Unwinnable Monthly – June 2024 – Kawaiiju
This is a reprint of the letter from the editor in Unwinnable Monthly Issue 176. You can buy Issue 176 now, or purchase a monthly subscription to make sure you never miss an issue!
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Dear Reader,
Something beautiful happened in the office the other day. Someone had a silly idea. And then it snowballed. This is one of my favorite things about working at Unwinnable. Someone says something and around it a whole theme issue gets formed. That’s how the absurd Exploits Lists issue happened. That’s how Kawaiiju happened.
This will get explained with more precision further into the issue but it’s the merging of two words. First, kawaii. Kawaii is a cute, soft, adorable culture. Stuff that makes you say “aww.” Kaiju also makes you say “aww” but mostly if you are kind of a more twisted person. Literally a strange beast, this is often most clearly identified with Godzilla and the weird and giant monster movies increasingly seen in the West. Put them together and this is what you’ve got!
This month we’re featuring Van Dennis on Kaiju No. 8 as well as cover artist Łukasz Kowalczuk.
For this month’s Funeral Rites, brought to you by our friends at Exalted Funeral, Noah Springer interprets Portents of a Dying God.
So, as always, we do something a big tent when it comes time to do a theme so this issue, we’ve got…Oluwatayo Adewole talking to us about the inherent threat in each of those. Jay Castello with spoilers about a big mean dog. Sara Clemens tries to think of the most harmless thing. Diedre Coyle takes us further back than we’ve ever been before, 1120 CE. Stu Horvath makes me pull out my Monster Manual. Amanda Hudgins ponders monsterfucking. Yay: Melissa King is Bobot! Emily Price rolls up a giant ball to impress someone’s dad. Justin Reeve talks about the biggest danger to us all, capitalism. Rob Rich lauds Monarch. Phoenix Simms brings us a big sweet moth. Alyssa Wejebe gets comfy in the Colosseum. And Autumn Wright reminds us that the real monsters are born from us.
But after you’re done enjoying all these big monsters, cuteness and points and collisions in between remember that the world is a dangerous place and increasingly it feels like we’re seeing its most dangerous phase ever. Make some time to check in on someone. Carry an extra few bits of cash for someone who might need it. Say yes to a favor when asked. We’re all in this together.
See you all in the next Exploits!
David Shimomura
Monster Island
June 7, 2024
