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Daiei's Gamera series
Gamera 2015 NYCC
Gamera
Species Giant turtle
Alias Gamera the Invincible
Friend of all children
Guardian of the Universe
Avant Gamera
Height 60-80 meters
Weight 80~1200 tons
Air speed Mach 3 - 3.5
Sublight speed (outer space)
Origins Iceberg (Showa)
Atlantis (Heisei)
Relationships Atlanteans (creators in the Heisei series)
Asagi Kusanagi (spiritual connector)
Toto (Reincarnation)
The Children of the World
Major enemies Gyaos
Barugon
Viras
Guiron
Jiger
Zigra
Legion
Irys
Allies The Children of the World
Asagi Kusanagi
First appearance Gamera
Created by Yonejiro Saito
Masaichi Nagata
Hidemasa Nagata
Noriaki Yuasa
Tomio Sagisu
Portrayed by: Showa series
Kanju Yagi
Teruo Aragaki
Umenosuke Izumi
Heisei series
Naoaki Manabe
Jun Suzuki
Akira Ohashi
Roars: Showa
Heisei
2015:
More Roars

Gamera (ガメラ,   Gamera?) is a giant flying turtle creature from a popular series of monster film produced by Daiei Motion Picture Company in Japan. Created in 1965 to rival the success of Toho Studios Godzilla during the kaiju boom of the mid-to-late 1960s, Gamera 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 of his movies were featured on the cult television program Mystery Science Theater 3000. Despite being for kids, the monster action is filled with blood and gore (Guiron chops up Space Gyaos, Zigra slices Gamera open, Zedus gets his tongue ripped out etc), though none of the monsters has red blood and is mostly various pastel colours (Gamera's blood is blue, Gyaos' is pink, Barugon's is purple).

The Gamera series was rebooted in 1995 with Gamera: Guardian of the Universe. This time, Gamera was a guardian genetically engineered by the ancient civilization of Atlantis to defend the world from their previous creations: the man-eating flying monsters known as Gyaos. Gamera was able to keep the Gyaos under control, but the Atlantean civilization was completely destroyed in the struggle. Gamera remained sealed away inside a rocky atoll for thousands of years before rising again in the modern day to battle Gyaos, which had been reawakened by humanity's rampant pollution of the Earth. While the human race feared Gamera at first, they eventually joined his side to battle Gyaos and the extraterrestrial Legion creatures that arrived on Earth a year later. By 1999, Gyaos had begun to overrun the world, while an ancient demonic creature called Iris was awakened from its shrine by a vengeful young woman who blamed Gamera for her parents' deaths. To make matters worse, the destruction Gamera caused in his crusade against Gyaos led humanity to turn against him and deem him an enemy. In his darkest hour, Gamera was able to triumph over Iris and bring humanity back to his side, just in time to face an oncoming swarm of thousands of Gyaos.

Gamera's most recent onscreen appearance was the 2006 film Gamera the Brave. A standalone film, it told the story of a young boy named Toru who came upon a bizarre glowing egg on a small island, which hatched into a baby turtle he named Toto. As Toto grew and began demonstrating unusual abilities such as flight and the ability to spit fire, Toru realized that his pet was the reincarnation of Gamera, who sacrificed himself to kill a flock of Gyaos in 1973. Toto finally grew into the new Gamera just in time to confront Zedus, a man-eating reptilian sea monster that began terrorizing Japan.

Though a new film featuring Gamera has not formally been announced since the release of Gamera the Brave, the character was featured in a 2015 short film directed by Katsuhito Ishii, which was made to commemorate the character's 50th anniversary. Gamera has also made several appearances in non-film media such as comic books and manga, novels, and video games.

Disambiguation

This is an overview page. To view information on specific incarnations of Gamera, please visit the respective incarnation subpages.

Appearance

Unlike any other species of turtles, Gamera has the habit of walking bipedally rather than on all fours, though he occasionally walks quadrupedally in his first three films. Gamera was capable of using his upper limbs in the same manner as Godzilla, as his forelegs had appendages much closer in construction to hands than feet, and was capable of grappling with opponents and manipulating objects. His mouth is filled with teeth, unlike any living modern turtle (several types of extinct prehistoric turtles were toothed, however), with a pair of large tusks protruding upward from his lower jaw. Gamera is also usually seen with very large human-like eyes (though in the Showa series they were comically large and cartoonish-looking) adding intelligence to his overall appearance.

