The Gigantes[1] are massive apes that appeared in episode 28 of Ultraman Dyna. A species of gigantic primate related to Australopithecus, the Gigantes were believed to have gone extinct around a million years ago until the discovery of two individuals - one male, and one female - who appeared in the present day.
Subtitle: Giant Ape-Man
History
Ultraman Dyna
The existence of Gigantes was first discovered in West Asia when a civilian energy development team performing a geological survey spotted them, and a picture was taken of one of the ape-men’s giant footprints. Upon hearing this, Super GUTS was sent to patrol the area. Soon, they detected a life form beneath them, and Asuka decided to investigate. However, he was blasted out of the sky by the freezing gas of the male Gigantes. The male then took him and placed him in a tree, growling at him when he woke up. Upon seeing the male, Asuka tried to transform, but accidentally dropped the Lieflasher. Just then, the female arrived on the scene and managed to scare off the male via intimidation, allowing her to take a closer look at Asuka. Upon gazing on him, the ape seemed to be attracted to him more than the male Gigantes, even offering him fruit. Meanwhile, Super GUTS collaborated with a company looking to use Plutonium for a new energy development project to search for Asuka. When the search party entered the dwelling area of the Gigantes, they were found by the female, who returned Asuka to them before returning to the forest. However, the head of the energy development project, Sou, saw the monsters as a threat to his plan, and sought to destroy them for humanity’s future. He and his men anesthetized the female and held it captive in chains at the development facility.
The next day, the male Gigantes arrived and went on a rampage, wanting to free his mate. His attack prompted Super GUTS to deploy to stop him. Asuka tried to attempted to call it down, but the male nearly crushed him underfoot. Super GUTS tried to anesthetize the male, but it proved more resistant than the female. The female was soon set free by Asuka and Rin, a friend of Sou, and reunited with the male. Despite being glad to see each other again, the female rejected the male’s romantic approach, infuriating the male even more. This drove him even more enraged in its attack, with the female watching from behind the trees, becoming impressed with the male’s strength. When the male was about to crush one of the downed fighters, Asuka transformed into Ultraman Dyna and saved it before challenging the male Gigantes.
Although a formidable opponent to Dyna, the Ultra changed into Strong Type to overpower it. However, this caused the female to lose interest in the male, making it more angrier and vicious. But when the Ultra saw that the female was watching, he knew the victor would take her and allowed himself to be thrown around and seemingly beaten. The female, impressed by the battle, took the male as her mate, thus calming the male down as Dyna reverted back to human form. The male then proposed to the female, who gladly accepted him. With the future of their species seemingly assured, the duo returned to the forest to live in peace.
Trivia
- Suit Actors: Toshio Miyake (Male), Rikako Suzuki (Female)
- In early versions of the episode, the females were to look closer to human beings, also being the same size. This was likely changed due to problems of size.
Ultraman Z
Although not physically seen, Gigantes is one of the hibernating monsters awaken when Genegarg crashed on Earth. It was located in India.
Trivia
- The fact that Gigantes was found in India is a probable reference to Gigantopithecus, an extinct species of ape related to orangutans found in India.
Data
Male Gigantes
- Stats
- Height: 56 m
- Weight: 58,000 t
- Origin: West Asia Forest
- Powers and Weapons
- Freezing Gas: The male Gigantes is able exhale a stream of super cold gas from his mouth. Having the appearance of a snowy gale, the attack was powerful enough to take down the GUTS Eagle Alpha in a single hit.
- Anesthesia Resistance: Male Gigantes can overcome the effects of the Anesthesia drug that used to transquilize animals.
- Enhanced Reflexes: The male Gigantes possesses great reflexes, which allow him bat away missiles with his bare hands.
Merchandise
Ultra Monster Complete Works
- Ultraman Dyna ~Wrestling Chapter~ (1998)
- Release Date: 1998
- Price: 25,000 yen
- Materials: PVC
- Released exclusively as a High Grade-styled set for the Hyper Hobby DASH!! magazine, both the male and female Gigantes are released as PVC figurines, and they're bundled with Ultraman Dyna Strong Type and the rest of the monsters/aliens appearing in between episodes 13 and 31.
Gallery
Ultraman Dyna
References
