Editing Gamera (section)

====Showa====
[[File:Turtle meat.png|thumb|left|Gamera's inconsistent rampages in the first two films might have been due to 8,000 years of [[starvation]] and confusion caused by the Atlanteans, and he intentionally attacked humanity and lured [[military operation]]s to feed on their energies.<ref name=OFS1995 />]]
During the franchise's [[#Shōwa era (1965–1980)|Shōwa era]], Gamera was depicted as feeding on flammable substances, such as oil and fire.{{sfn|Bogue|2017|p=192}}{{sfn|Rhoads|McCorkle|2018|p=98}} According to notes by frequent series director [[Noriaki Yuasa]], Gamera's internal anatomy includes [[wikt:sac|sacs]] which allow him to store oil, lava, coal, and [[uranium]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Phipps|first=Keith|url=https://www.avclub.com/gamera-the-giant-monster-1798165079|title=Gamera: The Giant Monster|date=2 June 2010|work=The A. V. Club|access-date=24 July 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Newitz|first=Annalee|url=https://io9.gizmodo.com/internal-organs-that-allow-giant-monsters-to-breathe-fi-5069058|title=Internal Organs that Allow Giant Monsters to Breathe Fire|date=27 October 2008|website=io9|publisher=Gawker Media|access-date=24 July 2019}}</ref> In ''Gamera, the Giant Monster'' and ''[[Gamera vs. Barugon]]'', cold temperatures are shown to weaken Gamera, although he is capable of being in [[outer space]] and the deep ocean.{{sfn|Chung|Diffrient|2015|p=83}} Gamera is also capable of performing additional feats including [[supernatural]] ones such as emitting [[electricity]] and [[Electromagnetic radiation|electromagnetic waves]],<ref name=Noma /> [[telepathy]], and remote sensing. Additionally, he has a high intelligence to outsmart antagonists, to tactically utilize artificial objects, behave cautiously to mind humans, and to repair an alien spaceship. Gamera's intention behind bizarre displays including acrobatic and musical acts in later films{{refn|Performing a [[horizontal bar]] in ''[[Gamera vs. Guiron]]'' and playing ''[[Gamera March]]'' ([[:ja:ガメラマーチ|jp]]) in ''[[Gamera vs. Zigra]]''.|group="note"}} was presumably to calm and entertain onlooking children.<ref name=OFS1995 />

The original 1965 film, ''[[Gamera, the Giant Monster]]'', depicts Gamera's origins as being a result of [[United States Armed Forces|United States military]] fighters launching an attack on enemy [[bomber]]s (presumably belonging to the [[Soviet Union]]), which causes the detonation of an [[atomic bomb]] on board one of the aircraft. The nuclear blast releases Gamera from a state of [[suspended animation]] in the ice. Meanwhile, a Japanese research team stumbles upon an [[Inuit]] tribe in possession of an ancient stone etching that depicts a giant turtle, which the tribe refers to as "Gamera".{{sfn|Rhoads|McCorkle|2018|p=91}}

His exact origin was not verified aside from his association with the ancient civilization of the [[Atlantis]].<ref>Stephen Miller,
15 June 2023, ''[https://www.thekaijuologist.com/post/gamerathon-gamera-the-giant-monster Gamerathon: Gamera: The Giant Monster]'',</ref> [[Inuit]]'s fear of Gamera and his confinement in the [[Arctic]], contrary to his heroic personality and favor of thermal energy, was presumably due to his entrapment by the Atlanteans and inherited memories of their ancestors to mistake him as a threat, along with the loss of records by Atlanteans after the demise of the ancient civilization.<ref name=OFS1995 />

His incongruous ferocity in ''Gamera, the Giant Monster'' and the beginning of ''[[Gamera vs. Barugon]]''{{refn|''[[Gamera vs. Barugon]]'', which was the only Showa film being not directed by [[Noriaki Yuasa]] and did not involve children at all, depicted Gamera as an [[antihero]] in general, however it was originally planned to insert a scene for Gamera to save people from Barugon's freezing breath.|group="note"}} was presumably due to an uncontrollable starvation and confusion after 8,000 years of [[hibernation]] caused by the entrapment by the Atlanteans,{{refn|Humanity feared and mistook Gamera as a threat for several factors; his tremendous size and intimidating appearance and fighting capabilities, supernatural biology, his approach to humanity because of his affinity for children and his intention to save humans in dangers, and his appetite for thermal and electric energies which are also vital for humanity. At one point, Gamera visited the Arctic to save children in danger, and he tried to feed on energy sources of the Arctic section of the Atlantis because of his disfavor of coldness and lack of [[volcano]]es nearby, however the civilization took him as a threat for their energy sources, but failed to drive him away because of his abilities and his fondness of thermal energy of weapons. Therefore the civilization instead made him to forcefully [[hibernate]] by luring him to an [[ice field]] and entrapped him underneath an [[ice sheet]], and [[Global cooling|imminent cooling of the planet]] also functioned to confine him. [[Demonization]] of Gamera by the Inuit was escalated due to the loss of his information by Atlanteans after the demise of the Atlantis.<ref name=OFS1995 />|group="note"}} and Gamera's rampage against humanity was only to feed on thermal energy and electricity. He learned of modern human technology through the atomic bomb explosion, and his attacks on cities were also to lure [[military operation]]s so that he could feed more on thermal energy of weapons. The protagonist boy (Toshio) in the 1965 film kept claiming that Gamera was not villainous but had been misunderstood by humanity.{{refn|Gamera in the 1965 film was originally planned to "cry", to aim child audiences to feel pity, sorrow, and sympathy towards the kaiju.<ref name=Treasured />|group="note"}} Gamera's uncontrollable appetite was gradually satisfied, and he regained his natural calmness as the films progressed, beginning to save humanity voluntarily.<ref name="OFS1995">OMEGA Flying Squadron, [[Yasuyoshi Tokuma]] ([[:ja:徳間康快|jp]]) (issuer), [[Noriaki Yuasa]] (adviser), [[Niisan Takahashi]] (adviser), Masao Yagi ([[:ja:八木正夫|jp]]) (adviser), 1995, ''Gamera is Strong!'', pp.18-25, pp.32-35, pp.36-39, pp.82-87, pp.108-109, pp.132-133, pp.166-167, pp.186-187, pp.194-197, [[Tokuma Shoten]]</ref>

The incarnation of the character appeared in the 1980 film ''[[Gamera: Super Monster]]'' was depicted to be potentially a different individual from the previous films where a normal [[Pond slider]] was magically turned into a kaiju by the Spacewomen, a group of supernatural female aliens. At the end of the film, Gamera sacrificed himself to destroy the Zanon, the spaceship of the antagonists. While the 1994 [[manga]] ''Giant Monster Gamera'' depicted this as Gamera's fate, Gamera was resurrected by the descendants of Atlanteans with ancient technology of [[Atlantis]], gaining characteristics of the Heisei trilogy Gamera, and was sent back to the ancient period to change the history to prevent his own demise, as well as to save and monitor humanity.<ref name=MangaBoys>Kenichiro Terasawa ([[:ja:金田益実|jp]]), [[Hurricane Ryu]], 1994, ''Giant Monster Gamera'', Gekkan Manga Boys, November 1994 - February 1995, [[Tokuma Shoten]].</ref>