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Overview

Gamera (ガメラ,   Gamera?) is a giant flying turtle daikaiju created by Daiei that first appeared in the 1965 film Gamera.

Name

Gamera's name comes from the Japanese word kame (カメ?), meaning "turtle," and ra (ラ?), a common suffix in kaiju names.

Design

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 is capable of using his upper limbs in the same manner as Godzilla, as his forelegs have appendages much closer in construction to hands than feet, and is 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, adding intelligence to his overall appearance.

ShodaiGame

The ShodaiGame is based on the appearance of a turtle, and has five clawed fingers on each hand, five toes, and a long tail. The underside of the shell has a brick-like pattern, while the top of the shell has several spikes protruding from it. The suit's face is made to look menacing, with small angry-looking eyes and huge tusks protruding from its lower jaw, as well as a very pointed snout. The ridge on the top of the head is also much more pronounced than it would be in later designs.

For Gamera's flying scenes, a miniature puppet about three feet in length was constructed, which was suspended by piano wire and filled with a mechanism that allowed it to spew flames from its arm and leg holes.

BaruGame

This suit was very similar to the previous suit, but was characterized by its even more malevolent-looking eyes. The suit retains the core features of the previous one, including the spiky shell. However, the tusks have been reduced slightly in size and sharpness, the snout is more rounded, the head crest is less pronounced, and the overall build is slimmed-down to allow for easier movement. A tiny flamethrower is located into it's mouth to allow fire to come out.

In the next film, Gamera vs. Gyaos, the suit was slightly modified to give Gamera a less-threatening and more kid-friendly appearance. The eyes were increased in size and made a lighter yellow color, giving them a friendly appearance. The suit retained this appearance in the following film, Gamera vs. Viras, but the eyes were made a darker orange color while the suit itself was given a more bluish tint.

GironGame

The GironGame continues the more heroic and friendly appearance of Gamera that had been established with the previous starting in Gamera vs. Gyaos. The suit is very similar to the modified BaruGame suit, featuring large benign eyes that are yellow in color. The suit is somewhat lighter in color than the previous suits as well. The backside of the shell still features spike-like structures, however they now sit flat on the shell and no longer protrude outwards.

UchuGame

The UchuGame prop was heavily based on the previous Gamera design, the only major difference being its very light green skin color.

The Gamera suit that went unused in the film was used for promotional appearances and commercials, and was utilized in a single shot in the film when Gamera knocks over a film poster featuring a monster called "Dojira" (a parody of Godzilla).

Portrayal

The ShodaiGame suit, according to director Noriaki Yuasa, was portrayed by several weightlifters, but none of them were able to last more than three days due to how heavy the suit was.[1] The BaruGame suit was portrayed by actor Teruo Aragaki. Aragaki was an accomplished suit actor in the Showa era, portraying kaiju such as the Giant Rat from Latitude Zero, Rodan in Destroy All Monsters, and countless kaiju in the original Ultraman series and Ultraseven. Director Noriaki Yuasa complimented Aragaki's ability to portray the BaruGame suit, as it was equipped with reinforced steel.

Roar

Some of Gamera's roars would later be reused for the Godzillasaurus. 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.

Personality

In his earliest film appearances, Gamera is portrayed as an aggressive and destructive creature that deliberately lays waste to Japan after being awakened. However, he is shown to not be truly malevolent, as he actively saves a young boy at one point. After defeating the much more dangerous monster Barugon, Gamera is gradually seen as a heroic defender of Japan against other monsters. Gamera begins to actively rescue children from other monsters and alien invaders, while fending off attacks on Japanese soil by enemy monsters. Gamera also no longer attacks human settlements, except when temporarily mind-controlled by the Virasians.

Origins

In the Showa series 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 American and Soviet fighters. In the original film, it is mentioned that Gamera had appeared before, from pictographs depicting Gamera and warning of his ability of flight. It is also suggested that Gamera had at one point lived in Atlantis, though this is not explained in great depth. 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.

