Editing Gamera (section)

===Influences of the Heisei Trilogy===
The Heisei Trilogy by [[Shusuke Kaneko]], despite its limited budgets, distributions, marketing, media attentions,{{refn|Due to the financial situation of [[Tokuma Shoten]] and the intercompany treaty for co-funding to grant Kaneko's demand to increase budgets,<ref name=KanekoDiary /> losses of Daiei theater chains and its tokusatsu expertise,<ref name=EigaHiho2021 /> the [[Great Hanshin earthquake]] and the [[Tokyo subway sarin attack]].<ref name=Karasawa /><ref name=MWP /><ref name=KanekoDiary /><ref name=Nikkei /><ref name=Ono2018 /> Budgets of ''[[Gamera: Guardian of the Universe]]'' in 1995 was $4.5 million, followed by ''[[Gamera 2: Attack of Legion]]'' ($5 million) in 1996 and ''[[Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris]]'' ($7 million) in 1999.<ref>Toho Kingdom, [https://www.tohokingdom.com/movies/gamera_3.htm Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris]</ref> Budgets of ''[[Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla]]'' in 1994 and ''[[Godzilla vs. Destoroyah]]'' in 1995 were $10 million.|group="note"}}{{refn|Additionally, as aforementioned, the trilogy might have originally tried to avoid a direct competition against the Heisei Godzilla continuity, which was originally supposed to end with ''[[Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II]]''.<ref name=Gakken93 /> Distribution by Toho Western Films unlike ''Godzilla'' films potentially restricted box office results of the trilogy.<ref name=Shiraishi />|group="note"}} was highly acclaimed among audiences (partially because a number of hardcore kaiju ([[tokusatsu]]) fans at that time, including Kaneko and other crews themselves, were dissatisfied with the Heisei Godzilla continuity) and filmmakers that they are often considered as one of best kaiju and tokusatsu productions ever made,<ref name=IGN2022 />{{refn|The trilogy and its participants overall received a number of awards, and ''Gamera: Guardian of the Universe'' and ''Gamera 2: Attack of Legion'' were first kaiju films to win the [[Seiun Award]], and the latter was the first film to win the [[Nihon SF Taisho Award]]. ''Gamera: Guardian of the Universe'' was also the first kaiju film to win the [[Kinema Junpo|Kinema Junpo Best Ten]] followed by the aforementioned ''[[Shin Godzilla]]'', while "G2" and "G3" also won the "readers' choices". "G1" was also included in "Best 100 Japanese films" by Kinema Junpo.<ref name=Perfection /><ref>Cinema 1987, [https://cinema1987.org/home/best10/3/ キネマ旬報ベストテン]</ref>|group="note"}} and it greatly influenced entire [[tokusatsu]] genre afterward, including the ''[[Godzilla]]'' franchise but most notably on ''[[Ultraman]]'' and ''[[Kamen Rider]]'' franchises.{{refn|Several important tokusatsu techniques were developed during the productions of the Heisei trilogy, and these techniques have been repeatedly used in subsequent tokusatsu productions.|group="note"}} However, there are pros and cons regarding the outcomes of the trilogy.<ref name=Perfection /><ref name=BraveGuide />

