In Japan, two kaiju reign supreme: Godzilla and Gamera. You would be forgiven for not knowing the latter; while the giant, fire-breathing turtle has starred in numerous films over the years, he has always played second fiddle to the more popular Godzilla.
But that just might change in time for Gamera's 50th anniversary. A proof of concept trailer for a new Gamera film just saw release at New York Comic Con, and it looks all kinds of crazy.
It features a boy and his father running down the streets of a ravaged Tokyo, as legions of winged beasts swoop down to eat the men and women fleeing for their lives. Just as all hope seems to be lost, a massive beast appears to save the day, incinerating the creatures in a massive blast of fire. Fast-forward 10 years and a new, terrifying creature is wrecking havoc on the city — but it doesn't look like Gamera is going to let that happen without a fight.
Cool doesn't begin to describe it — but longtime fans of Japanese monster movies may notice something different about the footage: it's all CG. Traditionally, kaiju films like Gamera and Godzilla have been made using traditional Japanese special effects, known as tokusatsu, which includes detailed suits and miniature sets. While the new Japanese Godzilla film is said to be a mixture of tokusatsu effects alongside CG, this new Gamera film looks to be all digital.
According to the Kaiju fansite The Good, The Bad and The Godzilla, handbills for the new film distributed at the convention sum up the plot for the new film with this paragraph:
"In a near-future Tokyo, giant monsters, known as 'kaiju', are thriving and terrorizing the populace. Manafu, a young boy, whose father is killed when the Gyaos strike the metropolis, is the only one who is saved by Gamera. What will Manafu's destiny be...?"
Check out some promotional art for the film below...
And, of course, watch the full video to get your Kaiju fix.
The film will be directed by Katsuhito Ishii. No release date was given, but according to August Ragone at The Good, The Bad and The Godzilla, a 50th anniversary event at the Tokyo International Film Festival on October 22 may yield more details.
Stay tuned to T-Lounge all week long for more from New York Comic Con 2015.
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