Gamera : Régénération

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.

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.

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.

I'm have been a Gamera fan since I was a kid in 70s. I watched it with my son who is a huge Gamera and Godzilla fan. The story is almost astonishing where it goes and yes the animation isn top tier but when the battles with the legendary opponents it's epic. Imagine if this was live action with that script lol. Yes the adults are basically clueless and dumb and the kids save the day but this has been Gameras MO for decades. The Kaiju designs are a little risky but I appreciate there take on those legendary characters in the Gamera universe hell I have bought several of them for my collection.. recommend Stay with it the last episodes are worth it.

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.