Gamera

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Gamera
Gamera film series character
Gamera, as featured in Gamera, the Giant Monster
First appearanceGamera, the Giant Monster (1965)
Created by
Portrayed by
In-universe information
Species

Gamera (Japanese: ガメラ, Hepburn: Gamera) is a fictional monster, or kaiju, originating from a series of Japanese films. Debuting in the 1965 film Gamera, the Giant Monster, the character and the first film were intended to compete with the success of Toho's Godzilla film series. Since then, Gamera has become a Japanese icon in his own right, appearing in a total of 12 films produced by Daiei Film and later by Tokuma Shoten and Kadokawa Daiei Studio respectively, and various other media such as novelizations, manga, video games, and so on.

Gamera is depicted as a giant, flying, fire-breathing, prehistoric turtle. In the first film, Gamera is portrayed as aggressive and destructive, though he also saves a child. As the films progressed, Gamera took on a more benevolent role, becoming a protector of humanity especially children, nature, and the Earth from extraterrestrial races and other giant monsters.[6]

As below mentioned, on the contrary to its popularity and extensive social influences[7] such as references in numerous media globally and naming of two species of prehistoric turtles, Sinemys gamera and Gamerabaena, expansion of the franchise and public recognition of the character were severely hindered by financial obstacles.[8]

Overview[edit]

Conception[edit]

The Black Tortoise, one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations, is a possible source of inspiration for Gamera.[9]

The original idea for Gamera was developed by Yonejiro Saito,[10] Masaichi Nagata, Hidemasa Nagata, and Noriaki Yuasa. The character was created as a property of the production company Daiei Film, and was intended to compete with the Godzilla film series (which features the giant monster character of the same name), owned by rival studio Toho.[11][12][13]

The name Gamera (ガメラ) derives from the Japanese kame ("turtle"), and the suffix -ra, a suffix shared by such other kaiju characters as Godzilla (Gojira) and Mothra.[14] Gamera's name was spelled Gammera in the title of Gammera the Invincible, the re-titled American release of the first film in the franchise, Gamera, the Giant Monster.[15][16]

Gamera's turtle-like design may have been inspired by the Black Tortoise, one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations in East Asian mythology.[9] The Black Tortoise is known as Genbu in Japanese, and is usually depicted as a turtle entwined together with a snake.[9] Each of the Four Symbols are said to act as guardians over each of the four cardinal directions, with the dragon Seiryu in the east; the tiger Byakko in the west; the bird Suzaku in the south; and the tortoise Genbu in the north.[9][17] In Gamera, the Giant Monster, the first film in the franchise, Gamera is depicted as awakening in the Arctic, the northernmost region on Earth.[9][18] Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris, the 11th film in the franchise, contains a scene featuring a book describing the Four Symbols, including Genbu.[9] Before the character was officially referenced to the Black Tortoise in the 1999 film, designs and background stories of Gamera and Gyaos were also inspired by ancient Chinese and Indian aspects during the production of Gamera: Guardian of the Universe.[7]

Relationship with Godzilla[edit]

Both Gamera and Godzilla franchises played significant roles in expanding modern cultures in Japan.[7] Both along with Daimajin and Ultra Q franchises formed the "First Kaiju Boom", which became the basis for the "Second Kaiju Boom" and "Yōkai Boom".[19][20]

Daiei Film's objective was not to surpass the Godzilla franchise but to coexist with it so audiences can enjoy both franchises, and the Gamera franchise gained popularity notably among children and rivaled the Toho productions.[21] Due to the Six-Company Agreement, other companies could not "openly" use tokusatsu techniques of Toho, and Eiji Tsuburaya's teams were appointed for Gappa: The Triphibian Monster by Nikkatsu and The X from Outer Space by Shochiku to solve difficulties to avoid using Toho techniques,[a] but Daiei Film intentionally avoided receiving any assistance from Tsuburaya for the Gamera franchise to differentiate their productions from Toho.[21]

Showa Gamera films, especially since Gamera vs. Gyaos, were intended to appeal to children, to deal with budgetary problems and the Six-Company Agreement to differentiate from the Godzilla franchise. Due to the agreement and the direction to differentiate from Toho, Gamera's characteristics such as to breathe traditional non-atomic fire, his personality as both a creature and a hero rather than Godzilla's theme to represent a "god of destruction",[b][c] and choices of materials for suits and miniature models were devised to avoid duplicates with the Toho productions. Plots of Showa Gamera films intentionally avoided focus on "standards" of kaiju films by Toho, such as the JSDF and other military forces, weapons, scientific explanations, and so on. Instead, subsequent films since Gamera vs. Viras featured simple, childish, and eccentric plots for young audiences, in which children played significant roles with eccentric ideas, with children, unlike adults, always believing in Gamera.[21][22] This direction was initially decided because a number of children watching Gamera vs. Barugon got bored with the plot and left their seats,[8] and also to deal with drastically decreased budgets due to the financial situation of Daiei Film; the budget of Gamera vs. Viras was ¥24 million compared to budgets of Gamera vs. Barugon (¥80 million) and Gamera vs. Gyaos (¥60 million). Concepts for monsters' designs[d] and abilities were also restricted due to budgets; and film crews focused more on brutal melee fights to compensate for limited amounts of special effects.[21]

Global distributions of videos of the franchise was also affected by the Godzilla franchise. Daiel Film avoided the market in the United States and instead focused more on European countries to decrease competitions with Toho productions. Increased use of foreign casts was due to requests from European buyers, but those buyers also requested to avoid black cast members, and Daiei Film followed them, while some criticized Daiei Film for this.[21]

While Gamera has been described as being a rip-off of Godzilla by some authors,[6][23][24] Godzilla films including later Showa films,[21][25][26] "Millennium" films including Godzilla 2000,[26] Godzilla vs. Megaguirus[27] and GMK, Shin Godzilla, Godzilla Minus One[28] and MonsterVerse series by Legendary Pictures have been pointed out to be influenced by Showa Gamera films and Shusuke Kaneko's Heisei Gamera Trilogy and GMK.[29][30][31] Kaneko himself acknowledges similarities between his films and MonsterVerse films[29][30] where a scrapped Gamera project by Yoshimitsu Banno in 2011 served as one of its predecessors.[32][33]

Eiji Tsuburaya depicted Godzilla to be more heroic and to bleed in later Showa films despite disliking kaiju to bleed and avoided in previous Showa films due to his belief of Christianity,[22] and later Showa films featured more child-friendly aspects, kaiju as characters than monsters, increased scenes of kaiju, and more fancifully designed kaiju. These later Showa Godzilla films were presumably influenced by Gamera.[19][21][26] The creation of Minilla, a child-friendly son of Godzilla, was also possibly influenced by the Gamera franchise[25] while Toto in the 2006 film Gamera the Brave in return bears physical and conceptual similarities to Minilla and Godzilla Junior in the 1994 film Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla. While Gamera the Brave re-used the original script of Gamera: Guardian of the Universe, its plot was also influenced by the Heisei Mothra trilogy.[7]

