Zigra
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To the people of earth! Attention, the people of earth! Stop your futile resistance. I have lost my spaceship due to Gamera's attack. Therefore I cannot return to the Planet Zigra. Moreover, your water pressure is different from my planet. It has made me abnormally large. In retaliation, I shall destroy all the people on earth. Then I shall take possession of all your beautiful oceans. You are an ugly lifeform, unfit to be allowed to use your oceans freely. I am a beautiful lifeform, and should have the right to rule over these oceans.
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— Zigra (Gamera vs. Zigra) |
Zigra (ジグラ Jigura) is an alien fish kaiju who first appeared in the 1971 Daiei Gamera film Gamera vs. Zigra.
An alien hailing from a planet where his fish-like race preyed on human-like land creatures, Zigra traveled to Earth in his spaceship with the intent of enslaving the human race and raising them as cattle. He took mental control of a woman named Chikako Sugawara, forcing her to act as his agent, X1. When Chikako was freed from his hypnosis and Gamera continuously interfered with his plans, Zigra emerged from his UFO and attempted to battle the heroic turtle kaiju. While Zigra had an advantage over Gamera underwater, he was outmatched once the battle moved to land and was ultimately destroyed. Zigra returned, though depicted entirely through stock footage, in the 1980 film Gamera Super Monster, this time as a pawn of the crew of the pirate spaceship Zanon. Though he has not reappeared in a film since, Zigra has made appearances in various non-film media, including Dark Horse's Gamera comic series. He is also one of the five kaiju Gamera faced in the animated Netflix series GAMERA -Rebirth-.
Development
Showa antagonists from Viras to Zigra received their names via public contests to compensate for insufficient advertising expenses due to the financial situation of Daiei Film.[4]
In GAMERA -Rebirth-, Zigra was intentionally designed to have a well-developed upper body and a slim lower body.[5] He was originally designed to be more robust and muscular so that he could stand upright on land, but he was ultimately made to have an unstable posture instead.[6] Zigra was also originally going to possess four mouths from which to fire Liquid Shots, but this idea was abandoned.[7]
Design
Zigra in general resembles both a goblin shark and a swordfish, possessing a silvery gray hide and a pointed nose. His aquatic form has him postured like a shark, while his terrestrial form has him standing upright on legs that are not present in his aquatic configuration. His head has a pointed snout that continues onward to form a fin-like crest that juts out from behind his head. Zigra possesses a beak with several teeth along its edges, as well as red eyes with slit-pupils. He has a whale-like texture on his underside and wide pectoral fins with sharp, metallic ridges, shaped like a shark's. From his back protrudes similar metallic ridges to those on his fins, traveling down his body until his tail fin. His tail fin is shaped similarly to a shark's, but the bottom half of the caudal fin splits into two instead of one. In his aquatic form, Zigra has metallic pelvic fins, which are replaced by legs in his terrestrial form.
In GAMERA -Rebirth-, Zigra resembles a ray or skate. He also shares some similarities with the show's incarnation of Gyaos, with fanged suckers at the bottom of his feet[8][9] and a skeletal tail with a black sharp tip that can stretch to extreme lengths. He has small, bright red eyes with very small pupils, and large wings that fold in the middle when he walks on land. His snout is pointed and his teeth are small and needle-shaped. His head has a pointed crest that sicks up and behind it. His back has a series of overlapping plates travelling down it, and his chest crackles with purple electricity when charging his liquid shots.
Origins
The Showa Zigra hailed from a distant planet where ocean-dwelling beings fed on creatures of the land. Eventually, his planet's oceans were polluted to the point of no return, prompting Zigra to search for a new home elsewhere in the galaxy. After finding Earth, Zigra intended on enslaving the human race to serve as his food source.
In Dark Horse's Gamera comic series, Zigra is instead a biological weapon from the planet Broomark which escaped to Earth and took refuge in the Pacific Ocean.
