Godzilla

Godzilla ( ɡod-ZIL-ə) is a giant monster, or daikaijū, that first appeared in the 1954 film of the same name, directed by Ishirō Honda. The character has since become an international pop culture icon, appearing in various media: 33 Japanese films by Toho, five American films, and numerous video games, novels, comic books, and television shows. Godzilla has been dubbed the King of the Monsters, an epithet first used in Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956), the American localization of the 1954 film. Originally and in most iterations of the creature, Godzilla is a colossal, mostly 100 m tall (slightly taller than high-rise buildings and as tall as skyscrapers), prehistoric reptilian or dinosaurian monster that is amphibious or resides partially in the ocean, awakened and empowered after many years by exposure to nuclear radiation and nuclear testing. With the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Lucky Dragon 5 incident still fresh in the Japanese consciousness, Godzilla was conceived as a metaphor for nuclear weapons. Others have suggested that Godzilla is a metaphor for the United States, a "giant beast" woken from its "slumber" that then takes terrible vengeance on Japan. As the film series expanded, some storylines took on less serious undertones, portraying Godzilla as an antihero or lesser threat who defends humanity. Later films address disparate themes and commentary, including Japan's apathy, neglect, and ignorance of its imperial past; natural disasters; and the human condition. Godzilla has been featured alongside many supporting characters and, over the decades, has faced off against various human opponents, such as the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF), in addition to other gargantuan monsters, including Gigan, King Ghidorah, and Mechagodzilla. Godzilla has fought alongside allies such as Anguirus, Mothra, and Rodan and has had offsprings, including Godzilla Junior and Minilla. Godzilla has also battled...