Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris (1999)

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Gamera films
Gamera 2: Attack of Legion
Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris
Gamera the Brave
Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris
The Japanese poster for Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris
Alternate titles
Flagicon Japan.png Gamera 3: Awakening of
the Evil God
(1999)
Flagicon United States.png Gamera: Revenge of Iris (DVD 2003)
See alternate titles
Directed by Shusuke Kaneko
Producer Yasuyoshi Tokuma et al.
Written by Kazunori Ito, Shusuke Kaneko
Music by Kow Otani
Funded by Daiei, Tokuma Shoten, Nippon TV, Hakuhodo, Nippon Shuppatsu Hanbai
Production company Daiei
Distributor Toho,JP ADV FilmsUS
Rating Not Rated
Box office ¥600 million[1]
Running time 108 minutes
(1 hour, 48 minutes)
Aspect ratio 1.85:1
Rate this film!
4.84
(57 votes)

I will not forgive Gamera. (わたしはガメラを許さない。)
„ 

— Japanese tagline

Save the planet. Go green.
„ 

— American DVD tagline

Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris (ガメラ3 邪神 (イリス)覚醒,   Gamera Surī: Irisu Kakusei, lit. "Gamera 3: Awakening of the Evil God")[note 1] is a 1999 tokusatsu kaiju film directed by Shusuke Kaneko and written by Kaneko and Kazunori Ito, with special effects by Shinji Higuchi. Funded by Daiei, Tokuma Shoten, Nippon TV, Hakuhodo, and Nippon Shuppatsu Hanbai and produced by Daiei, it is the 11th entry in the Gamera series and the conclusion to Kaneko's Heisei Gamera trilogy. It stars Shinobu Nakayama, Ai Maeda, Ayako Fujitani, Yu Koyama, Nozomi Ando, Takahiro Ito, Senri Yamazaki, Toru Tezuka, and Yukijiro Hotaru. The film was released to Japanese theaters on March 6, 1999. ADV Films released it to DVD in the United States in 2003.

In 1999, three years after the attack of the Legion, evolved Hyper Gyaos have begun appearing around the world en masse, strengthened by Gamera's depletion of the planet's mana to destroy Mother Legion. Gamera finds himself pushed to his limit in trying to destroy his ancient enemy, unintentionally causing countless deaths in a battle with two Gyaos in Shibuya. The JSDF designates Gamera as its enemy and begins a campaign to destroy him. Meanwhile in the village of Minami-Asuka, Nara, young Ayana Hirasaka forms a bond with a strange creature found in an ancient shrine, which she names Iris. Ayana blames Gamera for the deaths of her parents back in 1995, and intends to raise Iris to take revenge for her. Iris quickly grows into a giant monster which pursues Ayana to Kyoto. Gamera converges on the city to stop Iris, leading to a desperate battle between the monsters in Kyoto while Asagi Kusanagi and Mayumi Nagamine struggle to try and get through to Ayana before her bond to Iris leads to Gamera's death.

While critically acclaimed like the previous two films, Gamera 3 underperformed financially to the point Daiei opted not to continue the series. It would prove to be the final Gamera film produced by the second incarnation of Daiei, which was acquired by Kadokawa in 2002. A Gamera film produced by Kadokawa, Gamera the Brave, followed in 2006.

Plot

Three years have passed since the attack of the Legion, and the world is once again plagued by Gyaos attacks in diverse locations, such as the Philippines. The flying monsters, thought to have been wiped out by Gamera, are now reappearing in increasing numbers across the globe and have been evolving out of control. Mayumi Nagamine, noted ornithologist, returns to aid the Japanese government in addressing this threat. A graveyard of Gamera fossils has been found at the bottom of the sea. Shadowy government agents Mito Asakura and Shinya Kurata, the former with occult beliefs and hinted by Kurata to be descended from the ancient advanced civilization that created Gamera and Gyaos, are meanwhile working to a different agenda, with Asukura believing Gamera to be an evil spirit that has to be stopped "to prevent Heaven and Earth's destruction."