Ishiro Honda highly praised the 1967 film Gamera vs. Gyaos, pleasing Niisan Takahashi greatly, freeing him from his feeling of inferiority towards the Godzilla franchise. Takahashi later sent his script for the cancelled 1994 film, which later became the basis of the novelization Gamera vs. Phoenix, to several tokusatsu film makers including Honda, however Takahashi's attempt didn't materialize although Honda encouraged Takahashi.[34][35]

Additionally, the Heisei trilogy was distributed by Toho, and Shusuke Kaneko and Shinji Higuchi respectively directed GMK and Shin Godzilla where Kaneko and Kazunori Ito originally wanted to take the 1992 film Godzilla vs. Mothra.[36] Gamera's voice effect was used in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah,[37] and Gamera was represented within a concept art of Godzilla: King of the Monsters,[38] and several Godzilla productions have presumed references to Gamera.[39][40][41]

In 2023, the Netflix series Gamera Rebirth was directed by Hiroyuki Seshita who previously directed the anime Godzilla trilogy. An official collaboration between the Netflix series and the mobile game Godzilla Battle Line was made where Seshita's incarnation of Godzilla was chosen for the key art, and Gamera and Gyaos appeared in the game as playable characters.[42]

Gamera and Godzilla and other monsters from respective franchises co-appeared in several exoteric productions such as Dr. Slump and Dragon Ball,[43] The Simpsons,[44] MegaTokyo, City Shrouded in Shadow, and USO MAKOTO Yōkai Hyaku Monogatari.[45]

Characteristics[edit]

Gamera's illustration and suits and models on the Kadokawa Daiei Studio office in Chōfu where the city features the character as one of mascots.[46]

Gamera resembles an enormous prehistoric turtle, and is capable of both bipedal movement and flight. He occasionally walks on all four legs in Showa films and Gamera the Brave in 2006. He possesses a pronounced crest on his head, his mouth contains rows of teeth, and two tusks protrude upward from each side of his lower jaw.[47]

He can fly by means of "jets" which can be ignited out of his limb holes when he retracts his legs into his shell.[23] The jets allow Gamera to rise into the air and spin, propelling him forward.[48] In later films, he is shown to be able to fly with only his rear legs drawn inside his shell, allowing his front limbs more freedom.

Gamera's shell is presented as being incredibly resilient and strong (only ever being cut by Guiron's knife snout), and can deflect missiles and other projectiles. His plastron (lower shell) is more vulnerable than his carapace (upper shell), however, and he has been wounded in his plastron to the point of bleeding.

In canonical films, Gamera has never been depicted to feed on any faunal or plant organisms, and usually relies on thermal energy and electricity and other energy sources.[e]

Every incarnations of the character have an affinity for humans (especially children) and nature, and protect them at all costs even by sacrificing themselves.[3][19] They may also save animals, wildlife, and innocent kaiju even if they are offspring of antagonists.[22] His incongruous ferocity in Gamera, the Giant Monster was presumably due to an uncontrollable starvation and confusion after thousands of years of hibernation, and Gamera's rampage against humanity was only to feed on thermal energy and electricity; his attack on cities was also to lure military operations so that he could feed more on thermal energy of firearms.[22]

All incarnations of the character especially since the Heisei trilogy and Gamera the Brave possess several supernatural traits and abilities respectively most notably telepathy, and others such as healing humans and potential reincarnation, and as below mentioned, some of book-only incarnations have been depicted to be actual deities.[4][5]

Showa[edit]

A poster of Gamera vs. Gyaos depicting Gamera's iconic abilities to breathe fire and fly.

During the franchise's Shōwa period, Gamera is depicted as feeding on flammable substances, such as oil and fire.[50][51] According to notes by frequent series director Noriaki Yuasa, Gamera's internal anatomy includes sacs which allow him to store oil, lava, coal, and uranium.[52][53] In Gamera, the Giant Monster and Gamera vs. Barugon, cold temperatures are shown to weaken Gamera.[54]

The original 1965 film, Gamera, the Giant Monster, depicts Gamera's origins as being a result of United States military fighters launching an attack on enemy bombers (presumably belonging to the Soviet Union),[55] which causes the detonation of an atomic bomb on board one of the aircraft. The nuclear blast releases Gamera from a state of suspended animation in the ice. Meanwhile, a Japanese research team stumbles upon an Inuit tribe in possession of an ancient stone etching that depicts a giant turtle, which the tribe refers to as "Gamera".[55]

The incarnation of the character appeared in the 1980 film Gamera: Super Monster was depicted to be potentially a different individual from the previous films where a normal Pond slider was magically turned into a kaiju by the Spacewomen, a group of supernatural female aliens. In the end of the film, Gamera sacrificed himself to destroy the Zanon, a gigantic spaceship of antagonists, while the 1994 manga Giant Monster Gamera depicted this Gamera's fate where Gamera was artificially resurrected by the descendants of Atlanteans with ancient technologies of the Atlantis, gaining characteristics of the Heisei Trilogy Gamera, and was sent back to the ancient period to change the history to avoid a demise and to save and monitor humanity.[56]

Heisei Trilogy[edit]

In the franchise's Heisei period, which began with the 1995 reboot film Gamera: Guardian of the Universe, Gamera's in-universe origins were changed. In the Heisei films, Gamera is portrayed as an ancient, bio-engineered creature from Atlantis, created for the purpose of defending the people of Atlantis from Gyaos, a bat-like creature which breathes a destructive supersonic beam when on the attack.[47][57] Human researchers find Gamera floating in the Pacific Ocean, encased in rock, and mistake him for an atoll.[58] Within the rock, they discover a large monolith explaining Gamera's origins, along with dozens of magatama made from orichalcum, which allow for a psychic link between Gamera and humans. In Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris, an undersea graveyard containing numerous Gamera-like fossils is shown, suggesting that Gamera was not the only one of his kind. One character in the film refers to these fossils as "beta versions" of Gamera, possibly failures in Atlantis' attempts to create the final version.

This Gamera has retractable claws protruding from his elbows,[47] and is shown to be able to shoot plasma fireballs from his mouth.[59][60] Gamera has also been portrayed as being able to absorb mana from the Earth,[61] to fire a plasma beam from his chest, and to manipulate the energy to create a pseudo arm composed of fire to destroy a foe. Within the first and the third films of the trilogy, Gamera magically healed harmed humans including reviving temporary deceased or half-dead individuals.

