What's the Best Heisei Gamera Film

HedorahIsBestGirl · Post by **HedorahIsBestGirl** » Mon Sep 09, 2019 7:04 pm

I have yet to meet a kaiju fan who doesn't love Shusuke Kaneko's Gamera trilogy. As a kid, Gamera: Guardian of the Universe was one of my favorite movies and I used to watch my VHS copy almost weekly. I didn't get my hands on DVDs of the sequels until my teenage years, and I was astonished to discover that they were (debatably) even better. This year at G-Fest, I had the honor of meeting Shusuke Kaneko and telling him how much I love both his Gamera trilogy and GMK. But I'm always someone who likes to rank things, and I can't decide which of the three Heisei Gamera movies I love the most.

Guardian of the Universe has the most nostalgia value for me, being the one I grew up with. It's also the movie that reinvented Gamera with a cool new origin, and transformed the Gamera series from an inferior contender to the Godzilla series to a self-confident, cool franchise.

Attack of Legion delivered one of the best designed, most badass kaiju of all time, and featured (in my opinion) the most impressive action scenes of the trilogy.

Revenge of Iris had the best narrative, the best cinematography and the best characters, and might be the best film overall.

All three of these movies are among my top ten kaiju films, but which is best? Currently, I'd rank them 3-1-2 but I'm not very confident about that. So what do you guys think? Which one's the best? Which one's your favorite? Vote and share your thoughts!

Orichalcum · Post by **Orichalcum** » Mon Sep 09, 2019 7:16 pm

Gamera Guardian of the Universe without a doubt, easily top tier amongst the kaiju genre as a whole

Mr_Goji_and_Watch · Post by **Mr_Goji_and_Watch** » Mon Sep 09, 2019 7:18 pm

Guardian of The Universe is peak kaiju kino. The other films have higher highs, but they feel weaker as wholes.

HedorahIsBestGirl · Post by **HedorahIsBestGirl** » Mon Sep 09, 2019 7:26 pm

Mr_Goji_and_Watch wrote:Guardian of The Universe is peak kaiju kino. The other films have higher highs, but they feel weaker as wholes.

That's a really good way of summing it up. Legion managed higher stakes, Iris managed stronger emotions, but Guardian is still the most well-rounded. I agree.

Orichalcum · Post by **Orichalcum** » Mon Sep 09, 2019 8:03 pm

Famous critc Ebert actually reviewed Gamera: Guardian Of The Universe back in the 90's- https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/game ... verse-1997

Post by **LSD Jellyfish** » Mon Sep 09, 2019 8:28 pm

Every single moment of Gamera 3 is kaiju kino, and its a prime textbook example of having a good human story in a kaiju film. I still need to write up my review for it.

BlankAccount · Post by **BlankAccount** » Mon Sep 09, 2019 8:37 pm

Legion, so much fun.

Orichalcum · Post by **Orichalcum** » Mon Sep 09, 2019 8:41 pm

LSD Jellyfish wrote:Every single moment of Gamera 3 is kaiju kino, and its a prime textbook example of having a good human story in a kaiju film. I still need to write up my review for it.

Not gonna lie, the human elements of Gamera 3 are what makes me dislike this film as much as I do.

The cinematography of the kaiju scenes is beyond incredible, no complaints whatsoever- but dear God I hate Ayana, her family, and the village scenes so so much. They drag the film way down for me, not to mention I'm not a fan of the Hentai vibes I get during the Iris/Ayana bonding scene, and his visible dick is more than a little offputting when you notice it lol

The ambiguousness of everything also bothers me to no end.

Terasawa · Post by **Terasawa** » Mon Sep 09, 2019 9:09 pm

G3 is probably the best kaiju movie of the entire Heisei era but GOTU will always be my favorite in this trilogy.

goji89 · Post by **goji89** » Mon Sep 09, 2019 11:01 pm

Mr_Goji_and_Watch wrote:Guardian of The Universe is peak kaiju kino. The other films have higher highs, but they feel weaker as wholes.

Well I'll be damned............ I agree.

Post by **eabaker** » Tue Sep 10, 2019 7:28 am

Part of what makes it such a delightful trilogy is that the entries succeed in such different ways, making a 1:1 (or 1:1:1) comparison more or less meaningless. One is a direct, extremely well-structured adventure; one is a very tight sci-fi action movie; and one is a thoughtful, atmospheric mythological horror story.

While my personal tastes/preferences place 2 a little below 1 and 3, it's an essentially negligible difference, and is about me more than it is about the work. As for 1 and 3, each works in its own way so well that I could not choose between them.

goji89 · Post by **goji89** » Tue Sep 10, 2019 7:34 am

No......Choose.

You know damn well it's GOTU.

Post by **eabaker** » Tue Sep 10, 2019 7:38 am

goji89 wrote:No......Choose.

You know damn well it's GOTU.

Fine, it's GOTU...

... and GIII.

goji89 · Post by **goji89** » Tue Sep 10, 2019 7:41 am

eabaker wrote:
goji89 wrote:No......Choose.

You know damn well it's GOTU.
Fine, it's GOTU...

... and GIII.

I will go to where you live........I know where you live....

.

And Im gonna force feed you GOTU with a bit of coffee.

Post by **eabaker** » Tue Sep 10, 2019 7:43 am

goji89 wrote:And Im gonna force feed you GOTU with a bit of coffee.

