KAIJU PARADISE
GAMERA: THE GUARDIAN OF THE UNIVERSE
(Original Title: "Gamera Daikaiju Kuchusen Kessen" - Gamera: Giant Monster Midair Battle)
March 11, 1995
GAMERA: THE GUARDIAN OF THE UNIVERSE
(Original Title: "Gamera Daikaiju Kuchusen Kessen" - Gamera: Giant Monster Midair Battle)
March 11, 1995
A flock of carnivorous, bird-like creatures called Gyaos suddenly appear and begin to ravage Japan. Meanwhile another giant monster emerges from the sea with the intention of destroying the Gyaos. The people of Japan must decide whether or not to destroy all the monsters or to put their faith in their new supposed savior, Gamera.
15 years after his last foray in film and with the recent success of Toho's Heisei Godzilla series, the under-new-management Daiei decided it was finally time to try and bring back Gamera, just in time for his 30th anniversary.
A new team of filmmakers were brought in to helm this new project. Among them were Shusuke Kaneko, an avid fan of Kaiju films who, like most of us, had a hard time taking Gamera seriously. Kazunori Ito, best known as the writer of the critically acclaimed 'Ghost in the Shell and Shinji Higuchi, a special effects director who previously worked on 1984's 'The Return of Godzilla' also joined the project.
Although Daiei was initially skeptical of his pitch, Kaneko stood his ground and would go on to direct not just this movie, but a trilogy of films that presented the titanic terrapin in a more serious and iconic way than ever before.
Thus, the Heisei Gamera series was born...
First let's talk about Gamera himself, he's awesome in this movie. His new design is a perfect update to the original, he's given a more muscular/tortoise-like appearance and his face feels like a mix of mean and aggressive yet gentle and protective.
I love this design as opposed to the lanky looking Gamera of the older movies. I also appreciate how Gamera has a hunch that keeps his head straight and not awkwardly pointed upward. In addition to the traditional suitmation method (performed by Takateru Manabe & Jun Suzuki) and scale models for flying scenes, Gamera also got himself a nifty animatronic of his upper body to perform movements and express emotion that the suits couldn't do.
While Gamera's power of flight remains mostly the same, his fire breath has been simplified to a powerful fire ball attack and he gets a pair of elbow spikes that help a lot in battle and are great additions to Gamera's arsenal.
One thing I've always found weird is how in these movies they never refer to Gamera as turtle given his appearance, but it wasn't until later I found a quote from Shusuke Kaneko where he said that in the film's universe, turtles don't exist at all. Those are the kind of moments that make you go: Huh?!
Being Gamera's most popular opponent, Gyaos returns to battle against him. Gyaos looks miles better in this movie then ever before. Its body looks more like a dragon and it's movements, while not always perfect, are still fairly believable. I can actually see Gyaos as a creature and not a stiff rubber suit.
15 years after his last foray in film and with the recent success of Toho's Heisei Godzilla series, the under-new-management Daiei decided it was finally time to try and bring back Gamera, just in time for his 30th anniversary.
A new team of filmmakers were brought in to helm this new project. Among them were Shusuke Kaneko, an avid fan of Kaiju films who, like most of us, had a hard time taking Gamera seriously. Kazunori Ito, best known as the writer of the critically acclaimed 'Ghost in the Shell and Shinji Higuchi, a special effects director who previously worked on 1984's 'The Return of Godzilla' also joined the project.
Although Daiei was initially skeptical of his pitch, Kaneko stood his ground and would go on to direct not just this movie, but a trilogy of films that presented the titanic terrapin in a more serious and iconic way than ever before.
Thus, the Heisei Gamera series was born...
I love this design as opposed to the lanky looking Gamera of the older movies. I also appreciate how Gamera has a hunch that keeps his head straight and not awkwardly pointed upward. In addition to the traditional suitmation method (performed by Takateru Manabe & Jun Suzuki) and scale models for flying scenes, Gamera also got himself a nifty animatronic of his upper body to perform movements and express emotion that the suits couldn't do.
While Gamera's power of flight remains mostly the same, his fire breath has been simplified to a powerful fire ball attack and he gets a pair of elbow spikes that help a lot in battle and are great additions to Gamera's arsenal.
