The original idea for Guiron was for it to be a flounder-like monster with the suit actor jumping sideways. This proved to be too difficult and the idea was scrapped.
There were plans for another new monster called "Monga" to appear. The design for the monster is supposedly based on a flying squirrel. Unfortunately, the budget limitations wouldn't allow another new monster to be added. Instead, the Gyaos suit was painted silver and was explained it was a new species of Gyaos.
In Pacific Rim, the monster called Knifehead was rumored to be inspired by the design of Guiron. In an interview with Ain't It Cool News, director Guillermo Del Toro had admitted it was just coincidence and that he had never heard of Guiron before until the resemblance was made. Del Toro acknowledged the similarities, but confirms that both monsters "don't look alike." Guiron did, however, appear as an easter egg in the sequel Pacific Rim: Uprising as one of the kaiju that was logged in the directory of monsters along with other monsters from both the Godzilla and Gamera series respectively.
Review:
When two boys discover an alien spacecraft, they were accidentally whisked away to a far off planet where the last two aliens of the planet want to eat their brains. Gamera follows to rescue them, but finds himself forced to battle this planet's guard dog, Guiron.
Much like Gamera vs Viras, Gamera vs Guiron is geared more towards children as the main characters are on a different pair of two boys. The story is even similar. Two boys get swept away in a UFO and Gamera has to save them from the aliens. At least this time, we get a change of scenery. The movie doesn't entirely take place in Japan. Japan is where the movie starts and the main destination is an alien planet called Tera. Tera is about to end as not only there is global cooling, but the monsters on this planet rampaged and killed most of the population saved for the last two alien women. You can tell they're aliens because of the yellow eyes, the silver outfits, and speak chipmunk language. They start off appearing friendly and accommodating to the two boys, but what they really want is to eat their brains to gain...whatever knowledge they hold so they can adapt to Earth's atmosphere. I will save you the details and give you the short short version. Gamera arrives, he fights Guiron with one loss and one win, the aliens die by their own hands, and Gamera brings the children back home to Earth.
The movie's story is not all that interesting and the only reasons you would want to watch this movie is because Mystery Science Theatre 3000 rift on the movie and to see Gamera do his olympic back and forward flips. The characters are not all that memorable nor did I really care about them. The children were annoying, the adults were very oblivious about their children's whereabouts, and the alien women not all that interesting as villains.
Not even the fight scenes are all that epic and comes off looking really cheap. At this point in the series, the fight choreography is thrown out the window and just seems like the production team just said,"F*** it! Make Gamera do a little dance, flips, or jump on the other monster! I don't know! I'm not being paid enough for this schlock!" Honestly, I would not be surprised if that is what happened considering Daiei Productions was bleeding money and bankruptcy was becoming a very real possibility.
There is one missed opportunity that I would like to see in Gamera: Rebirth or in a future Gamera installment. In Gamera vs Guiron, the movie does recognize there are multiple of this species of Gyaos called Space Gyaos. One of the things we never see Gamera do is have a team up with another monster. Gyaos is regarded as Gamera's arch-nemesis and the movie could have benefitted a moment where Guiron is unable to fight them all off until Gamera arrives and temporarily teams up with Guiron. We have only seen Gamera fight alone and by this point, Godzilla has done a number of different fights from 1-vs-1 to 3-vs-1 to 2-vs-1 and even all of the monsters against one.
As for Guiron, I actually like the design of the monster as it is certainly unique. He looks like a cross between a lizard and a bull dog with a kitchen knife for a head. The way he fought Gyaos is certainly brutal as he mainly uses his knife head to slice up his opponent. He doesn't kill it right away. No, he torches the Gyaos by slicing off both its wings before chopping off its head. Guiron even takes one more slice off the neck thinking about consuming it before realizing the meat smells bad and tosses the meat to the side.
Final Thoughts:
Gamera vs Guiron is a movie that can be skipped entirely. The story is boring, the characters are bland and annoying, and any sense of a fight choreography is thrown out the window. A shame because I really liked Guiron's design and I hope we get to see it again in Gamera: Rebirth.
I want to know what your thoughts are on this movie. Did you find it boring or do you think it deserves more love? Leave a comment in the comments section of whether you like or dislike Gamera vs Guiron. Make sure to follow me on Facebook, Minds, MeWe, Gab, and TRUTH Social to stay up to date for more news, reviews, and discussions.