Gamera (franchise)

Gamera ガメラ is a series of giant monster films and other licensed products featuring the character Gamera, owned by the Kadokawa Corporation. Starting in 1965, the Gamera series remains one of the longest-running film series.

The Gamera series initially began as an attempt by Daiei Motion Picture Company to capitalize on the success of rival studio Toho Company Ltd.'s successful films of the time, most notably the Godzilla series. The first Gamera film, Gamera, was released to Japanese theaters on November 27, 1965. The film was a success, inspiring Daiei to not only produce a sequel, but also the acclaimed Daimajin trilogy of films. Gamera was released on television in the United States a year later as an edited version titled Gammera, the Invincible

Like the Godzilla series before it, the Gamera series went on to include numerous other entries, all featuring the titular Gamera battling against other, more malevolent creatures. The Gamera series attempted to aim itself more towards child audiences, often featuring children as the main characters. The Godzilla series even attempted to emulate this with its films in the late 1960's and early 70's. After Daiei went bankrupt in the early 70's, the Gamera series was placed on hiatus and, aside from a failed revival film in 1980, another entry was not produced until the series' 30th anniversary in 1995. The new film, Gamera: Guardian of the Universe, was distributed by Daiei's former rival Toho and proved to be a huge critical and financial success, inspiring two critically-acclaimed sequels. In the early 2000's, Daiei was acquired by the Kadokawa Corporation and absorbed by the company's filmmaking branch. Kadokawa finally released its first Gamera film, Gamera: The Brave, in 2006 to celebrate the franchise's 40th anniversary. Kadokawa has since released many of the Gamera films on home video and produced remastered versions of a few entries, and has begun production on a new film with no release date yet set.

While the Gamera series began as a cash-in on the popularity of the Godzilla franchise, it has since developed its own identity and become a popular and respected film series in its own right. Gamera, while not quite as popular as his counterpart Godzilla, is still a recognizable pop culture icon in Japan and around the world. The 1990's Gamera trilogy directed by Shusuke Kaneko is widely recognized as the finest example of giant monster films ever produced. Many crew who worked on the trilogy would go on to work on the Godzilla series as well.

Series History
The Gamera series consists of 12 films, 11 of them produced by the defunct Daiei Motion Picture Company and one produced by its successor, Kadokawa Daiei Studio. Like the Godzilla series, the Gamera series is divided into distinct eras, however unlike the Godzilla series the Gamera series consists of only two: the Showa and Heisei series. The first eight entries make up the Showa series, while the last four are considered to comprise the Heisei series. The Showa films are often categorized by their campy, child-friendly nature while the later Heisei films are seen as much more serious and mature in nature.

Showa Series (1965-1980)
The first series of Gamera films is named after the Showa period of Japan, referring to the reign of the Showa emperor, Hirohito. The Showa series began in 1965 with the release of the black-and-white film, Gamera. This film is distinct from all of those that followed it in that it is the only one filmed in black-and-white as well as the only one to portray Gamera as a villain and not feature him battling another monster. Gamera was inspired by the popular Godzilla films, most prominently the original Godzilla, telling the story of an ancient giant reptile being awakened by a nuclear bomb and laying waste to Tokyo. Following the film's success, a sequel was greenlit by the studio. Like what had occurred with the Godzilla series, Daiei chose to film the sequel in color and have Gamera do battle with another creature. The creature chosen was the giant lizard monster Barugon, which was Gamera's opponent in the film Gamera vs. Barugon. This film was followed a year later by Gamera vs. Gyaos, which introduced Gamera's arch-nemesis, the flying creature Gyaos, and also featured a child protagonist who assists Gamera. Gamera vs. Gyaos set the formula for the remaining Showa films, which all revolved around a heroic Gamera collaborating with human children to defeat other monsters and oftentimes alien invaders. The Gamera films were notable for featuring a great deal of graphic violence and gore in its monster battles, while the Godzilla films of the time often refrained from showing the creatures bleed. As the Gamera films proved incredibly popular with child audiences, the Godzilla films of the early 1970's found themselves emulating them by featuring increased blood and gore and the appearance of child protagonists.

