Sandbox:Gabora
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- Not to be confused with Gabara.
- Yumi Funaberi: “It even has the same face as Pagos!”
- Akihisa Taki: “Then it can fire a very nasty beam, too?”
- Kimio Tamura: “What?”
- ― Yumi Funaberi, Akihisa Taki, and Kimio Tamura react to Gabora preparing to fire its heat ray (Shin Ultraman)
Gabora (ガボラ Gabora) is a burrowing reptilian Kaiju who appears in the 2022 Toho, Tsuburaya Productions, and khara film Shin Ultraman. The character debuted in the ninth episode of the original 1966 Ultraman series, "Lightning Operation", and later featured in the 1993 U.S.-filmed series Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero. The Shin Ultraman version of Gabora also appears in the non-canonical web series Shin Ultra Fight.
Name
In Shin Ultraman, Gabora is designated by the SSSP as S-Class Species No. 8 (敵性大型生物第8号 Tekisei Ōgata Seibutsu Daihachigō) or simply Kaiju No. 8 (禍威獣第8号 Kaijū Daihachigō). Gabora is presumably named "on impulse" by the Disaster Prevention Agency Minister like other kaiju before him, including Neronga. In the film, the alien Mefilas simply refers to Gabora as the "Subterranean Monster".
Development
Tohl Narita designed the original Gabora for the 1966 Tsuburaya Productions series Ultraman.[1] He was the last of four Ultra Q and Ultraman monsters to be portrayed by a remodeled Baragon suit originating from the 1965 Toho film Frankenstein vs. Baragon, preceded by Pagos, Neronga, and Magular. Legendary suit actor Haruo Nakajima, who played Baragon, also portrayed these four monsters.
In Shin Ultraman, Gabora's CG model was made from a modified Neronga model, cutting costs and referencing their shared real-world origin.[3] In the film, SSSP biologist Yumi Funaberi notes the similarities between the two monsters, as well as Pagos, foreshadowing their true nature as bioweapons.
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Concept art from Shin Ultraman Design Works for Gabora which showcases the monster using the same body as Neronga -
Maquette of Gabora made using the Neronga maquette -
In Shin Ultra Fight, one or more motion capture performers from Stunt Team Gocoo portrayed Neronga.[2] Their fight choreography was improvised, with the principle that there were no bad takes, and only refilmed in the case of technical malfunctions with the CG models.[4] The animation was spearheaded by Studio Bros and Modeling Bros in association with Shirogumi and alphaliez,[2] who used the video game engine Unreal Engine.[4]
Design
Gabora shares a lot in common with the previous monsters Pagos and Neronga, which is commented on by the SSSP. Gabora is a grayish quadrupedal monster with two gigantic purple and red drills that intertwine with each other to elongate the monster's short and stubby tail. These massive drills are connected into the monster's back and are covered by two overlapping plates. Gabora has a small light grey head that is almost identical to the head of Pagos, but it lacks the three small spikes from the aforementioned monster. On both sides of its head are four concave indentations with a beady red eye in each of them. There are also four small holes on the front of Gabora's snout. Gabora has a toothless maw with the exception of having two large tusks on either side of its lower jaw. It has an extremely short neck and surrounding its head are six giant flower petal-shaped plates which can cover its head to form a giant rotating drill, which is purple much like the drills on its back. The insides of these plates are red with exposed muscle fibers.
It has a dull but pronounced chest spike and a short and stocky body. Its skin is mostly covered in thin hexagonal scales with there being smoother areas underneath its neck and behind its shoulders. These scales also get smaller on its hands and feet. Gabora has long arms with spikes jutting from its elbows. It has six fingers on each hand that are spindly and tipped with extremely long claws, with the claw on its thumbs being the longest. There is also a large scale covering each of its knuckles. Located on the sides and underneath the drill are scutes which resemble vertebrae. It has short digitigrade legs with four digits.
In a 3D promotional render of Gabora's model, the monster is portrayed with having bronze drills as well as lacking any eyes in its eye sockets which is also reflected on its Movie Monster Series figure. Additionally, some merchandise depict Gabora having purple-tinted claws and tusks.
Personality
Gabora is similar to Neronga in terms of behavior. It is a territorial creature with a hostile temper. It is implied that it attacked a nuclear waste management facility in order to feed. Unlike Neronga, it attacked Ultraman without retreating, despite its attacks doing no damage to the giant.
Origins
Gabora was the eighth S-Class Species, or Kaiju, that was encountered by humanity. The monster emerged from a mountain in Momoyama District of Kamakita City. During a conversation with Ultraman, as Shinji Kaminaga, Mefilas revealed that the monster was a bioweapon, much like the other Kaiju that had appeared in the past, and was summoned by Mefilas to draw him out. Much like the rest of the monsters, the original creator of Gabora is unknown.
