History Film / Gamera3AwakeningOfIrys

* AmbiguousSituation: A lot about Irys is purposefully left unanswered, like where precisely he originated from, what motivates him, or how much of his actions are entirely his own and how many are because of Ayana's influence.

* AnimalisticAbomination: What the kaiju are portrayed as. Gamera is no longer a cutesy giant turtle but hulking, pitch-black monstrosity resembling a cross between a dragon and a snapping turtle, and his fire powers drain the very lifeforce of Earth itself to function. The Gyaos are a terrifying swarm of ravenous demons that eat literally anything in their path. Irys is a towering DarkMessiah ''thing'' that gets compared to a bird less because he is one and more because that's the closest thing one can compare him to in a human frame of reference.

* EvilIsNotAToy: [[spoiler:Ayana and Mito both learn the hard way that Irys is ''not'' some pet they can boss around just because they hold his amulet. The former when he tries to eat her, the latter when he tramples her during his battle with Gamera, seemingly not even noticing she's there.]]

* GenreDeconstruction: To {{Kaiju}} and {{Tokusatsu}}. Giant monsters and huge superheroes fighting and rampaging through model cities is only fun when the camera isn't lingering over the horrific carnage of thousands of innocent people dying in the crossfire. The monsters are terrifying and [[EldritchAbomination eldritch]] creatures, with even good ones like Gamera being [[DestructiveSavior destructive]] and [[TerrorHero inscrutable to humans]], seemingly not caring about the CollateralDamage they cause. Meanwhile, the more humanoid Toku hero meant to fight them, Irys, is an equally [[HumanoidAbomination inhuman and inexplicable monster]] itself, quickly proving to be a DarkMessiah sent to kill Gamera and clear the way for the destruction of mankind. There are [[TheKidWithTheRemoteControl two kids with proverbial remote controls]], but the one connected to Gamera has had her bond violently severed (which contributes to his increasingly violent behavior) and grown into an adult haunted by her experiences, while the other is a mentally unstable young girl whose negative emotions [[PsychoactivePowers prod Irys into being even worse]], and [[spoiler:Irys secretly intends to consume her to increase its own power and break free of her control]]. The action scenes are much more realistically quick and graphic than usual for the genre, and there aren't a lot of them; the primary focus is on the drama and terrors of being a normal person in a world where gods walk the Earth.

* TheKidWithTheRemoteControl: Explored and terrifyingly deconstructed. Not only has Asagi grown up with her life deeply affected by holding Gamera's remote control for so long, but her losing her connection with Gamera shows what happens when the "kid" loses their control; the thing they were restraining loses said restraint, with tragic results. Meanwhile, Ayana and Irys shows the horror that ensues when the kid with the controller is a maladjusted, mentally ill one, as she uses her monster is a reckless manner that brings much death and suffering.

* ParentalAbandonment: Ayana lost her family to Gamera's battle with Gyaos in ''Guardian of the Universe'.'

* PsychoactivePowers: Irys edges out above Gamera in terms of power because he still possesses a link to his bond human and is thus empowered by her rage, whereas Gamera can no longer draw extra power from Asagi's emotions.

* VillainForgotToLevelGrind: Gamera has only gotten stronger and stronger, while the Gyaos seem to cap out at about the level of strength of the Super Gyaos from the first movie. As a result, he now obliterates the birds with zero effort in one-on-one fights, and the Gyaos' only hope against him is engaging in a ZergRush.

-->"''Gamera will continue to fight...even if he's alone.''"
-->"''He's not alone.''"
-->"''...Gamera.''"
--->~Nagamine, Asagi, and Ayana, respectively, as Gamera walks out into the flaming ruins of Kyoto to face the impending Gyaos swarm.

