Gamera vs. Gyaos

"I named it Gyaos, because of the sound he makes!"

—Eiichi

Produced in 1967, Gamera vs. Gyaos is one of the more popular entries in the Showa Gamera series, and it would introduce Gamera's most popular foe, Gyaos. The film was also the last entry to feature a music score by Tadashi Yamauchi, who also scored the first film as well. This film featured the return of Gamera's love of children, and it was the movie where Gamera became a heroic monster instead of a villain, like he was in the previous two entries. Like the first movie, and all succeeding it except Gamera vs. Barugon, Gamera vs. Gyaos was directed by Noriaki Yuasa, who also helmed the special effects.

The movie opens with Gamera arriving at Mt. Fuji during an eruption and then entering the volcano, as his previous films established that he has a love for heat and flames. The rest of the movie deals with a construction company trying to build a road going through a village in Mt. Fuji. Negotiations aren't making any progress, and things soon go downhill after a strange blue glow is seen emanating from a cave. A plane full of scientists is sent to investigate this phenomenon, but the plane is soon destroyed by a strange yellow beam that slices the plane in half.

When a young boy named Eiichi accompanies a reporter to the cave, what seems like a cave-in causes the reporter to ditch the boy. The reporter is soon eaten by a monstrous beast, Gyaos. After making his appearance, Gyaos tries to eat a fleeing Eiichi, but before he can teach the boy to wear some actual pants, Gamera appears and engages Gyaos in battle. Gamera saves Eiichi and drives away Gyaos by using his fire, although he almost loses his right arm in the process. After saving Eiichi, Gamera puts the boy on his back [!] and he slowly flies over to where all of the humans are. After Eiichi is safely rescued and in the arms of his family, Eiichi officially names the winged menace Gyaos.

Onlookers noted that Gyaos was driven away by Gamera's fire, and that Gyaos has only attacked at night. Numerous attempts are then made to sdestroy Gyaos, but to no avail. Finally, the moment that everyone has dreaded has arrived when Gyaos leaves Mt. Fuji and attacks Nagoya, devouring dozesn of people laying much of the city to waste. Gyaos is soon interrupted by Gamera, who almost manages to drag Gyaos underwater like he did Barugon, but Gyaos cuts his own leg off with his sonic beam in order to escape. Near the end of the second battle, Gyaos's head glows red as the sun rises, and the military takes note of this. When Gyaos's severed foot is found and brought back to a lab, it is discovered that it shrinks when exposed to sunlight and ultraviolet light. Gyaos's weakness has been confirmed.

More attampts are made to destroy Gyaos, again to no avail. these attampts include setting the forest on fire, which Gyaos soon douses with a yellow powder from his arm pits (...yeah, he does.), and a giant turn-table with a pool of artificial blood, which the military hopes will disorient Gyaos enough so that he won't notice the sun rising. Again, this fails. Meanwhile, back with the villagers, attempts at negotiating have finally broken down after the construction company decides that it is not worth building a road near the lair of a giant man-eating monster. The villagers, who were hoping to become rich by making the construction company increase their offer for the land, become dejected, and with Gyaos's determination to not die, all hope seems lost until Gamera reappears, once again engaging Gyaos in a duel to the death on Mt. Fuji. Gyaos is finally killed when Gamera drags him into the volcano, tusk to throat style. Similar Gamera's previous foe, Gyaos emits one last sonic beam before finally dying. Gamera soon rises out of the volcano and flies away, and the movie ends.

The last really good film of the Showa Gamera series, Gamera vs. Gyaos, like Invasion of Astro Monster, was also the beginning of the end for the franchise, as Gamera's love of children would only cause future films, with the possible exception of Gamera vs. Jiger, to become increasingly ridiculous and child-oriented. Oddly enough, the films would still be very gory, with monsters bleeding and losing limbs like a carnival of delicious horrors.

For the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode see here.

Tropes used in Gamera vs. Gyaos include:

Adults Are Useless: Not all of them, but the vast majority, especially that reporter.
Awesome but Impractical: Gyaos's forked throat allows him to produce sonic beams. Unfortunately for him, this also means that he is physically incapable of turning his head, just like every live-action Batman from 1989 to 2005.
Breath Weapon: Gamera has his flame-thrower, and Gyaos has his sonic beam, which is due to him having a forked throat, causing him to be unable to turn his head.
Family-Unfriendly Violence: Gyaos nearly slices Gamera's right arm off in their first battle, both monsters, Gamera especially, bleed profusely in each encounter, Gyaos slices his own leg off in the second battle, Gyaos eats people on screen, and Eiichi throws his toys at some angry villagers.
Friend to All Children: Gamera, and here is where it became really pronounced.
Giant Flyer: Gamera and Gyaos.
I'm a Humanitarian: Gyaos, although he also eats some cattle [offscreen], as evidenced by one distraught farmer's grieving.
Make Me Wanna Shout: Gyaos uses super-sonic beams produced by a special forked throat.
Spell My Name with an "S": Gyaos's name has been spelled "Gyaos" and "Gaos", and no official source has really chosen one over the other.
Our Vampires Are Different: For one, this vampire can shoot sonic beams out of his mouth, and he definitely does not sparkle in the light, although his head does glow red.
Weakened by the Light: Sunlight and ultraviolet light are harmful to Gyaos, and it causes his flesh to literally shrink.