In GAMERA -Rebirth-, Zigra was one of at least 25 kaiju genetically engineered by ancient elites to cull their civilization's population. Zigra was created from the same prototype as Gyaos. When Gamera disobeyed his intended mission, he fought with Zigra and the other kaiju, defeating them.[7] In the modern day, Zigra's eggs were discovered in the waters off the coast of Easter Island.[10]
History
- Gamera vs. Zigra (1971)
- Gamera Super Monster (1980) [stock footage]
- GAMERA -Rebirth- (TV 2023) [episodes 2-4]
Showa era
Gamera vs. Zigra
After his planet's seas were polluted beyond salvation, Zigra searched the cosmos for a new home with habitable oceans before eventually finding Earth. Prior to his arrival, Zigra's spaceship attacked a base on the Moon and abducted astronaut Chikako Sugawara before entering Earth's atmosphere and submerging underwater.
Having witnessed the spacecraft, Drs. Tom Wallace and Yosuke Ishikawa attempted to investigate along with their children Helen and Kenichi, only to be abducted and teleported within the ship. As Zigra loomed overhead, Sugawara greeted the captives, having been brainwashed into becoming Zigra's slave. Sugawara explained Zigra's origins and demanded that the people of Earth surrender themselves to his rule, as Zigra believed humans were unfit to remain in charge after observing the polluting of Earth's oceans. Secretly, Zigra was actually intending on enslaving the human race and raising them like cattle to feed himself. After the group escaped the ship, Zigra ordered Sugawara to find them, believing they knew too much of the ship's secrets. Zigra also destroyed everything the JSDF threw at him from within his ship, proving to be unstoppable.
Eventually, Gamera arrived and engaged the ship underwater before destroying it, freeing Zigra, who quickly grew abnormally large due to the difference of Earth's water pressure compared to that of his home planet's. Gamera brought the battle to land, but Zigra adapted to the change in environment by developing legs and continuing the fight. Zigra quickly overpowered Gamera with his beam and paralyzed him, sending him sinking back in the water. Zigra then addressed the people of Earth once more, threatening to wipe them out if they did not submit to him and allow him control over their seas.
Hoping to revive Gamera, Drs. Wallace and Ishikawa descended to the ocean floor within a bathysphere (alongside Helen and Kenichi, who also secretly boarded the vessel), though their actions drew Zigra's attention, prompting him to attack and disable the bathysphere. While the group was able to learn of Zigra's susceptibility to light in the process, Zigra nevertheless gave humanity an ultimatum - surrender to him or he would destroy the vessel. World leaders attempted to surrender, but Sugawara, who had since been freed from Zigra's control, warned of Zigra's true intentions of using the human race for food. In response, the group turned the bathysphere's lights up even higher in the hopes of blinding Zigra, though he was able to stop them by paralyzing them with his beams.
Shortly thereafter, a lightning strike revived Gamera, who managed to rescue the bathysphere and return it to the surface before challenging Zigra to a rematch underwater. Zigra attempted to unleash his paralyzing rays on Gamera once again, but Gamera retreated into his shell whenever they were used. Though his beam attacks were now rendered useless, Zigra was able to shred into Gamera's skin using his fins and pointed nose. The injured Gamera soon brought the fight back to the surface. During the battle, Gamera threw a large rock at Zigra which became wedged on his sharp snout, weighing his head down and effectively incapacitating him. As Zigra flailed about helplessly, Gamera further humiliated the alien shark by playing his own theme song on Zigra's dorsal fins like a xylophone. Soon after, Gamera spewed his fire breath on Zigra, incinerating him and ending his threat to humanity for good.
Gamera Super Monster
Alongside the rest of Gamera's past opponents, the pirate spaceship Zanon released Zigra within the Pacific Ocean in efforts to stop the heroic turtle. However, Gamera brought Zigra to the surface and soon defeated him by burning him to death.
Reiwa era
GAMERA -Rebirth-
"Under Current"
100 kilometers east of the Vavu Islands, Zigra blasted through a rock face in the deep sea.
"Run Silent, Run Deep"
Zigra attacked a ship carrying the most of the surviving children of the Gyaos attack in the middle of a storm, coming up from beneath and jamming his pointed snout into the side of the vessel. He was attacked by military ships, who fired torpedoes at him, but he avoided them and launched his liquid shots at the ships, destroying all five in two blasts before swimming on.