Now, in 1999, under the sea, a graveyard of Gamera skeletons has been discovered. Coinciding with this, reports have been surfacing all over the world that tell of flying, man-eating bird-like creatures. The Gyaos have returned, and their attacks are being tracked by Professor Mayumi Nagamine (Shinobu Nakayama). By this time, Ayana, who is living in a village in the mountains, has grown into a bitter young woman, and she often thinks about revenge. Ayana learns of a local legend that says a mythical creature, corresponding to the Red Bird of the South in Chinese lore, is imprisoned in a small cave shrine near the town, and that this being is the sworn enemy of the Black Tortoise of the North. She fixates on the idea that this could be the instrument of her revenge on Gamera (now played by Hirofumi Fukuzawa), and finding the shrine, moves the ancient protective stone that seals it in place. When she returns she finds an egg of sorts in the cave, along with a glowing stone bead, reminiscent of the one that Asagi Kusanagi (Creator/AyakoFujitani) used to have. She takes the bead, and when a tentacled creature hatches from the egg, she quickly becomes friends with it, naming it after her deceased cat, Irys. Ayana decides to raise Irys (Akira Ohashi) to kill Gamera and avenge her parents.

Later that same night, Gamera fights two Gyaos over the Shibuya district of Tokyo, setting the city ablaze and killing hundreds, if not ''thousands'', of innocent people in the process. Seeing this on a news report, Ayana's hatred for Gamera only grows stronger. The JSDF has also put Gamera back onto their enemy list, and are actively hunting him. Meanwhile, Nagamine has made contact with Asagi and her old friend Tsutomu Osako (Yukijiro Hotaru). Asagi reveals to Nagamine her fear that Gamera's ties with her were severed when the bead was destroyed in 1996. Recently receiving a video game, as well as an address of its developer, Nagamine investigates a man named Shinya Kurata (Toru Tezuka), and his partner Mito Asakura (Senri Yamazaki), both of whom are involved in some kind of conspiracy.

With the reluctant help of her neighbor Tatsunari Moribe (Yu Koyama), whose family is the hereditary guardian of the cave shrine, Ayana raises Irys in secret until it decides to "bond" with her. After Moribe rescues Ayana, Irys goes on a killing spree, sucking the fluids out of almost everyone in the village, save Tatsunari, who managed to hide from the creature. After investigating the village, Nagamine and Osako find Tatsunari and attempt to rescue Ayana, who has been kidnapped from the hospital by Asakura and Kurata. Osako stays with Tatsunari, trying to convince him to rescue Ayana as well. Tatsunari eventually agrees and the pair head off to find Ayana. Meanwhile, Irys has grown since its village massacre, and is now almost as tall as Gamera, if not taller. The JSDF is sent in to deal with the monster, but it quickly defeats them and soon goes off in search of Ayana, who is now in Kyoto. Moribe's grandmother (Nijiko Kiyokawa) explains his duties as shrine guardian (which he uncomfortably realizes he has bungled badly) and tells him to always carry with him an ancient artifact, a dagger of flaked stone.

Flying towards Kyoto, which is being hit by a hurricane, Irys is intercepted by two jets, but before it can eliminate them, Gamera appears, dueling with Irys in midair until the military shoots Gamera down. Irys soon makes landfall in Kyoto, and the city is unprepared for the monster. Making his way towards the train station where Ayana is, Irys leaves death and destruction in his wake, but he is soon intercepted again by Gamera. The two monsters soon turn Kyoto into a raging inferno as Irys manages to deflect Gamera's fireballs, forcing the turtle to resort to melee combat. Asagi and Nagamine try to break Ayana's bond with Irys in order to help Gamera, but it does not work. When Asakura takes Ayana's bead, she tries to take control of Irys, but this only gets her killed when Irys impales Gamera and sends him crashing into the station. Kurata is also killed after a large piece of debris falls onto him, while Nagamine is wounded.

Irys once again attempts to bond with Ayana, but Moribe steps in the way, throwing the ancient stone dagger at Irys. The dagger has no effect on Irys and the beast easily deflects it, but it makes a small cut on Ayana's cheek, bringing her out of her stupor. Realizing her situation, Ayana is helpless as Irys knocks Tatsunari out of the way and then absorbs her into his chest. Irys then forces Ayana to relive her memories of when her parents were killed, making her realize that their deaths were an accident when Gamera was fighting the Gyaos. Irys then forces Ayana to watch ''his'' memories of killing the villagers, including most of her family and Moribe's family, in a horrific act of cruelty. Just as Ayana begins to lose all hope, she is pulled out of Irys by none other than Gamera. Irys does not take kindly to this, and impales Gamera's right hand with one of his tentacles, which then begins to drain Gamera's fluids, which allows Irys to steal his powers and create fireballs of his own. Gamera, in a bold attempt to stop Irys, destroys his own arm and hand, before Irys releases the fireballs. Gamera absorbs the fire and creates an ''arm of flame'' that he uses to impale Irys, killing the monster and blowing it up.

