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Gamera the Brave
Gamera the Brave (小さき勇者たち〜ガメラ〜, Chiisaki Yūsha-tachi Gamera, lit. 'Little Hero: Gamera-') is a 2006 Japanese kaiju film directed by Ryuta Tasaki, written by Yukari Tatsui (jp), and produced by Kadokawa Daiei Studio. It is the 12th entry in the Gamera film series, and serves as the second reboot of the franchise, with the first being Gamera: Guardian of the Universe in 1995. It is also the first entry in the series to be produced by Kadokawa Daiei Studio after the company purchased a percentage of the remaining assets of Daiei Film, the original studio that was responsible for making the Gamera films. Gamera the Brave stars Ryo Tomioka (jp), Kanji Tsuda, Kaho, and Susumu Terajima, and features Toshinori Sasaki (jp) as Toto, who can be either the son or the reincarnation of the fictional giant turtle monster Gamera. The film was released theatrically in Japan on April 29, 2006, and was distributed by Shochiku. PlotIn 1973, a young boy named Kousuke evacuates his home in the picturesque seaside city of Shima, Mie, which is under attack by a swarm of bat-like monsters, Gyaos (jp), so-called "Original Gyaos",[3] until a benign kaiju resembling a turtle, named Gamera ("Avant Gamera")[3] intervenes to buy time for the evacuation. Unable to kill off all of the Gyaos, Gamera sacrifices itself in a self-destruct ability to end the threat of the Gyaos for good as Kousuke watches from the shores. The tale picks up 33 years later in 2006, with Kousuke as a grown man and widower with his son, Toru. Toru has friends, but has a fear of being left alone because he is plagued by memories of his late mother and Kousuke having to work so much to support the family. Toru's fears are intensified when he finds his friend and neighbor, Mai, has to undergo dangerous heart surgery. When his other friends, Katsuya and Ishimaru, take him out exploring to try and cheer him up, Toru discovers an unusual egg atop a red stone in the same place Gamera self-destructed decades ago. The egg hatches into a small tortoise Toru nicknames Toto, after what his mother used to call him. Toto begins to display remarkable abilities such as high intelligence, levitation, and breathing small bursts of fire; while growing at a rapid rate. The turtle quickly outgrows the house and is relocated by Toru and his friends to maintain secrecy. Toru also gives Mai the red stone he found Toto's egg on as a good luck charm for her heart surgery. However, after a storm, Toru finds Toto has left his hideaway and gone missing. Concurrently, many shipping disasters occur in the area, the cause of which is the kaiju Zedus, a monstrous man-eating kaiju which was a mutated reptile fed on a corpse of Gyaos and is presumably controlled by spirits of the flying kaiju.[4] Zedus soon thereafter rampages through the city, and corners Toru, Kousuke, and Toru's friends, but the boy's former pet, now significantly larger, intercedes. The turtle is now clearly a young Gamera, Toto is wounded in the fight and captured by government officials. Privy to Gamera being benevolent creatures and knowing Zedus would return, the government has scientists who studied the previous Gamera work to help heal the wounded Toto. Keeping him in a warehouse, they bandage the unconscious young kaiju and hook the creature up to a machine which infuses it with liquid derived from mysterious red stones found in the vicinity of the past Gamera's self-destruction, which the scientists theorize give the Gamera their power. Mai's surgery is successful and her mother calls Kousuke and Toru to give the good news, but she also states Mai keeps muttering in her sleep that Toto needs the glowing stone. Zedus attacks again and the now near fully grown Toto, now larger, goes out to battle him to save fleeing citizens. Toru and his friends determine that the still-immature Gamera must consume the red stone which Toru had found with the egg, a much larger and more concentrated form of the red beads the scientists had used, in order to gain its full power. Kousuke, having seen the damage a kaiju brawl can have first hand and not wanting to lose his son as he did his wife, initially opposes their efforts to get close to Toto; but comes around to help them after ensuring Katsuya and Ishimaru get to safety. Mai tries to reach them or Toto to deliver the red stone, but her post-surgery weakness inhibits her. The red stone however seems to connect to various children, whom come to Mai's aid and relay the stone across the city to Toru and his friends. Zedus, firmly having the upper-hand in the battle, hurls Toto into a skyscraper. Kousuke holds up debris to help Toru get into the building and Toru, after begging Toto not to die to save the day like his predecessor did, throws the red stone into Gamera's mouth during the battle. Gamera's power of jet-propelled flight manifests itself and it defeats Zedus by firing a charged-up fireball attack down Zedus' throat. The kaiju escapes further government investigation with Toru, Kousuke, and the other children's assistance. Watching his former pet fly off into the sky, Toru finally calls Toto by his true name and tearfully bids him farewell. ProductionIn 2002, Kadokawa acquired Daiei Film properties from Tokuma Shoten, and Kadokawa president Kazuo Kuroi (jp) announced to produce Godzilla vs. Gamera and a Daimajin reboot,[5] following the failed attempt to produce a crossover between Gamera and Godzilla by Yasuyoshi Tokuma (jp) prior to his death in 2000.[6][7] Toho eventually turned down the offers, leading to the production of Gamera the Brave after the temporal cease of Godzilla franchise since Godzilla: Final Wars.[note 1][9] Zedus[note 2] was intentionally designed after kaiju from Toho and Tsuburaya Productions,[10] Godzilla,[3] Godzilla-based Jirahs,[11] Varan,[11] Gorosaurus,[11] and so on.