Want more Gamera 3? Here is the full, uncut, unedited version of my article that appeared in G-FAN issue 91!
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Introduction:
It has been a full decade since Shusuke Kaneko’s masterful film, "Gamera 3: Incomplete Struggle" was made. "Gamera 3: Incomplete Struggle" is often called one of the more complex films in all of kaiju/tokusatsu eiga. In fact, some people - including me - think that "Gamera 3: Incomplete Struggle" even beats out the original "Gojira" in terms of film quality. That is debatable, but you cannot doubt the artistic value of the film. So, without further to do this is my valuation and look into "Gamera 3: Incomplete Struggle".
Synopsis:
In 1999, Japan’s scientific authority on the Gyaos - Miss Nagamine - finds out that near the equator a Gyaos carcass is laying in a village. Though strangely, even though it was able to consume the son of an old woman, it seemed small but different in an evolutionary sense. Meanwhile, off the southern most part of Japan, a deep sea exploration party discovers the sea bed littered with Gamera carcasses. This brings up many questions, mostly about Gamera - who most haven’t seen since the Legion attack (and if you also include the "Gamera vs. Barugon" manga, not since Gamera defeated Barugon).
In the Nara prefecture resides Ayana Miyasaka. She wakes up one morning crying. Within her, she harbors a grudge against Gamera. Four year ago durring the final battle between a Super Gyaos and Gamera, Gamera accidentally crushed the apartment complex which Ayana’s family was in minus Ayana herself and her little brother. Now - against the fact that Gamera saved one Gyaos invasion and stopped the Legion from colonizing Earth, she hates Gamera.
One day, Ayana meets up with some school girls at a cave. In exchange for leaving her brother alone, she would have to carry a rock out. Little does Ayana know that according to ancient Shino folk lore, what is in the cave is the Ryuseicho - the guardian of the south - a beast of destructive powers. It is said that a sumo wrestler tried removing the stone but failed. Ayana finds the stone with a turtle-shell like design on it. Once it started glowing, a lot of mysterious events are put into play - including Ayana being able to pick up the rock, a strange egg coming from the ground, and the passing of tradition to the oldest male of the family that is supposed to guard the Ryuseicho - Tatsunari Moribe.
Soon later, a person at one of Japan’s oceanic institutes is called as two people involved with Japan’s government - Ms. Asakura Mito and Kurata Shinya - seem to want to find out what is of the multiple medallions that were found on Gamera four years ago which seemed to have fractured durring Gamera’s resurrection in 1996. Turns out that they are two both part of a cult which fallows "The Book of Changes". Government business is brought up more when Miss Nagamine and other people in Japan’s government are coming together to have a meeting about further information regarding kaiju, especially on the point of why is it Japan that is always attacked.
Enter Mr. Osako. Since 1995, he has been lowering in rank and even did some farming before finally becoming homeless since being physiologically tormented by the appearance of the Gyaos and Legion - both which he was the first to see and live to tell the tale. While drinking in the park one night, he notices a huge fireball erupt in the sky. As it came crashing down, it turned out to be a severely burned Gyaos. Fallowing it was a not-so-cautious Gamera. Gamera massacres this Gyaos and two more, leaving the whole of Shibuya in a fiery inferno while throwing all caution for human life out the window, something which goes against what he has shown in the past.
Back in Nara, the egg in the cave hatches. Ayana finds it and calls the tentacle kaiju that spawned from it Iris, after her pet cat that was killed back in 1995. Turns out that both Ayana and Iris have something in common: Gamera has killed or is killing off both of their families. Moribe finds out about this and keeps caution. One day, Ayana goes missing. Moribe - with the ten-inch dagger with him (the weapon which was said to be of use against the Ryuseicho) goes into the cave only to find that Iris is now in the form of a bulb and inside the bulb is Ayana with some of Iris’ gene-absorbing tentacles attached to her body. He cuts the orb and gets her out. Only the next day, Ayana is taken to a hospital and one of Moribe’s friends starts to think that there is something funny going on, possibly rape.
With this news out, the government decides to intervene. Miss Nagamine and a rejuvenated Mr. Osako with some newly regained law enforcement rights, goes to Nara - only to find everyone except for Moribe dead and looking like all of their bodily fluids was sucked out of them. In a forest near by, Iris had absorbed enough of Ayana’s genes to grow to a whooping 120 meters in height. The military just surrounds him for now.
In the mean time, Nagamine catches up with Asagi Kusanagi. We find out that Asagi has been studying abroad and along with a video Nagamine saw (which was created by Kurata Shinya), Asagi concurs that the reason why Japan is always attacked by kaiju is because mana - the Earth’s natural energy - is depleted the most in Japan with it’s main consumer being Gamera. Without it, Gamera is not able to fight. When it is used up, animals are more likely to go to the spot on Earth with the lowest concentration - as shown with the Gyaos. Next we now find out that Ayana has been moved out of the hospital she was in and moved to Kyoto. There, she is in a room with medical facilities but strange engravings are on the wall and Ms. Asakura Mito does prayers and mantras. Turns out that Asakura Mito is of a lineage with ancestors who "have meditated with monsters". Ayana and Nagamine go to the Kyoto JR Station to sort things out.
Tired of the forestry and tired of the JSDF advances on him, Iris decides to also go to Kyoto, flying above a strong hurricane. Though being engaged by two fighter jets, Gamera comes out of the hurricane to take place in the fight. Iris gains the upper hand though, being faster, more equipped, and with the military deciding to attack Gamera as a priority since after the Shibuya incident, not many people hold Gamera in good faiths. They both battle until they reach Kyoto, which at that point Kyoto is in the eye of the storm. The fight leads to the death of Kurata Shinya and Asakura Mito as the duo starts to fight within the Kyoto Train Station. Though suffering an impalement and having to sacrifice his own arm while retrieving Ayana out of Iris’ body, Gamera ultimately wins the fight. Unfortunate for the Guardian of the Universe, his use of mana from G2 also had one more side effect - an incensement in global warming. With that, thousands of newly born Gyaos are flying to Kyoto right now. Though injured, Gamera ventures out into the now burning Kyoto with only arm and plans on taking on the Gyaos, even if it means he has to die or kill humanity in the process.