Tragedy strikes, however, as the monsters take their conflict to the populated Shibuya district of Tokyo. Two Gyaos glide across the city skyline, relentlessly pursued by Gamera. He manages to blast one of them with a plasma fireball over the city, sending its flaming body into a collision with a crowded subway. Gamera bursts into the station in order to finish off his foe, incinerating the dying Gyaos along with several city blocks. Gamera then pursues the second Gyaos, firing several plasma fireballs at it until it is destroyed. Gamera then flies away into the night sky. An estimated 20,000 human lives are lost in the battle, and the Japanese government orders Gamera's immediate destruction.

Meanwhile, a young girl named Ayana Hirasaka copes with the loss of her family, who were inadvertently killed by Gamera during his Tokyo battle with Super Gyaos in 1995. Consumed by a maelstrom of hatred and despair, Ayana finds friendship in the oddest of places: a stone egg sealed within an ancient temple in the village of Asuka where she now lives. The egg hatches into a small tentacled creature, whom the girl names "Iris," after her dead cat. Iris becomes the focus of Ayana's quest for revenge, as she seeks to raise her own monster and take vengeance against Gamera.

Revenge comes at a price, however, as Iris attempts to absorb Ayana in the process of its growth. A young man named Tatsunari Moribe manages to free her from Iris' cocoon, but its taste for humanity is far from quenched. It escapes and kills the entire populace of the village. Iris then grows into his monstrous adult form and continues terrorizing the countryside. The JSDF assaults the monster, but Iris easily wipes out the attacking platoon before taking flight.

Iris flies toward the city of Kyoto, pursued by the JASDF, but is intercepted in mid-flight by Gamera. The monsters engage in a high-speed battle in the night sky, Gamera using his saucer-like locomotion to batter Iris. The JASDF intervenes, however, knocking Gamera out of the sky with a tactical missile strike. Iris then proceeds unimpeded to Kyoto, where Ayana has been taken by Asukura and Kurata, with Asukura deliberately trying to use the girl to summon Iris. Nagamine and Asagi Kusanagi, the girl once psychically linked with Gamera, retrieve Ayana and attempt unsuccessfully to get her out of Kyoto, as travel has been halted by a typhoon. Kurata expresses a belief that Iris has been deliberately created to kill Gamera so that the Gyaos will wipe out modern humanity, a "decadent civilization."

Inside the train station in Kyoto, Ayana lends her will to Iris, as Gamera dives into the city and fires several plasma fireballs toward Iris. Iris easily bats them away with his tentacles, and the city erupts in flame. The two monsters engage in a melee, but Iris easily gains the upper hand, impaling his foe with the spear on his arm. Both monsters barrel into Kyoto Station, killing Asakura and Kurata. Iris knocks Gamera to the ground and leaves him for dead, bleeding profusely from the hole in his body. Iris then absorbs Ayana once again, this time against her will.

From within Iris' body, Ayana experiences the monster's memories of killing her village, and realizes that her hatred and bitterness over being an orphan motivated the monster she raised. Just as she has her epiphany, however, Gamera plunges his hand into Iris' chest. Gamera manages to wrench the girl free, robbing Iris of its human merge, but it counters this by staking Gamera's hand to the wall with one of his extendable, sword-like arms. Nagamine and Asagi, trapped within the train station's wreckage, watch helplessly as Iris begins to siphon Gamera's blood, using it to create plasma fireballs with its tentacles. Before they can be launched, however, Gamera takes action, choosing to instead blast off his own impaled hand. Iris fires two plasma fireballs, but Gamera then points his stump arm toward the incoming attack, absorbs them, and forms a fiery plasma fist, then drives it into Iris' wounded chest.

Iris shrieks in agony and explodes, blowing the roof off the crumbling train station and obliterating Iris once and for all. The comatose Ayana still clutched in his fist, Gamera sets the girl down where Nagamine and Asagi are hiding. The women are unable to revive her, but Gamera lets out a roar and Ayana opens her eyes. Gamera leaves the girl wondering why he would save her life after all she had done, while Moribe runs to Ayana and comforts her. The four survivors watch Gamera leave the station and enter the ruins of Kyoto. Nagamine remarks that it appears Gamera will continue to fight even if he is alone, but Asagi states that Gamera is not alone, knowing that humanity will fight by his side once again. As Gamera roars in defiance, the Gyaos, thousands strong, descend upon Japan.