Gamera the Brave[edit]

The continuity of the franchise was rebooted a second time with the 2006 film Gamera the Brave, the 12th entry in the series. This incarnation was designed after African spurred tortoise, and also possesses supernatural traits[19] such as instant growth, telepathy, comprehending human speeches, sensing and foreseeing emergences of evil monsters from afar, and so on.[62] Gamera's origin is unclear, and governmental officials and scientists try to use him as a weapon against villainous kaiju while protagonists try to save him.[19]

The opening scene of the film, set in 1973, depicts the original Gamera, so called "Avant Gamera", sacrificing himself by means of self-destruction to save a coastal village from four Gyaos.[19][63] 33 years later, a young boy named Toru Aizawa finds a glowing, heart-shaped rock near his home, with a small egg lying on top of it.[63][64] A baby turtle hatches from the egg, and begins to grow in size at an alarming rate.[64] The turtle, dubbed "Toto" by Toru after his own nickname by his deceased mother,[19] quickly forms a bond with the boy and develops the ability to breathe fire and fly.[64] After consuming the glowing rock found with his egg, Toto fully transforms into the next incarnation of Gamera, gaining the power to defeat a lizard-like monster known as Zedus, which was once a normal reptile turned into a kaiju by feeding on Gyaos' corpse, and was presumably controlled by the vengeful spirits of the villainous flying creatures.[65][62]

Gamera Rebirth[edit]

Gamera Rebirth, the first installation in the Reiwa era introduced monsters' characteristics to represent not only homages to previous films but also some of unused ideas of previous films and scrapped projects. All kaiju in this series are artificial life forms created by ancient civilizations for warfare and to control the overpopulation of humanity.[3] This incarnation of Gamera was also originally created for mass-massacres, however he was re-programmed by a rebellious figure to become the protector of civilians from other kaijus.

While previous incarnations of the character possessed affinities to elements most notably fire, electricity, and plasma energy, Gamera in Gamera Rebirth further expanded combat attributes to include electromagnetic pulse, jamming, gravitation, energy shield, and baryon. This incarnation also possesses several supernatural traits such as telepathy, psychic link with humans, interfering mental contacts by other kaiju on humans, bestowing a power to sense presences of other kaiju on certain children, and his name itself contains a power to somehow encourages a specific children and makes humans to feel that the name "Gamera" is the correct one.[3][66]

Gamera appeared to protect protagonist children from other monsters trying to feed on the children and other civilians. Though battles, Gamera was severely damaged and almost died, and during the battle against S-Gyaos, an enormous Gyaos mutant who fed on Viras' corpse, Gamera was injected with a specific RNA virus to reprogram him for the original usage. However, Gamera managed to regain his consciousness by willpower and a telepathic link with a boy. To prevent himself from being enslaved for carnage, Gamera sacrificed himself to destroy the Moonbase of final antagonists, the descendants of nobles of an ancient civilization who were using kaijus. Using all of his remaining power for the planet-penetrating Charged Baryon Cannon, Gamera was literally dissolved into ashes, leaving behind an egg for the new incarnation of Gamera who strongly resembles Toto from the 2006 film.[3]

Others[edit]

There have been multiple other incarnations of the character appeared in various other media from novelizations to manga and video games.

The origin of the Gamera appeared in the 1995 novelization Gamera vs. Phoenix by Niisan Takahashi, which was originally a script for a cancelled film in 1994,[35] is unclear; Showa Gamera defeated villainous monsters like in the previous films while the "new" Gamera who emerged from underneath the Nazca Lines possessed characteristics of the 1995 film Gamera: Guardian of the Universe. This "new" Gamera initially attacked chemical plants all over the world, resulting in hostility from the humanity, however his intention was to prevent an oncoming catastrophe caused by environmental degradations and to warn the humanity. After sealing the Phoenix, an immortal but suicidal, fiery entity constantly suffering due to its immortality, the new Gamera sacrificed himself to save the Earth from further destruction caused by harmful sunlight triggered by air pollutions, following a similar fate with the Phoenix where both monsters cannot die for the sake of the planet which was damaged by the humanity.[7]

The incarnation of the character, the "Black Tortoise", appeared in the spin-off novelization of the 2021 film The Great Yokai War: Guardians was uniquely portrayed to be an actual goddess, being capable of various supernatural abilities such as materialization, speaking human speeches, and making yokai and humans to feel that they somehow know her since their childhoods even if it is their first encounter with her. She in spirit-like form appeared from the Mount Ooe and surrounding mountains in north of the Heian-kyō, and manifested a physical form and battled Nue, a gigantic yokai being empowered by vengeful Abe no Seimei, to save the world from antagonistic humans and yokais.[4]

The presence of "Black Tortoise" was also confirmed in the 2015 novelization Holy Beast War Chronicle: White Shadow (聖獣戦記 白い影, Seijū Senki - Shiroi Kage) which bears several plot similarities with the 1958 Daiei film Nichiren and the Great Mongol Invasion. In this novelization, Barugon and Jiger directly appeared as the Azure Dragon and the White Tiger respectively. Each monsters are spiritual and sacred entities, being regarded as actual deities with supernatural powers such as telepathy, weaponizing weathers, destructive energy beam, levitation, and time manipulation. These monsters choose specific humans as summoners and forms supernatural links with them through magatamas, and bestow them superhuman prowess. The chosen ones can summon materialized monsters to perform tremendous feats, however, if summoners use monsters for destructive deeds, the world would be spiritually poisoned, only being cured by other chosen ones by the Four Symbols; Nichiren, the current summoner of the Black Tortoise who was also bestowed abilities including to manipulate the time, tries to restore the world after the battle of Barugon and Jiger during the Mongol invasions of Japan.[5]

History[edit]

Gyaos, the most recurring antagonist of the franchise.
Gamera, the Giant Monster (1965)
Gamera vs. Barugon, the first colored film of the franchise which also yielded the Daimajin during the production and indirectly resulted in the creation of Daimon the vampire of Yokai Monsters.[67]

The Gamera film series is broken into three different eras, each reflecting a characteristic style and corresponding to the same eras used to classify all kaiju eiga (monster movies) in Japan. The names of the three eras refer to the Japanese emperor during production: the Shōwa era, the Heisei era, and the Reiwa era.

Since original 1965 film production and merchandising budgets of each film have been confined due to financial situations of Daiei Film and Tokuma Shoten respectively, resulting in repeated copyright transfers of Daiei properties and limited productions overall, including cancellations of various projects and failed global expansions despite frequently featuring foreign casts in Shōwa films. Further declining public recognition of the character made it difficult for Kadokawa Corporation to restore the series.[19][21][8]

There have been several major hiatus in productions: one between Gamera vs. Zigra in 1971 and Gamera: Super Monster in 1980, followed by Gamera: Guardian of the Universe in 1995, Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris in 1999 followed by Gamera the Brave in 2006 and Gamera Rebirth in 2023.

The Daimajin, another iconic tokusatsu character by Daiei Film, was originally designed to be an antagonist for the second film, and its concept was fed back into both Daimajin and Barugon, the foe in the 1966 film Gamera vs. Barugon.[67] Daiei's yōkai films most notably the Yokai Monsters were also launched due to the success of the Gamera franchise, and productions of them and related later films such as Sakuya: Yôkaiden were largely influenced by Gamera and Daimajin series. Collaborations of the Daiei films with Shigeru Mizuki and Kazuo Umezu started because of Daiei's yōkai films and formed the "Yōkai Boom" together,[19][20] resulted in minor crossovers between Gamera and Daimajin and Shigeru Mizuki's GeGeGe no Kitarō series and Hiroshi Aramata's Teito Monogatari.[68][69][4][45]

Daiei Film, which was already at the brink of bankruptcy, somewhat recovered due to the unexpected success of the 1965 film, which was considered to be "cheap" and "destined to flop",[19] and launched the above-mentioned Daimajin and Yokai Monsters, and these tokusatsu franchises gained popularity despite limited and continuously decreasing budgets.[68][69][8] Villainous monsters since Gamera vs. Viras received their names from public submissions, and this was to draw public attention to compensate for limited advertising expenses.[22] Gamera vs. Zigra, the last film of the Showa continuity, was co-distributed with Nikkatsu due to the financial problems.[22]

