Gamera 2: Attack of Legion

is a 1996 Japanese kaiju film directed by Shusuke Kaneko, with special effects by Shinji Higuchi. Produced by Daiei Film and distributed by Toho, the film is the 10th entry in the Gamera film series, as well as the second film in the franchise's Heisei period, serving as a direct sequel to the 1995 film Gamera: Guardian of the Universe. The film stars Toshiyuki Nagashima, Miki Mizuno, Tamotsu Ishibashi, and Mitsuru Fukikoshi, with Ayako Fujitani and Yukijirō Hotaru reprising their roles from the previous film, and with Akira Ohashi portraying the giant turtle monster Gamera.

Gamera 2: Attack of Legion also features Mizuho Yoshida as Legion, a race of insectoid extraterrestrials that invade Earth, prompting Gamera to come to the planet's defense. The film was released theatrically in Japan on July 13, 1996, and was followed by  Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris in 1999.

A variety series How Do You Like Wednesday? is largely inspired by the trilogy, and several music and telops and formats used for trailers and various scenes of the program are reused from the trilogy. As the film features Hokkaido, Yō Ōizumi, Takayuki Suzui, and Ken Yasuda appeared as extras, making it the first film career for Ōizumi.

Plot
One year after the battle between Gamera and Gyaos, Japan is invaded by a race of insect-like, silicon-based alien life forms dubbed Legion, that attempt to make Earth their new home. Gamera returns to Japan in order to defeat the aliens.

Cast
 Toshiyuki Nagashima as JGSDF Chemical School Officer Lieutenant Colonel Watarase. 
 Miki Mizuno as Midori Honami, a curator at the Sapporo Science Center.  
 Tamotsu Ishibashi as JGSDF Captain Hanatani. 
 Mitsuru Fukikoshi as NTT Network Engineer Obitsu,.
 Ayako Fujitani as Asagi Kusanagi, a young girl with a psychic connection to Gamera.
 Yûsuke Kawazu  as Akio Nojiri, Honami's superior. 
 Akira Ohashi as the titular Gamera, an large, ancient turtle-like Kaiju.
 Mizuho Yoshida as Legion, an alien species and the film's antagonist.
 Yukijirō Hotaru as beer factory guardsman and former Fukuoka police officer Osako, who witnessed the encounter with Gyaos in the previous film.

Production
The film began production in 1995.

Release
Gamera 2: Attack of Legion was released theatrically in Japan on July 13, 1996, where it was distributed by Toho. It was released directly to video on DVD in the United States in 2003 by ADV Films.

Reception
The film was the first daikaiju film to win the Nihon SF Taisho Award (the Japanese Nebula Award) in 1996.  This decision sparked a fierce debate in the Japanese Science Fiction community, with many critics arguing that it signaled the decline of Japanese SF literature.

See also
List of killer insect films

Notes

References 

Bibliography

External links

 
 
 Gamera web archive (Japanese) at gamera.jp
 title=ガメラ2 レギオン襲来 (Gamera Tsū: Region Shūrai) in Japanese at the Japanese Movie Database

1996 films
1996 science fiction films
1996 fantasy films
Japanese science fiction films
Gamera films
Kaiju films
Giant monster films
1990s monster movies
Alien invasions in films
Films about extraterrestrial life
Films about insects
Films directed by Shusuke Kaneko
Japanese sequel films
Films set in Sapporo
Films set in Sendai
Films set in Tochigi Prefecture
Daiei Film films
Toho tokusatsu films
Films scored by Kow Otani
1990s Japanese films