Script Evaluation:
Something which people like to bash G3 for when people comparing it to the original "Gojira" is the lack of an overall theme such as the stopping of nuclear usage in war. While "Gamera 3" doesn’t have as powerful of a message that gives social commentary, it does have one none the less. The film’s message is actually something more timeless than the usual anti-pollution or the aforementioned anti-nuclear themes. "Gamera 3" deals with the wanting of redemption from people who are close to us, getting involved with an egocentric incentive, along with causing estrange among family and friends. This message in "Gamera 3", no matter how miniscule, is a more common message which would do people good. A lot more timeless than the risk of the abuse of nuclear energy.
The next thing to talk about is the usage of actual Japanese mythology in the plot. While kaiju eiga has always had a religious tone to them, G3 takes it to the next level and breaks the mold in that instead of just calling kaiju after a mythical entity, they actually are the entity. The first thing to notice is in Ms. Asakura Mito’s dialogue: "When Heaven and Earth are opposed, the result is destruction. All appears calm, but danger lies before."
The character Ms. Asakura Mito claims she got the quote from "The Book of Changes". Because of this, and other pieces of dialogue she says, it led some critics to believe that she, along with her cohort Kurata Shinya, to be part of an cult, with some people thinking that the cult is Atlantean (due to the Gyaos and Gamera’s origins). All of that is wrong (though it is easy to make that mistake since at turn of the millennium Japan, cults were becoming numerous in Japan), since the "Book of Changes" is an actual book. You most probably already know that Japan’s ways are heavily influenced by the Chinese. But how exactly does Chinese mythos filter through to fit the Japanese? Well, the "beta" version of the Shinto system was not perfect and to help it along was the "Book of Changes" to help place a definitive doctrine. But how was, "The Book of Changes" changed to it’s final version of the Shinto religion? Well, not at all, since Buddhist who fallowed Confucianism were already in agreement that Shinto came from China through a "way of the sages". It’s more common name is the "I Ching", and is one of the oldest Chinese texts to date. This helps build the mystical foundation for the film. This helps explain a lot which would seem strange to a lot of western viewers, such as the symbols on the room where Ayana was put in when she was transferred to Kyoto. All of this sets up the mythological foundation of the film.
But how does this make sense with a line from the final battle in the film, "I join with the god Naobi to battle this evil spirit"? Those familiar with Japanese Shinto mythology will know that a deity being called "Naobi" are gods who restore peace and light to darkness. But the Ryuseicho - who is dreaded because of it’s destructive mannerisms - conflicts with the image of the Naobi, making it seem as if Miss Asakura Mito thought that the Naobi and the Ryuseicho are alike or has become mentally sick enough to start twisting Shinto religion for her own cause. And though based on actual constellation-based mysticism like what is in the "Book of Changes", the Ryuseicho is part fiction. It is based on the vermillion bird, or otherwise known in Japan as "suzaku". And in real life, Suzaku and Naobi are separate entities. And actually, unlike the Ryuseicho in the film, the phoenix is not opposed to Gembu (the turtle guardian of the north), but rather Gembu is opposed to the dragon. So Miss Mito starts twisting Shinto religion by the end of the film.
There is more to do with Iris’s development that meets the eye. While this may be common knowledge, it is worthy to mention that the monster-in-the-cave scenario is a classic set up for Japanese folk-lore. With this film showing, for the most part in the first half of the film, more traditional Japanese villages with superstitions, this is to be expected. Another observation to take into consideration would be one from Stomp Tokyo’s review of the film (written by Chris Holland and Scott Hamilton): Iris’s development is similar to that of a Pokemon. And many people have realized that Iris’s infant form is actually resembles the usual Pokemon pattern - kaiju which is tiny and looks cute. Really Pokemon like.
Though something dealing with Iris’ development actually ends up being the most complex piece in this whole film: the pendant Ayana finds in close proximity to Iris’ egg. The most commonly accepted theory about the pendant is that it is the Iris’ counterpart of Gamera’s pendant. Obviously it connects Iris to Ayana. Plus it helps reinforce that Iris is also from Atlantis, like Gamera. That would back up Iris’ stance as being a Gyaos mutation. But there is an interesting quote regarding Iris and Ayana durring the climax of the film:
Nagamine: "Asagi, are you still connected to Gamera?"
Asagi: "No, she is. She is fighting Gamera!"
While some people like myself may interpret this as a telling that Ayana may be using Iris like a Gundam from "Gundam SEED", it is in fact that through the amulet that Ayana is wearing that Gamera is trying to gain access to Ayana like what he did to Asagi four years before. Therefore, this makes the amulet a sort of permanent fail safe if the ones found on Gamera in 1995 failed - which they did in 1996. But a fail-safe for what? It could be said that the reason why Gamera needs to be connected to humans would be to help him control the amount of mana he uses when he fights an antagonistic force. But as we see, when the amulets were destroyed, Gamera was able to use mana as he saw fit, therefore we see him use his mana blast attack. But that seems to have been too much since it led to a multitude of Gyaos eggs to hatch due to a large advancement in global warming. This helps flesh out Gamera’s resurrection in G2 and why he does not use any real mana-based attacks in G3 - that is including the banishing fist. Last and not least, it is a plot device which helps explain something that we usually assumed was because of low budget: why kaiju almost always attacks Japan.
