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Gyaos (ギャオス?, Gyaosu) is a bat-like kaiju created by Daiei that first appeared in the 1967 Gamera film, Gamera vs. Gyaos.
Appearance[]
Gyaos resembles a giant pterosaur or bat creature, with a flattened, arrow shaped head, leathery wings with three claws on each, taloned feet and a flat tail. It is reddish brown in both incarnations. The Gyaos in Gamera: Guardian of the Universe had a more streamlined appearance, with larger wings and a longer neck, as well as red eyes after its evolution in Tokyo.
History[]
Showa Series[]
Gamera vs. Gyaos[]
Gyaos in Gamera vs. Gyaos
In Gamera vs. Gyaos, Gyaos appeared in Japan from a large cavern, and feasted on blood, principally that of livestock and humans. Soon, Gamera confronted Gyaos, and after a battle, Gyaos was forced to flee, and Gamera was forced into the ocean to recover. It is soon learned that light causes Gyaos' skin to shrink, so the light of the city stadium of Nagoya kept Gyaos at bay. Gamera soon returned to finish Gyaos off and, after a battle in the air, Gyaos cut off his own foot to escape from the sun.
The protagonists developed a plan to place artificial blood on a rooftop in Nagoya. The plan was to keep Gyaos drinking the blood for so long that the sun would come up and kill him. But Gyaos proved more cunning than originally thought and used a strange fog attack to protect himself from the sun. The next plan was to lure Gamera to Gyaos' lair in the forest by setting the forest alight. Gyaos used his fog attack to put out the flames, but Gamera arrived and eventually defeated Gyaos by throwing the beast into a volcano.
Gamera vs. Guiron[]
Space Gyaos in Gamera vs. Guiron
A silver Space Gyaos appeared briefly in Gamera vs. Guiron, as a victim of Guiron. A swarm of Space Gyaos had attacked the planet Terra, an undiscovered planet in our solar system, being kept at bay only by the Terrans' guardian monster, Guiron. A Space Gyaos arrived near Guiron and tries to attack, but Guiron cuts off his wings and then cuts off his head and body. After Gamera had killed Guiron, the planet was seemingly abandoned to the Gyaos.
Gamera: Super Monster[]
Stock footage of Gyaos was later featured in the Showa series recap Gamera: Super Monster along with the other Showa era Gamera kaiju.
Heisei Series[]
Gamera: Guardian of the Universe[]
Super Gyaos in Gamera: Guardian of the Universe
In 1995, Gyaos was revived with Gamera for the first Heisei era Gamera film, Gamera: Guardian of the Universe, which follows a story similar to the one above. In this film, the Gyaos were creations of the ancient civilization of Atlantis, designed as weapons. However, the asexual Gyaos reproduced out of control and destroyed their creators. As a last ditch defense, the Atlanteans created Gamera, who eliminated the Gyaos, although not in time to save his creators. However, clutches of Gyaos eggs survived, and one clutch hatched in the modern world. After killing and eating all the inhabitants of Himigami Island and attacking the mainland, the Gyaos were lured to a domed stadium in Tokyo. Gamera, sensing his ancient foe, awoke as well and made his way to Tokyo. Gamera attempted to stop the Gyaos, killing two, but was hindered by the misguided military, who considered him to be the greater threat. Eventually Gamera killed the last Gyaos, which had nested in Tokyo and had grown to the same size of Gamera after a long and vicious battle. This new Super Gyaos would also appear in flashback scenes in Gamera 3: Awakening of Irys, and would eventually be revealed as the real killer of Ayana's parents.
Gamera 2: Advent of Legion[]
The Gyaos do not appear in Gamera 2 physically, but they are mentioned and are the subject of a book in the film.
Gamera 3: Awakening of Irys[]
Hyper Gyaos in Gamera 3: Revenge of Irys
The Gyaos returned in a new, evolved form known as the Hyper Gyaos in Gamera 3: Awakening of Irys, after Gamera's Ultimate Plasma attack, used to destroy Legion in Gamera 2: Advent of Legion, drained the Earth's energy, creating the right conditions for more Gyaos to hatch in different locations throughout the world, such as the Philippines. Early in the film, Gamera battles a pair of Hyper Gyaos in the Shibuya district of Tokyo, killing them but also killing and injuring thousands of people. After Gamera defeated Irys in Kyoto, thousands of Gyaos swarmed towards Japan, intent on killing Gamera once and for all, but ultimately fail.
Gamera: The Brave[]
Gyaos in Gamera: The Brave
The Gyaos also appeared in Gamera: The Brave, where a flock attacked a small village, only to be stopped by Gamera, who sacrificed himself to destroy the flock.
Filmography[]
- Gamera vs. Gyaos
- Gamera vs. Guiron
- Gamera: Super Monster (Stock Footage)
- Gamera: Guardian of the Universe
- Gamera 3: Awakening of Irys
- Gamera: The Brave
Video Game Appearances[]
- Gamera: Guardian of the Universe
- Gamera: Gyaos Destruction Strategy
- Gamera: 2000
Abilities[]
In both incarnations the Gyaos have been shown to be astonishingly capable flyers, able to fly incredibly fast and perform agile aerial maneuvers with ease. Also, both Showa and Heisei versions have been able to spit an amazingly precise beam from its mouth, which is actually created by the Gyaos' supersonic scream, apparently able to resonate at 3 million hertz. Although they are nocturnal, the Gyaos can overcome the sun by emitting a fog-like gas to obscure the sun and douse flames, while the Heisei version simply hyper-evolved itself to gain protective lenses over its eyes. Interestingly, the Space Gyaos in Gamera vs. Guiron seems to have no such aversion to sunlight: logical, given that it would be impossible for a space creature to avoid sun and star light. The Showa version also has a regenerative ability, as it was able to regrow its severed foot after only an hour. The Heisei version showed several evolutions: it was asexual and could reproduce on its own. While not shown to be regenerative, the Super Gyaos is immensely physically tough, able to easily shrug off missile attacks, and even survive orbital re-entry.
Gallery[]
- Main article: Gallery:Gyaos.
Roar[]
Trivia[]
- The production team of the Heisei Gamera trilogy decided on Gyaos as an opponent, as they believed that Gyaos was Gamera's most famous foe, having appeared in at least three of the Showa Gamera films.
- Gyaos is the only enemy monster in the Gamera Series to appear in more than one film not counting stock footage.
- Gyaos' roar was later altered for the The Return of Ultraman kaiju, Earthtron.
