This was such a fun and interesting first volume. It plays with the traditional aspects of Kaiju with a twist I've never seen before. We get to see both the aftermath of a Kaiju appearance and how people reacted differently to the monsters coming back. Excited to see where this story goes once more volumes are translated into English.

This manga has the vibes of Kaiju no 8 and Pacific Rim but in a quirky way. I found it enjoyable but I was not too invested in the story. Still, I would be curious to know where the plot is headed.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC !

Thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for providing a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A fabulous, fun take on the Kaiju genre. Perfect for fans of Godzilla, and Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.

Local girl Miyako finds herself the centre of attention after surviving the Kaiju attack on her seaside hometown and going on to make models of the kaiju Gaea-Tima when the town found itself becoming a tourist attraction. . When Gaea-Tima returns she finds herself central to the quest to understand the kaiju.

Kent’s dynamic art style deftly combines action and emotion making Gaea-Tima The Gigantis a joy to read.

Asadora meets Pokemon is the best way I can describe it, but KENT can do no wrong and I am all-in.
If you enjoy stories about massive kaiju battles, or just enjoy fantastic artwork and story-telling, get on board.

I would like to said thank you to Kodansha Comics and NetGalley for allowing me to read this comic/manga book 1 of the Gaea-Tima the Gigantis 1. This book 1 is part of the series. Reading this in less within 2 days wasn't bad. It was interesting to read because it about a monster who destroy the town but then there was more monster and a group of researcher that create this monster things are trying to protect the town or grab those. I going to give this book a 3.5 stars. I will definitely continue to read this series.

GAE-TIMA the Gigantis is a manga that presents itself with great force: it spills over to the reader information about the world, the characters and a bit of social context. If it keeps up the pace, it would be a formidable story.
Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for this advanced reader's copy.

I think it's a promising start! Ultimately, how well this series will be received depends on the character development.

GAEA-TIMA the Gigantics Vol. 1 opens with a compelling premise: a seaside town still haunted—physically, emotionally, and economically—by a kaiju attack a decade prior. Now a tourist hotspot profiting from its own tragedy, the story follows Miyako, a survivor-turned-local-celebrity, as the monstrous GAEA-TIMA resurfaces and threatens to unearth more than just buildings.

The concept of commodifying trauma—turning devastation into seafood festivals and monster merchandise—is genuinely intriguing and layered. The manga explores several interesting ideas, and those themes kept me intrigued even when other elements fell flat.

This first volume tries to do a lot—worldbuilding, character backstory, social commentary, action—and it sometimes buckles under the weight. The pacing feels rushed, and the info-dumping can be clunky, making it difficult to fully immerse in the narrative. Miyako’s emotional arc, in particular, lacked nuance; after carrying guilt for a decade, her sudden resolution felt abrupt and unearned.

The art is a mixed bag. The cover is stunning and immediately caught my attention, but the interior illustrations didn’t quite match that level of polish. That said, there are some visual moments that land emotionally or comedically—yes, despite the heavy tone, there are surprising bursts of humor that stand out thanks to the contrast.

Despite its flaws, GAEA-TIMA shows promise. If future volumes slow down and give the themes more space to breathe, this could develop into a compelling entry in the kaiju genre. I’ll likely continue reading—though I hope it doesn’t fall into a “monster-of-the-week” pattern.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

As someone who is a fan of Godzilla and has always been interested in Kiju stories I did enjoy this but I think it would have benefited from being a little longer so the audience has time to make an emotional connection to the characters. I can see myself continuing this story. I am interested in learning how it heals

4.5 ⭐️

I really enjoyed this manga. I’m a big Godzilla fan so this was right of my lane. I can see where the spirit of Godzilla and Godzilla Minus One came to play in this manga. If I were to say that I can even see some similarities between this manga and the Godzilla tv show ‘Monarch King of Monsters’ especially in the beginning.

The graphic was good and the text was easy to read and follow. I love that we are getting a different take from this type of story when it comes to monsters. I love the different designs of the Kaiju, love how they weren’t all the same shape and size.

My main criticism for this manga is that it’s the first book of the series they could have spent more time introductions the setting and characters so that way the readers would feel some type of connection with the main protagonist and the people who are getting impacted by these monsters.

Looking forward to see how this series progresses.

I recommend this to fan of Godzilla or anyone who loves anything to do with monsters and them teaming up with humans to fight against other monsters.

Thank you to the publisher for giving this Arc at NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Gaea-tima is like Godzilla meets Pokémon meets Evangelion—a fun action-adventure with a unique twist. Years after a seaside town in Japan is devastated by a Kaiju attack from a creature nicknamed Gaea-tima, the town now thrives on tourism surrounding the mysterious beast, who vanished at the end of the attack. When another Kaiju appears, a young girl discovers she can summon Gaea-tima—and hijinks ensue. A lively manga with loads of potential.

Thank you to Kodansha Comics and NetGalley for the eARC to review.

Volume 1 covers the first 4 chapters of this brand new Kaiju manga and is already building up to be an action-filled series with a heart-warming story. When we meet Miyoko she's experiencing feelings of regret, shame of the day the kaiju attacked and is emotionally detached to the GAEA-TIMA figurines she's making. It's not until she meets someone who admires the kaiju does she begin to view her unique relationship to the monster in a different way. The humour in this volume is light and enjoyable and gets the tone balance of tension and warmth just right. The illustrations are beautiful and dynamic, able to convey the movement of the ocean around the fighting kaiju with a smooth ferocity.

I'm definitely interested in reading the rest of the series and seeing how Miyoko and GAEA-TIMA's bond grows closer.