In the end, all of this forms the question "what is Iris? A deity or a Gyaos mutation?" You could say both. You could compare Iris to Christianity’s Jesus. Jesus is deity (technically a third of God) embodied in a physical form by being a human child. Why not have a deity which takes physical form by being the child of genetically engineered creatures? With that, you can easily say that Iris is both. A similar thing was done in Kaneko’s masterful 2001 film, "Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All Out Attack". As we see, three kaiju - Ghidorah, Mothra, and Baragon - are beasts worshiped by the Yamato. So place Iris in place of the guardian monsters. So they saw Iris at one time (like the ancients saw Gamera and Gyaos) and then not seen any more. That establishes the beginning of the Ryuseicho being a god. And the imperial family descends from the gods, and who is a god? Ryuseicho. This is explained really well by Hriomi Nakano in his essay, "Signs Taken For Monsters: What Made Godzilla So Angry Then", in which the writer says, "GMK seeks to locate monsters in the foundational mythology of Japan. It claims that three legendary guardian deities rose from the earth to defend the country from Godzilla’s rampages. Lang time ago, an ancient dynasty got rid of various monsters in the course of its conquest, then worshipped them as deities. The custom and practice were taken over by the Yamato State.
The subject material of this anecdote comes from Motohiko Izawa’s novel, "The Paradoxical History of Japan". Given the Imperial Family succeeds distantly to the throne of the Yamato State, the anecdote turns out a politically bold statement about the root of the emperor system of Japan. Actually, G3 tried to take up this argument and brought out one question, "What makes monsters attack Japan?" Its answer was so much cornered with Japanese Traditional Culture that the main stage of the movie was set in Kyoto, the ancient capitol.
In the original plot for G3 by Kazunori Ito, who scripted the animated classic "Ghost if the Shell", the Moribe family has long inherited a peculiar system of scapegoats, in which the children in this family have been sacrificed to the Ryuseicho, a deity of the family. The custom has kept the Moribe family prosperous until now. This anecdote was eventually cut from the plot for fear that it should lead to a problem about the original of the emperor system."
You could say the same thing about Gamera. Gamera in the first two films is seen as a mystical guardian of sorts since he protects humans and the world’s well being in general. This is also furthered since at ThrillVille 2003, Shusuke Kaneko said that in the Gamera trilogy turtles do not exist. With this information Gamera can be seen as a totally new creature bearing no real resemblance to anything else except for other reptiles. Plus, Gamera is based on Gembu, the guardian of the North and a minogame, and we know those mythologies exist in the Gamera series. So Gamera is a mythological beast come to life. And according to Japanese and Chinese traditions, a tortoise can speak in human tongues after 1,000 years of existance. No wonder why Gamera acts like he can understand humans even after all of the medallions were destroyed in 1996 (this goes for Asagi and Nagamine).
But there is another theory. For those who cannot accept Gamera and Iris being deities, some could say that Japan’s deities are in fact remnants of the memories of what happened back in the time of Atlantis. Just that people forgot Gamera was a biological engineer and with him being a great destructive force, humans naturally placed him in the role of a God. Same thing with Iris.
Something noteworthy to mention is how the kaiju/human interaction plays out. Never has the kaiju interacted with the humans in this way. In a press conference, producer Tsutomu Tsuchikawa, "What is special about this movie is, to put it concisely, the drama of the exchange of feelings between humans and monsters. The screenwriter - Mr. Kazunori Ito, mentions in the press sheet that this is a romance. This film will depict the heart to heart exchange and discord among humans and between humans and monsters. We are confident that this will be a new, never before seen kind of kaiju film." Weather it goes with raising a kaiju as an infant or being able to read his thoughts to a kaiju showing that they do remember specific humans, the humans and kaiju are presented well together. Though the presentation also brings up a twist to a style of story telling for a tokusatsu film. We are seemingly made to try to go into the mood that Gamera is bad. Though she doesn’t flesh out her emotions as well as one might hope, we can feel for Ayana when the topic of her and Gamera comes up - from a simple television news report to a nightmare more epic than anything Freddy Krueger could conjure. Does it work? I do not know. This is something which the individual audience member has to make judgment on. Did it work for me? No. The film was ruined for me mostly because I wanted to see it so earnestly that for a couple of years I read tons of synopsis for the film. Plus we know Gamera is the good guy. Which speaking about the humans, kudos for the awesome dialogue the character "Kurata Shinya" says through out the film. Really unique writing there. On another note, Shusuke Kaneko said at the film’s New York premier, "Gamera 3 concerns itself with the psychological effect such monsters could have on people involved in their conflict." This is especially evident when one scene shows the characters watching a TV report that goes to accouple of people and asks their opinion on Gamera and we see how the characters - specifically the four main female characters - Asagi, Miss Nagamine, Asakura Mito, and Ayana - how really changed they are from the first film or what a person would normally act like.
Though there are more Japanese cultural references to speak of - other than a nice appearance of a Sega console. When we see Gamera fire his first plasma ball while standing on the ground, we see a statue of a dog engulfed in burning inferno from the explosion. It is a quite beautiful shot, but a shot that has some interesting trivia associated with it. The dog’s name was "Hachiko". He was famous for always accompanying his master to the local JR station in Shibuya every day and meet him back there every evening. One day, the dog’s master died of a heart attack in 1925. The dog came to the station and waited every day for his master till March 7, 1935 when he was found dead of old age at the station. In honor of the valiant dog, the festival "Chuken Hachiko Matsuri" takes place at the train station. Now, it is a popular meeting place in Tokyo. The station has been now been given the pseudonym "Hachiko" by citizens. It is a really heartbreaking tale which makes me want to cry.
