Gaira

From Wikizilla, the kaiju encyclopedia
Jump to navigationJump to search
Article

Gaira™ trademark icon
Gaira
Gaira in The War of the Gargantuas
Alternate names Sea Frankenstein,[1] Green Gargantua,[1] Gaillah, Gailah, Gaiya, Bigfoot Gaira, Gaya
Subtitle(s) Frankenstein's Monster
(フランケンシュタインの怪獣,   Furankenshutain no Kaijū)[2]
Brother Sea Beast
(兄弟海獣,   Kyōdai Kai-jū)G:TB
Species Frankenstein spawnWotG,
mutated minion of MaohG!Gr,
Tsunozillas-derived mutant G!Go '08
Height 25 meters[3]
50 metersGRoE[4]
Weight 10,000 metric tons[3]
Forms Human sizeG!Gr
Place(s) of emergence Undersea[2]
Controlled by TonchikiG!Gr
Relations Sanda ("brother"),
Frankenstein (cell donor),
Tonchiki (creator)G!Gr
Allies Shilarji, Kappalge, Tsunozillas, Green Mask, GodzillaGRoE, King CaesarGRoE, KamacurasGRoE, RodanGRoE, AnguirusGRoE, KamoebasGRoE, GorosaurusGRoE, KumongaGRoE, VaranGRoE, BaragonGRoE, ZillaGRoE, SandaGRoE, Jet JaguarGRoE
Enemies Giant Octopus, Sanda, VaranGRoE, Godman, Greenman, GodzillaGRoE
Created by Ishiro Honda, Eiji Tsuburaya
Played by Haruo NakajimaWotG,
Kenji OkaG!Go '08
First appearance Latest appearance
The War of the Gargantuas Godzilla: Rulers of Earth
Roar(s)
1966, 2008:
Godman:
Greenman:
More roars

Gaira (ガイラ,   Gaira) is a Frankenstein spawn kaiju who first appeared in the 1966 Toho film The War of the Gargantuas.

Formed from cells left behind by fellow Frankenstein spawn Sanda, Gaira grew up in underwater, surrounded by hostile sea creatures and never knowing the comforting touch of another being. As a result, Gaira became hateful and violent, venting his rage by terrorizing humanity. The JSDF deployed its experimental Type 66 Maser Cannons in attempt to destroy Gaira, but his altruistic "brother" Sanda came to his rescue and escorted him to safety. When Sanda learned of Gaira's man-eating nature, he lashed out in anger, prompting Gaira to enter a crazed and panicked state and flee to Tokyo, where he began a rampage. Sanda tried to talk his brother down and resolve their dispute peacefully without any more violence, but Gaira was too far gone and continued to attack his brother like a cornered animal. Sanda was forced to fight Gaira to the death, with both Gargantuas seemingly perishing after their battle moved too near to the eruption of an underwater volcano. Gaira and his brother both went on to appear as one-off villains in the television series Go! Godman and Go! Greenman, with Gaira later playing a role in the 2008 Go! Godman short film. While he did not debut in the Godzilla series, both Gaira and his brother have appeared in some of the franchise's licensed media such as video games and comic books. Gaira also appeared through stock footage in the Millennium Godzilla films Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla and Godzilla Final Wars, establishing that he canonically appeared in the past within those films' continuities.

Name

Gaira's name comes from "kai" (), a Japanese word for "sea,"[1] and "-ra" (ラ), a common suffix in kaiju names. In the script for The War of the Gargantuas, Gaira was given the name Sea Frankenstein (フランケンシュタイン,   Kai Furankenshutain).[1] In the international English export dub of The War of the Gargantuas, Gaira is called Gaillah, with the double-L sound pronounced as "Y" (STARZ's closed captions for the film spell it as Gaiya, however). In the U.S. English dub of The War of the Gargantuas, Gaira is called the Green Gargantua (グリーン・ガルガンチュア,   Gurīn Garuganchua).[1] The English subtitles for the Japanese audio on Classic Media's DVD release of the film spell Gaira's name as Gailah. In his stock footage appearance in Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla, Gaira is called Bigfoot Gaira (人型巨大生物・ガイラ,   Hito-gata Kyodai Seibutsu Gaira, lit. Giant Humanoid Creature Gaira).

Development

Following Frankenstein vs. Baragon, Toho began work on a direct sequel. Takeshi Kimura turned in the first draft of the script in January of 1966, titled The Frankenstein Brothers. Originally, Gaira was the grey-haired "Sea Frankenstein."[1] Ishiro Honda, who directed both films and had a rare screenwriting credit on The War of the Gargantuas, felt that the new story would stand better on its own. As a result, the connections to Frankenstein vs. Baragon are diminished in the finished film.

