Gamera

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Daiei's Gamera series
Gamera


Gamera in a publicity photo for his debut film.
Species Giant turtle
Alias The Invincible
Super Monster
The Guardian of the Universe
The Brave
The Friend of All Children
Height 6080 metres
Weight c. 5,500 tons
Air speed Mach 3
Origins Arctic (Showa)
Atlantis (Heisei)
Egg (Millennium)
First appearance Gamera
Created by Yonejiro Saito
Portrayed by: Shwa series
Teruo Aragaki
Umenosuke Izumi
Heisei series
Naoaki Manabe
Jun Suzuki
[disambiguation needed]

Akira Ohashi
Hirofumi Fukuzawa
Millennium
Toshinori Sasaki
Gamera (
?
) is a Kaiju created by the Daiei Motion Picture Company and now
owned by Kadokawa Pictures. The original 1965 Gamera was released to rival the
success of Toho Studios' Godzilla during the "monster boom" of the 1960s. The
character has gained fame and notoriety as a Japanese icon in his own right.
In the United States, Gamera attained prominence during the 1970s due to the
burgeoning popularity of UHF television stations featuring Saturday afternoon matinee
showcases like Creature Double Feature and later in the 1990s when several Gamera
films were featured on the TV show Mystery Science Theater 3000.
Contents
1 Appearance
2 Origins
3 Capabilities
4 History
o 4.1 Shwa series
o 4.2 Heisei series
o 4.3 Millennium series
o 4.4 Future films
5 Films
6 DVD/Blu-Ray
7 Comic books
8 Science
9 References
10 External links
Appearance
Gamera has the general configuration of a turtle, albeit a tremendously large one that is
capable of walking on two legs and flying. He does occasionally walk quadrupedally in
his first three films. Gamera demonstrates the ability to manipulate objects with his
forefeet. He possesses a pronounced sagittal crest on top of his head and his mouth is
filled with teeth, which is unprecedented in turtles - with exceptions perhaps for the
prehistoric turtles Proganochelys and Odontochelys - plus a pair of large tusks
protruding upward from the lower jaws.
Origins
In the Shwa era series Gamera was a titanic, fire-breathing, prehistoric species of
tortoise who fed on petroleum-based material presumably giving him the ability to
breathe fire and fly by "jets" ignited when the monster retracts its legs it can propel
itself by spinning through the air with all four legs in and (shown in later films) can fly
straight with just the rear legs drawn inside its shell.
The original movie begins showing bombers of the U.S.S.R. being intercepted by
American fighters over U.S. air space in the arctic. The Soviet pilots refuse to be forced
down because of the presence of atomic bombs on board their aircraft, so they attempt
to leave the area. However, the fighters launch an attack and one of the bombers
crashes. A nuclear blast ensues, releasing a giant turtle from suspended animation in the
ice.
The incident unfolds over the heads of a Japanese research team who have stumbled
upon an Eskimo tribe in possession of an artifact, an ancient stone etching, that suggests
the giant turtle (maybe more than one) had been observed and duly noted at some earlier
time in mankind's history. The tribe refers to the turtle as "Gamera" in their legends.
In the Heisei series, starting with Gamera: Guardian of the Universe (1995), the origin
of Gamera was tweaked to make the theme much more directly heroic: a bio-engineered
Guardian of the Universe created by Atlantis with the purpose of defeating Gyaos,
another ancient creation capable of killing all human life. The giant turtle is found
floating adrift in the Pacific, encased in rock and mistaken for an atoll. Within the rock,
investigators discover a large monolith explaining Gamera's purpose, as well as dozens
of magatama, which allow a psychic link between Gamera and humans.
In the third film of the series, Gamera 3: Awakening of Irys (1999), an undersea
graveyard is found with many other Gamera fossils, suggesting Gamera was not the
only member of his kind created. One character in the film refers to these fossils as
"beta versions" of Gamera, possible failures in Atlantis' attempts to create the final
version. Another scene provides Gamera with a link to Asian folklore, with a character
relating a story in which a giant tortoise is considered the Guardian of the North, with
separate, rival creatures defending the East, West and South.
Gamera's continuity was rebooted again in 2006 with Gamera the Brave. The film
begins with the original Gamera sacrificing himself to destroy several Gyaos in 1973.
33 years later, a young boy finds a strange, glowing red rock near his home, with a
small egg lying on top of it. A fairly normal looking baby tortoise soon hatches from the
egg, but begins to grow at an alarming rate. The turtle, now named "Toto" by his pre-
adolescent owner, quickly develops Gamera's classic abilities to breathe fire and fly,
and attempts to ward off another attacking monster, Zedus, but is too weak to succeed.
Only after eating the glowing rock found with his egg does the new Gamera achieve his
full power, defeating Zedus and flying off into the sky.
Capabilities
Gamera's shell is extremely resilient and strong. Missiles and other weaponry merely
bounce off it, along with most of his opponents' attacks. There have been a few times
where his shell has faltered, most notably when the alien Guiron hammered at the same
