For enduringly popular as Godzilla, the original Kaiju, is, there is not actually that many solid depictions of Kaiju in in anime. Certainly there are monsters galore, but large ones that can decimate cities? Not so much. However, if you are looking for Kaiju-inspired anime series, there are a few options.
Best Kaiju Anime
Attack on Titan
While Attack on Titan doesn’t feature kaiju in the way you expect, titans do in fact classify. They are more like giant warped versions of naked, genital-less humans that have smiles that invade your nightmares, but they have the same desire to smash up your cities and eat your mothers.
SSSS.Gridman
As you will soon learn, the mecha genre is, for the most part, your best bet for Kaiju action. SSSS Gridman provides a solid, Pacific Rim-esque experience of giant robots fighting giant monsters that attack their city. Furthermore, it actually comes with a really interesting plot atypical of your general kaiju series.
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Neon Genesis Evangelion is probably the more famous mecha kaiju anime, but while it is a classic, it can be a bit wanting with the monster fighting. The Angels look a lot like the mechs that fight them and neither are what one would call visually stunning in design. The fights are pretty visceral, especially in the remakes, but this series is more renowned for its mindfuckery than its monster fights.
cha kaiju anime, but while it is a classic, it can be a bit wanting with the monster fighting. The Angels look a lot like the mechs that fight them and neither are what one would call visually stunning in design. The fights are pretty visceral, especially in the remakes, but this series is more renowned for its mindfuckery than its monster fights.
Dai-Guard
Dai-Guard is very much a parody of many classic mecha tropes, and one of those tropes is the mechs fighting giant monsters. As such, Dai-Guard fights a bunch of them to varying degrees of seriousness and silliness. Still, if you don’t take things too seriously in either mecha or kaiju, this is a great show.
Darling in the Franxx
Unfortunately, only the first half of Darling in the Franxx is a kaiju series. In the second half, the show forgets what it was doing or wanted to be in the end. However, with the ultra fluid animation, the fighting in the first half is actually really great to watch.
Rage of Bahamut
This series is actually a little closer to a traditional kaiju movie than you might expect. The whole show is about preventing Bahamut, the sealed, world-ending, big bad dragon, from being awoken. It was sealed after a coalition of humans and demons joined together in order to beat it, so it was kind of a big deal. What’s more is that you get a taste for how powerful Bahamut actually is and it does indeed feel like a real kaiju.
Kagewani
This show is probably about as close as you will get to traditional kaiju movies in anime. The plot is pretty flimsy and it feels a little phoned in, but the actual kaiju appearances and fights are very on point. Which, now that I think about it, is most Godzilla movies I ever watched. So all in all it really captures the kaiju movie spirit?
Do you have more anime series about kaiju giant monsters? Let thirsty anime fans know in the comments section below.
