Gamera (Showa)

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Gamera incarnations
None
Gamera (Showa)
Gamera (Heisei)
Gamera (Showa)
Gamera in his debut film
Alternate names Gammera, Gamela, Gamara
Subtitle(s) Giant Monster (大怪獣,   Daikaijū),
The Devil's Envoy
(悪魔の使者,   Akuma no Shisha)
Species Giant turtle
Height 60 meters[1]
Weight 80 metric tons[1]
Other stats Underwater speed: 50 knots,[1]
Flight speed: Mach 3[1]
Step length: 20 meters[1]
Controlled by Virasians (Temporarily)GvV,
Zanon (Temporarily)GSM
Allies Children of Earth
Enemies Barugon, Gyaos, Viras, Guiron, Jiger, Zigra, Zanon
Created by Yonejiro Saito, Noriaki Yuasa
Played by Kanju Yagi et al.G65
Teruo AragakiGvB-GvV,
Umenosuke IzumiGvGu-GvJ
First appearance Latest appearance
Gamera Gamera: Super Monster
Roar(s)
More roars

Gamera (ガメラ,   Gamera) is a giant turtle kaiju who first appeared in the 1965 Daiei film, Gamera.

A giant ancient turtle, Gamera was awakened from his slumber within an iceberg by a nuclear detonation in the Arctic. Gamera travelled to Japan and ravaged the city of Tokyo, but his rampage was halted when the JSDF lured him into a rocket ship and sent him into space. Gamera returned to Earth after his rocket was destroyed by a meteor, and did battle with Barugon, an even more dangerous monster. Gamera defeated Barugon, and humanity began to see him not as an enemy, but as the lesser of two evils. The following year, Gamera appeared to battle Gyaos, a huge man-eating bat-like creature. Gamera went out of his way to rescue a young child from Gyaos' clutches, and humanity came to realize that Gamera was firmly on their side. Over the following years, Gamera defended the human race from various evil monsters, be they from Earth or the depths of outer space. Gamera became a friend to the children of the world, travelling across the globe and even to alien planets in order to rescue them from monsters and alien invaders. Gamera seemingly perished in 1980, when he flew into the spaceship of the evil space criminal Zanon, sacrificing his life to save Earth from Zanon's villainy.

Name

Gamera's name comes from the Japanese word kame (カメ), meaning "turtle," and ra (ラ), a common suffix in kaiju names. The "k-" sound may have been changed to "g-" in order to prevent his name from sounding like "camera." In the American edit of his debut film, Gamera's name was spelled as Gammera. Latin alphabet writing in Gamera's debut film and English-language materials for the film Gamera vs. Viras spelled his name as Gamela.

Design

Gamera is a giant turtle with dark green skin. Gamera sometimes walks on all fours like a real turtle but prefers to walk upright on his hind legs like a human. Gamera uses his forelimbs like human arms, and possesses five opposable digits on each hand. Gamera has a large rounded head with a pointed snout. Unlike real modern-day turtles, Gamera's mouth is full of teeth, along with two large tusks on his lower jaw that protrude upward from his mouth. Gamera has large, gentle-looking eyes that are usually white or yellow in color, which sometimes glows. Gamera's torso is surrounded by a large, round shell. The underbelly of Gamera's shell is flat with a brick-like texture, while its back is dome-shaped with ridges and spikes. Gamera has a long and thick tail that he drags on the ground behind him.

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 in Gamera vs. Viras and Zanon in Gamera: Super Monster.

Origins

Gamera's origins are never explored in considerable depth, but according to Dr. Hidaka, Gamera was an unusual species of turtle that inhabited the lost continent of Atlantis in ancient times. At some point he became trapped within the Arctic ice after Atlantis disappeared, and remained frozen there for thousands of years. Modern Eskimos continued to speak of Gamera in their folklore, where he was known as "the Devil's Envoy," and handed down an ancient stone carving depicting him in flight. Gamera was awakened from his ancient slumber in 1965 after a mysterious aircraft carrying nuclear weapons crashed in the Arctic, triggering a nuclear detonation that freed Gamera from the ice.

In Gamera: Super Monster, the protagonist believes that Gamera originated as his pet turtle. Whether or not this is true is never confirmed, but if this film is meant to be set in the same continuity as the other Showa films it would be unlikely considering Gamera's previous appearances. It is possible, but not confirmed, that Gamera: Super Monster may be set in a different continuity from the rest of the Showa series.

