As we’re knee deep in an era many have dubbed the “Kaiju Renaissance,” there’s been books about Godzilla and his history coming out just about every year. There has never been a better time to read about the King of the Monsters, and thankfully, a majority of said books hold fairly accurate information within. Gone are the days when there’d be strange myths or blatantly inaccurate info, such as the permeating myth of two endings to King Kong vs. Godzilla within Americanized books. Most new reads are very solid recaps of the storied history of Toho’s beloved franchise, however, very few of these books have dared to extend beyond the Big G, only stopping there, and maybe covering some Gamera or Ultraman. With kaiju and giant monster movies being an entire genre, there’s so much to expand on and cover. Shawn Pryor has aimed to change this with his book, Kaiju Unleashed: An Illustrated Guide to the World of Strange Beasts, published by Quarto. Does he succeed in this gargantuan task? Let’s dive in.
The book’s immediate highlight is its eye-catching graphic design. Kaiju Unleashed is full of posters, artwork, archival pictures, and more. There’s never been this many photos assembled in a kaiju book before, and it immediately grabs your attention. There’s also some fun “Kaiju Facts” sprawled within, as well as some fun bonus stuff placed in front of bright yellow text, such as “The Three Forms of Daimajin.” Pryor did not have to go this extra with explaining what exactly Daimajin’s power sets are, but we’re glad it’s this exhaustive. It’s very clear that the author has a passionate adoration for these movies and the genre itself. Additionally, the book has a really fun purple trim on the outside of the pages, making it stand out even more on your shelf. If you have a young reader in your family that wants a book about giant monsters for the holidays, this would be an immediate win on those factors alone.
Sadly, there are a few errors in this book that are unmissable, such as the book stating, “The original concept design for Godzilla was a whale/gorilla hybrid,” on page 17. Godzilla’s concept art history shows there was always an intention for a dinosaurian-like creature, but the name “Gojira” itself is a combination of the two Japanese words ゴリラGorira (Gorilla) and 鯨 Kujira (Whale), which is correctly stated on page 33. There’s also a caption that states that a photo of Godzilla, Mechagodzilla, and Titanosaurus is from Destroy All Monsters. It is the opinion of the reviewer that this may be attributed to some of the sources listed at the end of the book being rather unreliable, such as a Tumblr blog, or other various pop culture websites, but there isn’t really any concrete way to prove that. However, despite that, there are legitimate and great sources listed within as well, such as all of the books recommended at the end.
Overall, despite incorrect facts such as the few I have stated above, Kaiju Unleashed is still a solid coffee table book and a good entryway for newcomer fans to discover just how vast the world of Kaiju really is. There’s fun anecdote pages, such as the “names of the Godzilla suits” being listed (ie; KingGoji, MosuGoji, etc.) and one of the most extensive dives into giant monster video games that’s ever been put to page. If you’re looking for a book to gift to your loved one who is utterly obsessed with giant monster movies, Kaiju Unleashed is a visually striking and accessible dive into the greatest monster movies ever made. Readers of all ages can pick this book up and gain some insight into the genre we all know and love, and that’s a wonderful thing.
