Gamera Rebirth review: Netflix’s anime series has heavy Stranger Things vibes
A group of plucky kids and a fire-breathing turtle try to save the world in this fun but repetitive show
TV Reviews Gamera
If there’s one thing we know about Gamera—the old Gamera, that is—it’s this: He’s a friend to all children. As the rating on Netflix’s new anime series, which premiered September 7, makes abundantly clear, however, this animated kaiju is now only pally-pally with kids aged 12 and up. Go figure, huh?
For those not acquainted with Gamera—and hey, you’d be forgiven, Godzilla tends to steal all the Titan-based press—this fire-breathing turtle is … well, he might look like a bad guy to the untrained eye, but he’s actually the opposite. He’s a protector of humanity, an ally to justice, and, as mentioned, a friend to all children. So, yes, you better believe that Gamera Rebirth leans into this last point with an uncannily Stranger Things-style aesthetic. You know the score: misfit kids on bikes, one idyllic final summer vacation as elementary school students, xenophobic bullies galore, scientists in hazmat suits doing shady stuff on the moon, and a terrifying attack on a city by … monsters. Lots and lots of monsters. Classic stuff.
Let’s not get too bogged down in plot, okay? All you really need to know is this: Monsters bad, Gamera good. Boco, Joe, and Junichi unexpectedly join forces with Daniel (one of the aforementioned bullies, who attends the local international school and is a complete asshat), in a bid to find out why Viras, a truly ancient kaiju, is on a mission to murder a not-so-casual 5 billion people. And no, he wasn’t inspired by Marvel’s Thanos and the Snapture: Someone woke this beastie up. But who? Who is behind this diabolical plot? And how on earth will a group of plucky kids and their ’armless turtle (that joke will be funnier once you’ve seen the series, trust us) figure it all out before the credits roll on the final episode?
Let’s focus on the positives for a minute: Stranger Things tropes aside, a lot of love and care has gone into the character-building of this one, which means that all of our child heroes are pretty damn likable, even if the adults around them aren’t. All of the monsters, too, are seriously out there in the best possible way. From thunderbirds (strange pterodactyl-like beings from Native American lore) to a beast with a … sword for a face, each is more creative than the last, which helps to keep the stakes feeling pleasantly high.
The show’s core theme of friendship, too, is a universally appealing one. And that, coupled with the sweet coming-of-age tale playing out against all of the kaiju-inflicted carnage, keeps the story feeling grounded, a necessity in a series as chaotic as this one.
We’re fans, too, of the way that Gamera Rebirth uses the kaiju (and the bullies and woefully inept American forces, obviously) to serve as a metaphor for the United States’ continued—and unwelcome—presence in Japan, even if it gets a little heavy-handed at times. And don’t even get us started on Gamera himself: All of that shell-spinning action makes for a lot of fun fight scenes.
So, what’s the biggest negative of Gamera Rebirth? Sadly, it’s the animation itself, which feels clunky and a lot like a low-res walk around of The Sims. Oh sure, the monsters are fun, and the scenery is pretty spectacular, but all of that means diddly-squat when our leads are jittering around the screen like they’re on their eighth espressos.
Which brings us to our next point: While the storytelling in this one is usually the perfect blend of simplistic good fun with a dash of political allegory, it does get a little repetitive at times. The kids find themselves in a spot of kaiju-based bother, Gamera turns up, takes a battering, saves the day, repeat. Repeat forever and ever, actually, until the end of time. Annoyingly, this puts a damper, too, on our oh-so-creative combat scenes, as it means they all hit the same damn beats, right down to Gamera’s signature moves. (Shake it up, turtle! No wonder you keep getting knocked down!)
All that being said, this one makes for an easy, scroll-on-your-phone-style background watch–once you get over the fact you’re rooting for what look like PlayStation 2 characters, that is. No, we wouldn’t rush to binge it all in one go. And no, we certainly wouldn’t recommend dropping whatever series you’re currently watching/rewatching to dive on in. This one will wait. Still, who doesn’t love the idea of a Stranger Things/Godzilla mashup? We certainly don’t.
Gamera Rebirth premiered September 7 on Netflix
19 Comments
Gamera is really neat. He is filled with turtle meat.
I wonder how many people know Gamera through MST3K. Granted I didn’t know much about kaiju movies before the movie was on MST3K, but I think Gamera was mostly viewed as a low level Godzilla ripoff before then.
That’s how I found out about Gamera. Honestly the 90’s Gamera movies are pretty fun and on Amazon Prime. Steven Seagal’s daughter is in them which is a weird fact.
I knew Gamera from the early 80s when a local (Norfolk, VA) network used to show the cheapest movies possible on Sundays. I think I saw Gamera vs. Zigra, Gamera vs. Viras, and Gamera: Super Monster and was so thrilled when Gamera started showing up on MST3K because it I felt like it was my cheesy movie, the one I had seen.Back before those MST3K episodes aired I remember trying to talk to people about Gamera and forver having to explain and re-explain that I wasn’t talking about Godzilla. My whole family were huge Pee-Wee’s Playhouse fans back in the day, and there is an episode where Pee-Wee gets a letter from Japan that segues into clips from Gamera vs. Zigra. During that segment I jumped off the couch and started pointing to the TV shouting, “That’s it! That’s the giant turtle I’ve been telling you about!”
One of the children better damn well look like Richard Burton, with a friend obsessed with stopping automobile accidents.
Gamera is goofy as hell but oh so entertaining. Bonus, the people eating/blood drinking by Gyaos (I think?) in the original movies is genuinely terrifying.
LOGO session:FD 30RT 60JETS ON
Because Gamera is a “friend to all children”, I was expecting this to be a kaiju show for children (they also get a lot of shows with bad computer animation made for them) but gave it a look anyway because I’ve long been a fan of Gamera’s design. This is not a show for children. Even discounting how often the word “shit” is used, the eating of people is very pronounced at times.The animation is never great but I got used to it. These shows do need to find a way to balance holding off on the monster reveals and fights for too long and getting them in every episode.
That’s been the case since with Gamera for decades, to be honest. Even the original movies had surprisingly bloodier fights and more horrific monsters than what Godzilla was doing, and with the 90s trilogy it got way more pronounced (in addition to being one of the pinnacles of kaiju cinema in general).
Going the Stranger Things route was the best possible choice for Gamera in 2023.
So is Gamera still the friend to all children, or just the children in the principle cast for this series?
Which ones are the tasty ones?
The ones named Kenny.
‘”Gamera Rebirth review: Netflix’s anime series has heavy Stranger Things vibes”’
Gamera sucks.
Learn your kaiju names! The “thunderbirds” are Gyaos (my favorite kaiju ever and in particular the Heisei era generation) and the knife blade monster is Guiron. Gamera will forever be goofy but who doesn’t want a mostly good monster who connects with and protects children?!?! And some of the 90’s era movies are pretty intense.
PS: I’m still pissed there was no actual movie that grew out of this amazing tribute short:
How’s the cinematography? Do they have any interesting Gamera angles?
Man this looks like ass, much like the similarly ass-looking Dragon Prince. Stop trying to make 15 FPS cel-shaded CGI shows a thing, Netflix! They must be cheap to make because you presumably can animate them on a Playstation 3, but seriously…ass.
It’s impossible for anything to have “Stranger Things vibes” because Stranger Things has no identity of its own. It’s just an amalgamation of tropes and cliches from other media properties.
Yup. It was purely designed by algorithm to appeal to the sorts of nerds whose only cultural skills are pointing and clapping at things they’ve seen before.