Origins

In the Showa era films, Gamera was a gigantic, prehistoric species of tortoise who fed on flames, reawakened by an accidental atomic blast in the Arctic during a dogfight between US and Russian fighters. The film mentioned that Gamera had appeared before, from pictographs depicting Gamera, and warning of his ability of flight. Gamera's original origins are largely unknown in the Showa era, as there is no indication that he was a mutation in his original film. Gamera was already capable of flight and breathed true flames, rather than radioactive energy when he was reawakened. And while it was known that he fed on flames (and even radioactive materials such as plutonium, much like his counterpart, Godzilla), no explanation for these powers was given. It was also left unexplained as to why he attacked most of humanity in general, yet spared the life of (and indeed actively saved) a young boy who became central to the original film's plot. This later led to him being referred to as the 'friend to all children in the world' in future films.

In the Heisei era films, however, the origin of Gamera was retconned, giving him a much more directly heroic themed origin: A bio-engineered guardian of the Earth created by the lost city of Atlantis with the purpose of defeating Gyaos, another ancient creation capable of killing all human life on earth. The giant turtle is found floating adrift in the Pacific, encased in rock and mistaken for an atoll. Within the rock, investigators soon discovered a large monolith explaining Gamera's purpose, as well as dozens of orihalcum magatama, which allow a psychic link between Gamera and humans. In the third film of the Heisei era, an undersea graveyard is found with many other Gamera skeletons, suggesting Gamera was not the only member of his kind created by Atlantis. One character in the film refers to these skeletons 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 the first (and currently only) film of the Millennium era. The film begins with Gamera sacrificing himself to destroy a flock of Gyaos birds sometime in the 1970s.

Capabilities

Gamera's shell is extremely resilient and strong. Missiles and other weaponry merely bounce off of it, along with most of his opponents' attacks. Despite these feats, there have been a few times where his shell has faltered, most notably when Guiron hammered at the same spot several times and began cutting through. Gyaos' sonic Beam, Zigra's Paralyzing Beam, and 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 stomach, however, is softer and not as resilient, and he has been cut and gouged in his stomach to the point of bleeding (his blood is blue in the Shōwa era series, but green in the Heisei and Millennium era films).

In the Shōwa series, Gamera fed on fire and was attracted by other heat sources, such as power plants and Barugon's "rainbow" ray attack,and in his first movie he was lured to a rocket by fire . 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. At the end of G1 Gamera absorbs fire and fires a "Super-powered" plasma fireball and in G2 he breaths in the oxygen produced by a Legion plant and fires an "Oxygen-Powered" plasma fireball. The Heisei version could also absorb a great deal of "mana", or the living essence and energy of life on Earth, and release an extremely powerful stream of pure plasma and fire from an opened, organic "cannon" in his chest. In the final film of the Heisei series, Gamera blasted his own arm off and absorbed plasma fireballs shot by Iris and used his stump arm to grow back his arm in a plasma form. Theoretically, he could do the same to other body parts as well. Seeing this, he has the ability to manipulate fire. In the unofficial film Gamera 4: the Truth, the pyrokinetic chelonian apparently used this ability to enable himself to wield dual "fire swords" on each arm.

Of course, Gamera also has the ability to fly. Generally Gamera will pull his arms, legs, head, and tail into his shell, fire flames out of his arm and leg cavities and spin around like a frisbee. This mode of flight had an added advantage in the later films, where he would use 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 his legs and/or tail in, 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 while in 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 era 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. The monster 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, and has not been explored since.


History

Shōwa History

Main article: ShodaiGame
Gamera showa 001

The Showa Gamera from Gamera.

Gamera made his first appearance in 1965's Gamera, which was also the only Gamera film to be in black-and-white. This film also was the last 'giant monster' movie to be in black and white. 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 Barugon, Gyaos, Viras, Guiron, Jiger, and Zigra. A seventh sequel was slated for a 1972 release, tentatively titled Gamera vs. Garasharp. 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.

Through the years, on both sides of the Pacific, fans of Gamera or Godzilla have debated which monster is better. The latter would generally be considered the victor, in that Godzilla was considered to have "higher standards" than Gamera, who was just a monster for kids. The giant turtle thus often became the object of ridicule, especially on the American TV series Mystery Science Theater 3000, which lampoons B-movie's and featured five of the original seven Gamera films during their third season. (It should be noted though that the series also featured and mocked two Godzilla films a year before).

