GAMERA THE BRAVE (Japan – 2006)
Directed by: Ryuta Tazaki
Starring: Kaho, Kanji Tsuda, Gamera, Susumu Terajima

The twelfth movie in the Gamera series, about Japan’s favorite radioactive flying turtle, GAMERA THE BRAVE returns Gamera to his roots as a hero for children. This does not mean that massive scenes of all-out destruction are lacking, nor does it mean that this is not a carnage-crazy giant monster throwdown, either. It just means that this is the gateway drug to get the ankle biter in your life hooked on kaiju.

One of the first kaiju (giant monster) movies written by a woman, GAMERA THE BRAVE tells the story of young Toru (Ryo Tomioka) who finds a mysterious egg on the beach out of which hatches a cute, flying turtle. Hiding his new pet from his estranged father, who has been numbed by grief after his wife died years ago, Toru refuses to believe mounting evidence that his rapidly growing terrapin buddy is actually a baby Gamera. Only the arrival of the nasty dino-lizard, Zedus, awakens Gamera’s powers and the two face off in a series of battles that do exactly what kaiju fans want them to do: wreak massive property damage. Gamera is the Rocky Balboa of the kaiju world, a giant monster who takes as much, if not more, punishment than he dishes out, and his fighting spirit is reborn in this not-quite-for-kids, kid-friendly flick.