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    2023 Autumn

    Why I HATE Gamera vs. Viras (1968)



    Why I HATE Gamera vs. Viras (1968)

    In this video, I take a deep dive into Gamera vs. Viras (1968), the fourth entry in Daiei’s iconic Gamera series and a turning point for the franchise. With Daiei on the brink of collapse and the budget slashed to just $140,000, director Noriaki Yuasa leaned hard into practical effects, child protagonists, and heavy use of stock footage to keep the Gamera name alive.

    This retrospective breaks down how Viras marked the shift from general audience tokusatsu filmmaking to kid-focused kaiju storytelling. We’ll look at what works, like the alien spaceship design, the underwater battle sequences, and the creature effects, and what drags it down, from repetitive flashbacks to paper-thin pacing.

    If you’re a fan of kaiju films like Godzilla, Ultraman, or anything from Toho and Daiei, this one’s for you. Expect practical suitmation breakdowns, analysis of Gamera’s evolution, and a look at how 1960s Japanese sci-fi tried to stay afloat in a shifting media landscape.

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    #Gamera #Viras #Kaiju #Tokusatsu #Daiei #Godzilla #Ultraman #Toho #GameraRetrospective #Suitmation #ShowaEra #KaijuMovies #FirewoodMedia

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    34件のコメント

    1. @corbu6312 on

      Where Gamera films are concerned, I always feel like the worse it is, the better it is. On par with Space Giants and Johhny Sokko from tv.

      Would love to get your take on Big Man Japan – it's such a funny and, I think, loving tribute to kaiju of the past. Please review.

    4. @jasonpratt5126 on

      I watched "Destroy All Planets" quite often as a kid, even a young teen, and enjoyed it mostly for the stock footage! — so yes, in a meta context (where we don't have the ability to watch Gamera footage whenever we want, and are lucky to be able to record anything), it can work.

    13. @jacksonknightproductions8697 on

      Yeah it baffles me as to why this is Noriyaki Yuasa's favorite.
      This is my third least favorite Gamera film. I reviewed all the Showa Gamera series back in 2021 and my opinions on them are still valid so go check them out if you wish.

    15. @sakio327 on

      Gamera vs Viras is my least favorite of the Showa series (other than Gamera, Super Monster, which is really not a movie of any worth). As a kid growing up in Tokyo, I was lucky enough to see this at a Daiei theater in Shibuya (as well as vs Guiron, vs Jiger and vs Zigra). I think my problem with the film is Viras. I just think it is a boring antagonist, in both looks and character. There are other Gamera films which is just as bad, but the antagonists were much more interesting.

    17. @ShinGodzilla1987Official on

      Good review and I agree, those stock footage scenes are a slog to get through. It's a shame since Viras is a unique neat kaiju, (his eyes remind me of Frieza's from dbz too) and the final battle is a lot of fun. I'm sure if I saw it when I was a child I would have enjoyed it more like Godzilla's revenge

    20. @Jelly_shy_guy_man on

      What are you talking about? This movie is peak byside’s the stock footage.
      Edit: oh I thought guiron was Viras, nah vs Viras is awful while guiron is great.

    22. @r.babylon2885 on

      My introduction to Gamera was the American made comic miniseries. Viras is the final boss in that, and is an alien presence which manipulates people through telepathy. That series gave me an incredibly different impression of the franchise than what I went on to discover.

    24. @Castielj on

      I'm not surprised why Mystery Science Theater skipped riffing this movie. The Barugon, Guiron, and Jigger movies are my favorites.

    25. @yanchunchan9321 on

      Wait 'til you see a certain film called Gamera: Super Monster, that thing makes this one seem like a masterpiece. This one is just boring I guess, Viras isn't too interesting aside from how it grows giant by fusing together

    26. @Blazingbro56 on

      You're going to G fest? That's sick dude!! Me and my little cousin are gonna dress up as the science patrol from the first ultraman, hope to see you there!!

    30. @dornravlin on

      If you didn’t grow up with these movies you won’t get much out of the latter movies. Theres still some cool scenes in the movie however the stock footage does undermine the merits

    32. @saveriovinci1212 on

      (5:14) And by stunning you mean goofy and weird, I would say yes. It just looks like a bunch of bees huddled together and spinning around in circles like their doing a weird ballet dance lol. 😏🛸🐝🩰😆

      (13:17) Has he though? Im mean I guess you could argue that they helped him in defeating Barugon since he never used his rainbow beam again after they used the mirror weapon on him. But it was the freeze attack that weaken Gamera in that movie, not the rainbow beam? Also he didn't need help in defeating Gyaos, the only thing the military did towards the end of the movie was start a forest fire. And im pretty sure the kids in this movie helped him a win the fight a little bit, just by yelling at him and telling him what to do at certain times. 🤨🪞🐢🔥🤔

    33. @taker68 on

      1st Gamera film I saw on TV in the 70s under the title Destroy All Planets. I'd say Gamera vs Zigra is the weakest entry of the series.