Guilala

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Guilala
Guilala in Monster X Strikes Back: Attack the G8 Summit
Guilala in The X from Outer Space
Alternate names Monster X, Monster Bug X,
Monster Bug, Demora, Demos, Pratonical Gilaladonishious
Subtitle(s) Giant Space Monster
(宇宙大怪獣,   Uchū Daikaijū)XFOS
Mysterious Giant Monster
(謎の大怪獣,   Nazo no Daikaijū)XFOS[1]
Species Extraterrestrial monster
Height Showa: 60 meters
Heisei: 120 meters
Weight 15,000 metric tons
Forms Spore form, fireball form, monster form
Controlled by Unnamed alien raceXFOS
Enemies Humans, Take-MajinMXSB
Played by HeiseiRyu Hariken, Yuichi Okada
First appearance Latest appearance
The X from Outer Space Monster X Strikes Back: Attack the G8 Summit
Roar(s)
More roars

Guilala (ギララ,   Girara) is an alien kaiju who first appeared in the 1967 Shochiku film The X from Outer Space. Following two cameo appearances in other Shochiku films, the monster returned in the 2008 film Monster X Strikes Back: Attack the G8 Summit.

Name

Prior to Guilala's name being decided, the monster was referred to by generic names such as Monster Bug (怪虫,   Kaimushi) and Monster Bug X (怪虫X,   Kaimushi Ekkusu) in the film's first draft, while later revisions referred to it by the temporary names Demora (デモラ) and Demos (デモス,   Demosu). Following the completion of Guilala's concept art, a prototype clay model of the creature was created, engraved with the name "Pratonical Gilaladonishious" (プラトニカル・ギララドニシウス,   Puratonikaru Giraradonishiusu). Ultimately, Guilala's name was determined by public vote, with 210,564 people choosing the final name, and a formal "Giant Space Monster Naming Ceremony" (宇宙大怪獣命名式,   Uchū Daikaijū Meimeishiki) was held on the set of the film. The name "Guilala" (ギララ,   Girara) was said to have been derived from the combination of a Greek word meaning "huge" and a Latin word meaning "giant" or "large." Guilala is also sometimes referred to by the name Monster X in English, such as in the title of Monster X Strikes Back: Attack the G8 Summit, a name which it shares with several other kaiju including Jiger and Toho's Monster X.

The Guilala from The X from Outer Space is given the subtitle Giant Space Monster (宇宙大怪獣,   Uchū Daikaijū), such as in the film's Japanese title, while the film's trailer calls it a Mysterious Giant Monster ( (なぞ)の大怪獣,   Nazo no Daikaijū).[1]

Design

In general, Guilala resembles a large, birdlike creature with a bulky, muscular body and strange antennae on top of its head. Guilala's head is silver with pink eyes, while his body is dark grey. The tips of his antennae are bright gold. Guilala also has a series of horns on the back of his head which curve upwards, and his forehead has a strange, periscope-like appendage rising out of it, which may be a third eye. Guilala's feet are large, and have well-developed claws. On the front of each of his thighs, he has wave-like ridges which run vertically down towards his shins.

History

Showa era

The X from Outer Space

A species of kaiju created by the explosions of stars, Guilala was made out of a special form of condensed energy, normally found in small, contained spores. An unknown alien race attached spores to the Earth ship AAB-Gamma using a UFO. The crew brought one spore covered in insulating material back to the Fuji Astro-Flying Center (FAFC) in Japan for research. Left unattended, the rock burned a hole through the floor, leaving the insulating material behind. Returning to the lab, Captain Kazuo Sano found a chicken-like footprint on the floor. After a nearby power plant begins to experience voltage issues, Sano, space biologist Lisa Schneider, Moon Base MSC air traffic controller Michiko Tazaki, and Signal Officer Hideo Miyamoto witnessed a giant monster emerging from behind a hill. A comparison of his footprints with the one left in the lab revealed that he was the missing alien, which they dubbed Guilala.

Guilala stomped towards Tokyo. FAFC advised the government that the insulating material, Guilalanium (ギララニウム,   Giraraniumu), could contain the key to his defeat. Tanks, planes, missiles, and even laser cannons proved useless against him as he demolished the capital. Lisa determined that the FAFC would need to synthesize Guilalanium in a vacuum, requiring a return trip to the Moon in the AAB-Gamma. Sano, Michiko, and Miyamoto joined her. They discover that Guilalanium can reflect cosmic rays, leading Dr. Berman of FAFC to conclude it could be used to smother the monster. With Japan's allies unwilling to use nuclear weapons, it seemed to be their only means of defense. Guilala advanced north, destroying Tatebayashi, but the JSDF observed his energy diminishing. To remedy this, he soon destroyed a nuclear power plant and absorbed its energy. Transforming into a massive sphere of energy, he continued spreading devastation from the air, then touched down near a dam and returned to his monstrous form. Berman and Dr. Kato determined that the XTU nuclear fuel at FAFC headquarters would be his next target.

The JSDF ordered all FAFC personnel to evacuate, but Kato and Berman insisted on staying, along with the landing crew. The astronauts touched down successfully and brought the Guillalnium safely aboard a helicopter to be sent to the JSDF. Sano proposed that they evacuate with the fuel, lest Guilala grow even more powerful. The monster soon demolished the grounded rockets, trapping Lisa under rubble. The others managed to free her. With Guilala closing in, Sano and Miyamoto lured him away by loading the fuel onto a Jeep trailer. He chased after them, finally separating the trailer containing the fuel from the Jeep with a swipe of his claws. Both Sano and Miyamoto survived with minor injuries.

