Gamera: Guardian of the Universe is a 1995 Japanese kaiju film directed by Shusuke Kaneko and written by Kazunori Itō, with special effects by Shinji Higuchi. It is the ninth installment in the Gamera film series, serving as a reboot of the franchise, and is the first entry in the franchise's Heisei period. The film stars Tsuyoshi Ihara, Akira Onodera, Shinobu Nakayama, Ayako Fujitani, and Yukijirō Hotaru, with Naoki Manabe and Jun Suzuki portraying the giant monster Gamera, and Yuhmi Kaneyama playing Gyaos. Gamera: Guardian of the Universe was produced by Daiei Film, Hakuhodo, and Nippon Television, and distributed by Toho Studios. The film was released theatrically in Japan on March 11, 1995, and was followed by Gamera 2: Attack of Legion in 1996.