History

Gamera

Gamera 1965

Gamera in Gamera (1965)

During a dogfight between American and Soviet planes in the arctic, a nuclear bomb was dropped near an iceberg, the explosion causing the ice to split open. Gamera emerged from the iceberg and began approaching Japan. The J.S.D.F. developed a plan to sedate Gamera and destroy him with dynamite. The plan was set into action, but the explosion did not kill Gamera, only knock him onto his back. Just when Gamera appeared stuck, he tucked his head and limbs into his shell, while fire began to spew from the holes. Gamera began to spin like a disc and took flight, flying deeper into the country. As Gamera laid waste to Tokyo, the J.S.D.F. developed a new plan to stop him, codenamed "Plan Z." Gamera is baited into a large rocket, which closes and traps him inside. The rocket then takes off and carries Gamera off into space, saving Japan from the monster's wrath.

Gamera vs. Barugon

Gamera (1966) (Crawling)

Gamera in Gamera vs. Barugon

Less than a year after being launched into space, the rocket carrying Gamera was struck by a meteorite, freeing the monster. Gamera flew back to Earth and landed in Japan, where he destroyed Kurobe Dam before taking off and flying away again. Meanwhile, an opal brought back to Japan by a thief was revealed to be the egg of a giant lizard called Barugon, which grew even larger from exposure to an infrared lamp. Barugon hatched and rampaged through the Japanese countryside, eventually attacking Osaka. Gamera was attracted by the creature's presence, and confronted Barugon near Osaka Castle. After a brief battle, Barugon froze Gamera solid with his ice breath, then left him for dead in the castle's moat. While Barugon engaged in several confrontations with the J.S.D.F., Gamera thawed and pursued his enemy. Gamera reengaged Barugon near the ocean, overpowering him and dragging him into deep water, where Barugon finally drowned. His enemy vanquished, Gamera flew away without casing any further destruction.

Gamera vs. Gyaos

Gamera 1967

Gamera in Gamera vs. Gyaos

Gamera appeared during a volcanic eruption to feed on the flames. He then hid in a mountainside until the monster Gyaos appeared from a cave. Gamera fought Gyaos and drove him back into his cave, although his arm was almost cut off. He then saved the child Gyaos was trying to eat and flew him back home. He then returned to the sea to heal his wound. Gamera later returned to attack Gyaos as the creature was attacking a city. He fought Gyaos in the air before he was thrown into the water. He managed to bite off Gyaos' foot before the creature escaped. Gyaos was lured to a container of artificial blood by the J.S.D.F., where the hoped to trap the creature until sunrise, hoping the light would kill the creature. The plan failed, and Gyaos destroyed the trap, producing a fire that attracted Gamera again. This time, Gamera overpowered Gyaos and dragged the creature into the crater of a volcano, killing it. Gamera then flew away, leaving Japan safe.

Gamera vs. Viras

Gamera - 4 - vs Viras - 4 - Gamera reappears

Gamera in Gamera vs. Viras

A group of aliens known as Virasians approached Earth, intending to conquer it, but their ship was intercepted and destroyed by Gamera. A group of reinforcements arrived and attached a mind control device to Gamera, forcing him to attack Japan. Two children sabotaged the mind-control, and Gamera turned on the Virasians. The Virasians then combined into their collective form, the giant squid-like monster Viras. Gamera and Viras battled on land and underwater, with Viras eventually impaling Gamera's stomach with its pointed head. Gamera took flight and flew into the atmosphere with Viras stuck to his chest, where Viras began to freeze. Gamera then spun until Viras was detached and plummeted into the ocean below, where it exploded. Victorious, Gamera bid farewell to the children that helped him and flew away.

Gamera vs. Guiron

Gamera 1969

Gamera in Gamera vs. Guiron

Gamera came to an alien planet called Terra after a pair of brain-eating aliens captured two boys in their spaceship. Shortly after the Terrans' guardian monster Guiron fought and killed a Space Gyaos, Gamera fought Guiron, and was considered dead after Guiron lacerated his temples with his shurikens. Ultimately, Gamera was revived and confronted Guiron once again. This time, Gamera flipped Guiron upsidedown, sticking his blade-tipped head in the ground, and grabbed a rocket and lodged it into a hole in the side of Guiron's head, then ignited it with his fire breath. The rocket exploded, blowing off Guiron's head. Gamera helped repair the spaceship that brought the boys to Terra, then helped them get back to Earth.