[note 3] Despite its popularity, the Heisei Gamera trilogy was highly controversial among executives, Showa crews where Noriaki Yuasa declared he will not recognize the trilogy as "Gamera films", and Heisei trilogy crews,[13] due to the tendencies of the trio[note 4] to disfavor Showa Gamera because of their preferences of the Godzilla and other Toho franchises, resulted in near-dismiss of Shusuke Kaneko during the production of Gamera: Guardian of the Universe and its near-cancellation.[10][14] The plot of Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris, in which Gamera's destructions of Shibuya made children to cry and forced their parents to leave theaters,[15] and the proposed plot for its sequel, aside from the financial situation of Tokuma Shoten[note 5] and the death of Yasuyoshi Tokuma, were the major factors of the demise of the continuity.[note 6][10][14] Executives and crews of Gamera the Brave were aware of both the popularity of the Heisei trilogy and financial insufficiency and risk to fail, and some had suggested to produce either a sequel to the trilogy or a similar film, however executives emphasized the importance to recover the ideology of the franchise, and didn't approve such directions.[note 7][10] The script of Gamera the Brave was redeveloped from one of the original scripts of Gamera: Guardian of the Universe by Chiaki and Kazuya (jp) Kazuya, and Yoshikazu Okada (jp), which were also partially inspired by the 1972 film Daigoro vs. Goliath. Early plots of Ultraman Tiga and Digimon Tamers were also based on the same Gamera script by Konaka brothers.[10] Various productions had either major or minor influences on Gamera the Brave; Helen the Baby Fox, Rex: A Dinosaur's Story, Daiei Film's Yokai Monsters, Gorgo,[17] King Kong,[note 8] Heisei Mothra trilogy,[note 9] The Yearling and Bambi, a Life in the Woods,[note 10] E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Babe, Star Trek,[note 11] Kamen Rider Ryuki, and Sgt. Frog.[10][3] For its production, advertisement, and distribution, the film had also collaborated with aforementioned Helen the Baby Fox and Sgt. Frog, and additionally with Oha Suta.[3][10] The film was distributed by Shochiku; Gamera and Yokai Monsters franchises have always relied on distributions by other companies ever since Gamera vs. Zigra by the Dainichi Eihai due to the loss of Daiei Film's exclusive theater chains.[8] Cast
ReleaseThe film opened at #6 at the box office in Japan and became a commercial failure. ReceptionAndrew Kasch of the website Dread Central gave the film a score of 3 1/2 out of 5, writing that "Even with its kid-centric approach, Gamera the Brave is guaranteed to please most kaiju enthusiasts, and the new franchise should be enough to fill the empty hole left in Godzilla's absence."[20] Tom Mes of Midnight Eye called the film "an agreeable time waster that introduces the tried and true kaiju formula to a new generation", but wrote that "anyone aged 13 or over will likely be looking elsewhere for their monster movie fix".[21] In the years following the film's release, a hoax circulated online which claimed that a giant ancient tortoise, shown in photographs being transported on a flatbed truck, was caught in or around the Amazon River.[22] In actuality, the tortoise shown in the photographs was a full-scale, 15-foot-long prop of Toto which was used in the film.[23] Shusuke Kaneko, who is aware of both criticism against him and the purpose of Gamera the Brave to fix the franchise from the Heisei trilogy,[24] openly revealed his disfavor of the film[note 12] and criticized it for its sequels to be cancelled,[10] pointing the concept of the film to be "essentially wrong" for co-inserting contradicting themes to limit excitements,[note 13] and allege the legitimacy of the trilogy.[10] As aforementioned, Gamera the Brave was aimed to restore the child-friendly and heroic ideology from the Heisei Gamera trilogy especially Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris, and the film received positive reviews among children and female audiences, however many of tokusatsu fans who favor the Heisei trilogy instead poorly regarded it, leading to its commercial failure.[25] Consequently. various subsequent Gamera productions including its sequels,[10] along with Takashi Miike's Daimajin project were eventually cancelled, while the latter was redeveloped into Daimajin Kanon.[26] Miike's attempt to revive Daimajin eventually materialized in the 2021 film The Great Yokai War: Guardians,[27] where Gamera also made a cameo appearance its spinoff novel.[28] LegacyThe 2015 kaiju film Love & Peace, which bears resemblances to Gamera the Brave and involved Toru Tezuka (jp) from Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris and Nippon Eizo Creative (jp) from the Heisei Gamera trilogy and Gamera the Brave, was influenced by the Gamera franchise.[19][29] A number of references to the previous Gamera films, including Gamera the Brave, and scrapped Gamera projects were inserted in the 2023 Netflix animation series Gamera Rebirth,[30][31] where the director Hiroyuki Seshita (jp) had also participated in the aforementioned Rex: A Dinosaur's Story, and Kazuya Nakai played both General Osborn in Gamera Rebirth and Gametarō, one of the siblings of Toto and the protagonist of Keep it up!! Gametarō (Japanese: がんばれ!! ガメ太郎, Hepburn: Ganbare Gametarō), the spinoff story of Gamera the Brave.[32] Castings of Kamen Rider Den-O and Kamen Rider: The Next by Ryuta Tasaki were also partially influenced by Gamera the Brave, while the casting of the 2006 Gamera film was instead influenced by the aforementioned Kamen Rider Ryuki by Tasaki.[3][10] Home mediaGamera the Brave was released on Region 1 DVD in 2008 by Tokyo Shock.[33][34] The film received a Blu-ray release in July 2016 by Kadokawa Daiei Studio, as part of a box set with 4K digital restorations of the previous films in the Gamera franchise's Heisei era.[35] It was also released by Universal Home Entertainment as part of their Gamera: The Complete Collection box set.[36] Notes
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