Protodeviln
Encyclopedia
Extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
beings hailing from an adjoining sub-universe in the anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
series Macross 7
Macross 7
is an anime television series. It is a sequel to the show The Super Dimension Fortress Macross that takes place many years after the events of the first series following a cast of mostly new characters. The show ran from October 16, 1994 to September 24, 1995 at 11:00 AM, and 49 episodes were aired...
. Though some appear humanoid (through possessing the body of other humanoid beings), and some bear resemblance of vampire-like elves, most are gigantic creatures with few human features, resembling devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
s. The non-humanoid
Humanoid
A humanoid is something that has an appearance resembling a human being. The term first appeared in 1912 to refer to fossils which were morphologically similar to, but not identical with, those of the human skeleton. Although this usage was common in the sciences for much of the 20th century, it...
Protodeviln creatures were designed by mecha designer Kazutaka Miyatake
Kazutaka Miyatake
is an anime designer known for the mechanical design of the Macross TV series and a number of its continuations from Studio Nue, of which he is a founding member. He has also contributed to the mecha design of other series such as Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny.-Mechanical Design:Kazutaka Miyatake...
of Studio Nue
Studio Nue
Studio Nue is a Japanese design studio formed in 1972 by Naoyuki Kato, Kenichi Matsuzaki, Kazutaka Miyatake, and Haruka Takachiho...
, while the humanoid types were designed by character designer Haruhiko Mikimoto
Haruhiko Mikimoto
is a Japanese anime character designer, illustrator and manga artist. Mostly active during the 1980s, during that decade he rose to promience and is considered one of the top character designers of his time....
.
Genesis and conquest
Hundreds of thousands of years ago, the Stellar Republic of the humanoidHumanoid
A humanoid is something that has an appearance resembling a human being. The term first appeared in 1912 to refer to fossils which were morphologically similar to, but not identical with, those of the human skeleton. Although this usage was common in the sciences for much of the 20th century, it...
alien
Extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
race known as the Protoculture controlled much of the Milky Way
Milky Way
The Milky Way is the galaxy that contains the Solar System. This name derives from its appearance as a dim un-resolved "milky" glowing band arching across the night sky...
galaxy. They genetically created giant humanoid warriors known as the Zentradi and manipulated Earth's native life to shape the evolution of what would become humanity. However, internal divisions and conflicts within the Stellar Republic led to a project to create a race of even more advanced Zentradi to fight the ongoing wars. These beings, dubbed the Evil series of warriors, were initially unsuccessful due to their high energy requirements; nevertheless, the project was reopened upon the discovery of a sub-universe
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
containing abundant energy. However, experiments to develop organs capable of utilizing this energy inadvertently allowed non-corporeal beings within that sub-universe to cross into our own universe. These beings possessed the Evil entities, and used them to wreak immense havoc. The Protoculture called these beings in their new form the Protodeviln.
The Protodeviln realized they could not remain in our universe indefinitely, as they required an energy called spiritia to remain active. However, they quickly learned that Protoculture, Zentradi and other humanoid
Humanoid
A humanoid is something that has an appearance resembling a human being. The term first appeared in 1912 to refer to fossils which were morphologically similar to, but not identical with, those of the human skeleton. Although this usage was common in the sciences for much of the 20th century, it...
s generated this energy, and began conquering large portions of the Galaxy, feeding on spiritia wherever they went, and brainwashing captured humanoids into a massive fighting force, the Supervision Army.
Imprisonment and return
U.N. Spacy
The U.N. Spacy is the fictional military arm of the Earth U.N. Government from the Japanese anime series Macross.-Fictional Organization Background:...
research fleet launched an expedition to the icy fourth planet in the system and discovered a mysterious energy field and alien ruins beneath the surface. Entering a cave, the expedition encountered the source: the crystal prisons of the Protodeviln, brought back to consciousness by the arrival of fresh spiritia. High-ranking Protodeviln awakened and remotely possessed two of the expedition officers while brainwashing the rest into a new Supervision Army called The Varauta Army. After capturing the Megaroad-13 (and modifying their ships and mecha
Mecha
A mech , is a science fiction term for a large walking bipedal tank or robot, including ones on treads and animal shapes.-Characteristics:...
to better serve their purposes) the next target of the Protodeviln and their new Varauta army became the approaching colonization fleets, Macross 5 and Macross 7
Macross 7
is an anime television series. It is a sequel to the show The Super Dimension Fortress Macross that takes place many years after the events of the first series following a cast of mostly new characters. The show ran from October 16, 1994 to September 24, 1995 at 11:00 AM, and 49 episodes were aired...
