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Voting begins for Japan’s next top kaiju

Master Blaster Oct 19, 2026
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Which one of these up-and-coming ancient abominations will face off against Godzilla next?

Godzilla has had a very long career on the silver screen and has faced countless other giant monsters over the years, from Mothra to Hedorah. The creative minds at Toho have consistently served up a buffet of weird and sometimes wacky creatures known as “kaiju” to satiate moviegoers’ appetites for destruction.

And now, they have decided to let all of us choose a future rival for the King of All Monsters in the New Kaiju General Election. This online vote has pitted eight forces of nature, cosmic entities, and man-made golems in a contest of popularity now entering its final phase.

From 17 to 25 October, Phase 2 of the final voting will be held. The previous phase saw the top four finalists go head to spiky head with the following results.

1st Place
Dimensional Entity
Xenolhu
(46,066 points, 58 meters [190.3 feet] tall, 45,000 metric tonnes [49,604 tons])

This octopus-like monstrosity hails from another universe. When Godzilla’s heat ray emitted wavelengths similar to those harnessed by Xenolhu, it came to Earth to learn more and attempt to wipe out existence while it’s here. This bad boy can grab and manipulate space as if it were matter and has telepathic powers that can cause hallucinations or reduce living beings to ash.

2nd Place
Drone Carrier Machine
Sagius
(34,202 points, 60 meters tall, 35,000 tonnes)

Drones are all the rage in warfare these days, and Sagius has them in spades. In fact, the whole thing is a man-made drone aircraft carrier designed with the sole purpose of fighting Godzilla. Its hind legs that cause it to resemble Sagittarius also provide it with incredible stability in case the big green guy does that weird move where he comes flying horizontally at it. It can also utilize its dreaded Maser Arrow, in which its powerful Maser Cannon in its midsection fires a massive maser beam that’s amplified by a constellation of maser drones around it… and don’t ask me what “maser” means. I just like saying it.

3rd Place
Planet Raid Monster
Glix
(28,724 points, 70 meters tall, 40,000 tonnes and up)

Here we have one of those planet-devouring monsters that travels through space looking for energy-rich worlds to consume and, according to its English bio, “reduce planets to ‘Dead Stars,’” reminding us all about the importance of using human translators. Glix could smell the smoldering radioactive power inside Godzilla from light-years away and came to dine on Godzilla while also reducing the Earth to a dead, sigh… star…

It’s just, setting aside the fact that planets and stars are vastly different things, actual dead stars like white dwarves and black holes still have staggering amounts of energy in them. Anyway…

4th Place
Assault Dinosaur Monster
Rigedoh
(18,846 points, 50 meters tall, 32,000 tonnes)

Rigedoh is a really big dinosaur that was frozen in the ice for eons.

That’s it really…

What? It’s not like all these monsters have to have complex backstories. Some are just cool-looking dinosaurs. and if you can’t find joy in that while watching Godzilla movies, then you have come to the wrong place, my friend.

As you can see by the point spread, Xenolhu has a very commanding lead so far, but there’s nothing kaiju love more than crunch time, and this is it! All you have to do is go to the official voting website, read through the monsters’ bios and check out their concept art, and then vote for your favorite.

▼ You can also check out the ones that didn’t make the finals: (from top left clockwise) Gigasect, the giant insectoid, the eldritch Madomuh, Candyroy (who started out as a mutated candy wrapper and did abysmally in the vote), and the ancient mech Minacias.

Voting closes on 25 October, and the winner will be crowned the New Kaiju on 3 November at Godzilla Fest 2026 at the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo. This winning beast or mech will then feature in a special battle short film screened at the following year’s Godzilla Fest in the tokusatsu style of the campier Godzilla films, as opposed to the more current darker ones.

It may not be a feature film, but this is still a major stepping stone for any aspiring colossus that could lead to further TV and film appearances, and dare I say maybe even an unposable plastic toy in the future. The producers at Toho will also be keeping their eyes on all contestants, and even those who don’t come in first may get tapped for a future project if they get enough support. That’s why it’s important to get out there and vote for your favorite kaiju. After all, democracy is the backbone of monster mayhem.

Source, images: PR Times
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