It's Been A While

Above, my tickets to the 2006 Tokyo premiere.

Earlier this afternoon, I was rummaging around my collection of music CDs and came across one by singer Mink (stands for Made In Korea) that was part of the soundtrack for 2006's Gamera The Brave.

That was the last Gamera movie made by Kadokawa Pictures (the successor to Daiei). I attended its premiere at the Yurakucho Mullion in Tokyo on April 29, 2006 and wound up in the Japanese DVD in footage from the premiere in the extras. I am seen at the doorway to the theater and later at the souvenir stand (I got my mom a small Gamera plush key ring that now hangs on the rear-view mirror of my RV). It was an enjoyable event as was the movie, even though I don't understand Japanese and there were no subtitles.

Above, Gamera souvenirs for sale at the premiere. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

After playing the CD, I decided to pop in the DVD of Gamera The Brave and watched it over dinner, since I haven't watched it in years (I have no idea of when).

It is an enjoyable monster movie with beautiful cinematography and acting. It is a stand-alone film and not a sequel to the Gamera trilogy directed by Shusuke Kaneko of the 1990s. It is really too bad that Kadokawa didn't press on with any sequels to Gamera The Brave. Apparently, the box-office take wasn't sufficient enough to warrant making any more.

Above, at the 2006 Tokyo premiere, from the Japanese DVD.

Anyway, it was enjoyable to watch Gamera The Brave after so many years. It is hard to believe that twelve years have passed since the premiere.