Selected history
- Shin Ultraman (2022)
- Shin Ultra Fight (web 2022) [episodes SP2, SP3, T14, T15]
Reiwa era
Shin Ultraman
A subterranean Kaiju was spotted tunneling toward a nuclear waste storage facility, and the SSSP was sent to deal with the threat. Three American Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirits dropped Massive Ordnance Penetrator II bombs into the Kaiju's path, but failed to stop the creature before running out of ammunition. The SSSP determined that the subterranean Kaiju, dubbed Gabora, was similar to Pagos and intended to feed on the nuclear material. SSSP members donned protective suits in order to get closer, but Kaminaga slipped away. Running through the woods, Kaminaga pulled out a device which he activated, causing him to transform into Ultraman. The SSSP witnessed Ultraman suddenly appear from the ground, and noticed that the once-silver patterns on his body had turned red. Ultraman stood before the nuclear facility as Gabora emerged from underground and charged toward him. Realizing that destroying the nuclear-powered Gabora with his Spacium Ray could trigger an explosion and spread fallout across the area, Ultraman instead tried to block Gabora's drill-like head from penetrating the facility. Ultraman lifted Gabora off the ground and tossed the Kaiju away. Enraged, Gabora opened the drill around its head. The SSSP noticed even more anatomical similarities to both Pagos and Neronga. Gabora fired a radiation beam at Ultraman, who withstood the blast as he slowly approached his foe. After closing the distance, Ultraman punched Gabora in the face, killing it instantly. Ultraman lifted up Gabora's carcass and looked back at the SSSP before he took off and flew away with it.
After Gabora was defeated, Yumi Funaberi noted that Pagos, Neronga, and Gabora were completely identical except their heads and backs, almost as if those parts were interchangeable which was different from every other monster they had encountered so far. Later on during a conversation with Ultraman, as Shinji Kaminaga, Mefilas revealed that he summoned the monster to attack in order to draw him out.
Shin Ultra Fight
"Gabora's Deadly Thrust"
To be added.
"Assemble! Duelists of the Canyon"
To be added.
"The Six-Dimensional Scoundrel"
To be added.
"White Sand and Green Pines: Fi-Fi-Fight"
To be added.
"Requiem of the Roaring Waves"
To be added.
Abilities
Burrowing
In Shin Ultraman, Gabora was able to burrow beneath the ground with ease by using its drills.
Drills
In Shin Ultraman, the flower petal-like plates around Gabora's head could close to form a drill which was also capable of spinning. The monster attempted to use this main drill to attack Ultraman, where the friction of it spinning in the hero's hands caused numerous sparks to fly. Additionally, Gabora has two long prehensile drills located on its back that intertwine and act as the monster's tail. These drills can also split apart and be used as weapons, showcased when a strike from one was able to knock Ultraman to the ground. Gabora also used these drills to lift itself up by stabbing them into the side of a mountain.
Radioactive material consumption
In Shin Ultraman, Gabora was designed to be capable of consuming radioactive material like the monster Pagos. As a result of this, the monster spreads radioactivity in its wake.
Radiation heat ray
In Shin Ultraman, Gabora was capable of firing a pale blue heat ray, which flashes purple, from its mouth much like the monster Pagos. It is able to control the intensity of this beam at will but even at its lowest-shown state of power, the attack releases massive amounts of radiation into the environment. When Gabora fires its heat ray, the flower petal-like plates around its head spin.
Durability
In Shin Ultraman, Gabora was able to shrug off multiple Massive Ordinance Penetrator (MOP) II bombs being dropped on it while it was burrowing towards a nuclear waste storage facility. It was also able to shrug off attacks from Ultraman, being tossed around by the alien and not sustaining any noticeable damage. Gabora was, however, unable to survive a particularly strong blow to its head from Ultraman.
Selected video games
- Puzzle & Dragons (2012; added in 2022) - Android, iOS, and Amazon Fire
Gallery
- Main article: Gabora/Gallery.
Roar
Like the original version of the character, the Gabora in Shin Ultraman utilizes King Kong roars from King Kong vs. Godzilla. Gabora's radiation heat ray also utilizes the sound effect for the Showa Godzilla's atomic breath that was used from King Kong vs. Godzilla to Terror of Mechagodzilla.
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Trivia
- Being labeled as the eighth Kaiju to have attacked Japan, Gabora coincidentally shares a name with the title character of the 2020 shōnen manga Kaiju No. 8, as well as the 2024 anime series of the same name.
- A few sources say that this design of Gabora's drills are based on the Archimedes' screw. The Archimedes' screw was a tool used in ancient times to lift water or sludge from a lower or high level
- Gabora is the only Baragon relative that doesn't reuse or modify Varan's roar.
- A suit of Neronga from Ultraman Omega was used for Gabora's motion capture process.
Related characters
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See also
External links
References
This is a list of references for Gabora. 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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Comments
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