The box office returns of ''[[Gamera: Guardian of the Universe]]'', the first installation of the reboot by [[Tokuma Shoten]] in 1995, were also negatively affected by the [[Great Hanshin earthquake]] (and the [[Tokyo subway sarin attack]]<ref name=Ono2018 />) as the numbers of film theaters further declined and the scenes of destructions of buildings triggered [[PTSD]] of the earthquake victims,{{refn|Staffs from Toho took Kaneko to some of damaged areas by the earthquake before the release of ''[[Gamera: Guardian of the Universe]]''. On the other hand, panic scenes in ''G2'' and ''G3'' were inspired by the two events.<ref name=EigaHiho2021 /> |group="note"}}<ref name=KanekoDiary /> Continuation of the series after ''[[Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris]]'' was cancelled due to the overall box office result of the trilogy, partially due to declined public recognition of the franchise and limited advertising expenses and limited distributions,<ref name=Shiraishi /><ref name=KanekoDiary /> and the struggle to produce sequels after depicting the titular heroic character as an unintentional threat to humanity in the 1999 film,{{refn|Kazunori Ito described that Daiei (Tokuma Shoten) absolutely disapproves a story beyond ''G3''.<ref name=EigaHiho2021 />|group="note"}} where the film plot such as a girl (child) to detest Gamera, and depictions of human casualties in the battles of [[Shibuya]] and [[Kyoto]] largely displeased [[Noriaki Yuasa]] and [[Niisan Takahashi]] and others; Yuasa noted "the Heisei trilogy is not Gamera films" and emphasized the importance to differentiate from [[Godzilla]],<ref>[[Hurricane Ryu]], 5 May 2024, [https://x.com/zkHc5amiVbaGWSY/status/1787131899569430698 ガメラに拘りがあったのは、脚本の高橋二三氏でしたね。ただ湯浅監督も「俺達はゴジラと違う事をやろうとガメラを創ったから、ゴジラと同じ事はやっちゃダメだ」とは話されてました。], X (Twitter)</ref> and the draft by [[Shusuke Kaneko]] and [[Kazunori Itō]] for the sequel to portray Gamera to be a further threat was immediately turned down.<ref name=Perfection /><ref name=MWP>En Takenouchi, 28 January 2021, [https://moviewalker.jp/news/article/1016329/ 金子修介監督、平成ガメラ三部作を語る！令和ガメラにも「やる気十分」], Movie Walker Press ([[:ja:MOVIE WALKER PRESS|jp]])</ref> This plot was later used for the 2003 [[independent film]], ''[[GAMERA 4-TRUTH]]'' ([[:ja:ガメラ4 真実|jp]]) by Shinpei Hayashiya ([[:ja:林家しん平|jp]]).<ref name=Imai>Atsushi Imai, 2016, ''COLUMN 「ガメラ生誕50周年祭」レポート'', Tokusatsu Hihō, vol.3, pp.164-165, Eiga Hihō ([[:ja:映画秘宝|jp]]), Yosensha ([[:ja:洋泉社|jp]])</ref>

Kaneko noted that he was at one point almost dismissed during the production of the 1995 film (and the production was at the brink of cancellation)<ref name=MWP /> due to considerable disagreements between Kaneko and Itō against executives and Showa staffs to depict Gamera to be both an artificial and mechanical "living [[robot]]" and a threat to humanity without caring at all for humans, not even children,{{refn|[[Kazunori Itō]] described their original concept of Gamera including the design for the 1995 film was even more indifferent than in ''[[Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris]]'' that Gamera doesn't care damaging humanity like "how humans see [[ant]]s", and they originally intended Gamera to emit mechanical sounds and [[bioluminescence]], and to perform machine-like abilities such as shapeshifting and [[Force field (technology)|energy shield]].<ref name=Perfection /><ref name=MWP />|group="note"}}{{refn|Disagreement regarding the design of Gamera for the 1995 film between executives and Kaneko and Ito was difficult to settle, where Kaneko and others intended to use even more intimidating one than ''[[Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris]]''.<ref name=Perfection /> In response, [[Tomoo Haraguchi]] ([[:ja:原口智生|jp]]) and others voluntary "adjusted" the design to be "intermediate" between the two sides, because the first press conference to reveal Gamera's design was approaching.