.
Evolution and exodus
The Varauta initial attacks on the Macross 7 and 5 fleets escalated into a new armed conflict known as the Protodeviln War, which caused heavy casualties on both the Varauta and the U.N. SpacyU.N. Spacy
The U.N. Spacy is the fictional military arm of the Earth U.N. Government from the Japanese anime series Macross.-Fictional Organization Background:...
sides. These included part of the Varauta army, some of the Protodeviln, part of the Macross 7 defense fleet and the whole Macross 5 defense fleet. After nearly an entire year of battles the war between the Macross 7 fleet and the Varauta army finally concludes thanks to the efforts of musician Basara Nekki
Basara Nekki
' is a fictional character in the Macross universe, the lead singer and guitarist of the band Fire Bomber. He first appears in Macross 7, and also appears in the movie Macross 7: The Galaxy is Calling Me and the OVAs Macross 7 Encore and Macross Dynamite 7. He is voiced by Nobutoshi Kanna...
and his band Fire Bomber
Fire Bomber
Fire Bomber is a fictional rock band from the anime series Macross 7...
, who were discovered to be the new Anima Spiritia and the only force capable of effectively stopping the Protodeviln attacks.
In the end the Protodeviln evolve into a Spiritia self-regenerating race with Basara Nekki
Basara Nekki
' is a fictional character in the Macross universe, the lead singer and guitarist of the band Fire Bomber. He first appears in Macross 7, and also appears in the movie Macross 7: The Galaxy is Calling Me and the OVAs Macross 7 Encore and Macross Dynamite 7. He is voiced by Nobutoshi Kanna...
's singing as the catalyst. Eventually the surviving Protodeviln leave to travel across the universe, now fully capable of producing Spiritia by themselves and with no need to absorb it from Human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
s or Zentradi anymore.
The Supervision Army
In the anime The Super Dimension Fortress Macross
The Super Dimension Fortress Macross
is an anime television series. According to story creator Shoji Kawamori, it depicts "a love triangle against the backdrop of great battles" during the first Human-alien war....
, a Supervision Army gun destroyer
SDF-1 Macross
The SDF-1 Macross is a fictional interstellar transforming spacecraft from The Super Dimension Fortress Macross, an anime science fiction series that aired in Japan in 1982–1983, and its American adaptation Robotech...
(by no means the largest of their warships) crashes on Earth and, when restored by humanity, becomes the series' title ship
SDF-1 Macross
The SDF-1 Macross is a fictional interstellar transforming spacecraft from The Super Dimension Fortress Macross, an anime science fiction series that aired in Japan in 1982–1983, and its American adaptation Robotech...
.
Notable Protodeviln
The Protodeviln seen in Macross 7 share certain characteristics: they are at least vaguely humanoid, and they can travel faster-than-lightFaster-than-light
Faster-than-light communications and travel refer to the propagation of information or matter faster than the speed of light....
through space without external means and even teleport (possibly the same space-fold technique used by Human and Zentradi ships). In addition, many generate pentagram
Pentagram
A pentagram is the shape of a five-pointed star drawn with five straight strokes...
-shaped energy fields when attacking. The Protodeviln are also noted to be able to possess the body of humans and make miclone Zentradi go berserk (with the exception of Mayor Milia Fallyna Jenius
Milia Fallyna Jenius
is a fictional character in the Macross Japanese animated science fiction series, voiced by Eri Takeda. In the 2006 English adaptation by ADV Films she is voiced by Luci Christian.-Macross:...
).
- : The leader of the Protodeviln, Geperunitch spends most of Macross 7 -- from his initial appearance in episode 1—acting through the human body of U.N. Spacy fleet advisor Ivano Günter.
