'Little Hero: Gamera-') is a 2006 Japanese kaiju film directed by Ryuta Tasaki, written by Yukari Tatsui (jp), and produced by Kadokawa Daiei Studio.

In 1973, a young boy named Kousuke evacuates his home in the picturesque seaside city of Shima, Mie, which is under attack by a swarm of bat-like monsters, Gyaos (jp), so-called "Original Gyaos",[3] until a benign kaiju resembling a turtle, named Gamera ("Avant Gamera")[3] intervenes to buy time for the evacuation.

When his other friends, Katsuya and Ishimaru, take him out exploring to try and cheer him up, Toru discovers an unusual egg atop a red stone in the same place Gamera self-destructed decades ago.

Toto begins to display remarkable abilities such as high intelligence, levitation, and breathing small bursts of fire; while growing at a rapid rate.

Toru also gives Mai the red stone he found Toto's egg on as a good luck charm for her heart surgery.

Kousuke, having seen the damage a kaiju brawl can have first hand and not wanting to lose his son as he did his wife, initially opposes their efforts to get close to Toto; but comes around to help them after ensuring Katsuya and Ishimaru get to safety.

Watching his former pet fly off into the sky, Toru finally calls Toto by his true name and tearfully bids him farewell.

In 2002, Kadokawa acquired Daiei Film properties from Tokuma Shoten, and Kadokawa president Kazuo Kuroi (jp) announced to produce Godzilla vs. Gamera and a Daimajin reboot,[5] following the failed attempt to produce a crossover between Gamera and Godzilla by Yasuyoshi Tokuma (jp) prior to his death in 2000.

Andrew Kasch of the website Dread Central gave the film a score of 3 1/2 out of 5, writing that "Even with its kid-centric approach, Gamera the Brave is guaranteed to please most kaiju enthusiasts, and the new franchise should be enough to fill the empty hole left in Godzilla's absence.

"[20] Tom Mes of Midnight Eye called the film "an agreeable time waster that introduces the tried and true kaiju formula to a new generation", but wrote that "anyone aged 13 or over will likely be looking elsewhere for their monster movie fix".

[21] In the years following the film's release, a hoax circulated online which claimed that a giant ancient tortoise, shown in photographs being transported on a flatbed truck, was caught in or around the Amazon River.

[23] Shusuke Kaneko, who is aware of both criticism against him and the purpose of Gamera the Brave to fix the franchise from the Heisei trilogy,[24] openly revealed his disfavor of the film[note 12] and criticized it for its sequels to be cancelled,[10] pointing the concept of the film to be "essentially wrong" for co-inserting contradicting themes to limit excitements,[note 13] and allege the legitimacy of the trilogy.

[26] Miike's attempt to revive Daimajin eventually materialized in the 2021 film The Great Yokai War: Guardians,[27] where Gamera also made a cameo appearance its spinoff novel.