Gaira and Sanda were designed by artist Tohl Narita,[5] known most prominently for his work as art director on the Ultra Series. He partially based Gaira on the Gill-man from 1954's Creature from the Black Lagoon, of which Eiji Tsuburaya was allegedly a big fan.[6]

Teizo Toshimitsu prototyped and modeled the heads of the Gargantua suits,[7] while the Yagi brothers Kanju and Yasuei, along with Eizo Kaimai, were responsible for their bodies. Kaimai stated that the suits did not use wetsuits as their cores, despite the film's extensive water scenes, as he believed the rubber material would be too restrictive to act in.[7] Instead, they were based around boilersuit-esque garments with skin and fur directly applied.[7] Both Gargantua suits also featured football shoulder pads to emphasize their agility and strength.[8] For the scenes where Gaira holds people in his hands, a giant arm and hand prop was composited into the shots using a blue screen, a technique which would later be reused for King Kong in 1967's King Kong Escapes.

As the Gargantua with the most screentime, Gaira was played by Haruo Nakajima. Able to act with his eyes and wear a mask based on his own face,[9][7] he would later call it his favorite role as a kaiju.[10] As usual, he also handled the Gargantuas' fight choreography, taking inspiration from professional wrestling.[10]

Toho reused the Sanda and Gaira suits for Go! Godman and Go! Greenman, though each featured a new headpiece. Gaira returned in the 2008 Go! Godman film, for which modeler Fuyuki Shinada created a completely new suit in the span of just four days. Inspired by the original Gargantua suits, he rigged the mask of the suit so that its jaw would move[11] with that of suit actor Kenji Oka.

Design

Gaira resembles his "brother," Sanda, being a humanoid giant whose body is covered in fur. However, Gaira's skin and fur are a greenish color, and his fur somewhat resembles seaweed, loosely hanging on his body. The top of Gaira's head is flat, his nose is very large and wide, and he has a noticeable underbite, with two fangs on his lower jaw extending outside of his mouth.

In Go! Godman, Gaira has a new head, with no fangs on his lower jaw and a mane of brown hair around his head. In the follow-up series, Go! Greenman, Gaira's suit is worn and beginning to decay, and appears as a much darker color, with much of the suit's fur having fallen off.

In the 2008 Go! Godman film, Gaira was made to replicate his appearance in The War of the Gargantuas. This Gaira is nearly identical to his original appearance, with the exception of being a lighter shade of green.

Personality

In The War of the Gargantuas, Gaira is a brutal and violent monster that attacks virtually anything he comes into contact with. Gaira is fond of sinking ships and eating their crew, as well as coming ashore to kill helpless humans. The scientists who research Gaira suggest that Gaira became this way due to spending his life in a dark and dangerous underwater environment surrounded by hostile sea creatures, unlike Sanda, who was lovingly raised by humans.

In Godzilla: Rulers of Earth, Gaira is incredibly violent and despises humanity due to being experimented on by the Chinese military for several years. As a result, he attacks anything he sees after breaking free and even attacks his brother Sanda when the latter tries to stop him. Eventually, after living with his brother on the Monster Islands, Gaira becomes less aggressive and ultimately fights alongside the other Earth monsters to drive off the Trilopods in Los Angeles.

Origins

In The War of the Gargantuas, Dr. Paul Stewart proposed that Gaira was created when Sanda lost a piece of flesh at Lake Biwa. After it floated into the Pacific Ocean, it grew into Gaira by feeding on protein-rich plankton.

History

Showa era

The War of the Gargantuas

A fishing vessel under attack by a Giant Octopus found itself saved when Gaira appeared to drive off the cephalopod. Unfortunately for the crew, he then pursued and ate all but one of them. Gaira continued to menace the Japanese shores. The government contacted Dr. Paul Stewart, one of the scientists who raised a monster called Sanda, to ask if he and Gaira were one and the same. Skin samples from Gaira seemed to indicate that they were, although Stewart and his assistant Akemi Togawa found Sanda's footprints deep in the Japanese Alps. Before long, Gaira attacked Haneda Airport, devouring a woman before the sun emerged from behind the clouds, driving him back into the sea. After he attacked a nightclub in Tokyo, the JSDF began planning his demise. Helicopters lured him into the firing range of Trip Wire Cannons and Type 66 Maser Cannons, which chased him into an electrified lake. Writhing in pain, Gaira seemed doomed until Sanda came down from the mountains to rescue him.

Far from humanity, Sanda helped Gaira recover. After regaining his strength, Gaira began hunting humans once more, pursuing a group including Akemi, who stumbled off a cliff while fleeing from him. Remembering his old friend and surrogate mother, Sanda rescued Akemi, but broke his leg in the process. When he returned to Gaira and discovered evidence of his diet, Sanda battered him with a tree. Their short brawl led to Gaira retreating back to the ocean.

