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This article focuses on the originality of the kaiju figure in the Japanese imaginary. Through a historical and aesthetic approach, it offers a look at Japanese media fiction featuring this kind of character. Neither totally protagonists, nor entirely antagonists, it is a question of showing that these popular monstrous figures embody political and social problems specific to Japan such as the concept of national identity, the rapid post-war urbanization, the climatic situation of the archipelago or the use of nuclear power. To do this, we first propose to resolve the etymology of the word “ kaiju” and then to situate these fictional non-humans in relation to the narratives and beliefs of Japan. Through an aesthetic analysis of its occurrences, we will position the kaiju as an antipoetic. Finally, we will consider the current fictions that tend to use these figures of otherness as an opportunity to reflect on the national psyche in the face of contemporary malaise.