Review - Gamera 1965 (Movie Monster Series)

In the holiest year of 1999, Bandai released the mythical item known only as the storied Gamera Memorial Box; an incredible set of seven MMS figures representing Gamera's Showa era, some scaled down from Bandai's previous 8" figure series, some brand new - such as our super-special birthday boy Gamera, here. It's really a holy grail item for any Kaiju nerd - especially MMS collectors - and I'm mad lucky to have found the set complete, and nearly new. Hooray for me. 

Now if only I could snag the Godzilla Memorial Box. A man can dream, though...

According to the box, Gamera is based on his original 1965 design; and though it definitely captures the jank-horror of that particular Gamera, I think it most resembles his sharper Gamera Vs Barugon appearance. Not that there's a huge difference. He's an awesome translation of the iconically wonky and wacky design, with loads of small texture and detail across the figure. I especially love his very expressive likeness, and weathered, shingled shell. 

There is a certain softness to the sculpt - it's not necessarily a raw, one-to-one likeness, with a sort of cartoony simplification going on - but I think it's appropriate, and more than pulls off Showa Gamera's always determined, heroic character. It's a fairly common style with MMS figures of this era. 

At six points of articulation, he's a bit more posable than most MMS figures; given, one is a largely useless neck joint, but points for trying. As the Showa series set in, Gamera's suits always had a bit of a... rigor mortis issue, with his limbs jutting awkwardly out of his shell - luckily, the sculpt on this figure gives him some great personality without totally losing the suit's jank, and can emulate the portrayal in the first film great. You can get a lot of fun poses out of this dude - even the epic Gamera Pain Dance, seen in Gamera Vs. Guiron (see below).

His soft blue-grey deco does a good job replicating his look in the original film, without fully committing to a monochromatic color scheme - it's original Gamera, while also bright, and colorful, in series tradition. Kind of wish they'd done a stark black and white variant, too, though. The angry, frenzied expression of his eyes especially calls back to Gamera's earlier appearances, before he truly transitioned into the hero of the children - which, we'll come back to. I would've liked if they were angled down, so as to better match the suit, but that's extra. The small detailing on his teeth and eyes are very sharp and clean, and the sprayed highlights across his body really bring out the sculpt.

While the paint is largely very high quality for MMS, I've noticed small production errors, such as random stray paint or spotty spray applications, can be very common with this particular figure. Just something to look out for - maybe Gammy's got a flesh wound. If I had to complain, I think the technicolor, cartoony aesthetic will turn some people off - technically speaking, this Gamera should be just about all solid black - but I enjoy the toyetic look and I think it only accentuates the vibe of these figures as a set.

Gamera does the Pain Dance!

In 2005, Gamera was rereleased alone as part of the main MMS line with an all new greenish deco, more closely resembling the monster's later Showa era appearances - right down to his disgustingly jaundiced, spaced-out googly eyes. It's the 1965 sculpt in a new coat, to be certain, but this is the true friend to all children. Manchildren included. I absolutely love his unique retro look, perfectly capturing the classic kaiju in all his doofy glory; it's a great match to the actual suits and props themselves, particularly the puppet used occaisonally in the cinematic masterpiece known as Gamera: Super Monster. 

The only real difference between the '98 and '05 figures, outside of the specifics of the paint work itself, is the articulation - but don't get too excited. That useless neck swivel I mentioned before...? Yeah, glue sealed here. Huh. Never will I understand the ways of Bandai.

Despite being a mainseries release, redeco Gamera has become a touch harder to come by than his goth Memorial Box cousin - though, that could be down to the fact 2005 was right around when MMS was temporarily winding down, and Gammy's already a bit of an obscure character to begin with. My real guess is that more dedicated fans bought the box set for the sake of exclusivity, and "collecting them all", rather than springing for one individual figure years later - that, to some, probably didn't even look as good as the original. All depends on what you're after; the Memorial Box Gammy generally looks and feels nicer, with a much more presentable, flashy paint job, while the MMS aims more to replicate the Gamera you really know and love. Very good use of a reissue - one's pretty, one's accurate. 

In 2023, to coincide with Gamera's grand return, Bandai - after 20+ years - surprised us with an entirely new Showa Gamera sculpt, once again replicating the original 1965 design. I don't own him - so what do I know - but based off what I've seen, in some ways, it really closely resembles the suit - but in others, I just think the likeness is way off. The '65 Gamera, in my mind, never looked quite so... frumpy - he's closer to the weirder, sillier post-Barugon suits, though even then, its not a great match. While I dig the very fine detail on the newer figure - I think he largely still looks nice, it's definitely old school Gamera and the effort's there - I really think the 1999 version just has a lot more life to it.

While he's not necessarily an all-timer, Gamera is definitely one of my personal favorite figures in the MMS line, perfectly representing everybody's favorite wacky flying supermonster. He's just fun! If you're gonna get one Showa Gamera figure, I say you're best off hunting down the green MMS rerelease - he may be a bit harder to pin down than the Box or 2023 versions, but for a big fan, he's well worth the search, and by far the best representation of classic Gamera in the series.
Long live Gamera.