KAIJUOLOGY: GAMERA

Subject: Gamera

Documentation: Giant Monster Gamera (1965), Gamera Vs Barugon (1966), Gamera Vs Gyaos (1967), Gamera Vs Viras (1968), Gamera Vs Guiron (1969), Gamera Vs Jiger (1970), Gamera vs Zigra (1971), Gamera, Super Monster (1980), Gamera: Guardian of the Universe (1995), Gamera 2: Attack of Legion (1996), Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris (1999), and Gamera The Brave (2006)

The Foes of Gamera

History: In 1965 when Cold War tensions were running high all over the world an incident occurred in the Arctic between the US military forces and a still as of yet unknown country. This unknown country was using the Arctic Circle as a flight path for transporting nuclear weapons. A skirmish erupted and one of the bombers was shot down resulting in nuclear detonation. The blast created a fissure in the ice releasing perhaps the greatest kaiju the world has ever witnessed: the gargantuan chelonian Gamera the invincible!

The US forces were decimated. The unknown foreign power fled. And Gamera took flight (yes, it can actually fly) across the ocean ultimately making landfall in Japan. There the creature exhibited a number of unique and incredible traits. The beast curiously targeted Japan's power plants and resources. It demonstrated an invulnerability to all military weaponry, a natural resistance to fire, the ability to breath fire either in the form of a jet of flame or full on fire balls, and the ability to fly! Like a turtle, Gamera is able to pull his limbs inside it's impervious shell. Jets of flame rocket out of the arm and leg holes in the shell sending the creature into a spin propelling it through the air at incredible and dangerous speeds.

Anatomy of a Kaiju

Gamera's initial attack proved catastrophic. Nothing could stop the beast. It was soon discovered that the creature consumed fire. The scientists and military strategists of the world devised a plan. If the monster could not be killed than it needed to be removed by any means possible. Gamera was lured to a Japanese air field by way of a trail of fire where it was encapsulated within the head of a humongous rocket. Before the kaiju could escape, the rocket was launched into space. The threat appeared to be over... for the moment.

Gamera destroyed the rocket and returned to Earth. But this time it was met by more than the Japanese military. A new kaiju named Barugon had appeared in Japan, a kaiju capable of spewing forth a substance similar to liquid nitrogen. It was here where mankind learned of Gamera's true purpose. The beast was created to defend the Earth from other malevolent kaiju.

Gamera in Flight

Renown Japanese scientist Dr. Hidaka along with others researched the site where Gamera emerged. They discovered several artifacts and investigated many of the legends surrounding the area, stories passed down through local tribes of Eskimos. The stories and evidence all referred to Atlantis, an advanced civilization from thousands of years ago. According to what Dr. Hidaka and the others could piece together, long ago the Atlanteans created a number of artificial organisms. These creatures came in various shapes and sizes. They were all originally designed to benefit humanity.

But something went wrong. These creatures turned on their creators. In no time these giant monsters became an extinction level threat to humanity. In order to defend themselves from the monsters they themselves created they genetically engineered one last creature: GAMERA. Built for the sole purpose to defend humanity and slay any monster who would threaten us. Our own guardian of the universe. Through a series of trials and errors the Atlanteans created hundreds of Gameras before perfecting the final version. As they finished the ultimate Gamera their civilization was wiped out.

When Gamera attacked Japan he wasn't trying to destroy us. He had been dormant for several thousand years. He was replenishing his strength for the upcoming battles with Barugon, Gyaos, Viras, and many other enemies from long ago. We misunderstood his initial attack. Since then he has proven himself countless times to be our absolute guardian of the universe.

Gamera Vs Barugon & Gyaos

Review: Gamera is the shit. Godzilla only has one rival kaiju to the title: King of the Monsters. And that's the Guardian of the Universe: GAMERA! He has a total of 11 movies and has managed to have a film released in every decade since the 1960's. His first movie he was depicted as a villian, but in every film after he has been a protector of mankind.

There are 8 films in the original series (the Showa series). In my opinion the first two films in the series are the best of the originals. Both films are taken very seriously and are more straight forward monster films, grim and violent. Gamera Vs Barugon (the second film and my personal favorite of the Showa series) is very violent and one of the bloodiest kaiju films of the 60's. From this point Gamera becomes a children's hero. The films have a surprising amount of graphic violence and blood still but the effects budgets are clearly cut and the monster suits are less convincing.

Mystery Science Theater 3000 has taken a stab at the original Gamera series if that tells you anything. They have an entire collection, 5 films, of Gamera. The original series suffered from some pretty bad effects and terrible US dubbing earning many of them the honor of being MST3Ked. I have to admit that even the worst Godzilla movie from this era is better than the majority of the Showa Gamera series.

Nightmare Gamera

In all honesty I didn't really become a Gamera fan until I watched GAMERA 2: ATTACK OF LEGION. A good friend and fellow kaiju aficionado and I sat down to watch G2 for the first time and were both blown away! The Gamera Trilogy of the 1990's are perhaps  three of the finest examples of the kaiju genre, Godzilla and non-Godzilla alike. There's a strong argument for the Gamera Trilogy being better than even the best Godzilla films. It is incredible how good these three films are. They inspired me to take another look at the Gamera series as a whole. No question it is because of these films that I am a Gamera fan at all.

I love Gamera. The original films have their moments and fine points and a fair share of flaws. The 1990's trilogy is damn near perfect. GAMERA 3 may be the best kaiju film of all time. But regardless of when you came to know Gamera, the monster is one of the best kaiju in existence. He may have been a joke back in the late 60's and 70's but he was still a feature film rival. But his films of the 1990's and even the 2006 film GAMERA THE BRAVE boosted him up to an A-List kaiju alongside Godzilla and Mothra. The only thing better would be to see Gamera throw down with the King himself (and I'm not talking Elvis). A dream come true would be a Godzilla Vs Gamera film directed by Shusuke  Kaneko. The ultimate kaiju epic!

Threat Level: 9 out of 10