Gauma

Gauma (ガウマ)^[1] is one of the main characters of SSSS.DYNAZENON. He was a former Kaiju user affiliated with the Kaiju Eugenicists, but defected from them and fight against their Kaiju using Dynazenon.

Near the end of the series, Gauma was revealed to be the Chinese mummy that appeared in episode 18 of Gridman the Hyper Agent, referred to as the Mummy from 5000 Years Ago (5000年前のミイラ, Gosen-nen Mae no Miira) according to printed materials, such as the Ultra Tokusatsu PERFECT MOOK.

Conception

Etymology

The name Gauma is believed to come from the classical Chinese proverb of "塞翁が馬" (Saiou ga uma), which can be translated to "every cloud has a silver lining".

History

Past

5000 years ago, Gauma was one of the Kaiju Eugenicists, who brought fortune to a certain country (approximately somewhere in China) through the use of their power to control Kaiju. They were known as "dragon controllers" to the neighboring country. Juuga used to look up to Gauma as well. The princess of their country became interested in the power, but then the Kaiju Eugenicists were betrayed, while also betraying the country themselves. Gauma shifted his loyalty to the princess over his comrades and killed them. He then fell over and seemingly died, gaining the scars on his face in the process. At some point, before or after his death, Gauma received Dynazenon from the princess in the form of a dragon ornament. The princess (also his lover) placed his mummified remains together with other relics before killing herself to join Gauma in the afterlife.

Gridman the Hyper Agent

The mummy was transported to Sakuragaoka museum for display alongside all of his scavenged relics. Seeing a potential of inner hatred within the corpse, Takeshi Todo and Kahn Digifer sent down Mecha Bagira to resurrect Gauma, sending him on a hate-filled attack against the museum's visitors. The mummy continued to chase after Yuka after mistaking her to be his lover in the past until Gridman neutralized the situation, causing him to become lifeless again. ^{The Legend of Dragon}

SSSS.DYNAZENON

At some point in the future, Gauma and the Kaiju Eugenicists were revived in the modern day, albeit having lost his powers and connection to Kaiju. As a result, he became "human" and was rotting alive, as seen by a purple patch on his back that grew with each time it appeared. After wandering around for a while, Gauma was found collapsed underneath a bridge by Yomogi Asanaka. He remarks that he is hungry and that something had happened to him, and Yomogi gave him his Special Dog, saving him from starvation. Gauma tries to talk to Yomogi more and grabs his ankle, but he runs away to his part-time job. The next day, Gauma chased after Yomogi while he was on the way to school, wishing to repay him for his kindness, but his appearance and demeanor instead scared Yomogi away. Some time during all this, he made the bridge he was found collapsed under into his own personal camp and got one or more jobs to be able to feed himself.

Gauma later appeared to Yomogi again at night, while the boy had been waiting for Yume Minami for about forty minutes. Seeing that she was late, Gauma decided to go and find her. When he did, he confronted Yume about her broken promise with Yomogi, talking so loud that Yomogi could hear him. Before the conversation could end, Shalbandes appeared in the city. Gauma attempted to "capture" it using his Kaiju user powers but found that he was unable to. The object in Gauma's bag started to shine, and upon taking it out it summoned Dynazenon, who took in Gauma, Yomogi, Yume and Koyomi Yamanaka as its pilots. Gauma controlled the entire mecha by himself, despite it being his first time in it. After a tough battle, Dynazenon changed into Dynarex and finished off Shalbandes. ^{What is a Kaiju User?}

In the aftermath, Gauma gave the components of Dynazenon to Yomogi, Yume and Koyomi and held onto Dynadiver for himself, and made them promise to start their training the next day. However, Yomogi skipped out to go to work. Gauma is unable to convince him to attend training even after going to his house, but later picks him up when Greyjhom appears and despite Yomogi's lack of training, they manage to defeat the Kaiju. ^{What's Your Reason For Fighting?} The Kaiju Eugenicists made their presence known to the Dynazenon pilots and called out Gauma as a traitor, putting a sense of distrust into the others. When the Kaiju Burnaddon appeared, they were unable to unite their hearts because of their distrust towards Gauma, but were able to do so once again after he told them the real reason he pilots Dynazenon - so that he can meet with the person who entrusted it to him. ^{What is a Traitor?}

During Garnix's attack, Gauma was sent back to the time where he met the princess and then fought against the Kaiju Eugenicists. Yomogi managed to remind him of their mission, bringing Gauma back to the real world. ^{Which Memories Do You Regret?}

