General Gamera Thread

[Spuro]

Gamera the Brave easily is the best "targeted at kids" kaiju movie. I'd say it's even on the level if the Heisei trilogy. It's a shame it's never brought up when discussing the best kaiju films in the past few decades.

On the same level of the Heisei Gameta? Surely you must be joking. If it isn't mentioned its because no one cared enough for this movie aside from a few here.

I'm completely serious. I'd argue it's definitely a better film than Gamera 2, critically speaking (in spite of that being my favorite Gamera movie).

The Brave may be ultimately a movie for kids, but I don't think that invalidates it.

[cloverfan98]

Gamera the Brave easily is the best "targeted at kids" kaiju movie. I'd say it's even on the level if the Heisei trilogy. It's a shame it's never brought up when discussing the best kaiju films in the past few decades.

On the same level of the Heisei Gameta? Surely you must be joking. If it isn't mentioned its because no one cared enough for this movie aside from a few here.

I'm completely serious. I'd argue it's definitely a better film than Gamera 2, critically speaking (in spite of that being my favorite Gamera movie).

The Brave may be ultimately a movie for kids, but I don't think that invalidates it.

It makes it unappealing to me personally but I agree that it isn't invalidated by that. I haven't seen it in a long time so I can't say which is better for sure but I will say that Gamera 2 is my least favorite of the 90's trilogy and The Brave is better than any of the Showa films.

[Terasawa]

I admit I need to watch it again but I thought the "Toru and his father have a disconnect because of mom's death" felt pretty cliched and maybe even a touch too mawkish, but otherwise it's definitely a good movie.

As a monster movie I love that it remained faithful to the spirit and character of Yuasa's Gamera while giving a necessary update to the tropes in those films. The problem with Takahashi and Yuasa's movies wasn't that they made the central characters children, it was that they did so through very juvenile plotting. That problem was pretty much completely avoided in this movie.

[eabaker]

I admit I need to watch it again but I thought the "Toru and his father have a disconnect because of mom's death" felt pretty cliched and maybe even a touch too mawkish, but otherwise it's definitely a good movie.

As a monster movie I love that it remained faithful to the spirit and character of Yuasa's Gamera while giving a necessary update to the tropes in those films.

It was definitely cliched, but I'm pretty forgiving of that with kids' movies, because I feel like part of their purpose is to familiarize kids with classic narrative dynamics and tropes before they move on to more complex and varied forms of storytelling.

[SoggyNoodles2016]

I've heard so many good things about Gamera The Brave that I'm genuinely more interested in seeing it then the last two films of the Heisei trilogy I haven't seen

[MikeSTZillak]

I've heard so many good things about Gamera The Brave that I'm genuinely more interested in seeing it then the last two films of the Heisei trilogy I haven't seen

You haven't seen Gamera: Revenge Of Iris yet? For shame.

[goji89]

Gamera the Brave easily is the best "targeted at kids" kaiju movie. I'd say it's even on the level if the Heisei trilogy. It's a shame it's never brought up when discussing the best kaiju films in the past few decades.

On the same level of the Heisei Gameta? Surely you must be joking. If it isn't mentioned its because no one cared enough for this movie aside from a few here.

I enjoy it far more than the Heisei films.

Look at your sig...........

Now imagine me looking at you exactly like that after this bullshit statement.

[Maritonic]

On the same level of the Heisei Gameta? Surely you must be joking. If it isn't mentioned its because no one cared enough for this movie aside from a few here.

I enjoy it far more than the Heisei films.

Look at your sig...........

Now imagine me looking at you exactly like that after this bullshit statement.

I mean, no, because enjoyment is subjective, I'm not making a statement about the objective quality of the film. I'm just saying I enjoy it more.

[goji89]

I enjoy it far more than the Heisei films.

Look at your sig...........

Now imagine me looking at you exactly like that after this bullshit statement.

I mean, no, because enjoyment is subjective, I'm not making a statement about the objective quality of the film. I'm just saying I enjoy it more.

Awww your no fun.

*walks away kicking rocks, hands in pocket*

[phantomsdaydreams]

I don't like The Brave more than the Hesei trilogy as a whole, but I'd definitely say it's a top 5 Gamera movie and really underappreciated. I might also be convinced of its superiority to Legion someday, as I did really enjoy the movie quite a lot, but would put it at #4 overall, personally.

Man...who do I have to kill to get another Gamera movie made? Seriously, why has there been no revival yet with the Kaiju boom in full swing? Depressing...

[Vakanai]

I thought Gamera The Brave started out well, but totally fell apart at the end.

Really? I think if anything it truly comes together for me at the end. The sequence with the kids passing the stone along to get it to Toto was the high point of the movie on my last viewing.

You got that right. The scene of kids passing the stone was the highlight and It felt like the entire movie in which I too passed a stone.......a kidney stone.

Ugh. I actually really like this movie a lot, it's my third favorite Gamera movie, but this was the only scene I legitimately didn't like. I rolled my eyes when I was watching it for the first time. And I'm not doing that thing were I'm just saying I rolled my eyes to illustrate my feelings, I mean I actually did really roll my eyes during that scene, I think more than once even. I might have even groaned. It was just too cliché, even for my admittedly high tolerance and low standards.

