Gamera: O Renascimento

This series has so much heart. The characters are so lovable and well-written. No one is annoying and everyone has their own unique qualities.

I love the non-linear story-telling. Especially in the starting 3 episodes.

It's starts off very strong and piques your interest for different types of Kaijus that might show up. Also it's good that we get 1 Kaiju per episode which keeps you watching.

The animation is also nostalgic and new-age at the same time. I don't care what nobody says, the mix of 3D and 2D animation was good. I liked it.

Hope there is a season 2 and we get to see these characters again.

I would love to dive deep in this world again. They are so lovable and fun.

Super-fun how to end the summer. Not too long, not too short. Solid 8/10.

With a straight forward, valanced plot overflown with jaw-dropping monster fights and a sympathetic cast of characters, Gamera: Rebirth is probably Netflix's best take on Kaiju Eiga to date, and a more than worthy return for the Guardian of the Universe himself.

While the human animation might look pretty awful at times, it doesn't take long to get used to it. The stars of the show --Gamera, Gyaos, Jiger, Zigra, and Viras-- on the other hand, look absolutely gorgeous, shining their brightest during the fights.

Scale is managed perfectly, making every step, punch, and bite feel as massive as they can. The human aspect, on its part, is pretty decent. The cast isn't exactly the best or the most outstanding for kaiju films, but the characters are easy to like and care for.

The only drawbacks I would take into consideration would be the animation and the feeling that Gamera's relationship with the main cast could have been done better.

Gamera is a friend to all children, and on the face of it, that's what we get here: three plucky Japanese boys thrown together with a cowardly, low-IQ, thuggish US antihero - careful now, there's a bit of politics creeping on the stage here.

The first three episodes follow the same basic kaiju trope of introducing a new villain-monster which eventually gets stomped or toasted by ol' rocket-shell. But before the showdown, you have to sit through half an hour or so of annoying kids doing annoying kid things, and getting into all sorts of avoidable scrapes.

And that's where it gets weird, as the pre-teen lads getting up to their boys-will-be-boys hijinks makes this seem as though its for children of that age. But this is intercut with graphic and bloody dismemberment and devouring, and some unnecessarily jarring adult language in the English dub, which makes it unsuitable for Gamera's younger chums.

The art and animation are also disjointed. There's a mix of hand drawn and CG backgrounds and buildings, basic low frame rate flat cell-shaded CG characters and vehicles, and spiky 3D kaiju that look very peculiar when they share the same scene. It's possible that this is a deliberate homage to the compositing in the original films, but it doesn't make it any less quirky.

All that said, if you stick with it, you'll find that the protagonists are well fleshed out with backstories, their interactions become increasingly character-based, and there's a commendable amount of development among the boys - with some very surprising twists and payoffs that I've carefully avoided spoiling - so full credit for that. The series gets a lot more mature and consequential as it progresses, and actually develops a solid plot, which is a surprise given its frivolous early feel.

This isn't the worst animation that Netflix has produced, not by a long way, and it improves as it goes on. It's just that I suspect some of its audience will tune out in the first two episodes as it doesn't settle on a consistent tone quickly enough.

The series will focus on Gamera facing off against five different Kaiju.

I know the plots and other elements aren't deep compared to other genre.

Whatever they plotte was just great. We have three childhood friends who want to make sure that no matter how far apart they are , they're always gonna be together. The bond between Joe and Boko was the most intriguing one. We are told how Joe's little brother and mom died while he was in grade school and how his dad spiraled into depression forcing Joe to work as a paper boy to pay off their debts. Character development was also unique in the case of sea weed hair from Eustace.

Plus there is also for adults, especially to those who believe in conspiracy. Such as the Foundation organisation and how they could seen as modern day 1%. Who controls a lot of things like WEF. Wants to wipe humanity out of this planet and have a great RESTART. While they are completely in charge.

Lots of little cookies 🍪 in this one.

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.