Kaiju Unleashed: An Illustrated Guide to the World of Strange Beasts

 Kaiju Unleashed: An Illustrated Guide to the World of Strange Beasts by Shawn Pryor

Kaiju Unleased book cover

Godzilla 1984 Noger Chen, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Shin Godzilla Noger Chen, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Toho Studios Godzilla via Wiki Commons

Toho's New Godzillas via Wiki Commons

Huge (Kaiju) thanks to Quarto Publishing Group and Netgalley for making this amazing compendium of strange and epic beasts available for review. I was so excited to find Shawn Pryor’s new guide Kaiju Unleased: AnIllustrated Guide to the World of Strange Beasts available on Netgalley! I am a huge Godzilla fan, and like Shawn Pryor, I had my initial exposure to Godzilla as a kid watching movies on Saturday afternoons, amazed at the destructive power of this giant lizard who could seemingly breath blue fire.

While the book is a great reference for classic Toho films from the 1950s through the 1970s, Pryor also explores (and helpfully defines) the other eras of Godzilla films, including the more recent Heisei, Millennium, and Reiwa eras. I was glad to learn more about these eras since I never really new the differences or the story lines. I’ve watched a few from the Heisei and Millennium eras, but didn’t get into them as much. However, Pryor’s entries for each of these films not only provides great information about the actors and directors, but he also acknowledges the suit actors and explains the differences in the construction and artistry of the Godzilla suit, highlighting differences in appearance. I also loved how the movie summaries tried to tie the plots together for continuity or they acknowledged points of departure, where the films went in different directions and told alternate story lines. Furthermore, Pryor also brings in other Kaiju who battled with or supported Godzilla. Having these references not only helped me develop a watch list, but also helped to provide a great frame of reference for the various Kaiju, and what they may have represented in the stories. Pryor typically ended with some kind of analysis or evaluation, either his own or from another critic, which was also helpful to see how the films were received. I loved how there was always something positive to say about these films, even when Pryor acknowledged that they may not have performed well in the box office or were not as well filmed as other entries. The Godzilla section ends with the recent Godzilla Minus One, which has rightly been lauded as one of the best, if not the best, Godzilla movie.

 

What was also great about this book is that Godzilla is only the starting point. Pryor goes on to explore the other Kaiju in many of the other films, and shows where they came from and what their movie series were like. I learned so much about the other beasts. I also really liked how Pryor notes that while Godzilla is probably the most famous, King Kong is probably the original Kaiju, and there are sections about American Kaiju, especially the various iterations or King Kong, another personal favorite. The book then examines some other Kaiju movies from other countries, included some from South (and one from North) Korea. This really opened my eyes, and I was fascinated to learn about different movies from other cultures. Pryor then explores other media like Kaiju television shows, manga, comics, books, and video games. I can’t wait to track down some of these shows and television movies from the 70s. I also was intrigued to consider Grape Ape as a Kaiju. I shared this with my kids and we had fun watching the theme song. In any event, this is a thoroughly researched and considered book that explores all avenues of Kaiju. Beyond the text, there were great images throughout the book, detailing the history and promotion of these films, as well as interesting facts and other data about Kaiju. This is definitely a great book for anyone who loves Godzilla movies or other Kaiju films. I really appreciated how Pryor’s book ends with Kaiju in various forms of popular culture, especially since we see how Godzilla and Kong have teamed up for a slew of movies in Universal’s Monsterverse, and in series like Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. Pryor’s research and analysis helps to show how these monsters are not only great entertainment to help us through challenging times, but can also serve as interesting metaphors that address social issues and problems in the world. Although I have a digital copy, I would definitely love to have a hardback version of this book. I could imagine how nice the layout and images would look in a real copy. Highly recommended and enjoyable book.