Zigra later sought out the boat transporting Boco, Junichi, Joe, Brody, Tazaki, and Emiko, firing a liquid shot that was a near-miss after the captain dodged it. Zigra fired another shot that required further evasive maneuvers, getting more accurate now that it was closer. The ship launched its entire salvo of counter-missiles, momentarily halting Zigra and allowing it to activate thrusters and escape. However, Zigra accelerated at a tremendous speed using supercavitation. The monster soon caught up and and fired another liquid shot, striking the helicopter on board and starting a fire. As Zigra raced towards the boat transporting the kids, Emiko, and Tazaki, Gamera intercepted him from below, grabbing him and biting into his neck before plunging back into the ocean. Gamera continued dragging Zigra into the depths, biting deeper into his neck and smashing him against the ocean floor. The guardian monster immediately turned around and headed towards the surface, spinning with Zigra as he kicked his plastron. Zigra utilized his elastic tail to wrap around Gamera's neck, pulling them apart. Gamera chased after Zigra as he fled, with Zigra circling around with supercavitation and turning the tables, beginning to pursue Gamera while firing his liquid shot repeatedly. These hit Gamera's shell, with no noticeable damage being dealt, and Gamera turned around with Zigra turning in conjunction to continue the chase. Gamera dodged several more liquid shots before finally being hit in the plastron, causing him to cry out in pain. As the humans escaped in a submarine attached to the now-destroyed ship, Gamera continued being followed by Zigra, turning around to face and charge at him. Gamera began charging his electricity as they charged at each other, discharging it in a massive electrical shockwave. Gamera began sinking and Zigra was rendered disoriented for some time as it swam off to continue searching for the children, passing above their submarine. Zigra began using his liquid shot for echolocation, locating and tracing down the submarine as he regained his senses.
Zigra surfaced in the bay shortly after the group exited the submarine onto land, slowly walking on his flippers as the kids, Emiko, and Tazaki headed to the electrical tower. After reaching it, they activated the tower, causing Zigra to stumble back, only to continue his advance a moment later. As Zigra closed in on the electrical tower, Gamera erupted from the sea, roaring. The turtle monster crackled with electricity, and Zigra began to charge up his own energy attack while slowly extending his tail towards Gamera underwater. Zigra suddenly leapt up, turned around, and fired his liquid shot while launching his tail at Gamera, stabbing him in the shoulder. Zigra glided towards him while firing another blast, but Gamera ducked into the water to counter it before rising back up and firing a flame shot, striking Zigra in the chest. Zigra crashed, screeched, and flailed for a few seconds before dying and burning out.
"KILL"
Zigra's corpse was being researched and collected from when Guiron emerged from the ground and ate it.
Abilities
Movement
When in his land form, Zigra can fall flat on his stomach and use his fins as wings to fly through the air, usually to dive into the nearest available body of water. He can also use his legs to jump great distances, up to 200 meters.[11] In GAMERA -Rebirth-, Zigra can use supercavitation to accelerate, allowing him to swim at speeds of up to 300 knots.[7]
Land adaptation
When out of water, Zigra can convert his underside into legs and stand, achieving a "land form." Inversely, he can also transition back into his aquatic form. In GAMERA -Rebirth-, Zigra does not transform, but is able to move on land using his pectoral fins as forelegs.
Light beams
Zigra has three separate sac-like organs located in the back of his head which are each able to produce a different form of light ray. These include an orange-colored Cell Activity Suspension Beam (細胞活動停止光線 Saibō Katsudō Teishi Kōsen) fired from the third eye on his forehead, which is capable of halting human cell activity; a green Fourth-Dimensional Beam (四次元光線 Yojigen Kōsen) which can transfer matter; and a red Earthquake-Inducing Beam (地震誘発光線 Jishin Yūhatsu Kōsen) that can cause massive explosions and devastating earthquakes.[11] Zigra also possesses a tricolored beam attack, named the Tri-Color Ray Blast, exclusively in Dark Horse's Gamera. In CR Gamera: The Battle Pachinko, Zigra also fires a yellowish destructive energy beam.[12]
Zigra firing his Fourth-Dimensional Beam while in his spaceship
Zigra firing his Earthquake-Inducing Beam while in his spaceship
Zigra firing a tricolored beam in a dream sequence in Dark Horse's Gamera
Liquid Shot
In GAMERA -Rebirth-, Zigra can fire Liquid Shots (液状弾 Ekijōdan), rotating shells of microscopic metallic particles which are charged with plasma energy. These have an underwater velocity of 900 kilometers per hour,[7] and can attack targets from up to 32 kilometers away.[10]
Zigra firing a Liquid Shot in GAMERA -Rebirth-
Zigra charging the attack
Energy Blast
In CR Gamera LXB, Zigra is capable of firing a blue energy blast.