Staff

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

  • Directed by   Shusuke Kaneko
  • Written by   Kazunori Ito, Shusuke Kaneko
  • Executive producer   Yasuyoshi Tokuma
  • Co-executive producers   Hiroyuki Kato, Kazuhiko Ishikawa, Kiyosh Ono, Naomasa Tsuruta
  • Produced by   Tsutomu Tsuchikawa, Naoki Sato, Ko Nanri
  • Associate producers   Seiji Okuda, Naoya Fujimaki
  • Music by   Kow Otani
  • Theme song "Tell Me Once Again"
    • Performed by   Juliana Schano
    • Lyrics by   Shusuke Kaneko
    • Composed by   Kow Otani
    • Arranged by   Yoshio J. Maki, Juliana Schano
  • Cinematography by   Junichi Tozawa
  • Edited by   Isao Tomita
  • Production designer   Hajime Oikawa
  • First assistant director   Hideaki Murakami
  • Director of special effects   Shinji Higuchi
  • First assistant director of special effects   Makoto Kamiya

Cast

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

  • Shinobu Nakayama   as   Dr. Mayumi Nagamine, ornithologist
  • Ai Maeda   as   Ayana Hirasaka
  • Aki Maeda   as   Ayana Hirasaka, 4 years ago (voice: Ai Maeda)
  • Ayako Fujitani   as   Asagi Kusanagi
  • Yu Koyama   as   Tatsunari Moribe
  • Nozomi Ando   as   Miyuki Moribe
  • Takahiro Ito   as   Satoru Hirasaka
  • Senri Yamazaki   as   Mito Asakura, Cabinet Secretary
  • Toru Tezuka   as   Shinya Kurata, computer programmer
  • Yukijiro Hotaru   as   Tsutomu Osako
  • Hirotaro Honda   as   Masaaki Saito, Deputy Minister of the Environment
  • Kei Horie   as   Shigeki Hinohara
  • Norito Yashima   as   Sakurai, National Genetic Research Institute
  • Yusuke Kawazu   as   Akio Nojiri, Sapporo Science Center director
  • Kunihiko Mitamura   as   Ayana's father
  • Kazuko Kato   as   Ayana's mother
  • Nijiko Kiyokawa   as   Moribe family matriarch
  • Yukie Nakama   as   Female camper
  • Daisuke Honda   as   Male camper
  • Katsuhisa Namase   as   Yawata Marine Insurance representative
  • Aimi Takemura   as   Tomomi, Ayana's classmate
  • Yui Kobayashi   as   Sanae, Ayana's classmate
  • Nikki Soraneko   as   Natsuko, Ayana's classmate
  • Hiroyuki Watanabe   as   Colonel Ono, 37th General Division Regiment Commander
  • Yu Tokui   as   Resident of Nara
  • Hikaru Ijuin   as   Police officer in Kyoto
  • Masahiro Noguchi   as   Constable in Nara
  • Tomoko Kawashima   as   Office lady in Shibuya
  • Asumi Miwa   as   High school girl in Shibuya
  • Satoru Saito   as   Shigeki's father
  • Toshie Negishi   as   Shigeki's mother
  • Tomorowo Taguchi   as   Doctor
  • Masasuke Hirose   as   Kairei chief
  • Tamotsu Ishibashi, Shoji Kokami, Rita Kosegawa   as   Kairei crew
  • Takaya Kamikawa, Tsuyoshi Shimada   as   Air force controllers
  • Kenjiro Ishimaru   as   Air force senior controller
  • Masahiko Tsugawa   as   Air force commander
  • Makoto Kakeda, Yukitomo Tochino, Ao Santo   as   Homeless
  • Osamu Shigematsu, Katsuko Nishina   as   Street interviewees
  • Takashi Nishina   as   Self-Defense Force guard
  • Tarou Oumiya   as   THE WIDE director
  • Ikkei Watanabe   as   THE WIDE producer
  • Hitoshi Kusano, Ryoko Ozawa   as   THE WIDE performers
  • Mika Takanishi   as   Today's Events newscaster
  • Takao Masuda, Yoshifumi Funatsu, Kumiko Tsunoda, Fumio Matsunaga   as   Special news announcers
  • Shinobu Matsumoto   as   Weather caster
  • Miyuki Komatsu   as   Reporter in Shibuya
  • Nanako Kaneko   as   Interviewer
  • Hirofumi Fukuzawa   as   Gamera
  • Akira Ohashi   as   Iris / Trauma Gamera

