Favorite Heisei Gamera Film

[Voyager]

One word. Legion.

[Gigantis]

Uh, don't we already have this thread?

But anyway, totally gonna have to go with Legion. The action and drama is incredible, Legion herself is amazing to look at, the symbiotic's are terrifying, the final battle is astonishing... it easily ranks among one of my favorite kaiju films of all time.

[JAGzilla]

On my first viewing, GOTU was my favorite. I tend to prefer more simplistic kaiju, so the Gyaos were my favorite villains, and I just generally preferred the overall story.

But that's been several years ago, and at present GOTU is the only one I've rewatched. I'll give the others another shot somewhere in the next year or two, and we'll see if my mind changes.

[BlankAccount]

One word. Legion.

Same, it's just so much fun!

[Tyrant_Lizard_King]

Legion. I just enjoy the characters and their interactions more. Gamera 3 has some fantastic sequences but the story is a bit too convoluted for its own good. Like I understand the stuff with Ayana and all that just fine but all the stuff with the weird guy and the hot fortune teller chick still leaves me scratching my head a bit.

[JAGzilla]

Legion. I just enjoy the characters and their interactions more. Gamera 3 has some fantastic sequences but the story is a bit too convoluted for its own good. Like I understand the stuff with Ayana and all that just fine but all the stuff with the weird guy and the hot fortune teller chick still leaves me scratching my head a bit.

I had this problem, too, though admittedly that was in part because the subtitles on my DVD are screwed up. Several whole lines are missing, and IIRC, others were off-time or something like that. That's one of the reasons I'm tossing around the idea of buying the new Arrow set.

[BlankAccount]

Legion. I just enjoy the characters and their interactions more. Gamera 3 has some fantastic sequences but the story is a bit too convoluted for its own good. Like I understand the stuff with Ayana and all that just fine but all the stuff with the weird guy and the hot fortune teller chick still leaves me scratching my head a bit.

I had this problem, too, though admittedly that was in part because the subtitles on my DVD are screwed up. Several whole lines are missing, and IIRC, others were off-time or something like that. That's one of the reasons I'm tossing around the idea of buying the new Arrow set.

Eh, you're not missing much, the guy and lady are essentially part of a death cult. So...fuck em.

[JAGzilla]

Eh, you're not missing much, the guy and lady are essentially part of a death cult. So...skreeonk em.

Regardless of what their role is, it's nice to be able to know what they're saying.

[shadowgigan]

I just watched GOTU the other day, so I think it's unfair or me to choose until I watch the other two later on in the week. Good excuse to revisit the series. Though with this series choosing only one film is like splitting hairs.

[Terasawa]

GOTU
Iris
Legion
Brave

[Ivo-goji]

Legion is almost perfect in every way.

[Spuro]

Good lord... I love all four of these films.

I'd say Legion is my personal favorite, but I also think it's the weakest of them all. I think Iris is the best... but it's only my second favorite.

Still, that gives it more overall "points" than Legion, so I guess Iris edges it out.

[tbeasley]

The trilogy is phenomenal, getting better with each entry - they are seriously some of the best sci-fi/monster films no one has ever really seen or given a chance. Hopefully the Arrow set gives them some of the exposure and acclaim they deserve.

Gamera the Brave is also severely underrated.

[Dynomy-DX]

Iris
GOTU
Brave
Legion

I couldn’t really get into the human story in Legion, so it just kinda dragged on. Though the monster action was phenomenal. GOTU and Iris had the human plot down for me, and the monster action was top notch, as expected. Iris edges out for the cool mythos and darker aesthetic. Brave needs a rewatch since it’s been a while, but hey.

[HedorahIsBestGirl]

I think the Heisei Gamera trilogy is one of the best film trilogies of all time, period. Revenge of the Iris is the best kaiju film since 1954. Guardian is nearly as good, and I almost picked it because it's my childhood favorite, as it's the only one I owned on VHS. Legion has arguably the best action sequences of the three but I think it's the weakest overall; still fantastic, but it's the only entry in the trilogy that's not one of my top ten kaiju films. Gamera the Brave is pretty good, better than the Showa Gamera films for sure, but it's not nearly on the level of Kaneko's trilogy.

[eabaker]

Trying to choose between GotU and GIII is an act of absurd futility.

GotU is Classic Coke, a recognizable formula accomplished with absolute precision. (GII is more like Diet Coke, still a formula realized precisely, but with one ingredient swapped out to produce something satisfying but slightly more bland - that one ingredient being the tight narrative connections between the humans and the monsters.)

GIII breaks with the formula; it's more of a wild combination of different exciting flavors, never quite the same taste from one sip to the next.

[shadowgigan]

I love how the mystery unravels in the first film. There's just something about the atmosphere these films convey - I'm tempted to use the word "aura", though I'm not exactly sure why. The use of Gamera as a character that grows and changes throughout the trilogy is phenomenal.

[Vakanai]

The first was the best, followed by Brave, then Legion, and Iris is at the bottom. At least for me that's how they rank.

[Terasawa]

Thanks for including Gamera, the Brave. It was annoying when fans dubbed that "the Millennium series" Gamera movie, despite Toho only using that branding for the 2000s Godzilla films. I'm not sure what Tsuburaya did with Ultraman but Toei used "Heisei series" for Kamen Rider and Super Sentai until -you know- the Heisei era ended.

[Voyager]

Thanks for including Gamera, the Brave. It was annoying when fans dubbed that "the Millennium series" Gamera movie, despite Toho only using that branding for the 2000s Godzilla films. I'm not sure what Tsuburaya did with Ultraman but Toei used "Heisei series" for Kamen Rider and Super Sentai until -you know- the Heisei era ended.

You’re welcome dude. I think the idea of a ‘Millennium Gamera Series’ is redundant anyway.