Best Gamera trilogy film?

[eabaker]

Some days it's G2 and some days its GOTU. GOTU tends to rise to the top simply because the human characters are the most engaging out of any in the trilogy. G2 has a fantastic concept for aliens that's hard to ignore.

G3 is spectacular but it doesn't really engage with me as far as the human drama is concerned.

Interesting. To me, Ayana is the most compelling human character in the trilogy.

[MekaGojira3k]

Some days it's G2 and some days its GOTU. GOTU tends to rise to the top simply because the human characters are the most engaging out of any in the trilogy. G2 has a fantastic concept for aliens that's hard to ignore.

G3 is spectacular but it doesn't really engage with me as far as the human drama is concerned.

Interesting. To me, Ayana is the most compelling human character in the trilogy.

I would say Ayana is the best of G3, but the rest just don't do much for me. I think it's firmly a question of my preferences, weird though they may be.

[BlankAccount]

Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris has an interesting theory that Genbu, The Black Warrior of the North, is Gamera. But The Black Warrior is depicted collectively as two animals, a turtle or tortoise with a snake wrapped around it. I feel like it was a missed opportunity they didn't have them find the remains of a dead snake kaiju in the Gamera graveyard, implying he was an ally of Gamera and his partner died leaving him with the take of protecting the world alone. In short, Gamera is only the surviving half of a whole, a team meant to work together. I feel that would have added to Gamera's implied tragic and unclear backstory, on top of the theories the other Gameras either fell in battle or were failed experiments that never got a chance to live and Gamera was the only one to survive the creation process. It would further add he is Genby and the last hope Atlantis makes him our to be.

I found fan art depicting Gamera and a very snaky Guiron as Genbu and while I would have preferred an original monster as his partner, I can't deny this is cool art.



https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/81684935

[Anguirus]

I was bored throughout 3, sadly. I did not care for the fact that a kid was a main character.

2 is a great action/creature movie, i love the feeling of the underground scenes. And the fight scenes are perfect. 10/10

1, however, will always be one of my favorite kaiju movies. I love the aesthetics, I can rewatch this movie all the time. I love the Gyaos hunting scenes, the fight scenes, and the human drama. Plus, of course, the references to Atlantis.

[Desghidorah]

I say this with all three scoring excellently, G2 is my top pick. Both GOTU and G3 have really big stand-out moments that I adore, but I think G2 holds up the most consistently. With GOTU, occasional moments of poor effects or slowed pacing in the middle lower the greatness. With G3 the awesome air battle contrasts to the cultists and the annoying Multiple Choice Past Iris is given.

Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris has an interesting theory that Genbu, The Black Warrior of the North, is Gamera. But The Black Warrior is depicted collectively as two animals, a turtle or tortoise with a snake wrapped around it. I feel like it was a missed opportunity they didn't have them find the remains of a dead snake kaiju in the Gamera graveyard, implying he was an ally of Gamera and his partner died leaving him with the take of protecting the world alone. In short, Gamera is only the surviving half of a whole, a team meant to work together. I feel that would have added to Gamera's implied tragic and unclear backstory, on top of the theories the other Gameras either fell in battle or were failed experiments that never got a chance to live and Gamera was the only one to survive the creation process. It would further add he is Genby and the last hope Atlantis makes him our to be.

I found fan art depicting Gamera and a very snaky Guiron as Genbu and while I would have preferred an original monster as his partner, I can't deny this is cool art.



https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/81684935

This post is fantastic!

[Terasawa]

What’s annoying about Iris’ origin? IMO it adds to the trilogy’s lore and makes it feel more realistic than a lot of sci-fi/fantasy universes.

[Desghidorah]

What’s annoying about Iris’ origin? IMO it adds to the trilogy’s lore and makes it feel more realistic than a lot of sci-fi/fantasy universes.

Oh I fully admit this is just a pet peeve of mine, all up to personal taste. I just dislike that if a lot of talk is made about something's origin, that nothing definitive is given. For a comparison we didn't learn where the Graboids came from in Tremors, but the number of times it's discussed amounts to maybe 20 seconds and it isn't all that relevant. By comparison Iris' ties to the trilogy's lore and G3's themes such as religion, origin, and fate are consistently discussed across the film by multiple characters. Is it a demon? Is it an evolved gyaos? Is it a prototype guardian beast? Is it a safety measure to kill Gamera in case he went rogue? Does this mean Gamera is going rogue or just taking extreme measures? Was it aggressive and evil on the onset or did Ayana's hatred corrupt it? Did it manipulate Ayana or did it think it was doing what she wanted?

Numerous ones or some combination therein are supported, but nothing confirms anything despite how iron clad anyone's theory might be. It adds something for sure, it's just a pet peeve of mine we have about half a dozen characters consistently saying what Iris is and no one ever really proves anything. There are stories a monster doesn't really have an origin or one confirmed that work. We don't need to know precisely how the werewolf that bit Lawrence Talbot came from, or how exactly Count Dracula became a vampire, or where exactly the Legion came from. The problem I have is whatever the correct answer is for Iris' origin, it has some pretty hefty implications for what went down in Atlantis/Mu 12,000 years ago. Compounded with other half-answers like what's the deal with the Gamera graveyard, and I feel the movie spends a few too many moments asking questions or making statements without giving answers.

[Kaltes-Herzeleid]

Me, I'm the opposite of that. I tend to love ambiguity which I think makes Gamera 3 stand out even more, especially since few kaiju films tend to not have that sense of ambiguity to them overall.