I could watch GOTU just about daily, so no need to force that.

And is decaf okay? My doctor wants me to avoid caffeine.

szmigiel · Post by **szmigiel** » Tue Sep 10, 2019 7:43 am

The trilogy is so well crafted I could easily pick anyone one as the best. But for me personally it will always be G3. Since I saw it for the 1st time at the Toronto International Film Festival premiere at a midnight screening. Majority of the audience half drunk just waiting to make fun of it MS3K style, and having it win the audience over till they were gasping and cheering.

goji89 · Post by **goji89** » Tue Sep 10, 2019 7:50 am

eabaker wrote:
goji89 wrote:And Im gonna force feed you GOTU with a bit of coffee.
I could watch GOTU just about daily, so no need to force that.

And is decaf okay? My doctor wants me to avoid caffeine.

Sure buddy. I was gonna say how you take your coffee before force feeding GOTU to ya.

Decaf it is.

daveblackeye15 · Post by **daveblackeye15** » Tue Sep 10, 2019 10:54 am

It's really hard. I re-watched the trilogy last month...then about two weeks ago I showed my brother Gamera 2 and 3. And a weekend ago showed my best friend Gamera 1 and 2 and then this Saturday Gamera 3 and GMK. So yeah kinda re-watched them a bunch.

When I was in high school Gamera 2 was mine because the effects are great, lots of action, favorite Gamera suit, Legion is fantastic. Gamera 3 was a disappointment since everyone hyped it up and I was a bit let down. I kinda expected Legion again but even bigger...and with a scary looking Gamera. Mind you in middle school Guardian of the Universe really did damn near blow all the hair off my head. I was re-watching old Gamera movies I saw in Elementary school and was a bit let down, loved Barugon though. So Guardian of the Universe was very 'holy crap this is amazing!'

Now it's changed up a bit...I feel like Gamera 2 does have great sets and visuals but the characters are a bit weaker. Gamera 1 moves at a very quick pace with it following two threads, Gyaos and Gamera/atoll and I feel like the characters are very enjoyable. I mean the characters in 2 are not boring or bad they have their quirks but I dunno 1 just did them very well. I appreciate a lot more the fact that Gamer and Gyaos both fly so there's a chase aspect to their final fight that Legion doesn't really have. I mean I love the change up don't get me wrong but I kinda wanna see Gamera vs. Gyaos but with their experience post Legion or Irys.

And now I really appreciate Irys, bringing back another character from Guardian, the fantasy element, the huge ambiguity element. I also learned that Kaneko was really unsure what to do so he took more time to figure out a new story since he really doesn't re-hash. I will say that this Gamera makes me feel different emotions aside from 'that was cool!/Oh no Gamera is hurt!' There's horror as he gets vicious against the Hyper Gyaos and causes lots of damage, that strange feeling of seeing him watch over Ayana and wondering if this is the same monster that caused all that damage. Blasting his own arm off while never letting go of Ayana.

So for me it's either 1 or 3...with 2 being very close. I think it's very accurate to say that comparing them is hard because Kaneko wanted to do different things for each one. Though I feel like tone wise 1 and 2 are the most similar.
Looks like so far the reviewer Up From the Depths is leaning towards 2 being the best.
He gave Gamera 1 a 4 and Gamera 2 a solid 5 citing that the characters are a bit weaker but loving the amped up action and effects. They are great effects.
Me personally...Gamera 1: 4.5 Gamera 2: 4 Gamera 3...Christ I dunno if it's a 4.5 or 5.
Oh yeah so brother thought Gamera 3 was better than 2. It had been a long time since he saw 1.
Best friend: so far he liked 2 more than 1 but it was very slim. Legion and the improved sets were what won him over. We'll see what he thinks of Irys.

Dynomy-DX · Post by **Dynomy-DX** » Tue Sep 10, 2019 3:46 pm

I just watched the trilogy today, funny enough.

If I had to pick the best... I feel on a more critical aspect, Guardian of the Universe felt the most well rounded of the three, balancing action and story the best. But if I had to pick my personal fave, I feel 3 was pretty damn good, barely edging out over GotU. The story was darker and added a ton of cool mythology to the mix, which I am a sucker for.

GodzillaFan1990's · Post by **GodzillaFan1990's** » Wed Sep 11, 2019 3:39 am

Argh...No...Don't make me choose...

I can't choose!

ARGH!!!!

Toho Kingdom

What's the Best Heisei Gamera Film

What's your favorite Heisei Gamera movie?

What's the Best Heisei Gamera Film

Re: What's the Best Heisei Gamera Film

Re: What's the Best Heisei Gamera Film

Re: What's the Best Heisei Gamera Film

Re: What's the Best Heisei Gamera Film

Re: What's the Best Heisei Gamera Film

Re: What's the Best Heisei Gamera Film

Re: What's the Best Heisei Gamera Film

Re: What's the Best Heisei Gamera Film

Re: What's the Best Heisei Gamera Film

Re: What's the Best Heisei Gamera Film

Re: What's the Best Heisei Gamera Film

Re: What's the Best Heisei Gamera Film

Re: What's the Best Heisei Gamera Film

Re: What's the Best Heisei Gamera Film

Re: What's the Best Heisei Gamera Film

Re: What's the Best Heisei Gamera Film

Re: What's the Best Heisei Gamera Film

Re: What's the Best Heisei Gamera Film

Re: What's the Best Heisei Gamera Film