There is something about the urban sprawl of Japan's metropolises that just seems to make for the perfect backdrop for Godzilla-esque monsters rampaging about. Maybe it's just the desire to see something living and breathing among those tall buildings, or perhaps we've just been conditioned by old kaiju movies to expect dinosaurs and robots to duke it out while chewing on Tokyo power-lines. Whatever the reason, Japanese artist Shuichi Nakano has just the thing to scratch your itch, but with an animal twist!

Nakano's artwork from the "Searching For Paradise" series is a combination of bizarre and beautiful, and features gigantic animals (both cute and terrifying) running amok in Japan's major cities. Take a look at some samples below while you decide whether you want to say "awww" or "nope nope nope!"

夢の途中 (In the midst of a dream)

初秋の風、夏の余韻 (Early autumn wind, lingering memory of summer)

５時２５分の寒気 (Chill at 5:25)

真昼の記憶 (Memory of noon)

荒天の予感 (Premonition of storm)

帰り道を忘れて (Forgetting the way home)

春の終わりに (At the end of spring)

春の園 (A garden in the spring

東京ペンギン (TOKIO Penguins)

ここはどこ？ (Where am I?

漫遊 (Sky Walk

知恵の塔 (Tower of the knowledge)

恋人たち (Tokio Lovers)

遠足の準備 (In preparation for a picnic)

森がみつかるまで (Till find the forest

海風の通る場所 (In the place where sea breeze blows

楽園を捜して (Searching for paradise)