"Well, first, you can clean the temple top to bottom for me."
This article or section needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher-standing quality. Please see our page layouts if you would like to help with the necessary maintenance.
Gōra (剛羅, "Strength") is one of the Shitōshin and is gigantic turtle demon who inhabits the ocean surrounding Horai island. Too massive to come ashore, Gōra instead unleashes his incredibly powerful attacks(which are shot from its back like cannons or from his mouth) on the island itself. He also has a long barbed prehensile tongue which he can use to bind people.
History
Invasion of Hōraijima
Many ages ago, the island of Hōraijima was a sanctuary for humans and demons alike. The two groups existed in harmony for many years and intermingled, giving rise to a sizable population of half-demons. The existence of a half-demon community earned contempt from demons, so, to protect themselves, the people of Hōraijima created the powerful Cauldron of Resonance, which generated a time barrier that separated Hōraijima from the outside world. However, every 50 years the time barrier weakened, and the island reappeared, rendering it vulnerable to raids by demons. The Four War Gods were among the many demons which despised the people of Hōraijima, and one day decided to attack the island during its brief vulnerable period and annihilate the inhabitants.
The humans and demons of Hōraijima were no match for the Four War Gods, among whom was the demon Jūra. The village became engulfed in flame and many villagers fell in battle. However, Jūra and the other War Gods had neglected to kill the island priestess, Kanade. Lady Kanade was quite powerful, but not even she could defeat the combined power of the Four War Gods. In desperation, Lady Kanade was able to seal away the power spheres which granted the four demons their immense power inside a jeweled comb box. With this accomplished, Kanade leapt inside the Cauldron of Resonance, putting the box beyond the reach of any of the Four War Gods. With the island already conquered, Jūra and the others established themselves temporarily on Hōraijima, until they could find a solution to their missing powers.
In time, the Four War Gods discovered that by throwing live half-demons into the Cauldron of Resonance, they could retrieve a portion of their powers trapped inside. In order to survive, the War Gods corrupted the Cauldron with their demonic energy and put their mark on each of the island's half-demons and established a powerful demonic barrier around the island. Anyone who carried the mark would be unable to pass outside the barrier. In this way, the Four War Gods were able to keep the half-demons enslaved, sacrificing them one by one whenever their powers needed rejuvenation. Nevertheless, this was a temporary solution at best, since the War Gods could never retrieve their full powers; furthermore, if they left the island, they would slowly fade away from a lack of demonic energy and die. In order to stay alive, the Four War Gods would have to remain on the island, where they could retain access to the Cauldron. But, due to the slowing effect of the time barrier, the Four War Gods could minimize the amount of power they lost, meaning that they would only need to sacrifice a half-demon whenever the barrier itself weakened (e.g. every 50 years). Nevertheless, until they could retrieve the jeweled comb box from within the Cauldron, the Shitōshin would be trapped on the island forever.
Retrieving the Jeweled Comb Box
Creating a Priestess
Gōra's tongue...
...binding Kikyō.
Around 150 years later, Sesshōmaru's half-brother, Inuyasha, and the priestess Kikyō investigated Hōraijima. By this time, all of the villagers had been killed or sacrificed except for six half-demon children. With their time (and the number of sacrifices left) running out, the Four War Gods decided it was time to try and get off the island. Seeing that Kikyō possessed strong spiritual power, they hatched a plan. While Inuyasha and Kikyō landed on the beach and spoke to the children, Kyōra sent in his birds of fire to attack. While they were distracted with this, however, Gōra wrapped his long barbed tongue around Kikyō and began to suck her blood. Inuyasha stopped him, but the Shitōshin had obtained enough blood for their purposes. With this done, Ryūra marked Inuyasha, promising him that he would one day be their slave.The time barrier was then restored and the island disappeared.
Behind the veil of the barrier, though, the Four War Gods went to work preparing their escape plan. Using the blood Gōra sucked from Kikyō, the Shitōshin used their magic to create an identical replica of her, with the intention of using it to free the jeweled comb box from the Cauldron of Resonance and break the seal on the box itself, releasing their power spheres in the process. In the meantime, the replica Kikyō was left to grow in a ball of fluid in one of Hōraijima's forests.