One thing I've always found weird is how in these movies they never refer to Gamera as turtle given his appearance, but it wasn't until later I found a quote from Shusuke Kaneko where he said that in the film's universe, turtles don't exist at all. Those are the kind of moments that make you go: Huh?!
While most of the Gyaos in the movie are portrayed by puppets, the final 'Super Gyaos' is played by Yumi Kameyama, the first female suit actor in a Kaiju film.
'Guardian of the Universe' goes out of its way to explore the origins of Gamera and Gyaos. In the first movie, it was merely hinted that Gamera may have come from the lost continent of Atlantis. Here, it's revealed that the people of Atlantis originally created the Gyaos but they got out of control and so they created Gamera to stop them.
'Guardian of the Universe' goes out of its way to explore the origins of Gamera and Gyaos. In the first movie, it was merely hinted that Gamera may have come from the lost continent of Atlantis. Here, it's revealed that the people of Atlantis originally created the Gyaos but they got out of control and so they created Gamera to stop them.
This was more or less the origin presented for Jan de Bont's proposal for the American Godzilla film from Tristar, before he left the project. I can't even imagine what would happen if both these films had come out like that.
What I do know is that I appreciate this origin for Gamera a lot more as it helps him stand out from feeling like a Godzilla clone and gives the character and story a more epic and mythical feel to it.
What also helps the Heisei trilogy stand out from the previous films is the cast. Gone are the days of having children as the leads and the adults being pushed to the side or looking like morons. Instead the characters are actually interesting and very much central to the plot.
Some of the stand out characters include ornithologist Mayumi Nagamine (Shinobu Nakayama), hot on the trail of the Gyaos and the voice of reason against the know-nothing Self Defense Forces. Assisting her is Inspector Osako (Yukijiro Hotaru) who while a bit over his head, at least has his heart in the right place.
Tsuyoshi Ihara plays a Coast Guard officer who along with an insurance investigator named Kusanagi (Akira Onodera), seek to solve the mystery of Gamera and his connection to the Gyaos.
But the character of greatest importance is Kusanagi's daughter, Asagi (Akayo Fujitani.) Asagi acts as Gamera's connection to humanity, essentially becoming a priestess for him and later giving him a power boost to battle Gyaos.
It also wouldn't be a 'Guardian of the Universe' review if I didn't mention that Akayo Fujitani is actually the daughter of Steven Seagal.
Scoring the movie is Kow Otani, his new Gamera theme is instantly iconic and the rest of the music helps to elevate the action and mood of the film.
Rounding out the excellence of this film are the special effects and fight scenes.
As I mentioned before, the fights in 'Gamera vs. Gyaos' left much to be desired with it's stiff models and unrealistic movement. The fights here are what I expected to see. The suit actors do a good job battling each other and the "giant monster dogfights" are a delight to watch.
Despite the production working with half the budget of the average Godzilla film, Shinji Higuchi proved that his special effects could stand toe to toe with them. He even threw in several CGI moments that I'm willing to bet you won't even notice on your first viewing.
With all of these elements I can easily say that after viewing this movie for the first time, I became a Gamera fan. 'Guardian of the Universe' excels at giving the audience great human characters to root for and exciting monster action to enjoy. If you're looking to get into Japanese monster movies, this one is a must watch!
I think that sums it up pretty well. It just goes to show that any crazy idea like a fire breathing turtle that flies can work, you just need people with the right vision and skills to make it happen and these 3 films are solid proof of that.
Well, there's only one film left to go. Stay tuned...
What also helps the Heisei trilogy stand out from the previous films is the cast. Gone are the days of having children as the leads and the adults being pushed to the side or looking like morons. Instead the characters are actually interesting and very much central to the plot.
Tsuyoshi Ihara plays a Coast Guard officer who along with an insurance investigator named Kusanagi (Akira Onodera), seek to solve the mystery of Gamera and his connection to the Gyaos.
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| Left to right: Nagamine (Shinobu Nakayama), Yonemori (Tsuyoshi Ihara), Asagi (Akayo Fujitani) & Kusanagi (Akira Onodera) |
It also wouldn't be a 'Guardian of the Universe' review if I didn't mention that Akayo Fujitani is actually the daughter of Steven Seagal.
