Q 01/05

The Japanese word kaiju, used for giant film monsters like Godzilla, literally means what in English?

A) Strange beast

B) Giant lizard

C) Storm demon

D) Thunder dragon

Answer · why

A) Strange beast

Strange beast is the literal reading, and the word first described creatures of ancient Japanese legend. Its giant-sized form, daikaiju, was splashed ...

Q 02/05

Gojira, Godzilla's Japanese name and reportedly a studio worker's nickname, blends the words for which two animals?

A) Dragon and crocodile

B) Lizard and bear

C) Gorilla and whale

D) Dinosaur and shark

Answer · why

C) Gorilla and whale

Gorilla and whale, gorira and kujira in Japanese, fuse into Gojira. The best-known story says it was the nickname of a sturdily built Toho employee wh...

Q 03/05

Gamera, the flying, fire-breathing kaiju launched in 1965 to rival Godzilla, is a giant what?

A) Crocodile

B) Turtle

C) Armadillo

D) Stingray

Answer · why

B) Turtle

Turtle is hidden in the name: Gamera comes from kame, the Japanese word for the animal, plus the -ra ending borrowed from Gojira. Studio executives di...

Q 04/05

In Guillermo del Toro's Pacific Rim, what are the giant robots steered by mind-linked co-pilots called?

A) Sentinels

B) Gundams

C) Guardians

D) Jaegers

Answer · why

D) Jaegers

Jaegers need at least two pilots because the mental stress of driving one is too much for a single mind. The co-pilots share the load through a neural...

Q 05/05

Which giant kaiju is worshipped on Infant Island and speaks to humans through two tiny twin fairies?

A) Megalon

B) Gamera

C) Mothra

D) Gigan

Answer · why

C) Mothra

Mothra was first drafted with four fairies. Screenwriter Shinichi Sekizawa cut them to two because twins were comparatively rare in Japan, which added...