In some ways, I think that Gamera vs. Jiger is a big step above the two previous entries, Gamera vs. Viras and Gamera vs. Guiron. It clearly had a much higher budget, or at the very least utilizes said budget well. As much as I'm forgiving of vs. Viras, and like Guiron, they feel empty. Besides the main cast, and a few specific moments of crowds, the previous films lack a lot of extra random people in the backgrounds, or random characters. This isn't the case with Gamera vs. Jiger. There's a lot of extras at the camp where the Devil's Whistle is, as well as inside the Expo, and the brief shots we see of the city. Random people are turned into skeletons, and the world of the film feels appropriately filled with people. Likewise, there's much more elaborate minatures. While Terra had a few structures and was impressive in it's own right, and Viras had a few buildings towards the end, they felt like outliers. Not in Gamera vs. Jiger. We have the minatures of Wester Island, Osaka, and the Expo-site. It's mostly mixed in nicely with real scenes of the Expo site, creating a nice illusion of it all clicking together, it's great. In addition to that, we get the scene where the kids go inside Gamera and eliminate the Jiger baby, which itself feels like a surreal journey that adds a bit of visual variety to it all. Gamera vs. Jiger also features a lot of destruction of said minatures, and fire, something that previous films really didn't feature.
Moving onto monsters, Jiger is an underated monster. There's something about it's overly large head, that really does wonders. I like it's method of loccomotion and charging at things with it's immense bulk. I especially like the scene where Jiger is travelling through the ocean, and it rams into a boat. it's method of transportation is...unique. It is like a living speedboat, ramming into whatever it can.
This is certainly an imposing image:
Jiger is ugly, a weird reptile/fish hybrid. The suit itself is actually pretty well-done. It doesn't feel rubbery like Viras or as stiff as Gyaos. The end result is a monster that seems bony and tanky, and it works well. it's eyes are pretty well done too. There's an ugly tiredness to it all.
The fights are pretty good. Jiger likes firing all these spears at Gamera, and it's gross when Gamera can't retreat into it's shell because of that. I like how Jiger has those suction hands, and during a lot of the fights both monsters collide and go flying into the air. The parasitic offspring angle is a bit weird, but I suppose it adds a (then) unique idea to the film.
I think though there's a clear reason though why this film isn't discussed a lot. It's pretty boring and formulaic. While I just complimented Jiger, it's story is very similar to Barugons. It's an ancient creature that was awakened despite the pleas of natives/people living around the creature. The similarties don't end there, both are large brown quadrapedal creatures that shoot large rays that arc like a rainbow. They use a special weapon to temporarily incapacitate/freeze Gamera. The circumstances surrounding Jiger, like Barugon, are also a bit fuzzy. It's never really explained. Jiger really has zero motivation for what it does either. Gyaos is just trying to eat, Viras is a fused form of alien invaders intent on removing Gamera so they can conquer the Earth, and Guiron is an alien watch dog. Why does Jiger really go on such a rampage or travel all the wya to Japan to do so? Guess it's not a fan of the expo.
Likewise, the human children in this film are really unremarkable. It's not like versus Viras where they put their special skills to work to defeat the Virasians, or in Gamera vs. Guiron where the children's intrigue is a catalyst for the plot. Due to the increased violence and destruction, as well as the sickness the sailors get, it feels a little darker too, but not in an interesting way. Where Gamera vs. Guiron is a magical fantasy, with dark subtexts of eating children's brains, Gamera vs. Jiger is just a standard film without much soul. And although I praised the scene of going into Gamera's body, it really is a repeated version of having kids in submarines like Vs. Viras.
In conclusion, Jiger itself, like almost all the Gamera foes, is a unique and distinctive creature. The film around it is decent, but very formulaic and by the numbers.