Heisei History

Main article: HeiseiGame
Gamera Transition

This era began with Gamera: Guardian of the Universe. During the course of the first film, 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. So a trap is set for them. Meanwhile, a search has been assembled for a moving atoll in the Pacific. They find it, staying still and searching the surface, finding many small gems made of an unknown metal. They also discover a stone sticking up out of the center of it, and they attempt to dig it out. 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 guardian of Earth, made by the Atlanteans, called Gamera. He attacks the Gyaos, killing two, but one escapes. It feasts on the other newly born Gyaos and grows to Gamera-like proportions. The two battle and Gamera manages to defeat it (blowing its head off with his breath), heading back to the seas.

In Gamera 2: Advent of Legion, Earth was attacked by a swarm of extraterrestrial insect-like creatures known as Legion.

In between Gamera 2: Advent of Legion and Gamera 3: Awakening of Irys, there was a Dark Horse comic series that showed more battles that Gamera waged.

In Gamera 3: Awakening of Irys, Gamera had to face hordes of Gyaos and the ultimate Gyaos, called Irys.

There was also an unofficial fan film named Gamera 4: Truth.

Brave1

Gamera in Gamera: The Brave

In Gamera: The Brave, Gamera returns to his Shōwa era roots, but with a modern twist. In the film, Gamera is first seen defending Japan back in the 1970's from the Gyaos, but sacrifices himself to destroy them by self-destructing.

Mystery Science Theater 3000 appearances

Gamera was a frequent whipping boy on the third season of Mystery Science Theater 3000, where five of the Shōwa era films were mocked.[1] The only original Shōwa films not featured on the program were Gamera vs. Viras and Gamera vs. Jiger. The Satellite of Love crew made up silly English lyrics to the Gamera March.

The five films riffed in season 3 were previously mocked years earlier on MST3K during the show's original incarnation on KTMA-TV in Minneapolis (the little seen "season 0" from 1988-89).


Roar

 	Sound_Effects-Gamera_(1965-2006) 	 			  

Popular culture

Main article: List of Gamera homage and spoofs
Main article: Gamea and Pokémon
Gamera References by Pokemon

Examples of references to the Gamera franchise by Pokémon

  • Gamera appears - under the name Ghamoo-ra - as a guardian beast in the Blackfathom Deeps instance dungeon in the World of Warcraft MMORPG. Additionally, a smaller tortoise named Gammerita is seen patrolling the eastern coast of The Hinterlands, and is the focus of two separate quests.
  • Gamera, along with Godzilla and some other kaiju, appear in side stories of Dr. Slump.
  • An episode of the animated series Justice League Unlimited (S5E03 "Chaos at the Earth's Core") had a team of superheroes consisting of Supergirl, Green Lantern, Star Girl, and S.T.R.I.P.E. briefly battle a nuclear-powered giant turtle in Japan that was a homage to Gamera, right down to the flame-spinning flight.
  • Green Lantern manifested his green energy into horned-Gamera during the fight against Alexander Nero.[2]
  • File:ThumbnailCAFH725Q.jpg

