Template:Short description Template:For Template:Distinguish Template:Distinguish {{SAFESUBST:#invoke:Unsubst||date=__DATE__ |$B= Template:Ambox }} Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox character Template:Nihongo is a fictional giant monster, or kaiju, that debuted in the eponymous 1965 Japanese 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, the franchise has become a Japanese icon in its own right and one of representatives of Japanese cinema,<ref name=Perfection /> appearing in a total of 12 films produced by Daiei Film and later by Tokuma Shoten and Kadokawa Daiei Studio (Kadokawa Corporation) respectively, and various other media such as novelizations, manga, video games, and more.
Gamera is depicted as a giant, flying, fire-breathing, prehistoric turtle. In the series' first film, Gamera is portrayed as an aggressive and destructive monster, though he also saved a child's life. 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.Template:Sfn
Despite its popularity and extensive social influences<ref name=Perfection /><ref name=Denner /> such as productions of Daimajin and Yokai Monsters, contributions in the launches of social phenomenons (the two "Kaiju Booms" (jp)(jp) and the "Yōkai Boom"),<ref name=Ono2018 /> influences on the tokusatsu genre and domestic television industry,<ref name=Perfection /><ref name=Karasawa /> references in numerous media globally, and naming of various objects such as two species of prehistoric turtles (Sinemys gamera and Gamerabaena) and an algorithm to study plasma bubbles,<ref name=Williams>Mike Williams, December 20, 2019, Nightside barrier gently brakes 'bursty' plasma bubbles, Rice University</ref> expansion of the franchise and public recognition of the character were severely hindered by financial obstacles.<ref name=Perfection /><ref name=IGN2022 /> Daiei Film's fiscal condition was improved thanks to the franchise,Template:Refn and it solely supported the company and its subcontractors until the bankruptcy in 1971.<ref name=Karasawa /> November 27 is publicly referred as "Gamera Day" in Japan,<ref name=Suzumura /><ref name=Niigata /> and Chōfu utilizes Gamera and related characters as mascots of the city.<ref name=AllAbout />
OverviewEdit
ConceptionEdit
Template:See also The name Template:Nihongo derives from the Japanese kame ("turtle"), and the suffix -ra, a suffix shared by such other kaiju characters as Godzilla (Gojira) and Mothra.Template:Sfn Gamera's name was spelled Gamela on a French newspaper in the 1965 film, and Gammera in the title of Gammera the Invincible, the re-titled American release of the first film in the franchise, Gamera, the Giant Monster.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=dvdtalk>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The character was named by Masaichi Nagata, who pushed ahead the name to contend Godzilla, while other executives were against it for its resemblance to Godzilla, however others eventually didn't come up with any sufficient names for the turtle kaiju along with their reluctances to resist the president.<ref name=Treasured />
The original idea for Gamera was developed by Yonejiro Saito (jp),Template:Sfn Masaichi Nagata, Hidemasa Nagata, Niisan Takahashi,<ref name=BraveGuide /> 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, owned by rival studio Toho.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Prior to the idea of the flying turtle monster, there existed preceding concepts of an octopus kaiju called Template:NihongoTemplate:Refn and Template:Nihongo the rat monsters.<ref name=BraveGuide />Template:Refn These pre-Gamera projects resulted in failures by using live animals for filming, presumably due to the efforts to avoid the Toho-based tokusatsu techniques under the constraints from the Six-Company Agreement (Five-Company Agreement), which was led by Masaichi Nagata himself.<ref name=IGN2022 /><ref name=Karasawa />
There had been contradicting testimonies regarding the original conceptor and models of Gamera. Noriaki Yuasa believed it was Niisan Takahashi's idea, while Takahashi noted that he heard Masaichi Nagata came up with the idea of a "giant, flying turtle".Template:Refn There had also been rumors of "lewd turtles" as the model(s) of Gamera, either true stories or jokes, among Daiei staffs including Yonejiro Saito (jp).Template:Refn Alternatively, Tomio Sagisu (jp) who was a student of Eiji Tsuburaya and had repeatedly associated with Daiei Film and crews of the Gamera and other Daiei tokusatsu productions, claimed that the concept of Gamera originates in his demo reel, while Yonesaburo Tsukiji, another student of Tsuburaya, declared it was Hidemasa Nagata's idea.<ref name=Ushio>Tomio Sagisu (jp), 20 June 1999. Spectreman vs. Lion-Maru: Souji Ushio and P Productions, p.91, p.176, Ohta Publishing</ref>
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.<ref name=kotz>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Black Tortoise is known as Genbu in Japanese, and is usually depicted as a turtle entwined together with a snake.<ref name=kotz /> 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.<ref name=kotz /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In Gamera, the Giant Monster, the first film in the franchise, Gamera is depicted as awakening in the Arctic, the northernmost region on Earth.<ref name=kotz /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris, the 11th film in the franchise, contains a scene featuring a book describing the Four Symbols, including Genbu.<ref name=kotz /> Before the character was officially referenced to the Black Tortoise in the 1999 film, designs and background stories of Gamera and Gyaos (jp) were also inspired by ancient Chinese aspects during the production of Gamera: Guardian of the Universe while the original script of the film focused more on ancient India.<ref name=Perfection />
Masaichi Nagata set the policy to make Gamera as the hero of children.<ref name=Ono2018 /> Gamera's characteristics as a hero who protects humanity and animals, his non-fauna diet, his emerging from the north,<ref name=Fantasy /> and his liking of light and nuclear explosions were also designed to differ from Godzilla having a hatred for humanity, man-made lights, and nuclear explosions. While Godzilla may represent a terror of nuclear war, Gamera was aimed to be a contrasting character,<ref name=Doland /> whom children can always believe in, as an antithesis to adults trying to manipulate children with nationalism and propaganda,Template:Refn based on Noriaki Yuasa's own traumatic experiences of pre and post-war situations as a child.<ref name=OFS1995 /><ref name=Karasawa /><ref name=YuasaInterview>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Hidemasa Nagata's intention to make the franchise child-friendly was also due to his desire to create positive emotional influences on child developments.<ref name=Treasured /> In addition, while a nuclear explosion played roles in both Godzilla and Gamera, the Giant Monster, the latter didn't symbolize it to illustrate negative aspects of the humanity unlike the Godzilla film.<ref name=YuasaInterview />
Under Masaichi Nagata, Daiei Film distributed the re-released edition of King Kong in 1952 and The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms in 1954. The former was the first post-war release of monster films in Japan, and these distributions might have influenced productions of Godzilla and the Gamera franchise.Template:Refn<ref name=Noma /><ref name=Ui />
Masaichi Nagata, who pushed ahead the production of Gamera, the Giant Monster, solely supported the film while others (including Noriaki Yuasa himself) anticipated it to flop since the beginning but couldn't resist Masaichi's authority and unwillingly changed their reviews, and even Yuasa was baffled with its unexpected success.<ref name=Ono2018 /><ref name=YuasaInterview />
CharacteristicsEdit
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 has a pronounced crest on his head, his mouth contains rows of teeth, and two tusks protrude upward from each side of his lower jaw.<ref name=sequart>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
He can fly by means of "jets" which can be ignited out of his limb holes when he retracts into his shell.<ref name=deusner /> The jets allow Gamera to rise into the air and spin, propelling him forward.Template:Sfn 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 damaged by Guiron, Legion (jp), Iris, and Zedus), and can deflect projectiles such as missiles. His plastron (lower shell) is more vulnerable than his carapace (upper shell), however he has been wounded in his plastron to the point of bleeding.Template:Citation needed
Gamera never feeds on any fauna or plant organisms, and exclusively relies on thermal energy, electricity, radiation, and other energy sources.Template:Refn<ref name=OFS1995 /> Using conventional weapons, even including nuclear weapons, against Gamera may also power him instead.<ref name=OFS1995 />
All incarnations of the character have an affinity for humans (especially children) and nature, and protect them at all costs even by sacrificing themselves.<ref name=RebirthArtbook /><ref name=BraveGuide /> They may also save animals, wildlife, yokai,<ref name=Minemori /> and innocent kaiju even if they are offspring of antagonists.Template:Refn<ref name=OFS1995 />
All incarnations of the character possess several supernatural abilities, most notably telepathy, and others such as healing and reviving humans,<ref name=Vanishing /> understanding human speech, sensing antagonistic kaiju and extraterrestrial races from afar, sharing ancient memories with humans, utilizing life forces (Mana in the Heisei trilogy) for offensive and supplemental usages, and potential reincarnation.<ref name=OFS1995 /><ref name=Friend /><ref name=BravePamphlet /> There have been additional powers exclusively performed in literatures by respective incarnations being deities such as materialization and time manipulation;<ref name=Minemori /><ref name=HolyBeast /> the lore of Gamera the Brave also loosely refers Gamera to a deity with supernatural depictions, but his exact origin remains unclear.<ref name=Friend />
In canonical productions, the character has never been depicted to die precisely unlike fan fictions, GAMERA 4-TRUTH (jp) and Gamera: The Last Hope;<ref name=Frank /> Gamera was artificially revived in the 1994 manga Giant Monster Gamera which serves as a substantial sequel to Gamera: Super Monster,<ref name=MangaBoys /> the "Gamera Graveyard" represented in Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris was regarded as the disposal site for defective flops to create the living Gamera,<ref name=Noma /> and Toto is speculated to be the reincarnation of Avant Gamera in Gamera the Brave.<ref name=Friend />
Template:Nihongo, as transformations of other kaiju, had appeared in several medias as antagonists,<ref name=Perfection /> and the cancelled 2006 anime by Yoshitomo Yonetani intended to introduce a corps of Template:Nihongo.<ref name=Yonetani />
ShowaEdit
During the franchise's Shōwa era, Gamera was depicted as feeding on flammable substances, such as oil and fire.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In Gamera, the Giant Monster and Gamera vs. Barugon, cold temperatures are shown to weaken Gamera, although he is capable of being in outer space and the deep ocean.Template:Sfn Gamera is also capable of performing additional feats including supernatural ones such as emitting electricity and electromagnetic waves,<ref name=Noma /> telepathy, and remote sensing. Additionally, he has a high intelligence to outsmart antagonists, to tactically utilize artificial objects, behave cautiously to mind humans, and to repair an alien spaceship. Gamera's intention behind bizarre displays including acrobatic and musical acts in later filmsTemplate:Refn was presumably to calm and entertain onlooking children.<ref name=OFS1995 />
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), 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".Template:Sfn
His exact origin was not verified aside from his association with the ancient civilization of the Atlantis.<ref>Stephen Miller, 15 June 2023, Gamerathon: Gamera: The Giant Monster,</ref> Inuit's fear of Gamera and his confinement in the Arctic, contrary to his heroic personality and favor of thermal energy, was presumably due to his entrapment by the Atlanteans and inherited memories of their ancestors to mistake him as a threat, along with the loss of records by Atlanteans after the demise of the ancient civilization.<ref name=OFS1995 />
His incongruous ferocity in Gamera, the Giant Monster and the beginning of Gamera vs. BarugonTemplate:Refn was presumably due to an uncontrollable starvation and confusion after 8,000 years of hibernation caused by the entrapment by the Atlanteans,Template:Refn and Gamera's rampage against humanity was only to feed on thermal energy and electricity. He learned of modern human technology through the atomic bomb explosion, and his attacks on cities were also to lure military operations so that he could feed more on thermal energy of weapons. The protagonist boy (Toshio) in the 1965 film kept claiming that Gamera was not villainous but had been misunderstood by humanity.Template:Refn Gamera's uncontrollable appetite was gradually satisfied, and he regained his natural calmness as the films progressed, beginning to save humanity voluntarily.<ref name="OFS1995">OMEGA Flying Squadron, Yasuyoshi Tokuma (jp) (issuer), Noriaki Yuasa (adviser), Niisan Takahashi (adviser), Masao Yagi (jp) (adviser), 1995, Gamera is Strong!, pp.18-25, pp.32-35, pp.36-39, pp.82-87, pp.108-109, pp.132-133, pp.166-167, pp.186-187, pp.194-197, Tokuma Shoten</ref>
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. At the end of the film, Gamera sacrificed himself to destroy the Zanon, the spaceship of the antagonists. While the 1994 manga Giant Monster Gamera depicted this as Gamera's fate, Gamera was resurrected by the descendants of Atlanteans with ancient technology of Atlantis, gaining characteristics of the Heisei trilogy Gamera, and was sent back to the ancient period to change the history to prevent his own demise, as well as to save and monitor humanity.<ref name=MangaBoys>Kenichiro Terasawa (jp), Hurricane Ryu, 1994, Giant Monster Gamera, Gekkan Manga Boys, November 1994 - February 1995, Tokuma Shoten.</ref>
Heisei TrilogyEdit
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 (ギャオス), a bat-like creature which breathes a destructive supersonic beam to attack.<ref name=sequart />Template:Sfn Human researchers find Gamera floating in the Pacific Ocean, encased in rock, and mistaking him for an atoll.<ref name=Ebert>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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. While this may suggest that the Gamera was not the only one of his kind, one character in the film refers to these fossils as "beta versions" of Gamera, possible failures in Atlantis' attempts to create the final version.
This iteration of Gamera has retractable claws within his elbows,<ref name=sequart /> and is shown to be able to shoot plasma fireballs from his mouth.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Gamera has also been shown as being able to absorb mana from the Earth,Template:Sfn to fire a plasma beam from his chest, and to manipulate 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 temporarily deceased or near-death individuals, although he was unable to revive humans whose corpses were physically destroyed.<ref name=Vanishing /> In the 2003 comic, he was depicted to be supernaturally capable of triggering eruptions in volcanoes.<ref name=Kondo>Kazuhisa Kondo, 25 December 2003, Gamera vs. Barugon: Comic Version (jp), p.55, p.232, pp.237-238, KADOKAWA</ref> Within the comic book adaptaion of the 1999 film by Kazunori Ito and Moo. Nenpei, who had also published another Gamera manga Gamera vs. Morphos in 1999, Gamera performed extreme regeneration to restore his head from mimicked plasma fireballs by Iris, and defeated the antagonist with either an empowered fire blast or fireball instead of the "vanishing fist".<ref>Moo. Nenpei, Kazunori Ito (story), 1999, Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris, Vol. April 1999, p.301, Shogakukan</ref> In Gamera vs. Morphos, Gamera performed additional abilities including telepathy without a magatama, an earthquake, and a powerful fireball with himself glowing red, akin to the "Toto Impact" in Gamera the Brave.
