Viras
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— Virian Boss, before combining with the other Virians to become Viras (Gamera vs. Viras) |
Viras (バイラス is an alien Bairasu)kaiju who first appeared in the 1968 Gamera film Gamera vs. Viras. Viras began as an expedition force of aliens from Planet Viras who came to Earth in order to conquer it. After an earlier force was defeated by Gamera, the Virians exploited the monster's affinity for children by kidnapping two Boy Scouts and holding them hostage. They lured Gamera into a position where they implanted a mind control device onto him and sent him on a rampage across Japan. When Gamera broke free of the mind control, the Virians fused together into the gigantic Viras and battled him. The alien monster was finally defeated when Gamera flew him into the atmosphere and froze him, then dropped him into the ocean below where he disintegrated. In Gamera Super Monster, Viras was among the monsters released by the crew of the pirate spaceship Zanon to stop Gamera, only to be defeated once more; as with the other kaiju in the film, he was depicted solely through stock footage. Outside of the films, Viras was featured in Dark Horse's Gamera comic series as Gamera's final opponent. Viras appeared in the 2023 Netflix anime series GAMERA -Rebirth- as one of the five kaiju to battle Gamera.
Name
Viras's name comes from the planet from which he hails, Planet Viras. In an issue of Weekly Shonen Magazine published on March 17, 1968, Viras's home planet was instead called Planet Dongle (ドンガル星, which was likely a pun to the Japanese word for "to become pointed", togaru/tongaru Dongaru Sei) (尖る). Originally, the monster's name was going to be Gesso (ゲッソー, which likely came from the Japanese word for squid legs, gesō Gessō) (下足). The name "Viras" was publicized as being chosen from a public contest published in Weekly Shonen Magazine and Weekly Bokura Magazine.[6] However, director Noriaki Yuasa later stated that the contest was staged and the name actually came from the word bai (倍), meaning "times" or "-fold."[citation needed] From this point until Gamera vs. Zigra, all of Gamera's enemies were publicized as having their names chosen in similar contests due to difficulties in securing sufficient advertising expenses.[7] While "Viras" is the official English spelling of Bairasu (バイラス), it is spelled Bairus in a Honolulu newspaper ad for Gamera vs. Viras and Bairas on a Japanese DVD cover for the film. The leader of the Virian invasion force who later becomes Viras is called the Boss (ボス. Bosu)
Viras's original subtitle was Space Monster (宇宙怪獣, but this was changed to Underwater Monster Uchū Kaijū) (水中怪獣 for Gamera Super Monster, likely due to "Space Monster" now referring to Gamera. Suichū Kaijū)
Development
Viras was designed by Shigeo Mano and modeled by Masao Yagi and the modeling company Ex Productions. A miniature with a spear-tipped head and another stuffed miniature with movable tentacles were created in addition to the suit. According to Yagi, director Noriaki Yuasa stated he wanted "flexibility" in the monster's suit, and as such it was difficult to pick a primary material to create the suit from. Urethane was ultimately chosen and Viras was given a squid-like design. Yagi later stated he felt Viras was the "most impressive monster" in the Gamera series and said modeling Viras taught him that it was possible to get something right on the first try even when experiencing difficulty. Two of the suit's six legs contained the suit actor's legs, while the rest were stuffed and operated by wires.[8]
Design
In the Showa series, Viras is a humanoid squid-like monster with six prehensile limbs lined with suction cups that also somewhat resemble elephant trunks with holes at the tip of each. His body is a light bluish-silver color. Viras's eyes are human-like and close from bottom to top. The monster has a pointed beak for a mouth, while the top of his head is divided into three petal-shaped pieces which can fit together into a hardened spear-shaped tip.
In GAMERA -Rebirth-, Viras is given a vastly different design, no longer appearing as humanoid as his Showa design. He walks on eight tentacles, is gold in coloration, and is covered in armor plating. His tentacles end in large tips that have spines on the undersides. He has bright, glowing red eyes with black pupils and a circular mouth with rows of teeth and tendrils. He has two small, spiked mandibles that stick out from his face, as well as two large, segmented claws that jut from his face. Viras's head is very large and bulbous like a cephalopod's, with three large armored plates on his head that end in spikes slightly above it. When attacking Gamera, Viras's tentacles and top of his head crackle with blue electricity. He has 11 eyes in total, two "main" ones and nine more on the three "petals" of his head.[5]
Origins
Viras originated as a group of five Virians and their Boss who arrived on Earth in their UFO, and is visually identical to his components with the exception of his substantially greater height. Because the Virians required nitrogen to survive, Earth was an ideal planet for conquest. When Gamera escaped their mind control, the Virians fused with the Boss to become the gigantic monster Viras.
