and diminution of existing systems of power and social order. These monsters inherently unmake the world we know, and from the time I was small child, that idea held a real power over me.

[Joseph Goodman]

Because I found this book at the library when I was nine years old, and it looked awesome.

[tbeasley]

Because for the most part I enjoy them and they make me happy, and not much else does.

[Rando Yaguchi]

Because I found this book at the library when I was nine years old, and it looked awesome.

My elementary school had that book! The nostalgia is real...

[Kaltes-Herzeleid]

Because for the most part I enjoy them and they make me happy, and not much else does.

Same.

[SoggyNoodles2016]

big monsters give me seratonin in the never-ending hellscape we call life.


For real, one of my favorite things in film, especially genre films, is the human in the inhuman. Seeing how unnatural circumstances and perils bring out the worst or best in people, the humanity and character of some unknowable creature, the morals of what is human and not, fully imagined worlds where we can honestly see what life would be like say if humans and monsters coexisted or humans had an entire new underclass of androids or so on, and the Godzilla series has that in SPADES. Not to mention I've loved the character and his rouges since childhood and I have a massive nostalgic connection.

[ClandestineCanine9]

1. I've been watching them for as long as I can remember.

3. I'm a sci-fi/fantasy and horror buff.

5. Watching a kaiju film usually puts me in a good mood. They're my comfort movies.

big monsters give me seratonin in the never-ending hellscape we call life.

this^^

also I've always liked Godzilla's roar

Added in 41 seconds:
also flashing lights and beam clashes are pretty

[Andagi1]

One of my favorite elements in Godzilla movies and the reason I tend to prefer the non-cgi movies is the detail in the set pieces. I think it's the meticulously built miniature cityscapes that really make the movies impressive and stand the test of time. Everyone has their suit preferences, favorite/hated plots and characters, but one thing that's been constant up until recently is how much attention goes into replicating Japanese cities and landscapes. There's a sense of tangibility to someone in a suit actually destroying models, walking in water, and reacting to explosions that I feel can't be replicated as well digitally. Furthermore, at almost 70 years, Godzilla films give modern viewers a taste of what Japan was like decades ago- architecture, art trends, politics, etc. of the time are all encapsulated within these films.

[Jetty_Jags]

Furthermore, at almost 70 years, Godzilla films give modern viewers a taste of what Japan was like decades ago- architecture, art trends, politics, etc. of the time are all encapsulated within these films.

That's a really great point. I never thought about that.

[Kaltes-Herzeleid]

Furthermore, at almost 70 years, Godzilla films give modern viewers a taste of what Japan was like decades ago- architecture, art trends, politics, etc. of the time are all encapsulated within these films.

I concur with this. I think it's a reason the Showa era in particular has come to fascinate me so much in more recent years. It's genuinely really interesting.

[SoggyNoodles2016]

I want to add to this because I saw a great conversation: there's also something empowering about kaiju. Like many others who are neurotypical, or queer or of a different race, there's something.....fascinating about monster movies. About seeing these creatures shunned by society for not fitting it's standards striking back at it for what it did. Kaiju films in particular work because they have two interesting wrinkles to this formula.

1. kaiju are tragic. There's rarely a "thank god, that MONSTER is dead" moment, where the monster is dead and our heroes celebrate. With the exception of the worst of the worst kaiju (the ones the films argue can't be saved), the humans mourn what happened when the kaiju die. That they were forced to kill something unique for being in a world not for it, for losing people who had so much to give, for simply stopping one problem and not the wider issue that causes it. That helps set them apart.

2. Kaiju can CHANGE. Look at it. Over and over again, this series ends the same way: a triumphant Godzilla ends at almost even terms with humanity, with humanity not wanting to always attack him as he goes on to live in peace with a new family he lost. The benefit is it shows the other side: not only can we empathize with these monsters for lashing out, not only do the films show their lashing out is a tragic situation instead of something we should shrug and finish, but THEY CAN CHANGE. Society can adapt to accommodate them, villains can be heroes, they can move on and be happy.

That's why kaiju work. Because at the end of the day, they are the heroes of underdogs in so many ways.