Gamera the BraveEdit
The franchise was rebooted a second time with the 2006 film Gamera the Brave, the 12th entry in the film series. This incarnation was modeled after the African spurred tortoise, and also possesses supernatural traits<ref name=BraveGuide /> such as instant growth, telepathy, comprehending human speech, sensing and foreseeing emerging evil monsters from afar, and reincarnation.<ref name=BravePamphlet /><ref name=Friend>Boogey Toumon (jp), Ryuta Tasaki (supervisor), 8 May 2006, Friend: Gamera the Brave, pp.209-215, pp.217-218, p.236, pp.289-298, pp.305-307, Enterbrain</ref> Gamera's origin is unclear, while a top scientist was utterly shocked with the virtual replica of Gamera's cells and consequently committed a suicide,<ref name=HardLink>Ark Performance (jp), Jun Yanagisawa, Shinji Yamaguchi, Shinichiro Inoue (jp) (Issuer), 28 April 2006, Gamera 2006: Hard Link, pp.132-135, Kadokawa Shoten</ref> and one of scientists described the kaiju as a deity.<ref name=Friend /> Stranger children were driven by incomprehensible instincts to carry the red stone to Gamera; they somehow knew the term "Toto" and the importance of delivering it to Gamera. With the light from the stone, children also "recalled" and understood the ancient period before their births, and understood what Gamera is. Gamera (Toto) also somehow performed a Judo technique which was a specialty of one of the protagonist boys presumably through telepathy.<ref name=Friend /> Governmental officials and scientists try to use him as a weapon against villainous kaiju while protagonists try to save him.<ref name=BraveGuide /> Gamera and Gyaos were designed to be much smaller yet heavier than previous incarnations,<ref name=BraveGuide /> corresponding with the original scripts of Gamera: Guardian of the Universe which became the basis for the 2006 film.Template:Refn<ref name=Perfection />
The opening scene of the film, set in 1973, depicts the original Gamera, called "Avant Gamera", sacrificing himself by means of self-destruction to save a coastal village from four Gyaos.<ref name=BraveGuide /><ref name=midnighteye>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref name=midnighteye /><ref name=Aiken>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A baby turtle hatches from the egg, and begins to grow in size at an alarming rate. The turtle, dubbed "Toto" by Toru after his own nickname by his deceased mother,<ref name=BraveGuide /> quickly forms a bond with the boy and develops the ability to breathe fire and fly.<ref name=Aiken /> After consuming the glowing rock found with his egg, Toto fully transforms into the next incarnation of Gamera,<ref name=Friend /> gaining the power to defeat a lizard-like monster known as Zedus. Zedus was once a normal reptile, but turned into a kaiju by feeding on Gyaos' corpse, and was presumably controlled by the vengeful spirits of the villainous flying creatures.Template:Sfn<ref name=BravePamphlet>Akihiko Kikawa, Junichi Nakamura, 2006, "これはびっくり!! 大怪獣ガメラ完全解剖図" and "やっぱりびっくり!! 海魔獣ジーダス完全解剖図", Official film pamphlet of Gamera the Brave, Kadokawa</ref>
In one of novelizations, additional mutants spawned from Gyaos Cells made appearances, including Space Gyaos, Barugon,Template:Refn Viras, Guiron, Jiger and its offspring, and Zigra, and Toto fought against a legion of these kaiju.<ref name=Friend />
Gamera RebirthEdit
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.<ref name=RebirthArtbook /> 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 kaiju. During the downfalls of ancient civilizations, Gamera presumably stood against 24 different kaiju to protect the humanity.<ref name="RebirthNovel2">Hiroyuki Seshita (jp), Jin (jp), 25 May 2024, Gamera Rebirth Official Novelization Part 2, pp.27-28, p.311, p.318, Kadokawa</ref>
While previous incarnations of the character possessed affinities to elements most notably fire, electricity, plasma energy, electromagnetic pulse, and jamming,<ref name=Noma /> Gamera in Gamera Rebirth further expanded combat attributes to include gravitation, an energy shield, and baryon.Template:Refn This incarnation also possesses several supernatural traits such as telepathy, a psychic link with humans, interfering mental contact by other kaiju on humans, bestowing a power to sense presence of other kaiju on children, and his name itself contains a power to somehow encourage specific children and makes humans to feel that the name "Gamera" is the correct one.<ref name=RebirthArtbook /><ref>Hiroyuki Seshita (jp), Jin (jp), 2023, GAMERA -Rebirth- Official Novelization Part 1, p.82, pp.99-102, p.107, p.141, p.182, pp.196-197, pp.251-252, pp.268, KADOKAWA</ref>
Gamera appeared to protect children from other monsters trying to feed on children and other humans. Through battle, Gamera was severely damaged and nearly died. During the battle against S-Gyaos, an enormous Gyaos mutant who fed on Viras' corpse, Gamera was injected with specific RNA viruses 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 the antagonists, the descendants of nobles of an ancient civilization who were using kaiju. Using all of his remaining power for the planet-penetrating Charged Baryon Cannon, the "Moon Buster", Gamera dissolved into ashes, leaving behind an egg for the new incarnation of Gamera who strongly resembles Toto from the 2006 film.<ref name=RebirthArtbook>GAMERA -Rebirth- Production committee, 29 January 2024, GAMERA -Rebirth- Official Artbook, pp.9-12, p.15, pp.17-25, p.35, pp.74-76, pp.94-95, pp.110-111, KADOKAWA, ISBN：9784041138410</ref><ref name=RebirthNovel2 />
OthersEdit
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,<ref name=DaieiScripts>1956-2006 『大映特撮の世界』篇</ref> is unclear. Showa era Gamera defeated villainous kaiju like in 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 humanity, though his intention was to prevent an oncoming catastrophe caused by environmental degradations and to warn 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 pollution, following a similar fate as the Phoenix where both monsters cannot die for the sake of the planet which was damaged by humanity.<ref name=Perfection />
The incarnation of the character, the "Black Tortoise", appeared in Template:Nihongo, a spin-off novelization of the 2021 film The Great Yokai War: Guardians, was uniquely portrayed to be an actual goddess. This incarnation was capable of various supernatural abilities such as materialization, human speech, and making yokai and humans they have known her since childhood even if it is their first encounter with her. In spirit-like form, she appeared from Mount Ooe and surrounding mountains north of Heian-kyō (Kyoto)Template:Refn 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 yokai. Gamera overwhelmed and severely weakened Nue with her fireballs and spinning jet, and left the rest to yokai and humans so they could fulfill their destiny, and secretly disappeared (dematerialized).<ref name=Minemori />
The presence of the "Black Tortoise" was also confirmed in the 2015 novel Template:Nihongo. This was written by Shinichiro Inoue (jp), who was trying to reboot the franchise in early 2010s and also participated in Daimajin Kanon and Gamera Rebirth.<ref name="CGWORLD" /><ref name="RebirthArtbook" /> The novel was a tribute to Masaichi Nagata and his films.Template:Refn In this novel, Barugon and Jiger directly appeared as the Azure Dragon and the White Tiger, respectively. Each monster is a spiritual and sacred entity, being regarded as deities with supernatural powers such as telepathy, weaponizing the weather, energy beams, levitation, and time manipulation. These monsters choose specific humans as summoners and form supernatural links with them through magatamas, and bestow them superpowers. 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. This would only be cured by other chosen ones by the Four Symbols. Nichiren, the current summoner of the Black Tortoise who was also bestowed abilities including time manipulation, tried to restore the world after the battle of Barugon and Jiger during the Mongol invasions of Japan.<ref name="HolyBeast">Shinichiro Inoue (jp), 2015, 聖獣戦記 白い影, p.294-305, 怪獣文藝の逆襲, Kadokawa</ref>
Gamera made several appearances in the tokusatsu televisoon series Sailor Fight (jp) in 1995 and 1996 as a "Capsule Monster", presumably based on similarly styled characters from Ultra Seven, which later inspired Pokémon.<ref>MAG MIX (jp), 19 September 2020, 『ウルトラセブン』で活躍の「カプセル怪獣」…その魅力はポケモンにも影響?</ref><ref>MAG MIX (jp), 30 September 2023, 「ポケモン」を生んだ? 『ウルトラセブン』カプセル怪獣のたまらない可愛さ</ref> Noriaki YuasaTemplate:Refn directed a related 1996 video Cosplay Warrior Cutie Knight and appeared in it as the character "Dr. Yuasa". Hurricane Ryu, who was also working for the 1994 manga Giant Monster Gamera, played Gamera in the video.<ref name=HurricaneRyu>Hurricane Ryu, 14 June 2020, 本日は昭和ガメラでおなじみ湯浅憲明監督の御命日。, Twiiter (X)</ref>
In the 2015 short film to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the franchise,<ref name=WebNewType /> Gamera saved a boy from a swarm of Gyaos attacking Tokyo and incinerated them with a powerful fire blast. A decade later, another monster appeared in Tokyo to cause havoc, and the boy again witnessed Gamera return to fight it.
Within the USO Makoto Yōkai Hyaku Monogatari series by Natsuhiko Kyogoku, in which multiple Kadokawa stakeholders, Daiei (Kadokawa)-related characters,Template:Refn and characters from GeGeGe no Kitarō made cameo appearances as unsubstantial entities along with various other characters from multiple different franchises.Template:RefnTemplate:Refn<ref name=Kyogoku />
Relationship with GodzillaEdit
OverviewEdit
Both Gamera and Godzilla franchises have played significant roles in expanding modern culture in Japan, influenced various other productions, and influenced each other on various occasions.<ref name=Perfection /><ref name=Denner /> Both along with other tokusatsu productions, most notably Daimajin and Ultra Q and Ultraman franchises, formed the "First Kaiju Boom" (jp), which became the basis for the "Second Kaiju Boom" (jp) and the "Yōkai Boom".<ref name=Ono2018 /><ref name=BraveGuide /><ref name=KaijuYokai>Gigan Yamazaki (jp), 25 February 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</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Despite the restraints by the Six-Company Agreement, which was led by Masaichi Nagata himself, the success of Daiei Film's own Gamera prompted non-Toho kaiju productions. This, and Masaichi's contributions in the launching of the below-mentioned The Japanese Film Export Promotion Association, encouraged the Japanese government to value kaiju and tokusatsu productions for exports,<ref name=Futaesaku /><ref name=Tanigawa /><ref name=Cercle /> and the "First Kaiju Boom" became a social phenomenon with notable influences on modern popular cultures in Japan.<ref name=Karasawa />
Daiei Film's objective was not to surpass the Godzilla franchise, but to coexist with it, and the Gamera franchise achieved differentiation from Toho productions, and gained popularity notably among children and rivaling Toho productions.<ref name=Karasawa>Shunichi Karasawa, 14 April 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</ref><ref name=Yanagita />
While Gamera has been described as being a rip-off of Godzilla by some authors,Template:Sfn<ref name=deusner>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Godzilla films including later Showa films,<ref name=Denner /><ref name=Karasawa /><ref name=Ono2018 /><ref name=Ryfle /><ref name=Scified />Template:Refn Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (1994),<ref name=Biodrowski /> Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995),<ref name=Biodrowski>Steve Biodrowski, 20 November 2004, Godzilla Director Masaaki Tezuka Interview, Hollywood Gothique</ref> Godzilla 2000 (1999),<ref name=Scified>G. H. (Gman), 15 March 2014, Remember When Godzilla "Ripped Off" Gamera?, Scified</ref><ref name=Biodrowski /> Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000),<ref name=Scified /><ref>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"</ref> Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (GMK) (2001), Shin Godzilla (2016),<ref name=Ono2018 /> Godzilla Minus One (2023),<ref name=CinemaToday>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref name=Kinema>Sekiguchi Y., 2014, Kinema Junpo, No.1666, p.48, ASIN B006CDA5BI</ref><ref name=Eiga>Eiga Hihō (jp), July 2019 Special, 2019, p. 2 and p.8, Yosensha, ASIN B07RQ3VBFM</ref><ref>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!!</ref> Gamera was represented within a concept art of Godzilla: King of the Monsters,<ref name=Bernstein /><ref name=Peters>Megan Peters, 4 June 2019, Godzilla: King of the Monsters Art Book Reveals Gigan, Classic Kaiju Designs, ComicBook.com</ref> and Kaneko himself acknowledges similarities between his films and MonsterVerse films<ref name=Kinema /><ref name=Eiga /> where the scrapped 2011 project Gamera 3D by Yoshimitsu Banno served as one of predecessors of the 2014 film Godzilla.<ref name=Joblo /><ref name=THKingdom /><ref name=Plan01>Plans01 of Advanced Audiovisual Productions Inc.</ref> According to Jared Krichevsky, "Shimo" appeared in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire was partially inspired by Barugon.<ref name=Krichevsky>Jared Krichevsky, 2 April 2024, i did try a version that was based on this one yes, it wasn't selected but it did lead to the final version of Shimo, X (Twitter)</ref> Shusuke Kaneko utilized some aspects of Showa Gamera and his Heisei Gamera trilogy for GMK such as "submarine within kaiju's body" from Gamera vs. Jiger, and Kaneko reused ideas which he originally wanted for the Heisei trilogy and its cancelled sequel(s).<ref name=Ono2018 />
Eiji TsuburayaTemplate:Refn depicted Godzilla to be more heroic and to bleed in later Showa films despite disliking bleeding kaiju, and having avoided this in previous Showa films due to his belief in Christianity.<ref name=OFS1995 /> Later Showa Godzilla films featured more child-friendly aspects, introducing theme songs,Template:Refn depicting kaiju as characters than monsters with increased scenes to zoom in on kaiju, increasing the number of scenes involving kaiju, and adding more fancifully designed kaiju. Yoshimitsu Banno, who later planned to direct Gamera 3D,<ref name=Joblo /> made Godzilla to flyTemplate:Refn in his Godzilla vs. Hedorah.Template:Refn<ref name=Yanagita>Rikao Yanagita (jp), 3 November 2021, 『ゴジラ』公開から67年目の今日、考えたい。ゴジラとガメラが戦ったら、勝つのはどっちだ?, Yahoo! News (jp), Yahoo! Japan Corporation</ref> These later Showa Godzilla films were presumably influenced by Gamera.<ref name=Denner /><ref name=Ono2018 /><ref name=BraveGuide>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</ref><ref name=Karasawa /><ref name=Scified /> The creations of Minilla (a child-friendly son of Godzilla) and Kamoebas (jp), Toho's own turtle kaiju, were also possibly influenced by the Gamera franchise<ref name=Denner /><ref name=Ono2018 /><ref name=Ryfle>Template:Cite book</ref> while Toto in the 2006 film Gamera the Brave in return bears physical and conceptual similarities to Minilla, Godzilla Junior in the 1994 film Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla, and Daigoro vs. Goliath by Toho and Tsuburaya Productions.<ref name=Perfection /> While Gamera the Brave re-used the original script of Gamera: Guardian of the Universe, which also affected productions of Digimon Tamers (Toei Animation) and Ultraman Tiga (Tsuburaya Productions), the plot of the 2006 film was also influenced by the Heisei Mothra trilogy where crews such as Nippon Eizo Creative (jp) had participated in both productions.<ref name=Perfection /><ref name=NEC>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Ishiro Honda highly praised the 1967 film Gamera vs. Gyaos, pleasing Niisan Takahashi greatly and freeing him from his feeling of inferiority towards the Godzilla franchise, and Honda suggested Takahashi to work together in the future.<ref name=Fantasy /> There was a failed attempt to produce a Daimajin film involving Honda in 1980s,<ref>Steve Ryfle, Ed Godziszewski, 2017, Ishiro Honda: A Life in Film, from Godzilla to Kurosawa, p.285, Wesleyan University Press</ref><ref name=Sloss>Steven Sloss, 2023, Idol Threat: Daimajin's Colossal Cultural Footprint, Arrow Films</ref> and 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, despite Honda's encouragement, Takahashi's attempt failed to materialize.<ref name=Stuart>Galbraith IV, Stuart, 2020, Gamera vs. Gyaos Audio Commentary, 01:25:02, Arrow Video</ref><ref name=DaieiScripts />
