The Netflix Anime Starring Japan’s Second Most Famous Kaiju Is Better Than You Think

Gamera Rebirth is actually a pretty solid outing for everyone’s favorite shelled kaiju. The six-episode series goes down quickly and tells a good story with some well-animated kaiju action. The premise is simple enough: it follows three young elementary school students in 1980s Japan who come across the titular turtle and find themselves protected by him as monsters converge on Japan. 

Now, the animation style definitely won’t be for everyone, and it’s a fairly maligned style due to its relatively stiff and awkward look during human character moments. The animation really only shines when the kaiju are having it out, but that’s sort of why you would check out a Gamera Rebirth anime series anyway. It definitely delivers on plenty of monster battles, so it has you covered there.

If you’ve really been enjoying the glut of Godzilla content lately, then Gamera Rebirth should be a great way to keep the vibes going. If you’re unfamiliar with the kaiju turtle, it’s likely because he’s much more popular in Japan. Unlike Godzilla, he never had quite the same level of overseas appeal that Godzilla did.

Gamera was actually created in response to the success of the Toho Godzilla films, and he has become quite popular since then. Obviously, he never reached quite the same levels of success as Godzilla, but Gamera still has a pretty decent following. Gamera Rebirth also happens to be the first animated offering in the Gamera franchise, making it unique compared to the other Gamera projects. 

Perhaps the success of films like Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire and Godzilla Minus One will mean we get a successful Gamera movie in North America at some point, but for now, projects like Gamera Rebirth are a good substitute. Unlike Godzilla, the motivations of Gamera tend to be a bit more straightforward. While we typically see Godzilla switching between a destructive force of nature to a protector of humanity, Gamera is almost always depicted in the humanity protector role.

Gamera Rebirth continues that trend as the flying kaiju turtle protects the three young human protagonists from harm as best he can. If you’re in the camp of enjoying kaiju like Kong and Legendary’s Godzilla, who tries to keep the peace rather than just random destruction, then you’ll like Gamera Rebirth for that reason, too. In any case, the anime is more kaiju action, which is never a bad thing.

Make sure to head over to Netflix to stream all episodes of Gamera Rebirth. If Godzilla is more your speed, make sure to check out Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire in theaters. Also, there are quite a few Godzilla anime shows on Netflix to check out.