Garugaru
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Garugaru (ガルガル Garugaru) is a robotic dragon kaiju created by Toho that first appeared in the 1996 film Rebirth of Mothra, and went on to appear in both of the film's sequels.
Serving as the steed of Belvera, the dark Elias, Garugaru transported its master to Japan following Desghidorah's awakening in search of the Seal of Elias, which brought the pair into conflict with Belvera's sisters, Moll and Lora, as well as their own transport, Fairy. Garugaru was eventually shot down and destroyed by Mothra Leo, but was later rebuilt by Belvera to aid in her search for the legendary treasure of Nilai-Kanai. Under Belvera's command, Garugaru later saved Moll and Lora from being trapped in a Nilai-Kanai temple before departing. Some time later, Belvera made further modifications to Garugaru and used the robot to investigate the arrival of King Ghidorah, where the machine was downed within the dome that King Ghidorah used to contain captive humans. In the wake of Moll's death, Belvera and Lora joined forces to oppose King Ghidorah using Fairy as their steed, though Belvera had earlier managed to repair the downed Garugaru and used the machine to leave her sisters after reviving Moll.
Name
Upon returning in Rebirth of Mothra 2, Garugaru was dubbed Garugaru II to reflect its status as having been rebuilt following its destruction at the end of Rebirth of Mothra. The following film continued this trend by christening the latest version of the machine Garugaru III.
Design
Garugaru resembles a tiny brown dragon with two small arms, two legs, and two large wings attached to its back. In its debut film, Garugaru's status as a machine was initially concealed, with the dragon appearing entirely organic save for a metal collar around its neck that is attached to a saddle on his back for Belvera to mount. The original Garugaru also has orangey, bat-like wings. In Rebirth of Mothra 2, Garugaru II was outfitted with more mechanical attachments resembling armor affixed to its arms, legs, and chest. Perhaps most notably, Garugaru II's wings are considerably different from their predecessor in both shape and color, now triangular and pinkish-red in color with three laser cannons attached to each. In Rebirth of Mothra 3, Garugaru III had a much more overtly mechanical look, with exposed wiring and tubes at its neck. Garugaru III's wings returned to their original bat-like shape, though were now silver with additional hydraulic pistons underneath that attached to the dragon's sides. Garugaru III was also given a mechanical eyepiece over its right eye.
Origins
Garugaru is a machine that was built by Belvera, the dark Elias.
History
- Rebirth of Mothra (1996)
- Rebirth of Mothra 2 (1997)
- Rebirth of Mothra 3 (1998)
Heisei era
Rebirth of Mothra
After Yuichi Goto unwittingly removed the Seal of Elias keeping Desghidorah locked away in a mountain, Garugaru transported Belvera, the human-hating eldest sister of the Elias to Yuichi's house to seize it from his daughter Wakaba. When her brother Taiki returned home from school, Garugaru fired an energy blast at his backpack as a warning and chased him away. Belvera's younger sisters Moll and Lora soon arrived with their steed Fairy to save Taiki and thwart Belvera's plans of using the Seal to control Desghidorah, resulting in a destructive dogfight throughout the house between Fairy and Garugaru. Taiki managed to catch Belvera and Garugaru in a butterfly net, but the dragon wounded Fairy with a blind shot before it managed to escape with Belvera and the Seal of Elias.
Garugaru transported Belvera to Desghidorah's resting place in Hokkaido, where Belvera mind-controlled Yuichi to make him drive a bulldozer loaded with dynamite towards the tomb. After he hit a bump and fell out, Garugaru fired a beam at the bulldozer, destroying it in a massive explosion to free Desghidorah. Belvera used the Seal of Elias to begin Desghidorah's awakening. Suddenly, Moll and Lora attacked her in a kite directed by Taiki, knocking her off Garugaru and regaining the Seal from her. After Moll and Lora gave it to Wakaba for safekeeping and called upon Mothra to stop Desghidorah, Belvera momentarily retook the Seal with Garugaru's help, only to lose it again as Mothra fired a shot across Garugaru's bow.
After a long battle, Desghidorah forced Mothra and her newly-hatched son Mothra Leo to retreat. The elder Mothra soon died from her injuries while Mothra Leo metamorphosed and eventually challenged Desghidorah again, this time with an overwhelming edge in speed and firepower, as witnessed by Belvera and Garugaru. As Moll and Lora chased Belvera on Fairy, the new Mothra shot down Garugaru with a pair of Crossheat Lasers. On the ground, flames from the battle approached Belvera and Garugaru, the latter revealed to be a machine, but Fairy carried Belvera to safety just in time, leaving the wreckage of Garugaru to burn in the fire.
Rebirth of Mothra 2
With the awakening of another ancient monster, Dagahra, Belvera rebuilt Garugaru to help her search for the legendary treasure of Nilai-Kanai, adding a targeting system and three laser cannons on each of his wings. On Ishigaki Island, she tracked down three kids - Shiori, Kyohei, and Yoji - who had just discovered a small fuzzy creature called Ghogo, which she believed could guide her to the treasure. Shiori relinquished the basket containing Ghogo, only to slip him out and run away into the woods with the mysterious creature. Belvera and Garugaru proceeded to give chase along with the boys just as Moll and Lora arrived with Fairy. Garugaru rained down lasers on the lot, destroying trees and tackling Fairy when Moll and Lora tried to block Belvera's path. Shiori and the boys passed Ghogo to each other, keeping Belvera and Garugaru at bay long enough to reach a heavily populated beach, at which point she withdrew. Belvera forcibly recruited two fishermen to help her hunt down Ghogo by scaring them with Garugaru's beams after they mistook her and Garugaru for a talking bat.