[Terasawa]

I just dislike that if a lot of talk is made about something's origin, that nothing definitive is given...The problem I have is whatever the correct answer is for Iris' origin, it has some pretty hefty implications for what went down in Atlantis/Mu 12,000 years ago. Compounded with other half-answers like what's the deal with the Gamera graveyard, and I feel the movie spends a few too many moments asking questions or making statements without giving answers.

G3's about putting faith in something (in this case, Gamera), even when its motives are unknowable and its actions potentially not good. ("God acts in strange ways...") The film asks another question: is Gamera friend, foe, or something else altogether? That question is never definitively answered either. If Kaneko and Ito had allowed their characters to say "Iris is definitely an evil creature and here's proof of what it did 12,000 years ago" or "Iris is designed to take out an evil Gamera, here's how we know" the whole concept of faith wouldn't work. It only works if Iris' origin is ambiguous and if there's uncertainty and doubt in Gamera's intentions.

[Kaltes-Herzeleid]

I just dislike that if a lot of talk is made about something's origin, that nothing definitive is given...The problem I have is whatever the correct answer is for Iris' origin, it has some pretty hefty implications for what went down in Atlantis/Mu 12,000 years ago. Compounded with other half-answers like what's the deal with the Gamera graveyard, and I feel the movie spends a few too many moments asking questions or making statements without giving answers.

G3's about putting faith in something (in this case, Gamera), even when its motives are unknowable and its actions potentially not good. ("God acts in strange ways...") The film asks another question: is Gamera friend, foe, or something else altogether? That question is never definitively answered either. (Asagi's answer at the conclusion is informed by her faith in Gamera.) If Kaneko and Ito had allowed their characters to say "Iris is definitely an evil creature and here's proof of what it did 12,000 years ago" or "Iris is designed to take out an evil Gamera, here's how we know" the whole concept of faith wouldn't work. It only works if Iris' origin is ambiguous and if there's uncertainty and doubt in Gamera's intentions.

I've always felt that the clue to Iris' nature is in his name and how it's represented. On the poster they use "Jashin," meaning "Evil God." That's certainly an incredibly deliberate naming choice. The Devil to Gamera's God.

[Terasawa]

G3's about putting faith in something (in this case, Gamera), even when its motives are unknowable and its actions potentially not good. ("God acts in strange ways...") The film asks another question: is Gamera friend, foe, or something else altogether? That question is never definitively answered either. (Asagi's answer at the conclusion is informed by her faith in Gamera.) If Kaneko and Ito had allowed their characters to say "Iris is definitely an evil creature and here's proof of what it did 12,000 years ago" or "Iris is designed to take out an evil Gamera, here's how we know" the whole concept of faith wouldn't work. It only works if Iris' origin is ambiguous and if there's uncertainty and doubt in Gamera's intentions.

I've always felt that the clue to Iris' nature is in his name and how it's represented. On the poster they use "Jashin," meaning "Evil God." That's certainly an incredibly deliberate naming choice. The Devil to Gamera's God.

Yes, but the characters aren't supposed to and don't know this because it would totally undermine the drama.

[Desghidorah]

I just dislike that if a lot of talk is made about something's origin, that nothing definitive is given...The problem I have is whatever the correct answer is for Iris' origin, it has some pretty hefty implications for what went down in Atlantis/Mu 12,000 years ago. Compounded with other half-answers like what's the deal with the Gamera graveyard, and I feel the movie spends a few too many moments asking questions or making statements without giving answers.

G3's about putting faith in something (in this case, Gamera), even when its motives are unknowable and its actions potentially not good. ("God acts in strange ways...") The film asks another question: is Gamera friend, foe, or something else altogether? That question is never definitively answered either. If Kaneko and Ito had allowed their characters to say "Iris is definitely an evil creature and here's proof of what it did 12,000 years ago" or "Iris is designed to take out an evil Gamera, here's how we know" the whole concept of faith wouldn't work. It only works if Iris' origin is ambiguous and if there's uncertainty and doubt in Gamera's intentions.

1. Jokes on you, I'm into that backstory stuff. I actually really do love when we're given information on events we never get to see, meaning the constant teasing just annoyed me.

2. Okay more serious, to point a comparison I really like the idea echoes of the past can be used to figure out a mystery. I am a paleontologist after all. The first movie did this very well where evidence like the tablet, the way the charms worked, legend referencing, why the gyaos and then Gamera appeared now, and the gyaos having only a single chromosome all worked together to tell a story that happened 12,000 years ago without a single flashback or major exposition. It was all reinforced by what the creatures were doing now and served the plot. By comparison Gamera 3 had characters quoting on what the kaiju are doing, but the problem is they all keep saying different things with no one being verified which muddies the solution. Faith is a mystery, but to me the best mysteries in movies are at least given potential answers that are either confirmed or at the least supported.

I get that Faith is the concept being explored in the film, but the difference between exploring it there vs. real life faith is unlike a metaphysical deity, Gamera and company are tangible beings with fantastic powers. A being whom already had an origin given to it which keeps getting teased at more and more in G3. And the more loose details we're handed, such as the Gamera graveyard or just what is on Iris' mind, the more I'm going to want to connect the details. One can still explore Faith through it by seeing how falsehoods can be supported by those who either have incomplete information or a bias, having a solution where the faith of those who sought the truth or remained faithful are vindicated.

If you need an example of how G3's lore building causes confusion, just look at the KWC or TvTropes. Due to having multiple people contributing, even people who tried their best to pay attention to a movie they are very fond of keep coming up with different answers.

Me, I'm the opposite of that. I tend to love ambiguity which I think makes Gamera 3 stand out even more, especially since few kaiju films tend to not have that sense of ambiguity to them overall.

Again, it's my personal taste. If you like the contrary, more power to you