<ref name=EigaHiho2021 /> Later, Toto (Gamera) in ''[[Gamera the Brave]]'' was intentionally designed to be contrasting to the design of Gamera in the 1999 film.<ref name=Perfection />|group="note"}} partially because Kaneko and Ito originally wanted to make the 1992 film ''[[Godzilla vs. Mothra]]'' instead of Gamera,<ref name=GMK>''[[Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack]] Super Complete Works ([[:ja:超全集|jp]])'', 2002, p.2, ''世紀を越えて「金子ゴジラ」は誕生した。'' by [[Shōgo Tomiyama]], [[Shogakukan]]</ref> and wanted to "take revenge on with Gamera" while they and [[Shinji Higuchi]] always preferred Toho productions since their childhoods, and disliked and regarded the concept of Gamera to be rather absurd and "childish",{{refn|According to Kaneko, he had never watched Showa Gamera films in theaters in his youth, and even wondered he would be made a fool by others if he says he is interested in Gamera, and had a tendency to view Gamera fans coldly. Kaneko and Ito also revealed that they were not delighted with the offer for ''[[Gamera: Guardian of the Universe]]'', as they actually wanted to produce [[Godzilla]] films.<ref name=Perfection /><ref name=Niigata /><ref name=KanekoDiary />|group="note"}} especially his ability to fly and affinity to children (and as a protector of humanity), child protagonists, and being a [[turtle]].{{refn|All of Kaneko and Ito and Highuchi didn't feel attached to Gamera and saw the franchise as childish and absurd and not rich in "property values". However, they were indeed startled by the popularity of Showa Gamera among their own film crews (and their oppositions against disrespecting Showa Gamera), who applied for the productions of the trilogy for their affinities to Showa Gamera. Kaneko and Ito and Higuchi were repeatedly troubled with this, and secretly called those film crews "Secret Gamera" (隠れガメラ ''Kakure Gamera'').<ref name=KanekoDiary />|group="note"}}{{refn|Kaneko and Ito thought that human characters calling Gamera a "turtle" may disrupt seriousness, where Gamera's name is directly delivered from Japanese word "kame" to represent turtles, and turtle as a motif has also negatively affected for the popularity of the character.<ref name=Ebert /><ref name=Vanishing /> They decided to set up an interpretation of the trilogy that either turtles and [[tortoise]]s don't exist at all or went extinct along with [[dinosaur]]s.<ref name=Perfection /><ref name=MWP /><ref name=KanekoDiary />|group="note"}}

During the trilogy, Kaneko and Ito tried to exclude children completely from the plot, and also tried to depict human casualties by Gamera from the start, however executives and Showa staff didn't approve such ideas, and scenes to involve children were briefly inserted although such scenes mostly depicted children to be helpless "burdens" unlike Showa films, and human casualties were not featured until ''[[Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris]]''.<ref name=BraveGuide /> The 1999 film instead situated a girl (child) named Ayana Hirasaka as one of central antagonists to detest Gamera, however she was again portrayed as a "burden" that her parents and pet [[cat]] named "Iris" were accidentally killed by Gamera because their evacuation from the battle between Gamera and a Gyaos was delayed due to Ayana's hospitalization, and she brings a mass destruction with her misdirected hatred for Gamera, and Gamera loses his right arm to save her.{{refn|Gamera to sacrifice his arm for Ayana was intended as an atonement for killing her parents and Iris the cat.