An interesting point to bring up is the setting for the final 30 minutes of the film - in Kyoto. Kyoto is one of the most preserved cities in all of Japan. It was lucky to not be damaged as much as some other Japanese cities durring WWII and holds many great cultural relics. One of the most recognizable showed in the film when Iris was descending. It is the beautiful Kiyomizu-dera temple. Another point to talk about is maybe that the location was chosen since Kyoto used to be Japan’s capitol, hence using this location to keep up with the mystical feel of the film. Though most probably the biggest reason as to why the production team would choose the city would be the Kyoto JR Station. The station had just opened up in 1997 - on Kyoto’s 1,200th birthday. The building could also have been chosen for the unique opportunity to have kaiju fight within a building instead of outside like normal.
Overall, I feel the screenplay by both Shusuke Kaneko and Kazunori Ito is a good one. Mentions of Japanese pop culture and interesting interpretations of Japanese mythos is refreshing. Not to mention things I have not gone into detail with, such as the military’s involvement with the kaiju this time around. Heck, I didn’t even mention that the news program shown in the film "The Wide" is an actual news program in Japan! With this screenplay, it makes you wonder why "Gamera 3" got mixed reviews in Japan. It is absolutely brilliant. I would even dare compare it to "The Godfather" (I am acting on personal and critical rating impulses here).
Production History
Even though the critical reaction was mixed instead of mostly positive like with the first film of the series, "Gamera 2: Advent of Legion" made enough money that it was called for to make Daiei’s last kaiju film before they would be eventually be bought by Kadokawa. However, unlike "Gamera 2: Advent of Legion", it would take longer to make this installment of the Heisei Gamera Trilogy. Most of that is from the screenplay, which would take close to two years to write (which is one explanation for the three year period between "Gamera 2: Advent of Legion" and "Gamera 3: Incomplete Struggle", though Shusuke Kaneko has said in an interview with Ed Godziszewski that one of the reasons as to why it took so long to make the film is because Daiei had to reserve the Toho-owned theatres for the roadshow two years before hand). The script for "Gamera 3" would go through four drafts before being finalized. The first draft was turned in on February 10, 1998. The second draft was released on April 27. The third draft, also known as the story board manuscript, was released May 25. The final draft would be turned in on June 14, 1998.
In the very same interview aforementioned, Shusuke mentioned some about the making of "Gamera 3: Incomplete Struggle" while on the topic of why Daiei is better with movie directors due to timing. "Mr. Ito was writing the script for part of the time, so I had nothing much to do. Of course I was checking with him and we were changing things. With Gamera 3, Mr. Ito was struggling with the story...he just couldn’t make it work. Why? Because it was the third one, he wanted to create something new. It was the most difficult one." After writing the script analysis, it is not hard to see why. Though it seems as if some of the special effects elements of the screenplay may have been deleted concepts from the earlier two films. In an interview with Shinji Higuchi on the Gamera DVDs, "There were a lot to begin with in Mr. Ito’s screenplay, but I said, I’m sorry, we can only do about the same things we did the last time and if we can’t do any better, hold off on it for now." One of those "hold off on it for now" concepts were some aerial combat between Gamera and Legion in "Gamera 2: Advent of Legion", but that would be saved for "Gamera 3: Incomplete Struggle" once Higuchi’s want of the third Gamera film to have aquatic duels diminished due to the water-based battles of "Mothra 2: Undersea Battle". Though they are only rumors, some concepts for "Gamera 3: Incomplete Struggle" included two ideas: a Gamera vs. Gamera scenario with Iris or Gamera vs. humanity. It has also been rumored that there was a screenplay only scene in which after the credits there is some footage of Gamera still battling the Gyaos in a world where humans are extinct. None of this has been proven true.
Pre-production of "Gamera 3: Incomplete Struggle" would official begin in 1997, though out of the whole year (specifically March through December) only thirteen days would be spent on the film. At the beginning, it was mainly just talks in board rooms, drawings on dry-erase boards by Higuchi, and a little camera filming everything for the two hours production diaries for "Gamera 3", aptly titled "GAMERA 1999". Major production work started ten days after the fourth and final draft of the screenplay was cleared. This pre-production period was best summarized by producer of the trilogy Tsutomu Tsuchikawa, "…in production of the third film, the creators - Shusuke Kaneko, Shinji Higuchi, and Kazunori Ito - they have been meeting over and over again for about a year now are finally brining us to where we are today. To be honest, it has been one of the more difficult deliveries in my experience with film. I believe this is because these three creators output their very best each time and then try to do something even better for the next one."
When asked about how he chooses cast members in an interview, Shusuke Kaneko said, "I chose actors and actresses who can really make you believe that kaiju exist in this world. The cast acted very seriously, they really seemed to believe that kaiju exist - and that makes the audience believe that kaiju exist." Keeping with that, he brings back most of the principle characters from the last few films. Most returning actors/actresses are from "Gamera: Guardian Of The Universe", including Shinobu Nakayama and Ayako Fujitani. Though there are some noticeable appearances of characters from "Gamera 2: Advent of Legion", including an unnamed scientist. But there are some new comers to the film, with the most noteworthy of the bunch being Ai Maeda (Ayana) and Tooru Tezuka (Kurata Shinya). Ai Maeda was the youngest member in the main cast. Only 15 for most of the shoot (her birthday is October 4th), Maeda gives a great performance as the dynamic character of Ayana Miyasaka. Ai made her first imprint as an extra in a Japanese McDonalds commercial. Afterwards - along with some film appearances - she did modeling with her sister Aki Maeda. But her breakout role was "Gamera 3: Incomplete Struggle", with currently her most famous being the character Shiori Kitano in "Battle Royale II: Requiem". Ai Maeda would make a cameo in Shusuke Kaneko’s contribution to the Godzilla series, "GMK". Kaneko’s filming with the actors would take a duration from the middle of June to the middle of August.