During the production of Gamera: Guardian of the Universe in 1995, Yasuyoshi Tokuma (jp), the founder of Tokuma Shoten, expressed his interest in producing Godzilla vs. Gamera and proposed a crossover to Toho, however this attempt failed to materialize, and Yasuyoshi's death in 2000 and financial situation of Tokuma Shoten eventually resulted in the disposal of Daiei Film properties,<ref name=Nikkei /> along with the cancellation of "Gamera 4" due to box office results of the trilogy and limited revenues for the company caused by multiple factors,<ref name=KanekoDiary /> the destruction scenes of Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris, and the planned plot of the scrapped sequel.<ref name=MWP /><ref name=Kaneda>Kenichiro Terasawa (as Masumi Kaneda) (jp), 15 July 2024, 徳間康快社長が平成ガメラ第1作発表会で突然「ゴジラ対ガメラも考えている」といったのは漫画の後書きに関連。, Twitter (X)</ref><ref name=MagMix>Tatsuji Nagano, 2 May 2023, 夢の対決「ゴジラvsガメラ」は実現するか? BS12で、『ゴジラ』『ガメラ』一挙放映, MAG MIX (jp)</ref>
In 2002, Kadokawa acquired the copyrights of Daiei Film properties from Tokuma Shoten, and Kazuo Kuroi (jp) announced a crossover plan between Gamera and Godzilla, along with a plan to reboot Daimajin.<ref name=Zakzak>ZAKZAK, 13 November 2002, 角川大映、「ゴジラvsガメラ」製作へ - 「大魔神」のリメーク版も, FUJI Evening News (jp)</ref> The company approached Toho to achieve it, however the latter turned down the offer and Kadokawa therefore produced Gamera the Brave instead<ref name=Aiken /> as Toho temporary ceased Godzilla productions after Godzilla: Final WarsTemplate:Refn.<ref name=BraveGuide /><ref name=Karasawa /> Zedus, the main antagonist of the 2006 film was intentionally designed to resemble Toho monsters<ref name=Perfection /> such as Varan<ref name="HeiseiModels">Tomoo Haraguchi (jp), 1 September 2023, 平成ガメラ造型写真集, p.174, pp.198-202, pp.208-217, Hobby Japan</ref> and Gorosaurus,<ref name=HeiseiModels /> TriStar Pictures' Godzilla,Template:Sfn and it notably resembles both Toho's Godzilla<ref name=BraveGuide /> and Jirahs,<ref name=HeiseiModels /> the Godzilla-based kaiju from Ultraman.Template:Refn Shogo Tomiyama was aware of the demand for the crossover, however clarified it lacking merits for filmmakers.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Additionally, Shusuke Kaneko has also expressed his interest in producing a crossover.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2023, the Netflix series Gamera Rebirth was directed by Hiroyuki Seshita (jp) who previously directed the anime Godzilla trilogy. This time, Toho instead proposed an offer for a crossover due to a large number of requests from players of the mobile game Godzilla Battle Line,<ref>Official Godzilla Channel, 1 September 2023, 第9回 ゴジバトサミット ～怪獣大進撃スペシャル～, at 50:40, Youtube</ref> and an official collaboration between the Netflix series and the mobile game was made where Seshita's incarnation of Godzilla was chosen for the key art, and Gamera and Gyaos (jp) and Guiron appeared in the game as playable characters, followed by Showa incarnations of Gamera and Gyaos.<ref name=ScifiJapan>SciFi Japan, Godzilla vs Gamera in New GODZILLA BATTLE LINE/GAMERA -Rebirth- Collaboration</ref><ref>Godzilla Game Portal, 28 June 2024, Part 2 of the GAMERA -Rebirth- Collab!</ref><ref>Godzilla Battle Line Official X Account, 3 November 2024, 【ゴジバトサミット 速報】映画『大怪獣空中戦 ガメラ対ギャオス』より「#ガメラ(1967)」「#ギャオス(1967)」が11/5(火)よりゴジバトに参戦決定！, X (Twitter)</ref>
Additionally, Masaaki Tezuka (jp) once suggested using Gamera instead of the aforementioned Kamoebas (jp) for the 2003 film Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.,<ref>Dave Fuentes, 3 September 2015, Masaaki Tezuka & the Proper Etiquette for Accepting a Godzilla movie!, Terror from Beyond the Dave</ref>Template:Refn and Gamera was at one point considered to appear in the 2007 video game Godzilla: Unleashed. The 1999 video game Gamera Dream Battle was able to connect to Mothra Dream Battle in which Mothra and King Ghidorah appeared as playable characters.<ref name=IGN2022 />
Gamera's voice effect was used in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah,<ref name="Wong">Template:Cite book</ref> and Gamera was represented within a concept art of Godzilla: King of the Monsters,<ref name=Bernstein>Abby Bernstein, 2019, The Art of Godzilla: King of the Monsters, p.11, Titan Books</ref><ref name=Peters /> and several Godzilla productions have presumed references to Gamera.<ref name=TheSeries>Characters / Godzilla: The Series</ref><ref name=FinalWars>Film / Godzilla: Final Wars</ref><ref name=MonsterApocalypse>Renji Ōki, 2017, GODZILLA: Monster Apocalypse, pp.114–115, Kadokawa.</ref><ref name=Squires>John Squires, 13 March 2017, Did 'Kong: Skull Island' Tease Future 'Gamera' Movie?, Bloody Disgusting</ref>
Gamera and Godzilla and other monsters from respective franchises co-appeared in several exoteric productions and events such as stage shows,<ref name=26Facts>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Haruo Nakajima, 2010, 怪獣人生 元祖ゴジラ俳優・中島春雄, pp.173-176, Yosensha</ref><ref name=Koganemushi>Atelier Koganemushi, 22 December 2017, 21年前の懐かしい記念写真が見つかりました。, X (Twitter)</ref> a television show (jp), Dr. Slump and Dragon Ball,Template:Sfn The Simpsons,<ref name=Simpsons /> Urusei Yatsura,Template:Refn Daicon III and IV Opening Animations,Template:Refn MegaTokyo, City Shrouded in Shadow,<ref name=Ono2018 /> Robot Chicken,<ref name=RobotChicken>Robot Chicken Characters, Behind The Voice Actors</ref> The Slammie Brothers vs. Godzilla and Gamera,<ref name=Noma /> and USO Makoto Yōkai Hyaku Monogatari.<ref name="Kyogoku" /> Several franchises such as Dr. Slump,<ref name="Gatchan">MyAnimeList, Gajira "Gatchan" Norimaki</ref> Detective Conan,<ref name="Conan" /> Sailor Moon SuperS,<ref name="Sailor">Sailor Moon Trivia, 13 December 2020, In episodes 141 & 143, "Gazulla" plays at the movie theater. The title character is a combination of kaijū Gamera and Godzilla., Twitter (X)</ref> and Jumbo Monster GOMERA (jp)<ref name=ITmedia /> have characters with the names "Gamera" and "Godzilla". In 2005, Shusuke Kaneko directed the 11th episode on Ultraman Max, choosing to include a scene of children playing with toys of Gamera and Godzilla as a reference to the films he had directed in both franchises.Template:Refn Ayako Fujitani also made an appearance as a guest in the episode.<ref name=UltramanMax>Uchusen, 30 October 2006, ウルトラマンマックス マックス!マックス!マックス!怪獣大画報, pp.52-53, Tsuburaya Productions, Asahi Sonorama's Fantastic Collection</ref><ref>Uchusen, 20 April 2006, Uchusen Year Book 2006, p.58, Asahi Sonorama's Sonorama Mook</ref><ref name=MagMixMax /><ref name=Visual /> On the other hand, Kaneko's attempt to make Gamera to appear in his live-film adaptation of Minna Agechau (1985), which includeds various vulgar references to classic characters such as Godzilla, King Ghidorah, Mother of Ultra]] (jp), Indiana Jones, and below-mentioned Bruce Lee, however Tokuma Shoten turned down this.<ref name=UltramanMax />
The 1998 Shochiku film Giant Monsters Appear in Tokyo represented off-screen appearances of two battling kaiju, 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 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.<ref name=Ono2018 /><ref name=Noma>Norikazu Noma, Seinosuke Ito, Jinni Tohmon, 25 January 2001, ガメラ 完全化読本, p.124, p.145, pp.160-164, p.191, Paradigm</ref><ref>大怪獣東京に現わる</ref>
ProductionsEdit
Template:See also Template:Multiple image
Daiei Film produced and distributed films that played major roles in forming tokusatsu and kaiju genre under Masaichi Nagata, one of creators of Gamera.
Nagata's intentions made the company to distribute foreign films, such as Disney productions due to Masaichi's connections with Walt Disney,<ref name=Ui /><ref>Isao Ogawa (jp), June 2015, The Study of Fictitiousness in Theme Parks : True-False Discussion of Nara Dream Land from a Tourism-Sociological Viewpoint, The Hikone ronso, vol.404, pp.64-79, Shiga University</ref> and to produce innovative productions, resulting in the productions of the first post-war science fiction tokusatsu films in Japan; Rainbow Man (jp) and The Invisible Man Appears in 1949. Eiji Tsuburaya, who had repeatedly associated with Masaichi Nagata since early 1930s,Template:Refn and Sadamasa Arikawa (jp) and Shuzaburo Araki (jp) participated in these and other Daiei productions before the signing of the Six-Company Agreement in 1953 (which was also led by Masaichi),Template:Refn and they intended to join Daiei Film with the 1949 films after Tsuburaya's exile from Toho because of the 1948 purge due to his involvements in war propagandas, and Arikawa and Araki's voluntary resignations after Toho strikes. However, Tsuburaya was rather dissatisfied with the tokusatsu production (or effects) in The Invisible Man Appears (or their attempts to join the company didn't materialize), and eventually didn't join Daiei Film. Tsuburaya and Arikawa and Araki later participated in Godzilla and various other Toho tokusatsu productions.<ref name=Ui /><ref name=TohoSF93 /><ref name=Godzilla60 /> The 2020 biopic Nezura 1964 ambiguously portrayed Tsuburaya's association with Daiei Film before Gamera.<ref name=Furuya>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Daiei Film, along with its own productions of various tokusatsu films, including Gamera-related Warning from Space (1956) and the first Daiei kaiju film The Whale God (1962), also distributed the re-released edition of King Kong in 1952, making it the first post-war release of monster movies in Japan, and also distributed The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms in Japan in 1954, and these presumably influenced the productions of the 1954 film Godzilla by Toho and Daiei Film's own tokusatsu productions including the Gamera franchise.Template:Refn<ref name=Noma /><ref name=Ui />
The Six-Company Agreement led by Masaichi Nagata prevented other companies from easily chasing after the success of Toho, and the Godzilla franchise didn't have notable competitors until the Gamera franchise; the agreement ironically made Daiei Film's own Dagora and Nezura to fail by using live animals (octopuses and rats) to avoid the Toho-style, and Daiei Film changed the direction for Gamera, the Giant Monster. As below mentioned, non-Toho kaiju productions suddenly increased after Daiei's The Whale God and early Gamera films, which were produced under Masaichi Nagata, and the aforementioned the "First Kaiju Boom" (jp) became an influential social phenomenon among post-war Japanese popular cultures.<ref name=Karasawa /><ref name=BraveGuide /><ref name=Ono2018 />
Due to the Six-Company Agreement, other companies, including Masaichi's Daiei Film itself, could not "openly" use tokusatsu techniques and staffs and actors of Toho. However, according to Keizō Murase, Eiji Tsuburaya's teams were secretly appointed for Gappa: The Triphibian Monster by Nikkatsu and The X from Outer Space by Shochiku,Template:Refn and other subsequent productions, and Toho's techniques were secretly used in these films. For Gamera, the Giant Monster, some crews who had previously participated in Godzilla and other Toho kaiju filmsTemplate:Refn joined its production despite the agreement, and Eiji Tsuburaya gave a tacit approval to their actions. However, while there had been suggestions to seek Tsuburaya's help, even by an executive who is a friend of the father of Yonejiro Saito (jp) and Tsuburaya,<ref name=Treasured /> filmmakers intentionally avoided receiving any technological assistances from Tsuburaya for the Gamera franchise to differentiate their productions from Toho, and produced Gamera and other tokusatsu films without Toho-based techniques, choices of materials, direction, and so on.<ref name=IGN2022 /><ref name=Karasawa />
Successes of Gamera, the Giant Monster and Gamera vs. Barugon resulted in sudden increases of non-Toho kaiju productions, such as afroementioned Gappa: The Triphibian Monster and The X from Outer Space.<ref name=Karasawa /> Film makers were suspicious of Tsuburaya's involvements to these non-Daiei productionsTemplate:Refn despite the Six-Company Agreement because of sudden increases in non-Toho kaiju productions after Gamera films, despite the only non-Toho tokusatsu film of that time before the 1965 Gamera film to feature gigantic creature was Daiei Film's The Whale God (Killer Whale) in 1962.<ref name=Karasawa />Template:RefnTemplate:Refn
Masaichi Nagata's intentions to save the domestic film industry and to export "kaiju" and "tokusatsu" productions for global markets also influenced the castings of later Showa Gamera films. Involvements of foreign cast members and enhanced childish direction began in Gamera vs. Viras due to requests from global buyers, because of governmental attempt to acquire foreign currencies<ref name=Futaesaku>Masamitsu Futaesaku, February 11, 2023, 【なぜゴジラやガメラはアメリカで支持された？】日本の怪獣映画が受け入れられた知られざる背景とは？, Yahoo! News (jp), Yahoo! Japan Corporation</ref> and to support struggling Japanese film industries of that time, partially due to the recession of Japanese economy and the prosperity of television including Tsuburaya's Ultraman<ref name=Denner /> by increasing film exports to global market;<ref name=Fantasy /> ironically the success of the Gamera franchise indirectly contributed in this situation and the arise of the "Yokai Boom" for cost-effectiveness.<ref name=Ono2018 /> Template:Nihongo was established, and Gamera vs. Gyaos obtained a loan from the association.<ref name=Fantasy /> The establishment of the association was largely influenced by Masaichi, who was also entitled the Fixer of the political world and had connections with political circles,<ref name=IGN2022 /> and the subsequent kaiju and tokusatsu films, not only Gamera vs. Gyaos and Wrath of Daimajin and other Daiei Film productions, but also others such as aforementioned Gappa: The Triphibian Monster and The X from Outer Space by Eiji Tsuburaya's team, obtained tax-based loans from the association.<ref name=Tanigawa>Takeshi Tanigawa, August 2014, 海外輸出向けコンテンツとしての怪獣映画と日本映画輸出振興協会（輸振協）の活用, International Research Center for Japanese Studies</ref><ref name=Cercle>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Showa Gamera films, especially since Gamera vs. Gyaos, were intended to appeal to children. This was 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, occasional quadrupedalism along with his foes and brutal and animalistic fight scenes,Template:Refn his personality as both a friendly creature and a hero rather than Godzilla's theme to represent a "god of destruction",Template:Refn Material choices for suits and miniature models were devised to avoid duplicates with the Toho productions. Plots of Showa Gamera films intentionally avoided to focus on "standards" of kaiju films by Toho, such as the JSDF and other military forces, weapons, scientific explanations, destructions of urban areas, and so on. Instead, subsequent films since Gamera vs. Viras featured simple, childish, and eccentric plots for young audiences.Template:Refn In the films, children play significant roles with the eccentric ideas presented, and children, unlike adults, always believe in Gamera,<ref name=Karasawa /><ref name=OFS1995 /> partially due to Noriaki Yuasa's antithesis against war and political propagandas and nationalism.<ref name=YuasaInterview /> This direction was initially decided because a number of children watching Gamera vs. BarugonTemplate:Refn got bored with the plot and left their seats,<ref name=IGN2022 /> 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), with limitations of further elements such as designs and abilities of monsters, amounts of special effects, destructions of urban areas, limited locations,<ref name=Denner>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and so on.<ref name=Karasawa /><ref name=Treasured /> Yuasa and others didn't intend to make Gamera films to be "good in quality", but being "good in performances", by appealing to young audiences for additional revenues.Template:Refn