ADV Films English dub

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

  • Tiffany Grant   as   Dr. Mayumi Nagamine
  • Kelli Cousins   as   Ayana Hirasaka
  • Cameron Bautsch   as   Tatsunari Moribe
  • Luci Christian   as   Asagi Kusanagi
  • Paul Sidello   as   Tsutomu Osako
  • Jason Douglas   as   Shinya Kurata
  • Paul Locklear   as   Shigeki Hinohara
  • Christine Auten   as   Mito Asakura
  • Alex Harter   as   Kobayashi
  • Andy McAvin   as   Lieutenant
  • Bob Biggerstaff   as   Lieutenant C
  • Victor Carsrud   as  
  • Tony Oller   as   Satoru
  • Cynthia Feaster   as   Bully girl
  • Rick Peeples   as   Mister Glasses
  • Jessica Boone   as   Myuki
  • Vic Mignogna   as   Doctor
  • Hal Raleigh   as   Commander
  • John Tyson   as   Yawata Marine Insurance representative
  • Mike Yantosca   as   Military A
  • Vickie Barosh   as   Moribe family matriarch
  • David Parker   as   Captain
  • Heather LeMaster   as   Female reporter A
  • John Kaiser   as   Akio Nojiri
  • Wade Shemwell   as   Policeman A
  • Victor Carsrud   as   Submersible captain
  • Don Rush   as   Policeman B
  • Hal Raleigh   as   Shigeki's father
  • Charlie Purdy   as   Military Cee
  • Ted Pfister   as   Talkshow host
  • Kyle Jones   as   Male anchor B
  • Bob Biggerstaff   as   Submersible navigator
  • Alex Harter   as   Submersible pilot
  • Mobile Radio Guy B   as   Michael Yantosca
  • Officer Tan   as   Marty Fleck
  • Thomas Meerbott   as   Military Bee
  • Tony Oller   as   Pedestrian boy
  • Duc Nguyen   as   Sakurai
  • Monica Rial   as   School girl B
  • Kyle Jones   as   Bum A
  • Shelley Calene- Black   as   Pedestrian woman B
  • Monica Rial   as   Pedestrian mother
  • Patrick Givens   as   Ayana's father
  • Monica Rial   as   Female anchor A
  • Steven Hasenmyer   as   Moribe friend
  • Vic Mignogna   as   Male anchor A
  • Vicki Barosch   as   Female talkshow guest A
  • Victor Carsurd   as   Talkshow director
  • Chris Nelson   as   Talkshow producer
  • Andy McAvin   as   Policeman old
  • Marcy Bannor   as   Female anchor B
  • Henry Rogers   as   Submersible mate
  • Kelli Cousins   as   Ayana Hirasaka, 4 years ago
  • Shelley Calene- Black   as   Ayana's mother
  • Marcie Corder   as   Shigeki's mother
  • Andy McAvin   as   Rail station official
  • Marcie Bannor   as   Mother Nagamine
  • Shelley Calene- Black   as   School girl A
  • Jessica Boone   as   Pedestrian woman A
  • Cynthia Feaster   as   Pedestrian woman C
  • Kyle Jones   as   Joe Hollywood
  • Kenneth Smith   as   Messenger
  • Rick Burford   as   Male reporter A
  • David Parker   as   Male interview A
  • Marcy Rae   as   Female interview A
  • Marcie Corder   as   Female interview B
  • Cynthia Feaster   as   Talkshow host female
  • Joey Goubeaud   as   Paramedic
  • John Tyson   as   Male anchor C
  • Monica Rial   as   Weather lady
  • Thomas Meerbott   as   Bullhorn guy
  • Ted Pfister   as   Chief Cabinet Secretary
  • Kyle Jones   as   Submersible pilot 2
  • Shelley Calene- Black   as   House mother
  • Monica Rial   as   Camper female

Appearances

Monsters

Weapons, vehicles, and races

Gallery

Main article: Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris/Gallery.