Special Effects
Shusuke Kaneko put it best when he said in an interview after the premier, "This movie is the best in special effects." And at the time, if not still now, it is the best film Japan has when it comes to using SFX weather CGI to some more aged techniques like suit animation and electronics with models. Fallowing the retrospect is a day-by-day breakdown of the shoot as the GAMERA 1999 production diaries have shown. When it comes to the interaction of the special effects director Shinji Higuchi and contractors such as Tomoo Hariguchi, it is "Not at all. We just gave the Gamera, Iris, and Gyaos marquette to the CGI staff to create their effects. For Iris, Mr. Shinada made the marquette, but it was finished here. On ‘G3’, there was a lot of money for CGI effects, although my own budget became smaller because of this! (laughter)." It should be noted that "Gamera 3"’s budget was $7,000,000. Special effects shooting - while said at the official press conference to have taken from early June to early September, shooting was extended to the middle of October.
"Gamera is how I envisioned it." said Tomoo Hariguchi in an interview. Many have taken notice to Gamera’s more "take no prisoners" appearance for the film. Like stated in the script analysis and by what Hariguchi would say in an interview, it was to have the audience associate with the character Ayana more. Playing Gamera this time around is suit actor Hirofumi Fukuzawa. Like the last installment, Gamera’s landings were again filled with melee on the city streets like his sliding landing in "Gamera 2: Advent of Legion" due to Special Effects Director Higuchi thinking a regular landing would look odd. This is brought back again when Gamera lands in Shibuya and especially in Kyoto. Plus we see what makes Gamera’s flying saucer position when flying a strategic move in combat - the new edges on his shell help. Two upper body puppets, a flying model, and a suit was made for the film. The Gamera suit (as well as the Gyaos models) were made by Tomoo Hariguchi.
Gamera’s challenge in this film is the monster Iris. After over 11 different design changes and 7 different color changes, Iris was finally designed. It is clear to see that Iris was built for one of the original concepts for the film - Gamera having an " aerial battle like thing underwater… behaving pretty similarly as in the air." [quote from Shinji Higuchi]. Though this actually proved to be an asset to Higuchi and his crew, especially on the question on how to make Iris’ flight seem original compared to other kaiju. "When it comes to flying, if you want it to look convincing, you either have to flap your wings or have fire coming out your ass. And we were trying to come up with another idea on how to fly. …we were looking for something that wasn’t either." Irys’s movements were based on those of a squid. Something else which stick’s out about Iris’ movement is when he lands. He does not give the impression that he is slowing down. Plus, what scenes there are of Iris which exposes his tentacles, Shinji Higuchi said it is partially thanks to those who write the CGI programs for the fluent movement.
The Iris suit and puppets/models were made by V-Shop, headed by Fuyuki Shinasa and Takuya Yamabe. The suit’s looks when being put on gives a ‘stuffed’ impression. Sometimes times durring the shoot suit actor Akira Ohashi was allowed to not wear the Iris feet, as it is understandable that the Iris feet would be hard to act in for a long expanse of time. Though, when it came to matching the suit/puppet Iris with the CGI model/shots which would be used in the film, not everyone was happy, including Tomoo Hariguchi. "Iris, I feel that some of the suit and CGI effects didn’t match together very well." When it came to letting out the news about Iris, it was kept secret until October 1998 that the monster’s name was "Iris" since Iris’s name is spelled like "demon".
According to a spokesperson at a G3 press conference, "The subtitle has been determined, so I will announce that now. "Gamera 3: The Demon Awakens". That is to say, it will be written as "demon", but it will be read as "Iris". This is very important folks. The use of the enemy monster’s name, also in the title "Iris", we request that you disclose this only after October." Along with this, all photos and other materials that revealed Iris were kept closed till October.
The biggest threat in the film is easily the Gyaos, now in the form of the new third generation - Hyper Gyaos. The inclusion of the character - while coming out as something which helps add an apocalyptic feel to the film, was more of a business decision on Daiei’s behalf to screenplay writer Kazunori Ito. "Gyaos toys sold much better than Legion toys… this was based on Daiei’s market research to produce new merchandise." Most Hyper Gyaos in the film are CGI, though some close ups and explosions are done using models. These models would be constructed out of fiber glass over a metal skeleton. The body usually had a length of 3 feet with a wing span of 5 feet, making the model approximately 1:114 scale. Currently, the model is in the possession of Dan Reed, who is most remembered being the publisher of the short lived fanzine "Kaiju Review" but became for a time a contributor to Uchusen Quarterly. Overall, no one could complain much, especially considering "G3’s Gyaos is much closer to Mr. Maeda’s original design than what was ultimately used in G1."
The stand out point of "Gamera 3" is easily the extensive use of CGI. About 75% of the special effects shots in the film has had some touching up with CGI. Tomoo Hariguchi claimed, "For G3, long shots of the monsters could be created using CGI, but we still had to use puppets for close ups, like the damaged Gyaos, for example." Not many know about what specific equipment was used for the film, but many have guessed. At the time (1999), the most popular CGI programs were Softimage 3D, LightWave 3D, 3D Studio MAX, AfterEffects, DV-Rex, Trinity, Mirai, Electriclmage, and Shade. While not confirmed, someone has mentioned that in a making of picture from "Gamera 3: Incomplete Struggle", the crew were making use of an AliasWavefront piece of hardware/software. Nine different companies like Imagica, Digital Frontier, and Digital Engine Laboratory were used to help with the CGI effects. But even this is not perfect, as confessed by Mr. Higuchi. "I’m still not as good as cell animation . I hate to admit that as someone who makes a living off the art." Though this seems to be a rather modest comment, since people like "Casshern" director Kazuaki Kiriya say "I think he’s a… genius."