<ref name=Perfection /> The idea of Gamera to lose his arm was originally inspired by the 1972 film ''[[One-Armed Boxer]]''.<ref name=HeiseiModels />|group="note"}} Especially the 1999 film intentionally avoided to appeal to child audiences, and the trilogy in general didn't contribute in increasing young audiences due to the difficulty of the plot, lack of points that children can empathize, and fearsome and gruesome scenes especially the destruction of [[Shibuya]] by Gamera caused family audiences to exit theaters because children started crying,<ref name="Fantasy">[[Shinichiro Inoue]] ([[:ja:井上伸一郎|jp]]), 20 July 2010, ''Daiei Tokusatsu Movie Encyclopedia: Daikaiju Fantasy Battle Gamera vs. Daimajin'', p.8, pp.41-43, pp.50-51, pp.56-57, pp.110-113, [[Newtype]], Kadokawa Shoten</ref> while Kazunori Ito claimed that he dislikes to depict Gamera as the hero of children, and advocated that he refuses to make Gamera as a child-friendly hero, and making child audiences crying in fears is correct for kaiju films.<ref name=EigaHiho2021 /> The trilogy also triggered a misconception among new audience segments; Gamera as the character would sacrifice humans for the sake of the planet and nature.<ref name=Perfection /><ref name=BraveGuide /> On the other hand, production of ''Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris'' was delayed and was intentionally designed as a [[Horror fiction|horror]] because of box office results of 1995 and 1996 films, declined popularity of kaiju genre, and contrasting popularity of [[horror film]]s among children at that time.{{refn|As aforementioned, Gamera, due to declined public recognition, has often been viewed as a "corny" (for being a [[turtle]]) and "childish" imitation of Godzilla even among children, and the kaiju genre itself was considered childish among many children at that time,<ref name=Vanishing /> and there had been multiple other factors to restrict box office results of the Heisei trilogy.<ref name=KanekoDiary /> Ironically, this direction for the 1999 film instead shunned children who originally loved Gamera.<ref name=BraveGuide /><ref name=Fantasy />|group="note"}}{{refn|For the popularity of [[horror film]]s, [[The Ring (franchise)|''Ring'']] and ''Ghosts at School'' ([[:ja:学校の怪談 (映画)|jp]]) and ''Honto ni atta kowai hanashi'' ([[:ja:ほんとにあった怖い話|jp]]) series directly influenced the production of "G3";<ref name=Vanishing /> Kaneko directed the 1997 film ''Ghosts at School 3'' in which various staffs and actors of Heisei Gamera trilogy also participated in (Kaneko later noted that if he was not appointed for ''[[Gamera: Guardian of the Universe]]'', he would have directed the ''Ghosts at School'' franchise since the beginning<ref name=EigaHiho2021 />), and the ''Ring'' franchise is also a Kadokawa property where [[Yukie Nakama]] who appeared in the 1999 Gamera film (as a victim of Iris to turn into a [[mummy]]) has also played [[Sadako Yamamura]] in ''[[Ring 0: Birthday]]'' in 2000, Gamera and [[Daimajin]] and Kitarō ([[GeGeGe no Kitarō]]) and Sadako and [[Kayako Saeki]] and [[Toshio Saeki]] co-appeared in ''USO Makoto Yōkai Hyaku Monogatari'' where Iris was also directly mentioned,<ref name=Kyogoku /> and the 2022 film ''[[Sadako DX]]'' by Hisashi Kimura ([[:ja:木村ひさし|jp]]) was instead influenced by "G2" where Kimura has participated in both films, and a VHS of "G2" was briefly represented in the Sadako film.<ref name=SadakoDX>Sunkleio Tsubasa, 6 November 2022, [https://moviewalker.jp/news/article/1108734/ 『ガメラ2 レギオン襲来』が鍵を握る？