Godzilla refers to a popular monstrous and fictional character in various Japanese special effects or Tokosatsu films. In these films, Godzilla is often portrayed as a huge monster that looks lie a dinosaur. The term “Godzilla” is said to have originated from “Gojira” a combination of “gorira” or gorilla and “kujira” or whale. Having the properties of the gorilla and whale combined, the monster named Godzilla is born in various Japanese live-action fantasy films. The “gorilla” components is said to be the idea for Godzilla’s monstrous nature and the “whale” component is represented with Godzilla’s amphibious capabilities. In various depictions of Godzilla, the fictional monster is shown to be able to swim underwater.

The year was 1954 when the monster named Godzilla first appeared on a Japanese film by Ishiro Honda. Aside from Honda, Tomoyuki Tanaka and Eiji Tsubaraya are also credited as co-creators of this popular fictional monster. In Honda’s film and many other films afterwards, the back-story of Godzilla is inspired by the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki cities during World War II. Various organisms back then were said to undergo genetic mutation secondary to exposure from various radioactive wastes after the bombings. With this back-story, Godzilla was born and many people recognize it as a dinosaur-like monster that is taller than buildings and stronger than any other creature.

The original movie about Godzilla portrayed the monster as a creature who destroys buildings and other man-made objects. The originally Godzilla was not particularly cruel to human beings except for those who tried to provoke its anger. Later films about this popular and fictional creature made him a true monster and beast causing panic among human characters. There are also movies about Godzilla that make it a protagonist or a hero that protects other human characters of the film. In many of these films, Godzilla retained the original dinosaur-like appearance with amphibious capabilities.