spot several times and began cutting through. The flying monster Gyaos' sonic beam,
the alien shark Zigra's paralyzing beam, and the mutant lizard Barugon's rainbow ray
cannot penetrate Gamera's shell, shown in the films when he withdraws into his shell to
avoid the attacks. Gamera's underbelly, however, is softer and not as resilient, and he
has been cut and gouged in his stomach to the point of bleeding.
In the Showa series, Gamera fed on fire and was attracted by other heat sources, such as
power plants and Barugon's rainbow ray attack. He could breathe intensely hot streams
of flames from his mouth when caught in a more serious situation. The Heisei version,
on the other hand, could blast off mighty plasma fireballs from his mouth, usually very
quickly, and with varying accuracy; they were highly explosive. The Heisei version
could also absorb a great deal of mana, or the living essence of earth, and release an
extremely powerful stream of pure plasma from his chest. In the final film of the Heisei
series, Gamera blasted his own arm off and absorbed plasma fireballs shot by the
mutant Gyaos Iris and used his stump to grow back his arm in a plasmic form.
Gamera also has the ability to fly. Generally, Gamera pulls in his arms, legs, head, and
tail into his shell, fires flames out of his arm and leg cavities and spins around like a
flying saucer. This mode of flight had an added advantage in the later films, where he
used the sharp edges of his shell to cut enemies while spinning, similar to a circular
saw. He has a second way of flying, where he only pulls in his legs and/or tail, fires
flames from the leg cavities, and flies like a jet. In the Heisei era films, Gamera's arms
would extend and stretch out into wings similar to the flippers of a sea turtle whilst
using this form of flight, giving him added aerodynamics and control.
The Heisei films gave Gamera one more additional weapon: a pair of sharp spikes
protruding from his elbows. In his first Heisei appearance, these spikes were hidden
during the majority of the film, extending only when needed in battle. In later
appearances they were permanently extended.
When seriously or gravely injured, Gamera can enter a coma-like state in order to heal.
This often fools his opponents into thinking that he is dead. This ability has been used in
almost every Gamera film.
Gamera's only major weakness is cold. Barugon was able to achieve success against
Gamera using his freezing spray, and scientists nearly defeated Gamera during his first
appearance using special freezing bombs. This weakness was only shown in Gamera's
earliest films.
History
Shwa series
Gamera made his first appearance in 1965's Gamera, which was also the only Gamera
film to be in black-and-white. In 1966, the movie was released in America as Gammera
the Invincible. Subsequent films, usually directed by Noriaki Yuasa and written by
Nisan Takahashi, quickly became a big hit with children, who loved watching Gamera
fight monsters. A total of 7 films were produced between 1965 and 1971. An eighth
entry was slated for a 1972 release, tentatively titled Gamera vs. Garasharp.
[1][2]
Gross
mismanagement of Daiei, however, put the company into bankruptcy, and the Gamera
films were forced to cease production.
After Daiei was purchased by Tokuma Shoten in 1974, the new management wanted to
do a new Gamera film in 1980, so Gamera: Super Monster was produced. The majority
of the film used stock footage (with limited new scenes of Gamera flying), and acted as
a "recap" of Gamera's history. However, Yuasa and Takahashi felt that they had done all
they could with the monster, so they respectfully killed off Gamera at the end of the
film.
Heisei series
Starting with Gamera: Guardian of the Universe (1995), 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, a search has been assembled for a moving atoll in the Pacific. They find it,
small gems made of an unknown metal, and a stone sticking up out of the center of it.
They manage to take pictures and collect some of the strange gems, but the stone
crumbles and the atoll takes off towards Japan at high speeds. It ends up that the atoll is
actually an ancient monster, made by the Atlanteans, called Gamera. He attacks the
Gyaos, killing two, but one escapes. The remaining Gyaos grows to Gamera-like
proportions and the two battle. Gamera manages to defeat his foe, and heads back to
sea.
In Gamera 2: Advent of Legion (1996), earth was attacked by an alien force known as
Legion.
In Gamera 3: Awakening of Irys (1999), Gamera had to face hordes of Gyaos and his
ultimate foe, Iris.
Millennium series
Gamera the Brave (2006) returns Gamera to his Showa roots, but with a modern twist.
In the film, Gamera is first seen defending Japan back in the 1970s from the Gyaos, but
sacrifices himself to destroy them by self-destructing. In the present, the child of a man
who witnessed that battle finds a turtle egg that hatches into a baby Gamera that he
names Toto. When a giant lizard monster named Zedus appears, Toto tries to fight the
beast, but ends up being gravely wounded and taken by the military for study. He ends
up escaping and growing to a larger size to try and fight Zedus again, this time
succeeding against the monster.
Future films
In March 2014, Anime News Network reported that a new Gamera production is
planned, with no release date specified.
[3]

