Gamera: Difference between revisions

[[File:Gamera_Guardian_of_The_Universe.jpg|framethumb|300px]]

The legacy of Gamera modestly carried on however, particularly in America. The first six films were shown constantly on local television stations in the 70s and 80s. The [[Clip Show|aforementioned]] eighth film ''[[Gamera Super Monster (Film)|Gamera: Super Monster]]'' aired on [[MTV]] at time when they rarely showed movies and was also released to local television. In the late 80s the seventh film ''[[Gamera vs. Zigra (Film)|Gamera vs. Zigra]]'' had its [[Missing Episode|long overdue]] release along with differently edited/dubbed versions of four other ''Gamera'' films via airings on [[USA Network]] and local stations as well as video releases from new distributor Sandy Frank. Gamera was introduced to a new audience when the Sandy Frank versions aired as episodes of the series ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]''. On the show, it was derided for having too many [[Narm|cringe-worthy Gamera moments]] (One infamous scene had Gamera swing up and down a pole, [[Gymkata]] style), bad dubbing, and [[The Scrappy|too much emphasis on the kids]].

Then, the Heisei series came. After a long wait, it was decided that the ''Gamera'' series should be revived. A man named Shusuke Kaneko, currently famous for the [[Death Note (Manga)|Death Note]] movies, was chosen to direct a new ''Gamera'' trilogy. What we got was a drastic change from the previous series. The movies became much darker in tone. The monsters ended up becoming much more abstract than anything seen in a [[Kaiju]] movie. The trilogy has been praised by critics from both sides of the Pacific.

With the exception of ''Gamera the Brave'', all movies are available for free viewing at [https://web.archive.org/web/20120416034953/http://www.goohead.com/category/movies/gamera/ goohead].

=== Films in the Gamera Franchise include: ===

* [[Alien Invasion]]: ''Destroy All Planets'', ''Gamera vs. Zigra'' and ''Gamera: Super Monster''. Subverted in ''Gamera vs. Guiron'' when a pair of kids "invade" an alien planet, forcing Gamera to come and rescue them.

* [[Big-Budget Beef-Up]]: Gamera vs. Barugon was made as an A-list film and it clearly shows compared to all the other films. No kids, darker and edgier, the suits look awesome, an actual story attempt ect.

* [[Captain Ersatz]]: The Xenon/Zanon mothership in ''Gamera: Super Monster'' isn't even a Captain Ersatz of an Imperial Star Destroyer from ''[[Star Wars]]'', it just IS one.

* [[Death Byby Materialism]]: Onodera in ''Gamera vs. Barugon.''

* [[Everything's Better Withwith Rainbows]]: Generating a searing rainbow out of the spikes on his back was Barugon's main attack.

* [[Everything's Even Worse Withwith Sharks]]: Zigra.

* [[His Name Is--]]: Happens during the opening scene of ''Gamera vs. Viras''. Just before the Virians can finish their distress signal, the ship explodes and the title card (Gamera) appears on screen. More or less ruined in the AIP TV version, where the American title card (''Destroy All Planets'') appears instead.

* [[Kill It Withwith Water]]: Barugon.

** All of ''Gamera: Super Monster'''s fight scenes are taken from the older movies. And unlike ''Godzilla's Revenge'', there aren't any new fights mixed in. The film also manages to incorporate footage from ''[[Space Battleship Yamato]]'' and ''[[Galaxy Express 999]]''. Wait, what?

* [[Too Dumb to Live]]: Onodera from ''Gamera vs. Barugon.'' That's right: Try and snatch the giant diamond... ''The one explicitly being used as monster bait.''

* [[Too Long; Didn't Dub]]: The children's nickname for police officer Kondo, "Kon-chan", was left untouched in the Sandy Frank dub - where it makes no sense. This led to a running gag in the [[MST3KMystery Science Theater 3000]] episode he appeared in where the cast mishears it as "Cornjob".

* [[Underdogs Never Lose]]: The plots of the Showa films usually involved Gamera's opponent have a major advantage over him then engage and defeat him in combat, Gamera retreats. The protagonists discover the opponent's [[Achilles' Heel]] and attempt to defeat the opponent with it but it only weakens it or backfires. Gamera returns and uses the opponent's weakness to his own advantage, defeating the Monster.

* [[Battle in Thethe Rain]]: ''Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris''.

* [[Hachiko]]: Gamera accidently torches the statue--a symbol that he has lost his connection with humanity in ''Gamera 3''.

* [[Impaled Withwith Extreme Prejudice]]: Gamera in ''Gamera 3''.

* [[New Powers Asas the Plot Demands]]: BRUTALLY deconstructed and actually explained.

** Well, except for the Plasma Fist...Though it's not that weird it was merely Gamera re-taking his own element back, mana he originally accumulated and since he suddenly had a limb missing he had a place to store it.

* [[Sealed Evil in Aa Can]]: Iris.

* [[The Smurfette Principle]]: Surprisingly averted. While technically Legion, Gyaos(and by extension, probably Irys) are genderless, Gyaos was played by a female actor specifically to give it a feminine quality, while Legion tends to be referred to with female pronouns due to being the queen. In a sense, this means that all the monsters besides Gamera are female(ish).

* [[We Come in Peace, Shoot Toto Kill]]: In the first film, the military gets which of the giant monsters they should actually be trying to destroy ''very'' wrong. The Gyaos are ''not'' just a nuisance, and Gamera is trying to stop them -- he's tremendously destructive and his victories come at a high cost in human life, but given that the Gyaos ''wiped out the civilization that preceded humanity'', he's definitely the lesser of two evils.

==== ''See: [[Gamera the Brave (Film)|Gamera the Brave]]'' ====

[[Category:Gamera{{PAGENAME}}]]