Gamera vs. Jiger

Gamera - 5 - vs Jiger - 34 - Gamera

Gamera in Gamera vs. Jiger

Gamera appeared after a large statue called the Devil's Whistle was removed from an island. Later, the monster Jiger, awakened by the statue's removal, appeared from a volcano, and Gamera arrived to fight her. Jiger fired quills at Gamera, stopping him and allowing her to continue her rampage. Gamera removed the quills and pursued Jiger, confronting her again in Osaka. Gamera held the upper hand in the fight until Jiger extended a stinger from her tail and stabbed Gamera in the chest. Gamera staggered away & fell headfirst into Osaka Bay, where his body slowly began to turn a deathly white. Jiger took the opportunity to toss the Devil's Whistle into the water and resumed her rampage across Japan. A group of children used a mini sub to go into Gamera's body and find the cause of his discoloration. Inside, they discovered that Jiger had infected Gamera with her parasitic offspring. The children fought and killed the baby Jiger and escaped Gamera's body. They then convinced the J.S.D.F. to revive Gamera using electricity. After being revived, Gamera flew to the World's Fair and battled Jiger once again. Jiger used all of her attacks to try and fight off Gamera, but Gamera body-slammed Jiger and stunned her. Gamera then recovered the Devil's Whistle from the ocean and shoved the statue through Jiger's skull, killing her. Gamera then flew back to the island with Jiger's corpse.

Gamera vs. Zigra

Gamera (1971)

Gamera in Gamera vs. Zigra

Gamera came to the rescue to save a pair of children from the alien invader known as Zigra and his brainwashed human slave Lora Lee. After Gamera saved the children, Zigra took matters into his own hands and revealed himself as a kaiju-sized fish creature. Zigra engaged Gamera in battle underwater, overpowering him with his superiority in underwater combat. Gamera was revived by a bolt of lightning and attacked Zigra again, throwing him onto land, where he was rendered helpless. Gamera used a rock to play his theme song on Zigra's back like a xylophone, then killed Zigra by burning him alive with his fire breath.

Gamera: Super Monster

Gamera 1980

Gamera in Gamera: Super Monster

As the intergalactic criminal Zanon approached Earth with his powerful spaceship, a young boy on Earth purchased a pet turtle from a local pet store. Believing the turtle would be happier in the wild, the boy let his turtle go into the ocean. Miraculously, the turtle transformed into Gamera and prepared to stop Zanon's plan. Zanon sent his agent Giruge to sabotage the Spacewomen's attempts to stop him, while deploying an army of mind-controlled monsters to kill Gamera. Gamera took on and defeated Zanon's monsters: Gyaos, Zigra, Viras, Jiger, Guiron and Barugon, while Giruge betrayed Zanon and sacrificed herself to stop him. Gamera then flew into space and collided with Zanon's ship, sacrificing himself to destroy it, however the actual fate of this Gamera is unkonwn.

It was later revealed that this Gamera was actually revived by the descendants of Atlanteans and reincarnated into a new Gamera (see the below section of Manga Boys Special Edition: Gamera).

Gamera

Gamera 2015 NYCC

Gamera in the 2015 NYCC footage for the upcoming film

In the 2015 reveal trailer for an upcoming Gamera property shown at New York Comic-Con, Gamera is shown killing a swarm of Gyaos in Tokyo ten years in the past, at the cost of thousands of human lives. In the present day, a new tentacled kaiju appears in Tokyo, and Gamera arrives to battle it.

Abilities

Coal Sacks

Gamera can eat coal, like the oil bag it contents are sent to the Melting Furnaces.

Durability

Gamera's shell is extremely resilient and strong. Missiles and other weaponry merely bounce off of it, along with most of his opponents' attacks. 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.

In the original film, it was said that Gamera's cellular tissue was so dense that conventional weapons were useless against him. However, in the Heisei series, tanks were able to injure Gamera to some extent, while he was easily knocked out of the sky by missiles.

Energy Absorption and Projection

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, 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 dangerous situation.

Claws

Gamera has extremely sharp claws on his hands he can use in combat. Gamera can emit poisonous liquid from his claws to stun enemy.[2]

Flight

Perhaps most famously, Gamera also has the ability to fly between flights of mach 3 to 3.5 (2,301.81 to 2,685.44 mph). 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.