After Garnix's defeat, it spelled the defeat of the Kaiju Eugenicists and Juuga went to Gauma to apologize, only to be met with a punch as Gauma refused to forgive him for his past actions. Gauma was only stopped by the timely arrival of Yomogi and Yume and he told Juuga to leave and never come back to him. He then began to secretly follow Yomogi and Yume, concerned that Sizumu would attack them. He was proven right as Sizumu attacked Yomogi and he jumped to the latter's defense. The attack left him very weakened as his bodily decay was starting to take over. ^{What Wish Can't Come True?} Despite his near-death state, the 2nd stabilized his condition so that he could continue to pilot Dynadiver and help the team fight Gagula. Although Gauma and his friends finally finished off the Kaiju Eugenicists, Gauma finally died inside the cockpit of Dynarex, causing the robot to lose its color and deactivate. Three months later, Knight, the 2nd and the former Dynazenon pilots revisit the bridge where Gauma once was. Knight and the 2nd leave the world, taking the deactivated Dynarex and Goldburn with them. As Yomogi and Yume were heading for school, Yomogi briefly sensed Gauma's presence in the area, but passed it off. It is unknown what exactly happened to Gauma after that, but Dynarex revived once again in another Computer World. ^{What Was I Entrusted With?}

GRIDMAN UNIVERSE

Gauma was revealed to be revived once again and has assumed a new name, Rex (レックス, Rekkusu). His personality is more or less the same. He joined as the new member of Neon Genesis Junior High Students. He wears a black suit just like everyone else, dons a sunglasses and has a dragon emblem on his jacket. As a member, he helps Gridman on his quest using Dynazenon and its component and can combine with Gridman when in battle. He also reunites with the princess who have reincarnated into a crab seller and even recognizes him, having uncovered her past life's memories at some point.^{GRIDMAN UNIVERSE}

Profile

Stats

• Height: 183 cm
• Weight: 61 kg
• Age: 5021 years
• Date of Birth: 1 May
• Blood Type: O
• Hobby: Drinking sake
• Origin: China, later transported to the Sakuragaoka museum in Japan.
• Weakness: Because Gauma was reborn without a connection to Kaiju, his body is slowly rotting away and dying.

Powers and Weapons

• Superior Strength: After being revived as a mummy, Gauma possesses physical strength greater than that of a regular human as he can easily lift and throw around others or knock his victims unconscious with a single blow. However, when he is revived "normally" he doesn't seem to have very high physical strength as Juuga stated that his punches do not hurt, even when he was alive 5000 years ago.
• Instance Domination (インスタンス・ドミネーション, Insutansu Dominēshon): As Gauma was originally part of the Kaiju Eugenicists, he was capable of manipulating Kaiju to his liking. This power had since disappeared after he was revived in the present day.
• Dynazenon: A dragon-themed mecha that he uses as an alternative to combat monsters after losing his ability to manipulate them. It was originally in the form of an ancient dragon relic given to him by the princess. During his temporary revival, Gauma was in possession of the Dynadiver and briefly used Dynastriker after regaining it back from the Kaiju Eugenicists. After his latest revival, Gauma is merged with and can transform into Dynarex, much like the Neon Genesis Junior High Students.
  • Piloting: Gauma has the basic knowledge in piloting and operating Dynazenon, even if it was first used in the fight against Shalbandes.

Gallery

Gridman the Hyper Agent

Trivia

• In Gridman the Hyper Agent, then-unnamed Gauma was said to have been killed by the princess' royal family by poisoning him without the former's knowledge — a contrast to SSSS.DYNAZENON which revealed him dying from fighting against his fellow Kaiju Eugenicists when the country they defended for turned on their backs.
  • Assuming both to be the case, the attempted poisoning was the very reason Kaiju Eugenicists turned against said royal family in retaliation only to perish at hands of Gauma who sided with the latter out of his love for the princess before dying himself.
• The bag Gauma used to carry Dynazenon's dormant ornament-like state has a dragon seal on it, a reference to a similar prop from Gridman.
• The clothes he wears when he sleeps over in Yomogi's house actually belong to Yomogi. ^{Voice Drama 2.2}
• At the time of living under the bridge, Gauma sustains himself by cooking freshwater crabs that he fished from the river. He also considers eating crab sticks in episode 5, suggesting that his favorite food are crabs in general.
  • GRIDMAN UNIVERSE confirmed crabs to be his favorite food, and that both he and the princess he fell in love with bonded through eating crab-based dishes together.
• During an interview with "Terebikun Deluxe Aizouban - Chozenshu" magazine (Vol. 172, Spring 2021), character designer Masaru Sakamoto stated that the color of the character's eyes is based on the color of birthstones. Since Gauma was born in May, his eye color is Emerald or Jade.

References

1. ↑ https://dynazenon.net/character/#/gauma