On the other hand, a number of new tokusatsu expertise were obtained through productions of Showa Gamera films to compensate for lack of resources and avoiding Toho-based techniques and materials,<ref name=Treasured /> however those were lost due to the bankruptcy of the company and influenced the production of the Heisei trilogy; expertise from the Ultraman franchise, most notably Ultraman 80 in which Noriaki Yuasa participated in as one of directors, were instead used for the production of the trilogy.<ref name=EigaHiho2021 />
As below mentioned, declined public recognition of the franchise due to repeated hiatuses in productions and limited marketing and media attentions,<ref name=Perfection /> along with misconceptions among new audience segments, such as Gamera being a cheap, "corny", and inferior imitation of Godzilla and Gamera belonging to the Toho franchise, might have negatively affected box office results of the post-Daiei productions by Tokuma Shoten and Kadokawa Corporation.<ref name=Vanishing /><ref name=KanekoDiary /> Additionally, negative reactions by global audiences towards the franchise in comparison to the Toho franchise were also presumably influenced by the Mystery Science Theater 3000.<ref name=EigaHiho2021 />
Shusuke Kaneko, and Shinji Higuchi, who have previously participated in The Return of Godzilla, respectively directed GMK and Shin Godzilla<ref name=Ono2018 /> where Kaneko and Kazunori Ito originally wanted to take the 1992 film Godzilla vs. Mothra (the relationship between Mothra and Shobijin (jp) might have influenced the depictions of Gamera and Asagi Kusanagi in the Heisei Gamera trilogy),<ref name=Ono2018 /><ref name=GMK /> however Kaneko and Ito and Higuchi's preferences of Godzilla and other Toho productions, along with their disfavor of Showa Gamera and dissatisfactions for the Heisei Godzilla continuity, resulted in controversial outcomes of the Heisei trilogy.<ref name=Perfection />
Distributions and releasesEdit
One of factors restricting revenues from Daiei Film productions was the company's weak distribution system including limited theater chains; releases of Daiei Film productions relied on movie theatres by Toho, Shochiku, and Toei Company. Daiei Film later launched the Template:Nihongo to gain directly managing movie theaters, however the attempt failed as feasible properties were already acquired by other companies, further accelerating financial difficulties of Daiei Film. The deterioration of the company including its distribution system was partially caused by rather prodigal operations by Masaichi Nagata; his extensive achievements, including the prosperity of "kaiju" and "tokusatsu" genres aimed for global markets,<ref name=Fantasy /><ref name=Tanigawa /><ref name=Cercle /><ref name=Futaesaku /> granted him the title "Father of Japanese film industry", however his career ironically formed a dictatorial company culture which even restricted executives, and Noriaki Yuasa described Hidemasa Nagata being "too artistic" to run a company. On the other hand, it was also Masaichi who pushed ahead to produce Gamera, the Giant Monster, and Masaichi's authority rather compulsively overturned overall negative pre-release reviews of the 1965 film within Daiei Film as he complimented it, and the first Gamera film indeed succussed where even Yuasa anticipated it to fail since the beginning and couldn't understand why it didn't flop.<ref name=IGN2022 /><ref name=Ono2018 /><ref name=YuasaInterview />
Ever since Gamera vs. Zigra, the last film by Daiei Film, was distributed by Dainichi Eihai for financial reasons,<ref name=OFS1995 /> Daiei Film productions by Tokuma Shoten and Kadokawa Corporation have always relied on other companies to distribute, restricting revenues.<ref name=IGN2022 /> The Heisei trilogy was distributed by Toho as Daiei Film lost its theater chains after its bankruptcy. However, the trilogy was distributed by Toho Western Films unlike Godzilla films, and the number of movie theatres for the trilogy was much smaller than Godzilla films, further reducing potential box office results.Template:Refn<ref name=Shiraishi>Masahiko Shiraishi, Shōgo Tomiyama, 20 January 2003, Heisei Godzilla Encyclopedia, "Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla: close encounter Godzilla vs. Gamera !?", pp.256-257, Futabasha</ref> However, Shōgo Tomiyama noted that he did not perceive the Gamera franchise as a rival, but was instead happy to see its revival along with the Godzilla franchise which was the sole support the kaiju genre received for years.<ref>Hobby Japan, 19 December 2017, Godzilla vs. Destoroyah Completion, "Staff interview - Shōgo Tomiyama", p.86,</ref> Filming of Gamera: Guardian of the Universe was also affected by the 1994 film Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla as both films were filmed in Fukuoka.<ref name=Shiraishi />
Global distributions of videos of the franchise was also affected by the Godzilla franchise. For financial reasons, Daiei Film avoided the market in the United States and instead focused more on European countries to decrease competition with Toho productions. Foreign cast members became increasingly well-represented due to requests from European buyers; however, these buyers also requested to avoid hiring black cast members. Daiei Film obliged, though some criticized Daiei Film for this decision.<ref name=Karasawa /> On the other hand, its increasingly childish direction along with involving foreign cast members were also prompted by the Japanese Film Export Promotion Association under the Japanese government where Daiei Film's Masaichi Nagata contributed in its establishment, and governmental policy to export tokusatsu films to the global market also boosted serializations of Gamera and Daimajin franchises.<ref name=IGN2022 /><ref name=Fantasy /><ref name=Tanigawa /><ref name=Cercle /><ref name=Futaesaku /> Gamera franchise's child-friendly directions, limited productions, and much smaller global expansions than the Godzilla franchise, presumably restricted public recognition of the Daiei franchise and established inferior public impressions on it globally to the Toho productions.<ref name=EigaHiho2021 />
After the bankruptcy of Daiei Film, the franchise increased its efforts avoid direct competition against the Godzilla franchise, including the Heisei trilogy,Template:Refn and Gamera: Super Monster by Tokuma Shoten and Gamera the Brave by Kadokawa were released in 1980 and 2006 respectively because Toho temporary ceased producing Godzilla films due to declined box office results.Template:Refn<ref name=IGN2022 /><ref name=BraveGuide /><ref name=Karasawa /> While the franchise was not rebooted after the 1980 film,<ref name=Ui /> there also existed scrapped projects in early 1990s prior to the Heisei trilogyTemplate:Refn, where the Heisei Godzilla continuity had been continuously developed since Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989).<ref name=EigaHiho2021 /> After the commercial failure of the 2006 film, which was originally launched as a proposal for a crossover with Godzilla in 2002,<ref name=Aiken /> Kadokawa cancelled various projects, including reboot attempt(s) in 2010s,<ref name=CGWORLD /><ref name=Suzumura /><ref name=ANN /><ref name=Nezura1964>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and instead released a short film for the 50th anniversary of the franchise in 2015;<ref name=WebNewType /> MonsterVerse by Legendary Pictures (which was at one point a Gamera project Gamera 3D<ref name=THKingdom />) began in 2014, and subsequent Godzilla productions were continuously developed among theatrical releases and streaming media. Shin Godzilla and anime Godzilla trilogy were directed by filmmakers who have either previously or subsequently participated in Gamera productions.<ref name=Ono2018 /><ref name=ScifiJapan /> Gamera Rebirth was released on Netflix in 2023 after Godzilla Singular Point in 2021. Gamera: Super Monster, Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris, and Gamera the Brave were also released during "winters" of the kaiju genre when the popularity of Godzilla productions were also declining.<ref name=IGN2022 /><ref name=BraveGuide />
ParticipantsEdit
While Eiji Tsuburaya and Sadamasa Arikawa (jp) and Shuzaburo Araki (jp) eventually didn't join Daiei Film, a number of Tsuburaya's coworkers and students, who had previously participated in Godzilla and various other Toho productions, participated in Gamera and Daimajin and other Daiei productions,<ref name=Ui /> and a number of staffs involved in Gamera productions later participated in various Godzilla and Ultraman productions, including Gamera the Brave and Ultraman Tiga (and Digimon Tamers) reusing the same early script for Gamera: Guardian of the Universe.<ref name=Perfection />
A number of crews and filmmakers,Template:Refn actors, voice actors, extras, and suit actorsTemplate:Refn have participated in both and related franchises (including other Tsuburaya works).<ref name=MangaBoys /><ref name=HurricaneRyu /> Keizō Murase and Masao Yagi (jp)Template:Refn and Toru Suzuki (jp) and Michio Mikami (jp), who have previously participated in Godzilla and other Toho kaiju films and worked with Eiji Tsuburaya, and Akira Takahashi (jp) and Nori Maezawa (jp) founded the tokusatsu modelling company the Ex Productions (jp) after Gamera, the Giant Monster. Murase also founded another tokusatsu related company called 20Twenty (jp) afterward.Template:Refn These companies contributed in various tokusatsu productions including Gamera and Daimajin, and non-Daiei franchises by Tsuburaya such as Godzilla and its related Zone Fighter, Ultraman, Kamen Rider,Template:Refn and so on.<ref name=HobbyJapanMook>Hobby Japan Mook, 28 March 2016, Uchusen Extra Volume: Kamen Rider Kaijin Daigahō 2016, "Masao Yagi and the Ex Productions", p.53, Hobby Japan</ref>
P ProductionsEdit
As aforementioned, there have been contradicting theories regards the original conceptor of Gamera where even Noriaki Yuasa and Niisan Takahashi and Yonejiro Saito (jp) weren't truly aware of. Tomio Sagisu (jp), a student of Eiji Tsuburaya and the founder of P Productions, had repeatedly participated in Daiei Film productions most notably The Whale God and Buddha (jp). Sagisu claimed that his 1962 demo reelTemplate:Refn for the project STOP Series, could be the original idea of Daiei's Gamera. Sagisu initially showed the demo reel to Eiji Tsuburaya, and Toho paid attention to it, and the company later brought the project to Fuji Television, however STOP Series was eventually cancelled. Later, Sagisu instead brought the reel to Daiei Film to launch a project, and believed that this eventually became the prototype of Gamera. Sagisu once inquired Yonesaburo Tsukiji, another student of Tsuburaya and participated in both Nezura and Gamera, however Tsukiji didn't agree with Sagisu's claim and instead noted Hidemasa Nagata as the inventor.<ref name=Ushio />
There is also a testimony about the development of Gamera by the designer Akira Inoue (jp), which might not entirely correspond with Sagisu's claim; Inoue designed over 50 different designs of Gamera for the 1965 film, including drastically different ones from the final version, such as a limb-less monster to crawl on the ground like a centipede.<ref name=Ui />
Despite this, P Productions and Daiei Film retained a tie and shared various crewsTemplate:Refn where Eiji Tsuburaya's co-woker and student from Daiei Film, Ryosaku Takayama (jp) and Yoshio Watanabe (jp), were two of founders of P Productions. Additionally, Shinsuke Kojima (jp) and Tamotsu Taga and others abandoned Daiei Film, which was already at the brink of bankruptcy, and joined P Production after the failure and aftermaths of Nezura.<ref name=Tajima /> Crews of Gamera and other Daiei productions including Noriaki Yuasa later participated in projects by P ProductionsTemplate:Refn since before the 1968 incidents on P Productions, and increased their involvements afterward where P Productions was no longer able to produce tokusatsu productions by itself and was forced to make its staffs as contract employees,Template:Refn and crews from P Productions projects later joined Gamera films.<ref name=Ushio /><ref name="Tomoi">Kento Tomoi, Seiji Yamada, 14 November 2011, Denjin Zaborger and P Productions Tokusatsu Encycropedia, "P Productions works 2: tokusatsu subcontracts" (p.64), "Interview on Shinji Hiruma" (p.87), "Interview on Tomoo Haraguchi (jp) and Osamu Kishikawa (jp)" (pp.144–145), Bessatsu Eiga Hiho (jp), Yosensha MOOK, Yosensha (jp)</ref>
Aforementioned crews, who once abandoned near-bankrupt Daiei Film for P Productions due to multiple troubles and confusions of Nezura,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> such as a labor dispute and near-fatal dust mite allergy on Michio Mikami (jp) and othersTemplate:Refn which were caused by using live rats presumably due to the restraints from the Six-Company Agreement led by Masaichi Nagata himself,Template:Refn later participated in Gamera and other Daiei productions. For instance, Tamotsu Taga, along with Noriaki Yuasa and other Gamera crews, co-participated in projects such as ones by Daiei TV-Film (jp),Template:Refn and Gamera: Super Monster after the bankruptcy of Daiei Film.<ref name=Tajima>Osamu Tajima, 13 March 2016, Bessatsu Eiga Hiho: Tokusatsu Hiho, vol.3, pp.102-109, "Timelines of Souji Ushio and P Productions", Eiga Hiho (jp), Yosensha (jp)</ref>
Shirō Sagisu, the son of Tomio and the current owner of the company, has also participated in several Daiei TV-Film dramas after the bankruptcy of Daiei Film,Template:Refn and Shirō, Hideaki Anno,Template:Refn and Shinji Higuchi co-participated in Toho and Tsuburaya Production projects, which have been influecned by the Gamera franchise; Shin Godzilla, Shin Ultraman, Attack on Titan, the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise, and the Gridman franchise. Shirō also introduced Higuchi to the pianist Junko Miyagi (jp) during the production of Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo because Miyagi is also a fan of the Heisei Gamera trilogy.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
HistoryEdit
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, Tokuma Shoten,Template:RefnTemplate:Refn and Kadokawa Corporation respectively,<ref name="Perfection" /> resulting in repeated copyright transfers of Daiei properties and limited productions and distributions overall, including cancellations of various projects and failed global expansions despite frequently featuring foreign casts in Shōwa films. Because of further declining public recognition of the character due to years of inactivity of the franchise and limited advertising expenses and media attentions,<ref name=Perfection /> Gamera's heroic concept and irrelevance from Godzilla franchise were "forgotten" and new audience segments often viewed him as a mere, "corny" (as a turtle<ref name="Ebert" />) and "childish" imitation of Godzilla.Template:Refn This, along with other factors such as the loss of Daiei theater chains, has negatively affected on box office results and made it more difficult for Tokuma Shoten and Kadokawa Corporation to restore the series along with other Daiei tokusatsu franchises such as Daimajin and Yokai Monsters,<ref name=Perfection /><ref name=IGN2022 /><ref name=BraveGuide /><ref name=Karasawa /><ref name=KanekoDiary /> especially the Daimajin which requires more budgets due to life-sized props.<ref name=Takahashi2021 />
