In the realm of kaiju cinema, Godzilla reigns supreme. Toho’s 1954 original Godzilla essentially launched both kaiju (giant monster) and tokusatsu (live-action special effects) cinema traditions. The Godzilla franchise has grown into a global multimedia juggernaut spanning 40 films (counting Toho and Legendary productions), video games, cartoons, and other media. By comparison, the Gamera franchise has rarely received the same respect or success. With merely 12 live-action features and one animated series to its name, the Gamera franchise has had a far more complicated history, both in production and in public recognition. In fact, a single 1971 film, Gamera vs. Zigra, almost killed Gamera for good.