Meanwhile, the JSDF has received a report that thousands of Gyaos are converging on Japan. The JSDF decides to switch from fighting Gamera to fighting Gyaos, as only with Gamera's help can they hope to survive. Back in Kyoto, Gamera hands Ayana over to Nagamine and Asagi, who try to revive her, but are unable to do so. Gamera then takes matters into his own hands and revives his former enemy. Moribe has survived, and Ayana tearfully apologizes for her part in Irys's rampage. Gamera departs and everyone watches as the Earth's guardian heads out into the flaming ruins of Koyoto, intent on fighting the Gyaos, even if the battle kills him.

* BolivianArmyEnding: The movie ends with Gamera, [[spoiler:who lost an arm in his battle against Irys, heading out to face every Gyaos in the world as they all descend on Japan]]. \\
However, WordOfGod leaves no ambiguity: according to Kaneko [[spoiler:Gamera wins.]] Kaneko said that when he was making the Gamera trilogy, he looked around Japanese society and saw that the younger Japanese by and large didn't really believe in anything, spiritually or otherwise. He wished to address this in his Gamera pictures. Gamera resurrects from the flames like the mythical phoenix in the first film. In 2, the sign of the cross forms the "me" character in Gamera's name on the title card and Gamera is "dead" for 3 days before resurrecting. To drive this point home, the English card at the end of the film says "GAMERA 1999: THE ABSOLUTE GUARDIAN OF THE UNIVERSE." Absolute. As in a deity. So in ending the movie this way, Kaneko is basically saying, [[spoiler:"Yeah, Gamera's gonna win. But we're not gonna show it to you. You have to BELIEVE he's going to win."]]

* CallBack: To the Showa films, when Gamera protects a small child from one of the Gyaos during his battle in Shibuya.
* CerebusRetcon: Hey, remember that one building that Gamera smashed in order to get at Gyaos during their final battle? Well, Ayana's parents were in there. Also, remember how the runes of that tablet said, "The last hope, Gamera?" Well, turns out that they really meant the "''last hope''", as Gamera is not only the last defense against the Gyaos, but also the last Gamera, period.
* CerebusSyndrome: This film itself just keeps getting darker and darker, with [[spoiler:the Gyaos swarm at the end making things seem almost hopeless]].

* {{Deconstruction}}: Gamera 3 being the biggest example in the trilogy. The film is basically a deconstruction of the entire kaiju and/or sentai genres:
** The previous movies did see Gamera occasionally destroying buildings while fighting the BigBad, but didn't put a lot of focus on it. The movie goes to great lengths to point out that there were people in those buildings, and Gamera has unintentionally killed ''thousands'' of innocent bystanders while fighting to save the Earth.
** The contrast is especially evident when Gamera saves the life of a child. In the Showa Era films, the child saved by Gamera would be happy and cheerful, and their rescue portrayed as a triumphant moment. The boy saved here is crying and terrified, and as he tells his mother that Gamera saved him, the camera pulls back to reveal the destruction Gamera has caused in his battle.
** The previous movie floated the idea that Gamera is driven to protect the Earth, not the people living on it. This movie explores this more closely, as Gamera appears uncaring of the humans caught in the way of his battles with the Gyaos, especially after losing his connection with humanity in the last film.
** The film is also much more human driven, since it's about people in a world with giant monsters and Gamera just happens to be the best one who still kills hundreds as collateral damage.
** The fairly typical "young person who controls/is friends with a giant monster/robot" story is deconstructed in two ways. Asagi has lost her connection to Gamera which has resulted in him becoming far more vicious and callous in his fighting. Irys shows what happens when the young person in that relationship has loads of mental issues; a lot of people end up dead and the young person in question uses their monster for selfish, vengeful reasons.
* DeconstructorFleet: If the big long list up there wasn't already a clue it was this.