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.<ref name=26Facts /><ref name=Takaki>Template:Cite book</ref> 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,<ref name=BraveGuide /><ref name=KaijuYokai /> resulted in minor crossovers between Gamera and Daimajin and Shigeru Mizuki's GeGeGe no Kitarō series and Hiroshi Aramata's Yasunori Katō from Teito Monogatari.<ref name=Minemori>Hirokazu Minemori (jp), Yusuke Watanabe (jp), 2021, The Great Yokai War: Guardians: Side Story: Heian Hyakkitan, pp.265-271, Media Works Bunko, ASCII Media Works, Kadokawa Future Publishing</ref><ref name=Kyogoku>Natsuhiko Kyogoku, 2018, USO Makoto Yōkai Hyaku Monogatari, "Kyu", 373-375, p.392, Kadokawa</ref><ref name=Chronicles>Matsunomoto, Kazuhiro, 1996, The Gamera Chronicles, p.104-105, Takeshobo</ref><ref name=YokaiFilms>甦れ!妖怪映画大集合!! 2005, p.97, p.116-119, Takeshobo</ref>
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 "a mere rehash of Godzilla", "cheap"Template:Refn, "being forced on Noriaki Yuasa as no one wanted"Template:RefnTemplate:Refn, and "destined to flop",Template:Refn<ref name=BraveGuide /> and launched the Daimajin and the Yokai Monsters, and these tokusatsu franchises gained popularity despite limited and continuously decreasing budgets and the declines of the "First Kaiju Boom" and domestic film industries (partially due to the success of the Gamera franchise)Template:Refn and the arise of the more affordable "Yokai Boom".<ref name=IGN2022>Fuminobi Hata, 12 December 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</ref><ref name=Chronicles /><ref name=YokaiFilms /><ref name=Ono2018 /> Serializations of Gamera and Daimajin franchises were also promoted as the Japanese government valued exportations of tokusatsu productions to the global markets to acquire foreign currencies.<ref name=Futaesaku /> Gamera vs. Viras was originally considered as the last Showa production, however the franchise was further continued in response to its popurarity.<ref name=26Facts /> However, Daiei Film's financial difficulties were further accelerated by producing three Daimajin films within the same year (1966), resulting in cancellations of subsequent Daimajin productions.<ref name=IGN2022 />
All villainous monsters since Gamera vs. Viras (Viras, Guiron, Jiger, Zigra) received their names from public submissions, and this was to draw public attention to compensate for limited advertising expenses.<ref name=OFS1995 /> Concepts for monsters' designs and abilities were also restricted due to budgets,Template:Refn cancellations of new monsters,Template:Refn decreased destructions of urban areas, and film crews focused more on brutal melee fights to compensate for limited amounts of special effects, although the franchise occasionally received global compliments for its brutalness, such as Guiron beheading a Space Gyaos in Gamera vs. Guiron.<ref name=Karasawa /><ref name=Treasured /> Gamera vs. Zigra, the last film of the Showa continuity, was co-distributed with Nikkatsu due to the financial problems.<ref name=OFS1995 /> The plot of Gamera vs. Zigra was particularly poor in consistency and logics due to the confusion of the company prior to its bankruptcy; Noriaki Yuasa was forced to become a contract director without overtime pay, impoverishments of employees and resources, and production systems were disrupted due to increased labor negotiations.<ref name=Ono2018 /> One of kaiju battles were also eventually scrapped due to budgetary and schedule limitations.<ref name=26Facts /> Niisan Takahashi also didn't receive some of his wages, and the company couldn't pay back debts to him.<ref name=YuasaInterview />
The Gamera franchise solely supported Daiei Film and its subcontractors until the 1971 bankruptcy, and a number of kaiju suits and models including Gamera were lost as Noriaki Yuasa destroyed them due to his frustration and distress when he heard about the bankruptcy of the company, resulting in the production of Gamera: Super Monster and limited amounts of exhibitions.<ref name=Karasawa /><ref name=OFS1995 /> On the other hand, it might be a riot among staffs which resulted in the loss of props.<ref name=26Facts /><ref>G. H. (Gman), November 29, 2015, A Brief History of Gamera: Celebrating 50 Years of Spinning Turtles, Scified.com</ref> The bankruptcy of the company also triggered confusions and losses of negative prints and other materials, resulting in changes in the running time of Gamera vs. Viras for video and DVD releases.<ref name=Treasured /> Tokusatsu expertise obtained from Showa films were also lost and negatively influenced the production of the Heisei trilogy by Tokuma Shoten, while expertise from the Ultraman franchise and various other productions, especially Ultraman 80 which was directed by Noriaki Yuasa, were instead utilized for the trilogy.<ref name=EigaHiho2021 />
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 and schedule problems,<ref name="Fantasy" /> along with the aforementioned loss of suits and models by either Yuasa or staffs, and the success of the 1979 Ultraman video by Akio Jissoji (jp), which contributed in the revival of the Tsuburaya Productions franchise.Template:Refn<ref name=BraveGuide /> Its box office result was not excellent 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.<ref name=IGN2022 /> The 1980 film also faced several other conditions to restrict its production, such as the music copyright, resulting in the lack of previous music materials including the Gamera March (jp).<ref name="Fantasy" />
Rebooting the franchise afterward the 1980 film failed,<ref name=Ui /> along with cancellations of several other projects in early 1990s,<ref name=EigaHiho2021 /><ref name=DaieiScripts /> until the 1995 film Gamera: Guardian of the Universe.
The Heisei Trilogy originally started as an attempt to revive either (or both of) the Daimajin and the Yokai Monsters by Tokuma Shoten where the project faced budgetary problems and higher popularity of Gamera was revealed,<ref name=MWP /> while Tokuma Shoten and Kadokawa Corporation also aimed to revive the Daimajin along with the Gamera franchise respectively;Template:Refn<ref name=Zakzak /> 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,Template:Refn<ref name=Nakamura>Kengo Nakamura, 1999, From Princess Mononoke to My Neighbors the Yamadas, pp.38-41, Tokuma Shoten</ref> and another by Takashi Miike in late 2000s along with Gamera the Brave<ref name=BraveGuide /><ref name=Takahashi2021 /><ref>Eiga Hihō (jp), April, 2007, 実写限定!巨大ロボット映画ベスト30!-「トランスフォーマー」襲来間近!「ガンヘッド」もやってくるぞ!, Yosensha Co., Ltd.</ref> which was eventually redeveloped into Daimajin Kanon,<ref name=Nezura1964 />Template:Refn and 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.<ref name=Minemori />
Prior to the actual development of the trilogy, Niisan Takahashi wrote a script for a scrapped project in 1994 which later became the basis of the 1995 novelization Gamera vs. Phoenix.<ref name=Stuart /><ref name=DaieiScripts /> Additionally, there was another scrapped project to produce a new V-cinema according to Tomoo Haraguchi (jp) where a stakeholder from Tokuma Shoten revealed to Haraguchi after the release of Mikadroid.<ref name=EigaHiho2021 />
Financial vulnerability resulted in repeated avoidances from direct competitions against the Godzilla franchise, although there had been failed attempts to make a crossover in 1990s<ref name=Kaneda /><ref name=MagMix /> and 2002,<ref name=Zakzak /> leading to the production of Gamera the Brave in 2006 due to Toho's temporal pause of Godzilla film productions since Godzilla: Final Wars while both films shared some of crews.<ref name=BraveGuide /><ref name=Karasawa /><ref name=Aiken />
Revenues of Daiei Film productions were repeatedly restricted due to lack of exclusive movie theaters,<ref name=IGN2022 /> and ever since Gamera vs. Zigra which was co-distributed with Nikkatsu due to the financial problems,<ref name=OFS1995 /> the franchise has always relied on co-distributions as Daiei Film lost its theater chains after its bankruptcy; the Heisei trilogy was done so by Toho, so as Gamera the Brave by Shochiku, and Gamera Rebirth by Netflix. The Great Yokai War and The Great Yokai War: Guardians were also co-distributed by Shochiku and Toho. Heisei trilogy was distributed by Toho Western Films with much fewer theatres than Godzilla films, further declining box office results.<ref name=Shiraishi />
According to Noriaki Yuasa, Daiei Film "borrowed more money" from Niisan Takahashi than anyone else, but the company eventually couldn't reimburse to him, and Takahashi also didn't receive some of his wages due to his nonparticipation in the Writers Guild of Japan (jp). After the company's bankruptcy, Takahashi visited Masaichi Nagata and received all rights to Gamera. However, Tokuma Shoten didn't inform the production of the 1995 film Gamera: Guardian of the Universe to Takahashi, and the company reneged the agreement between Takahashi and Nagata regards the rights to Gamera, declaring that the company is independent from Daiei Film and thus doesn't accept Nagata's treaty. Takahashi was highly dissatisfied with this decision, and he severed ties with all stakeholders, damaging the friendship with Yuasa in the aftermath.<ref name=YuasaInterview /> Takahashi independently developed a script to produce a new film, which later became the basis of the novelization Gamera vs. Phoenix (1995).<ref name=Stuart /><ref name=DaieiScripts />
Influences of the Heisei TrilogyEdit
The Heisei Trilogy by Shusuke Kaneko, despite its limited budgets, distributions, marketing, media attentions,Template:RefnTemplate:Refn was highly acclaimed among audiences (partially because a number of hardcore kaiju (tokusatsu) fans at that time, including Kaneko and other crews themselves, were dissatisfied with the Heisei Godzilla continuity) and filmmakers that they are often considered as one of best kaiju and tokusatsu productions ever made,<ref name=IGN2022 />Template:Refn and it greatly influenced entire tokusatsu genre afterward, including the Godzilla franchise but most notably on Ultraman and Kamen Rider franchises.Template:Refn However, there are pros and cons regarding the outcomes of the trilogy.<ref name=Perfection /><ref name=BraveGuide />
The box office returns of Gamera: Guardian of the Universe, the first installation of the reboot by Tokuma Shoten in 1995, were also negatively affected by the Great Hanshin earthquake (and the Tokyo subway sarin attack<ref name=Ono2018 />) as the numbers of film theaters further declined and the scenes of destructions of buildings triggered PTSD of the earthquake victims,Template:Refn<ref name=KanekoDiary /> Continuation of the series after Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris was cancelled due to the overall box office result of the trilogy, partially due to declined public recognition of the franchise and limited advertising expenses and limited distributions,<ref name=Shiraishi /><ref name=KanekoDiary /> and the struggle to produce sequels after depicting the titular heroic character as an unintentional threat to humanity in the 1999 film,Template:Refn where the film plot such as a girl (child) to detest Gamera, and depictions of human casualties in the battles of Shibuya and Kyoto largely displeased Noriaki Yuasa and Niisan Takahashi and others; Yuasa noted "the Heisei trilogy is not Gamera films" and emphasized the importance to differentiate from Godzilla,<ref>Hurricane Ryu, 5 May 2024, ガメラに拘りがあったのは、脚本の高橋二三氏でしたね。ただ湯浅監督も「俺達はゴジラと違う事をやろうとガメラを創ったから、ゴジラと同じ事はやっちゃダメだ」とは話されてました。, X (Twitter)</ref> and the draft by Shusuke Kaneko and Kazunori Itō for the sequel to portray Gamera to be a further threat was immediately turned down.<ref name=Perfection /><ref name=MWP>En Takenouchi, 28 January 2021, 金子修介監督、平成ガメラ三部作を語る！令和ガメラにも「やる気十分」, Movie Walker Press (jp)</ref> This plot was later used for the 2003 independent film, GAMERA 4-TRUTH (jp) by Shinpei Hayashiya (jp).<ref name=Imai>Atsushi Imai, 2016, COLUMN 「ガメラ生誕50周年祭」レポート, Tokusatsu Hihō, vol.3, pp.164-165, Eiga Hihō (jp), Yosensha (jp)</ref>
Kaneko noted that he was at one point almost dismissed during the production of the 1995 film (and the production was at the brink of cancellation)<ref name=MWP /> due to considerable disagreements between Kaneko and Itō against executives and Showa staffs to depict Gamera as an intimidating-looking character being both an artificial and mechanical "living robot" and a threat to humanity without caring at all for humans, not even children,Template:RefnTemplate:Refn partially because Kaneko and Ito originally wanted to make the 1992 film Godzilla vs. Mothra instead of Gamera,<ref name=GMK>Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack Super Complete Works (jp), 2002, p.2, 世紀を越えて「金子ゴジラ」は誕生した。 by Shōgo Tomiyama, Shogakukan</ref> and wanted to "take revenge on with Gamera" while they and Shinji Higuchi always preferred Toho productions since their childhoods, and disliked and regarded the concept of Gamera to be rather absurd and "childish",Template:Refn especially his ability to fly and affinity to children (and as a protector of humanity), child protagonists, and being a turtle.Template:RefnTemplate:Refn
During the trilogy, Kaneko and Ito tried to exclude children completely from the plot, and also tried to depict human casualties by Gamera from the start, however executives and Showa staff didn't approve such ideas, and scenes to involve children were briefly inserted as an "excuse" to convince stakeholders although such scenes mostly depicted children to be helpless "burdens" unlike Showa films, and human casualties were not featured until Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris.<ref name=BraveGuide /> The 1999 film instead situated a girl (child) named Ayana Hirasaka as one of central antagonists to detest Gamera, however she was again portrayed as a "burden" that her parents and pet cat named "Iris" were accidentally killed by Gamera because their evacuation from the battle between Gamera and a Gyaos was delayed due to Ayana's hospitalization, and she brings a mass destruction with her misdirected hatred for Gamera, and Gamera loses his right arm to save her.Template:Refn Especially 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 especially the destruction of Shibuya by Gamera caused family audiences to exit theaters because children started crying,<ref name="Fantasy">Shinichiro Inoue (jp), 20 July 2010, Daiei Tokusatsu Movie Encyclopedia: Daikaiju Fantasy Battle Gamera vs. Daimajin, p.8, pp.41-43, pp.50-51, pp.56-57, pp.110-113, Newtype, Kadokawa Shoten</ref> while Kazunori Ito claimed that he dislikes to depict Gamera as the hero of children, and advocated that he refuses to make Gamera as a child-friendly hero, and making child audiences crying in fears is correct for kaiju films.<ref name=EigaHiho2021 /> The trilogy also triggered a misconception among new audience segments; Gamera as the character would sacrifice humans for the sake of the planet and nature.<ref name=Perfection /><ref name=BraveGuide /> On the other hand, production of Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris was delayed and was intentionally designed as a horror because of box office results of 1995 and 1996 films, declined popularity of kaiju genre, and contrasting popularity of horror films among children at that time.Template:RefnTemplate:Refn
These aspects resulted in controversies, even among film crews of the Heisei trilogy, and a disapproval of it, especially Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris, by a number of executives and Showa staff where Tokuma Shoten's revenues were also reduced due to the intercompany treaty with Nippon TV and Hakuhodo to achieve Kaneko's demand to increase budgets.Template:Refn 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.Template:Refn 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 appearanceTemplate:Refn and the ability to transform his arms into flippers during flights, were partially approved in Gamera 2: Attack of Legion. As aforementioned, the 2003 independent film GAMERA 4-TRUTH (jp) re-used the plot of cancelled "G4" in which Gamera no longer protects humanity and causes tremendous collateral damages to exterminate remnants of Gyaos.<ref name=Perfection /><ref name=MWP />
The 1999 documentary film GAMERA 1999 (jp) by Hideaki Anno focused on ruptures among film crews, even between Kaneko and Higuchi. Kaneko described that the documentary film was a harassment by one of producers to target Kaneko by using Anno.