    Dragon Ball's Baby Gamera

    In an episode of Dragon Ball, the Turtle Hermit Muten-Rôshi summons a Baby Gamera to use as a means of transportation. It makes him dizzy. Apart from Dragon Ball, Gamera has also made appearances in another one of Akira Toriyama's work, Dr. Slump along with other kaiju like Godzilla and King Ghidorah.
  • The story-line of Digimon Tamers was based on "Konaka Gamera", one of the original scripts prepared for Gamera: Guardian of the Universe by Konaka brothers (Chiaki and Kazuya), prior to the script by Kazunori Itō, and the idea was later adopted for Digimon Tamers and Gamera the Brave.[3][4][5]
    • The Digimon JumboGamemon is a hommage to Gamera, with Game being short for Gamera.
  • In the popular webcomic Megatokyo, Gamera has a descendant named Gameru who is an alcoholic that is constantly in and out of rehab (He's referred to as the "shame of the Gamera family" by Inspector Sonoda). He first appears in comic #359.
  • Gamera is a bonus track on the album Millions Now Living Will Never Die by post-rock band Tortoise.
  • Gamera has made a few cameo shots in The Simpsons.
  • Gamera made an appearance in The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy movie "Billy & Mandy's Big Boogey Adventure" and his spoof Cragera appeared in "Giant Billy and Mandy All-Out Attack".
  • 2015 film Love & Peace has a lot of resemblances to Gamera the Brave, and Kiyotaka Taguchi and Tooru Tezuka joined the movie as well.
  • A robot resembling Gamera appeared in Megas XLR's episode "Breakout" (S1E7).
  • Dark Horse Comics, which also held the license for Godzilla, created a four issue mini-series based on Gamera, which took place between the events of Gamera: Guardian of the Universe and Gamera II: The Attack of Legion, and featured both Zigra and Viras as guest stars, with Viras being the principal adversary for Gamera in the series. The Gyaos also appeared.
  • Gamera has also appeared in the form of Japanese manga; examples being "Gamera vs Balgon", the recent "Gamera 2006 Hard Link", "Gamera Big Monsters Battle in Sky"(based on Gamera: Guardian of the Universe, and "Gamera 2 Invasion of Legion".
  • In a somewhat ironic twist, Gamera's trademark roar was utilized by Toho studios for the roar of the Godzillasaurus in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah. Godzillasaurus was the form of Godzilla before his mutation by exposure to an atomic bomb in 1944.
  • Many other monsters of different series such as GeGeGe no Kitarō (S1E43, S2E15) or Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's (Stardust Dragon) used Gamera's roars.
  • In the Detective Conan series, there is a parody of Gamera called Gomera. It looks more like Godzilla rather than a gigantic turtle, but it did had tusks pointing upwards.
  • In the Dav Pilkey book Captain Underpants and the Wrath of Wedgie Woman, George and Harold are seen watching a Japanese movie with the monster being a turtle.
  • In The Manga Version Of Yakitate Ja-pan Kuroyanagi Spins Around In Midair Like Gamera After Eating Azuma's Turtle Bread. And Dave's Helper Sings The Gamera Theme Song.
  • In the rap song "Paragraph President" by Blackalicious, Gamera is mentioned in a line of lyrics: "City burnin' like Gamera, scamina, blaze-up the space, plus I got it on camera"
  • In the cartoon network show Johnny Test, Susan and Mary Test mutated a sponge that would have a monster form and it became an actual monster (due to the mutation) and Johnny quickly found a book of 1000 monster names and he dubed the monster Gamaroid.
  • On youtube there are cartoons of Gamera fighting monsters from Godzilla movies and the monster from 20000 fathems and Gorgo.
  • In the show South Park in episode 12 Mecha-Streisand, Barbra Streisand becomes the monster Mecha-Streisand a homage to Mecha-Godzilla. She then prosedes to go on a rampage and atacks south park. The boys team up with Leonard Maltain who transforms into a giant robot(A homage to Jet Jaguar and zone fighter). He then teams up with Sydney Pointier who transforms in to a Gamera looking turtle and flys to battle Mecha-Streisand with Malton. After two minutes of fighting they are both defeated by Mecha-Streisand.
  • Unlike Godzilla, Gamera never teamed-up with other monsters.
  • Every monster that Gamera fought always causes him to bleed.
  • In the iPad game Demonsouls, a water demon that looked like a giant turtle is called water gamera.
  • In the 2012 Tim Burton film "Frankenweenie" a turtle named Shelly (who is ironically owned by an Asian character) is accidentally exposed to a growth formula, and the turtle mutates into a giant Gamera-like monster that rampages through a carnival.
  • 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.
  • A prehistoric species of turtle with two prominent spines on its shell has been named after Gamera.
  • Mqdefault

    Giant soft shelled turtle in Gintama

    A giant, flying fire-breathing soft-shelled turtle appeared in an episode of anime Gintama.
  • As the Showa Gamera was linked to "Eskimo" (Inuit) mythology, Heisei Gamera's design was influenced by ancient Chinese mythology as there have been similarities in motifs, and the design of shell was based on Turtleback tombs. Aspects from ancient Chinese mythology were also used for Gyaos' design; designs of Chinese Dragons from the Spring and Autumn period and western Dragons.[6]

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References

External links

Kadokawa Pictures (formerly Daiei Motion Picture Company)
Era Icon - Showa
Era Icon - Heisei
Kaiju
Era Icon - Gamera


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