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 film's Japanese poster is a nearly identical recreation of the Japanese poster of the first film in which Gamera fought Gyaos, Daikaijû kûchûsen: Gamera tai Gyaosu.

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Quotes

Insp. Osako: Doctor, let's come back tomorrow.
Mayumi Nagamine: This creature might be nocturnal.
Insp. Osako: That's an even better reason! Suppose it were to attack us?
Mayumi Nagamine: [Gyaos flies overhead and she starts to follow] It's getting away!
Insp. Osako: We're not equipped for this, and it's out of our jurisdiction!
Mayumi Nagamine: It's looking for food!
Insp. Osako: For food? That'll be us if we're not careful!
Mayumi Nagamine: If it can't find prey here, it'll attack Japan!

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Connections

Followed by Gamera 2: Attack of the Legion (1996)

User Reviews

Good kaiju film *** out of 5

Let it be said that I do not understand why everyone raves over the quality and production values of this film. It certainly isn't any better than the Godzilla films being made at that time. It's a lot better than the original Gamera films when it comes to production values, of course, but after seeing the film I wasn't sure what all the fuss was about.

I've heard people exclaim that this may very well be the ultimate kaiju film and in my eyes it's anything but.

It's not any better nor is it any worse than the typical kaiju film. But if you're a fan of the genre like I am you will definitely consider it a solid kaiju film.

Some of the battle scenes are really fun and Gyaos has always been my favorite Gamera foe.

I look forward to finally seeing the sequels, which are hailed quite highly too. I just hope that those live up to the hype.