Soundtrack

Main article: Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris/Soundtrack.

Alternate titles

  • Gamera 3: Awakening of the Evil God (literal Japanese title)
    • Gamera 3: Awakening of Iris (alternate reading)
  • G3 (abbreviated title)
  • Gamera 3: Incomplete Struggle (English Japanese title)
  • GIII: The Guardian of the Universe (alternate English Japanese title)
  • Gamera 3: The Absolute Guardian of the Universe (alternate English Japanese title)[2]
  • Gamera, Absolute Guardian of the Universe (United Kingdom)
  • Gamera 3: Evil God Irys' Awakening (Gamera 3: Böse Gott Irys Awakening; Germany)
  • Gamera: Revenge of Iris (U.S. DVD title)

Theatrical releases

  • Japan - March 6, 1999  [view poster]Japanese poster
  • Portugal - May 28, 1999
  • Canada - September 18, 1999 (Toronto International Film Festival)
  • Thailand - 1999
  • South Korea - February 4, 2000
  • Germany - August 2, 2000

Box office

Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris recorded an attendance of approximately 1 million and grossed ¥600 million during its Japanese theatrical run.[1] According to Variety, it had earned the equivalent of $15,000,000 at the time by June 28, 1999.[3] According to director Shusuke Kaneko, if the film had reached its target of ¥1 billion, the filmmakers would have begun production on a fourth entry.[4]

Reception

Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris has been widely praised by critics and kaiju fans as not only being the best of the Heisei Gamera trilogy, but also being the best of all the Gamera films, as well as one of the greatest kaiju films ever made. Stomp Tokyo gave the film a glowing review, calling it "The Finest Giant Monster Movie Made Since The Original Godzilla."

Awards

Award Category Recipient(s) Result
4th Japan Internet Movie Awards Work Award Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris Won

Video releases

Daiei VHS (1999)

  • Cassettes: 1
  • Audio: Japanese
  • Notes: Bargain version released on February 4, 2000.

Daiei Laserdisc (1999) [Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris Special Edition LD-BOX]

  • Discs: 3
  • Audio: Japanese
  • Special features: Making-of documentary (different from Gamera 1999), deleted scenes, "Tell Me Once Again" music video, staff interviews, and more

Daiei DVD (2001)

ADV Films DVD (2003)

  • Region: 1
  • Discs: 1
  • Audio: Japanese (5.1 Surround), English (5.1 Surround)
  • Special features: Gag audio commentary, interview with Shinji Higuchi, press conference (4 minutes), five trailers, 20 TV spots, behind the scenes footage (5 minutes), Gamera Promotional Events featurette (1 minute), footage from the film's opening day in Japan (6 minutes), outtakes (4 minutes; dubbing gags rather that on-set mistakes)
  • Notes: Also packaged with Gamera the Guardian of the Universe and Gamera 2: Attack of Legion in the Gamera Complete DVD Collection. Out of print.

Kadokawa Blu-ray / DVD (2009 / 2010)

  • Region: A/1 (Blu-ray) or 2 (DVD)
  • Audio: Japanese
  • Special features: Part of the 15th Anniversary Testimony interview series for the Gamera trilogy
  • Notes: Also included in the Heisei Gamera Blu-ray Box with Gamera the Guardian of the Universe, Gamera 2: Attack of Legion, and Gamera the Brave. A digitally remastered DVD using the same master as the Blu-ray was released in 2010.