History

Showa era

Gamera

Gamera in Gamera (1965)

During a dogfight between American and unidentified foreign planes in the arctic, one of the unidentified planes crashed, triggering the nuclear bomb it was carrying to detonate. The explosion caused the ice to split open, and Gamera emerged from the iceberg and immediately sank a nearby research ship. Once Gamera reached Japan and proved immune to conventional weaponry, the JSDF developed a plan to temporarily freeze Gamera and knock him onto his back using dynamite. The plan was set into action, and succeeded in knocking 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 JSDF, in cooperation with the United States and Soviet Union, developed a new plan to stop him, codenamed "Z-Plan." Gamera was baited into a large rocket on Izu Oshima, which closed and trapped him inside. The rocket then took off and carried Gamera off into space, bound for Mars, saving Japan from the monster's wrath.

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 JSDF, 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 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 JSDF, 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

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 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 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 JSDF 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 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

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.

Abilities

Flight

Gamera in flight

Gamera's most unique ability is his capacity to fly. Gamera retracts his head, limbs and tail into his shell, then jets of flame shoot out of its arm and leg holes. Gamera begins to spin rapidly, then takes flight. While flying, Gamera, can extend his head and arms and fly in a straight line without spinning. Gamera's maximum flight speed is Mach 3, and he is able to fly both within Earth's atmosphere and in the vacuum of space. While spinning, Gamera can remain low to the ground and spin into an enemy as a method of attack.

Thermal energy

Gamera breathes fire at Zigra.

Gamera feeds on fire, electricity, lava, coal, oil, and nuclear material, all of which contribute to his ability to generate thermal energy, which he uses to sustain his bodily functions, propel himself into the air, or spit a stream of fire from his mouth. He is also able to draw energy from Barugon's Rainbow Death Ray. Gamera stores liquid fuel that he consumes such as petroleum in an organ called the Oil Bag (石油袋,   Sekiyu-bukuro). Solid materials that Gamera eats such as coal are stored in his Coal Bag (石炭袋,   Sekitan-bukuro) before being sent to his High Temperature Furnace (高熱炉,   Kōnetsu-ro), in which any forms of fuel Gamera ingests including petroleum, coal, fire, magma, missiles, and uranium are gathered and burned. After this, the burned materials are sent to Gamera's Thermal Energy Conversion Intestine (熱エネルギー変換腸,   Netsu Enerugī Henkan Chō), which as its name suggests converts them into thermal energy. This energy powers Gamera's Heat Energy Heart (熱エネルギー心臓,   Netsu Enerugī Shinzō), which works the same way as other creatures' hearts but due to being powered by thermal energy it possesses extraordinary power.

Physical strength

Thanks to his High Fever Muscles (高熱筋肉,   Kōnetsu Kin'niku), Gamera possesses muscular strength 10,000 times greater than that of a human. In addition, his muscles can withstand higher temperatures better than any conventional metal and are extremely durable. Gamera's immense strength allows him to overpower his enemies in physical combat and lift, throw, or drag them.

Durability

Due to his incredibly dense body tissues, Gamera is immune to all conventional weaponry, while his shell protects him from most attacks from other monsters. However, the underbelly of his shell is not as resilient, and can be penetrated by enemy attacks, such as the pointed tip of Viras' head. Guiron was able to penetrate the top of Gamera's shell by repeatedly stabbing the same spot with his head. Gamera is also resistant to extreme heat, and can submerge himself in molten magma without sustaining any injury. Gamera also possesses a healing factor, which allows him to survive his first encounters with opponents then return to fight them again. When seriously injured, Gamera can enter a brief state of hibernation, which will allow him to almost completely heal all of his major injuries in a short period of time. Gamera is unharmed by Barugon's Rainbow Death Ray, and even feeds on its energy.

Amphibiousness

Gamera is able to breathe underwater and on land. While underwater, Gamera can swim at a speed of 50 knots. He also demonstrates the ability to breathe in a vacuum for an extended period of time, shown in the instances where he flies through space.

Intelligence

Gamera is very intelligent for a kaiju, let alone a reptile. He often prefers to retreat after his first encounter with an enemy where he learns its strengths and weaknesses, then return with a specific strategy in mind to defeat it. Gamera responds to human speech, particularly distress calls from children. In Gamera vs. Guiron, Gamera is able to repair a spaceship by welding it back together with his fire breath.

Weaknesses

Gamera's greatest weakness is to cold. Gamera was temporarily immobilized in his debut film when he was bombarded by the JSDF's special cadmium freezing bombs. The monster Barugon froze Gamera solid for several hours with the chilling liquid it sprayed from its tongue. The underbelly of Gamera's shell is also susceptible to attack. In Gamera vs. Jiger, Gamera was rendered completely comatose when Jiger infected him with her parasitic offspring. Some enemies have exploited Gamera's allegiance to children to gain leverage against him or lure him into a trap by kidnapping or threatening children.

Filmography

Trivia

  • 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.[1]

References

This is a list of references for Gamera (Showa). These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]

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