Gamera: The Guardian of the Universe1995

98/100 Ah yes, now this is the Gamera that I'm a fan of. The Friend of all Children is back as the Guardian of the Universe, and in his best movie yet. To get the obvious out of the way, Gamera himself is better than ever in this movie. He looks really good and even cute at times, and here he serves as a familiar friendly face while still planting the seeds for a character arc later on. His connection with children is also maintained in a unique way with the "psychic bond" concept, something that would be carried over to later incarnations. Gamera's enemy here is Gyaos, reimagined as a race of Atlantean superbirds. This is easily my favourite interpretation of Gamera's archenemy, and its not just my opinion. This "swarm" approach to Gyaos has been carried on for every version of the character since. Both of these are supported by great effects courtesy of Shinji Higuchi, minus a few snags such as a wobbly Gyaos puppet with googly eyes, and a fantastic accompanying soundtrack by Koh Otani, which really add to the atmosphere. I also like how gory this movie gets at times, its surprisingly visceral and makes the movie feel real in a sense. The plot of the movie is also good, if a bit basic, with a good mystery surrounding Gamera's backstory leading to the iconic Atlantis backstory. Its almost impossible to state the effect this would have on Gamera going forward, one which was extremely positive and added some wonderful lore and history to the character. The movie's greatest strength, however, is its characters and how well-developed they are. Nagamine is a great protagonist and I like her slowly developing relationship with Yonemori. I also love the character arc Mr. Kusanagi goes through with Asagi. The theme of humanity's faults is front and center in this movie, with a strong environmental message, but Mr. Kusanagi learning to be closer to Asagi, and the fact that their bond is what helps Gamera win in the end does a lot of work both counteracting the darkness and providing an arc for the both of them. My favourite character, though, was Osako. He is set up for a character arc, but I just like him because he's funny. This movie is just so great in almost every way. It gets a little weird at times, but its really not difficult to see why it was such a critical hit upon release. Its fun, with good rewatch value. I love this movie, and can't wait for what comes next. Would highly recommend this one.