Mill Creek Blu-ray (2011)

  • Region: N/A
  • Discs: 1
  • Audio: Japanese (DTS-HD HR 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
  • Special features: Deleted scenes, Camera Test and Special Effects, On-Location, Creating the Monsters, The Awakening of Iris Remix, theatrical trailers, plus bonus materials for Gamera the Guardian of the Universe and Gamera 2: Attack of Legion
  • Notes: Also packaged with Gamera the Guardian of the Universe and Gamera 2: Attack of Legion in The Gamera Trilogy set. Early copies of Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris featured incomplete and delayed subtitles, prompting Mill Creek to offer a disc replacement program.[5] Even the first replacement discs, however, suffered from oversized subtitles in the special features, requiring a second round of corrections.[6]

Mill Creek DVD (2014) [Gamera: The Legacy Collection]

  • Region: 1
  • Discs: 4
  • Audio: Japanese (Stereo)
  • Special features: None
  • Notes: Packaged with Gamera the Giant Monster, Gamera vs. Barugon, Gamera vs. Gyaos, Gamera vs. Viras, Gamera vs. Guiron, Gamera vs. Jiger, Gamera vs. Zigra, Gamera Super Monster, Gamera the Guardian of the Universe, and Gamera 2: Attack of Legion. Out of print.

Kadokawa Blu-ray (2016) [Heisei Gamera 4K Digital Restoration Blu-ray Box]

  • Region: A/1
  • Discs: 6
  • Audio: Japanese (DTS HD 5.1 Surround and DTS HD 2 Stereo)
  • Subtitles: Japanese
  • Special features: Two "Special Contents" discs consisting of over 760 minutes of bonus footage for all four Heisei Gamera films; 200-page "G I-III SFX & Art Photographs" booklet featuring 750 unreleased photos from the Heisei Gamera trilogy; 32-page "G I-IV Complement Books" booklet featuring interviews, plot summaries, Laserdisc cover artwork, and more for all four Heisei Gamera films
  • Notes: Packaged with Gamera the Guardian of the Universe, Gamera 2: Attack of Legion, and Gamera the Brave.

Videos

Japanese Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris trailer
Japanese Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris TV spots
U.S. Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris trailer
Dolby Cinema Screening Announcement: Making Edition