Having determined how Gaira emerged from Sanda, Stewart and Akemi urged the military not to launch an all-out attack against them, as it could potentially create millions of Gargantuas. Gaira, now associating lights with humanity, raided Tokyo in search of his next meal. He nearly ate Akemi again before Sanda arrived on the scene. After failing to reason with his brother, Sanda had no choice but to battle Gaira once more. Building after building fell as the JSDF joined the fray, concentrating its fire on Gaira. Eventually, their duel spilled into Tokyo Bay and out to sea. Helicopters rained explosives down on them, only to be outdone by nature. An underwater volcanic eruption soon consumed the two brothers, still locked in combat.

He of the Sun

"Beat the Monsters!"
Gaira in He of the Sun

Haruo Nakajima appeared as a suit actor named Tanabe filming a fictional kaiju movie in the second episode of the 1967 Toho television series He of the Sun, wearing the Gaira suit once more. His opponent was Keylla, a villain from the original Ultraman.

Go! Godman

Gaira in Go! Godman

Once the rampaging Gaira was spotted by a group of small children, they called out in distress to their hero Godman. Zooming across the sky and descending directly in front of Gaira, Godman began to engage the monster in combat. After an exhausting duel, Godman eventually overpowered Gaira and destroyed him.


Go! Greenman

Gaira in Go! Greenman

Gaira was created by Tonchiki to acquire the blood of children for his master Maoh. Gaira tormented a group of children before they summoned the hero Greenman. Soon, after Gaira was near defeat, the battle was halted when the monster altered his own size. Now taking on a much more giant stature, Greenman's defeat became eminent. However, Greenman was also able to grow and resumed their combat. After much more tiring attacks, Greenman summoned the Greenman Stick and destroyed Gaira with the weapon's explosive tip.


Millennium era

Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla

When discussing the frequent attacks by kaiju on Japan after the first Godzilla appeared in 1954, Prime Minister Machiko Tsuge mentioned Gaira's attack in 1966, and how Maser Cannons were implemented to battle kaiju for the first time, successfully defeating him.

Heisei era

Go! Godman

Gaira in the Godman film

Gaira emerged from a piece of Tsunozillas' destroyed body, and immediately threatened photographer Haruka Ayase and traffic guard Koichi Matsushita. Koichi tried to fight him off using his signal baton to dismal results. Godman arrived to defend them, but soon found himself overwhelmed when Shilarji came to Gaira's aid. After one of his bracelets fell off, Haruka returned it to him and used the Green Call to summon Greenman to the battlefield. Godman, invigorated, used a Supersonic Wave to blast both monsters to pieces.


Abilities

Physical abilities

Gaira demonstrated his strength by being able to shake a fishing vessel larger than himself violently and threw tank after tank to their doom. Like his brother Sanda, Gaira's tactics for fighting hand-to-hand include biting, strangling, kicking, and throwing.

Regeneration

Gaira has regenerative capabilities, due to being spawned by Frankenstein's immortal cells.

Intelligence

Gaira is shown to have a good deal of intelligence, but it is reduced by his violent and brutish nature.

Electrical powers

In a Japanese poster for The War of the Gargantuas, Gaira is depicted conducting electricity through his hands.

Weaknesses

In The War of the Gargantuas, Gaira has a strong aversion to sunlight, and will retreat whenever the sun rises. He was also highly susceptible to the JSDF's Type 66 Maser Cannons, and would have likely have been killed by their electrified trap if Sanda had not saved him. Gaira also took damage from tank shells.

Video games

Comics

Godzilla: Rulers of Earth

Some years ago, Gaira appeared and wreaked havoc on humanity, but was captured and experimented on by the Chinese military. Lucy Casprell later discovered him being held captive in a tank. As the facility Gaira was being contained in came under attack by Varan and Rodan, Lucy decided to take advantage of the chaos and free Gaira in the hopes that he could stop the monsters fighting above. After Rodan retreated, Gaira emerged and engaged Varan. Gaira soon overpowered Varan with his superior strength, which forced Varan into retreat. However, Gaira managed to grab onto Varan's tail before he could take flight in efforts to continue their brawl, only to be flown out over the ocean - but not before witnessing his brother, Sanda, reaching out to him from a mountain range. Eventually, Gaira splashed down into the ocean, where Sanda spent days trying to reach him - but they did finally meet, Gaira attacked Sanda with a ship, but also attracted the attention of Godzilla, who then chased the brothers to land. Once ashore in Australia, Gaira came under fire from the military, but ignored them to get to Sanda. Gaira, in a surprising turn, protected his brother from Godzilla's atomic breath and the King of the Monsters also surfaced, which led the two to flee into the city for cover. After a tank fired upon the brothers, Gaira was quick to smash it, horrifying Sanda and kickstarting another fight - until Godzilla arrived. After narrowly avoiding Godzilla's atomic ray, the two brothers set aside their differences to fight the larger threat. As Sanda repeatedly punched Godzilla, Gaira bit into his arm and clawed at his face, eventually managing to overpower him to the ground. However, Godzilla recovered, throwing Sanda and attempting to stomp Gaira into the ground. After turning his attention back to Sanda, the green Gargantua freed himself and engaged Godzilla again by grabbing his tail, but Godzilla overpowered him and knocked him back to the ground. Soon, Sanda was able to stop Godzilla by smashing a Saradian petrol tanker over the monster king's face, temporarily blinding him in an explosion and forcing him into retreat. Gaira had been severely injured during the battle, but Sanda remained with him to watch over him as the military arrived. The military used a gas on the monsters to knock them unconscious, at which point they were transported to the new Monster Islands to live in peace.