Elastic tail
Zigra in GAMERA -Rebirth- is able to extend his tail far beyond his body's length. Similar to stingrays, Zigra possesses a blade-like stinger at the end of this tail which is sharp enough to pierce Gamera's skin.
Zigra extending his tail in GAMERA -Rebirth-
Zigra about to attack Gamera with his tail in GAMERA -Rebirth-
Clone Rocket
According to a Gamera vs. Zigra poster, Zigra could launch a nuclear missile called Clone Rocket (分身ロケット Bunshin Roketto) from his mouth. This missile is shaped like Zigra, looking like a miniature version of him.[13]
Supercavitation
In GAMERA -Rebirth-, Zigra can produce plasma energy and super-vibrations[3] which coat him in air bubbles, helping to propel him forward and cause shockwaves.[14] When activating the ability, Zigra occasionally emits energy which can be seen on his body as blue, purple, and green light.
Zigra activating his supercavitation in GAMERA -Rebirth-
Zigra's body emitting lights
Human tracking
In GAMERA -Rebirth-, Zigra, like other kaiju, can emotionally "contact" humans, and can also sense and track humans, especially children who previously had close encounters with other kaiju.[15]
Growth and regeneration
Just like other villainous monsters in GAMERA -Rebirth-, Zigra can grow or regenerate wounded body parts by devouring humans, other members of his species, or the corpses of any other kaiju.[16]
Danger sense
In GAMERA -Rebirth-, Zigra can sense potential danger.[17]
Physical capabilities
With the exception of his aforementioned light beam attacks, Zigra relies almost entirely on his razor sharp teeth and fins. His dorsal fins, referred to as Poison Fin Zoringen Dorsal Fins (毒びれゾーリンゲン背びれ Dokubire Zōringen Sebire), are immensely sharp cutting tools, said to be able to rip Gamera's body to shreds and cut oil tankers clean in half. His teeth are also sharp enough to tear apart a YS-12 airliner.[11] In his land form, Zigra gains the ability to slap opponents with his fins or jab them with spikes.
Weaknesses
Due to originally living in the dark ocean depths of his homeworld, Zigra is extremely sensitive to light, namely that of the Sun.[11] He is also greatly susceptible to fire.
Video games
- Gamera: The Time Adventure (1995) - Bandai Playdia
- CR Gamera: The Battle Pachinko (2009) - Pachinko
- Gamera Battle (2012) - GREE, Mobage
Gamera: The Time Adventure
Zigra appears in the seventh level of Gamera: The Time Adventure. Like all monsters in the game, Zigra is depicted exclusively through stock film footage as the player revisits key moments in Gamera's history. As in the film, Gamera arrives to thwart Zigra's invasion of Earth, and while the heroic kaiju is briefly incapacitated, eventually incinerates Zigra.
Spacetime controller Ayako reporting on Zigra in Gamera: The Time Adventure
Comics
- Gamera vs. Zigra (1971)
- Gamera the Giant Monster (1994-1995)
- Gamera the Giant Monster 7: Gamera vs. Zigra (1995)
- Gamera the Giant Monster 8: Gamera vs. 6 Great Monsters (1995)
- Gamera #2-3 (1996)
- Gamera vs. Barugon: Comic Version (2003)
Gamera the Giant Monster
Zigra was among Gamera's many past foes who were combined into a single hybrid kaiju dubbed Powered Gyaos.
