Mini/Godzilla

Minis from the Godzilla continuum are, of course, mini-kaiju. They are gigantic as far as minis go, being as big as a house (which is tiny only compared to skyscraper-sized monsters).

Unlike most other minis, mini-kaiju come in a wide variety of forms. In general, mispellings of a human character, a location, or otherwise anything that isn't a specific kaiju produce a mini-Godzilla. Mispellings of specific kaiju names, on the other hand, produce miniature versions of the kaiju in question.

Because of the size of these minis relative to an agent, they usually have to be shrunken down even further before being kept in an RC; otherwise, there's no way even one mini-kaiju can possibly fit in such a small enclosed space. Once scaled down appropriately, however, they're actually quite tame - as long as there aren't any fanbrats around.

Canon Origin
Kaiju (怪獣?, kaijū) is a Japanese word that means "strange beast" and is usually translated as "monster" in English. Traditionally, kaiju can refer any sort of strange creature, but in recent times the word has become associated with a genre of tokusatsu entertainment, specifically Japanese cinema that involved giant monsters. The most powerful kaiju are at times advertently referred to as daikaiju (大怪獣?, daikaijū) the prefix dai-emphasizing great power or status and is usually translated as "giant monster." Kaiju are typically modeled after conventional animals, insects or mythological creatures; however, there are more exotic examples. Choujin Sentai Jetman features monsters based on traffic lights, faucets, and tomatoes; Kamen Rider Super-1 includes a whole army of monsters based on household objects such as umbrellas and utility ladders. While the term kaiju is used in the West to describe monsters from tokusatsu and Japanese folklore, monsters like vampires, werewolves, Frankenstein's Monster, mummies and zombies also fall into this category. Kaiju are depicted as cannon fodder serving a greater evil: some kaiju are elite warriors which serve as the right-hand man to the greater villain and are destroyed by the heroic forces, while others have a neutral alignment, only seeking to destroy buildings and other structures. During the early eras of tokusatsu, "heroic" monsters were seen in Daikaiju Eiga films, and it wasn't until later when television tokusatsu productions began using kaiju which aided the hero, saved civilians, or demonstrated some kind of complex personality. These kaiju adopted many classic monster traits, often appearing as the "Misunderstood Creature" in most entertainment media.

The Godzilla franchise features a broad spectrum of giant monsters, the most prominent being Godzilla himself, who first appeared in the 1954 film Gojira and has stomped his way through at least 21 movies since then. Godzilla's appearance has changed between films over the years, but many defining details have endured. In the Japanese films, Godzilla is depicted as a gigantic dinosaur with rough, bumpy, usually charcoal gray scales, a long powerful tail, and generally bone-white dorsal plates, generally shaped like maple leaves, though there are some designs whose traits may differ. His origins vary somewhat from film to film, but he is almost always described as a prehistoric creature, and his first attacks on Japan are linked to the beginning of the Atomic Age. In particular, mutation due to atomic radiation is presented as an explanation for his great size and strange powers. Godzilla's iconic design is composed of a mixture of various species of dinosaurs and other reptiles: the body of a Tyrannosaurus, the arms of an Iguanodon, and the dorsal plates of a Stegosaurus, and the skin texture of a crocodile. The name "Godzilla" is a transliteration of Gojira (ゴジラ?), a combination of two Japanese words: gorira (ゴリラ?), meaning gorilla, and kujira (鯨? or クジラ?), meaning whale. At one planning stage, the concept of "Gojira" was described as "a cross between a gorilla and a whale", representing his aquatic lifestyle and bulky size (whale) and his sheer strength and the strategic thinking he uses when fighting against other monsters (gorilla).

Other prominent kaiju in the Godzilla franchise include: Anguirus, a spike-backed dinosaur-like creature who started out as a rival to the King of the Monsters and later became a stalwart ally after Destroy All Monsters (the last of the Showa Godzilla films); Rodan, a supersonic pterosaur who made his debut in his own movie before becoming integrated into the Godzilla franchise as a secondary character; Mothra, a giant butterfly who fights for peace and openly defends the planet from forces that threaten it (and was popular enough that there was an entire film trilogy dedicated to her in the 90's); and King Ghidorah, a three-headed space dragon with a mean streak as wide as his wingspan and one of Godzilla's greatest foes.

For more on the various kaiju from the Godzilla franchise, see Toho Kaiju on Wikizilla.