I am so sad to say that this manga did not meet my expectations. I was kinda nervous about going into it seeing as its kinda a play on Godzilla and king kong in a way but I didn't expect it to fall this flat for me. I honestly feel like we didn't get much history on what the creatures are and what the reason they came to the mortal realm. I also expected the fighting scenes between the creatures to be a little better. I don't think I see myself reading more in this series but I would like to read more from this author to see if its their writing style that I am having issues with. I am still thankful that I read this manga because it opened my eyes to something that I know not to pick up again so all in all it did help me explore my reading taste and show me what I like and what I don't like.

Miyako is just trying to live her life in a small seaside town, but she's inexplicably connected with a gigantic monster that surfaces from the ocean. This is an interesting and mysterious title with quaint characters that will be an interesting ride for readers.

Thank you to netGalley for the eARC.

Gaea-tima the Gigantis 1 is the intro volume into the series, following a young girl as her life is changed forever by a kaiju who had come to her hometown in Japan. Even though it has disappeared, her town had a resurgence as a tourism spot, and she deals with the trauma of living through that experience. Ultimately though, a new threat has come to this peaceful town and the kaiju has suddenly reappeared to save the day, tying the protagonist's fate with the kaiju that changed her life!

This was a great translation and a spin on the usual kaiju stories on the market today. The struggles of living through such a cataclysmic event shapes the protagonist, and we can relate to her mixed feelings on now being a link to a kaiju meant to protect the human race.

I really enjoyed this story, and I'm excited to read what comes next.

This was a fun kaiju story - introducing a new kaiju can be tough, but Gaea-tima is one to root for. I enjoyed all of the characters and look forward to reading more.

A wild story with interesting artwork. I cannot wait for the next installment and I hope this story gets an anime adaptation someday. I love all the characters and the concept of the story. I'm really looking forward to spending more time with the team.

GAEA-TIMA opens very strongly with our first chapter depicting a Kaiju attack on the fishing village of Sukuba. We meet our main protagonist Miyako as she survives the attack and witnesses the death of Gaea-tima. Ten years following the attack that wiped out the village, the sea has turned a dark murky black and created a breeding ground of abundant seafood. The town is revitalized and turned into a tourist destination.

Following our protagonist Miyako, she is brought into the fold of the Kaiju Biological Research Agency (FUNE) during a new Kaiju attack. Here we discover that Miyako can summon Gaea-tima by tossing a small marble-like ball into water where he can be used to fight off other Kaiju to protect Sukuba.

While I found the first chapter extremely interesting, I had trouble seeing what the overarching plot for this series could be by the end of the first volume. The pacing here could lead to something more developed within the next volume or so, but at this point it feels more like a monster of the week format Kaiju battle series. I personally prefer when Kaiju stories lean away from the spectacle a bit and really focus more on the human element. For example, my perfect Kaiju story is something more like Godzilla (1954), where this leans more toward the Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964) friendly anti-hero Kaiju.

For those wanting the spectacle, this series will absolutely deliver. GAEA-TIMA's greatest strength is in its artwork which consists of well-drawn and dynamic action scenes. Even though I was personally not super drawn into the story, it was always interesting to look at, and all the paneling and dialogue were very easy to follow.

An action-packed story, perfect for readers wanting to see a lot of Kaiju fights in a monster of the week format.

"In any case, this monster has a deep connection with me."

Gaea-tima, The Gigantis, is all of the best parts of the original Godzilla and Godzilla minus one, with all of the best parts of subsequent monster/kaiju sequels, and especially so from the Heisei era of movies. With a focus on humanization of the creature, as well as on the understanding and relatability of the human characters, Gaea-tima holds focus on recovery from trauma, survivor's guilt, and uncertainty in the face of destruction. Following Miyako, a young woman who survived the first attack of Gaea-tima, becomes intrinsically tied to the creature and is later able to somewhat control the monster when kaiju begin attacking her town a decade later.

Gaea-tima is an obvious allegory for the enduring trauma of surviving a horrific event, and it becomes quite clear that the sensationalism of these traumatic instances being glorified by uninvolved parties around her are an intentional commentary toward real life events. The story is dangerously realistic, and the emotions present feel all too close to home, as a person who has survived natural disasters and was left to pick up the emotional pieces later.

One specific thing I wanted to give great praise for is the specific choices behind the English lettering. Credited to Madeleine Jose, the lettering for many of the subtitled sound effects is nothing short of brilliant. Mirroring the style of the original sfx and the manga panel action layouts, the English words come through as though they were in the original text, and are transformative to the typical style of English sfx lettering. I found myself gasping at how many of the scenes were not just enhanced by these details, but outright transformed and made to feel somehow even more horrifying.

Already, Gaea-tima is one of my favorite releases from this year, and it's definitely thanks to Kodansha's dedicated team of translators and editors for making it feel so powerful.

Thank you so much to KENT, Kodansha, and Netgalley for the early copy to read and review!

Thank you to Netgalley and Kodansha Comics for the opportunity to read and review this manga. This was a series that I was not sure if I was going to enjoy due to my pickiness on monsters and post-apocalyptic stories. It's one that I think my partner will like due to the fact that he enjoys Godzilla movies/stories in this format, such as Day After Tomorrow and Twisters as prime examples. I thought the art was jarring at first, along with the time jumps, but once the story got moving, I enjoyed it. I will also say though its one I need to be in the mood for continuing, so it might be a while before I read more. Because of these points, I have to give this 3.5 out of 5 stars or 4 sushi