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Biollante. A spirit of the plant in Norse mythology. Only this plant has a human spirit.
Overview

Biollante (ビオランテ,   Biorante?) is a genetically-modified rose kaiju hybrid created by Toho that first appeared in the 1989 Godzilla film, Godzilla vs. Biollante.

Name[]

Biollante's name likely comes from the prefix bio (ビオ?), referring to organic life, and the English word plant (プラント,   puranto?). Rose Biollante (ビオランテ 花獣形態,   Biorante kajū keitai?, lit. Biollante Flower Beast Form) is Biollante's first form when it was in development.

Kobayashi Shinichiro, the original author of Godzilla vs. Biolante, took the name "Violonte" from the passage of Paul Verlain's poem "From Violon of Autumn ... ...." He wrote that he added "Te", which had never been used as a monster's name, and it was a coincidence that it became a name that implied biotechnology.

Within the context of Godzilla vs. Biollante, Biollante gets her name from Dr. Shiragami, who upon seeing the creature gives it the name Biollante, stating it is the name of a plant spirit from Norse mythology. In reality though, there is no figure named Biollante in Norse mythology, although numerous nature deities do exist in Norse mythology, with almost all of them being female. In Godzilla Unleashed, she gets her name after General Gyozen dismisses Shiragami's "foaming process" during experiments with G-Cells and crystals as a "bio-latte".

Design[]

Appearance[]

At first, Biollante was a giant rose with a set of jaws inside her bud and her tendrils, as well as long vines; merely a heavily-mutated and exponentially large, semi-sentient rose. She also had a large, fleshy sac surrounded by her overlaying vines. What this object was has never been determined, but it is likely that it is either her brain or her heart.

In her second form, the Godzilla genes took over and Biollante's body became an abomination of biological science. Biollante's second form had a head similar to that of a Mosasaur or crocodile and a maw with knife-like teeth, even on the interior lining. In addition, six large tusks, three on each side, protruded from the fulcrum-region of her mouth. Large numbers of vines and tendrils were a primary feature of Biollante. Some vines ended in sharp, spear-like ends, while others sported small, sharp-toothed mouths. Also, Biollante had four stubby, root-like legs that she uses to move, as well as what appeared to be meaty flesh underneath the tangled mess of vines and plant tissue. The fleshy surface was yellow and red-orange and had many wrinkles and lines, resembling a brain-like surface.

Roar[]

Biollante's roars differ based on her form. In her rose form, her cries are shrill, and short, almost like a child's cry in some cases. As she shifts to her beast form, her roars become much deeper and more akin to Godzilla's. Biollante's wailing cries, in rose form, are derived from the songs of a Humpback whale.[2]

Origins[]

Biollante is a Godzilla, rose, and human tribrid created by Genshiro Shiragami. Shiragami originally created a human-and-rose hybrid in 1984 by splicing the DNA of his daughter, Erika Shiragami, who was killed in a Bio-Major-authorized bombing of his lab in Saradia, with that of a rosebush, as roses had been Erika's favorite flower. It was later suggested that as a result of the fusion, the plant developed a level of sentience which could only be detected by those with psychic abilities, like Miki Saegusa.

Then, in 1990, Mount Mihara began to erupt, creating an earthquake that killed several roses. Panicking, Shiragami spliced samples of Godzilla's DNA (given to him by the Japanese Self-Defense Force in order for Shiragami to help create the Anti-Nuclear Energy Bacteria) that had been collected in 1984 with a single rose so that it could use Godzilla's advanced healing factor to become invincible. The fusion eventually further increased the plant's sentience and gave it the ability to move on its own, and it continued to evolve into what would soon become Biollante.

History[]

Godzilla vs. Biollante[]

Biollante9

Rose Biollante in Godzilla vs. Biollante

Biollante was a combination of the cells of a rose, Godzilla, and Dr. Shiragami's daughter Erika. She attacked a group of terrorists that broke into Dr. Shiragami's lab on the shore of Lake Ashi, and then ran out into the lake to grow, with her wailing cries drawing Godzilla to the lake. She battled Godzilla in her rose form, but she was overpowered quickly. She was seemingly killed, but it was revealed she was immortal when she broke apart into spores of energy and floated away.

Biollante then transformed into her Godzilla-like final form and returned to battle Godzilla. She had a bit more of an advantage in this form and managed to fight Godzilla to a draw. However, Biollante became badly wounded when Godzilla fired his atomic breath directly into the back of her mouth, forcing her to retreat. Biollante then broke apart into spores of energy again and flew into space, becoming visible as a giant rose floating above Earth.

Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla[]

Biollante is mentioned and appears through stock footage in Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla, as she is discussed as a possible catalyst for SpaceGodzilla's creation. It is theorized that when Biollante ascended to space following her second battle with Godzilla, some of her cells entered a black hole and were exposed to energy from supernovas and merged with crystalline organisms, evolving rapidly into SpaceGodzilla. It is also suggested that Mothra may have carried the Godzilla cells to space, with neither theory being definitively proven.

