Episodes Featured:
Gamera! Gamera! Gamera is really neat! He is made of turtle meat! We believe in Gamera!
It a box set celebration of Mystery Science Theater's most prolific movie series! Volume XXI was an incredible achievement, as large Japanese corporations like Kadokawa, who own the franchise currently, are notoriously hard to work with. This helped open the door for them working with Tsuburaya for other Sandy Frank imported films as well. From an film rights standpoint, this set is an important one.
But the word on the street is Gamera, and this set offers not four but FIVE episodes of the show, as it sees fit to release all the third season Gamera episodes in one package. That makes this set a great deal for disc collectors and one of the must own sets of the series. While I think Gamera and Gamera vs. Guiron are must see classics, I will confess I find Gamera's tenure on the series more uneven than most. Gamera vs. Barugon is pretty decent, while Gaos and Zigra both are sleepers at best. Because of that I won't consider it one of the best sets episode-wise, though it's hard to argue with such a legendary chunk of the show's legacy in one package.
Average Rating (out of 4): 3
Audio and video are great across the board. Bonus features are as Gamera celebratory as you'd want. We get So Happy Together, a discussion about how the crew of MST feel that the Gamera films personified what the series was trying to do, with Joel Hodgson, Jim Mallon, Trace Beaulieu, Frank Conniff, and J. Elvis Weinstein all contributing. Gamera Obscura is an interview with Japanese film historian August Ragone about the history of the Gamera franchise. Gamera vs. the Chiodo Brothers features creature designers the Chiodo Brothers, as they discuss not just Gamera but other Japanese monsters and how they influenced them. Rounding out the discs are MST Hour wraps for Gamera and Gamera vs. Guiron and trailers for all five films.
For the first time since the stock art was introduced for the MST DVD covers, Shout Factory finally changes it up a bit for this box set. This set predominately sees Gamera flying against a starry backdrop above the theater seats, setting the MST logo ablaze in the upper right hand corner. There are still some Steve Vance covers to admire for the interior cases as well. Gamera sees Tom Servo as Kenny and Crow as his father looking up at Gamera as he sets the movie logo ablaze. Gamera vs. Barugon has Servo and Crow dressed as adventurers stealing a Barugon egg as Gamera and Barugon duel in the background. Gamera vs. Gaos features the title monsters battling in front of a volcano, as Gaos shoots a laser at the flying Gamera while Servo and Crow ride on his shell. Gamera vs. Guiron sees Servo and Crow dressed as the alien space women who observe Gamera and Guiron fighting on the planet's surface. Gamera vs. Zigra has Zigra jumping out of the sea at a flying Gamera as Servo and Crow try to escape in a wooden boat.
Unlike the box art, the disc art is Shout's standard, just film title logos against a starry backdrop. The menus are also Shout's tradition of making skits using episode audio and CGI. Each disc does open with Gamera storming the Satellite of Love through the theater doors, keeping the theme alive. For Gamera, Servo and Crow pose for a painting while Gamera tries to break into the bridge. Gamera vs. Barugon has Barugon stomping around on the bridge and Servo and Crow trying to figure out how to get rid of him. Gamera vs. Gaos sees the two monsters fighting overhead as Servo and Crow watch as spectators, and they also wonder if Gamera's amputated foot tastes any good. Gamera vs. Guiron is less monster related, as Crow is dressed in a tuxedo and playing the piano (ala Michael Feinstein) and Servo is a lounge singer. Gamera vs. Zigra has Servo and Crow communicating with Zigra through a tiny spaceship.
Considering how iconic the Gamera episodes are in the show's cannon, there is absolutely no way I'm not recommending this set. I think there are a couple of underwhelming episodes here, but all of them need to be watched if you're interested in this show. There are a few things that are minor nitpicky about the set overall, such as the missed opportunity to release the KTMA episodes along with their third season counterparts, which seems like a natural inclusion. It's also the second box set in a row that is all-Joel era, and with all the episodes being Gamera centered, the set lacks diversity. But it's a themed set, so complaining about that would be missing the point. It's a set that needs to be owned by any MSTie, and that's a fact.
And with Gamera vs. Jiger confirmed for the upcoming thirteenth season, now's the time to work your way through them and embrace the turtle!
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