Gamera has always been more of a protector of civilization than a threat, scary, yes, but the only thing big enough to stand against daikaiju and have a hope of winning the day. In this new six episode animated mini-series, Gamera, the giant monster beloved by Kaiju fans across the globe since the 1960s, faces off against five enemy creatures. The giant turtle that flies thanks to his back legs somehow being retractable, to be replaced by very large jet engines with no fuel supply that makes any damn sense somehow is friend to a bunch of grade school students and goes on to kick some major kaiju tail.

in the summer of 1989, ‘Bo’, ‘Joe’ and ‘Junichi’ were in the 6th grade and in their last summer vacation as elementary school students. Each of them has vague fears about the future. Then ‘Brody’, the son of the commander of forces in Japan, confronts them. Brody steals cash the three of them had saved. Angered, Bo and his friends devise a plan to get their money back. 

Just as they are about to execute their plan, the town is hit by a crisis. The monster ‘Gyaos’ suddenly attacks Tokyo. The four boys are trapped in a town reduced to ruins by Gyaos. As Gyaos sets its sights on them, a giant monster appears. Its name is ‘Gamera’. This was the beginning of their ‘Summer of Kaiju’, as monsters appear one after another. And the boys are witness to a legend…

So it’s a story about 12 year olds trying to deal with a bully blended with Japanese monsters that threaten civilization. Is it a gratutious monster slugfest? Why yes. Yes it is. But that shouldn’t stand in the way of you thoroughly enjoying this new offering from Netflix.

Gamera: Rebirth stars Hisako Kanemoto, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, Aki Toyosaki, and Subaru Kimura. It’s directed by Hiroyuki Seshita,
Keisuke Ide and Yuichi Ishima, created by Niisan Takahashi and produced by Engi Studios of Tokyo, Japan, the whole thing kicks off Thursday, September 7, 2023.

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