Scoring the movie is Kow Otani, his new Gamera theme is instantly iconic and the rest of the music helps to elevate the action and mood of the film.
Rounding out the excellence of this film are the special effects and fight scenes.
Despite the production working with half the budget of the average Godzilla film, Shinji Higuchi proved that his special effects could stand toe to toe with them. He even threw in several CGI moments that I'm willing to bet you won't even notice on your first viewing.
With all of these elements I can easily say that after viewing this movie for the first time, I became a Gamera fan. 'Guardian of the Universe' excels at giving the audience great human characters to root for and exciting monster action to enjoy. If you're looking to get into Japanese monster movies, this one is a must watch!
GAMERA 2: ATTACK OF LEGION
(Original Title: "Gamera Tsu Region Shurai" - Gamera 2: Legion Invasion)
July 13, 1996
After a meteor falls to earth, insectoid creatures begin wreaking havoc in Japan and threaten to colonize the planet. It isn't long before Gamera appears to deal with the invaders, but will he succeed? Or is he doomed to fail against the Legion?
After 'Guardian of the Universe' became a surprising success critically and financially, Daiei opted to give Shusuke Kaneko even more creative control on the sequel. Kaneko had come into the first project skeptical that a rocket-propelled turtle could be menacing, but grew to love Gamera more with each film.
Changes included subtle design tweaks for Gamera's head and the addition of elbow spikes. I think his limbs may have been slightly slimmed down and extended to make him taller, or maybe it was adjusted to fit Akira Ohashi, the new suit actor. I'm not 100% sure on that one.
But one big change included the ability to morph his arms into flippers while he's in flight mode, a concept initially rejected by Daiei. Instead of just casually flying through the air, Gamera looks much more dynamic as he soars through the air like a jet.
After 'Guardian of the Universe' became a surprising success critically and financially, Daiei opted to give Shusuke Kaneko even more creative control on the sequel. Kaneko had come into the first project skeptical that a rocket-propelled turtle could be menacing, but grew to love Gamera more with each film.
But one big change included the ability to morph his arms into flippers while he's in flight mode, a concept initially rejected by Daiei. Instead of just casually flying through the air, Gamera looks much more dynamic as he soars through the air like a jet.
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| Left to right: Homani (Miki Mizuno), Watarase (Toshiyuki Nagashima) & Obitsu (Mitsuru Fukikoshi) |
Our 2 human leads consist of Homani (Miki Mizuno), a science center curator and Obitsu (Mitsuru Fukikoshi), an engineer together they manage to make sense of a series of strange phenomenon relating to the threat.
This time around there's a larger focus on the JSDF in their efforts to fight off the invading Legion. Unlike the previous government/military officials, Col. Watarase (Toshiyuki Nagashima) is far more willing to heed the words of our 2 leads and is just a great character all around.
Later in the film, we meet up with Asagi (Ayako Fujitani) from the previous film. Her role isn't as large, but her presence does give the film some appreciated continuity.
Yukijiro Hotaru also returns in a small cameo as Osako.
Shinji Higuchi's effects continue to shine all throughout, but special mention goes to the miniatures. There is a particularly impressive one during a scene where a building appears to be falling apart by itself during an earthquake.
There are tracking/panning shots of the monsters during the fights that are nice touches and give the fights a touch of flare that help them stand out against most other monster fights consisting of only wide shots and close ups.
But the best special effect in 'Attack of Legion' is Legion herself, aptly named after a soldier randomly quotes Mark 5:9.
Initially appearing as a group of soldiers, a larger Mother Legion appears and proceeds to give Gamera quite a hard time, impaling him causing him to gush blood (emulating the over the top Showa series gore) and even blasting off a piece of his shell. Needless to say, the Mother Legion is quite a force to be reckoned with, plus she's much larger than Gamera. The Mother Legion suit was so large that it required 2 actors to move it (Mizuho Yoshida & Toshinori Sasaki.)
The design is also awe-inspiring. Although there were initially talks to bring back one of Gamera's older foes like Barugon or Guiron, I'm glad they went with a new monster.
The smaller Soldier Legion were portrayed by small puppets, CGI and suit actors. It's surprising they were able to hide the actors legs as well as they did.
