While Mill Creek Entertainment’s “Legacy Collection” for the Gamera series doesn’t offer every title from the Gamera saga, it definitely bones up on the necessities while also offering up some of the most contemporary Gamera adventures. The “Legacy Collection” features the first in the Gamera adventures from 1965, in which the giant turtle is awoken during nuclear testing from the ice, and begins wreaking havoc. Only a little boy sees the goodness in the snaggle toothed turtle. The sequel “Gamera vs. Barugon” sees Gamera return from his imprisonment in space to save Earth from the wrath of Barugon. Barugon can freeze people, but that’s okay since Gamera can breathe fire, and fly with the help of a rocket power shell, and whatever other powers the writers can concoct.
“Gamera vs. Gyaos” sees Gamera battling the Rodan knock off Gyao, who is a vampire bat with a love for blood and an aversion to sun light. The most popular of the Gamera foes, Gyao gives Gamera a match in his first cinematic appearance. “Gamera vs. Viras” features a trio of children that are taken hostage on a spaceship run by alien people that happen to be squid monsters. When they fail to control Gamera to destroy Earth, they battle him as the squid monster Viras. “Gamera vs. Guiron” is another adventure with a trio of space loving kids that travel through the galaxy on an abandoned alien spaceship. When they land on a distant planet, they bear witness to the protector Gamera battling the saw nosed monster Guiron, who inspires Gamera to do a gymnastics vertical pole swing, and his infamous two step dance.
“Gamera vs. Jiger” sees Gamera as the hero of the picture, doing battle with an ancient creature unleashed from a temple. When Gamera and Jiger go head to head, the creature begins shooting poisonous darts and a parasite that freezes Gamera, causing human heroes to venture in to the turtle’s body to kill the parasite. “Gamera vs. Zigra” sees Gamera confronted with an alien race that worships the skeleton of Zigra, who comes to life underwater to battle Gamera, the children’s protector. “Gamera: The Super Monster,” the 1980 reboot is a glorified highlight montage of the best of Gamera’s battles with his foes, all the while garnering a slew of sub-plots involving aliens, and superheroes.
1995’s “Gamera: Guardian of the Universe” from 1995, is the gritty return to Gamera, now a mindless monster who does battle with Gyaos, once again. Painfully outdated, but at least ambitious, this is an interesting halfway marker for the giant turtle. The 1996 “Attack of the Legion,” sees Gamera going head to head with an all out destructive battle of wills against the vicious Legion, a multiple spiked monster with the ability to shoot lasers. Finally, the CGI heavy “Revenge of Iris” from 1999, features Gamera battling a sentient human being with a score to settle with the giant turtle who murdered her family. Bonding with the alien Iris, she and the alien combine to wreak havoc on Gamera and attempt to destroy him once and for all.