Inuyasha's Return
Power Restored
Round 2
Shitōshin's Last Stand
Personality
An extremely slow witted fellow
Physical Description
Gōra's body
Gōra takes the shape of a long-necked turtle the size of a small island. His shell has a number of spikes and holes on it. Similar to Ryūkotsusei, his has a mask on his head, which is his real head, while the big one is used to attack with Energy Balls.
Gōra shooting a fireball from his mouth.
Powers and Abilities
Mark of the Shitōshin: Due to his large size and lack of human form like his brothers, he is incapable of branding another being with the Mark of the Four War Gods himself. Though despite this as he is still a member of the group, Gōra's life sign is connected to the brand where if he dies then one mark disappears from the victim's back. Though for some reason even after he was initially killed by Inuyasha before going to Horai Island, the half-demons still have all four marks on their backs which indicates that it only disappears if he is killed while having his power sphere equipped since the power sphere contains most of his powers and thus a part of him. The mark glows and causes immense pain to the victim once every fifty years as a sign that a new sacrifice must be made for the War Gods to regain their powers however if all of them are killed then the mark disappears and the victims are allowed to leave Horai Island again.
One of Gōra's Cannonballs.
Energy Spheres: Gōra's main and most often ability is to fire large, fast, and powerful balls of energy out his mouth and the holes of his shell with extreme accuracy. His energy attacks after regaining his power sphere is such that he was able to nearly destroy Horai Island itself if it weren't for Inuyasha's Backlash Wave.
Prehensile Tongue: He also possesses a barbed prehensile tongue, which he uses to bind people with, as well as suck out their blood that can be used for cloning them for specific purposes.
Expert Cannoneer: Due to his overall form and that his main power are the energy attacks coming from his mouth and shell, Gōra's fighting style is that of a cannoneer bombarding their enemies. He shows enough skill to pressure Sango, Miroku, and Kirara with the cat demon having a hard time dodging his attacks alongside Jūra.
Immense Demonic Power: Gōra is a very powerful demon so much that he and his brothers are known as the Four War Gods. Gōra was able to fight against Inuyasha and the entire group with little effort before his power sphere returned to him and after regaining it he was able to easily pressure Sango, Miroku, and Kirara along with Jura that they weren't able to damage him at all until Inuyasha took him out with the Backlash Wave.
Immense Defense: Due to his large size and power, his shell is extremely durable, it is also covered in large spikes and holes. His shell and scales are durable enough to withstand the Kaze no Kizu with little to no damage that Inuyasha described him as a moving fortress. Though he is still defeated by the Backlash Wave.
Gōra shooting a cannonball from his shell.
Weapons
Power Sphere: As a member of the Four War Gods, Gōra has a power sphere where most of his powers are contained that acts as a purple sphere on his forehead. This attribute is rather a disadvantage for him and his brothers as if the sphere is taken from him like the Priestess, Kanade, sealing it away along with herself then his overall powers are diminished.
- Resurrection: His power sphere has the ability to resurrect him upon returning if he was killed prior to regaining it.
- Recombination: The power sphere has the ability to contain his soul if he was killed with it that can merge with the other three power spheres of the Four War Gods to create a fifth War God that is the merged form of all the other four.
Trivia
- Gōra is one of the four antagonists created for InuYasha the Movie: Fire on the Mystic Island. Each of the Four War Gods is based on one of the Four Sacred Animals of Chinese mythology and astronomy, a common motif in anime and manga. Of the four animals/constellations that make up the group, Gōra represents the Black Tortoise of the North, known in Japanese as Genbu. Gōra's affiliation with water, and his overall turle appearance, reflects this.
- Coincidentally, Genbu is one of the demon ninjas under Hoshiyomi. Each of these four ninjas have, like the Four War Gods, an affiliation with one of the Four Sacred Animals. Genbu is a turtle demon, similar to Gōra, signifying that he also has an affiliation with the Black Tortoise.
- Unlike the other three members of the Four War Gods, Gōra is the only non-humanoid demon of the quartet. He is also much larger than his companions and the only one to never fight on Hōraijima itself, always attacking from the sea instead. Gōra is the only member of the Four War Gods who does not fight with a weapon; despite this, Gōra seems to be much more powerful than the other three, partially due to his immense size.
- Gōra is the only War God whose energy does not take the form of their representative animal following their death.
- Unlike his companions, Gōra's face is not represented when the Four War Gods recombine following their initial defeat. His thick shell, however, covers their shared body and provides a sort of armor for the group.
References
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||