* HeroWithBadPublicity: After the destruction Gamera caused at Shibuya, the world turns against him with the military are focused on ending the giant turtle's life. [[spoiler:They finally accept Gamera again at the end after they realize that he's been fending off thousands of Gyaos.]]

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: [[spoiler:After being absorbed by Irys, Ayana witnesses memories of her monster's rampage, including its murder of her relatives and realizes that her revenge has cost her almost her entire family.]]
* NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist: Both Mito and Kurata want to stop Gamera, believing him to be an evil monster.[[spoiler: However, as the movie progresses, it becomes clear that Mito's antagonism against Gamera is implied to be spurred on by jealously towards those that Gamera willingly forms bonds with as well as anger at the turtle for not choosing her despite her being of Atlantean lineage.]] And [[spoiler: Kurata's just crazy.....]]

* OneManArmy: Gamera is basically fighting the war against the Hyper Gyaos single-handed. [[spoiler: During the ending, thousands of Gyaos close in on him before the credits roll]]. The kicker? According to the director, [[spoiler;Gamera emerges victorious from the impending battle [[ as long as you believe he does]].

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: The first battle between Gamera and another monster ends in a city being completely devastated, thousands of people dead, and the public calling for Gamera's head on a spike. Indeed, the film takes plenty of time to show the horrific amounts of collateral damage that would be caused by kaiju/sentai battles.
* TookALevelInBadass: Gamera's always been badass, but while in the first movie he engaged in a lengthy duel with Super Gyaos, here he inflicts a CurbStompBattle on two of the stronger Hyper Gyaos in his first scene in the film, completely no-selling their rays and putting them on the defensive throughout the whole fight.
* TheTokyoFireBall: Gamera creates one while fighting the Gyaos in Shibuya. As horrific as it is, the effect actually does look pretty good.

* AllianceWithAnAbomination: Subverted; At first it seems like Irys and Ayana have teamed up to stop the rampaging Gamera. But, it turns out [[spoiler:Irys is using Ayana's hatred of Gamera to make him stronger and allow it to assimilate Ayana into its body so it can become strong enough to kill Gamera]].

* AllianceWithAnAbomination: Subverted; At first it seems like Irys and Ayana have teamed up to stop the rampaging Gamera. But, it turns out [[spoiler:Irys is evil and is simply using Ayana's hatred of Gamera to make him stronger and allow him to assimilate Ayana into his body so he can become strong enough to kill Gamera]].

* CombatTentacles: Irys, which he can use to drain the life out anything and create and fire sonic beams similar to Gyaos, and after draining some energy from Gamera, his fireballs too.

** Also, what were its motivations? When it shows Ayana all the terrible things it did, like killing her adopted family, was it being malicious or simply showing its mother what it had done for her? Or is it even actively showing her anything, and not simply their memories intertwining as their bodies merge? Irys certainly has a mean streak, but is it because of or in spite of its connection to Ayana? Irys might have originally been benevolent and just twisted by Ayana's vengeance, or it could have always been a cruel, vicious monster, we just don't know.
** It is pretty clear that at least some of its actions are directly motivated by Ayana's feelings. The clearest example is actually in a throwaway line of dialogue when the authorities are investigating an attack on Ayana's village: it's mentioned that more women were killed than men, by a fair number. Now consider how Ayana and her brother were bullied by girls from school and it becomes pretty clear that Irys was lashing out on Ayana's anger. Whether this is true for all of its actions is unknown though.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: [[spoiler:After being absorbed by Irys, Ayana witnesses memories of her monster's rampage, including its murder of her relatives and realizes that her revenge has costed almost her entire family.]]
* NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist: Both Mito and Kurata want to stop Gamera, believing him to be an evil monster.[[spoiler: However, as the movie progresses, it becomes clear that Mito's antagonism against Gamera is implied to be spurred on by jealously towards those that Gamera willingly forms bonds with as well as anger at the turtle for not choosing her despite her being of Atlantean lineage.]] [[spoiler:And Kurata's just crazy.....]]