『貞子DX』はメタ構造の意欲作だ！], Movie Walker Press ([[:ja:MOVIE WALKER PRESS|jp]])</ref> A Gamera mobile game conducted a collaboration with ''[[Sadako 3D]]'' in 2012, along with occasional joint exhibitions of sculptures of Gamera and Daimajin and Kitarō and Sadako in [[Chōfu]],<ref name=HotCorner>Shōzaburō Nakamura ([[:ja:中村正三郎 (プログラマ)|jp]]), 26 May 2012, [https://iiyu.asablo.jp/blog/2012/05/26/6457370 ゲゲゲの鬼太郎の調布ぬくもりステーションに、ガメラ、大魔神、貞子3Dが出現], Shōzaburō Nakamura's Hot Corner</ref> and crews such as [[Tomoo Haraguchi]] ([[:ja:原口智生|jp]]) and [[Kenji Kawai]] and Nippon Eizo Creative ([[:ja:日本映像クリエイティブ|jp]])<ref name=NEC /> have participated in both franchises.<ref name=CGWORLD />|group="note"}}

These aspects resulted in controversies, even among film crews of the Heisei trilogy, and a disapproval of it, especially ''[[Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris]]'', by a number of executives and Showa staff where [[Tokuma Shoten]]'s revenues were also reduced due to the intercompany treaty with [[Nippon TV]] and [[Hakuhodo]] to achieve Kaneko's demand to increase budgets.<ref name=KanekoDiary /> Parts of two previous films in the trilogy, such as Gamera's origin as an artificial lifeform, the depiction of Gamera doing damage to [[Fukuoka]] in the 1995 film, and the "Ultimate Plasma" technique in ''[[Gamera 2: Attack of Legion]]'', were also controversial, but were eventually approved.{{refn|A number of executives and Showa staffs were strongly against the idea of kaiju as bioengineered weapons or "living robots" because they felt it would decline mystic aspects of kaiju, characters as creatures, and superiority as uncontrollable and powerful beings beyond humanity. However, Kaneko and Ito were dissatisfied with Gamera's illogical biology especially his flight capabilities. A number of disagreements including this resulted in Kaneko's near dismissal during the 1995 film production. On the contrary, Kaneko and Higuchi actually hesitated to use the non-biological "Ultimate Plasma" technique for "G2", however they prioritized the necessity to introduce new special attacks therefore "Ultimate Plasma" and "Vanishing Fist" were introduced respectively in "G2" and "G3".<ref name=Perfection /><ref name=MWP />|group="note"}} The plot of ''[[Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris]]'' and Gamera's depictions within the film partially followed those original ideas by Kaneko and Itō and [[Shinji Higuchi]], while some of the originally cancelled depictions of Gamera for the 1995 film, such as his intimidating appearance{{refn|The original intimidating design of Gamera for the trilogy was changed to appeal to children in the 1995 film, however Shusuke Kaneko was also disappointed with children's subtle reactions with Gamera's 1995 design unlike Toho's [[Godzilla Junior]].<ref name=KanekoDiary />|group="note"}} and the ability to transform his arms into flippers during flights, were partially approved in ''[[Gamera 2: Attack of Legion]]''. As aforementioned, the 2003 independent film ''[[GAMERA 4-TRUTH]]'' ([[:ja:ガメラ4 真実|jp]]) re-used the plot of cancelled "G4" in which Gamera no longer protects humanity and causes tremendous collateral damages to exterminate remnants of Gyaos.<ref name=Perfection /><ref name=MWP />

The 1999 documentary film ''[[GAMERA 1999]]'' ([[:ja:GAMERA1999|jp]]) by [[Hideaki Anno]] focused on ruptures among film crews, even between Kaneko and Higuchi. Kaneko described that the documentary film was a harassment by one of producers to target Kaneko by using Anno.

