Atlantean magatama

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Atlantean magatama
Asagi Kusanagi holding an Atlantean magatama associated with Gamera in Gamera the Guardian of the Universe
Ayana Hirasaka holding an Atlantean magatama associated with Iris in Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris
Use(s) Psychic control module
Creator(s) Atlanteans
First appearance Gamera the Guardian of the Universe
Latest appearance Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris

The Atlantean magatama (勾玉,   Magatama) is a comma-shaped orichalcum bead that first appeared in the 1995 Gamera film, Gamera the Guardian of the Universe.

Origins

The magatama were created by the ancient Atlantean civilization in order to awaken Gamera if the Gyaos threat should ever return. A series of them were strewn across Gamera's atoll in order to make them easy to find. A black magatama connected to Iris was also found in the shrine in Asuka which housed the creature's egg.

Design

In accordance with their namesake, Atlantean magatama are comma-shaped prayer beads. The magatama associated with Gamera are a brownish color and composed of the mythical compound orichalcum, while the one associated with Iris is black and slightly different in shape.

History

Gamera the Guardian of the Universe

While searching the bizarre moving atoll that had run the Kairyu-Maru aground, Yoshinari Yonemori and his colleagues discovered several magatama scattered around the ground. Yonemori brought several of the magatama to his employer, Naoya Kusanagi, when they discussed their strange discovery and the giant monster that had later emerged from the atoll. They concluded that the magatama and the obelisk they discovered on the atoll were connected to a super-ancient civilization that likely inspired the Atlantis myth. The runes inscribed on the obelisk mentioned "the last hope, Gamera" and stressed that it should awaken with "the shadow of evil, Gyaos." They determined that the monster that emerged from the atoll must be Gamera, while the bird-like creatures it attacked in Fukuoka were Gyaos. Yonemori gave Kusanagi's daughter Asagi one of the magatama as a gift. When Asagi held the bead in her hand, it began to feel warm and glow. Unbeknownst everyone at the time, the magatama had selected Asagi as a priestess of Gamera and formed a telepathic bond between them. Asagi continued to carry the magatama with her, as she gradually learned of her bond with Gamera when she developed the same wounds he did and could read his thoughts.

Gamera 2: Attack of Legion

When Asagi Kusanagi and Midori Honami visited the seemingly dead Gamera in the ruins of Sendai, they witnessed him suddenly become surrounded by strange glowing energy. The energy flowed into Gamera and miraculously revived him, and he quickly took flight and headed to Tokyo to stop the Legion. During Gamera's resurrection, Asagi's magatama shattered in her hand, slightly injuring her hand and severing her telepathic bond with Gamera.

Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris

In the three years following Gamera's battle with Legion, self-proclaimed psychic and Atlantean descendant Mito Asakura and her assistant Shinya Kurata collected several Atlantean magatama, which had all shattered when Gamera severed his bond with humanity in order to absorb the planet's Mana and rise from the dead. Meanwhile, a young woman named Ayana Hirasaka discovered a black Atlantean magatama in a shrine in Asuka, Nara Prefecture which was said to house the demon known as the Ryuseicho. Ayana found a stone egg in the shrine as well, which hatched into a bizarre creature she named Iris. Like it had done between Asagi Kusanagi and Gamera, the magatama formed a telepathic bond between Ayana and Iris, a twisted bond fueled by their shared hatred for Gamera.

When Asakura learned about Ayana's bond with Iris, she and Kurata took her from the hospital following Iris' unsuccessful attempt to physically fuse with her and brought her to Kyoto. Asakura believed Iris was a holy creature whose destined purpose was to destroy Gamera, which was necessary in order to allow Gyaos to wipe out humanity and save the Earth. She and Kurata planned to use Ayana to bring Iris to Gamera so it could kill him. Asagi and Mayumi Nagamine tried to take Ayana out of Kyoto, but both Gamera and Iris arrived in the city and began to battle. As the monsters approached the Kyoto Station, Asakura grabbed the black magatama and attempted to command Iris. While the magatama did activate for her, Iris didn't even acknowledge her presence and continued to struggle with Gamera. When the two monsters slammed into the station, Asakura was crushed to death.

Comics

Gamera

One year after Gamera defeated Super Gyaos, Asagi Kusanagi noticed her magatama begin to glow while on a trip to Guanajota, Mexico, showing that Gamera was nearby and in need of her assistance. This thoroughly frightened her pilot, Lutz, as he began to witness her shared injuries with Gamera as he fought with a cloned Gyaos. He and Asagi did however manage to get to the scene of the fight, where she had Gamera set the harbor, and by extension Gyaos on fire. However, with Asagi totally drained from the effort, Lutz stole the magatama from her after taking her to receive medical care on the reasoning that it was safer with an adult. However, as he flew out over the Pacific Ocean to follow Gamera, he ran out of gas and discovered that he could not activate the magatama to call for Gamera's aid. After being erroneously arrested by the French military, Lutz was questioned by Mayumi Nagamine about his encounter with Zigra at sea. He attempted to use the magatama as a bargaining chip for his freedom, but it was quickly stolen by Gusano, a servant of Viras, who gave it to his superior, Greta Karbone, whose connection with Viras made her aware of energies only perceivable to Supermonsters, such as the connection between Gamera and the magatama. She then used the amulet to control Gamera and to make him fly into the path of attacks by the military directed at Viras, who was wreaking havoc on Paris. However, having a change of heart, Gusano tore the Magatama from Karbone's hands, and she dove off the Eiffel Tower after it, and was never seen again. After Viras' defeat, and Lutz's emancipation, he found the magatama on the ground, and knew what to do with it next.

The Last Hope

To be added.

Books

Seijū Senki - Shiroi Kage

Three magatamas of unknown origins appeared to summon and control the Four Symbols. Kotaro Tsushima summoned Jiger, the "White Tiger", Iekiyo Ryūzōji summoned the "Azure Dragon", which strongly resembled Barugon, and Nichiren possessed a magatama which could summon the "Black Tortoise".

Mechanisms

Telepathic bond creation

The Atlantean magatama can form a telepathic bond between a human and a kaiju. This is demonstrated by the bond between Asagi Kusanagi and Gamera and between Ayana Hirasaka and Iris. Only bonded humans can use the magatama to communicate with a kaiju, shown by Lutz's failure to summon Gamera and Mito Asakura's failure to command Iris using magatama. In the Dark Horse comic Greta Karbone was only able to use Asagi's magatama because Viras, a telepathic creature made using Gyaos components, was operating through her.

Trivia

  • One of the reasons why magatama was chosen as the key item for Asagi Kusanagi to connect with Gamera is because magatama represents "life and death" and "flame" in local mythologies in East Asia. Iris's magatama was based on a sperm cell due to the relationship between Ayana and Iris; similarly, the design of Iris himself was influenced by the human penis and the notoriously phallic Xenomorphs.[1]:100-105:112:120:212-216
  • Toto's magatama-shaped organ called Spirits Crystal is presumably a homage to the Atlantean magatama of the Heisei Trilogy as it enables Toto to perform supernatural feats including telepathy and sensing human emotions.

Gallery

References

This is a list of references for Atlantean magatama. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]

  1. Heisei Gamera Perfection. ASCII MEDIA WORKS. 8 February 2014. ISBN 9784048918817.

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