A notable scene which involves heavy use of CGI would be the aerial battle. Though some shots are done with models (most of these are easily noticeable, thought it is hard to tell but Gamera’s entry in the battle is actually model footage enhanced with CGI), heavy use of CGI is present due to the lack of restriction (no piano wires to be navigated around). On the topic of aerial scenes though, Shinji Higuchi has often wanted to make scenes reminiscent of Hayao Miyazaki’s work. "I intent to depict awesome aerial battles that surpass Miyazaki anime." As for one shot when Gamera is hit with the missiles, an amazing shot is filmed with Iris descending with a flaming Gamera. The camera pans past Gamera to look at Iris only to get behind Gamera and we see his exhaust outlets going full blast in pursuit of Iris. This was actually thought by Higuchi to be copied from "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind", only to find out that he actually got inspired by Miyazaki and made a more complex shot than what he based it off of.
Publicity
When it comes down to it, "Gamera 3: Incomplete Struggle" more or less had the same range of distribution as it’s predecessor, "Gamera 2: Advent of Legion". Other than the usual posters and other memorabilia, "Gamera 3: Incomplete Struggle" really did sport a lot to buy. First was a laserdisc re-release of G1 and G2 in one pack called the "Gamera Perfect Box". Like it’s predecessors, "Gamera 3: Incomplete Struggle" had a VHS release-only production diary file released. However, unlike "Gamera 2", only one variation of "GAMERA 1999" was released.
The film, also like "Gamera 2: Advent of Legion", had accouple of exhibits fallow through with it’s publicity. At the 1999 Winter Wonder Festival, the Gamera and Iris suits were on display along with a television monitor with a continuous feed of "Gamera 3: Incomplete Struggle" commercials. However, this is nothing compared to what would be ultimately done at the final battle ground in the film - the Kyoto JR Train Station.
The Gamera 3 Kyoto JR Exhibit, funded by Daiei and the Kyoto Train Station itself, was an event held on February 26 and 27 in the Kyoto Train Station which was a filming location and location for the main kaiju fight in the film "Gamera 3: Incomplete Struggle". When you walked into the station, giant posters of a blue variation of the theatrical poster are hung outside. When walking in, a lit bill board with a theatrical and blue variation (each poster having the same dimensions, adding good contrast) is standing. Green Gamera footprints about 4 feet in area lead you to the exhibit. One of the most noticeable parts of the station, it’s lengthy amount of steps, were painted with the Gamera symbol and underneath, the two Gamera 3 symbols (Japanese print of "Gamera 3" in red, and "GIII" in the usual gray). You fallow your way - with help of the Gamera steps and green footprints to a doorway decorated with the likes of the blue Gamera 3 poster for the event.
When going in, you are greeted with walls covered with animated SD stickers of Super Gyaos and Gamera. At the front desk, posters for "Gamera 1999" (VHS), Gamera 3 Tower II (a PC game), and flyers for Japanese pop singer Juliana’s single from the film "Tell Me Again". Going through the exhibit, a black wall was split into three parts - for each Gamera film. For the first two film, there was props and paperwork from the film on display. Specifically for Gamera 2, the suit’s head, Flying Gamera miniature, two military jeeps, and of course story boards and script pages. For Gamera 3 - only story boards and pages of the script were on display for on the other side of the exhibit, props from Gamera 3 were on display, including the Gamera and Irys suits inside a Kyoto Train Station miniature, the head of the dead Gyaos found in the equator at the beginning of the film, and a full Symbiotic Legion.
Guests included Shusuke Kaneko, Ai Maeda, and Shinobu Nakayama. The first night saw attendees treated to a generous buffet of food and drink, a talk show with the guests, a prize raffle, and finally a preview screening of Gamera 3 at the station's recently completed movie theater. The activities concluded the following morning with the three guests christening the opening of the GAMERA SFX STUDIO. The fallowing products were available at the prize raffle: a puzzle version of the blue poster (28 pieces), a sticker, 4 key chains by Kaiyodo (SD versions of Gamera and Irys, painted and unpainted varieties; unpainted versions being Gamera green and Irys orange), and a chirashi for the event.
The Gamera SFX Studio was an exhibit which was set up in the Station after the two day Kyoto Train Station Event. There was a 20 page program given out. With the main background being blue, pics from the making of all three Gamera Heisei films were present. Chirashi were handed out, with the front showing a side profile of Gamera and he rises to kill the almost dead Hyper Gyaos (one with eyeball hanging out) and a map of the exhibit on the other side. Along with the chirashi, two stickers were given out, one with a fiery side profile of Gamera from G3 and the back of a flying Gamera from G2. Each one had this description around the sticker: "1999 The Japan tour even on Tokyo, Sendai, Shizuoka, Okayama, Kobe, Oeta to the next." A give away item was a set of pins. Three pins: a Gamera 1999, Iris, and Hyper Gyaos on a blue card that says Gamer SFX Studio. A list of the props used at the event would be:
-1:1 Scale Symbiotic Legion-Miniature Helicopter-Miniature Military Jeep-Part of the set used for Irys’s landing sequence-Book that Nagamine published on the Gyaos as shown in G2-Gamera 1995 suit head (replica)-Gamera 1996 suit head (replica)-Gamera 1999 suit Marquette -Gamera 1999 suit from landing sequence at beginning -Miniature Mother Legion causing hell in urban Tokyo-Hanging Flying Gyaos (I am pretty sure that it is the same one Dan Reed now owns)-Irys costume against blue screen from forest scene-Baby Irys prop with some rocks-Model of Super Gyaos atop of Tokyo Tower
Everything from the Kyoto Exhibit was taken down except for where the Gamera symbol (Gamera in front of the sun). The Gamera suit and the Irys suit were actually moved from their original place in the station, in which was in a replica set of the Kyoto Train station. The exhibit was closed down April '99.