Ironically, the popularity of the Heisei trilogy indirectly triggered another setback for the franchise. While [[Tokuma Shoten]] was already struggling financially and the company eventually disposed the copyrights of Daiei properties after the death of [[Yasuyoshi Tokuma]] ([[:ja:徳間康快|jp]]) in 2000,<ref name=Nikkei /> sequels after ''[[Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris]]'' potentially up to "G5" or more were cancelled also due to the plot of "G3" for Gamera to act hazardous, and the plot of "G4" in which Gamera becomes a further threat.<ref name=MWP /> The 2006 film ''[[Gamera the Brave]]'', which was released during a "winter" of [[kaiju]] genre (akin to the situations of ''[[Gamera: Super Monster]]'' and ''[[Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris]]'') since ''[[Godzilla: Final Wars]]'' in 2004,<ref name=BraveGuide /><ref>[[Shusuke Kaneko]], 24 March 2012, [https://x.com/shusukekaneko/status/183222562220810242 「ゴジラファイナルウォーズ」と「ガメラ小さき勇者たち」が大コケしたんで誰も作ろうと言わなくなった。], Twitter (X)</ref> was the first reboot attempt by [[Kadokawa Corporation]] reusing the original scripts of the 1995 film.{{refn|The script was also later reused for ''[[Digimon Tamers]]'' by [[Toei Animation]] and ''[[Ultraman Tiga]]'' by [[Tsuburaya Production]].|group="note"}} ''Gamera the Brave'' aimed to restore the basis of the franchise,<ref name=Doland />{{refn|Gamera being the friend and guardian of children, and children play significant roles to help Gamera, and Toto was clearly designed to contrast to the design of Gamera in "G3".<ref name=BraveGuide /><ref name=Vanishing />|group="note"}} with a slogan to "return Gamera to children" despite the apparent popularity of the Heisei trilogy and risks to fail.{{refn|Executives and filmmakers were aware both of financial vulnerability (risks to fail) and the popularity of the Heisei trilogy, and some recommended to make either sequels of the trilogy or trilogy-esque plots. Indeed, changing the direction from the Heisei trilogy was controversial, and pros and cons were comparable within Kadokawa. However, aside from recovering the ideology of the franchise, executives concerned the franchise to demise if it clings onto the certain direction without appealing to wider audiences in a response to changing markets.{{sfn|Mamiya|2006|p=34-35}} However necessity to extricate from the trilogy was more prioritized, and executives didn't approve neither sequels of the trilogy nor trilogy-esque scenarios for the 2006 film. For instance, Yoichi Arishige declared that he would not participate in the 2006 film if it is going to be a sequel to the Heisei trilogy.<ref name=Perfection />|group="note"}} It was also aimed to avoid "standards" of kaiju films akin to Showa films, partially due to a slump of [[kaiju]] genre itself (including the box office result of ''[[Godzilla: Final Wars]]'') and the success of Heisei [[Mothra]] trilogy{{refn|These Gamera and Godzilla and Mothra films shared some of crews such as Nippon Eizo Creative ([[:ja:日本映像クリエイティブ|jp]])<ref name=NEC /> in productions.|group="note"}}, and was also influenced by various other films including ''[[Daigoro vs. Goliath]]'' by Toho and [[Tsuburaya Productions]],<ref name=Perfection /> ''[[Helen the Baby Fox]]'', which also collaborated in distribution of the 2006 Gamera film, and ''[[Rex: A Dinosaur's Story]]''.{{refn|[[Hiroyuki Seshita]] ([[:ja:瀬下寛之|jp]]), who later directed ''[[Gamera Rebirth]]'', also participated in ''Rex: A Dinosaur's Story''.|group="note"}}<ref name=Perfection /><ref name=BraveGuide /><ref name=Ono2018 />