Not every special effect is perfect however, the first moment when Legion soldiers swarm Gamera is done in CGI, while it works for Legion the same cannot be said for Gamera.
The Heisei Trilogy was dubbed into English and released on home media in the United States by ADV Films. The dubs they provided are pretty good, but one dub for 'Attack of Legion' is a special case.
What started as a gag reel in which the majority of the characters were dubbed with drunken redneck voices eventually evolved into a full dub track first released on a 2004 DVD box set known as the "Lake Texarkana" dub. This track is hilarious and would be perfect for a movie night with friends.
Overall, Attack of Legion ups the ante from the last film and delivers a solid sequel. While I personally don't know if I like it more than 'Guardian of the Universe', it is still an excellent follow-up.
This time around there's a larger focus on the JSDF in their efforts to fight off the invading Legion. Unlike the previous government/military officials, Col. Watarase (Toshiyuki Nagashima) is far more willing to heed the words of our 2 leads and is just a great character all around.
Later in the film, we meet up with Asagi (Ayako Fujitani) from the previous film. Her role isn't as large, but her presence does give the film some appreciated continuity.
Yukijiro Hotaru also returns in a small cameo as Osako.
Shinji Higuchi's effects continue to shine all throughout, but special mention goes to the miniatures. There is a particularly impressive one during a scene where a building appears to be falling apart by itself during an earthquake.
There are tracking/panning shots of the monsters during the fights that are nice touches and give the fights a touch of flare that help them stand out against most other monster fights consisting of only wide shots and close ups.
Initially appearing as a group of soldiers, a larger Mother Legion appears and proceeds to give Gamera quite a hard time, impaling him causing him to gush blood (emulating the over the top Showa series gore) and even blasting off a piece of his shell. Needless to say, the Mother Legion is quite a force to be reckoned with, plus she's much larger than Gamera. The Mother Legion suit was so large that it required 2 actors to move it (Mizuho Yoshida & Toshinori Sasaki.)
The design is also awe-inspiring. Although there were initially talks to bring back one of Gamera's older foes like Barugon or Guiron, I'm glad they went with a new monster.
The smaller Soldier Legion were portrayed by small puppets, CGI and suit actors. It's surprising they were able to hide the actors legs as well as they did.
Not every special effect is perfect however, the first moment when Legion soldiers swarm Gamera is done in CGI, while it works for Legion the same cannot be said for Gamera.
The Heisei Trilogy was dubbed into English and released on home media in the United States by ADV Films. The dubs they provided are pretty good, but one dub for 'Attack of Legion' is a special case.
What started as a gag reel in which the majority of the characters were dubbed with drunken redneck voices eventually evolved into a full dub track first released on a 2004 DVD box set known as the "Lake Texarkana" dub. This track is hilarious and would be perfect for a movie night with friends.
Overall, Attack of Legion ups the ante from the last film and delivers a solid sequel. While I personally don't know if I like it more than 'Guardian of the Universe', it is still an excellent follow-up.
GAMERA 3: REVENGE OF IRIS
(Original Title: "Gamera Suri Irisu Kakusei" - Gamera 3: Evil God Awakening)
March 6, 1999
While 'Attack of the Legion' was a superb entry in the Gamera series, 'Revenge of Iris' to me feels more like a sequel to 'Guardian of the Universe', not only because of the return of several past characters, but also in terms of tone.
'Attack of Legion' felt more like science fiction with elements of horror. 'Revenge of Iris' continues the more mythical and spiritual feel of 'Guardian of the Universe' all while creating a thought provoking story with a somber feel that still manages to entertain and get people excited to watch.
Shinobu Nakayama and Ayako Fujitani return as Dr. Nagamine and Asagi respectively. Both characters are still great and this time they are eventually placed right in the action instead of watching from the sides.
Also returning is Yukijiro Hotaru as the character Osako, putting a cap on his small arc throughout the trilogy.
The most important new character is a girl named Ayana (Ai Maeda), who's parents were killed during the final battle between Gamera and Gyaos. In a sense, she is the inverse of Asagi, sharing a psychic bond with a creature not for protection, but for revenge. Ai Maeda's acting is so reserved yet powerful. A lot of it comes from her stern expressions and wordless acting, broken by more emotional moments performed just as powerfully.
