Kaijuly Raids Again!

When an unknown aircraft is shot down by an American fighter over the Arctic, its cargo, an atomic bomb, is detonated, unleashing Gamera, the legendary flying turtle, from his sleep under the ice. In his search for energy, Gamera wreaks havoc over the entire world, and it's up to the scientists, assisted by a young boy with a strange link to the monster, to put a stop to Gamera's rampage.

The Gamera franchise begins here, with the kaiju’s eponymous debut, Gamera – The Giant Monster produced by Daiei Films, and released in 1965. Conceived as a competitor to the titanically popular Godzilla franchise, the Gamera series quickly became a Japanese icon in its own right, immediately forging its own identity, positioning its titular monster as a hero to all children despite depictions of more violent action and kaiju blood.

Since then, Gamera has become Japan’s mostly popular non-Toho kaiju, appearing in a total of twelve films, multiple videogames, manga, and a Netflix animated series, Gamera – Rebirth, released as recently as 2023.

For Kaijuly’s second year, we are celebrating a double Gamera-versary, the 60th year of Giant Monster and the 30th year of the first film in the much celebrated Heisei trilogy, Guardian of the Universe (also playing as part of Kaijuly).

Director Noriaki Yuasa
Year 1965
Duration 1h 18m
Language Japanese with English Subtitles
Cast Eiji Funakoshi, Jun Hamamura, Michiko Sugata