The fishermen, Belvera, and Garugaru later tracked the kids to a Nilai-Kanai pyramid which rose out of the ocean after Ghogo entered it. Dagahra soon arrived, prompting Moll and Lora to summon Mothra Leo, though the latter was eventually defeated by Dagahra after a lengthy fight. Meanwhile, the fishermen cornered the kids and Ghogo, but Moll and Lora arrived to stop them; though they appeared to surrender, one of them grabbed Kyohei while Garugaru used the distraction to attack Fairy. Before the battle could continue, the door in front of them all suddenly opened, leading them to a new room. An enormous, regal hologram took form at the center of the room, prompting the Elias to make their cases for possession of the treasure: Belvera wanted to use it to wipe out humanity while Moll and Lora strived to save humans.
After the hologram revealed that the treasure was actually Ghogo the entire time, Belvera and Garugaru lunged for the creature, but a force field stopped them. As Dagahra began destroying the pyramid outside, Belvera and Garugaru abandoned their quest and fled, though the others were soon trapped as flames from the destruction closed in on them. At Belvera's command, Garugaru tripped a switch at the last moment, shutting another door and saving them from the rapidly spreading fire. Belvera silently acknowledged her sisters before flying off with Garugaru.
Rebirth of Mothra 3
Belvera infiltrated a temple on Infant Island to steal triangular jewels she believed to be the key to a mysterious power known as the Elias Triangle to prepare herself for a coming threat to Earth. Upon discovering what she was seeking and encountering Moll and Lora, Belvera promptly called upon Garugaru in an effort to snatch all three gems for herself before attempting to fly off with the tiny dragon. Moll and Lora called upon Fairy, who attacked Garugaru and knocked two of the jewels from Belvera's grasp before she departed. The threat Belvera spoke of was soon revealed to be the dreaded King Ghidorah. Garugaru flew Belvera to a school in Japan where she bore witness to school children being abducted by the King of Terror. Later, Belvera and Garugaru traveled to Mount Fuji to investigate a vast dome where King Ghidorah's victims were being held against their will. Without warning, tendrils shot forth from the dome and ensnared Garugaru for getting too close; despite Belvera's attempts to fight back, she was unable to prevent herself or her steed from being dragged into the dome, with Garugaru being critically damaged in the process.
Within the dome, as Belvera worked to repair Garugaru, she was unexpectedly attacked by Lora, who had fallen under King Ghidorah's control. The mind-controlled Lora quickly overpowered her sister and used the disabled Garugaru to restrain her. While trying to free herself, Belvera kicked Garugaru in the head, causing the malfunctioning machine to accidentally fire a beam at her feet. While Moll sacrificed herself to send Mothra Leo back in time to battle King Ghidorah when he was younger, one of the captive children, Shota Sonoda, helped free Lora from King Ghidorah's control. Belvera managed to restart Garugaru and free herself from under the machine. After unlocking the power of the Elias Triangle by combining the Elias' swords with the triangular jewels, Belvera and Garugaru began attacking the walls of the dome, and once Mothra was able to best King Ghidorah in the past, the dome vanished in the present. Unfortunately, King Ghidorah inexplicably returned shortly thereafter, at which point Belvera joined forces with Lora and used Fairy as their steed instead of Garugaru.
Eventually, Mothra vanquished King Ghidorah for good while Belvera and Lora used the power of the Elias Triangle to revive Moll. With her sisters safe, Belvera called upon Garugaru and left with the machine.
Abilities
Flight
All versions of Garugaru can fly. The original could fly at 1000km/h,[3] while the second version could fly at 1200 km/h.[4]
Shubibin Beam
The first and third versions of Garugaru can fire a purple beam from his mouth called the Shubibin Beam (シュビビンビーム).[3][5]
Dobagan Beam
Garugaru II can fire the Dobagan Beam (ドバガン・ビーム), described as being more powerful than the Shubibin Beam.[4] It appears to be a combination of his mouth beam and additional beams that can be fired from the cannons on his wings.
Targeting system
The second and third versions of Garugaru were equipped with a targeting system that allowed the machine to analyze various targets.
Video games
- Godzilla Generations (1998) - Sega Dreamcast
- Collect Godzilla: Giant Monster Assembly (1998) - Sega Dreamcast VMU
- Mothra: Dream Battle (1998) - Sega Dreamcast VMU
Godzilla Generations
Garugaru is one of the monsters the player can obtain in the game's "Collected Coliseum" mode.
Collect Godzilla: Giant Monster Assembly
Garugaru is one of the monsters the player can raise and send into battle in this game.
Gallery
- Main article: Garugaru/Gallery.
References
This is a list of references for Garugaru. 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]
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