The Gamera franchise solely supported Daiei Film until its bankruptcy, and Noriaki Yuasa destroyed suits of Gamera and other Showa kaiju due to his frustration and distress when he heard about the bankruptcy of the company.[21][22]

Gamera: Super Monster, the first production by Tokuma Shoten, was not completely a new production as it relied on a number of stock footages. The direction to re-edit stock footages of former films was also influenced by budgetary problems and the success of the 1979 Ultraman video by Akio Jissoji, which contributed in the revival of the Tsuburaya Productions franchise.[f][19] Its box office result was not very good partially due to the timing; kaiju genre in general stagnated between late 1970s and early 1980s where Toho ceased producing Godzilla films because of the box office result of Terror of Mechagodzilla in 1975.[8]

The Heisei Trilogy originally started as an attempt to revive the Daimajin by Tokuma Shoten,[70] while Tokuma Shoten and Kadokawa Corporation also aimed to revive the Daimajin along with the Gamera franchise respectively; one in the late 1990s along with the Heisei Gamera Trilogy by starring Steven Seagal, the father of Ayako Fujitani who played Asagi Kusanagi, the human protagonist of the trilogy,[71] and another by Takashi Miike in late 2000s along with Gamera the Brave[19][72] while Miike made the Daimajin to appear in the 2018 film The Great Yokai War: Guardians where Gamera also made a cameo appearance within its spin-off novelization.[4]

Influences of the Heisei Trilogy[edit]
Comparison of Gamera incarnations between the Heisei trilogy and Gamera the Brave to visualize contrasting policies of the productions. The design of Gamera in Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris was what Shusuke Kaneko and others originally intended to use for Gamera: Guardian of the Universe, however it was not approved.[7]

The Heisei Trilogy by Shusuke Kaneko was highly acclaimed among audiences and filmmakers that they are often considered as some of best kaiju films ever made, and it greatly influenced entire tokusatsu genre afterward. However, there are pros and cons regarding the outcome of trilogy.[7][19]

The box office returns of Gamera: Guardian of the Universe, the first installation of the reboot by Tokuma Shoten in 1995, were negatively affected by the Great Hanshin earthquake. Continuation of the series after Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris was cancelled due to the overall box office result of the trilogy and the struggle to produce sequels after depicting the titular heroic monster as an unintentional threat to humanity in the 1999 film, where the film plot and depictions of human casualties in the battles of Shibuya and Kyoto largely displeased Noriaki Yuasa and others; Yuasa noted "that (Heisei trilogy) is not Gamera",[21] and the draft by Shusuke Kaneko and Kazunori Itō for the sequel to portray Gamera to be a further threat was immediately turned down.[7][70] This plot was later used for the 2003 independent film, GAMERA 4-TRUTH by Shinpei Hayashiya.[73]

Kaneko noted that he was at one point almost dismissed during the production of the 1995 film due to considerable disagreements between Kaneko and Itō against executives and Showa staffs to depict Gamera to be both an artificial and mechanical "living robot" and a threat to humanity without caring at all for humans, not even children, partially because Kaneko and Ito originally wanted to make the 1992 film Godzilla vs. Mothra instead of Gamera,[36] and wanted to "take revenge on with Gamera" while they regarded the concept of Gamera to be rather absurd, especially his ability to fly and affinity to children, despite which they applied for the production of the Heisei trilogy.[7][70][21]

During the trilogy, Kaneko and Ito tried to exclude children completely from the plot, and also tried to depict human causalities by Gamera from the start, however executives and Showa staff didn't approve such ideas, and scenes to involve children were briefly inserted although such scenes depicted children to be helpless "burdens" unlike Showa films, and human causalities were not featured until the 1999 film. The 1999 film intentionally avoided to appeal to child audiences, and the trilogy in general didn't contribute in increasing young audiences due to the difficulty of the plot, lack of points that children can empathize, and fearsome and gruesome scenes.[7][19]

These aspects resulted in the rupture of Kaneko and Ito against others and disapproval of the Heisei trilogy, especially Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris, by a number of executives and Showa staff. Parts of two previous films in the trilogy, such as Gamera's origin as an artificial lifeform, the depiction of Gamera doing damage to Fukuoka in the 1995 film, and the "Ultimate Plasma" technique in Gamera 2: Attack of Legion, were also controversial, but were eventually approved. The plot of Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris and Gamera's depictions within the film partially followed those original ideas by Kaneko and Itō and Shinji Higuchi, while some of the originally cancelled depictions of Gamera for the 1995 film, such as his intimidating appearance and the ability to transform his arms into flippers during flights, were partially approved in Gamera 2: Attack of Legion. As above mentioned, the 2003 independent film GAMERA 4-TRUTH re-used the plot of cancelled "G4" in which Gamera no longer protects humanity and causes tremendous collateral damages to exterminate remnants of Gyaos. Kaneko, who dislikes the concepts of Showa Gamera, is aware of criticisms against him, however he in return criticized the concept of Gamera the Brave and advocated the superiority of the Heisei Trilogy.[7][70]

Ironically, the popularity of the Heisei Trilogy indirectly triggered another setback for the franchise. Sequels after Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris potentially up to "G5" or more were cancelled, due to the plot for Gamera to become a threat,[70] and the 2006 film Gamera the Brave. The 2006 film, which was released during a "winter" of kaiju genre, akin to the 1980 film, since Godzilla: Final Wars in 2004,[19] was the first reboot attempt by Kadokawa Corporation reusing the original scripts of the 1995 film which aimed to restore the basis of the franchise,[g] with a slogan to "return Gamera to children". It was also aimed to avoid "standards" of kaiju films akin to Showa films, partially due to a slump of kaiju genre itself.[19] However the film was generally not well-accepted by fans of the Heisei trilogy, but it was more welcomed by children and female audiences, resulting in the commercial failure of the film and cancellation of sequels and subsequent productions such as animes by Cartoon Network and Yoshitomo Yonetani,[74][75] Gamera 3D,[32] and a presumed reboot attempt in 2010s,[7][76] and the franchise was again in a period of inactivity until the 2023 Netflix series Gamera Rebirth.

Shōwa era (1965–1980)[edit]

Daiei Film[edit]
Posters of Showa films on an exhibition.

The film series began in 1965 with Gamera, the Giant Monster, directed by Noriaki Yuasa, which is the first and only entry in the entire series to be shot in black-and-white. To date, it is the only film to be released theatrically in the United States; however, it was heavily edited, dubbed and retitled Gammera the Invincible.[77] In the United States, Gamera attained prominence during the 1970s due to the burgeoning popularity of UHF television stations featuring Saturday afternoon matinée showcases such as Creature Double Feature,[78] and later in the 1990s, when five Gamera films were featured on the television series Mystery Science Theater 3000.