The most stand out feature of all the promotional items/events which Daiei had set up for G3 is that some of the merchandise actually helps re-establish "Gamera 3: Incomplete Struggle"’s (and the Gamera trilogy’s) standing as the trilogy/film series that pioneered Japanese CGI effects. This is so in that a lot more merchandise this time around is of programs which one could download onto their computer as graphics - granted that the consumer of the product had a computer with a version of Windows on it. Three smaller downloadable programs were icons of Gamera, Gyaos, and Iris (each sold separately) which could accompany you while you were using your computer. Though the biggest product was an extension of the popular "Tower II". In the G3 extension of "Tower II", you could format your own version of the Kyoto train station with all sorts of malls and such. After you’re done, you could take pride in seeing Gamera and Iris duke it out in your newest creation. "Gamera 3" ended up earning the award for "Best Film" from the Japanese Internet Movie Award.
"Since G1999"
"Gamera 3: Incomplete Struggle" would have it’s widespread release start in March 6, 1999, starting it‘s roadshow duration at the Toho Yogakuin theatre. Like "Gamera 2", "Gamera 3" came with mixed reactions from film critics. The film, while doing moderate success at the Japanese box office, did earn $5,500,000 in distribution earnings. While I am sure that this isn’t the only award the film won, "Gamera 3: Incomplete Struggle" won an award at the Mainichi Film Concours for best sound recording (credited to Yasuo Hashimoto). The film would later on be released in Canada in September 18, 1999 at the Toronto International Film Festival. In 2000, the film was showcased at the Seoul International Film Festival on Feb. 4 (which is interesting, especially since G1’s theatrical release in Korea was canceled due to the failure of the 1999 version of "Yonggary") and then later on at the German München Fantasy Filmfest on August 2. Though in a rare feat, Thailand did give "Gamera 3" a normal theatrical release. This is to say that they released the film on a wide enough scale to actually produced theatrical posters and lobby cards for the film.
In Japan, the now complete Gamera trilogy became something like "The Godfather" or original "Star Wars" trilogies. "Gamera 3: Incomplete Struggle" would be a staple in what profits Daiei made before they were bought by Kadokawa. Three different VHS tapes were released over a three year period , with rental starting on Aug. 6 and then tapes for sale starting Sep. 1. The last VHS release - being a beautiful black and white picture with red in Gamera’s eyes was released on Feb. 4, 2000. Later on, the DVD/LD formats will be released on Aug. 23, 2000 (the box set version of the LD would not be released until Nov. 21.) Though when the DVD version was released, the trilogy showed signs of being top notch, from the DVD releases having holographic covers and the booklets that accompanied the DVDs (I am talking about the days which Japan used to use Jewel Cases for DVDs) were formatted similarly like a trilogy should be. With this amount of popularity, the films would be released on 8/28/09 as a 5 disc box set with newly filmed features. With the newly filmed features, therefore the trilogy is always receiving top notch quality.
The film was further respected in the United States. ADV first reported that it bought the rights to "Gamera 3: Incomplete Struggle" on January 10, 2000. It’s run in art houses and independent theatres all across the nation recieved overwhelming praise since it‘s US premier at G-FEST 1999. Due to the success, serious thought of a wide spread theatrical release of a dubbed version of "Gamera 3: Incomplete Struggle" was revealed by an ADV representative to a friend of Kyle Yount (owner of the site "The Shrine of Gamera") durring the 2001 AnimeExpo. However, it never came to pass, though it would have been a nice happening after the advent of "Godzilla 2000" here in America and the great critical acclaim from American critics the first Gamera film got back in 1995. Talk of an ADV DVD release started back in 2000. Originally for "Gamera 2" and "Gamera 3" were to have - like "Gamera 1" - the original poster art was to be used (I translate this to be the advanced poster artwork, which in "Gamera 3: Incomplete Struggle"’s case would have been the black Gamera silhouette with red background and a picture of Ayana in a white covering at the bottom). Along with that, the films were to be called by their versus title, which in this film’s case it would have been "Gamera 3: Gamera vs. Iris". The original advertisement summary went like this: "In the Philippines, Dr. Nagamine makes a horrifying discovery. The Gyaos are back, and in even greater numbers than ever. As Gamera returns to battle his ancient foes, mankind finds itself caught in the crossfire. Human casualties reach astronomical levels as Shibuya is completely leveled in a single battle, and there are literally hundreds of Gyaos! Even as the military ponders what step to take next, a new and even more deadly menace arises in the form of Irys, a multi-tentacle beast that lives by draining the energy produced by all living creatures. The action is fiercer and the special effects more spectacular than ever before as Gamera and Irys face off in the stunning conclusion to what is already being hailed by fans and critics alike as the greatest giant monster film ever made." Along with ditching that, ADV would also ditch the chance to have more extras than what was presented on the "Gamera The Box: 1995 - 1999" DVD set via extras done in English presented by Shusuke Kaneko and company. In June 17, 2003, the DVD was released with all of the extras that was in the Japanese box set and had a lack luster case covering to boot.
More signs of the film being iconic is that when kaiju stamps were made in 2006, an iconic image from G3 was used for the stamp. On the side of Kadokawa’s main office building is a giant blue Gamera from "Gamera 3: Incomplete Struggle", and occasionally there are still fan gatherings for fans of the trilogy. Books would also be written on Gamera, including "Tokusatsu Revelation 1995-2001" by Risaku Kiridoshi, which chronicles all four of Shusuke Kaneko's kaiju films (G-Trilogy and GMK).
Closing
Though I am not a big fan, I like to read some of Gore Vidal’s work. My favorite quote from him is, "...that is what criticism is meant to do - show us what we missed or just plain didn't get." I can tell you with no ego that I have tried my best to provide you, the reader, with my criticism and my recording of the film’s production and history. "Gamera 3: Incomplete Struggle" is a great film. I am surprised that not much has been said about the film since this year marks it’s 10th anniversary. I think no one can sum it up as well as what Shinobu Nakayama said at the public premier of "Gamera 3: Incomplete Struggle" in Shibuya, "This has been a very memorable project… I hope you will also cherish this movie as I do."
