Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris

For the discussion of any Gamera related movies, comics, video games, etc.
Post Reply
User avatar
canofhumdingers
EDF Instructor
Posts: 2106
Joined: Mon Sep 02, 2013 2:34 pm

Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris

Post by canofhumdingers »

I don’t see a thread for this film like the other two, so…

I just finished watching the Heisei trilogy from the Arrow set. I was hoping someone had some insight on the supporting characters. Can anyone properly explain the character motivations and desires/goals of the game programmer guy and his government lady cohort? I’ve always found their story to be… muddy.

I get that she is from some line of ancient priestesses and wants to be the one to bond with Iris, but I can’t tell if she wants to destroy the world or stop iris? And the gamer guy seems to just be getting jollies out of watching the world burn? So he’s The Joker of the Gamera series? This viewing was the first time I picked up the fact that he apparently led the ornithologist lady and Asagi to Ayana at the temple against the Priestess lady’s wishes. And he seems to enjoy watching her die. So he works with her but doesn’t like her?

I don’t know, I guess I’ve just never understood exactly what these two characters were trying to do.

User avatar
Gojira1604
JXSDF Technician
Posts: 1169
Joined: Fri Mar 13, 2015 5:38 pm

Re: Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris

Post by Gojira1604 »

Just finished watching it with my mom, showing her lots of the Kaiju Genre for the first time. It is a bit confusing what goals the two mentioned characters had but what you infered I think explains it well.

User avatar
Major sssspielberg!
EDF Instructor
Posts: 2226
Joined: Wed Jul 05, 2017 7:48 am

Re: Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris

Post by Major sssspielberg! »

canofhumdingers wrote: Sat Aug 07, 2021 6:52 am I get that she is from some line of ancient priestesses and wants to be the one to bond with Iris, but I can’t tell if she wants to destroy the world or stop iris? And the gamer guy seems to just be getting jollies out of watching the world burn? So he’s The Joker of the Gamera series? This viewing was the first time I picked up the fact that he apparently led the ornithologist lady and Asagi to Ayana at the temple against the Priestess lady’s wishes. And he seems to enjoy watching her die. So he works with her but doesn’t like her?
Asakura specifically believes Gamera is an evil force, and that Iris is his holy counterpart. She wants to stop Gamera.
Kurata, as you said, is just reveling in the chaos. He doesn't really care about Iris and Gamera, he's alone for the ride figuring it's gonna get spicy if he helps bring about the apocalypse.
In my opinions they're both thematically sound villains for a story about faith. Kurata is a nihilist and Asakura is a fanatic, the two enemies of "true" faith.
Kaltes-Herzeleid wrote: Thu Jan 06, 2022 9:44 am I love Final Wars. I praise Final Wars. Simple as.

Lesko
GPN Volunteer
Posts: 122
Joined: Fri Apr 30, 2021 12:29 pm

Re: Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris

Post by Lesko »

I never understood why this film is so lauded. Not to say it doesn't have some great moments. It certainly does. However it has me asking more questions than the answers it gives. Iris' motivations and backstory are never really established. We are just given a bunch of conflicting explanations and are just told to guess which one we think is right. Reminds me of the poor multiple explanation origin story of Spacegodzilla. Iris has a connection to those medallions and Gyaos DNA so despite the conflicting origins that's the only one that really makes any sense but this just brings up even more questions.

Why was Iris created? Was it as that one suggestion that he was made to be a counter to Gamera? If so, why did Gamera counter Iris with his fatality move? Why does it have Gyaos DNA yet does not look like a Gyaos at all except in perhaps the head shape? When Iris died why did the Gyaos decide to swarm Gamera after that? If they were on Gyaos' side, why not arrive BEFORE Iris died? There are just so many question and hardly any answers. The little kaiju brawling we actually do get to see is fantastic. The problem is there just isn't much of it.

User avatar
eabaker
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 13758
Joined: Tue Aug 21, 2012 6:16 pm
Location: Portland, OR

Re: Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris

Post by eabaker »

Lesko wrote: Fri Aug 13, 2021 1:18 pm However it has me asking more questions than the answers it gives.
For a certain segment of the audience, this is one of the reasons it is so lauded. An effective and engaging human story, stunning effects sequences, and an extremely effective visual style and atmosphere are also significant factors.
Tokyo, a smoldering memorial to the unknown, an unknown which at this very moment still prevails and could at any time lash out with its terrible destruction anywhere else in the world.

User avatar
JAGzilla
Sazer
Posts: 11817
Joined: Mon Apr 18, 2011 6:45 pm
Location: Georgia

Re: Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris

Post by JAGzilla »

Rewatching this for the first time right now. That Shibuya battle was something else, so many amazing shots. The level of civilian involvement and carnage really makes it stand out and feel so much more believable and intense than the standard kaiju battle. That's something this trilogy was always good at, but it's next level here.
"Stop wars and no more accidents. I guess that's all I can ask." -Akio

User avatar
LegendZilla
Sazer
Posts: 10355
Joined: Sun Jan 13, 2013 3:57 am
Location: British Columbia, Canada

Re: Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris

Post by LegendZilla »

Lesko wrote: Fri Aug 13, 2021 1:18 pm I never understood why this film is so lauded. Not to say it doesn't have some great moments. It certainly does. However it has me asking more questions than the answers it gives. Iris' motivations and backstory are never really established. We are just given a bunch of conflicting explanations and are just told to guess which one we think is right. Reminds me of the poor multiple explanation origin story of Spacegodzilla. Iris has a connection to those medallions and Gyaos DNA so despite the conflicting origins that's the only one that really makes any sense but this just brings up even more questions.

Why was Iris created? Was it as that one suggestion that he was made to be a counter to Gamera? If so, why did Gamera counter Iris with his fatality move? Why does it have Gyaos DNA yet does not look like a Gyaos at all except in perhaps the head shape? When Iris died why did the Gyaos decide to swarm Gamera after that? If they were on Gyaos' side, why not arrive BEFORE Iris died? There are just so many question and hardly any answers. The little kaiju brawling we actually do get to see is fantastic. The problem is there just isn't much of it.
I’m not the biggest fan of this film either.

User avatar
LegendZilla
Sazer
Posts: 10355
Joined: Sun Jan 13, 2013 3:57 am
Location: British Columbia, Canada

Re: Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris

Post by LegendZilla »

I take it that a ton of the stuff with those cultists collecting the shattered amulets got lost in translation, which would get over a lot of people's heads. It got over mine for a while, but after doing research, it does start to make more sense. Is it true that the kanji for "Iris" also translates as something along the lines of "false god"?
Last edited by LegendZilla on Mon Nov 14, 2022 5:19 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Post Reply