A total of seven Gamera films were produced between 1965 and 1971, with one being released in Japan each year. These films, several of which were also directed by Yuasa, became popular with child audiences. During this time, five of the seven films were picked up for television distribution in the United States by American International Television. Just as Gamera, the Giant Monster becoming Gammera the Invincible, each film (except for Gamera vs. Zigra) was dubbed into English and re-titled for American viewers—Gamera vs. Barugon became War of the Monsters;[79] Gamera vs. Gyaos became Return of the Giant Monsters;[80] Gamera vs. Viras became Destroy All Planets;[81] Gamera vs. Guiron became Attack of the Monsters;[82] and Gamera vs. Jiger became Gamera vs. Monster X.[83]

Despite several sources stating that a monster called Garasharp was to appear in the eighth entry in the Gamera series slated for a 1972 release,[84][85][86] director Noriaki Yuasa stated that Garasharp was created specifically for the short film Gamera vs. Garasharp featured on the 1991 LD set, Gamera Permanent Preservation Plan,[87] and that a new two-headed monster was planned for the next film,[88] which was canceled because Daiei Film went into bankruptcy in 1971 and the Gamera films ceased production as a result.[84][89]

Niisan Takahashi later published a revised graphic novel of Gamera vs. Garasharp illustrated by Yutaka Kondo, known for his illustrations of kaiju and other fictional characters for the Kūsō Kagaku Dokuhon series, and it was recorded in the 1995 CD-ROM of Gamera, the Giant Monster. This edition depicted Garasharp with a different appearance and the ability to emit electricity.[90]

Tokuma Shoten[edit]

After Daiei was purchased by Tokuma Shoten in 1974, the new management wanted to produce another Gamera film, resulting in Gamera: Super Monster (also known as Space Monster Gamera), released in 1980. The filmmakers were forced to make the movie because of the contract for one more Gamera film that they owed to Daiei. Approximately one-third of Gamera: Super Monster is composed of stock footage from six of the previous seven films.[91] Yuasa had Takahashi end the film by having Gamera be presumably killed by sacrificing his life to save Earth, while the later-published manga by Hurricane Ryu depicted that Gamera was artificially resurrected.[92]

In 1985, the American distribution rights to the Gamera films were bought by producer Sandy Frank, who distributed five of the eight films with new English dubbing.[93] In 1988 and 1989, Frank's versions of Gamera, the Giant Monster (simply re-titled Gamera),[16] Gamera vs. Barugon, Gamera vs. Gyaos (re-titled Gamera vs. Gaos), Gamera vs. Guiron, and Gamera vs. Zigra were each used in episodes of the television program Mystery Science Theater 3000, during the show's first season, which aired on KTMA-TV.[16][93][94]

Heisei era (1995–2015)[edit]

Tokuma Shoten[edit]

In the 1995 series reboot by Tokuma Shoten, Gamera: Guardian of the Universe, three Gyaos are discovered on a remote island. The Japanese government discovers that they are all female and decides that since they are the last of their kind, they should be captured and studied. Meanwhile, scientists search for a moving atoll in the Pacific. When the atoll is located, small gems made of an unknown metal are discovered on it, as well as a stone that protrudes from the center of the island. The scientists take pictures and collect some of the strange gems, but the stone crumbles and the atoll moves off towards Japan at high speeds. The atoll is found to be an ancient monster of Atlantean origin called Gamera. He attacks the Gyaos; two are killed, but one escapes. The remaining Gyaos grows to Gamera-like proportions and returns to resume the battle. Gamera defeats this foe and heads out to sea.

In Gamera 2: Attack of Legion, released in 1996, Gamera defends the Earth from attacks by an alien force known as Legion.

In Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris, released in 1999, Gamera has to face hordes of Gyaos Hyper and a new foe known as Iris which is a subspecies of Gyaos.

Kadokawa Corporation[edit]

In Gamera the Brave, the first reboot attempt by Kadokawa Corporation released in 2006, Gamera (Avant Gamera and Toto) battles a flock of Original Gyaos and Zedus, a mutant kaiju under the influence of Gyaos.[62]

In March 2014, Anime News Network reported that a new Gamera production was planned, with no release date specified.[95] At the New York Comic Con held in October 2015, Kadokawa Daiei Studio's senior managing director Tsuyoshi Kikuchi and producer Shinichiro Inoue screened a full proof-of-concept film in honor of the franchise's 50th anniversary; the short was directed by Katsuhito Ishii.[96] The proof-of-concept film featured a newly designed Gamera, a swarm of newly designed Gyaos and a new, as yet unnamed monster, all of which were created and rendered through the use of computer-generated imagery.[97][98][99] It has been rumored since the film's showing at New York Comic Con that it was never completed. However, the film's official website[100] and an interview with the director both state that it was only a short proof of concept film.[101]

Reiwa era (2023)[edit]

An anime series, titled Gamera Rebirth, was released globally on Netflix in 2023.[102][103]

Filmography[edit]

Films[edit]

No. Title Year Director(s) Monster co-star(s) Licenses
Shōwa era (1965–1980)
1

Gamera, the Giant Monster

1965 Noriaki Yuasa None Arrow Video[104]
2

Gamera vs. Barugon

1966 Shigeo Tanaka Barugon
3

Gamera vs. Gyaos

1967 Noriaki Yuasa Gyaos
4

Gamera vs. Viras

1968 Viras
5

Gamera vs. Guiron

1969 Guiron, Space Gyaos
6

Gamera vs. Jiger

1970 Jiger, Jiger's baby
7

Gamera vs. Zigra

1971 Zigra
8

Gamera: Super Monster

1980 Gyaos, Zigra, Viras, Jiger, Guiron, and Barugon
Heisei era (1995–2006)
9

Gamera: Guardian of the Universe

1995 Shusuke Kaneko Gyaos Arrow Video[104]
10

Gamera 2: Attack of Legion

1996 Legion
11

Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris

1999 Iris, Gyaos Hyper[105]
12

Gamera the Brave

2006 Ryuta Tasaki Original Gyaos,[106] Zedus

Original net animation[edit]

Title Director(s) Year Eps Ref(s)
Gamera Rebirth Hiroyuki Seshita 2023 6 [107]

Short film[edit]

Title Director(s) Year Eps Ref(s)
GAMERA Katsuhito Ishii 2015 6 [96]

Documentary[edit]

Title Director(s) Year Eps Ref(s)
GAMERA 1999 Hideaki Anno 1999 6 [108]

Other media[edit]

Home media[edit]

In 2003, Alpha Video released the American versions of four Shōwa films on pan and scan DVDs: Gammera the Invincible,[109][110] Gamera vs. Barugon (as War of the Monsters),[111] Gamera vs. Viras (as Destroy All Planets)[112] and Gamera vs. Guiron (as Attack of the Monsters).[113]

In 2010, Shout! Factory acquired the rights from Kadokawa Pictures for all eight of the Showa Gamera films in order to release the uncut Japanese versions on DVD for the first time ever in North America. These "Special Edition" DVDs were released in sequential order, starting with Gamera, the Giant Monster on May 18, 2010, followed by Gamera vs. Barugon and two double features: Gamera vs. Gyaos with Gamera vs. Viras, and Gamera vs. Guiron with Gamera vs. Jiger. On March 15, 2011, Shout! Factory released the last two films of the Showa series in a double feature of Gamera vs. Zigra with Gamera: Super Monster. Shout! Factory later released MST3K vs. Gamera, a special 21st volume of Mystery Science Theater 3000 containing the episodes featuring all five Gamera movies from the show's third season.

