Gamera 4: Truth

Gamera 4: Truth Directed by Shinpei Hayashiya Producer Shinpei Hayashiya Written by Shinpei Hayashiya Music by Kow Otani, Tadashi Yamanouchi Distributor Daiei Budget $2,500 Running time 45 minutes (estimated) Rate this film! 4.70 (10 votes)

Gamera 4: Truth (ガメラ4 真実,   Gamera Fō Shinjitsu) is a fan-made sequel to Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris. It has never been released on home video, and has rarely been shown in public since a series of free screenings in Japan in 2003.

Plot

The story picks up where Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris left off, with the JSDF rushing to confront the swarm of Hyper Gyaos invading Japan. Squadron after squadron of fighter jets fall before the monsters. A wounded Gamera takes off from the burning ruins of Kyoto to join the midair battle, where he spins off wild mana shots that pick off a few Hyper Gyaos. The tide of the battle turns when the survivors are joined by the Albino Gyaos, a more powerful, all-white version of the Hyper Gyaos. The entire flock takes aim and fires their supersonic beams on Gamera, causing him to plunge downward to a watery grave.

Following the battle, the Japanese government enlists the help of Nagamine and Osako to help the military search for the new monster. After locating it, the JSDF deploys a large force of tanks, rocket launchers, and helicopters, but the Albino Gyaos proves to be too strong for them. Later, the Albino Gyaos attacks the hotel Osako is staying at, and he is presumed dead in the rubble. Finally, the military pits a heat ray tank, the SGPM-2, against the Albino Gyaos, but it too fails miserably.

One of the ancient Gamera skeletons is given mana power from the Earth and regenerates into a new Gamera. Landing in Yokohama Bay, the new Gamera destroys everything in sight. The Albino Gyaos arrives to attack the new Gamera, and the two engage in a climactic battle, with the former deploying an energy shield and the latter unleashing a pair of plasma sabers. The new Gamera eventually prevails over his arch-nemesis, yet does not return to the sea. Instead, he continues his rampage, destroying and burning everything from Yokohama to Shinjuku. The JSDF launches a last-ditch offensive in Shinjuku using more SGPM-2s, but the new Gamera easily thwarts the attack. Suddenly, a huge explosion erupts from the new Gamera, and central Tokyo is reduced to smoldering ruins.

Afterwards, Osako turns up alive in Okinawa - as far away from Tokyo as possible - wondering how he always manages to survive such calamities. As he hobbles away, a news broadcast is overheard which mentions that the new Gamera opened a crater 1 kilometer wide and 400 meters deep in the center of Tokyo. The Japanese and U.S. military have found many unclassified prehistoric eggs deep within the crater.

Staff

Staff role on the left, staff member's name on the right.

• Directed by   Shinpei Hayashiya
• Written by   Shinpei Hayashiya
• Produced by   Shinpei Hayashiya
• Music by   Kow Otani, Tadashi Yamanouchi (stock)

Cast

Actor's name on the left, character played on the right.

• Yukijiro Hotaru   as   Tsutomu Osako
• Unidentified actress   as   Mayumi Nagamine
• Shinpei Hayashiya   as   Mr. Saito
• Kazuo Yagi   as   Gamera

Appearances

Monsters

• Gamera
  • New Gamera
• Albino Gyaos
  • Hyper Gyaos
• Mysterious eggs

U.S. release

The only known screening of Gamera 4: Truth in the United States was a 2014 invite-only event held on the final day of G-Fest XXI in Rosemont, Illinois. Director Shinpei Hayashiya, a guest at the convention, introduced the film.

Gallery

Main article: Gamera 4: Truth/Gallery.

Video

Excerpts of Gamera 4: Truth shown on Japanese television

Trivia

• Despite not sharing continuity with the Heisei trilogy, Gamera the Brave may also be referred to as "Gamera 4," such as on the Japanese Heisei Blu-ray BOX which abbreviates it "G IV."
• At least one showing of the film in Japan was preceded by three animated shorts called "Gametaro," parodying both Gamera and the Hamtaro franchise.
• The Gamera suit created for this film was reused as the turtle monster Onigames for the independent tokusatsu series Seikan Tokusou Assaultman. The newly grafted head for the suit does not disguise Onigames' resemblance to Gamera, however, which is comically commented upon by one of the protagonists during the monster's arrival.
• The unreleased documentary Kaiju Gaiden is said to include interview segments with Shinpei Hayashiya and footage from Gamera 4: Truth.
• Most of the music from the film is taken from Kow Otani's Gamera scores, with a track from Tadashi Yamanouchi's work on Gamera the Giant Monster playing during the giant turtle's Tokyo rampage.

External links

• 2003 review of the film by Alan Colosi
• Review of the film and account of the G-FEST XXI screening by Steven Sloss

References

This is a list of references for Gamera 4: Truth. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: ^[1]

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