- Geperunitch's human form is somewhat feminine, with a slim figure, long blonde hair, a high-pitched voice, and lips which appear as though they have dark lipstick applied. Consequently, he has been mistaken for a woman by fans in North America and Europe. However, as clearly evidenced at several points in the series, Geperunitch's human form, Ivano Günter, is male. A version of Macross 7Macross 7is an anime television series. It is a sequel to the show The Super Dimension Fortress Macross that takes place many years after the events of the first series following a cast of mostly new characters. The show ran from October 16, 1994 to September 24, 1995 at 11:00 AM, and 49 episodes were aired...
that has appeared in North America with English subtitles stresses the fact that Geperunitch is male in episode 3 to avoid confusion. - Geperunitch aims to implement the Spiritia Farm Project of which he has dreamed: Humans and Zentradi will be kept as cattle and harvested for their spiritia, making hunting unnecessary and, more importantly, preventing another Spiritia Black Hole from forming. This plan comes to the fore when he learns that the singing of Anima Spiritia, and in particular the band Fire BomberFire BomberFire Bomber is a fictional rock band from the anime series Macross 7...
, causes humans to regenerate their spiritia: he lures first the Macross 5 and then the Macross 7 fleets to an Earth-like planet (dubbed Lux by the crew of the former fleet), intending to trap and corral them there. Although the planet is ultimately destroyed, he has by this time transported the citizens of Macross 5 back to Varauta IV, intending to capture and use the band to create an endless supply of spiritia. His real Protodeviln form reemerges at the end of the series, but having fed on Anima Spiritia it begins to grow out of control into the very thing Geperunitch feared: another Spiritia Black HoleBlack holeA black hole is a region of spacetime from which nothing, not even light, can escape. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will deform spacetime to form a black hole. Around a black hole there is a mathematically defined surface called an event horizon that...
. - Voice artist: Yo Inoue
- Geperunitch's human form is somewhat feminine, with a slim figure, long blonde hair, a high-pitched voice, and lips which appear as though they have dark lipstick applied. Consequently, he has been mistaken for a woman by fans in North America and Europe. However, as clearly evidenced at several points in the series, Geperunitch's human form, Ivano Günter, is male. A version of Macross 7
- : commander of the Varauta Army, Gigile appears from the first episode and spends most of the series acting through the human body of Captain Autremauer of the Blue Rhinoceros ground force. Uncouth and rebellious, he frequently vexes Geperunitch by violating orders and launching all-out spiritia raids on the Macross 7 fleet. Indeed, it emerges that his real aim—other than to preserve the joy of the hunt over the Spiritia Farm Project—is to gather enough spiritia to reawaken not himself or Geperunitch, but another Protodeviln named Sivil, with whom he is in love. This earns the anger of the other Protodeviln, who attempt to destroy him, but when he discovers the power of singing from Fire Bomber's lead singer Basara NekkiBasara Nekki' is a fictional character in the Macross universe, the lead singer and guitarist of the band Fire Bomber. He first appears in Macross 7, and also appears in the movie Macross 7: The Galaxy is Calling Me and the OVAs Macross 7 Encore and Macross Dynamite 7. He is voiced by Nobutoshi Kanna...
, he begins to generate his own spiritia and reawakens in his earlier form in episode 38, a giant humanoid creature with no human facial features. Such is the intensity of his desire to protect Sivil that he generates an enormously powerful energy field which destroys the planet Lux and, to the horror of everyone, himself.- Voice artist: Tomohiro NishimuraTomohiro NishimuraTomohiro Nishimura is a seiyū, actor, and singer-songwriter born on February 2, 1961 in Asahikawa, Hokkaidō, Japan. He used to be employed by the talent management firm 81 Produce...