On April 29, 2014, Mill Creek Entertainment released the eight Showa Gamera films (1965–1980) on Blu-ray in two volumes, Gamera: The Ultimate Collection Volume 1 and Gamera: The Ultimate Collection Volume 2, featuring the original widescreen video and original Japanese audio only with English subtitles, and also the first 11 films (1965–1999) on DVD again as The Gamera Legacy Collection: 1965 - 1999, also featuring the original widescreen video and original Japanese audio only with English subtitles.[114] The Heisei trilogy was re-released on Blu-ray earlier from Mill Creek Entertainment on September 27, 2011, once again featuring the original widescreen video and original Japanese audio only with English subtitles.

On August 17, 2020, Arrow Video released a Blu-ray box set titled Gamera: The Complete Collection. The set features the original Japanese cuts for all 12 films, with English audio options; the Blu-ray debut of Gammera the Invincible and War of the Monsters; digital HD transfers and 4K restorations of the Heisei trilogy; case artwork by Matt Frank; audio commentaries by August Ragone, David Kalat, Steve Ryfle, and Ed Godziszewski; a full color hardcover reprint of Dark Horse Comics' four-issue comic book miniseries Gamera the Guardian of the Universe; the English-language printing debut of the comic book story Gamera: The Last Hope by Matt Frank and Joshua Bugosh; and an 80-page book featuring a retrospective on the series by Patrick Macias with illustrations by Jolyon Yates.[104]

Comics[edit]

The first issue of the comic book miniseries Gamera the Guardian of the Universe by Dark Horse Comics

Dark Horse Comics published a four-issue miniseries based on Gamera called Gamera the Guardian of the Universe in 1996.[115] The miniseries features Gamera, Gyaos, Zigra, and Viras.[116][117][118][119] The manga series Dr. Slump, written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama, depicts Gamera as appearing in the land of Penguin Village.[120] In the manga series Dragon Ball, also by Toriyama, a flying turtle which resembles a smaller version of Gamera is summoned by Master Roshi to carry him to Fire Mountain.[43] There are references to Gamera in chapters of the manga series Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen-mae Hashutsujo, written and illustrated by Osamu Akimoto, and Kinnikuman, created by Yudetamago. These chapters appear in Gamera: Super Monster, the eighth film in the franchise.[121]

Television[edit]

The first, local TV season of Mystery Science Theater 3000 includes five episodes which each feature a film from the Gamera franchise's Shōwa period: Gamera, the Giant Monster, Gamera vs. Barugon, Gamera vs. Gyaos, Gamera vs. Guiron, and Gamera vs. Zigra. The same five films were re-used in the show's third national season.[122][123] The thirteenth season of the show also contains an episode that features Gamera vs. Jiger. In a similar manner to events depicted in the manga series upon which it was based, the anime television series Dragon Ball features a creature known as Baby Gamera, a flying turtle resembling a miniature version of Gamera which transports Master Roshi to Fire Mountain.[124][125] Gamera was parodied in the South Park episode "Mecha-Streisand",[126] and was featured in the Simpsons episode "Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo".[127]

An anime series, titled Gamera Rebirth, was released on Netflix in 2023.[102][103]

Video games[edit]

Gamera appeared in several video games released in 1995, including Gamera: Daikaiju Kuchu Kessen for the Game Boy,[128] Gamera: Gyaosu Gekimetsu Sakusen for the Super Famicom,[129] and Gamera: The Time Adventure for the Bandai Playdia.[130] In 1997, Gamera 2000 was released exclusively in Japan for the PlayStation.[131] In 2017, Gamera appeared in the video game City Shrouded in Shadow, released for the PlayStation 4, alongside such characters as Legion, Godzilla, Ultraman, and Evangelion Unit-01.[132][133]

Reception[edit]

Box office performance and critical response[edit]

Many of the Gamera films were commercially successful in Japan, rivaling the Godzilla franchise at the box office during the 1960s.[23] However, they were commonly regarded as being inferior to the Godzilla films, with criticism being aimed at the derivative and absurd nature of the series.[134] Despite this, the 1995 reboot Gamera: Guardian of the Universe was both a critical and financial success, remaining in the top 10 films in Japan for its first six weeks of release and grossing more than Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla, which was also playing in Japanese theaters at that time.[134]

Legacy[edit]

Todd McCarthy, in his review of Gamera: Guardian of the Universe for Variety, wrote that "Despite its horrific countenance and plated shell, Gamera remains one of the most likable of all movie monsters".[135] Brian Solomon of the website Bloody Disgusting ranked Gamera eighth on his list of "Most Kick-Ass Giant Monsters in Movie History".[136] Gamera was also ranked eighth on Rick Mele of Sharp's list of "Greatest Giant Monsters in Movie History".[137] Chris Coffel of Film School Rejects wrote that "I would argue that the Gamera franchise is better than the Godzilla franchise", complimenting Gamera's turtle-like design and his affinity for children.[138] Ken Watanabe noted that he prefers Gamera to Godzilla despite playing a major role in MonsterVerse films.[139] Guillermo del Toro noted that Gamera, the Giant Monster is one of favorite kaiju films.[140] Several authors such as Hiro Arikawa[141] and Jeremy Robinson and Kōhei Horikoshi noted that Gamera is one of their favorite kaiju and had influences on their works such as Nemesis Saga and My Hero Academia.[142][143] Atsuji Yamamoto noted that Gamera was one of inspiration sources for his images of protagonists of his works.[144] Hideaki Anno and Hajime Isayama also drew inspirations from Gyaos for their images of angels and titans in Neon Genesis Evangelion and Attack on Titan respectively where Anno directed the above-mentioned 1999 documentary GAMERA 1999, and Shinji Higuchi directed the live-action film adaptation of Attack on Titan.[145][146]

The Heisei Gamera Trilogy is widely applauded both by film makers and audiences in Japan, and Keiichi Hasegawa remarked that it had a great impact on tokusatsu works afterwards especially the Ultraman and the Kamen Rider franchises, and several important tokusatsu techniques were created by the trilogy while expertise and connections from previous Ultraman works including a scrapped Ultra Q project by Kaneko and Kazunori Itō, Ultraman 80, and Ultraman Powered in return influenced the Heisei Gamera Trilogy where Showa staffs such as Noriaki Yuasa participated in the production of Ultraman 80.[21] Digimon Tamers and Ultraman Tiga were re-developed from the original scripts of Gamera: Guardian of the Universe by Chiaki J. Konaka and Kazuya Konaka and Yoshikazu Okada[70] which also became the basis for Gamera the Brave.[7] As above mentioned, several Godzilla films have been pointed out to be influenced by Heisei Gamera Trilogy, and GMK and Shin Godzilla were directed by Shusuke Kaneko and Shinji Higuchi.[29][30][28] Kaneko acknowledges the similarities between Heisei Gamera Trilogy and MonsterVerse series,[29] and the scrapped Gamera project "Gamera 3D" which was the successor of "Godzilla 3D" by Yoshimitsu Banno served as one of predecessors of MonsterVerse.[32][147][33] Higuchi also adapted his experiences and miniature models from the Heisei Gamera Trilogy for his 2012 short film Giant God Warrior Appears in Tokyo where Daiei franchises and Studio Ghibli were owned by Tokuma Shoten at that time.[7] A popular television series How Do You Like Wednesday? is also strongly influenced by the trilogy.[148][149]