In the Dark Horse comic series Gamera, Viras is a creature cloned from Gyaos' DNA by Dr. Greta Karbone.
Prior to the events of GAMERA -Rebirth-, Viras and other kaiju were created by an ancient cabal who sought to cull the lower classes of their civilization and kill off the majority of the population. Viras and 23 other kaiju all battled Gamera in the distant past;[5] Viras was ultimately defeated and sealed away, laying dormant. Its mummified carcass was finally discovered sometime before 1989, at an underground drilling site near Yonaguni.[9]
History
- Gamera vs. Viras (1968)
- Gamera vs. Jiger (1970) [stock footage]
- Gamera Super Monster (1980) [stock footage]
- GAMERA -Rebirth- (TV 2023)
Showa era
Gamera vs. Viras
Viras originated as the Boss, the leader of an expedition force of Virians who intended to take control of Earth for its valuable reserves of atmospheric nitrogen, an element vital for his species' survival. An earlier attempt by his comrades was easily thwarted by Gamera, so the Boss employed a mind probe to discover Gamera's weaknesses. The Virians discovered Gamera's kindness to children, and exploited it by kidnapping two Boy Scouts and using them as hostages, coercing Gamera to get into perfect position for the launching of the Brainwave Control Device. Gamera was then made to rampage through Japan, with the targets being the Okumusashi Dam and eventually Tokyo. While aboard the ship, the captives came upon the Boss, who resided within a cage-like structure within one of the rooms. To avoid arousing suspicion, he feigned being captured by the aliens as well by remaining silent as the children theorized that he was a fellow prisoner.
After the children managed to reverse the polarity of the Brainwave Control Device, Gamera disobeyed his controllers and began attacking the ship. The Virians attempted to escape by detaching one of the ships' pods, but Gamera stopped them by downing the ship, stranding them on Earth. Resolving to kill Gamera himself so that his race could invade the Earth, the Boss forced his subordinates to shed their disguises and merged with them to become the giant Viras.
Bursting out of the remains of his ship, Viras began throwing the damaged pods of the ship at Gamera, though Gamera destroyed most of them with his flame breath before they could hit him. Viras then made several attempts to fight back, first by attempting to drag Gamera underwater until the turtle monster pulled him back to the surface, then by forming the protrusions on his head into a sharp spear to stab Gamera, which his opponent also dodged. Gamera then lifted Viras by his tentacles and slammed his body into the ground multiple times while biting one of his tentacles. Eventually, Viras freed himself by pulling one of Gamera's legs with a tentacle and knocking him down, at which point Viras finally began to gain the upper hand by strangling Gamera and tossing him around. Viras then made another attempt to stab Gamera with his head, though Gamera recovered in time and managed to impale a bolder on Viras' head before knocking him back into the ocean. A chase then ensued underwater, and though Viras was able to dislodge the bolder from his head in the process, Gamera caught up to him and refused to let go.
Eventually, the two crashed into the shore, which sent Gamera flying onto land where he landed on his back. Viras quickly took the opportunity to violently impale Gamera in the underbelly with his head and proceeded to stab the heroic turtle repeatedly. At last, Gamera was able to fight back by retreating into his shell and flying up into the atmosphere with Viras still attached to him, which caused the alien squid to begin freezing solid. Gamera then managed to free himself and send Viras' frozen body plummeting to Earth, where he disintegrated upon hitting the water.
Gamera Super Monster
Viras was utilized by the evil captain of the Zanon to fight Gamera. After Viras emerged from the ocean, a fierce battle ensued, which resulted in Gamera freezing Viras in the atmosphere and shattering his body when it struck the ocean.
Reiwa era
GAMERA -Rebirth-
"Under Current"
Viras's corpse appears on a screen as Emiko explains that they discovered the 100,000 year old mummy with a child inside its digestive system.
"KILL"
Emiko descends into the cylinder at the mine base with Boco, Joe, Junichi, and Brody, revealing the mummified corpse of Viras surrounded by an electromagnetic cage.
"The Moon is a Harsh Mistress"
Boco, Joe, Junichi, and Brody witnessed a vision of the past by touching a large piece of orylium, showing the Eustace Foundation feeding several children in a cage to Viras so that they could control the beast to enact their purification plan.
