Gamera: Guardian of the Universe (1995)
"Gamera daikaijû kuchu kessen" (original title)

A hibernating species of giant carnivorous bird is awakened on a Japanese island shortly after the Japanese military encounters an unidentified mass moving beneath the water off-shore.

Director:

Shûsuke Kaneko

Writers:

Matt Greenfield (dialogue), Kazunori Itô,

Stars:

Tsuyoshi Ihara, Akira Onodera, Shinobu Nakayama

6 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Tsuyoshi Ihara	...	Yoshinari Yonemori
Akira Onodera	...	Naoya Kusangi
Shinobu Nakayama	...	Mayumi Nagamine
Ayako Fujitani	...	Asagi Kusanagi
Yukijirô Hotaru	...	Insp. Osako
Hatsunori Hasegawa	...	Col. Satake
Hirotarô Honda	...	Mr. Saito
Akira Kubo	...	Captain of the Kairyumaru
Kôjirô Hongô	...	Captain of the Nojima
Takashi Matsuo	...	Taxi driver
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Carol Amerson	...	Various (voice)
Tiffany Grant	...	Dr. Mayumi Nagamine (voice)
Yuhmi Kaneyama	...	Gyaos
Gene Kato	...	Helicopter Pilot (voice)
Jason Lee	...	Miltary Helicopter Pilot (voice)

Storyline

The giant flying turtle is back for this 1995 Japanese feature where once again Gamera's intentions are misinterpreted by the military. All Gamera wants to do is take on his old enemy, Gyaos, the giant prehistoric bird who has nested atop Tokyo Tower.

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Plot Keywords:

gamera | tokyo tower | product placement | pollution | helicopter | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Fantasy | Thriller

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

16 April 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Gamera: Guardian of the Universe

Box Office

Budget:

JPY 5,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Daiei Studios, Hakuhodo, NTV Network

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The gayos creature was performed by a female actress so that it would convey more 'feminine' like behavior. Apparently this was the first time a kaiju was ever performed by a woman.

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Connections

Followed by Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris (1999)

User Reviews

The other Big G is back

This updated version of the 1960's terrifying terrapin is by far better than the showa films that precede it. Gamera first showed its fangs in 1965 in the movie Gamera (1965) as a response to the popular Godzilla series. for the most part these films were bad.

The 1990's revival of the sabre-toothed tortoise is a brilliant addition to the Kaiju Eiga.

The acting in Gamera: Guardian of the Universe is Excellent. Each Actor and Actress portrays there own character well and seem to enjoy playing the part.

The storyline is very good. The inclusion of what humans are doing to the planet being the reason for why the Gyoas waking up was a good plot device. Also the myth of Atlantis/super-civilisation having created the two monsters, Gamera and Gyoas was a good touch.

The soundtrack was good but I do have some complaints about its use. During the final battle scene I feel that the music played was not completely appropriate for a battle of titans.

Overall a good film with some minor flaws. Gamera: Guardian of the Universe is a great film that can be enjoyed by anyone a kaiju fan or not.

And by the way the next two are even better