- Voice artist: Tomohiro Nishimura
- : a female Protodeviln who resembles a vampireVampireVampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
, Sivil is awakened in episode 17 by Gigile, but being an undisciplined, free spirit, she ignores the other Protodeviln in order to seek her own supply of spiritia. She becomes fascinated by Basara Nekki, whom she terms Anima Spiritia, and possesses human women in an attempt to get close to him. However, his singing appears to cause her pain (or overwhelming pleasure), driving her away many times, and when she finally manages to kiss him, the energy released sends her into a coma. She is later reawakened by Basara and Gigile's combined singing, but Geperunitch considers her a danger to his plan and seeks to destroy her. Though she never returns Gigile's feelings, she is shocked by his sacrifice in her name, and because of this seeks to protect Basara from the other Protodeviln, and indeed, from her own desire to feed on his spiritia.
- : awakening in episode 27, Glavil is an enormous, muscular humanoid creature with tentacles on its back and is usually perched on all fours like an animal. He represents pure, untamed fury, crushing everything in his path, and generating enormous energy fields which rip apart all around him. He can also fire intense energy beams that surpass by far the Macross Cannon in power. His face can also redirect laser fire. He increases in size when he absorbs spiritia—which he can drain from lower life forms such as humans and Zentradi and even cause massive dehydration, but the energy of Anima Spiritia causes him to shrink, and after several encounters he flees instinctively from it. Lacking any discernible intelligence of his own, he is frequently given instructions by Gavil (see below), the other half of an even more powerful being.
- : awakened by Gepelnitch in episode 28, Gavil is a human-sized being covered in white fur, with wings like those of an angelAngelAngels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
. He disdains the innate abilities of his kind in favor of technology, piloting his own Saubergeran and using anti-noise and remote-controlled fighters to combat the effects of Basara's singing. Extremely vain and arrogant, he delights in the "beauty" of destruction, particularly that created by Glavil, whom he regards as his own "flesh" -- yet he remains loyal to the plans of Lord Geperunitch, though he occasionally questions his leader's methods. He develops an intense hatred of ace pilot Gamlin KizakiGamlin KizakiGamlin Kizaki is a fictional character in the Macross universe. He first appears in Macross 7, and later appeared in the movie Macross 7: The Galaxy Is Calling Me! and the OAVs Macross 7 Encore and Macross Dynamite 7. He is voiced by Takehito Koyasu.At the beginning of Macross 7, Gamlin is 19...
, who humiliates him time and again in battle, most notably on many occasions destroying his vehicle and forcing him to retreat under his own power.
-
- : the "true form" of Gavil and Glavil, Gavigula is a mighty Protodeviln which combines the intelligence of one with the might and power of the other. He can produce energy waves which radiate outwards, destroying all in their path, as well as attacking in more conventional ways, crushing anything in his paws. He can easily survive a blast from the Macross Cannon, and the energy of Anima Spiritia has no apparent effect on him. Gavigula is first formed in episode 42.
- : first appearing in episode 31, Valgo, a gigantic armored humanoid with batwings, is one of Geperuniti's most devoted followers, but a bitter rival of Gavil. He is capable of teleporting across space to his desired destination and attacking suddenly; he generates a large number of hideous pink monsters from a cavity in his chest; these creatures swarm over their prey, draining spiritia and growing larger. He is also capable of generating force fields which prevent spacecraft from space-folding, and uses this power to prevent the Macross 7 fleet from escaping the planet Lux, but he is destroyed (along with the planet) by Gigile.
-
- : a mechanical replacement for Valgo after he was destroyed, the Natter-Valgo unit appears in Macross 7: The Galaxy's Calling Me! as backup to Gavil and Gravil. It combines with them (in what Gavil calls the "forbidden technique") to form a creature even bigger and more invulnerable than Gavigula, though the time for which they can remain merged is limited.
- and : multi-armed Protodeviln in some ways reminiscent of VishnuVishnuVishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
, the male and female twins Goram and Zomd are released by Gepelnitch in episode 47. They operate as two halves of a single entity: working in concert they can fire enormously powerful blasts and teleportation beams, and they complete each other's sentences to boot. As with Glavil, absorbing spiritia causes them to grow, and they can regenerate their bodies even after the destruction wrought by reaction weaponry. However, they are ultimately absorbed by Gepelnitch as he grows out of control, and cease to exist.
External links
- totsugeki LOVE HEART!
- The Protodeviln at Macross Role Play.
- Notable Protodeviln at Macross Compendium.