GIII Production Timeline - 1998
March 31 - Test footage for Shibuya and the Kyoto JR station locations
May 31 - Assembling of one of the three main Shibuya sets - indoors
June 2 - Filming of Gamera foot prop making impact for landing scene in Shibuya confrontation
Shot done three times before final cut was made with added liquid nitrogen for debris effect
June 6 - filming of shot where whole suit falls to the ground in first landing sequence
Materials for Gamera grave yard scene come in from M1 (some Gamera skulls home made)
Press come to pester.
June 8 - shot of debris destroying train
Crane shot of falling, burning Gyaos
Added impact effect for including via matte for Gyaos’ impact with liquid nitrogen
June 14 - Gamera exposition
June 15 - filming of Hachiko scene - filmed sideways on outside set
June 20 - assembling and exploding of Shibuya JR building
June 21 - shooting of shots of melee that happen inside the buildings in Gamera’s landing in Shibuya
June 22 - shooting of Miss Nagamine and Asagi Kusanagi’s dialogue in museum
June 23 - shooting of bar scene with Mr. Osako and Miss Nagamine
June 24 - final shot of Gamera film in first half of Shibuya sequence (before shot of Iris’ egg)
June 25 - making and shooting of black painted foil figures for Shibuya explosion shot
June 26 - shooting of shot of Gamera stomping (Kid’s POV in second part of Shibuya attack)
Shinji Higuchi drawing pictures of Hyper Gyaos used in newspapers in film
Shooting of Gamera’s mouth about to release plasma ball in second part of Shibuya sequence
Shooting of scene with Kurata Shinya at shrine with Asagi and Nagamine
Cast and Crew photo taken
Shooting of Iris side profile with rain falling off him
June 27 - Shooting form top of Kyoto trail station.
Scenes in lobby filmed around 3 in the morning
Some scenes with Ayana going up the escalator and other dialogue filmed 4:30 in the morning
June 28 - Shooting of Asakura Mito’s death; shots of people running shot (Normand Englund an extra)
More shots of Ayana running up escalator
June 30 - Cast and crew viewing of human scenes. Inspires crew to mimic Kurata Shinya’s arm gestures
Begin filming of aerial battle
July 6 - Gamera and Iris suit tests; more aerial battle shooting
July 7 - Shooting of breaking glass - to be matted into shot of Gamera firing fire ball into restaurant
Shooting of the throwing of the 10 inch dagger scene (full)
July 8 - Shooting of Gamera firing fire balls at Iris before landing in Kyoto - filmed upside down
July 9 - Shooting of SFX scene in a post-debris Kyoto JR Station - including CPR scene
Shooting of Iris’s tentacles in Aerial battle
July 10 - Shooting of aerial battle with Gamera and Iris hand puppets
July 11 - more testing of Iris suit
July 12 - Press photos taken
July 14 - Shooting of Gamera landing in Kyoto scene
Shooting of people being thrown around in 1:1 set with debris
July 15 - shooting of Iris in forest
July 16 - rainy day for production; filming of cloud CGI patterns for aerial battle
July 17 - Misc. Iris shots filmed
July 18 - filming of tentacle going across Iris before Gamera shoots fireballs before he lands
Shooting of in set shot of people having debris falling onto them
July 19 - filming of Iris/Gamera reflecting in puddle and other battle footage
July 20 - shooting of Ayana and Baby Iris in the forest
July 22 - shooting of Iris in forest
July 23 - Shooting of Gamera falling out of Kyoto JR
July 24 - Shooting of more battle footage
July 25 - shooting of Iris in forest
Filming of Gamera being impaled
July 26 - checking pyrotechnics and building another Kyoto JR Set
July 27 - shooting of Iris in forest
July 30 - filming of opening shot cancelled due to rain
July 31 - explosions/Burning Gyaos drop/ect. Debris shots
Aug. 2 - filming outside shots of exploding Gyaos
Aug. 4 - Finishing building of Kyoto JR Set for explosion
Aug. 5 - shooting of Iris in forest
Aug. 6 - shot of guy being thrown around in phone booth
Aug. 8 - Other Kyoto JR Set finished, shot of Gamera falling down
Aug. 9 - Shot of Gamera brining gut-covered Ayana to where Asagi and Kusanagi stand (monster part of
matte shot; ect. Debris shots
Aug. 10 - Checking shot of Shibuya explosions
Filming scene of Ayana and Asakura Mito in room at Kyoto JR Station
Aug. 11 - shooting of pop star’s death scene
Aug. 12 - more shooting of battle in JR station
Aug. 13 - shooting of people being thrown around (to be latter matted in with black foil figures)
Production discussion in offices
Aug. 18 - prelude to plasma fist shot
Aug. 19 - shooting of military personnel scenes
Aug. 20 - Green Screen/Ayana being absorbed by Iris’ gene snatcher ability
Aug. 24 - more shots before Plasma Fist
Aug. 29 - Shot of Iris’ guts in Gamera’s hand (giant hand prop) and shooting of plasma fist;
Akira Ohashi finishes
Aug. 31 - Shooting of scene where Ayana wakes up in green-lit room in Kyoto
Oct. 3 - filming of Gamera exposition scenes; start of filming Nightmare Gamera scenes
Oct. 9 - outside set - filming of giant explosion at Kyoto Train station
Oct. 10 - more filming of Nightmare Gamera scene
Oct. 11 - Final shots of Gamera
Oct. 12 - explosions shot for CGI crew
Oct. 16 - Nightmare Gamera Scene Wrap-Up
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