Tazaki and Dario hurled several containers of Gyaos samples onto Viras's corpse at the orders of Emiko. The carcass absorbed the containers and samples, turning from brown to yellow in color, and glowed orange where the samples were absorbed. Soon into the revitalization process, Viras's eyes glowed red and it surveyed its surroundings, looking at nearby people with its x-ray vision.
As Tazaki, Dario, and the kids escaped to the elevator, Dario activated explosives on a tower in the cave, knocking out power and slowing the approaching Foundation members. Viras began awakening much faster now, reaching a tentacle upwards and crushing the orylium crystal hanging above, absorbing it.
As Emiko waited for one of the workers to fix the elevator that Dario had broken when the escapees used it, Viras's tentacle reached into the cave, crushing one of the guards. The other ran towards Emiko and the worker as they boarded the elevator and closed the door, trapping him and allowing Viras to crush him as well, dragging his body and streaking blood across the cave floor. Viras used its x-ray vision to identify an escape route up the cylinder, breaking free of its constraints and climbing out as Tazaki, Dario, and the four kids prepared to take off in the shuttle. Viras spotted them and stretched two of its tentacles slowly across the floating base, reaching upwards as the rocket blasted off, barely missing it. Viras identified Boco in the shuttle with its x-ray vision, and turned towards them, planting its arms into the ground and charging the Lightning of Hemueden.
Suddenly, a fireball erupted from the ocean and hit Viras in the side, causing it to land only a glancing blow on the shuttle. Nonetheless, the blast killed Dario in the cockpit and knocked out Tazaki. At the mine base, Gamera flew out of the ocean, roaring and rapid-firing Flame Shots at Viras. All of these were rendered ineffective by Viras's electromagnetic barrier, so Gamera rushed forward and slammed into his opponent's face, tackling the squid to the ground. Gamera slashed with his claws and arm stump - not yet fully healed from his battle with Guiron - but Viras grabbed him with its tentacles and lifted him into the air before smashing him into the ground and whipping him with electrified tentacles. Viras grabbed and lifted him into the air again, running electricity into Gamera's body and causing him to roar in pain, then slamming him to the ground again. Gamera went limp as his eyes closed. With Gamera now defeated and the shuttle falling from the atmosphere, Viras turned itself upside down while walking on its tentacles, opening its head and charging its electromagnetic field and controlling gravity, beginning to soar upwards as its tentacles and head glowed a bright blue.
Back on Earth, as Viras accelerated towards the shuttle, Gamera awakened and lifted himself off of the ground. Seeing the shapes of both Viras and the shuttle, Gamera used his leg jets to rocket himself after them. Noticing this, Viras began charging up its particle beam, firing at the approaching monster. Gamera used his own gravitational control to redirect the beam in multiple directions, taking no damage. Viras fired again, again to no effect, and Gamera continued forward, blasting straight through Viras's body, causing its two halves to fall to the ground below and destroy the control tower containing Emiko and the remaining Foundation worker.
"Childhood's end"
Viras's corpse landed on the control tower, and was later eaten by S-Gyaos before the mutant began his journey towards Gamera.
Abilities
Tentacles
Viras primarily attacks with his six prehensile tentacles which are lined with suction cups and can wrap around and restrain an opponent with ease. These tentacles are 10 times more solid than diamonds[10] and are 10,000 times more powerful than an elephant's trunk.[11]
Viras throwing Gamera with his tentacles in Gamera vs. Viras
Viras about to slam Gamera to the ground with its tentacles in GAMERA -Rebirth-
Spear head
The petal-like protrusions on Viras's head can form together into a spear-like tip capable of penetrating Gamera's shell.
Swimming and flight
The Showa Viras can both swim and fly, and does so by positioning his body horizontally. According to an anatomical illustration, Viras can emit antigravity from his tentacles as a means of propelling himself through outer space.
In GAMERA -Rebirth-, Viras is able to fly by manipulating gravity and releasing plasma energy from openings in his tentacles as propulsion. This also allows him to fly in outer space.[5]
Electrical discharge
Anatomical illustrations of the Showa Viras depict him emitting electricity from his head, and explain that he is able to amplify this electricity up to 1 billion volts to fire it as a Death Ray (殺人光線. Satsujin Kōsen)[12][13] In the Dark Horse comic Gamera, Viras can fire a blast of electricity. In GAMERA -Rebirth-, he can emit electricity from his tentacles.
