#gamera march

[thezanyarthropleura]

More artwork for Gamera vs. the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mikey meets his hero.

He let out a breath, looking up at the creature that loomed over him. One that had done all this for the sake of protecting the humans, as a defender. Perhaps it was a True Gamera, after all.

The four small silhouettes at its center shifted, and one of them parted from the others, swimming up through the projection’s neck and out through its mouth. A thinner orange chain threaded between two lower teeth as the small, humanoid creature lowered itself by it, clinging to some small wooden stick the chain was apparently projecting from the end of.

It was a turtle.

They were turtles. How strange, and curious that was. He could resolve more with it so close to his eyes, the glowing orange lines across its green body and the bead hanging from its necklace, glowing orange itself and projecting the echoes of four more beads around it in a circle of five that resembled some sort of medallion.

“Hey, Gamera. Big fan,” it said, clearly the orange-tinted voice he’d been hearing all along. Mikey, if he recalled correctly. “Well, maybe big isn’t the right word, considering. But I’m kind of my own big deal too, you know? Turtle Titan? Anyway, don’t know if you can understand, but… Karai’s our family. Save her, don’t hurt her.”

Weakly, as it was difficult with the angle his neck was at, Gamera nodded.

Mikey smiled, albeit clearly trying to contain either excitement or shock, perhaps both. “Alright, big fella, good talk. High thr—” He looked down at one of Gamera’s hands still bound by chains, frowning. “Hey, if we’re both turtles, why do you get five?”

He mocked a momentary pout, then gave a soft smile and pulled another wooden stick from his belt, this one attached by a much shorter metal chain to another identical stick. He swung it around in the air for a bit, before angling it so the other end tapped against the tip of Gamera’s claw in a gesture of comradery.

[pyrasterran]

Gamera, 3rd place winner of the poll #MonsterMarch2024

[jasonheichel]

Monster March 2024 8. Iris (Gamera III)

Playing catch-up after being ill for a week.

[deceitful-eyes]

Gamacosta (Gamera + Carracosta) for Monster March Day 15!

[tyrannoraptorrex]

Monster March Day 8 = Iris

"I'm going to raise him and he'll take revenge"

@pyrasterran

[zillavader]

Monster March 2024 Day 29: Gamera

[katyvern]

Day Ten of Monster March with the Strange Shark, Zigra!

[avartwork]

Some Gamera and friends from Monster March!

[indragonsaur]

Monster march 2023 Day 21 - Zedus as X drake if he ate the Ryu Ryu No Mi, Kaiju Type: Model: Zedus

[vermilllionsands]

Only known photos taken from the Godzilla vs. Gamera stage show, March 1970.

[doomandgloomfromthetomb]

Stereolab / Tortoise / Broadcast - The Forum, London, England, March 14, 1996

Not sure if you could dream up a better mid-1990s triple bill than this — Stereolab, Tortoise and Broadcast?! Holy moses. These decent audience tapes take us back to those heady days. Broadcast, of course, was just getting started at this point. I'm not even sure if their debut single had been released! But they must've had some buzz to get this choice opening slot. Anyhoo, their brief set suggests they already were a more-than-solid live act, with Trish Keenan's crystalline vocals wafting out over the crowd. Stereolab obviously liked what they heard; they'd put out the "Living Room" / "Phantom" seven-inch on their Duophonic label shortly thereafter.

And speaking of Duophonic, Tortoise open up their portion of the evening with an absolutely soaring rendition of "Gamera," which had been released as a 12-inch on the label in '95. The Groop and Tortoise would be closely knit for a few years there, with John McEntire working extensively on several Stereolab albums. In London, they were promoting their then-brand-new masterwork Millions Now Living Will Never Die; they sound fucking killer.

And finally, Stereolab! Emperor Tomato Ketchup was just about to come out and they take the opportunity to play a bunch from that great record, in addition to some welcome dips into their already swelling back catalog. It's amazing how much the 'Lab got done in such a short time back then; they really had a serious work ethic! "We've got 10 more minutes," Laetitia Sadier announces at the end of the show. So, Stereolab embark on an absolutely wild "Super Electric" that lasts about 16 minutes. Things get loose, things get psychedelic, things get LOUD.

[thezanyarthropleura]

With the epilogue chapter posted, Gamera vs. the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is now a COMPLETE WORK on AO3! It’s done! It’s turtles! It has art!