Other noteworthy characters include an occultist named Asakura (Senri Yamazaki) and a game maker named Kurata (Toru Tezuka.) Both characters are memorable purely for how insane they both are, and Kurata especially delights in chewing every bit of scenery he's in.
Really the only character I take issue with is Moribe (Yu Koyama), mostly because there's a lot of build up to him being of great importance, but very little payoff.
Gamera (Hirofumi Fukuzawa) is once again redesigned for this film, this time he looks a lot bulkier and scarier than past incarnations. This new edgy look adds to framing him as a more aggressive, destructive character.
The Gyaos in the film are a combination of horribly, mangled puppets and CGI, all of which are handled better than they were in 'Guardian of the Universe.'
As for Iris (Akira Ohashi), while it may start out small and almost a bit cute, it quickly evolves into something big and horrifying. With it's large tentacles, glowing skin patches and a head with practically zero facial features, I really cannot think of any other Kaiju that looks more like an eldritch abomination than Iris does.
As you've probably caught on by now, this is a much darker and emotional film than any previous Gamera movie ever made, but it can also get disturbing at times. And I'm not just talking about the scorched Gyaos with their eyeballs hanging out of their sockets. Let's just say that the inclusion of tentacles elicits a lot of unintentional implications. Thankfully it never goes farther than that.
The action and monster fight scenes are on a whole other level compared to the last films. In addition to the dynamic camera work, pulse-pounding score by Kow Otani and spectacular pyrotechnics, there's a lot of CGI implemented. CGI in Kaiju films of the 90's often resulted in mixed results, here however, the CGI actually enhances the action and helps give Iris a more otherworldly feel to it. One of the best shots in the film has Gamera fighting Iris above the clouds completely in CGI and while not as polished as something from say ILM or Weta, it still looks fantastic. Although my favorite shot happens to be the moment when we see a close up of Gamera roaring, flames transition to a profile view of Iris and then another flame transition cuts to a profile view of Ayana, further establishing their connection.
The suit work is still very much on point. The climax of the film eventually see's both monsters confined to inside Kyoto Station. Seeing both Gamera and Iris suits inside such a large model building is pretty unique and the claustrophobic setting really adds to the tension of the battle.
Shuske Kaneko and his team took what they perfected from the last 2 entries and managed to top it to even greater heights. It is because of this that many consider 'Revenge of Iris' to be one of if not THE greatest Japanese Kaiju movies ever made and it's not hard to see why.
As much as I love over the top, fun monster movies, I always appreciate it when they aspire to be more than monster romps. I would even dare to say that this film may be better than most of the Heisei Godzilla films. I genuinely have a hard time figuring out which Gamera movie is my definitive favorite, it's between 'Guardian of the Universe' and this one for me.
THE APPEAL OF THE HEISEI TRILOGY
As flocks of Gyaos begin to spread out of control, Gamera goes on a warpath to eliminate them, causing mass destruction and casualties. Meanwhile, a girl forms a bond with a strange creature and vows that together they will take revenge on Gamera for causing the death of her family, unaware that the awakening of this creature may in fact doom the human race.
While 'Attack of the Legion' was a superb entry in the Gamera series, 'Revenge of Iris' to me feels more like a sequel to 'Guardian of the Universe', not only because of the return of several past characters, but also in terms of tone.
'Attack of Legion' felt more like science fiction with elements of horror. 'Revenge of Iris' continues the more mythical and spiritual feel of 'Guardian of the Universe' all while creating a thought provoking story with a somber feel that still manages to entertain and get people excited to watch.
Also returning is Yukijiro Hotaru as the character Osako, putting a cap on his small arc throughout the trilogy.
Other noteworthy characters include an occultist named Asakura (Senri Yamazaki) and a game maker named Kurata (Toru Tezuka.) Both characters are memorable purely for how insane they both are, and Kurata especially delights in chewing every bit of scenery he's in.
Really the only character I take issue with is Moribe (Yu Koyama), mostly because there's a lot of build up to him being of great importance, but very little payoff.
The Gyaos in the film are a combination of horribly, mangled puppets and CGI, all of which are handled better than they were in 'Guardian of the Universe.'