Viras discharging electricity in GAMERA -Rebirth-
Lightning of Hemueden
In GAMERA -Rebirth-, Viras can fire a plasma-based Charged Heavy Particle Cannon (荷電重粒子砲 Kaden Jūryūshihō)[5] by opening up its head, referred to in the show as the Lightning of Hemueden. Viras uses the nine eyes on the "petals" of its head to aim the beam.[5]
Electromagnetic barrier
In GAMERA -Rebirth-, Viras can create an energy shield which is capable of completely blocking Gamera's fireballs.[9]
Mind control
In the Dark Horse comic, Viras overtakes the mind of his creator, Greta Karbone, and bends her to his will. He is even able to temporarily control Gamera when Karbone comes into possession of an Atlantean magatama.
Gamma rays
An anatomical illustration notes that Viras can emit gamma rays from his eyes.[10]
Enhanced eyesight
In GAMERA -Rebirth-, Viras can sense infrared radiation and electromagnetic waves, and see through solid objects,[5] allowing it to identify routes of travel or entities it is searching for.
Super-catch beam
An anatomical illustration notes that the Showa Viras, similar to his UFO, can emit a super-catch beam from his head to capture targets.[11]
Flying-space rays
An anatomical illustration notes that the Showa Viras can emit energy beams from his tentacles to travel through outer space.[11]
Respiration capabilities
An anatomical illustration notes that the Showa Viras can respirate with various elements: oxygen, hydrogen, C2, and cosmic rays. This also enables him to survive in outer space.[10]
Viras transmutation
Several anatomical illustrations state that the Showa Viras can transform humans into his own race within an organ.[11][10]
Intelligence
The Showa Viras is extremely intelligent, possessing an IQ of 2,500.[11]
Weaknesses
In Gamera vs. Viras, Viras is susceptible to being frozen. Gamera kills him by flying him up in to the atmosphere and freezing him solid, then dropping him into the ocean below which causes him to explode. In the Dark Horse comic, he is killed upon being impaled on the steeple of the Cathedral of Notre Dame.
Video games
- Gamera the Guardian of the Universe (1995) - Nintendo Game Boy
- Gamera: The Time Adventure (1995) - Bandai Playdia
- CR Gamera: The Battle Pachinko (2009) - pachinko
- Gamera Battle (2012) - GREE, Mobage
Gamera the Guardian of the Universe
Viras is featured as Gamera's second opponent in the game following Gyaos.
Viras in Gamera the Guardian of the Universe
Gamera: The Time Adventure
Viras appears in the fourth level of Gamera: The Time Adventure. Like all monsters in the game, Viras is depicted exclusively through stock film footage as the player revisits key moments in Gamera's history. As in the film, Gamera interrupts the Virian invasion and prompts the aliens to merge into the gigantic Viras, who is soon killed when Gamera flies him into the atmosphere, freezes his body, and drops him into the ocean below.
Spacetime controller Ayako reporting on Viras in Gamera: The Time Adventure
Comics
- Gamera vs. Viras (1968)
- Gamera the Giant Monster (1994-1995)
- Gamera the Giant Monster 4: Gamera vs. Viras (1995)
- Gamera the Giant Monster 8: Gamera vs. 6 Great Monsters (1995)
- Gamera #1-4 (1996)
- GAMERA -Rebirth- (2023-)
Gamera the Giant Monster
Viras was among Gamera's many past foes who were combined into a single hybrid kaiju dubbed Powered Gyaos.
Gamera
Issue #1
After the battle between Gamera and Super Gyaos, Dr. Greta Karbone illegally purchased Gyaos DNA and several fissionable materials to begin experimentation to create her own army of supermonsters, which included the monster Viras.
Issue #2
As her work on the monsters continued, Karbone began to inject her own brain and spinal fluids into Viras, and very slowly all other things in her life, such as the other monsters and her boyfriend Gusano, became inconsequential to Viras's will. The monster's telepathic abilities and the shared bodily fluids allowed Viras to directly overtake Karbone's mind, and made her into its faithful servant in its plan to enslave humanity. After Karbone's laboratory caught on fire due to the trickery of Dr. Mayumi Nagamine, whom Karbone had tried to recruit to help create the monster army, Karbone, under Viras's supreme influence, ordered Gusano to leave the other monsters to die and to save Viras. Gusano carried Viras's incubator jar on his back all the way to Karbone's mini-sub, where they attached it to the back and piloted it away into open water. Gusano was truly regretful that he had allowed Nagamine to destroy their work, but Karbone claimed this was nonsense, as they had saved the only thing that truly mattered: Viras.
