Gamera: Guardian of the Universe Talkback

[jellydonut25]

[kiryugoji04]

[jellydonut25]

I think the thing I appreciate and enjoy most about this movie is that it has the stones to have its battles take place PRIMARILY during the daytime. That's pretty rare and unique for a kaiju film, especially in the more modern era, and it's what helps this film feel the most like a classic Gamera movie to me.
I really enjoy this movie, even with some of its flaws (the floating atoll thing only kinda sorta works for me...it seems a little odd and maybe isn't explored enough?...and the white-eyed Gyaos look weird to me, once the Gyaos grows full-size and the eyes turn red it's MUCH better), but even with those few flaws, this is a movie that wins me over a little more with each successive viewing.
I think if it had a few more of the cool flying effects featured in the later two films, this would be a movie always in danger of flipping with G2 as my favorite Gamera film...but there are spots here and there where you can tell that not everyone was 100% bought in on Kaneko's vision just yet and he didn't have the budget to do some of the cool stuff he does in the later films.

[king_ghidorah]

Glad to see GOTU rates that highly with you. G2 is deff more of Kaneko's film but I appreciate that Daei was holding him back a little with GOTU which makes it feel the most like a Showa Gamera film of the bunch.

The effects aren't as polished as they are in the next two films but I can still appreciate what's on screen all the same.

[Jorzilla]

I watched this movie with some friends last night. Damn, do I love this movie.

The entire time I was thinking: Kaneko was a guy who was a giant monster fan, who cut his teeth making movies available to him (Roman Pornos). Yet he was able to take the helm of the Gamera Trilogy in order to fulfill a life goal of directing a Godzilla film.

My friends made comments on how crazy this film is. A flying turtle is comical, but it's handled really well and in a cool way! Similarly, there's a scene where the flat out state the point of the movie. My friends starting making jokes about how heavy handed this was, to which I replied "That's the point of this genre!"

God, I love it. It's a love letter to the genre as far as I'm concerned. This movie is great.

[lhb412]

Just noticed that Kirin beer product placement is all over this movie, too.

[lhb412]

I was looking over my last few posts in this thread - that review on the last page is from almost four years ago! Anyway, it was kinda slightly somewhat more negative than I think it should be. Gamera: Guardian of the Universe is so entertaining, so full of cool things, retro style, and an undercurrent of humor that it more than makes up for any shortcomings. It is one of my most rewatched movies. I can always pop it into the Blu-Ray player when I want to feel cheered up, sometimes just watching bits of it.

[MekaGojira3k]

I just re-watched the trilogy and this one is my favorite now. It's got a little bit of everything. Now, that being said, it's almost impossible to choose because the Gamera trilogy has such distinct films. They all feel different and are good at what they do.

I think this is probably, just the most fun to pop in and enjoy. It certainly has my favorite human cast of the trilogy.

[Rody]

Watching GotU again recently, I was struck by an aspect of Asagi's character I hadn't noticed before. How should I put it: Asagi is like the "otaku hero" you might see in a fantasy anime, but without the "otaku-ness".
Let me explain better: Asagi seems to understand - or at least accept - events involving Gamera and Gyaos better than anyone else, and it seems to be due to her hobbies/interests. She recognizes Atlantis and the runes from fantasy novels, and her room contains various film merchandise and memorabilia - not excessively, but prominently. At the same time, Asagi never gets framed in a blatant hero light, or has any melodramatic moments. Even as her father and everyone else are still wrapping their brains around the concept of monsters and ancient civilizations - and even as she becomes connected to events in the most unexpectedly intimate way - Asagi just takes it all in stride. There's a hint of what might be "geekiness" in her, but it's balanced out with a strong grace.

I admit I'm not really going anywhere with this; it's just something I observed (and liked) upon my latest viewing. If someone else wants to weigh in, please do.

[lhb412]

^I totally agree. Asagi certainly has an element of otaku-ness in her character, but without the trappings of the awkward nerd.

This is even followed up nicely in G3, where she's decided to devote her life to studying the stuff that interests her, the dream of any true nerd (with the caveat that it might hold the key to saving the world, sure).

[lhb412]

[lhb412]

Is this seriously from the UK version of GotU?!

[Henry88]

[lhb412]

This is worse because of the transition from the original score to the techno. Just horrible.

[Kailem]

Yep, those are both legit!

The UK Special Edition of GOTU used to play on the Sci-Fi Channel quite a bit over here back in the late 90's, and even had a limited theatrical screening I remember. It was the only Gamera film (and version of a Gamera film) I'd seen until I bought the R1 DVD set of the complete Heisei trilogy several years later.

And as ridiculous as it may seem now, I still have a soft spot for that version of the film and really wish it'd gotten a proper retail release, instead of just as a random free disc included with some games magazine years ago (I think?).

[lhb412]

It's a bit crazy that this film made such a splash internationally, yet it took the sequels several years to make their way to the west. I wonder if a bit part wasn't just the novelty of seeing such a campy property played straight, and once that novelty was spent there was no big push to give G2 and G3 the same treatment?

[Kailem]

I wouldn't be surprised. It was also around the time that Godzilla vs Destroyah was making headlines internationally for killing Godzilla off, so getting a similar sort of movie out there while there was something of a focus on them at the time might have also been part of the reason why this got the push that it did. Then, like you say, once the novelty had worn off there was probably less incentive to bring the sequels over as well, especially given that it obviously cost a certain amount more money to create an original dub track for it (which I actually remember being pretty good), at least in the case of bringing them to the UK specifically.

[lhb412]

^ Unless I'm creating a false memory, the ADV dubs for G2 and G3 were created long before their 2003 DVD release. I don't know what the holdup was.

[Geno]

It helps that GOTU is one of the few films in the genre that is legitimately good and well made, especially when the contemporary Godzilla movies aren't really good by any means.

[Specium Ray]

I was trying to remember the name of the ending song to this movie (it's "The Myth" by Bakufu Slump) and found a page (http://godzilla.wikia.com/wiki/The_Myth) that claims that in the American release, the song was replaced with a different, English language song. Does anyone know what song this is?

[Rody]

^No idea; it's not included on my Mill Creek set.

I actually had the opportunity to show this film to some kids I know; I think they enjoyed it overall, but I wouldn't say they took it very seriously. The initial attack scene on the island (during the storm) left them laughing out loud from the actors' performances.

[lhb412]

[Specium Ray]

[Benjamin Haines]

That song plays on a continuous loop through a lot of the special features on ADV's Gamera DVDs. It would be a great song to use in enhanced interrogations.

[lhb412]

With the Godzilla: King of the Monsters trailer showing all the monsters having worshipers or ancient civilizations that knew about them or whatever it feels like Gamera: Guardian of the Universe (and the trilogy in general) is casting this huge shadow over the genre, right? Come to think of it, when Ultraman had its own reboot one year after (1996) they also went with ancient mystical underpinning!

Since ancient civilizations had been a major part of the genre since the 60s it seems natural enough.