MISC. MANGA, *Gaea-Tima The Gigantis

Manga creator Kent started out with a 7-volume dystopian series titled Colorless, but followed it with new giant monster epic, Gaea-Tima The Gigantis. More borrowing from alternative kaiju designs such as Gamera and Ultraman as opposed to the traditional Toho monster movies shows how an attack from a titanic monster can leave a huge impact on a small Japanese town. In many ways, this was a prelude to Godzilla Minus One which came out later the same year.

Sukuba is a small city by the sea that a decade ago was devastated by the arrival of a kaiju called Gaea-Tima. Now, the city has repaired most the damage and is bills itself as a tourist spot with one of the survivors named Miyako has made a living creating miniature figures of the same monster. The arrival of oceanographer Tatsukuni in town is serendipitous as a completely different kaiju appears. Out of nowhere, Gaea-Tima also appears and seemingly fights of the other kaiju and then suddenly vanishes. Miyako finds a small ball left behind after the battle which turns out to be a dried up egg of another Gaea-Tima monster left behind and only needs enough water to reach his full height. Tatsukuni tells Miyako that he's part of a secret group called Fune whose job it is to chronicle and prevent surprise kaiju and has her join their team just as yet another monster attacks leaving Miyako no choice but to use her "pocket monster" to counter it.

This was a vividly iconic manga with impressive monster designs that you wouldn't conventionally expect. Kent has an atypical approach to his art and writing which are much more grounded than what you would find in something like a sentai. Don't expect any superheroes in colorful helmets with plastic armor to show up anytime soon. Your average Godzilla-holic will probably appreciate this unexpected new manga treasure.