Years later, the two brothers were still on the islands, now living alongside Baragon, Kumonga, Rodan, and Zilla. When the Trilopods attacked the Monster Islands, Gaira attempted to defend his brother and valiantly fought the alien monsters, but was ultimately captured along with Sanda. A duo of Trilopods were able to copy the characteristics of the duo as they were taken to the Trilopod hive with the other Earth monsters. Later, King Caesar freed the Earth monsters, allowing Gaira to join the other monsters in assisting the severely outnumbered Godzilla against the Trilopods. Gaira and Anguirus managed to kill the Gezora-Trilopod. He later attempted to attack the massive Magita, but was tossed to the side easily alongside his brother. After Magita was killed, Gaira, his brother, and the other monsters followed Godzilla out to sea.

Gallery

Main article: Gaira/Gallery.

Roar

Gaira's roars in The War of the Gargantuas are sped up and slightly altered King Kong roars from King Kong vs. Godzilla, while his growls are the same recycled lion growls used by Manda in Atragon,[12] only sped up. In the trailer for The War of the Gargantuas, both Gaira and Sanda possess a roar made from a combination of the roars of King Kong and Varan, although in some sections of the trailer, Gaira uses a sped-up Rodan cry instead. In Go! Godman, Gaira reused roars from the Ultra Series kaiju Tyrant.

Gaira's roars were later combined with Godzilla's roars to create the roars for the Ultraman kaiju Red King. Gomora's roars combine Gaira roars with elephant trumpeting.

Gaira's roars from The War of the Gargantuas

Trivia

Video

Wikizilla: YouTube Kaiju Profile: Sanda & Gaira

References

This is a list of references for Gaira. 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. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Toho Special Effects Movie Complete Works. villagebooks. 28 September 2012. pp. 107–108. ISBN 9784864910132.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Toho Special Effects All Monster Encyclopedia. Shogakukan. 23 July 2014. p. 43. ISBN 4-096-82090-3.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Godzilla Giant Monsters Super Encyclopedia (4th ed.). Kodansha. 15 March 1994. p. 61. ISBN 978-4063042702.
  4. Toho Kingdom forums - correspondence with artist Jeff Zornow, 28 March 2015
    Zornow-monster heights-RoE.jpg
  5. The Pictorial Book of Godzilla 2. Hobby Japan Co., Ltd. 1 December 1995. p. 80-84. ISBN 978-4894251175.
  6. LeMay, John (15 June 2017). The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies: The Lost Films. Bicep Books. p. 240. ISBN 9781548145255.
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 All Toho Monsters Pictorial Book (4th Edition). Yosensha. 4 September 2016. p. 114. ISBN 978-4-8003-0362-2.
  8. Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters (paperback ed.). Chronicle Books. 6 May 2014. ISBN 978-1-4521-3539-7.
  9. Guy Mariner Tucker (1996). Age of the Gods: A History of the Japanese Fantasy Film. Feral House. p. 194.
  10. 10.0 10.1 G-Fan. no. 22. Daikaiju Publishing. July–August 1996. p. 52.CS1 maint: date format (link)
  11. Toho's New GO! GODMAN: On the Set Report— Gaira Returns! - SciFi Japan
  12. Toho Kingdom - Manda [Showa]
  13. the sphinx - "Godzilla's American Cousin" (FILMFAX #45, June/July 1994)
  14. Macias, Patrick (2006). Otaku in USA - Love & Misunderstanding! The History of Adopted Anime in America!. Ota Publishing. ISBN 978-4778310028.
  15. LeMay, John (15 June 2017). The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies: The Lost Films. Bicep Books. p. 241. ISBN 9781548145255.

Comments

Showing 41 comments. When commenting, please remain respectful of other users, stay on topic, and avoid role-playing and excessive punctuation. Comments which violate these guidelines may be removed by administrators.

Loading comments...
Era Icon - Toho.png
Era Icon - Showa.png
Era Icon - Heisei.png
Era Icon - Millennium.png
Kaiju
Era Icon - Gaira.png
Era Icon - Frankenstein.png