Trivia

  • In an interview published shortly after the film was released, director Shusuke Kaneko elaborated on the film's cliffhanger ending, declaring that Gamera will survive his battle with the Hyper Gyaos.[7][8][page number needed]
  • In one scene in the film, the characters Mayumi Nagamine and Sakurai interact with Sega's then-new game console, the Dreamcast. A tie-in VMU for the film titled Gamera: Dream Battle was released for the Dreamcast.
  • Hideaki Anno, creator of the famous anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion and longtime friend of special effects director Shinji Higuchi, directed a documentary about the making of this film titled Gamera 1999. Anno and Higuchi would later collaborate on the 2016 Godzilla film Shin Godzilla.
  • Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris received a fan-made sequel from director Shinpei Hayashiya titled Gamera 4: Truth, which features Yukijiro Hotaru reprising his role as Osako. This short film was screened several times in Japan in 2003, and was even distributed by Kadokawa. It has rarely been screened since, and has not yet been officially released on home video in any form.
  • Kadokawa published a tie-in manga for Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris in 2002, which is set between it and Gamera 2: Attack of Legion and as such is labeled Gamera 2.5. The manga is an adaptation of Gamera vs. Barugon, and adapts its events into the continuity of the Heisei trilogy. It also attempts to explain the backstory of Iris, suggesting he was a prototype guardian created by the Atlanteans to exterminate Gyaos, along with Barugon, Zigra, and Jiger. The manga's author has stated that it was never meant to be considered canon to the trilogy.
  • While Gamera 3 is the last entry of Shusuke Kaneko's Heisei Gamera trilogy, it is not the last entry in the Gamera Heisei series. After acquiring the rights to Gamera, Kadokawa produced a film titled Gamera the Brave in 2006 to celebrate the character's 40th anniversary. While it is considered the fourth entry in the Heisei series, Gamera the Brave is not connected to the events of Kaneko's trilogy.
  • Nanako Kaneko, the wife of Shusuke Kaneko, appears in a cameo in this film as an interviewer. She also made an appearance in the first movie as a zookeeper.
  • Several actors from this film would go on to appear in Shusuke Kaneko's next kaiju film, Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack. Hiroyuki Watanabe, who played Colonel Ono in this film, plays Commander Yutaka Hirose in GMK. Yukijiro Hotaro, who played Osako in this film, plays a minor role in GMK as a suicidal man in the Aokigahara. Ai Maeda and Aki Maeda, who play Ayana Hirasaka as a teenager and a child, respectively, cameo as a pair of twin girls who witness Mothra fly overhead in GMK as a reference to the Shobijin. Stuntman Toshinori Sasaki, who has an unspecified role in Gamera 3, performs stunts as Baragon in GMK. Lastly, Iris' suit actor Akira Ohashi portrays King Ghidorah in GMK.
  • The "Trauma Gamera" suit seen during Ayana's nightmares in the film is actually a refurbished Gamera suit from Gamera 2: Attack of Legion. For this reason, it was worn by Akira Ohashi, who played Gamera in the previous film, rather than by Gamera's new suit actor Hirofumi Fukazawa.
  • During development of the film, director of special effects Shinji Higuchi initially planned to reuse Gamera's "Ultimate Plasma" attack which he used to destroy Mother Legion in the previous film for his finishing move against Iris. Higuchi came up with the idea for Gamera's new "Banishing Fist" ability after being reminded of the Hong Kong martial arts movie One Armed Boxer, in which a martial artist played by Jimmy Wang Yu loses an arm and fights to exact revenge on a criminal gang.[9]
  • While Asuka is a real village within Nara Prefecture in Japan, the smaller village of Minami within it where Ayana and her adoptive family live is fictional.
  • While Tatsunari Moribe's younger sister Miyuki disappears halfway through the film, a deleted scene reveals that she survived Iris' attack on the village along with her grandmother, as they are both being interviewed by police.
  • There is a widely-accepted[citation needed] theory among Japanese fans that Gamera revived Ayana Hirasaka and Tatsunari Moribe at the end of this film by summoning and giving mana to the unconscious pair; Nagamine's life support had little effect on Ayana until Gamera roared, waking Ayana and Moribe almost at the same time. Seeing Ayana's recovery, Nagamine looked at Gamera and muttered "Could it be?," while Asagi smiled at Gamera.
  • The idea of using silica sand to depict rain in Kyoto was inspired by the 1980 film Raise the Titanic and the 1984 film Ghostbusters.[1]:127 Similarly, sand and salt were used for snow in G2.[1]:73
  • A presumed reference to the 1962 Daiei film Killer Whale was planned for G3, where Gamera briefly interacts with a cow-calf pair of North Pacific Right whales near the "Gamera graveyard" and the sunken ruin of Atlantis.[1]:254
  • The deepwater fish briefly seen in the prologue of the film is fictitious, designed for the film.[1]:114

External links

Notes

  1. Alternatively spelled ガメラ3 邪神〈イリス〉覚醒, in cases where furigana is not applicable. The kanji 邪神 is normally read as Jashin, meaning "Evil God." However, the furigana イリス above the kanji in the title indicates that in this case it is read Irisu (Iris).

References

This is a list of references for Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris. 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]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Heisei Gamera Perfection. ASCII MEDIA WORKS. 8 February 2014. p. 271. ISBN 9784048918817.
  2. Gamera 3 Japanese trailer end.jpg
  3. Review: ‘Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris’ - Variety
  4. Kiridoshi, Risaku (2002). Tokusatsu Apocalypse 1995-2001. Ohta Publishing. p. 435. ISBN 487233678X.
  5. "Gamera 3 Blu-ray Replacement Program". Toho Kingdom. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  6. "Mill Creek Offers New GAMERA 3 Replacement Blu-rays". SciFi Japan. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  7. SPA!. 17 March 1999. Fusosha Publishing.
  8. 金子修介監督 インタビュー(1999)・『ガメラ3 邪神〈イリス〉覚醒』(3)
  9. [1]

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