Guilala returned to FAFC in search of more energy. Just then, squadrons of fighter jets bombarded him with Guilalanium, which quickly covered his body. After he destroyed several planes, the substance began to take effect, turning him back into a glowing spore. Lisa contained it, and FAFC resolved to send it back into space, lest the monster emerge again and threaten the Earth.

Heisei era

Monster X Strikes Back: Attack the G8 Summit

Eventually, another space probe, the AAC-Beta, returned to Earth after a mission that was similar to that of the AAB-Gamma. This ship carried another spore which transformed into a second Guilala. Realizing the danger of the creature, the President of the United States of America convinces the other world leaders to personally fight back against Guilala instead of fleeing, and each country decides to use their own secret weaponry against the beast. A North Korean general plans to destroy Guilala with a nuclear missile, but he is warned that if he does so, he will spawn hundreds, even thousands of Guilalas, and so he backs down. The monster is unopposed until two Japanese journalists discover the legend of Take-Majin, a god who will fight for the humans to defend Earth. The President of North Korea fires the missile at Japan anyway, but Take-Majin appears in the nick of time to save the people from a nuclear strike as well as Guilala itself. Take-Majin and Guilala fight, with Take-Majin eventually decapitating the alien creature.

Abilities

Agility

In The X from Outer Space, Guilala was able to keep pace with a Jeep traveling at about 80 kilometers per hour, or 49.7 miles per hour.

Absorption

In The X from Outer Space, Guilala can feed on nuclear and electrical energy.

Fireballs

Guilala can spit yellow fireballs from his beak. In The X from Outer Space, they can set tanks on fire and destroy planes, while in Monster X Strikes Back: Attack the G8 Summit they can destroy entire buildings.

Orb form

Guilala can turn into an orb of energy which is capable of igniting or destroying nearby buildings. Using this ability, Guilala can also traverse great distances with extreme speed.

Physical abilities

When not using his fireballs, Guilala attacked JSDF forces in The X from Outer Space with his claws, feet, and tail.

Durability

Apart from Guilalanium, Guilala is resistant against most radioactive or chemical countermeasures. Guilala can shrug off most blows to his thick hide with little injury; in The X from Outer Space, he is even unfazed by a fighter jet flying into his head. Furthermore, in Monster X Strikes Back: Attack the G8 Summit, Guilala withstands several powerful weapons, including a powerful missile designed specifically to destroy him which he caught and then ate, an extremely strong poison which only made him sleepy, a deadly nerve gas which only made him laugh, and even a weapon designed to destroy his brain which only enraged him. Even after having his head cut off by Take-Majin, he was still able to stand up before being obliterated.

Regeneration

In Monster X Strikes Back: Attack the G8 Summit, should Guilala absorb enough energy, and should his body be destroyed, his spores can regenerate even from the smallest fragment into a completely separate Guilala of its own.

Weaknesses

In The X from Outer Space, covering Guilala in sufficient quantities of Guilalanium blocked his ability to absorb energy, causing him to revert back to a tiny spore.

Books

Comics

Gallery

Main article: Guilala/Gallery.

Videos

The Ladders "Monsters" commercial
Wikizilla: YouTube Was 「Guilala vs. Gappa」 Real?

In other languages

Language Name Meaning
Flagicon France.png French Itoka Unknown

Trivia

  • Early drafts for The X from Outer Space featured gigantic monstrous plants as the antagonists instead of Guilala.[2]
  • In the 1969 Shochiku musical Falling Leaves and Kisses, protagonist Nobuko Tashiro acts in commercials while wearing the Guilala suit.[3]
  • In the 1978 American film The Bad News Bears Go to Japan, the third and last film in The Bad News Bears trilogy, stock footage of Guilala's feet is briefly shown during a baseball bat commercial. However, the monster suit seen in the rest of the ad bears little resemblance to him.
  • Footage of Guilala in The X from Outer Space was reused for a dream sequence in the 1984 Shochiku comedy Tora-san's Forbidden Love, the 34th entry in the long-running Otoko wa Tsurai yo series. It was likely done as a satirical dig at The Return of Godzilla, released just 13 days prior.[4]
  • Guilala's design, along with that of Zigra, influenced Legion from Gamera 2: Attack of Legion.[5][6]
  • Multiple tiny Guilalas and a full-sized Guilala were featured in a commercial for the job search website The Ladders, using the suit from Monster X Strikes Back: Attack the G8 Summit.[7]
  • In the 2007 micro-budgeted parody Zuzu: Queen of the Monsters, Guilala is directly paid homage through the character of Pulala, a white-colored variant with body fur and an oversized head.[8]
  • In the 2017 Hulu-produced documentary Too Funny to Fail, which discusses the hopeful rise and disastrous fall of The Dana Carvey Show, footage of Guilala rampaging through the city while chasing after the fleeing human masses was briefly used to visually represent the public's negative reaction to the series' premiere episode.
  • Guilala is one of several kaiju whose summoning fails in Natsuhiko Kyōgoku's USO MAKOTO Yōkai Hyaku Monogatari book series.

References

This is a list of references for Guilala. 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 Japanese The X from Outer Space trailer
    Mysterious Giant Monster.png
  2. 宇宙大怪獣ギララ - Wikipedia
  3. 落葉とくちづけ (映画) - Wikipedia
  4. Aiken, Keith (2009). "Talkin' Bout Tora-San". SciFi Japan.
  5. Heisei Gamera Perfection. ASCII MEDIA WORKS. 8 February 2014. p. 54. ISBN 9784048918817.
  6. Gamera 2: Attack of Legion Super Complete Works. Shogakukan. 10 August 1996. pp. 13–15. ISBN 4-09-101454-2.
  7. Guilala: American Commercial Spokesman
  8. Zuzu: Queen of the Monsters

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