However the 2006 film was generally not well-accepted by fans of the Heisei trilogy, but it was more welcomed by children and female audiences,<ref name=Perfection /><ref name=Ono2018 /> resulting in the commercial failure of the film and cancellation of its sequels<ref name=Perfection /><ref name=IGN2022 /> and other subsequent productions such as (one or two) [[anime]](s) by [[Cartoon Network]] and [[Yoshitomo Yonetani]],<ref name=ICv2>[[ICv2]], 31 October 2005, [https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/7757/cartoon-network-licenses-gamera Cartoon Network Licenses 'Gamera']</ref><ref name=Yonetani>[[Yoshitomo Yonetani]], 19 August 2023, [https://twitter.com/yonetanikantoku/status/1692594130701242554 2006年の没企画「牙滅羅(ガメラ)」], Twitter (X)</ref> ''Gamera 3D'' by [[Yoshimitsu Banno]],<ref name=Joblo /><ref name=THKingdom /><ref name=Plan01 /> and one or more presumed reboot attempt(s) in 2010s,<ref name="Suzumura">[[Nobuhiro Suzumura]] ([[:ja:鈴村展弘|jp]]), 28 November 2023, [https://twitter.com/suzu_n_official/status/1729504441076793804 好きですガメラ。先輩の田﨑竜太監督の小さき勇者たちも好きだし、昭和も平成3部作も好き。我が師匠が撮る予定だったガメラが中止なったのは残念だった。。。#ガメラの日], Twitter (X)</ref><ref name=ANN /><ref name=CGWORLD /><ref name=Nezura1964 /> and the franchise was again in a period of inactivity until the 2023 [[Netflix]] series ''[[Gamera Rebirth]]''.{{refn|As aforementioned, the franchise after the bankruptcy of Daiei Film may have always tried to avoid direct competitions against ''[[Godzilla]]'' franchise,<ref name=IGN2022 /><ref name=BraveGuide /><ref name=Karasawa /> while Tokuma Shoten and Kadokawa's offers for a crossover were turned down in 1990s and 2002.<ref name=Kaneda /><ref name=MagMix /><ref name=Zakzak /><ref name=Aiken /> Godzilla productions have been continuously released since 2014 where ''Gamera 3D'' was one of predecessors of [[MonsterVerse]] series by [[Legendary Pictures]].<ref name=Joblo /><ref name=THKingdom />|group="note"}} [[Takashi Miike]]'s ''[[Daimajin]]'' project was presumably cancelled due to the aftermath of ''Gamera the Brave'',<ref>[[SciFi Japan TV|SciFi Japan]], [https://www.scifijapan.com/kaiju-monsters/daieis-idol-of-terror-daimajin-the-avenging-god Daiei`s Idol of Terror: DAIMAJIN, THE AVENGING GOD]</ref> while it resulted in the production of ''[[Daimajin Kanon]]'',<ref name=Nezura1964 /> and Daimajin appeared in Miike's ''[[The Great Yokai War: Guardians]]'' (2021), along with Gamera in its spin-off novelization.<ref name=Minemori /> According to [[Shusuke Kaneko]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mibu |first=Tomohiro |date=13 October 2023 |title=山崎貴監督『ゴジラ-1.0』は金子修介版ゴジラの影響アリ「楽しみにして」 |url=https://www.cinematoday.jp/news/N0139454 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231104123006/https://www.cinematoday.jp/news/N0139454 |archive-date=4 November 2023 |access-date=19 April 2025 |website=Cinema Today ([[:ja:シネマトゥデイ|jp]]) |language=ja}}</ref> Kadokawa "doesn't offer" him a new production despite him having new ideas for either "G4" or a new production; Kaneko brought a new idea to Kadokawa at one point, however ''[[Gamera Rebirth]]'' was already in production,<ref>Gamera Rebirth Official Website, 17 November 2022, [https://gamera-rebirth.com/news/index00040000.html 「平成ガメラ三部作」監督・金子修介氏より応援コメントも到着！]</ref> where one of Kaneko's new ideas is Gamera's attack on the [[Pearl Harbor]].<ref>[[:ja:久保田和馬|Kazuma Kubota]], 14 October 2023, [https://moviewalker.jp/news/article/1162065/ 山崎貴が「『ゴジラ-1.0』は『GMK』の影響下にある」と明言！金子修介は"ガメラ4"のアイデアをポロリ], Movie Walker Press ([[:ja:MOVIE WALKER PRESS|jp]])</ref>

