Gamera (Showa)

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Gamera (Showa)
Subtitle	The Devil's Envoy (悪魔の使者,   Akuma no Shisha?)
Height	60 meters
Weight	80 metric tons
Controlled by	Virasians (Temporarily)GvV, Zanon (Temporarily)GSM
First appearance	Gamera, the Giant Monster
Latest appearance	Gamera: Super Monster
Allies	Children of Earth
Enemies	Barugon, Gyaos, Viras, Guiron, Jiger, Zigra, Zanon

For the suits used for filming, see ShodaiGame and BaruGame and GironGame.

The First Gamera (初代ガメラ,   Shodai Gamera^?), or simply the Showa Gamera (昭和ガメラ,   Shōwa Gamera^?), is a giant turtle kaiju who first appeared in the 1965 Daiei film, Gamera, the Giant Monster.

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

Main article: ShodaiGame

Main article: BaruGame

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.

A book partially supervised by Nisan Takahashi and Yasuyoshi Tokuma theorized Gamera's intention behind his destructive behaviors in the 1965 film Gamera the Giant Monster and his attack on Kurobe Dam in the 1966 film Gamera vs. Barugon. Gamera was driven by intense hunger due to 8,000 years of dormant caused by Atlanteans and lost control of himself. Gamera, being awoken by a nuclear explosion and sensed aircrafts and ships nearby, recognized modern technologies of humanity, and attacked on nearby ships and buildings to cause fires and explosions to feed on thermal energy and electricity, however he was not targeting humans themselves. Gamera was also aware of the fact that causing havocs attracts more foods, military operations against him. His uncontrollable appetite was gradually satisfied, and finally ceased after the 1967 film.

The book also noted that he would also save animals and wildlife and innocent kaiju as he was planned to save hatchlings of Garasharp in the scrapped film. Yuasa also noted that the reason why Gamera headed to a waterfront and opened his mouth when suffering the Vampiric Tactic by Jiger was possibly due to his intention to save the Baby Jiger; the baby can free to the sea through Gamera's mouth.

According to the same book, Gamera was often mistook as a threat by humanity and was artificially sealed under the ices of the Arctic by the Atlanteans, and Inuit's fear of Gamera as the "Devil's Envoy" was due to inherited memories of their ancestors and Atlanteans.

Humanity feared and mistook Gamera as a threat because of his appearance and biology and behaviors. Gamera is a gigantic creature with tremendous power and abilities, and many humans took him as a supernatural demon to bring destructions. Gamera often approached humans and their settlements and cities because of his fondness of children, especially after saving humans and sending them back to their homes, and their thermal energies, and humanity including Atlanteans took him as a pest to steal their thermal energies and electricity and radiations which were also vital to them especially in cold regions. At one point, Gamera flew to the Arctic to save children from a disaster, and tried to recover from the coldness and approached a city of Atlantis nearby due to lack of volcanoes nearby. Atlanteans, to protect their energies, tried to drive him away, however any measures were ineffective because of Gamera's abilities and his liking of military operations where he can feed on more thermal energies from weaponries. The civilization then decided to make him to hibernate and isolate forcefully, which was noted to be somewhat similar to the Z-Plan, and lured him to an ice sheet. They set a trap, an enormous pitfall of ice, and exploded ices underneath him and buried him with additional ices. Gamera was unable to free himself from the entrapment because of insufficient energy and continuously fading thermal energy and the nature of ices to block infrared ray and weak sunlight of the Arctic, and a global cooling of that time also reinforced ices. The loss of Gamera's information due to the demise of the Atlantis further enhanced misunderstanding and demonization of Gamera by Inuit. During the events of the 1965 film, Gamera might or might not have had a feeling of betrayal by humanity although he, as above-mentioned, was also out of himself due to an extreme starvation and did not target humans but their energies.

Origins

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 vs. Barugon

Gamera in 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 in 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

Gamera in 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 in 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 in 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 in 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 vs. Phoenix

While this novelization shares the history of the Showa series until Gamera vs. Zigra, the relationship between the Showa Gamera and the New Gamera has not been fully revealed.

Abilities

Flight

Main article: Jet Emission

Main article: Spinning Jet

Thermal energy

Main article: Fire Breath

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 while he endures outer space. 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

• Gamera, the Giant Monster (1965)
• Gamera vs. Barugon (1966)
• Gamera vs. Gyaos (1967)
• Gamera vs. Viras (1968)
• Gamera vs. Guiron (1969)
• Gamera vs. Jiger (1970)
• Gamera vs. Zigra (1971)

Trivia

• Toshio Sakurai's role to defend Gamera and believing in him against others in Gamera the Giant Monster is consistent with a concept of the franchise that "children always believe in Gamera even adults (society) misunderstands him". The relationship between Gamera and Toshio and his pet turtle Chibi may have been a homage to King Kong and Ann Darrow and Ignatz the pet monkey in the 1932 novelization ''King Kong.
• 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.
• Gamera's eyes including veins were not depicted to be green despite the coloration of his blood.