* OnceMoreWithClarity: Ayana has nightmares about the day her parents were killed by Gamera. [[spoiler:It's only getting absorbed by Irys that Ayana finally remembers in full detail about the event that her parents were in fact killed by the Gyaos.]]
* OneManArmy: Gamera is basically fighting the war against the Hyper Gyaos single-handed. [[spoiler: During the ending, thousands of Gyaos close in on him before the credits roll. The kicker? According to the director, Gamera emerges victorious from the impending battle]]
* ParentalAbandonment: Ayana lost her family to Gamera's battle with Gyaos in ''Guardian of the Universe''.
* RiddleForTheAges: Whether Gamera survived the final battle against the Gyaos swarm at the end. [[spoiler: WordOfGod says that it's really a question of whether you ''believe'' he wins.]]

** The previous movie floated the idea that Gamera is driven to protect the Earth, not the people living on it. This movie explores this more closely, as Gamera appears uncaring of the humans caught in the way of his battles with the Gyaos.

* AllianceWithAnAbomination: Subverted; At first it seems like Irys and Ayana have teamed up to stop the rampaging Gamera. But, it turns out [[spoiler:Irys is evil and is simply using Ayana's hatred of Gamera to make him stronger and allow him to assimilate Ayana into his body so he can become strong enough to kill Gamera and allow the Gyaos to wipe out all of humanity.]]

* BolivianArmyEnding: The movie ends with Gamera, who lost an arm in his battle against Irys, heading out to face every Gyaos in the world as they all descend on Japan. However, WordOfGod leaves no ambiguity: according to Kaneko [[spoiler:Gamera wins.]] Kaneko said that when he was making the Gamera trilogy, he looked around Japanese society and saw that the younger Japanese by and large didn't really believe in anything, spiritually or otherwise. He wished to address this in his Gamera pictures. Gamera resurrects from the flames like the mythical phoenix in the first film. In 2, the sign of the cross forms the "me" character in Gamera's name on the title card and Gamera is "dead" for 3 days before resurrecting. To drive this point home, the English card at the end of the film says "GAMERA 1999: THE ABSOLUTE GUARDIAN OF THE UNIVERSE." Absolute. As in a deity. So in ending the movie this way as a message to the Japanese he was addressing, Kaneko basically says "Yeah, Gamera's gonna win. But we're not gonna show it to you. You have to BELIEVE he's going to win."

* CerebusSyndrome: This film itself just keeps getting darker and darker, with the Gyaos swarm at the end making things seem almost hopeless.
* CombatTentacles: Irys, which he can use to drain the life out anything and even create and fire sonic beams similar to Gyaos, and even fireballs similar to Gamera, after draining some energy from him.

** It reveals that due to Gamera using the Mana Cannon in part 2, more Gyaos are appearing and attacking humanity (in addition, using simple fire balls also cost mana).
** The films before this one portrayed Gamera as a heroic monster who protected humanity from evil monsters. Here, Gamera defeats the Hyper Gyaos, but causes massive amounts of damage and kills many innocent people while remaining unambigously heroic.
*** The contrast is especially evident when Gamera saves the life of a child. In the Showa Era films, the child saved by Gamera would be happy and cheerful, and their rescue portrayed as a triumphant moment. The boy saved here is crying and terrified, and as he tells his mother that Gamera saved him, the camera pulls back to reveal the destruction Gamera has caused in his battle.

** The question is raised that Gamera may not actually be protecting humanity, but rather the planet itself. Which of course raises the question of what he'll do when or if he comes to consider humans a threat to the integrity of earth...

* OnceMoreWithClarity: Ayana has nightmares about the day her parents were killed by Gamera. [[spoiler:It's only getting absorbed by Irys that Ayana finally remembers in full detail about the memory that her parents were in fact killed by the Gyaos.]]