Shusuke Kaneko, who dislikes the concepts of Showa Gamera, is aware both of criticisms against him and the intention of ''[[Gamera the Brave]]'' (to recover the ideology of the franchise from the Heisei trilogy),<ref name=Doland>{{cite web|author=Hayley Doland |date=2024-05-29 |url=https://kaijuunited.com/2024/05/29/review-gamera-the-brave-is-the-turtles-minus-one/ |title=Review: 'Gamera the Brave' is the Turtle's "Minus One"|website=Kaiju United |access-date=2025-01-27}}</ref> however he [[Gamera the Brave#Reception|in return openly disfavored the 2006 film and criticized its concept]], and advocated the superiority of the Heisei trilogy.<ref name=Perfection /><ref name=MWP /> On the other hand, [[Kazunori Ito]], who also doesn't favor Showa Gamera films due to his preference for [[Toho]] productions, instead suggested to free the franchise from the "curse" of the Heisei trilogy after he watched the anniversary short film in [[2015]].<ref name=EigaHiho2021>Eiga Hihō ([[:ja:映画秘宝|jp]]), Vol. April 2021, pp.2-18, Yosensha ([[:ja:洋泉社|jp]])</ref>

One of priorities for ''[[Gamera Rebirth]]'' is to prevent human casualties by Gamera; while reducing battle scenes among urban areas is effective to reduce production costs, Gamera was also intentionally depicted to arrive at Tokyo in the first episode after most evacuations were completed, and also threw Gyaos and Jiger at open areas without people{{refn|[[Showa Memorial Park]] in the first episode, and a riverbed  of [[Tama River]] in the second episode.|group="note"}} in early episodes for this reason.<ref name=RebirthArtbook />

As aforementioned, artificial origins of kaiju in ''[[Gamera: Guardian of the Universe]]''{{refn|According to Shusuke Kaneko, he originally intended to depict humanity to weaponize monsters in the trilogy akin to ''[[Pacific Rim (film)|Pacific Rim]]''.<ref name=EigaHiho2021 />|group="note"}} was highly controversial and almost resulted in either a cancellation of the project or dismiss of Shusuke Kaneko while such setting was introduced by Kaneko and Kazunori Ito to rationalize illogical biology of Gamera.<ref name=Perfection /><ref name=MWP /> While the trilogy itself possessed [[supernatural]] aspects, the franchise subsequently increased supernatural depictions,
{{refn|The "Konaka Gamera", one of the earliest scripts for ''[[Gamera: Guardian of the Universe]]'' by [[Chiaki J. Konaka]] and [[Kazuya Konaka]] ([[:ja:小中和哉|jp]]) which later became the basis for ''[[Gamera the Brave]]'' and ''[[Digimon Tamers]]'' and ''[[Ultraman Tiga]]'', had introduced ideas to refer Gamera to both ancient civilizations and deities.<ref name=Perfection />|group="note"}} including identities of kaiju, to involve entities such as [[deities]], [[Spirit (supernatural entity)|spirits]], [[yokai]], [[soul]]s, and [[ghost]]s.<ref name=Kyogoku /><ref name=Minemori /><ref name="HolyBeast" /><ref name=Kondo /><ref name=Frank>Matt Frank, Joshua Bugosh, 6 August 2018, ''Gamera: The Last Hope'', pp.93-108, ''Gamera: The Guardian of the Universe'', [[Dark Horse Comics]], Phase Six Inc.</ref>

Additional controversies of ''[[Gamera 2: Attack of Legion]]'' include its uneasy ending regards the relationship between Gamera and humanity, and the depictions of the [[Japan Self-Defense Forces|JSDF]] which were reviewed "excessively praising"; Shusuke Kaneko described the difficulty to depict the JSDF as a war [[metaphor]] in subsequent kaiju films in 2020s.<ref name=EigaHiho2021 />{{refn|During the production of the trilogy, Kaneko believed that "kaiju films are metaphors of wars and the JSDF was protecting the [[Constitution of Japan]]". However, the use of the Right of Collective Self-defense ([[:ja:集団的自衛権|jp]]) was adopted as of 2021, and to depict a "enjoyable Exclusively Defense ([[:ja:専守防衛|jp]])", the JSDF became a metaphor of natural disasters like within [[Shinji Higuchi]]'s ''[[Shin Godzilla]]''. Kaneko instead depicted a "fictional enemy" (Legion) for ''G2'', and a "fictional defense force" for ''[[Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack]]''.<ref name=EigaHiho2021 />|group="note"}}