The kaiju of the Pacific Rim franchise deserve more credit for their creative monster designs, even if some of their city-destroying creatures are cooler than others. The original Pacific Rim helped popularize the use of the word “kaiju” in the West when referring to massive monsters like Godzilla or King Kong, using the term as a catch-all for the series’ monsters. Even if the franchise hasn’t managed to harness its initial popularity as well as Warner Bros.’ Monsterverse, it still harbors some awesome kaiju worth praising for their memorable appearances.
The distinctive design elements of the kaiju have had a big influence on other modern-day titanic monsters, such as the MUTOS of 2014’s Godzilla. From their duplicate sets of forelimbs, distinctive blue biolumenescence, and uncanny bioengineered organic weaponry, the kaiju of the Pacific Rim series are a force to be reckoned with. Even if they only made brief appearances, some of the monsters featured across Pacific Rim, Pacific Rim Uprising, and Pacific Rim: The Black deserve recognition as iconic monsters in their own right.
Pacific Rim
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In a post-apocalyptic future, Earth battles a deadly race of alien monsters called the Kaiju, who have begun arriving on the planet through an interdimensional portal in the Pacific Ocean. In an attempt to combat the Kaiju, humanity has created Jaegers, giant robot suits powered by at least two pilots that can match their enemy for size and strength. When the Kaiju begin to become too strong, however, a washed-up Jaeger pilot must return to the program to participate in one final mission to save Earth for good.
- Director
- Guillermo del Toro
- Release Date
- July 12, 2013
10 Hakuja
Pacific Rim Uprising (2018)
Of the three more distinct kaiju featured in the hectic MegaTokyo Battle of Pacific Rim Uprising, Hakuja certainly stands out. With a distinctive insectoid or crustacean look compared to most other Kaiju, Hakuja got to show off some incredibly cool abilities, including burrowing through the Earth at an alarming speed, a spiked tail weapon, and even burning hot molten blood. If only Hakuja got more screentime to show off what it was capable of, it might’ve been a far more memorable monster in the Pacific Rim series’ lineup.
9 Raijin
Pacific Rim Uprising (2018)
If Hakuja was one of the cooler background monsters of Pacific Rim Uprising, Raijin was by far the star of the show. The heavily-armored beast had a distinctive armored head, able to channel the kinetic energy from the attacks of the Jaegers and throw it back at them with a sickeningly-cool sound effect. Other than being stuck in Pacific Rim Uprising, Raijin’s only poor mark compared to other kaiju is its unfolding armored head’s suspicious similarity to the monsters of A Quiet Place, which came out the same year.
8 Apex
Pacific Rim: The Black (2021)
Pacific Rim: Uprising may have introduced the concept of a Jaeger/kaiju hybrid, but the idea wouldn’t be perfected until the appearance of the mysterious warrior Apex in the anime series, Pacific Rim: The Black. Armed with a chest beam, shoulder-mounted missiles, and slender claw-like fingers, Apex’s most terrifying aspect is its ability to force humans around him to drift with it, sharing their memories at will with nearby humans. Apex would’ve been more memorable if its screen time wasn’t mostly spent as a Deus Ex Machina to save the Travis siblings and Boy.
7 Copperhead
Pacific Rim: The Black (2021)
Even if he was a relatively simple quadruped kaiju, Copperhead still left a lasting impression as a recurring villain in Pacific Rim: The Black. Encountering the Travis siblings not one, not two, but three times before being killed, this persistent hunter was an admirable threat that proved how deadly even relatively weak kaiju can be to an inexperienced Jaeger pilot. Still, it’s a shame Copperhead never got to use any unique offensive abilities similar to the other Category IV kaiju, limiting his potential in battles as a city-scale threat.
6 Breacher
Pacific Rim: The Black (2021)
Pacific Rim‘s monsters are measured by the Serizawa Scale, a categorization system that ranks kaiju’s danger from a scale of 1 to 5. Breacher was the first titanic beast to shatter the boundaries of the system, being the first Category VI kaiju to ever appear. With its terrifying human-like face and massive arms, Breacher certainly left an impression with his sheer size and rating, but it could’ve been more unique in terms of body plan and powers, fighting mostly as a basic armored bruiser.
5 The Mega-Kaiju
Pacific Rim Uprising (2018)
After the individual efforts of Raijin, Shrikethorn, and Hakuja weren’t enough to overwhelm the human Jaeger pilots, the combined their forces in an unprecedented act of organic adaptation. Interlinking their bodies into a massive Voltron of kaiju flesh, the three monsters created the Mega-kaiju, the most massive creature yet to be featured in the Pacific Rim series. Even though the concept and body plan of the creature was one of the absolute coolest yet, it ultimately didn’t leave much of an impact, being easily defeated in a single blow by Gipsy Avenger and Scrapper before making it to Mount Fuji.
4 Knifehead
Pacific Rim (2013)
Named for the massive blade-like structure protruding from the creature’s snout, Knifehead wound up being one of the most dangerous kaiju in the entire series. Knifehead was the first kaiju to display true cunning and sapient-level intelligence when fighting, playing dead long enough to get Gipsy Danger to lower its guard before launching a deadly surprise attack, killing Yancy Beckett. Knifehead’s unwieldy, cumbersome weapon may have been its downfall in the end, but it forever left a scar on the Jaeger program.
3 Leatherback
Pacific Rim (2013)
With its massive, simian frame, unique biology, and namesake leathery skin, Leatherback is one of the most fearsome kaiju to ever appear in the franchise. Not only was the bulky beast exceptionally strong, even for a kaiju, but it was uniquely able to disable most Jaeger pilots with its bioengineered EMP organ, shutting down electronics in a wide area before continuing its rampage. The only kaiju so far to take down two Jaegers back-to-back by itself, Leatherback makes an arguement for the Pacific Rim franchise’s most “successful” kaiju.
2 Slattern
Pacific Rim (2013)
Appearing towards the final act of the original Pacific Rim film, Slattern made literal waves as the first Category V kaiju to appear in the series, a weighty title that was only emphasized by destroying one of the most successful Jeagers, Striker Eureka. Even after a point-blank thermonuclear detonation from the mech, Slattern was still kicking, only finally being taken down after another directed nuclear blast from Gipsy Danger’s turbine. From its flared hammerhead shark face to its deadly flail-like tails, Slattern was a demonic force of destruction few kaiju in the series can compete with.
1 Otachi
Pacific Rim (2013)
Even if she was only a Category IV kaiju, Otachi was one of the more cunning, tricky, and dangerous kaiju around. Confirmed to be female in Guillermo Del Toro’s director commentary, Otachi had a variety of tricks up her sleeve, from acid projectiles to even functioning wings, resulting in one of the greatest fight scenes in the entire franchise. With hit-and-run tactics, her distinctive armored eyestalks, and a scary high pain tolerance, Otachi was undeniably the coolest kaiju to be featured in Pacific Rim or any of its follow-ups.
