# The 29 Greatest Kaiju of All Time

> Nine decades of rubber suits, stop-motion beasts and city-flattening sequels, pulled from Tokyo studios, Hollywood backlots and one Danish soundstage. Some are household names; others only the die-hards remember.

*By YPB Team · Published November 10, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/the-29-greatest-kaiju-of-all-time*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Godzilla** — score 1000/1000
   Toho's atomic-breathing giant reptile introduced in Ishirō Honda's 1954 film Godzilla and the star of more than 30 Japanese and American films.
2. **King Kong** — score 728/1000
   The giant ape who debuted in RKO's 1933 film King Kong and later fought Godzilla in 1962 and 2021.
3. **Pulgasari** — score 576/1000
   A metal-eating monster from the 1985 North Korean film Pulgasari, produced under Kim Jong-il.
4. **Clover** — score 541/1000
   The colossal creature that attacks Manhattan in the 2008 found-footage film Cloverfield, produced by J. J. Abrams.
5. **Varan** — score 466/1000
   A gliding reptile monster from Toho's 1958 film Varan the Unbelievable, directed by Ishirō Honda.
6. **Iris** — score 460/1000
   A tentacled monster bonded to a teenage girl in Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris (1999).
7. **Biollante** — score 460/1000
   A giant plant creature grown from Godzilla cells, a rose and a woman's DNA in Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989).
8. **Minilla** — score 460/1000
   Godzilla's adopted son, introduced in Son of Godzilla (1967) and later featured in All Monsters Attack (1969).
9. **SpaceGodzilla** — score 411/1000
   A crystalline Godzilla clone formed in outer space and the antagonist of Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (1994).
10. **Barugon** — score 411/1000
   A quadrupedal reptile with a freezing tongue and a rainbow ray, Gamera's opponent in Gamera vs. Barugon (1966).
11. **Destoroyah** — score 411/1000
   A crustacean-like monster spawned by the Oxygen Destroyer and the antagonist of Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995).
12. **Baragon** — score 411/1000
   A burrowing horned monster from Frankenstein Conquers the World (1965) that returned as a guardian monster in a 2001 Godzilla film.
13. **Daimajin** — score 411/1000
   A stone warrior god who comes to life to punish tyrants in Daiei's Daimajin trilogy, all three films released in 1966.
14. **Rhedosaurus** — score 357/1000
   A fictional dinosaur awakened by an Arctic atomic test in The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953), animated by Ray Harryhausen.
15. **Anguirus** — score 357/1000
   A spiked quadrupedal ankylosaur that became Godzilla's first monster opponent in Godzilla Raids Again (1955).
16. **Megalon** — score 357/1000
   A beetle-like monster sent by the undersea kingdom of Seatopia in Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973).
17. **Gorgo** — score 357/1000
   A sea monster captured and put on display in London, whose giant mother attacks the city in the 1961 British film Gorgo.
18. **Gyaos** — score 357/1000
   A bat-like flying monster with a sonic beam and Gamera's recurring enemy since Gamera vs. Gyaos (1967).
19. **Gappa** — score 294/1000
   A pair of bird-reptile parents searching for their stolen offspring in Nikkatsu's 1967 film Gappa: The Triphibian Monster.
20. **Mothra** — score 294/1000
   A giant moth deity first seen in Toho's 1961 film Mothra, accompanied by twin fairies from Infant Island.
21. **Gamera** — score 294/1000
   Daiei's giant fire-breathing flying turtle, introduced in the 1965 film Gamera, the Giant Monster.
22. **Mechagodzilla** — score 294/1000
   A robotic Godzilla double built by alien invaders, first seen in Toho's 1974 film Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla.
23. **Reptilicus** — score 222/1000
   A regenerating prehistoric reptile from the 1961 Danish-American film Reptilicus.
24. **Hedorah** — score 222/1000
   A pollution-born sludge monster from Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971), released in English as Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster.
25. **Ebirah** — score 137/1000
   A giant lobster guarding a terrorist base in Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966).
26. **King Ghidorah** — score 137/1000
   A three-headed golden dragon from space who debuted in Toho's 1964 film Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster.
27. **Gigan** — score 137/1000
   A cyborg space monster with hooks for hands and a buzz saw in its chest, first seen in Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972).
28. **Rodan** — score 0/1000
   A giant pteranodon introduced in Toho's 1956 film Rodan, the studio's first kaiju film shot in color.
29. **Legion** — score 0/1000
   A silicon-based alien swarm with a giant queen form, the antagonist of Gamera 2: Attack of Legion (1996).

Tags: movies, sci-fi, japan, godzilla, kaiju, monsters