[24] Each of the Four Symbols are said to act as guardians over each of the four cardinal directions, with the dragon Seiryu in the east; the tiger Byakko in the west; the bird Suzaku in the south; and the tortoise Genbu in the north.

[40][41] According to notes by frequent series director Noriaki Yuasa, Gamera's internal anatomy includes sacs which allow him to store oil, lava, coal, and uranium.

This incarnation was designed after African spurred tortoise, and also possesses supernatural traits[3] such as instant growth, telepathy, comprehending human speeches, sensing and foreseeing emergences of evil monsters from afar, and so on.

The turtle, dubbed "Toto" by Toru after his own nickname by his deceased mother,[3] quickly forms a bond with the boy and develops the ability to breathe fire and fly.

[58] After consuming the glowing rock found with his egg, Toto fully transforms into the next incarnation of Gamera, gaining the power to defeat a lizard-like monster known as Zedus, which was once a normal reptile turned into a kaiju by feeding on Gyaos' corpse, and was presumably controlled by the vengeful spirits of the villainous flying creatures.

Gamera overwhelmed and severely weakened Nue with her fireballs and spinning jet, and left the rest to yokai and humans so that they can fulfill their destiny, and secretly disappeared (dematerialized).

Each monsters are spiritual and sacred entities, being regarded as actual deities with supernatural powers such as telepathy, weaponizing weathers, destructive energy beam, levitation, and time manipulation.

[5] Gamera made several appearances in the tokusatsu program series Sailor Fight (jp) in 1995 and 1996 as a "Capsule Monster", presumably based on characters of the same title from Ultra Seven which later inspired Pokémon.

[116][117][114][118] Gamera and Godzilla and other monsters from respective franchises co-appeared in several exoteric productions and events such as stage shows,[119][120] a television show (jp), Dr. Slump and Dragon Ball,[121] The Simpsons,[122] Urusei Yatsura,[note 30] Daicon III and IV Opening Animations,[note 31] MegaTokyo, City Shrouded in Shadow,[10] The Slammie Brothers vs. Godzilla and Gamera,[31] and USO Makoto Yōkai Hyaku Monogatari.

Eiji Tsuburaya, who had repeatedly associated with Masaichi Nagata since early 1930s,[note 33] and Sadamasa Arikawa (jp) and Shuzaburo Araki (jp) participated in these and other Daiei productions before the signing of the Six-Company Agreement in 1953 (which was also led by Masaichi),[note 34] and they intended to join Daiei Film with the 1949 films after Tsuburaya's exile from Toho because of the 1948 purge due to his involvements in war propagandas, and Arikawa and Araki's voluntary resignations after Toho strikes.

[note 35][31][32] The Six-Company Agreement led by Masaichi Nagata prevented other companies from easily chasing after the success of Toho, and the Godzilla franchise didn't have notable competitors until the Gamera franchise;[note 36] the agreement ironically made Daiei Film's own Dagora and Nezura to fail by using live animals (octopuses and rats) to avoid the Toho-style, and Daiei Film changed the direction for Gamera, the Giant Monster.

For Gamera, the Giant Monster, some crews who had previously participated in Godzilla and other Toho kaiju films[note 37] joined its production despite the agreement, and Eiji Tsuburaya gave a tacit approval to their actions.

[22][note 39][note 40] Involvements of foreign cast members and enhanced childish direction began in Gamera vs. Viras due to requests from global buyers, because of governmental attempt to support struggling Japanese film industries of that time, partially due to the recession of Japanese economy and the prosperity of television including Tsuburaya's Ultraman[9] by increasing film exports to global market;[27] ironically the success of the Gamera franchise indirectly contributed in this situation and the arise of the "Yokai Boom" for cost-effectiveness.

[note 45] On the other hand, a number of new tokusatsu expertise were obtained through productions of Showa Gamera films to compensate for lack of resources and avoiding Toho-based techniques and materials.

[150] As aforementioned, there have been contradicting theories regards the original conceptor of Gamera where even Noriaki Yuasa and Niisan Takahashi and Yonejiro Saito (jp) weren't truly aware of.

Sagisu initially showed the demo reel to Eiji Tsuburaya, and Toho paid attention to it, and the company later brought the project to Fuji Television, however STOP Series was eventually cancelled.

[22][29] The bankruptcy of the company also triggered confusions and losses of negative prints and other materials, resulting in changes in the running time of Gamera vs. Viras for video and DVD releases.