Issue #3
After about a month at sea, Viras was fully grown and out of its tank. Because of its mind being connected to Karbone's, she became aware of energies that were only tangible to Supermonsters. Karbone used this knowledge to create a device to track them. Karbone planned to use these energies to take control of Gamera. Viras, in wait behind the sub bearing his faithful mind-servant used its beam attack to catch an Orca to eat. However, a conductor for the energies was needed to control Gamera, but Karbone located it in Paris, France, where Viras was finally unleashed. It began to destroy the city, with Karbone atop the Eiffel Tower, when Gamera arrived. However, Karbone's, and by extension Viras's, control over Gamera caused him to fly into the path of incoming planes, missiles, and other attacks in an attempt to protect Viras and to buy time for humanity to surrender itself to Viras's control.
Issue #4
As Viras continued its rampage, Gamera continued to defend Viras. However, a Broomark Bio-Weapon hunter, who planned to sell Viras on her home planet, fired a super antithetic, but she missed, putting a battalion to sleep instead. Viras, in retaliation, shocked the ship, which caused it to speed away and go down as a result of a malfunction. However, during this time Karbone lost contact with the magatama, and Gamera attacked. Because Gamera had already sustained heavy fire, Viras easily defeated him with an electric blast before Gamera could launch a fireball. Gamera went down, and Viras continued its rampage. Gusano, after having a change of heart, used the alien's engine to reinvigorate Gamera at the cost of his own life. The ensuing explosion brought Gamera back to full strength, and he flew at Viras with a building in hand. Viras tried to shock it away, but Gamera slammed Viras's head with it, unfazed by the blast. Gamera then took one of Viras's tentacles in his mouth and flung the beast away. Viras quickly began to fall, and was impaled on the steeple of the Cathedral of Notre Dame, killing it.
Books
Friends: Gamera the Brave
G Viras appeared along with other "G monsters" who were created by taking in Gyaos' DNA. The G monsters fought with Gamera as well as with each other. In their final battle, they were led by Zedus.[15]:282
Gallery
- Main article: Viras/Gallery.
Roars
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Trivia
- Showa Viras was originally planned to emit acidic mucus which he would inject into Gamera's body. However, this idea was eventually scrapped due to budgetary constraints.[16] The designs of Viras and the species' UFO were also simplified due to the budget.[17]
- Viras is the first space monster to fight Gamera.
- Viras is the only monster in the Gamera franchise to be a superorganism, a creature comprised of numerous independent units that have joined together and operate as a single individual.
- Viras is among the first examples of an alien who grows into a monster by combining with more of his kind. Other examples of this include Hedorah and the large Millennian.
- Viras in the Dark Horse comic Gamera and the G-Viras in the Friends: Gamera the Brave coincidentally bear remembrances in their origins as both were muted by Gyaos's DNAs.
- One of the fundamental ideas of Iris's design was to create a "Viras-like" character.[15]:109
- Both incarnations of the character were defeated by Gamera flying.
- The cage which traps children to be fed to Viras in GAMERA -Rebirth- somewhat resembles the cage in which Viras was temporary situated within his UFO in Gamera vs. Viras.
- Viras' depiction in GAMERA -Rebirth- bears some similarity to the depiction of King Ghidorah in the GODZILLA anime trilogy, co-directed by Hiroyuki Seshita. Both versions of Viras and King Ghidorah are golden and have "Golden" in their titles (Viras being titled the "Golden Devil" and Ghidorah titled the "Golden Demise"). Both were also secretly aided by a character and faction who pretended to help the protagonists, only to reveal that they were serving their own purposes through an enemy Kaiju (Emiko Melchiorri aided Viras along with some of the Eustace Foundation, and Metphies and the Exif aided Ghidorah).
- Viras' weight in GAMERA -Rebirth- is exactly 10 times that of his Showa incarnation. The same is true for the show's version of Gamera.
- The version of Viras from GAMERA -Rebirth- is tied with the series' version of Zigra as the second tallest kaiju in the Gamera franchise. Both stand at 110 meters tall, surpassed only by the 140-meter tall Mother Legion.
References
This is a list of references for Viras. 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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Bibliography
- Sasaki, Gaku, ed. (29 January 2024). GAMERA -Rebirth- Official Setting Materials Collection. Kadokawa. ISBN 978-4-04-113841-0.
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