[DreamSword]

FINAL THOUGHTS ON GAMERA REBIRTH

Gamera Rebirth has the same director as the Netflix Godzilla Trilogy.

And sure, that might come as a cause for concern given how poorly received that trilogy was overall, but I'm here to say that this show was a vast improvement.

Don't get me wrong, the show is by no means perfect. The animation on the humans is incredibly jank, some plot points come out of nowhere, and a specific twist is very eyeroll inducing.

But at its core, Rebirth has something that more and more shows, especially those reviving a previous franchise, seem to lack more and more of: Heart. This "Netflix Original" does its best to pay ode to the very reason that it's able to be made in the first place, and goes all in on the story it wants to tell.

Yeah, the script might feel like the sort of cliche ridden story you'd find 15 years ago, but never once does any of it comes across as bored, or demeaning, or trying too hard to come across as smart. What it promises is a coming of age story featuring Gamera fighting against five different Kaiju, and that's exactly what it is. No more, no less.

And damnit, I absolutely respect that. My biggest fear throughout the entire time I was watching the show was that it'd start making incredibly inappropriately timed jokes out of nowhere, or start winking at the audience about how stupid its own story is, or pull some really out of nowhere twist in an attempt to be smart. But no, the entire thing is presented entirely in earnest, with the voice cast even doing their best to deliver what they're given.

All this is of course bolstered by a very memorable score alongside some very fun Kaiju action, while never once dropping the melancholy atmosphere that the show continuously aims for as it goes on. Even when a seed of hope is planted at the very end of the show, it feels genuinely earned, rather than simply coming out of nowhere just for the sake of a happy ending out of something akin to Blassreiter or Godzilla Minus One. It doesn't talk down to or preach to its audience. It simply presents a case for why many people got into giant monster movies, and by extension, Gamera, in the first place.

Is it anything life changing or incredibly spectacular? No. But it does show that Gamera is a friend to all children. And now that those kids are older, he, and by extension the franchise, will continue to be their friend as long as they're around.

I give Gamera Rebirth a 4/6.