Gamera
Issue #2
Zigra was a a biological weapon from the alien planet of Broomark, that belonged to someone called "Lom Phlizium." Zigra was noted in its documentation to become unpredictable when startled. Unfortunately, it managed to escape and take refuge on the planet Earth, where it slept in the Pacific Ocean. However, a nuclear test by the French military roused Zigra from its slumber, and enticed it to attack. Zigra attacked a ship and cut its hull with its body, before shooting down approaching attack planes with its Tri-Color Ray Blast. It went back in the water for another attack, but as it leaped up it was hit by a fireball from Gamera. Briefly startled, Zigra watched as Gamera flew around for another attack, but with one blast of the Tri-Color beam, its assailant fell from the sky and began to sink to the ocean floor. All of this occurred while bioweapon retrieval specialist Freena was fast approaching to return Zigra to Broomark.
Issue #3
Just before Gamera hit the seafloor, an approaching submarine sent by the French hit him in the head with a torpedo, angering and awakening the beast. Gamera then blasted to the surface of the water and into the air faster than Zigra could react. Gamera bit Zigra's throat, and flew the injured monster across the ocean to the Pacific Ring of Fire, where he dropped the wounded Zigra into an active volcano west of Java, effectively killing it, much to Freena's dismay.
However, Zigra lived on in the nightmares of one Mr. Lutz, who had been onboard one of the attacked battleships. In the dream, Gamera was killed when his magic amulet was broken, dooming the human race. Before Lutz could react to this news, Zigra incinerated him and Asagi Kusanagi with its Tri-Color Ray Blast.
Gamera vs. Barugon: Comic Version
Seen in a vision an explorer is subjected to inside a secret Atlantean ruin the original Barugon's skeleton was entombed in, Zigra was among the precursors to Gamera, a creation of the Atlanteans meant to combat the Gyaos.
Books
- Friends: Gamera the Brave (2006)
- Novel: GAMERA -Rebirth- (Part 1) (2023)
Friends: Gamera the Brave
G Zigra 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.[18]:282
Gallery
- Main article: Zigra/Gallery.
Roar
Zigra's roars are modified Gyaos roars.
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Trivia
- Zigra's design, along with that of Guilala, influenced the design of Legion from Gamera 2: Attack of Legion.[18]:54[19]ｃ
- Zigra's ray-esque design in GAMERA -Rebirth- harkens back to several pieces of concept art for the character's original appearance.[20] It also shares several similarities in design with the Gyaos-Rays in Gamera 2000 and the Aquatic Gyaos in the 1999 comic Gamera Gaiden Ver.2.5 (ガメラ外伝Ver2.5).[21]
- Zigra's design, ability to swim at extreme speeds, and usage of projectile attacks in GAMERA -Rebirth- may have been inspired by Betterman Aqua from the 1999 Sunrise anime series Betterman, who in turn may have been inspired by Zigra's Showa era design. Betterman director Yoshitomo Yonetani planned to make a Gamera anime in 2006, which would have featured Zigra along various other Gamera foes but was ultimately canceled.[22][23]
- Zigra's head makes a brief appearance in Pacific Rim Uprising, during the scene where Hermann Gottlieb examines PPDC records in search of a match for the image that Mako Mori transmitted.
- The body weight of the GAMERA -Rebirth- Zigra has been reported inconsistently: as 300 metric tons by Novel: GAMERA -Rebirth- (Part 1)[3] and as 2,000 metric tons on the tag for his Movie Monster Series figure.[2]
- The 2,000 metric tons figure would tie Zigra with Zedus as the third-heaviest kaiju in the Gamera franchise, surpassed only by the 3,000-metric-ton Legion Plant and the 3,600-metric-ton S-Gyaos.
- During their stock footage battle in Gamera Super Monster, Gamera plays a new, simple tune when hitting Zigra's back instead of the "Gamera March".
- The version of Zigra in GAMERA -Rebirth- is possibly the fastest-swimming kaiju, with his top speed of over 200 knots surpassing Aqua Mothra (200 knots) and Dagahra (150 knots).
References
This is a list of references for Zigra. 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]
Bibliography
- Seshita, Hiroyuki; Jin (25 August 2023). Novel: GAMERA -Rebirth- (Part 1). Kadokawa. ISBN 978-4-04-113995-0.
- Sasaki, Gaku, ed. (29 January 2024). GAMERA -Rebirth- Official Setting Materials Collection. Kadokawa. ISBN 978-4-04-113841-0.
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