As the Japanese film industry declined in the late 60's and early 70's, Daiei found itself relying heavily on the use of stock footage from previous entries. The company planned to produce several more Gamera films following the release of Gamera vs. Zigra in 1971, but just as production began on the film Gamera vs. Garasharp, the studio went bankrupt and a fire destroyed all of the remaining suits and props. Daiei was eventually purchased by Tokuma Shoten, who planned to revive the Gamera series with a new film while the Godzilla series remained on hiatus. The newest Gamera film, Gamera: Super Monster, was released in 1980, nine years after the previous film, and was primarily composed of stock footage from the previous films. Super Monster also featured obvious attempts to capitalize on the popular Superman and Star Wars films of the time, seen through the Spacewomen and Spaceship Zanon. Super Monster was a critical and financial failure, and convinced Daiei and Tokuma to put the series on hold once again. In the meantime, most of the Gamera films were dubbed and released by Sandy Frank in the United States on television and home video, leading to a growth in the series' popularity outside of Japan. Several of the movies were even featured on the movie-mocking show Mystery Science Theater 3000 in the early 1990's.

Gamera Trilogy (1995-1999)
In 1995, Daiei began production on a new film to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Gamera series. Daiei turned to its former rival Toho to distribute the film, and hired little-known director Shusuke Kaneko to direct. It was decided to begin the series anew and ignore the previous entries, discarding the kid-friendly tone of the later Showa films in favor of a darker and more serious style, akin to what the Godzilla series had done with The Return of Godzilla. The resulting film, Gamera: Guardian of the Universe, was a huge success with critics and audiences, even earning a theatrical release in the United States. Famed film critic Roger Ebert, who had long given negative reviews to films, gave the film three out of four stars, praising it for being "fun." Daiei immediately began production on a sequel, Gamera 2: Attack of Legion, which was released in 1996. The sequel was even more well-received than its predecessor, making use of higher production values. A third entry, Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris, was released in 1999, and despite disappointing box office returns was praised by many as the greatest giant monster film ever made, rivaling the original Godzilla.

Gamera: The Brave (2006)
Daiei was later purchased by the Kadokawa Corporation in the early 2000's and merged with the company's filmmaking branch. As the series' 40th anniversary approached, Kadokawa decided to produce a new film for 2006. The film, Gamera: The Brave, was a reboot from Kaneko's trilogy that re-adopted some of the kid-friendly tones of the Showa series while still maintaining the seriousness and production values of the trilogy. Gamera: the Brave was a box office failure despite being well-received, inspiring Kadokawa to put the series on indefinite hiatus. In the meantime, Kadokawa began releasing the previous entries on DVD and Blu-ray in Japan, while extending the Gamera license to other companies who began making Gamera merchandise.

While Gamera: The Brave is not connected to the Gamera trilogy, it is still grouped in with it as part of the Heisei series, due to it being released during the political Heisei period in Japan. Contrary to popular belief, Gamera: The Brave is not part of the Millennium series, a term that only applies to Godzilla films released from 1999 to 2004.

New Gamera Film (2016-2017)
In anticipation of Gamera's 50th anniversary, Kadokawa announced production of a new film in 2014. No new information about the production materialized until late 2015, where a panel of Kadokawa representatives appeared at New York Comic-Con. There, they unveiled test footage for a new Gamera film, featuring Gamera, Gyaos and a new tentacled creature all rendered through. Kadokawa revealed that a new film was in production, with Katsuhito Ishii directing. No release date has been set for the film, and whether it will be counted as part of the Heisei series or signal the beginning of a new era remains to be seen.

Films by Series
The following is a list of all official entries in the Gamera franchise, grouped according to series and including the year of release.

Showa Series

 * 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 Series

 * Gamera: Guardian of the Universe (1995)
 * Gamera 2: Attack of Legion (1996)
 * Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris (1999)
 * Gamera: The Brave (2006)