As above mentioned, numerous media globally have references to the franchise. Such examples are; Godzilla franchise,[39][40][41] Ultraman,[150] Ultra Q,[151] Pokemon,[152] Bowser from Mario series,[153][154] Super Smash Bros.,[155] Digimon,[156] Castlevania and its parody Kid Dracula[157] Mega Man,[158] World of Warcraft,[159] Final Fantasy XIV,[160] Dragon Quest,[161] Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game,[162] Xenoblade Chronicles X,[163] King of Tokyo,[164] Naruto: Ultimate Ninja,[165] and many others video games,[155] Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,[166] Dragon Ball and Dr. Slump franchizes,[43] The Simpsons,[44] South Park,[167] Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,[168] Justice League Unlimited,[169] Green Lantern,[170][171] Frankenweenie,[172] Gintama,[173] My Hero Academia,[143] Franklin,[174] The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy,[175] Yakitate!! Japan,[176] Sgt. Frog,[177] Lucky Star,[178] Megas XLR,[179] Megatokyo,[180] Usagi Yojimbo,[181] Welcome to My Life,[182] Voltes V: Legacy,[183] Pacific Rim Uprising,[184] Mountain Dew Code Red,[185] and many others. The 1998 Shochiku film Giant Monsters Appear in Tokyo represented off-screen appearances of two kaijus to battle, the "jet-flying turtle appeared on Fukuoka" and the "80 meters tall, fire-breathing, bipedal, carnivorous dinosaur-like lizard appeared on the port of Tokyo Bay", clearly referencing to both Gamera in Gamera: Guardian of the Universe and Godzilla in The Return of Godzilla where several casts from the Heisei Gamera Trilogy such as Hirotarō Honda and Tomorowo Taguchi appeared in the film.[186] Other cases include companies[187][188] and songs such as Gamera by Tortoise and Paragraph President by Blackalicious[189] feature Gamera in their names or lyrics.

Gamera's roars were used in various other media such as Godzilla,[37] Pokemon,[190] GeGeGe no Kitarō,[191] Yu-Gi-Oh!,[192] Chargeman Ken!,[193] and so on.

November 27 is publicly referred to as "Gamera Day" (Japanese: ガメラの日, Hepburn: Gamera no Hi) in Japan as the first film was released on the day in 1965.[76][194][195] Akira Ohashi, who played Gamera and Iris in the Heisei Trilogy and also worked for related works including GMK and Nezura 1964, noted the coincidence that the day is also the birthday of Bruce Lee where Ohashi was inspired by Bruce Lee for his acting of Gamera in the Heisei Trilogy.[196]

Chōfu features Gamera and Daimajin along with characters from Shigeru Mizuki's GeGeGe no Kitarō and Akuma-kun as symbols where there have been several minor-crossovers between these franchises,[4][45][197][198] and an official mascot character named Gachora (Japanese: ガチョラ, Hepburn: Gachora) was designed after Gamera.[46]

The extinct Cretaceous sinemyidid turtle with long spines on its carapace, Sinemys gamera, classified in 1993, was named after Gamera.[199] The extinct Cretaceous baenid turtle Gamerabaena sonsalla, classified in 2010, was named after Gamera.[200] A specimen of Nodosauridae was also nicknamed after the kaiju.[201]

The University of Maryland Gamera I human-powered helicopter, along with its successor, was named after Gamera.[202] Developed by University of Maryland engineering students in 2011 and 2012, respectively, the name was also chosen in reference to the university's mascot, the diamondback terrapin, as well as to flights undertaken by Japanese human-powered helicopters years prior.[202]

In July 2011, Washington State University veterinarians successfully fixed a prosthetic caster onto an African spurred tortoise named Gamera (after the giant turtle), who was a single amputee[203][204][205] where Avant Gamera and Toto in Gamera the Brave were designed after African spurred tortoise.[206]

J/FPS-5, an early-warning radar of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force is often referred as "Gamera Radar" (Japanese: ガメラレーダー, Hepburn: Gamera Rēdā) due to its shape somewhat resembling a turtle shell.[207]

