It was only a matter of time before I talked about kaiju. If you know me at all then you know that there’s nothing I love more than watching a couple of grown men in rubber monster suits slap-fighting each other over the fate of Japan. Simply put, I am about that life. Fortunately for me, I don’t know if there’s ever been a better time to be a kaiju fan. Ultraman is an ever-present force with no signs of ever slowing down, and while Godzilla had taken a break for a while following Final Wars, he’s absolutely everywhere now. In Japan, 2016 saw the release of Shin Godzilla, one of the most critically acclaimed movies in the franchise. Meanwhile in the States we’ve been getting regular entries to the Legendary Monsterverse and next year we’ll finally see a long awaited rematch when Godzilla vs Kong hits theaters and streaming. Still… someone’s missing. Where the hell is Gamera?

If you’re unfamiliar with Gamera, then allow me to learn you a thing or two. Seeing the success that Toho was having with its series of Godzilla films, rival company Daiei wanted a piece of that sweet sweet kaiju pie and their answer to that was 1965’s Gamera: the Giant Monster, a film about a colossal fire breathing turtle. It wasn’t quite the bleak and serious critique of nuclear war that Gojira was, but the kaiju genre had already moved past that point anyway. Gamera’s debut wasn’t exactly loved by critics, but it was enough of a financial success to get a sequel off of the ground just a year later and kick off an entire franchise.

When it come to the Showa-era films, they’re a strange bunch. Kaiju franchises are generally broken up into eras based on which Emperor sat on Japan’s throne at the time. The Showa-era ran from 1926-1989, and for our purposes here it refers to the early run of Gamera films before they took a break. Daiei didn’t have the budgets that Toho did, but they made due and quickly moved Gamera directly into superhero territory, targeting a younger audience. After that first movie there was absolutely no ambiguity and he was explicitly a force for good. He’s the friend of all children, after all! Looking back on these movies now they can seem incredibly silly, but also there’s a surprising amount of violence. Gamera gets stabbed regularly. Gyaos drinks blood. Guiron’s entire gimmick is having a knife for a face and he cuts the limbs off of other kaiju. There’s some serious tonal dissonance here, but that’s all a part of the fun.

While the Gamera films were dubbed and released in the West, it wasn’t until much later that he would really become more well known over here. For better or worse, the only reason a lot of Millennials might even know about the the big turtle is because of the tv show, Mystery Science Theater 3000. The first season of MST3K would feature a whopping five movies from the Gamera franchise getting riffed on, and the hosts rendition of his theme song would become absolutely infamous. While a lot of people definitely discovered Gamera this way, it also managed to give him a bit of a reputation as a dumb Godzilla knockoff for kids. That description may technically be accurate, but I still feel like this early period is a bit unfairly maligned.

Then, in 1995 everything changed. There hadn’t been a new Gamera film since 1980’s Gamera: Super Monster, and while I may defend the Showa-era films on the whole, that movie just flat out sucks. That said, in comes director Shusuke Kaneko busting down the door with Gamera: Guardian of the Universe, a complete series reboot and total overhaul of the mythology. This time around there were no children, no aliens, no rainbows, and none of that weird silly stuff. This was a serious take on the character with a whole new look and a reimagined Gyaos to boot. Gamera wasn’t here to befriend children, he was here to defend the whole god damn universe! This time, he wasn’t living in his rival’s shadow, he was showing him up.

Guardian of the Universe would be a huge success for Daiei, both financially and critically with even known curmudgeon Roger Ebert giving the film a thumbs up. Between Kaneko’s masterful direction, compelling human characters, and some absolutely incredible miniature work for Gamera and Gyaos to smash up, this was not only a fun kaiju movie, it was a really great movie. Kaneko would go on to follow this up with Advent of Legion and Revenge of Iris, and that last one may very well be the best kaiju movie ever made. At the very least, Kaneko managed to elevate the genre before he hopped over to Godzilla and made one of the best movies in his franchise too.

After a brief hiatus, everyone’s favorite turtle would return in another series reboot. Gamera the Brave wasn’t quite as dark or serious as the Heisei-era trilogy, but it wasn’t nearly as silly as the Showa-era films were either. Daiei was going for a more family friendly demographic, but simply put… Kaneko was a tough act to follow. Gamera the Brave wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t what fans wanted at the time and it failed to connect with an audience and launch any sequels. This was in 2006, and there hasn’t been a single Gamera movie since. Gamera… where are you?

It’s been 14 years since the last entry and all we have to go on is rumors at this point. In 2014 there were rumblings of a new film with a proof-of-concept trailer being shown at New York Comic Con and eventually making its way online. It featured a swarm of CGI Gyaos fighting a CGI Gamera in what is quite possibly the darkest and most violent take on the character to date. While the practical effects were missed it still looked awesome, but then… nothing. No word from Daiei on this planned reboot and no official word on the state of the franchise. I hear every once in a while that Legendary might want to bring him into the Monsterverse, but without anything substantial to back that up I won’t hold my breath. With Gamera the Brave underperforming so hard, it looks like Daiei just doesn’t want to take the risk again.

That said, the future may not be so bleak. Last year, Arrow FIlms scooped up the rights to release the entire franchise on blu ray, and they put out an absolutely incredible box set that includes every single movie restored and looking better than ever, a trade paper back of the Gamera comic, and a ton of special features. With how much they included in this release, it’s no surprise that it was a little on the pricier side, but even with that… they sold out of every single copy. A UK-based company put together a box set for English-speaking audiences that cost hundreds of dollars, and they sold out. You know that this is something that Daiei took notice of.

Between the success of the Arrow release and the new resurgence in kaiju interest through recent Godzilla offerings, the world has never been more ready for Gamera’s return. The stage is set, Gamera is back in the public consciousness, and the fandom is there. Hell, I’ve even been noticing a reassessment of the Showa-era movies by kaiju fans at least. I know they’ll always be a hard sell for normies. Personally, I’d love to see some of those kaiju get a revamp like Gyaos did. Guiron and Viras in particular could be really cool with a modern makeover.

I may have shown my hand a bit here. I like Godzilla a lot. I appreciate everything Toho has done to establish this genre, but god damn it… I love Gamera. Maybe I just like to root for the underdog. Either way, I look forward to whatever comes next for the big turtle, whenever that happens.