As you've probably caught on by now, this is a much darker and emotional film than any previous Gamera movie ever made, but it can also get disturbing at times. And I'm not just talking about the scorched Gyaos with their eyeballs hanging out of their sockets. Let's just say that the inclusion of tentacles elicits a lot of unintentional implications. Thankfully it never goes farther than that.
The action and monster fight scenes are on a whole other level compared to the last films. In addition to the dynamic camera work, pulse-pounding score by Kow Otani and spectacular pyrotechnics, there's a lot of CGI implemented. CGI in Kaiju films of the 90's often resulted in mixed results, here however, the CGI actually enhances the action and helps give Iris a more otherworldly feel to it. One of the best shots in the film has Gamera fighting Iris above the clouds completely in CGI and while not as polished as something from say ILM or Weta, it still looks fantastic. Although my favorite shot happens to be the moment when we see a close up of Gamera roaring, flames transition to a profile view of Iris and then another flame transition cuts to a profile view of Ayana, further establishing their connection.
The suit work is still very much on point. The climax of the film eventually see's both monsters confined to inside Kyoto Station. Seeing both Gamera and Iris suits inside such a large model building is pretty unique and the claustrophobic setting really adds to the tension of the battle.
As much as I love over the top, fun monster movies, I always appreciate it when they aspire to be more than monster romps. I would even dare to say that this film may be better than most of the Heisei Godzilla films. I genuinely have a hard time figuring out which Gamera movie is my definitive favorite, it's between 'Guardian of the Universe' and this one for me.
THE APPEAL OF THE HEISEI TRILOGY
For a time, Gamera was the little monster that could, always living in the shadow of the more popular Godzilla. But the Heisei Trilogy brought a new popularity to the titanic terrapin among fans of Japanese Kaiju films.
Even general audiences seem to think highly of these films. Roger Ebert himself gave 'Guardian of the Universe' his signature "Thumbs Up" rating.
Think about that, the man who spoke ill of the 1954 Godzilla film had mostly positive views on a Gamera movie.
If you look at the VHS case for 'Guardian of the Universe', there's all kinds of positive blurbs from American film critics. For years, I would see this box and ask myself: "why?" What is it about these 3 movies that could appeal to people who more than likely aren't as familiar with these types of movies like I am?
So one weekend I visited my dear friend and editor, Rhiannon and we sat down and watched the Heisei trilogy together. Later I asked for her take on the films as a whole, she had this to say:
Even general audiences seem to think highly of these films. Roger Ebert himself gave 'Guardian of the Universe' his signature "Thumbs Up" rating.
Think about that, the man who spoke ill of the 1954 Godzilla film had mostly positive views on a Gamera movie.
If you look at the VHS case for 'Guardian of the Universe', there's all kinds of positive blurbs from American film critics. For years, I would see this box and ask myself: "why?" What is it about these 3 movies that could appeal to people who more than likely aren't as familiar with these types of movies like I am?
So one weekend I visited my dear friend and editor, Rhiannon and we sat down and watched the Heisei trilogy together. Later I asked for her take on the films as a whole, she had this to say:
"All Beyblade jokes aside, these movies fully live up to their hype.
For a kaiju novice like me watching these films for the first time, comparisons to Godzilla are inevitable. In my opinion, Gamera is at his best when he's doing things Big G simply never could.
When you're watching a Godzilla film that positions him as fighting against monsters that want to wipe out humanity, even one of the more lighthearted ones, there is still sort of a hard limit on how much Godzilla is going to be able to actually interact with the human characters. Even in the most kid-friendly ones, he seemingly feels little to nothing about the humans caught in the middle. When he rescues them, it's often purely by coincidence. This rebooted Gamera connects with the people he's protecting not just through his ad hoc priestess Asagi, but in the way he always throws himself between humans and danger, often taking severe damage to protect even a single child. Unburdened by the crown the King of the Monsters wears, he's just as menacing, but he wears his heart on his sleeve.
TL;DR, Gamera is big and cool and my friend."
Well, there's only one film left to go. Stay tuned...
Till next time, I've been your host Gryphon
And I hope you've enjoyed your time in my Lair
So long...
And I hope you've enjoyed your time in my Lair
So long...
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