Gamera: Rebirth

This 6-part anime series finds the titanic tusked turtle battling most of its nemeses from the original Showa-era movies in an attempt to save us all from an existential threat. The animation is basic but serviceable and the characters serve to move the story along (although a lot of time is spent on child-hood issues and angst). The reimagined kaiju are OK although there is some inexplicable lengthening of tails, tongues, tentacles, etc and the monster-fights are as entertaining as always. There is some over-the-top 'America bashing' in the first episode and whatever point was being made would have benefitted from a bit more subtlety. An abrupt, and surprising, character shift in the 5th episode livens up a story that was falling into the repetitive 'monster-of-the-week' formula. Fans of Daiei Studio's answer to Toho's money-making 'Godzilla' franchise should get some eye-rolling pleasure out of watching the shelled saviour face off against old foes although, like me, they may miss the silly charm of the original series' bargain-basement suit-mation (and the memorably chipper theme music). Considering this is a show about a giant flying turtle repeatedly saving the lives of four children, there is a surprising amount of course language (possibly Netflix's attempt to make the series more 'edgy'). Much more entertaining than the pretentious anime Godzilla series that Netflix ran a few years back.

We truly live in a glorious age of titans. Godzilla, King Kong, and even Ultraman have been gracing us with their presence for a decade now, but, weirdly, someone was missing. Godzilla's old box office rival, the giant turtle Gamera, had been absent from cinema since 2006. In comes Netflix to the rescue as he's given a 6-part anime series to give him much-needed life: "Gamera Rebirth". Did it succeed?

Plot: In the year 1989, four children suddenly find themselves amidst numerous attacks by man-eating kaiju that are especially fixated on them. Lucky for them, one beast, Gamera, comes to defend them, though the military is very reluctant to trust him. Where did the kaiju come from? Why is Gamera different? What makes these children special? Grand battles and shocking revelations ensue.

The best way I can describe this series is "Stranger Things" with giant monsters. Though the protagonists are children, don't mistake this for silly kid stuff. They occasionally find themselves in violent situations and even swear from time to time; there's a shocking number of F-bombs thrown in. We get insight into what makes each of them tick and why they are so close, and the story and conflicts allow them to mature and contribute in individual ways. There are a few standout characters too like James, a jaded man with dreams and insecurities of his own forced to watch over the children, and an American army general struggling to deal with the crisis. There are also some sprinkles of social commentary like military relations between Japan and America to help spice things up a bit. Admittedly, the way the characters look and move in the animation are a little odd, but the writing behind them compensates for it.

Gamera has never looked better, ferociously taking action without hesitation and putting others before himself as is true to the spirit of the character. He also comes with a rockin' musical theme that gets you pumped for action. The turtle's enemies, most of which have been absent from film for half a century, are all given awesome updates and are treated as formidable foes for both Gamera and the humans, providing intense fight scenes that don't shy away from being bloody and violent as combatants throw each other around, trade blows, and show off cool abilities. The mystery surrounding the kaiju and their origins was engaging, leading to big reveals that I didn't see coming in a good way, especially with how the humans play into them. I do think the pacing of the episodes can be improved by speeding things up a little.

All in all, "Gamera Rebirth" is a smashing shell of a good time. Slight shortcomings aside, it is a much-needed refreshing take on a classic monster that provides both monster mayhem and a compelling human narrative interweaved into it. Hopefully, another season is made as well as a new movie.

17 years later and Gamera is finally back on our screens! It's about damn time!

Hiroyuki Seshita has more than made up for the Godzilla anime trilogy with this. Granted the frankly awful 3D character models don't blend at all with the 2D backgrounds nor more stylistic kaiju designs but for what it's worth, the writing is actually rather decent despite the confused tone which can't decide if it wants to be for kids or adults. It constantly vibes like one of those 80s "band of kids go on an adventure" movies, e.g. The Goonies which is probably why I liked it so much, it also pays homage to every Gamera movie and iteration although much more from the Showa era than the superior Heisei trilogy. Helps that the episodes are 45 minutes long which makes it feel like linked mini-movies as opposed to an actual series. The music by Shuji Katayama is awesome, every time Gamera appears he is accompanied by a rocking guitar riff and the songs by WANIMA are pretty fabulous as well. The voice acting is all pretty good but no one really stood out to me in either language. Overall, Rebirth is a particularly fine return to the screen for our loveable giant turtle. It's not perfect but I would gladly take more if they could iron out the animation issues.

If there is something to applaud this series is how it was able to deliver an interesting plot along with combats at the height of this Kaiju.

Now yes, let's start well, this is the first time I see a Gamera product and I must say that I was very surprised, I knew it was the "rival" of Godzilla in Japan, while one was the terror, the other was the protector.

This series is the first time we see the Kaiju after many years and I must say that in the format he returned was very good since we come from very questionable animated products (Godzilla Singular Point, Ultraman, etc).

The only thing I must say I didn't like was the 3D style animation, as it felt very bad at times but contrasted with the phenomenal kaiju designs.

The plot is easy to understand and each chapter has its touch and at the same time the way they present Gamera's rivals is very interesting.

I'll just say that if you're looking for a kaiju series with a simple but complex plot, this series has it.

Also, the ending, tremendous ending, I just hope a second season is confirmed.

I also hope that the series does well and we have more of the protector of children and the universe, yes, it was the first time I saw Gamera in action and I liked it, I have no doubt that you will like it too.

And don't get carried away by the animation, because once you get caught up in the series you won't be able to put it down.

While an epic and amazing piece of media. The animation does leave a lot to be desired. The characters are classic while avoiding the Kenny trope that predominants much of classic Gamera. The Guardian of the Universe is back abd he is still Friend to the Children. The fights have the weight that you'd expect and Gamera is the bruiser that'd you expect him to be. The classic monster gore is back and Gamera even has motal kombat style fatalities. His classic villains from the Showa era are back and actually threatening as opposed to comical. Gamera's orgins along with his villains orgins are more Heisei.