This power of flight has included allowing Gamera to fly into space and even travel from Earth to other planets. In Gamera vs. Barugon, after the rocket he was trapped in crashed into a meteor on its way to Mars, Gamera was able to fly back to Earth without issue. He would later travel into space again during the events of Gamera vs. Viras when he took on and destroyed a Virasian Spaceship that was attempting an attack on Earth, while later traveling to Planet Terra in Gamera vs. Guiron to rescue two boys; carrying them both home in a repaired Terran UFO. In Guardian of the Universe, Gamera was able to fly into space during his battle with Gyaos.

Heart

Gamera's heart works like the hearts of other organisms, but because it was made for thermal energy it has extraordinary power in comparison.

Thermal Energy Conversion Intestines

This is where burned material is converted into thermal energy.

High Fever Muscles

Gamera's muscles can produce ten thousand times the force of any human and can withstand high temperatures (High Fever), more so than any conventional metal and are very durable.

Melting Furnace

Gamera can ingest coal, oil, fire, magma and uranium and they are sent here to be burned.

Oil Bag

Gamera can drink oil and similar liquids which are stored in this organ.

Shell

Gamera's shell is known for its invulnerability, said to be 100 times stronger than diamond. The only known time it has been breached was by Guiron, who struck the same place over and over again. His underbelly does not have this resistance however. Gamera's shell spikes can store and emit electricity.[2][3]

Tail

Gamera's tail can be used to attack foes.[2]

Weaknesses

Cold Temperatures

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 cadmium freezing bombs. This weakness was only shown in Gamera's earliest films, and has not been explored since.

Internal Organs

Gamera's internal organs are also vulnerable to parasitic actions, as shown when he fainted and turned a deathly white when the baby Jiger was growing in his lungs.

Underbelly

Gamera's shell is said to be very durable. His 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 films). This is most visible when Viras impales his stomach with the tip of its head, and when Iris impales Gamera straight through his entire body by stabbing him through the stomach.

Video games

Comics

Books

Holy Beast War Chronicle: White Shadow

Gamera was summoned by Nichiren with a magatama to stop Jiger and Barugon, two of the remaining Four Gods that were summoned by Japanese soldiers with magatamas to defeat Mongolian armies.[4]

Trivia

  • According to an interview with Simon Strange by Toho Kingdom, Gamera was considered for Godzilla: Unleashed.[citation needed]
  • According to Gamera.jp, the Showa Gamera's favorite foods are oil, coal, high voltage electricity, missiles, and nuclear power. His least favorite foods are carrots and onions.
  • In Godzilla: Monster Apocalypse, the prequel novel to Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters, the fourth Kamoebas in the timeline which washes ashore dead on Odo Island is actually stated to be a different species from the other Kamoebas individuals in the novel.
    • It is described as being a 60 meter-long monster which, among other injuries, had its right arm missing. This description, along with it being described as a "turtle-like" species, aligns with both the Showa Gamera's 60-meter height and the Heisei Gamera having his right hand destroyed in Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris.
  • Gamera's skull makes a brief appearance in Pacific Rim Uprising, during the scene where Hermann Gottlieb examines PPDC records in search of a match for the image Mako Mori transmitted.
  • Concept art for Godzilla: King of the Monsters shows Gamera as one of the monsters surrounding Godzilla in the film's final scene. While Legendary considered licensing some or all of the Toho kaiju shown in this piece, it is unknown whether Gamera was ever considered for the film or was simply a placeholder.
  • In an episode of Ultraman Max entitled Prophecy of Baradhi , two kids are playing with a Godzilla figure in the SokogekiGoji design, and a Gamera figure in the IrisuGame design. The two kids are interrupted by the arrival of Antlar, and run away carrying their figures. Curiously, this episode was directed by Shusuke Kaneko, who had directed all three of the Heisei Trilogy films, and also directed Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack.
  • In Godzilla: Final Wars, a boy is playing with some toys, one of which is a Squirtle. He makes Squirtle fight another monster, but he loses, so he throws the Squirtle toy into a fire place, signifying the rivalry of the Godzilla and Gamera franchises.

References

  1. Giant Monster Gamera: Gamera's Actors - ja.Wikipedia
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 怪獣怪人大全集ゴジラ2 ケイブンシャ (1972年)
  3. http://pinktentacle.com/2011/01/illustrated-anatomy-of-gamera-and-foes/
  4. Shinichiro Inoue (Kadokawa representative director), 2015, Seijū Senki - Shiroi Kage (聖獣戦記 白い影, lit. Holy Beast War Chronicle: White Shadow), Kadokawa
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