, is a 2006 Japanese
''kaiju'' film directed by
Ryuta Tasaki
is a Japanese film director from Tokyo. Tasaki is most known for directing episodes of ''Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon'', '' Cutie Honey: The Live'', and the ''Super Sentai'', ''Power Rangers'', and ''Kamen Rider'' series.
Filmography
* series ...
, written by Yukari Tatsui, and produced by
Kadokawa Daiei Studio
Kadokawa Daiei Studio, formerly is the film division of the Japanese company the Kadokawa Corporation. It is one of the four members of the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan (MPPAJ), and is therefore one of Japan's Big Four film stud ...
. It is the 12th entry in the
''Gamera'' film series, and serves as the second
reboot
In computing, rebooting is the process by which a running computer system is restarted, either intentionally or unintentionally. Reboots can be either a cold reboot (alternatively known as a hard reboot) in which the power to the system is physi ...
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
Kadokawa Daiei Studio, formerly is the film division of the Japanese company the Kadokawa Corporation. It is one of the four members of the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan (MPPAJ), and is therefore one of Japan's Big Four film stud ...
after the company purchased a percentage of the remaining assets of
Daiei Film
Daiei Film Co. Ltd. ( Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ''Daiei Eiga Kabushiki Kaisha'') was a Japanese film studio. Founded in 1942 as Dai Nippon Film Co., Ltd., it was one of the major studios during the postwar Golden Age of Japanese cinema, producing ...
, the original studio that was responsible for making the ''Gamera'' films.
''Gamera the Brave'' stars Ryo Tomioka,
Kanji Tsuda
is a Japanese actor.
Career
Tsuda appeared in Kiyoshi Kurosawa's ''Tokyo Sonata''. He co-starred in Sion Sono's ''Guilty of Romance'' with Megumi Kagurazaka.
Filmography
Film
* '' Sonatine'' (1993)
* ''119'' (1994)
* ''Kids Return'' (1996)
* ...
,
Kaho, and
Susumu Terajima
is a Japanese actor. Though he has played a wide range of characters, he is perhaps best known for his portrayal of ''yakuza'' figures, most notably in the films of Takeshi Kitano.
Terajima made his acting debut in 1986's ''A Homansu''. He ...
, and features Toshinori Sasaki as Toto, the son of the fictional giant turtle monster
Gamera
is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. Debuting in the 1965 film ''Gamera, the Giant Monster'', the character and the first film were intended to compete with the success of Toho's ''Godzilla'' film ...
. The film was released theatrically in Japan on April 29, 2006, and was distributed by
Shochiku
() is a Japanese film and kabuki production and distribution company. It also produces and distributes anime films, in particular those produced by Bandai Namco Filmworks (which has a long-time partnership—the company released most, if not all ...
.
Plot
In 1973, a young boy named Kousuke evacuates his home in the picturesque seaside city of
Shima, Mie
is a city in Mie Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 47,272 in 22,599 households and a population density of 270 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Shima hosted the 2016 G7 Summit.
Geography
Shima is loc ...
, which is under attack by a trio of bat-like
Gyaos
is a 1967 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Noriaki Yuasa, with special effects by Yuasa. Produced by Daiei Film, it is the third entry in the ''Gamera'' franchise and stars Kojiro Hongo, Kichijiro Ueda, Tatsuemon Kanamura, Reiko Kasahara, a ...
monsters, until a benign kaiju resembling a turtle, named
Gamera
is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. Debuting in the 1965 film ''Gamera, the Giant Monster'', the character and the first film were intended to compete with the success of Toho's ''Godzilla'' film ...
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
is a Japanese media genre that focuses on stories involving giant monsters. The word ''kaiju'' can also refer to the giant monsters themselves, which are usually depicted attacking major cities and battling either the military or other monster ...
Zedus, a monstrous man-eating reptile which soon thereafter rampages through the city. It 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 whispers, "Farewell, Gamera..."
Cast
Release
The film opened at #6 at the box office in Japan and became a commercial failure.
Reception
Andrew Kasch of the website
Dread Central
Dread Central is an American website founded in 2006 that is dedicated to horror news, interviews, and reviews. It covers horror films, comics, novels, and toys. Dread Central has won the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award for Best Website f ...
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
is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film ''Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films produc ...
's absence." Tom Mes of
Midnight Eye
Midnight Eye is a non-profit review website launched in 2001 by Tom Mes, Jasper Sharp, and Martin Mes. The website features reviews and analyses of Japanese films, as well as book reviews and interviews with filmmakers. In June 2015, it was announc ...
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".
In the years following the film's release, a
hoax
A hoax is a widely publicized falsehood so fashioned as to invite reflexive, unthinking acceptance by the greatest number of people of the most varied social identities and of the highest possible social pretensions to gull its victims into pu ...
circulated online which claimed that a giant ancient tortoise, shown in photographs being transported on a
flatbed truck
A flatbed truck (or flatbed lorry in British English) is a type of truck which can be either articulated or rigid. As the name suggests, its bodywork is just an entirely flat, level 'bed' with no sides or roof. This allows for quick and easy load ...
, was caught in or around the
Amazon River
The Amazon River (, ; es, Río Amazonas, pt, Rio Amazonas) in South America is the largest river by discharge volume of water in the world, and the disputed longest river system in the world in comparison to the Nile.
The headwaters of t ...
. In actuality, the tortoise shown in the photographs was a full-scale, 15-foot-long prop of Toto which was used in the film.
Home media
''Gamera the Brave'' was released on
Region 1 DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
in 2008 by
Tokyo Shock
Media Blasters, sometimes abbreviated as MB, is an American entertainment corporation that was founded by John Sirabella in 1997 and is based in New York City. It is in the business of licensing, translating, and releasing to the North American ...
. The film received a
Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
release in July 2016 by Kadokawa Daiei Studio, as part of a box set with
4K digital restoration
Film preservation, or film restoration, describes a series of ongoing efforts among film historians, archivists, museums, cinematheques, and non-profit organizations to rescue decaying film stock and preserve the images they contain. In the wi ...
s of the previous films in the ''Gamera'' franchise's Heisei era.
It was also released by
Arrow Video
An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers ca ...
as part of their ''Gamera: The Complete Collection'' box set.
References
External links
*
''Gamera the Brave'' at SciFi Japan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gamera The Brave
2006 films
2006 fantasy films
2000s monster movies
Films directed by Ryuta Tasaki
Gamera films
Kaiju films
Japanese sequel films
Films set in Nagoya
Films set in Shima
Giant monster films
2000s Japanese films