Ironically, the popularity of the Heisei trilogy indirectly triggered another setback for the franchise. While the box office returns of the trilogy and their revenues for Tokuma Shoten along with proceeds of merchandises targeting maniac audiences weren't particularly excellent due to aforementioned factors,<ref name=KanekoDiary /> the company was already struggling financially and it eventually disposed the copyrights of Daiei Film properties after the death of Yasuyoshi Tokuma (jp) in 2000.<ref name=Nikkei /> Sequels after Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris, potentially up to "G5" or more, were cancelled also due to the plot of "G3" for Gamera to act hazardous, and the plot of "G4" in which Gamera becomes a further threat.<ref name=MWP /> The 2006 film Gamera the Brave, which was released during a "winter" of kaiju genre (akin to the situations of Gamera: Super Monster and Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris) since Godzilla: Final Wars in 2004,<ref name=BraveGuide /><ref>Shusuke Kaneko, 24 March 2012, 「ゴジラファイナルウォーズ」と「ガメラ小さき勇者たち」が大コケしたんで誰も作ろうと言わなくなった。, Twitter (X)</ref> was the first reboot attempt by Kadokawa Corporation reusing the original scripts of the 1995 film.Template:Refn Gamera the Brave aimed to restore the basis of the franchise,<ref name=Doland />Template:Refn with a slogan to "return Gamera to children" despite the apparent popularity of the Heisei trilogy and risks to fail, and carefully considered whether or not to produce either sequels to the trilogy, or either its prequel or side stories, or trilogy-esque films to avoid declines in the fan base and the ultimate demise of the franchise.Template:Refn It was also aimed to avoid "standards" of kaiju films akin to Showa films, partially due to a slump of kaiju genre itself (including the box office result of Godzilla: Final Wars) and the success of Heisei Mothra trilogyTemplate:Refn, and was also influenced by various other films including Daigoro vs. Goliath by Toho and Tsuburaya Productions,<ref name=Perfection /> Helen the Baby Fox, which also collaborated in distribution of the 2006 Gamera film, and Rex: A Dinosaur's Story.Template:Refn<ref name=Perfection /><ref name=BraveGuide /><ref name=Ono2018 />
However the 2006 film was generally not well-accepted by fans of the Heisei trilogy, but it was more welcomed by children and female audiences who were not specially targeted for the Heisei trilogy,Template:Refn<ref name=Perfection /><ref name=Ono2018 /> resulting in the commercial failure of the film and cancellation of its sequels<ref name=Perfection /><ref name=IGN2022 /> and other subsequent productions such as (one or two) anime(s) by Cartoon Network and Yoshitomo Yonetani,<ref name=ICv2>ICv2, 31 October 2005, Cartoon Network Licenses 'Gamera'</ref><ref name=Yonetani>Yoshitomo Yonetani, 19 August 2023, 2006年の没企画「牙滅羅(ガメラ)」, Twitter (X)</ref> Gamera 3D by Yoshimitsu Banno,<ref name=Joblo /><ref name=THKingdom /><ref name=Plan01 /> and one or more presumed reboot attempt(s) in 2010s,<ref name="Suzumura">Nobuhiro Suzumura (jp), 28 November 2023, 好きですガメラ。先輩の田﨑竜太監督の小さき勇者たちも好きだし、昭和も平成3部作も好き。我が師匠が撮る予定だったガメラが中止なったのは残念だった。。。#ガメラの日, Twitter (X)</ref><ref name=ANN /><ref name=CGWORLD /><ref name=Nezura1964 /> and the franchise was again in a period of inactivity until the 2023 Netflix series Gamera Rebirth.Template:Refn Takashi Miike's Daimajin project was presumably cancelled due to the aftermath of Gamera the Brave,<ref>SciFi Japan, Daiei`s Idol of Terror: DAIMAJIN, THE AVENGING GOD</ref> while it resulted in the production of Daimajin Kanon,<ref name=Nezura1964 /> and Daimajin appeared in Miike's The Great Yokai War: Guardians (2021), along with Gamera in its spin-off novelization.<ref name=Minemori /> According to Shusuke Kaneko,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Kadokawa "doesn't offer" him a new production despite him having new ideas for either "G4" or a new production; Kaneko brought a new idea to Kadokawa at one point, however Gamera Rebirth was already in production,<ref>Gamera Rebirth Official Website, 17 November 2022, 「平成ガメラ三部作」監督・金子修介氏より応援コメントも到着！</ref> where one of Kaneko's new ideas is Gamera's attack on the Pearl Harbor.<ref>Kazuma Kubota, 14 October 2023, 山崎貴が「『ゴジラ-1.0』は『GMK』の影響下にある」と明言！金子修介は"ガメラ4"のアイデアをポロリ, Movie Walker Press (jp)</ref>
Shusuke Kaneko, who dislikes the concepts of Showa Gamera, is aware both of criticisms against him and the intention of Gamera the Brave (to recover the ideology of the franchise from the Heisei trilogy),<ref name=Doland>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> however he in return openly disfavored the 2006 film and criticized its concept, and advocated the superiority of the Heisei trilogy.<ref name=Perfection /><ref name=MWP /> On the other hand, Kazunori Ito, who also doesn't favor Showa Gamera films but prefers Toho productions, instead suggested to free the franchise from the "curse" of the Heisei trilogy after he watched the anniversary short film in 2015.<ref name=EigaHiho2021>Eiga Hihō (jp), Vol. April 2021, pp.2-18, Yosensha (jp)</ref>
One of priorities for Gamera Rebirth is to prevent human casualties by Gamera; while reducing battle scenes among urban areas is effective to reduce production costs, Gamera was also intentionally depicted to arrive at Tokyo in the first episode after most evacuations were completed, and also threw Gyaos and Jiger at open areas without peopleTemplate:Refn in early episodes for this reason.<ref name=RebirthArtbook />
As aforementioned, artificial origins of kaiju in Gamera: Guardian of the UniverseTemplate:Refn was highly controversial and almost resulted in either a cancellation of the project or dismiss of Shusuke Kaneko while such setting was introduced by Kaneko and Kazunori Ito to rationalize illogical biology of Gamera.<ref name=Perfection /><ref name=MWP /> While the trilogy itself possessed supernatural aspects, the franchise subsequently increased supernatural depictions, including Gamera the Brave<ref name=Friend />Template:Refn including identities of kaiju, to involve entities such as deities, spirits, yokai, souls, and ghosts.<ref name=Kyogoku /><ref name=Minemori /><ref name="HolyBeast" /><ref name=Kondo /><ref name=Frank>Matt Frank, Joshua Bugosh, 6 August 2018, Gamera: The Last Hope, pp.93-108, Gamera: The Guardian of the Universe, Dark Horse Comics, Phase Six Inc.</ref>
Additional controversies of Gamera 2: Attack of Legion include its uneasy ending regards the relationship between Gamera and humanity, and the depictions of the JSDF which were reviewed "excessively praising"; Shusuke Kaneko described the difficulty to depict the JSDF as a war metaphor in subsequent kaiju films in 2020s.<ref name=EigaHiho2021 />Template:Refn
Shōwa era (1965–1980)Edit
Daiei FilmEdit
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 due to budgetary constraints.<ref name=Treasured /> To date, it is the only Showa Gamera film to be released theatrically in the United States; however, it was heavily edited, dubbed and retitled Gammera the Invincible.<ref>Galbraith IV, Stuart (1994). Japanese Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. McFarland. pg. 114. ISBN 0-89950-853-7.</ref> 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,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and later in the 1990s, when five Gamera films were featured on the television series Mystery Science Theater 3000. As aforementioned, Gamera franchise was often viewed as a cheap, inferior competitor to the Godzilla franchise especially by global audiences, and this tendency was presumably caused by not only its direction, limited productions and global distributions, but also due to the rather ridiculing atmosphere created with the television series.<ref name=EigaHiho2021 />
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;Template:Sfn Gamera vs. Gyaos became Return of the Giant Monsters;Template:Sfn Gamera vs. Viras became Destroy All Planets;Template:Sfn Gamera vs. Guiron became Attack of the Monsters;Template:Sfn and Gamera vs. Jiger became Gamera vs. Monster X.Template:Sfn
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,Template:Sfn<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> and that a new two-headed monster was planned for the next film,<ref name=YuasaInterview /> which was canceled because Daiei Film went into bankruptcy in 1971 and the Gamera films ceased production as a result.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
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,<ref name=Yanagita /> 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.<ref>Official X account of Gamera 55th anniversary project, 1 April 2021, 台本発見というのは、願望たっぷりの #エイプリルフール ネタでした。みなさま流石です・・・。とはいえ、頭の中が #ガラシャープ になっている方も多いと思いますので、「大怪獣ガメラ」CD-ROMから近藤豊さんのイラストの『ガメラ対ガラシャープ』をご紹介‼#ガメラ3 先行公開迄あと15日。 on X</ref>
Tokuma ShotenEdit
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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref name=MangaBoys />
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.Template:Sfn In 1988 and 1989, Frank's versions of Gamera, the Giant Monster (simply re-titled Gamera),<ref name=dvdtalk /> 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.<ref name=dvdtalk />Template:Sfn<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The attempt to reboot the franchise after Gamera: Super Monster didn't materialize.<ref name=Ui />
Heisei era (1995–2015)Edit
Tokuma ShotenEdit
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 (jp).