I mean it wasn't a breaking point or anything, and overall still a wonderful film. Just feel like the movie could have been better if that scene had been written out.

I've heard so many good things about Gamera The Brave that I'm genuinely more interested in seeing it then the last two films of the Heisei trilogy I haven't seen

You haven't seen Gamera: Revenge Of Iris yet? For shame.

Meh, they're not missing out on much. It's my least favorite Gamera movie of the trilogy. When I rank the 4 "modern" Gamera movies this is the one I place below Brave. I mean, I get a lot of the appeal for it, and I personally love a lot of stuff from it - the special effects, kaiju suits, and action is some of the best in the genre, even to this day I think. But certain plot points and characters just bug me so damn much it drags a lot of my enjoyment way down. I'm not going to waste time going into the details unless someone really wants to know, but point is I don't think it's the best, must see Gamera movie a lot of the fanbase makes it out to be.

Man...who do I have to kill to get another Gamera movie made? Seriously, why has there been no revival yet with the Kaiju boom in full swing? Depressing...

Right? I remember getting so pumped up for a new Gamera film in the near future back when they made that awesome (personal opinion) short film/proof of concept trailer. I mean that thing was so good, and it seemed like a new era of kaiju films would be perfect for Gamera to relaunch and maybe catch some more recognition than he's ever had...but then we got nothing and that was over 4 years ago back in 2015 I think. I mean, despite KOTM underperforming, with the success of the Monsterverse overall (including hopefully Godzilla vs Kong, fingers crossed), Shin Godzilla (especially being such a domestic hit in Japan), Rampage, the Meg, and the first Pacific Rim (second had faults you can't place on it being a kaiju film), and even Mechagodzilla appearing in Ready Player One, I still have faith that the next decade will be just as good if not better for giant monster movies, so we might still get a Gamera film in the 2020s. Maybe. I hope so, especially if it ends up looking as cool as the bulk of that short film.

If nothing else, maybe we'll get a sequel to that short film. I'll take as many of those as I can get. Sometimes I watch it back to back with that CGI Ultraman short that also didn't lead anywhere. Hell of a fun way to kill a handful of minutes.

[Terasawa]

I think the reason western fans are ambivalent towards G3 is because it draws from elements of Far East cultures that we’re simply not familiar with. It’s probably the most Japanese Japanese monster movie.

[MechaGoji Bro7503]

G3 & The Brave work great side by side as the different sides of Gamera if that makes sense. One's a pretty neat finale to an updated monster with bizarre scenes and heavier themes, and the other is a masterfully done, heart-gripping take on Showa elements.

[Spuro]

I think the reason western fans are ambivalent towards G3 is because it draws from elements of Far East cultures that we’re simply not familiar with. It’s probably the most Japanese Japanese monster movie.

More Japanese than Shin Godzilla?

[Cookson]

Well now that Ultraman and Pacific Rim have a anime series, I wouldn’t be surprised if Gamera goes that route as either a one or two season show like those two, or a trilogy like Godzilla.

Unfortunately they’re all going with that CGI anime stuff. I know it’s apparently extremely cheap to use but they gotta get out of that.

[Zarm]

Unfortunately they’re all going with that CGI anime stuff. I know it’s apparently extremely cheap to use but they gotta get out of that.

Heck yes- the sooner, the better!

[Titanoterror98]

Unfortunately they’re all going with that CGI anime stuff. I know it’s apparently extremely cheap to use but they gotta get out of that.

Heck yes- the sooner, the better!

Yes please! Although, I would prefer something either traditionally-animated or a combination of 2D and CG animation for this, seeing as CG anime and kaiju don't have the best track record. (*Glares at Polygon and Godzilla Earth*)

[BlankAccount]

Gamera 2 Advent of Legion is the most fun Gamera film to me.

Also Gamera needs a new video game, one where we actually play as him, not summon him as an assist and not some Pachinko machine or Smart Phone game. God.

[Titanoterror98]

Gamera 2 Advent of Legion is the most fun Gamera film to me.

Also Gamera needs a new video game, one where we actually play as him, not summon him as an assist and not some Pachinko machine or Smart Phone game. God.

^Yes, to this also.^

[Terasawa]

I think the reason western fans are ambivalent towards G3 is because it draws from elements of Far East cultures that we’re simply not familiar with. It’s probably the most Japanese Japanese monster movie.

More Japanese than Shin Godzilla?

Yes, I think so, although they're Japanese for different reasons. Shin is a modern Japanese look at the country's political systems and G3 is a film steeped in myths and legends obscure outside China, Japan, etc. While some of the Japanese attitudes, feelings, and political statements expressed in Shin are lost on western viewers, I think that because it does so much to spoof and criticize bureaucratic functions in the face of immediate disaster, a lot of its non-Japanese audience got the gist of it. G3 ambiguously uses real world legends to build its world and give meaning to its characters. The significance of that is lost on viewers who aren't familiar with the Four Chinese Symbols and especially the way they've been interpreted in Japan.