Film / Gamera: Guardian of the Universe

"The last hope: Gamera; We bestow it to the cradle of time. May it awaken alongside the shadow of evil: Gyaos."

~ The runes of the Atlantian tablet.

Gamera: Daikaiju Kuchu Kessen

The film's Japanese name, which translates to "Gamera: Giant Monster Midair Battle"

Gamera, the Guardian of the Universe is a 1995 film and the first installment of the Gamera Heisei trilogy, directed by Shusuke Kaneko and written by Kazunori Ito. It marked Gamera's return, and the point at which he, and the franchise, became a total badass.

Ten thousand years ago, an ancient civilization, which would prove to be the inspiration of the legends of Atlantis and Mu, created a genetically engineered lifeform called "Gyaos." These creatures were created most likely for the purpose of cleaning up the rampant pollution and trash that the ancients had made. However, the Gyaos soon began to reproduce beyond control, and they soon began eating the people that they were supposed to benefit. As coventional measures began to fail, the ancients created another lifeform to combat the Gyaos. These lifeforms were giant turtle-like creatures called Gameras. Unfortunately, by the time the Gameras were put to good use, it was too late. The civilization was in ruins, and so the ancients put the last remaining Gamera into hibernation, bequeathing it to the next civilization, should the threat of the Gyaos ever return.

Ten thousand years later, in 1995, mysterious red-skinned, reptilian bird-creatures wipe out a whole island, while a strange atoll makes an appearance in the Pacific Ocean...

Released on March 11, 1995, Gamera, the Guardian of the Universe was a huge success, with the film even managing a US theatrical release in 1997 courtesy of ADV Films (turning the film into a sort of Neon Genesis Evangelion crossover, from a certain point of view), which in turn prompted Dark Horse Comics to make a four-issue sequel miniseries. Even Roger Ebert was impressed with the film. Because Gamera had become a joke, he had almost no legacy that needed to be preserved, which meant that Kaneko was able to revive a franchise in a manner that had not been done since 1984, and would not be done again until 2005. The special effects were directed by Shinji Higuchi, who had worked on The Return of Godzilla under Teruyoshi Nakano, and the music was composed by Kow Otani (or Koh Otani). The film proved to be so popular that it would be followed by an equally successful sequel the next year. However, the most important thing that this film did was prove that Gamera was now capable of rivaling Godzilla, a feat almost undreamed of until now.

Its story is followed by Gamera 2: Advent of Legion.

Not to be confused with Gamora, a guardian of the galaxy which is weirdly close, but completely unrelated.

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Gamera, the Guardian of the Universe provides examples of:

• American Kirby Is Hardcore: A subtle example with the taglines on the Japanese and American theatrical posters; the Japanese one urges Gamera to fight "for the sake of the childrens' futures", while the American one informs us that "he's mean, he's green, he's back on the screen".
• Ape Shall Not Kill Ape: Averted with the Gyaos; there are only three at the start of the film because they ate the other hatchlings.
• Apocalyptic Log: While not a straightforward example, the runes on the stone tablet could be interpreted this way.
• Armor-Piercing Response: Wanting to capture the Gyaos, Saito latches on to the belief that they cannot reproduce, so only two are left, making them rarer than the Japanese ibis. Yonemori bluntly responds, "The ibis doesn't eat people." Saito can only meekly reach for his coffee in response.
• Atlantis: Gamera and Gyaos were both created by an ancient civilization that inspired the legends of Atlantis and Mu.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: A train passenger is excited to see giant monsters flying around. Later in the film, the Super Gyaos would attack the train, killing and eating everyone inside, including said passenger.
• Big Damn Heroes: Gamera shows up to save Nagamine and Yonemori just as a Gyaos is about to eat them.
• Bioweapon Beast: Both Gamera and Gyaos were created to be this, with Gamera designed specifically to stop the Gyaos after they Turned Against Their Masters. It's vaguely implied that this is why Saito wants to capture the Gyaos alive as well.
• Blade Below the Shoulder: Gamera has a retractable blade on his elbow.
• Breath Weapon: Gamera can shoot fireballs from his mouth, while Gyaos can emit sonic beams.
• Call a Smeerp a "Rabbit": People consistently refer to the Gyaos as birds. Lampshaded by the bird expert Nagamine, who points out their non-birdlike features like scales and teeth.
• Darker and Edgier: Well, compared to the films of the original series, yeah. This can describe the entire Kaneko trilogy as a whole as well.
• Defeat Equals Explosion: The Super Gyaos explodes into a massive fireball after Gamera lands a shot on it. Justified by the fact that the two of them are fighting in the middle of a refinery.
• Extreme Omnivore: Gyaos. They'll eat anything, including each other.
• "Eureka!" Moment: Nagaminre and Osako are pondering how to trap the Gyaos trio without overdosing them with tranquilizers. Nagamine declares there is no place that could simply trap them. Osako notices the newspaper and declares there is a place. Fukuoka Dome has a roof that can open and close.
• Feed It a Bomb: The final gyaos is defeated when Gamera launches a fireball right into its mouth.
• Fling a Light into the Future: Gamera, who was meant to awaken to defeat the Gyaos if they ever awakened again.
• Giant Equals Invincible: Subverted. Gamera is easily shot down by two Surface-to-Air missiles, although it doesn't kill him. Unfortunately, it does weaken him enough that Gyaos can attack him without much trouble.
• Giant Flyer: Gyaos, obviously, and Gamera.
• Gone Horribly Right: The Gyaos were created to deal with the rampant pollution, and they did, but soon they began to feed on people when they started to run out of other food sources. It didn't help that they were designed to be capable of asexual reproduction.
• Green Aesop: One of the main themes of the film is that humans are making the same mistakes as the Atlanteans as we pollute the world, and that we'll meet the same fate if we don't change our way.
• Kick the Dog: Well, eat the dog, really.
• Last of Their Kind: Gamera and Gyaos, although Gamera's status is not actually shown to be this until the third movie. In this movie, however, we're simply led to believe that Gamera was just the last option created to deal with the Gyaos after it was too late.
• Monumental Damage: Gyaos leads two missiles straight into Tokyo Tower, which it then uses as a nest.
• Mythology Gag: The Super Gyaos severs its own leg to free itself from Gamera's grab just like Gyaos did in its debut movie.
• Obstructive Bureaucrat: Masaaki Saito, an insistent, Too Dumb to Live one keeps wanting Gyaos to be captured and Gamera to be killed despite Gamera showing himself to be humanity's ally. It's implied that he wants to profit off of using the Gyaos as living weapons.
• Punched Across the Room: Gamera introduces himself by casually swatting an escaping Gyaos out of the sky with one hand, sending it crashing into an oil refinery which promptly explodes.
• Super-Scream: Gyaos can emit sonic beams from their mouths. Not only can they cut through steel like laser beams, they can also shatter glass nearby.
• Turned Against Their Masters: Before creating Gamera, the Atlanteans created the Gyaos to clean up the world's pollution, but the Gyaos went rogue and started attacking the Atlanteans themselves, causing them to create Gamera to fight them off.
• Turtle Island: Gamera is initially mistaken for a floating atoll until he shows up in Fukuoka.
• What Could Possibly Go Wrong?: While it's never specifically stated in the movie, the very creation of the Gyaos invokes this. Creating an organism that can eat anything and giving it only one pair of chromosomes so that it can reproduce asexually. Nothing bad could possibly come from this!

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