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. Shusuke Kaneko originally wanted to end the film with Gamera's victory against the swarms of Gyaos, however his idea was cancelled partially due to budgetary problems.<ref name=KanekoDiary />
Yasuyoshi Tokuma (jp)'s proposal for a crossover with Godzilla didn't materialize,<ref name=Kaneda /><ref name=MagMix /> and "G4" was cancelled,<ref name=MWP /> and Tokuma Shoten eventually disposed Daiei Film properties due to Yasuyoshi's death in 2000 and the financial condition of the company.<ref name=Nikkei />
The 2003 independent film, GAMERA 4-TRUTH (jp), which presumably reused the scrapped plot of "G4", was produced by Shinpei Hayashiya (jp) with featuring Yukijirō Hotaru.Template:Refn Tokuma Shoten gave a permission to it under the condition to not to take fees, and it has been repeatedly co-screened with canonical Gamera films on occasions.<ref name=Imai/>
In early 1990s, there existed attempts to produce new productions which were different from the Heisei trilogy. Niisan Takahashi independently developed an idea as the later basis for Gamera vs. Phoenix,<ref name=Stuart /><ref name=DaieiScripts /> where he had experienced a discord against Tokuma Shoten for the production of Gamera: Guardian of the Universe and severed ties with all stakeholders.<ref name=YuasaInterview /> There was also a new V-cinema project around 1991.<ref name=EigaHiho2021 /> Prior to the production of Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris, there existed a film project "Gamera 2.5"Template:Refn by Shusuke Kaneko and Kazunori Ito and others due to Shinji Higuchi's reluctance to participate in the 1999 film. Its plot never involved Gamera directly, and instead focused on a juvenile Gyaos attacking on a depopulated, mountainous village, and aged villagers resisting the monster. Higuchi eventually joined the 1999 film due to the cancellation of the project by Mamoru OshiiTemplate:Refn, which was the preceding project of Garm Wars: The Last Druid (2014).<ref name=Perfection /><ref name=EigaHiho2021 />
Kadokawa CorporationEdit
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.<ref name=BravePamphlet /> It was initially intended to be either a related story of the Heisei trilogy (either a sequel or prequel or side story, or a similar production),Template:Sfn or a crossover with Godzilla, and the company also initiated reboot attempts of Daimajin and Yokai Monsters, and the 2005 film The Great Yokai War was produced.<ref name=Perfection /><ref name=Karasawa /><ref name=Zakzak /><ref name=Aiken /> Afterward the 2006 film, various subsequent productions including its sequels, along with a Daimajin project were cancelled, and Daimajin Kanon was instead produced.<ref name=Nezura1964 />
In March 2014, Anime News Network reported that a new Gamera production was planned, with no release date specified.<ref name=ANN>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
At the New York Comic Con held in October 2015, Kadokawa Daiei Studio's senior managing director Tsuyoshi Kikuchi and producer Shinichiro Inoue (jp) screened a full proof-of-concept film in honor of the franchise's 50th anniversary; the short was directed by Katsuhito Ishii and its music was composed by Kenji Kawai.<ref name=CGWORLD /><ref name=WebNewType>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref name=amaya>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and an interview with the director both state that it was only a short proof of concept film. However, Inoue was actually trying to reboot the franchise with a new film for five years.<ref name=CGWORLD>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=Nezura1964 />
Reiwa era (2023)Edit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} An anime series, titled Gamera Rebirth, was released globally on Netflix in 2023.<ref name="November Rebirth">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Variety 3-24-23"/> A number of references to previous films and scrapped projects were made, including the reuse of the Gamera March (ja), the iconic Showa song.<ref name=RebirthArtbook /> For example, designs of Gamera and Gyaos and the scene for Gamera to shoot down a flock of smaller Gyaos with his fireball in the first episode are reused from the 2015 short film, and Katsuhito Ishii was credited as the designer of Gamera.<ref name=RebirthArtbook /> It yet again suffers insufficiency in budget; it features poorly done 3D models for humans,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and lacks an opening animation (jp) which is a common feature of Japanese anime.<ref>KADOKAWA Anime, 9 September 2023, 『GAMERA -Rebirth-（ガメラリバース）』オープニング映像｜WANIMA「夏暁」, Youtube</ref> The battle scenes were also cut in half from what was originally intended to be,<ref name="Dengeki" /> including cancellations of a number of monsters' abilities and characteristics,<ref name=RebirthArtbook /> and Seshita noted that inserting kaiju battles in every episode was very difficult for budgetary problems.<ref name=RebirthArtbook /> While crews are willing to produce additional seasons (potentially up to 5) with more budgets and increased fighting scenes,<ref name=Interview4>Kadokawa Anime, 12 October 2023, GAMERA -Rebirth- | Special Interview Part 4, at 01:37 and 06:15, Youtube</ref> the future of the series is uncertain.<ref name=RebirthArtbook /><ref name="Dengeki">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Hiroyuki Seshita (jp) also pointed a possibility of the series to be adapted into live-action productions,<ref name="Dengeki" /> and expressed his wish for the series to contribute to the revival of the franchise.<ref>KADOKAWA Anime, 5 October 2023, 『Making of "GAMERA -Rebirth-"』ガメラリバースインタビュー映像③【Netflix世界配信中】, at 04:24, Youtube</ref>
FilmographyEdit
FilmsEdit
| No. | Title | Year | Director(s) | Monster co-star(s) | Licenses | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shōwa era (1965–1980) | ||||||
| 1 | 1965 | Noriaki Yuasa | None | Arrow Video<ref name="Gamera Arrow Set"/> | ||
| 2 | 1966 | Shigeo Tanaka | Barugon | |||
| 3 | 1967 | Noriaki Yuasa | Gyaos (jp) | |||
| 4 | 1968 | Viras | ||||
| 5 | 1969 | Guiron, Space Gyaos | ||||
| 6 | 1970 | Jiger, Jiger's baby | ||||
| 7 | 1971 | Zigra | ||||
| 8 | 1980 | Gyaos, Zigra, Viras, Jiger, Guiron, and Barugon | ||||
| Heisei era (1995–2006) | ||||||
| 9 | 1995 | Shusuke Kaneko | Gyaos | Arrow Video<ref name="Gamera Arrow Set"/> | ||
| 10 | 1996 | Legion (jp) | ||||
| 11 | 1999 | Iris, Gyaos HyperTemplate:Sfn | ||||
| 12 | 2006 | Ryuta Tasaki | Original Gyaos,Template:Sfn Zedus | |||
Original net animationEdit
| Title | Year | Director(s) | Monster co-star(s) | Eps | Ref(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gamera Rebirth | 2023 | Hiroyuki Seshita (jp) | Gyaos, Jiger, Zigra, Guiron, Viras, and S-Gyaos<ref name=RebirthNovel2 /> | 6 | <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
Short filmEdit
| Title | Year | Director(s) | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gamera | 2015 | Katsuhito Ishii | <ref name=WebNewType /><ref name=CGWORLD /> |
DocumentaryEdit
| Title | Year | Director(s) | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| GAMERA 1999 (jp) | 1999 | Hideaki Anno | <ref>Gamera 1999</ref> |
DramaEdit
| Title | Year | Director(s) | Ref(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gamera - Council for gigantic organisms -Template:Refn | 1999 | Shusuke Kaneko | <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
Other mediaEdit
Home mediaEdit
In 2003, Alpha Video released the American versions of four Shōwa films on pan and scan DVDs: Gammera the Invincible,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Gamera vs. Barugon (as War of the Monsters),<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Gamera vs. Viras (as Destroy All Planets)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Gamera vs. Guiron (as Attack of the Monsters).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
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 18 May 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 15 March 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 29 April 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Heisei trilogy was re-released on Blu-ray earlier from Mill Creek Entertainment on 27 September 2011, once again featuring the original widescreen video and original Japanese audio only with English subtitles.
On 17 August 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, Ed Godziszewski, Sean Rhoads, and Brooke McCorkle; 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, which was originally published as a fan fiction;<ref name=Frank /> and an 80-page book featuring a retrospective on the series by Patrick Macias with illustrations by Jolyon Yates.<ref name="Gamera Arrow Set">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
ComicsEdit
Aside from movie and anime based manga, there have been supplemental manga productions to expand lore of film and anime productions, such as Giant Monster Gamera (1994),<ref name=MangaBoys /> Gamera 2: Attack of Legion (1996) by Takashi Teshirogi,<ref name=Perfection /> Gamera Side Story: Version 2.5 (1999),<ref name=Perfection /> Gamera vs. Morphos (1999), Gamera vs. Barugon: Comic Version (jp) (2003), Gamera 2006: Hard Link (2006),<ref name=HardLink /> and Gamera Rebirth Code Thyrsos (2023).<ref>BOOK WALKER, GAMERA-Rebirth- code thyrsos Chapter 1, Kadokawa</ref>
Dark Horse Comics published a four-issue miniseries based on Gamera called Gamera the Guardian of the Universe in 1996.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The miniseries features Gamera, Gyaos, Zigra, and Viras.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The manga series Dr. Slump, written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama, depicts Gamera as appearing in the land of Penguin Village.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Gajira "Gatchan" Norimaki's name is also a reference to Gamera.<ref name=Gatchan /> 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.Template:Sfn 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.<ref name=Dent>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
NovelsEdit
Aside from film and anime based novelizations, Gamera and Daimajin and enemy monsters made appearances in several exoteric novels, such as the one by Shinichiro Inoue (jp),<ref name="HolyBeast" /> the spin-off novelization of The Great Yokai War: Guardians,<ref name=Minemori /> the USO Makoto Yōkai Hyaku Monogatari series by Natsuhiko Kyogoku,<ref name=Kyogoku /> and several others.<ref name=Noma /><ref name=Jodo />
TelevisionEdit
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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Gamera was parodied in the South Park episode "Mecha-Streisand",<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and was featured in the Simpsons episode "Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
An anime series, titled Gamera Rebirth, was released on Netflix in 2023.<ref name="November Rebirth"/><ref name="Variety 3-24-23">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
As aforementioned, Gamera repeatedly appeared in the Sailor Fight series (jp) in 1995 and 1996 most notably the Gamera vs. Sailor Fighter and Cosplay Warrior Cutie Knight.<ref name=HurricaneRyu />
Gamera made several appearances in television advertisements; one by Calbee in 1989, and another by Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group in which he co-appeared with Maki Horikita and others, and it was produced by Shinichi Wakasa (jp) and his Monsters (jp) and Jun Kawanishi (jp). Akira Ohashi again played Gamera for the latter.<ref name=Perfection /><ref>Akira Ohashi. 22 February 2016, 僕が今のところ最後に演じたガメラはCM「三井住友海上GKガメラ篇」(2010年)です。懐かしです。, Twitter (X)</ref>
Video gamesEdit
Gamera appeared in several video games released in 1995, including Gamera: Daikaiju Kuchu Kessen for the Game Boy,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Gamera: Gyaosu Gekimetsu Sakusen for the Super Famicom,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Gamera: The Time Adventure for the Bandai Playdia.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1997, Gamera 2000 was released exclusively in Japan for the PlayStation.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2017, Gamera appeared in the video game City Shrouded in Shadow, released for the PlayStation 4, alongside such characters as Legion (jp), Godzilla, Ultraman, and Evangelion Unit-01.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Additional collaborations have been made with The Tower II,<ref>The Tower II スペシャルガメラパック</ref> Monster Gear,<ref>4Gamer.net, 20 November 2015, 「モンスターギア」，特撮映画「ガメラ」とのコラボイベントが本日スタート。コラボクエストクリアでギロンやギャオスのギア獲得のチャンス</ref> Symphogear XD Unlimited,<ref>4Gamer.net, 8 November 2021, 「シンフォギアXD」×「ガメラ」のコラボイベントが復刻開催</ref> Godzilla Battle Line,<ref name=ScifiJapan /> and so on.
ReceptionEdit
Box office performance and critical responseEdit
Many of the Gamera films were commercially successful in Japan, rivaling the Godzilla franchise at the box office during the 1960s.<ref name=deusner /> 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.Template:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn
For the global receptions, aspects of the Showa films with child-friendly direction, limited productions and distributions, and a rather ridiculing atmosphere created through the Mystery Science Theater 3000 presumably enhanced public impressions towards the franchise as a cheap and inferior competitor to the Godzilla franchise.<ref name=EigaHiho2021 />
LegacyEdit
As aforementioned, the Gamera franchise has been prominent in expanding post-war popular cultures in Japan, such as contributions in the creations of Daimajin and Yokai Monsters, and the launches of the two "Kaiju Booms" (jp)(jp) and the "Yōkai Boom"; these booms became influential social phenomenons, and were pushed by Masaichi Nagata's efforts to save the Japanese film industry and to appeal the significances of "kaiju" and "tokusatsu" genres globally.<ref name=Futaesaku /><ref name=Tanigawa /><ref name=Tanigawa /> The franchise's direct and indirect influences extend among not only "kaiju" and "tokusatsu" genres, but also other entertainment industries; aside from the kaiju and yokai booms, Noriaki Yuasa also became one of the best hitmakers for domestic television industries at that time through his experiences of Gamera and other Daiei Film productions.<ref name=Denner /><ref name=Perfection /><ref name=Ono2018 /><ref name=Karasawa /> In 2006, the franchise was chosen for special stamps (jp) as one of representative properties among Japanese cinema.<ref name=Perfection />
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".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Brian Solomon of the website Bloody Disgusting ranked Gamera eighth on his list of "Most Kick-Ass Giant Monsters in Movie History".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Gamera was also ranked eighth on Rick Mele of Sharp's list of "Greatest Giant Monsters in Movie History".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Ken Watanabe, who played a major role in MonsterVerse films, noted that he preferred Gamera to Godzilla during his youth.<ref>Izumi Hasegawa, 15 May 2014, Exclusive interview with Ken Watanabe: “Gojira vs. Godzilla”, What's Up Hollywood</ref> Guillermo del Toro noted that Gamera, the Giant Monster is one of favorite kaiju films, and he as a child often created his own kaiju and robots based on classic characters including Gamera and Barugon.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Eiga Hihō (jp), Vol. September 2013, p.9, Yosensha (jp)</ref>