72,216 words

Pairings:

Karai/Shinigami (TMNT)

Asagi/Yukino (Gamera)

Rating: M

Content Warnings:

canon-typical violence including blood

various types of implied abuse including sexual abuse (Karai) and injury/dismemberment (Baxter Stockman)

Synopsis (short version):

The turtles and Karai’s girlfriend get in a fight over whether Gamera is allowed to eat the Shredder

Synopsis (long version):

When Gamera reappears after a seven-year absence, the turtles discover his startling connection to the ancient builders of their own hidden lair! Embarking on a research expedition to the underground city, Donatello and Michelangelo cross paths with Shinigami and her ally Ayana, both on the warpath in their desperate plan to use Gamera to save Karai from her father’s abuse. Meanwhile, the Shredder is chosen by a mysterious anti-monster cabal to develop countermeasures against Gamera, Asagi and Yukino follow the trail of Shinigami’s magic to New York, and Baxter Stockman hatches schemes of his own.

When their plan to take control of Gamera goes awry, sending him into a rampage across New York City, Shini and Ayana must join forces with the turtles and their allies to find a way to return him to his senses so he can complete his mission. Four turtles haven’t yet managed to take down the Shredder and the Foot for good… so how about five?

[pyrasterran]

Iris #MonsterMarch2024

[jasonheichel]

Monster March 2024 29. Gamera (1999)

[deceitful-eyes]

Baruleon (Barugon + Kecleon) for Monster March Day 16!

[astoundingbeyondbelief]

Kaiju Week in Review (March 17-23, 2024)

Mere days to go before a new Godzilla movie... didn't we just do this?

Before we welcome that latest entry, let's look back on one that just commemorated its golden anniversary. With Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla turning 50 on March 21, every member of Toho's Big Five has now hit the half-century mark. The company didn't mark the day itself with much; as has become typical, the celebration of Mechagodzilla (and presumably King Caesar) will be spread throughout the year. I wrote a bit about the magnificent machine, who I consider the best Godzilla antagonist, here. The film itself is one of Teruyoshi Nakano's masterpieces, an onslaught of animated rays and gorgeous explosions. The humans are forgettable, but they keep the pace brisk—and the alien commander Mugal is almost as devilish a villain as Mechagodzilla itself, especially in the English dub. Speaking of that dub, you can watch a video breaking down the entire voice cast here, thanks to the tireless work of the Save All Dubs! group.

Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong #6 finally gets to the good stuff, with Lex Luthor piloting Mechagodzilla and commanding an army of Titans to raze Metropolis while the heroes counter with not one but two giant robots. It doesn't quite measure up to the Godzilla: Rulers of Earth finale, but like that double-sized issue, it required two artists (Christian Duce joined by Tom Derenick) to draw all those characters, and the results are impressive. The story hasn't grown any more complex, but I'm at least interested to see how it all wraps up.

In other Godzilla comic news, a Godziban manga by Sakuju Koizumi has started up, hosted by Telemaga, a tokusatsu-focused Kodansha site. The first installment was pretty short, so I'm guessing these'll be updated weekly. It isn't the first comic version of Godziban, as one called Godziman ran during the 1st Season, but this one's actually illustrated.

Tokyo's Ikebukuro district made Godzilla the honorary chief of police on March 16 to take part in a parade promoting traffic safety. The stunt made international headlines and generated no small amount of angst over Cop Godzilla. I think Gamera would've been better-suited to this campaign myself.

Here's the trailer for Season 2 of Chibi Godzilla Raids Again, revealing Gabara, Gigan, and Titanosaurus's designs. Looks as funny as the first one. Maaya Uchida, who sang the ending songs in SSSS.Gridman and SSSS.Dynazenon, will voice Chibi Minilla. It's gone weirdly neglected by English Godzilla social media accounts, but X user @MakoMattari translated it.

The Music Box Theatre in Chicago has a Godzilla program for the ages scheduled for June 7-13, in honor of his 70th birthday. There's not a weak day on the schedule, but the clear highlight is a 24-hour marathon of the entire Showa series on the 8th, which I don't think has ever been attempted before.

G-Fest has also started announcing guests: Ayako Fujitani (Asagi in the Heisei Gamera trilogy) and Rie Ota (Baragon in GMK), both first-timers. Frankly, they could carry the con themselves if they have to; not sure who I'm more excited to meet!