The direction to re-edit stock footages of former films was also influenced by budgetary problems, along with the aforementioned loss of suits and models by Yuasa, and the success of the 1979 Ultraman video by Akio Jissoji (jp), which contributed in the revival of the Tsuburaya Productions franchise.

Shusuke Kaneko originally wanted to end the film with Gamera's victory against the swarms of Gyaos, however his idea was cancelled partially due to budgetary problems.

[148] At the New York Comic Con held in October 2015, Kadokawa Daiei Studio's senior managing director Tsuyoshi Kikuchi and producer Shinichiro Inoue (jp) screened a full proof-of-concept film in honor of the franchise's 50th anniversary; the short was directed by Katsuhito Ishii and its music was composed by Kenji Kawai.

Factory acquired the rights from Kadokawa Pictures for all eight of the Showa Gamera films in order to release the uncut Japanese versions on DVD for the first time ever in North America.

The set features the original Japanese cuts for all 12 films, with English audio options; the Blu-ray debut of Gammera the Invincible and War of the Monsters; digital HD transfers and 4K restorations of the Heisei trilogy; case artwork by Matt Frank; audio commentaries by August Ragone, David Kalat, Steve Ryfle, Ed Godziszewski, Sean Rhoads, and Brooke McCorkle; a full color hardcover reprint of Dark Horse Comics' four-issue comic book miniseries Gamera the Guardian of the Universe; the English-language printing debut of the comic book story Gamera: The Last Hope by Matt Frank and Joshua Bugosh; and an 80-page book featuring a retrospective on the series by Patrick Macias with illustrations by Jolyon Yates.

[124] In the manga series Dragon Ball, also by Toriyama, a flying turtle which resembles a smaller version of Gamera is summoned by Master Roshi to carry him to Fire Mountain.

[121] There are references to Gamera in chapters of the manga series Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen-mae Hashutsujo, written and illustrated by Osamu Akimoto, and Kinnikuman, created by Yudetamago.

[237] In 2017, Gamera appeared in the video game City Shrouded in Shadow, released for the PlayStation 4, alongside such characters as Legion (jp), Godzilla, Ultraman, and Evangelion Unit-01.

[243] Despite this, the 1995 reboot Gamera: Guardian of the Universe was both a critical and financial success, remaining in the top 10 films in Japan for its first six weeks of release and grossing more than Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla, which was also playing in Japanese theaters at that time.

[249][250] Several authors such as Hiro Arikawa[251] and Jeremy Robinson and Kōhei Horikoshi noted that Gamera is one of their favorite kaiju and had influences on their works such as Nemesis Saga and My Hero Academia.

Trading Card Game,[286] Xenoblade Chronicles X,[287] King of Tokyo,[288] Five Nights at Freddy's,[289] Naruto: Ultimate Ninja,[290] The Battle Cats,[291][292] Palworld,[293] Dinosaur Simulator,[294][295] and many other video games,[277] Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,[296] Dragon Ball and Dr. Slump franchizes,[121][124] The Simpsons,[122] South Park,[297] Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,[298][299] Justice League Unlimited,[300] Green Lantern,[301][302] Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen-mae Hashutsujo,[226] Kinnikuman,[226] Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter,[303] Frankenweenie,[304] Captain Underpants,[305] The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy,[306] Inuyasha and Urusei Yatsura,[note 105][308][123] Sailor Moon SuperS,[126] Gintama,[309] My Hero Academia,[253] Franklin,[310] The Adventures of Sam & Max: Freelance Police,[306] Yakitate!!

Frog,[312] Gunbuster,[313] Devilman,[314] Lucky Star,[315] Megas XLR,[306] Detective Conan,[125] Jumbo Monster GOMERA (jp),[127] Daicon III and IV Opening Animations, Megatokyo,[316] Usagi Yojimbo,[317] Uzumaki,[318] Welcome to My Life,[319] The Red Ranger Becomes an Adventurer in Another World,[320] Voltes V and Voltes V: Legacy,[321] Nurse Witch Komugi,[123] Pani Poni,[123] Pacific Rim[322] and Pacific Rim Uprising, Mountain Dew Code Red,[323] and many others.

Gamera and his foes' roars were used in various other media such as Godzilla,[115] Fireman,[339][340] GeGeGe no Kitarō,[341] Pokémon,[note 107] Yu-Gi-Oh!,[342] Aura Battler Dunbine,[343] Reideen the Brave,[344] Voltes V,[306] Chargeman Ken!,[345] and so on.