Several authors such as Hiro Arikawa<ref>Daisuke Yoshida, 2017, 有川浩作品の原点は『ガメラ』と『大脱走』?, Da Vinci, Kadokawa Corporation</ref> 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.<ref>Jacob Lyngle, 25 October 2023, Interview: Jeremy Robinson, Kaiju United</ref><ref name=Horikoshi /> Atsuji Yamamoto noted that Gamera was one of inspiration sources for his images of protagonists of his works.<ref>Atsuji Yamamoto, 2023, 27 November 2023</ref> 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 1999 documentary GAMERA 1999 (jp), and Shinji Higuchi directed the live-action film adaptation of Attack on Titan.<ref>Yasuo Nagayama, 2021, 『進撃の巨人』にそっくり!? 実現しなかった『エヴァンゲリオン』幻の完全新作劇場版, Bunshun Online</ref><ref>Magazine House, November 2014, BRUTUS, No.790, p.96</ref> Several authors such as Kō Machida and Yoshiki Shibata (jp) have also published original stories of Gyaos.<ref name=Noma /><ref name=Jodo>Kodansha Book Club, 浄土, Kodansha</ref> Shinichiro Inoue (jp) and Toshio Miike (jp) participated in the 2020 disaster film Fukushima 50, and Inoue clarified its style to insert a number of telops is an homage to the Heisei Gamera trilogy.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Higuchi utilized expertise from the Gamera trilogy for his later works such as Lorelei: The Witch of the Pacific Ocean, Sinking of Japan, Shin Godzilla, and so on.<ref name=Ono2018 />
Showa Gamera staffs were involved in the production of the 1967 South Korean-Japanese film Yongary, Monster from the Deep, and the titular monster Yonggary bears several resembrances to Gamera such as to breathe traditional non-atomic fire and favors a song and dance with it.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>
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 entire tokusatsu genre afterwards especially the Ultraman and the Kamen Rider franchises,Template:Refn including various references, 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 and Shinji Higuchi,<ref name=BraveGuide /> Ultraman 80, and Ultraman Powered (jp) and various other productions such as Gridman the Hyper Agent<ref name=EigaHiho2021 /> in return influenced the Heisei Gamera Trilogy where Showa staffs such as Noriaki Yuasa participated in the production of Ultraman 80.<ref name=Karasawa /><ref name=IGN2022 /> Digimon Tamers by Toei Animation and Ultraman Tiga by Tsuburaya Productions were re-developed from the original scripts of Gamera: Guardian of the Universe by Chiaki J. Konaka and Kazuya Konaka (jp) and Yoshikazu Okada (jp)<ref name=MWP /> which also became the basis for Gamera the Brave.<ref name=Perfection>ASCII Media Works, 2014, Heisei Gamera Perfection, p.14-16, p.75, p.80, p.87, p.131, p.145, p.159, pp.196-205, pp.213-215, p.237, p.254, p.264, p.270, p.274, p.282, pp.285-287, p.291, Kadokawa Shoten</ref> As aforementioned, 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.<ref name=Kinema /><ref name=Eiga /><ref name=CinemaToday/> Kaneko acknowledges the similarities between Heisei Gamera Trilogy and MonsterVerse series,<ref name=Kinema /> and the scrapped Gamera project "Gamera 3D" which was the successor of "Godzilla 3D" by Yoshimitsu Banno served as one of predecessors of MonsterVerse.<ref name=Joblo>Yoshimitsu Banno to turn Gamera into an environmentalist! Will shoot in 3D?</ref><ref>See these guys? At one point they were meant to appear in a Gamera movie.</ref><ref name=THKingdom>Godzilla 3D to the Max</ref> 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,Template:RefnTemplate:Refn and distributions of the trilogy were also affected by Studio Ghibli productions, while the production of the 2000 film Shiki-Jitsu by Ayako Fujitani and Hideaki Anno was instead influenced by the Heisei trilogy.<ref name=Perfection /><ref name=Nakamura /><ref>Animage, Vol. January 2001, p.97, I fell in love with Gamera, and bloomed in Shiki-Jitsu</ref> Character designs of Gamera Rebirth was also somewhat affected by Studio Ghibli due to involvements of Naoya Tanaka (jp) and Mitsunori Kataama (jp).<ref name=RebirthArtbook /> A popular television series How Do You Like Wednesday? is also strongly influenced by the trilogy.<ref>Tadahisa Fujimura, 2008, Official Staff Blog</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Numerous media globally have references to the franchise. Such examples are; Godzilla franchise,<ref name=TheSeries /><ref name=FinalWars /><ref name=MonsterApocalypse /><ref name=Squires /> Ultra Q and Ultraman,<ref name=Perfection /><ref name=UltramanMax /><ref name=Visual /><ref>Yosensha, 22 November 2018, Ultraman Designs Artbook by Hiroshi Maruyama (jp), pp.241–243</ref><ref>Risaku Kiridoshi (jp), 30 March 2000, Earth is Ultraman's planet, pp.422–429, Sony Magazines</ref> Gridman,<ref name=~Gridman>ガメラ映画文書館, 17 February 2014, これ、ガメラ3だ。（SSSS.GRIDMAN最終回） on Togetter (jp)</ref> Sadako DX,<ref name=SadakoDX /> Giant Monsters Appear in Tokyo,<ref name=Noma /> Crossfire,Template:Refn Love & Peace,<ref>Mynavi News (jp), 17 July 2015, 特技監督・田口清隆が語る、特撮怪獣映画としての『ラブ＆ピース』-「特撮ファンには見逃してほしくない」</ref> Pokémon,Template:Refn Bowser from the Mario series and Super Smash Bros.,<ref>Kazuki Motoyama, 1992, Super Mario, Vol.7, Kodansha</ref><ref>Yukio Sawada, 1994, Super Mario-kun, Vol.11, Shogakukan</ref><ref name=Yadayo /> Digimon,Template:Refn The Legend of Zelda,<ref>Zac Pricener, 23 May 2019, Tingle’s Maps: Turtle Rock (World Turtle Day), Zelda Universe</ref> Castlevania and its parody Kid Dracula<ref>Gamera</ref> Mega Man,<ref>Video Game / Mega Man 7</ref> Dungeons & Dragons,Template:Refn World of Warcraft,<ref>Off Topic: There’s a new Godzilla movie coming at the end of May. I might be excited.</ref> Final Fantasy XIV,<ref>ガメラ～♪ガメラ～♪</ref> Dragon Quest,<ref>Wyrtle in Dragon Quest X and Wyrtoise in Dragon Quest Rivals</ref> Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game,<ref>Gameciel, the Sea Turtle Kaiju</ref> Xenoblade Chronicles X,<ref>The creature called "Jet Turtle".</ref> King of Tokyo,<ref>Friend of Children the giant turtle, Hobby Japan, 東京が沈黙する日『キング・オブ・トーキョー（King of Tokyo）』</ref> Five Nights at Freddy's,<ref>Graffitis of Gamera and Godzilla were represented in the chapter Into the Pit,</ref> Naruto: Ultimate Ninja,Template:Refn The Battle Cats,<ref>"Guardian Gamereon" physically and etymologically resembles Gamera with crests on the head, a pair of tusks on the lower jaw, spikes on elbows, and has an attack to breathe fireballs.</ref><ref>にゃんこ大戦争 ゴジラのライバル！？ 大怪獣ガメラ東京に上陸！</ref> Palworld,<ref>【パルワールド】鉄の採掘用にガメラみたいの捕まえたけど自分で掘った方が早いな</ref> Dinosaur Simulator,<ref>Kaiju skins for Archelon and Helicoprion updated in March 2024 were based on Gamera and Guiron.</ref><ref>Project Anime, 10 March 2024, Dinosaur Simulator – Kaiju Archelon / Gamera showcase - Is it Worth the DNA?</ref> and many other video games,<ref name=Yadayo>●映画 か</ref> Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,<ref>The alien race named Gameran in Bloodletter in 1993</ref> Dragon Ball and Dr. Slump franchizes,Template:Sfn<ref name=Gatchan /> The Simpsons,<ref name=Simpsons>Lisa on Ice, Thirty Minutes over Tokyo, Treehouse of Horror XXVI</ref> South Park,<ref>Mecha-Streisand</ref> Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,<ref>The Ever-Burning Fire</ref><ref>Sophie Campbell, 28 November 2018, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Macro-Series, "Leonardo", IDW</ref> Justice League Unlimited,<ref>Chaos at the Earth's Core</ref> Green Lantern,<ref>While Rome Burned, Part 5</ref><ref>Screenshot</ref> Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen-mae Hashutsujo,<ref name=Dent /> Kinnikuman,<ref name=Dent /> Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter,<ref>Gamera's model was represented among creature models owned by Tommy Jarvis.</ref> Frankenweenie,<ref>DNA of the king of Kaiju (Godzilla) is alive and well across the world No. 4: All Kaiju attack</ref> Captain Underpants,<ref>Captain Underpants</ref> The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy,<ref name=Imitative /> Inuyasha and Urusei Yatsura,Template:Refn<ref>Gyaos and Gamera in Urusei Yatsura, episodes 186/209 and 191/214.</ref><ref name=Visual /> Sailor Moon SuperS,<ref name=Sailor /> Gintama,<ref>IGN, 19 July 2016, Top 10 Anime Beach Episodes</ref> My Hero Academia,<ref name=Horikoshi>Gigan Yamazaki (jp), 19 June 2016, 堀越耕平『僕のヒーローアカデミア』インタビュー 師弟関係の描写はあの映画からの影響大!! そして今後の展開でデクたちの"アレ"が変わる……!?, Kono Manga ga Sugoi!</ref> Franklin,<ref>Technical University of Munich, Franklin In The Dark</ref> The Adventures of Sam & Max: Freelance Police,<ref name=Imitative /> Yakitate!! Japan,<ref>Joseph Luscik, June 2005, High Carb Heaven, Animefringe</ref> Sgt. Frog,<ref>Gamera the Brave - Connections on IMDb</ref> Gunbuster,<ref>Anime News Network, Gunbuster (OAV)</ref> Devilman,<ref>Sakama (tokusatsu writer), 10 November 2017, ビッグコミック『デビルマンサーガ』の新ジンメンが『G3』版 平成ガメラにソックリで、殆んど夢の対決, X</ref>Template:Refn Lucky Star,<ref>Lucky Star (TV) on Anime News Network</ref> Megas XLR,<ref name=Imitative /> Detective Conan,<ref name=Conan>Alex Mateo, 21 September 2019, Quatre épisodes originaux pour Detective Conan, Anime News Network</ref> Jumbo Monster GOMERA (jp),<ref name=ITmedia>ITmedia 17 October 2013, Huluで幼児向け番組「バ怪獣 ゴメラ」を配信開始</ref> Daicon III and IV Opening Animations, Megatokyo,<ref name=MT>The Shame of the Gamera Family</ref> Robot Chicken,<ref name=RobotChicken /> Usagi Yojimbo,<ref>Stan Sakai, 2004, Usagi Yojimbo, Vol.3 #66–68: "Sumi-e, Parts 1–3", Vol. 18. Travels with Jotaro, Dark Horse Comics</ref> Uzumaki,<ref>In the chapter 15 Chaos, a figure of Gamera was represented in a wreckage.</ref> Welcome to My Life,<ref>Western Animation / Welcome to My Life</ref> The Red Ranger Becomes an Adventurer in Another World,<ref>The Red Ranger Becomes an Adventurer in Another World</ref> Voltes V and Voltes V: Legacy,<ref>Shout Out / Voltes V</ref> Nurse Witch Komugi,<ref name=Visual>Toho Sightings (TV) - Visual</ref> Pani Poni,<ref name=Visual /> Pacific Rim<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Pacific Rim Uprising, La Blue GirlTemplate:Refn, Mountain Dew Code Red,<ref>Shawn Robare, 11 October 2023, Monsters Attack Mountain Dew, Plastic Rocket Pop!</ref> and many others.<ref>Daikaijû Gamera - Connections</ref> Other cases include companies<ref>Gamera Games</ref><ref>Gamera Interactive</ref> and musicians and songsTemplate:Refn feature Gamera in their names or lyrics.
Gamera and his foes' roars were used in various other media such as Godzilla,<ref name="Wong" /> Fireman,<ref>Guiron's roars for Scoradon as Daiei Film co-produced Fireman.</ref><ref>Kodansha Series MOOK, 8 December 2021, Ultra Tokusatsu PERFECT MOOK VOL.35: Fireman, "大異変と侵略 太古からの挑戦！", vol.35, pp.4–5, Kodansha</ref> GeGeGe no Kitarō,<ref>As roars for Nozuchi in the episode Hiderigami on 27 October 1968, and Ushi-oni in the episode Gyūki on 13 January 1972</ref> Pokémon,Template:Refn Yu-Gi-Oh!,<ref>As Stardust Dragon's roars in Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's</ref> Aura Battler Dunbine,<ref>ダンバインの怪獣の鳴き声、ガメラと同じじゃない?</ref> Reideen the Brave,<ref>Toho Sightings - Roars</ref> Voltes V,<ref name=Imitative>Toho Sightings (TV) Imitative</ref> Chargeman Ken!,<ref>As giant Stegosaurus's roar in Dynamite in the Brain.</ref> and so on.
November 27 is publicly referred as Template:Nihongo in Japan as the first film was released on the day in 1965.<ref name=Suzumura /><ref name=Niigata>Niigata Nippo (jp), 26 November 2024, 【11月27日はガメラの日】「平成ガメラ3部作」誕生の秘密に迫る！脚本家・伊藤和典さんが一番苦労した作品は…</ref><ref>Dengeki Hobby Magazine, 27 November 2023 「11月27日ガメラの日」に予約開始！『ガメラ3 邪神〈イリス〉覚醒』ガメラがPVC製塗装済完成品フィギュアとなって登場！</ref> Akira Ohashi, who played Gamera and Iris in the Heisei Trilogy and also participated in 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.<ref>Akira Ohashi. 27 November 2023, #特撮見たことない人が嘘だと思うけど本当の事言え</ref>
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,<ref name=Minemori /><ref name=AllAbout /><ref name=Kyogoku /><ref name=HotCorner /> and an official mascot character Template:Nihongo was designed and named after Gamera.<ref name=Gachora>「映画のまち調布」応援キャラクター</ref><ref name=AllAbout /> There also exist a number of boulders publicly referred as Template:Nihongo across the Japanese archipelago.<ref>Shiretoko Shari-cho Tourist Association, September 10, 2009, 味めぐり・湯めぐり 2009</ref><ref>Geo_Information Portal Hub, ガメラ岩</ref>
The extinct Cretaceous sinemyidid turtle with long spines on its carapace, Sinemys gamera, classified in 1993, was named after Gamera.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The extinct Cretaceous baenid turtle Gamerabaena sonsalla, classified in 2010, was named after Gamera.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> A specimen of Nodosauridae was also nicknamed after the kaiju.<ref>Template:Cite tweet</ref>
A magnetosphere code to study plasma bubbles was named after the kaiju, and the Applied Physics Laboratory partnering with Johns Hopkins University launched an associated eponymous project.<ref name=Williams />
The University of Maryland Gamera I human-powered helicopter, along with its successor, was named after Gamera.<ref name=berryetal>Template:Cite journal</ref> 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.<ref name=berryetal />
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<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> where Avant Gamera and Toto in Gamera the Brave were designed after African spurred tortoise.<ref>Takunori Yasuda, 30 July 2017, まるでメロンパン、実は「ガメラの孫」リクガメ続々誕生, The Asahi Shimbun</ref>
J/FPS-5 (jp), an early-warning radar of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force is often referred as Template:Nihongo due to its shape somewhat resembling a turtle shell.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> A Japanese free climber Toshiyuki Kikuchi (jp) is known with a nickname "Gamera" being named after the kaiju.<ref>Mount Fuji Research Station (jp), Climbing-Guide Books</ref> The Japanese esports player "Gamera" was named after the kaiju,<ref>Kog Shoji, 2 June 2020, 【第12回・プロゲーマー小路KOGの「勝つための『グラブルVS』立ち回り指南】〜初の全国大会「RAGE GBVS 2020 Summer」の見どころ〜, eSports World</ref> and a technique for esports is called "Gamera" in Japan after the kaiju.<ref>E Sports Kit, 10 December 2024, ストリートファイター用語・格闘ゲーム用語まとめ</ref>
In 2024, Itochu acquired BIGMOTOR Co., Ltd (jp) after multiple scandals of the latter, and the code name for the acquiring project was named "Gamera" after the kaiju.<ref>Fumiko Kitagawa, 16 August 2024, 【直撃】伊藤忠がビッグモーターを買収した｢本当の理由｣, NewsPicks (jp)</ref> Tokyo Gas also utilizes the trademark "GAMERA" for one of its meter data management systems.<ref>J-PlatPat, GAMERA, Japan Patent Office</ref>
Naoyuki "Gyaos" Naitō (jp), 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.<ref>第55回 ＜怪獣ブーム50周年企画 PART-6＞ 『大怪獣空中戦 ガメラ対ギャオス』</ref> The comedy troupe "Gyaos" which was later renamed to "Denshamichi" (jp), presumably took its name from Naitō as the comedians focused on baseball topics.<ref>The Shin Nihonkai Shimbun (jp), 27 March 2023, アシストスタッフサービス 代表取締役 島津江英樹さん</ref> Similarly, Kazuhiro "Daimajin" Sasaki was nicknamed after the Daimajin, the character redeveloped from the Gamera franchise,<ref name=Takaki /><ref>Oricon, 25 March 2010, 「ホントに大きい!」『大魔神カノン』主演女優・里久鳴祐果、リアル大魔神・佐々木主浩のデカさに口あんぐり</ref> where Chikara Hashimoto, who portrayed the Daimajin and Daimon the vampiric demon in Yokai Monsters and participated in Gamera and other related productions,<ref>Takeshobo, 1996, ガメラ画報 大映秘蔵映画五十五年の歩み, P.99</ref> was also a baseball player and also co-acted with aforementioned Bruce Lee in the 1972 film Fist of Fury.<ref>『大魔神』4Kで観てもすごい！見事な"職人技"を堪能できる名作特撮</ref><ref>Sankei Sports, 19 October 2017, 橋本力さん死去 元プロ野球選手の俳優、ブルース・リーと共演、大魔神のスーツアクターも</ref> Hashimoto was also appointed for other monsters and yokai films most notably Gamera vs. Viras and The Whale God (Killer Whale) where the latter presumably influenced the Dai-kaiju, the right whale-based kaiju with an alias of the "Whale God", from GeGeGe no Kitarō franchise.<ref>Shigeru Mizuki, 1964, Dai-kaiju Part 3 from The Secret Story, p.1, Tōkōsha (jp)</ref>
See alsoEdit
- J/FPS-5 (Gamera Radar)
NotesEdit
ReferencesEdit
SourcesEdit
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