Naoyuki "Gyaos" Naitō, a TV personality who was formerly a baseball player and a manager, took his stage name from Gyaos, the most recurring foe of Gamera of the series.[208] The comedy troupe "Gyaos" which was later renamed to "Denshamichi", presumably took its name from Naitō as the comedians focused on baseball topics.[209] Similarly, Kazuhiro "Daimajin" Sasaki was nicknamed after the Daimajin, the character redeveloped from the Gamera franchise,[67][210] where Chikara Hashimoto, who portrayed the Daimajin and Daimon the vampiric demon in Yokai Monsters and related productions,[211] was also a baseball player and also co-acted with above-mentioned Bruce Lee in the 1972 film Fist of Fury.[212][213] Hashimoto was also appointed for other monsters and yokai films most notably Gamera vs. Viras and Whale God (Killer Whale) where the latter presumably influenced the Dai-kaiju, the right whale-based kaiju with an alias of "Whale God", from GeGeGe no Kitarō franchise, and Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris presumably tried to insert a reference to the 1962 film for Gamera to briefly interact with a cow-calf pair of North Pacific right whales.[7]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ According to Keizō Murase, Toho's techniques were secretly used in Gappa: The Triphibian Monster and The X from Outer Space and other productions except for Gamera and other Daiei franchises. Film makers were actually suspicious of Tsuburaya's involvements to these non-Daiei productions because of sudden increases of non-Toho kaiju films after Gamera, the Giant Monster, despite the only non-Toho tokusatsu production before the 1965 Gamera film to feature gigantic creature was Daiei Film's Whale God (Killer Whale) in 1962.[21]
  2. ^ A number of filmmakers and audiences initially didn't favor the idea of Gamera to become a hero, as kaiju were generally regarded to be fearsome beings at that time.[19]
  3. ^ Gamera's characteristics to be a hero who protects humanity and animals, his non-faunal food sources, his liking of light and nuclear explosion were also designed to differ from Godzilla to have a hatred for humanity and man-made lights and nuclear explosion.[22]
  4. ^ Kaiju were designed to reduce staffs for practical effect unlike some of Toho kaiju such as King Ghidorah.[21]
  5. ^ In the official collaboration between Gamera Rebirth and Odekake Kozame, Gamera, Kozame-chan, the titular character of the manga series, and a pigeon enjoyed rice balls.[49]
  6. ^ Akio Jissoji later directed the 1990 Ultra Q movie based on the scrapped project by Shusuke Kaneko and Kazunori Ito; it was one of predecessors of the Heisei Gamera trilogy that Kaneko and Ito reused some of their ideas of the Ultra Q project for the Heisei Gamera trilogy.[7][19]
  7. ^ Gamera to be the friend and guardian of children, and children play significant roles to help Gamera.[19]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Ragone 2020, 05:11.
  2. ^ Galbraith IV 2008, p. 395.
  3. ^ a b c d e GAMERA -Rebirth- Production committee, January 29th, 2024, GAMERA -Rebirth- Official Artbook, pp.9-12, pp.18-25, KADOKAWA, ISBN:9784041138410
  4. ^ a b c d e f Hirokazu Minemori, 2021, The Great Yokai War: Guardians: Side Story: Heian Hyakkitan, pp.265-271, Media Works Bunko, Kadokawa
  5. ^ a b c Shinichiro Inoue, 2015, 聖獣戦記 白い影, p.294-305, 怪獣文藝の逆襲, Kadokawa
  6. ^ a b Kalat 2010, p. 178.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p ASCII MEDIA WORKS, 2014, Heisei Gamera Perfection, p.14-16, p.75, p.80, p.87, p.159, pp.196-205, p.213, p.237, p.264, p.282, Kadokawa Shoten
  8. ^ a b c d e Fuminobi Hata, December 12, 2022, 俺はお前を待っていた!Netflixで復活の大怪獣ガメラ、その歩みと新作への期待, IGN Japan
  9. ^ a b c d e f Kotz, Sean (19 March 2006). "Why the Heck is Gamera a Turtle?". SciFi Japan. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  10. ^ Galbraith IV 1996, p. 177.
  11. ^ Clarke, Frederick S. (1996). "Cinefantastique". Cinefantastique. Vol. 28. p. 3. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
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  13. ^ Raymond, Nicholas (21 June 2019). "Godzilla: King Of The Monsters' Atlantis Sets Up Multiple New Titans". ScreenRant. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  14. ^ Di Giorgio, Gigante & Gordiano 2012, p. 64.
  15. ^ "Gammera The Invincible (1966)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  16. ^ a b c Galbraith IV, Stuart (18 May 2010). "Gamera - The Giant Monster". DVD Talk. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  17. ^ "Tomb murals of guardian spirits tapped for Japan treasure status". The Asahi Shimbun. 19 March 2019. Archived from the original on 8 July 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  18. ^ "A Brief History of Gamera: Celebrating 50 Years of Spinning Turtles". Scified.com. 29 November 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  19. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s ASCII MEDIA WORKS, 2006, Gamera the Brave Official Guide Book, p.13, p.19, p.25, p.32, pp.36-38, pp.42-44, pp.50-57, pp.62-66
  20. ^ a b Gigan Yamazaki, February 25, 2021, 妖怪に息づく怪獣王ゴジラの遺伝子 - 後編 怪獣化する妖怪、妖怪化する怪獣, Media Arts Current Contents, Agency for Cultural Affairs
  21. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Shunichi Karasawa, April 14, 2006, Gamera Genesis: Movie Director Noriaki Yuasa, p.20, pp.64-67, p.79, p.83, pp.92-96, pp.111-113, p.124, p.135, p.143, p.219, pp.266-268, pp.273-274, pp.281-286, pp.291-292, pp.295-303, Enterbrain
  22. ^ a b c d e f g h OMEGA Flying Squadron, 1995, Gamera is Strong!, pp.32-35, pp.38-39, pp.108-109, pp.132-133, pp.166-167, pp.186-187, pp.194-197, Tokuma Shoten
  23. ^ a b c Deusner, Stephen M. (17 May 2010). "Turtle Soup: 'Gamera, the Giant Monster'". The Washington Post. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  24. ^ Orr, Christopher (22 May 2014). "Why You Should Watch the (Actual) Original Godzilla". The Atlantic. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  25. ^ a b Ryfle, S. (1998). Japan's Favorite Mon-Star: The Unauthorized Biography of the Big G. Toronto: ECW Press. pp. 139–43. ISBN 1550223488.
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  27. ^ Toho, 2000, SPECIAL EDITION ゴジラ×メガギラス―G消滅作戦, 東宝SF特撮映画シリーズ, pp.10-12, "Main Staff Interview on Shōgo Tomiyama"
  28. ^ a b Mibu, Tomohiro (15 September 2023). "樋口真嗣、山崎貴監督と熱いゴジラトーク『ゴジラ-1.0』に期待と嫉妬「ゴジラ映画やれていいな」". Cinema Today (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 17 September 2023. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  29. ^ a b c d Sekiguchi Y., 2014, Kinema Junpo, No. 1666, p.48, ASIN B006CDA5BI
  30. ^ a b c Eiga Hihō, July 2019 Special, 2019, p. 2 and p.8, Yosensha, ASIN B07RQ3VBFM
  31. ^ BANGER, 2019, ネタバレ全開! 徹底解説『ゴジラ キング・オブ・モンスターズ』は「平成ガメラ」から「ストレンジャー・シングス」までオマージュだらけだ!!
  32. ^ a b c Yoshimitsu Banno to turn Gamera into an environmentalist! Will shoot in 3D?
  33. ^ a b Legendary MonsterVerse Movies
  34. ^ Galbraith IV, Stuart, 2020, Gamera vs. Gyaos Audio Commentary, 01:25:02, Arrow Video
  35. ^ a b 1956-2006 『大映特撮の世界』篇
  36. ^ a b Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack Super Complete Works, 2002, p.2, 世紀を越えて「金子ゴジラ」は誕生した。 by Shōgo Tomiyama, Shogakukan
  37. ^ a b Wong, Kin Yuen (2005). World Weavers: Globalization, Science Fiction, and the Cybernetic Revolution. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press. p. 182. ISBN 9789622097216.
  38. ^ Abby Bernstein, 2019, The Art of Godzilla: King of the Monsters, p.11, Titan Books
  39. ^ a b Characters / Godzilla: The Series
  40. ^ a b Film / Godzilla: Final Wars
  41. ^ a b Renji Ōki, 2017, GODZILLA: Monster Apocalypse, pp.114–115, Kadokawa.
  42. ^ ScifiJapan.com, Godzilla vs Gamera in New GODZILLA BATTLE LINE/GAMERA -Rebirth- Collaboration
  43. ^ a b c Padula 2015, p. 224–225.
  44. ^ a b Lisa on Ice, Thirty Minutes over Tokyo, Treehouse of Horror XXVI
  45. ^ a b c Natsuhiko Kyogoku, 2018, USO MAKOTO Yōkai Hyaku Monogatari, "Kyu", 373-375, p.392, Kadokawa
  46. ^ a b 「映画のまち調布」応援キャラクター
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  48. ^ Goldweber 2015, p. 729.
  49. ^ William Moo, September 20th, 2023, Odekake Kozame Releases New Collaboration Visual & Animated Short with Gamera: Rebirth, Anime Trending
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  51. ^ Rhoads & McCorkle 2018, p. 98.
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  53. ^ Newitz, Annalee (27 October 2008). "Internal Organs that Allow Giant Monsters to Breathe Fire". io9. Gawker Media. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
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  56. ^ Kenichiro Terasawa, Hurricane Ryu, 1994, Giant Monster Gamera, Gekkan Manga Boys, November 1994 - February 1995, Tokuma Shoten.
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Sources[edit]

External links[edit]