In 1995, the battle between Gamera and Gyaos left much of Tokyo destroyed, but buildings were not the only casualties in the city. A young girl named Ayana Hirasaka, recovering from an appendectomy, could only watch in horror from her family's van as her house, and her parents and pet cat within, were crushed by Gamera.

Now, in 1999, under the sea, a graveyard of Gamera skeletons has been discovered. Coinciding with this, reports have been surfacing all over the world that tell of flying, man-eating bird-like creatures. The Gyaos have returned, and their attacks are being tracked by Professor Nagamine. By this time, Ayana, who is living in a village in the mountains, has grown into a bitter young woman, and she often thinks about revenge. Ayana learns of a local legend that says a mythical creature, corresponding to the Red Bird of the South in Chinese lore, is imprisoned in a small cave shrine near the town, and that this being is the sworn enemy of the Black Tortoise of the North. She fixates on the idea that this could be the instrument of her revenge on Gamera, and finding the shrine, moves the ancient protective stone that seals it in place. When she returns she finds an egg of sorts in the cave, along with a glowing stone bead, reminiscent of the one that Asagi used to have. She takes the bead, and when a tentacled creature hatches from the egg, she quickly becomes friends with it, naming it after her deceased cat, Irys. Ayana decides to raise Irys to kill Gamera and avenge her parents.

Later that same night, Gamera fights two Gyaos over the Shibuya district of Tokyo, setting the city ablaze and killing hundreds, if not ''thousands'', of innocent people in the process. Seeing this on a news report, Ayana's hatred for Gamera only grows stronger. The JSDF has also put Gamera back onto their enemy list, and are actively hunting him. Meanwhile, Nagamine has made contact with Asagi Kusanagi and her old friend Osako. Asagi reveals to Nagamine her fear that Gamera's ties with her were severed when the bead was destroyed in 1996. Recently receiving a video game, as well as an address of its developer, Nagamine investigates a man named Shinya Kurata, and his partner Mito Asakura, both of whom are involved in some kind of conspiracy.

With the reluctant help of her neighbor Tatsunari Moribe, whose family is the hereditary guardian of the cave shrine, Ayana raises Irys in secret until it decides to "bond" with her. After Moribe rescues Ayana, Irys goes on a killing spree, sucking the fluids out of almost everyone in the village, save Tatsunari, who managed to hide from the creature. After investigating the village, Nagamine and Osako find Tatsunari and attempt to rescue Ayana, who has been kidnapped from the hospital by Asakura and Kurata. Osako stays with Tatsunari, trying to convince him to rescue Ayana as well. Tatsunari eventually agrees and the pair head off to find Ayana. Meanwhile, Irys has grown since its village massacre, and is now almost as tall as Gamera, if not taller. The JSDF is sent in to deal with the monster, but it quickly defeats them and soon goes off in search of Ayana, who is now in Kyoto. Moribe's grandmother explains his duties as shrine guardian (which he uncomfortably realizes he has bungled badly) and tells him to always carry with him an ancient artifact, a dagger of flaked stone.

Flying towards Kyoto, which is being hit by a hurricane, Irys is intercepted by two jets, but before it can eliminate them, Gamera appears, dueling with Irys in midair until the military shoots him [Gamera] down. Irys soon makes landfall in Kyoto, and the city is unprepared for the monster. Making his way towards the train station where Ayana is, Irys leaves death and destruction in his wake, but he is soon intercepted again by Gamera. The two monsters soon turn Kyoto into a raging inferno as Irys manages to deflect Gamera's fireballs, forcing the turtle to resort to melee combat. Asagi and Nagamine try to break Ayana's bond with Irys in order to help Gamera, but it does not work. When Asakura takes Ayana's bead, she tries to take control of Irys, but this only gets her killed when Irys impales Gamera and sends him crashing into the station. Kurata is also killed after a large piece of debris falls onto him, while Nagamine is wounded.

* HeroWithBadPublicity: After the destruction he caused at Shibuya, the world turns against Gamera and the military are focused on ending the giant turtle's life. [[spoiler:They finally accept Gamera at the end after they realize that he's been fending off thousands of Gyaos.]]

* NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist: Both Mito and Kurata want to stop Gamera, believing him to be an evil monster.[[spoiler: However, it becomes clear as the movie progresses that Mito's antagonism against Gamera is implied to be spurred on by jealously towards those that Gamera willingly form bonds with and anger that Gamera didn't choose her despite being of Atlantean lineage.]] [[spoiler:And Kurata's just crazy.....]]

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: After being absorbed by Irys, Ayana witnesses memories of her monster's rampage, including its murder of her relatives and realizes that her revenge has costed almost her entire family.

* NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist: Both Mito and Kurata want to stop Gamera, believing him to be an evil monster. However, it becomes clear as the movie progresses that Mito's antagonism against Gamera is implied to be spurred on by jealously towards those that Gamera willingly form bonds with and anger that Gamera didn't choose her despite being of Atlantean lineage. And Kurata's just crazy.....

* OnceMoreWithClarity: Ayana has nightmares about the day her parents were killed by Gamera. It's only getting absorbed by Irys that Ayana finally remembers in full detail about the memory that her parents were in fact killed by the Gyaos.

The secondary title character Irys is not to be confused with the [[WebAnimation/{{Hololive}} Project: HOPE]] idol [[NamesTheSame of the same name]].

* HotScientist: Nagamine, just like in the first film.

* TheTokyoFireBall: Gamera creates one while fighting the Gyaos in Shibuya. As horrific as it is, the effect actually does look pretty good.
* TurtlePower: It's Gamera.

* TookALevelInBadass: Gamera's always been badass, but while in the first movie he engaged in a lengthy duel with Super Gyaos, here he inflicts a CurbStompBattle on three of the stronger Hyper Gyaos in his first scene in the film, shrugging off their rays and putting them on the defensive throughout the whole fight.

* BolivianArmyEnding: The movie ends with Gamera, who lost an arm in his battle against Irys, heading out to face every Gyaos in the world, with said Gyaos all heading for Japan. However, WordOfGod leaves no ambiguity: according to Kaneko [[spoiler:Gamera wins.]]

* CliffHanger: This film, and subsequently the Heisei series, ends this way, with Gamera's ultimate fate left ambiguous.
** [[spoiler: WordOfGod says Gamera wins. The film apparently reveals that Gamera is god. Maybe not ''the'' god, but certainly ''a'' god. Director (and co-writer of Gamera 3) Shusuke Kaneko has said that when he was making the Gamera trilogy, he looked around Japanese society and saw that the younger Japanese by and large didn't really believe in anything, spiritually or otherwise. He wished to address this in his Gamera pictures. Gamera resurrects from the flames like the mythical phoenix in the first film. In 2, the sign of the cross forms the "me" character in Gamera's name on the title card and Gamera is "dead" for 3 days before resurrecting. To drive this point home, the English card at the end of the film says "GAMERA 1999: THE ABSOLUTE GUARDIAN OF THE UNIVERSE." Absolute. As in a deity. So in ending the movie this way as a message to the Japanese he was addressing, Kaneko basically says "Yeah, Gamera's gonna win. But we're not gonna show it to you. You have to BELIEVE he's going to win."]]

* DarkIsNotEvil: Gamera is dark colored, compared to Irys who is shiny and bright, with red and silver coloration.

* BattleInTheRain: Gamera's fight with Irys in Kyoto happens while the city is being hammered by a Typhoon.

* BattleInTheRain: Gamera's fight with Irys in Kyoto happens while the city is being hammered by a hurricane.

The secondary title character Irys is not to be confused with the [[WebAnimation/Hololive Project: HOPE]] idol [[NamesTheSame of the same name]].

* RealityEnsues: The first battle between Gamera and another monster ends in a city being completely devastated, thousands of people dead, and the public calling for Gamera's head on a spike. Indeed, the film takes plenty of time to show the horrific amounts of collateral damage that would be caused by kaiju/sentai battles.

* EvilMakeover: While Gamera's not technically evil, his design in this film is much more savage-looking when compared to the previous two films. It helps to symbolize his disconnect from humanity and apparent disregard for the destruction he causes.