Films
Showa
Gamera (1965)
Gamera vs. Barugon (1966)
Gamera vs. Gyaos (1967)
Gamera vs. Viras (1968)
Gamera vs. Guiron (1969)
Gamera vs. Jiger (1970)
Gamera vs. Zigra (1971)
Gamera: Super Monster (1980)
Heisei
Gamera: Guardian of the Universe (1995)
Gamera 2: Attack of Legion (1996)
Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris (1999)
Millennium
Gamera the Brave (2006)
DVD/Blu-Ray
A version of the first Gamera movie, with footage of American actors Brian Donlevy
and Albert Dekker, was released by Alpha Video in 2002 as Gammera the Invincible. In
2010, Shout! Factory acquired the rights from Kadokawa Pictures for all eight of the
Showa Gamera films to release the uncut, Japanese versions on DVD for the first time
ever in North America. These "Special Edition" DVDs were released in sequential
order, starting with Gamera: The Giant Monster on May 18, 2010, followed by Gamera
vs. Barugon and two double-features: Gamera vs. Gyaos with Gamera vs. Viras, and
Gamera vs. Guiron with Gamera vs. Jiger. On March 15, 2011, Shout! Factory released
the last of the series in a double feature of Gamera vs. Zigra with Gamera: Super
Monster. Shout! Factory later released MST3K vs. Gamera, a special twenty-first
volume of Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes featuring all five Gamera movies
from the show's third season. The three Heisei trilogy films were re-released on Blu-ray
from Mill Creek Entertainment on September 27, 2011.On April 29, 2014 Mill Creek
Entertainment released the eight Showa Gamera films (1965-1980) on Blu-ray in two
volumes, featuring the original Japanese audio only and also the first 11 films (1965-
1999) on DVD as the Gamera Legacy Collection, featuring the original widescreen
video and Japanese audio only with English subtitles.
[4]

Comic books


Gamera in downtown Tokyo. From issue #2 of the Gamera: The Guardian of the
Universe comic published by Dark Horse Comics.
Dark Horse Comics published a four issue miniseries based on Gamera called Gamera:
The Guardian of the Universe in 1996.
[5]

Akira Toriyama's manga Doctor Slump featured Gamera in book 4, considerably
smaller than he is portrayed in films or comic books.
Gamera has made an appearance in Toriyama's manga, Dragon Ball. Here, too, he was
smaller than in films or comic books. He is seen after being summoned to help the
Master Roshi traverse the ocean to Fry-Pan Mountain in volume 2. And also in the
Kinnikuman manga series.
Science
The University of Maryland Gamera Human Powered Helicopter took its name from
Gamera. Since the University mascot is a Diamondback Terrapin, the craft would be a
flying turtle.
In July 2011, Washington State University veterinarians successfully fixed a prosthetic
caster onto an African spur-thighed tortoise named Gamera, who was a single
amputee.
[6]

References
1. Jump up ^ "Gamera vs. Garasharp: The Gamera that Never Was". The Shrine of
Gamera. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
2. Jump up ^ " " (in
Japanese). www.tanomi.com. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
3. Jump up ^ http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2014-03-12/new-gamera-project-
listed-by-retailer
4. Jump up ^ http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2014/02/24/new-gamera-blu-ray-and-
dvd-sets-from-mill-creek-in-april/
5. Jump up ^ Pictures of the covers of all four comics
6. Jump up ^ "Meet Gamera, the all terrain tortoise with a wheel for a leg", Time, July 25,
2011
[1]
External links
GooHead is a Movie Channel on Roku that streams 9 Gamera movies (Not
available in the U.K.)
Gamera the Brave (Japanese)
[dead link]

Gamera web archive (Japanese)
[dead link]

The Shrine of Gamera
Roger Ebert's review of Gamera: Guardian of the Universe
The Godzilla Shrine
Gamera

Shwa
Gamera (1965)
Gamera vs. Barugon (1966)
Gamera vs. Gyaos (1967)
Gamera vs. Viras (1968)
Gamera vs. Guiron (1969)
Gamera vs. Jiger (1970)
Gamera vs. Zigra (1971)
Gamera: Super Monster (1980)

Heisei
Gamera: Guardian of the Universe (1995)
Gamera 2: Attack of Legion (1996)
Gamera 3: The Revenge of Iris (1999)

Other
Gamera the Brave (2006)

Kaiju
Gamera
Barugon
Gyaos
Viras
Guiron
Jiger
Zigra
Legion
Iris
Zedus


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Fictional characters introduced in 1965
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Fictional Atlanteans
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Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamera
More Info: http://godzilla.wikia.com/wiki/Gamera
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daiei_Film
You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcDqDsRlD9s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lz_oZvgJic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJEEOulaO7Y