Kaiju Artistry: A Lifelong Journey with Monsters

An Interview with Yuji Kaida (May 8, 2026, at Suginami Historical Museum)
"If you take my name, Yuji Kaida, and rearrange the letters as an anagram, it can be 'Kaiju da'—which means, 'A monster!'" laughs Yuji Kaida, the legendary 'Kaiju Artist.' We sat down with him to discuss the journey from his childhood and what he is up to currently.

1. Growing Up with Monsters

"I had my first birthday in 1954, the same year Godzilla was released. Of course I didn't see it in theaters at the time, but my father did. He used to take me to see films like Shintoho Picture’s ghost cat movies, which were so scary that I’d turn away from the screen and clutch the back of my seat,” he recalls. "Later, when Godzilla aired on television, I remember my father telling me, 'Look, Godzilla is about to come out,' and that was the first time I saw the monster. The first tokusatsu (special effects) film I saw in the theater was Battle in Outer Space (1959). Once I started elementary school, I went with my family to see every tokusatsu-style film featuring monsters."

"Then, when Ultra Q (1966) started on TV, I was completely captivated. I spent my childhood as a kid obsessed with tokusatsu monsters."

2. Encountering an Otherworldly Realm at the Expo

"In junior high, I was in the woodworking club, and in high school, I joined the art club and started painting with oils. I loved how oil painting allowed for such creative freedom—layering, scraping, and experimenting with paint. My advisor then, who I still owe so much to, let us paint how we wanted, rather than forcing us to do it in a certain way. At the time, I saw an issue of Bijutsu Techo magazine filled with progressive contemporary art, and I was amazed that expression could be that free. I wanted to make something big, and I even painted on a 4-meter-wide, 2-meter-high plywood board using paint rollers."

"When I was a senior in high school, the Osaka Expo was held. Since the site was very close to my school, I saw everything from the construction to the aftermath. I was supposed to be studying for entrance exams, but I visited the venue many times during the exposition. The Expo gave me a sense of the future—a feeling of being in an otherworldly dimension, different from reality—which was a huge inspiration."

3. Starting Out as a Kaiju Monster Fan

"When I entered Kyoto City University of Arts, the kaiju monster movie boom had quieted down, and it was rather stagnant. Then, one day, a letter appeared in the SF Magazine submissions column: 'Is there anyone else who likes kaiju movies?' I was so happy to know there were others like me. That letter led to the formation of a kaiju fan club in Tokyo. As I participated, I wanted to create a branch in the Kansai region, and when I reached out, seven people joined. We made fanzines and held screenings by renting film reels. I connected with many people doing similar things. At the time, there was an all-night kaiju movie screening at a cinema in Kobe, and it was so packed that there was a line outside. I was shocked to see how many kaiju fans there were in Kansai."

4. From a "Guy Who Draws" for Fanzines to Professional Artist

"When I was a college student, I visited the Kaiju Club, a group of enthusiasts in Tokyo. Led by Hiroshi Takeuchi, who was at Tsuburaya Productions at the time, it was full of people researching kaiju monsters with an incredibly academic, deep level of detail. I decided, 'I’ll be the guy who draws,' and started creating illustrations for our fanzines."

"After graduation, I worked at a printing company in Osaka while continuing to produce fanzines for about two years. When the magazine Gekkan Out (literally “Monthly Out”) launched, I started getting illustration requests through connections, such as creating diagrams for an article on Star Wars. Empowered by that, I thought, 'If there’s work in Tokyo, I should go,' and moved to the city. I moved in with my college junior who was living in Nishi-Ogikubo, Suginami Ward."

"Then, in the late 1970s, another kaiju boom occurred. A new Ultraman series began, and the Godzilla series was revived. Monster media was being re-evaluated."

5. The Desire to Paint Kaiju as Fine Art

"Even with the new kaiju boom, there weren't many color photos of old works remaining, so there was little available to put in books and magazines. The solution was to create illustrations, so I started receiving a lot of work. I became the cover illustrator for the magazine Uchusen for seven years, starting from its first issue. Soundtrack record LPs for tokusatsu films also started selling well. This was at a time when popular singers dominated the record charts. When I drew jackets for the Ultraman series LPs—at a pace of one every two months—I gave each one a different style. I wanted to treat each kaiju image as a single work of fine art—to draw them from a perspective that hadn't been seen before. Since these were intended for adults, I didn't want them to look like simple instructional diagrams for children."

"Plastic models aimed at adults also started to appear, and I began drawing package illustrations for 'Gunpla' models. That led to work on other robots, and my world of illustration continued to expand."

6. Current Situation for the Kaiju Artist

"I’m still drawing monsters and robots today. For the past decade or so, I’ve also been creating original works and compiling them into art books."

"One project with an international impact that stands out is the poster for Ready Player One. It was a tough assignment because it had to be finished before the film’s release, but when the director visited Japan for the premiere, he saw the poster and was thrilled. I am also often invited as a guest to kaiju fan events overseas. This summer (2026), I’m going to G-FEST in the U.S., which is a massive convention event for monster enthusiasts."

"I’ve lived in Suginami for over 30 years now. It’s a very compatible city for artists—it just has that kind of vibe. There are galleries and several hubs for subculture. Even just wandering around, you find excitement in moments like, 'I can’t believe this is here!' It’s a great city for walking."