You are in for a treat if you are a kaiju (giant monsters) fan. Two iconic kaiju franchises, Godzilla and Gamera, are getting new anime adaptations showing off their epic battles and adorable versions.
It’s been a couple of years since we last saw Godzilla. No, I’m not talking about Godzilla: Singular Point. I mean the anime of the adorable Chibi Godzilla! The I’m Home! Chibi Godzilla series of shorts in 2020 gave us tiny versions of our favorite giant monsters. But this April, Chibi Godzilla Strikes Back! The cuddly kaiju spends time with his chibi friends on Monster Island.
You can see in the trailer how Chibi Mechagodzilla, Chibi Ghidorah, Chibi Mothra, Chibi Rodan (Radon in Japanese), Chibi Anguirus, Chibi Biollante, Chibi Hedorah, and even the tiny twin girls join Chibi Godzilla in small talks and cute adventures. You can watch episodes weekly on Saturday mornings from the Chibi Godzilla playlist on Toho Animation’s YouTube Channel. The short episodes will stay up there only for a week before going out to Japanese streaming services, so set your calendars for the April 1st premiere.
But do you know who’s missing from Chibi Godzilla’s cast? There’s no Chibi Gamera! What’s the giant turtle with the spinning shell and fiery jets doing? He’s got his own show on Netflix! Two teaser trailers show off the fully-CGI GAMERA: Rebirth.
Gamera last appeared in a series of movies from the 1990s. But the monster turtle was most famous for his battles against different monsters attacking Japan in the 1960s. The new anime will have six episodes that follow Gamera as he protects the world from five other kaiju. I’m curious to see which of the 1960s monsters will show up. Gyaos is the first confirmed one in Gamera’s monster-of-the-episode format. Netflix has not announced a release date, but you can see what’s happening on the official website. Gamera has a monster encounter page that will fill out when episodes air.
Are you ready to chill out with Chibi Godzilla? Are you on board for the CGI version of Gamera in GAMERA: Rebirth? I laughed when I saw the small twin girls would also be in Chibi Godzilla Strikes Back. Please tell us if you’ll be watching monster movies, in the comments below or online on Facebook or Twitter.
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