Abilities[]

Agility[]

Despite her plant-like body and rather grounded-looking appearance, Biollante is capable of moving across the ground rather quickly, using her four main tendrils like rudimentary feet to propel herself forwards.

Corrosive sap[]

Biollante spraying sap

In her final form, Biollante retains all previous abilities, though she does acquire an additional one, which is the ability to spit large quantities of radioactive corrosive sap from her large mouth (the radiation is clearly visible as orange energy spores within the sap stream).

Regeneration[]

Biollante also sports extremely enhanced regeneration capabilities, shown when she seemingly completely regenerated the back part of her head after it had been blown off by Godzilla's atomic ray.

Spores[]

Biollante can also transform into a cloud of spores when she is severely wounded and move through the air; using this technique, she survived both her fights with Godzilla. In Biollante's rose form, her cellular division is abnormally affected by Godzilla's atomic ray, resulting negatively in heavy body damage. According to Dr. Shiragami, Biollante is completely immortal and cannot die, due to both her regenerative capacity and ability to break apart into energy spores when wounded.

Tendrils[]

Biollante, in her rose form, can constrict and grapple with an enemy with her many tendrils and mouthed vines, each of which are capable of spitting a highly corrosive sap that can blind an opponent.

Some of her tendrils in her final form resemble spears and are capable of piercing through Godzilla's flesh relatively easily, with one even impaling Godzilla's hand.

Video games[]

Godzilla: Battle Legends[]

Biollante's Rose and Final Form make an appearance as bosses; however, both are not playable. Biollante's Final Form is fought immediately after defeating her Rose Form.

Godzilla: Great Monster Battle[]

In this game, Biollante's final form is available as a playable character. She sports all of her standard abilities from her debut film, but is also able to fire bursts of energy from her tendrils. She can also block attacks by summoning a wall of vines from the ground. In this game, Biollante's Rose Form does not appear.

Godzilla: Save the Earth[]

An unobtainable, fully functional playable Biollante is present in the disc for Godzilla: Save the Earth. This Biollante has the same basic moveset as the Unleashed Biollante. She was scrapped because of licensing issues. It is possible to hack the PS2 version of the game or use a PS2 emulator to access Biollante's files and play as her, as multiple individuals have already done.

Godzilla: Unleashed[]

Biollante is a terrifying example of mankind's ability to unleash horrors upon the world. The result of anti-monster mutagen experiments gone horribly awry, Biollante is a patchwork mix of human, plant, and monster DNA.

Biollante's sheer height and mass make her the largest known monster by a good margin, and if it were not for her limited mobility there is little doubt that she would have established herself already as Earth's most powerful monster. As a mutant, Biollante holds no special allegiance to any of her genetic kindred-though she does seem to harbor special animosity towards Godzilla.

Biollante's quick-extending vines and corrosive poison spray make her a threat at range, while her massive jaws and incredible strength make her deadly up close.
― Biollante Godzilla: Unleashed bio

Biollante appears in the Wii version of the 2007 game Godzilla: Unleashed. She is the biggest monster in the game, being 130 meters. This version is bigger than the movie version. Her size and vines give her a different fighting style. She cannot jump, instead she can 'stand' on her vines for a few seconds.

Her heavy weight also prevents her from being picked up and thrown, and instead of being blown away by powerful attacks, she simply falls over. She has the slowest walk but makes up for it with her tunneling ability and charge.

Her vines can fire from long distances while her giant mouth works well at close range, making her dangerous at any range. However despite high HP, her defense is weak and can be overwhelmed by offensive combos.

Godzilla Unleashed: Double Smash[]

Biollante also appears in the Nintendo DS game Godzilla Unleashed: Double Smash, but is larger than her normal movie version, since it is clearly shown in the game itself that Biollante is as tall as the Eiffel Tower.

Godzilla (2014 video game)[]

An enormous living creature genetically produced by Dr. Shiragami, one of the topmost authorities on genetic engineering. In an attempt to resurrect his daughter Erika after she was killed in a terrorist attack, Dr. Shiragami combined his daughter's cells with a rose bush and the powerful, self-reproductive ability of Godzilla's G-cells, successfully creating a plant with eternal life in the process. However, the influence of the G-cells proved to be overpowering, and the genetically produced plant mutated into a monster that could spew a powerful corrosive sap. Still, Erika's consciousness survived within the monster, albeit faintly.

Biollante escaped the Shiragami New Plant Research Laboratory near Lake Ashi in Kanagawa and began to grow exponentially, eventually appearing as a giant flower-monster with gargantuan flora blossoming in the lake. Sensing the existence of another monster with similar biological makeup, it used its fanged roots to take on Godzilla. After succumbing to Godzilla's atomic breath and disintegrating into glistening particles, it absorbed that same energy that mutated it into a plant monster with crocodile mandibles. The plant monster proceeded to move nimbly through the ground, causing earth tremors while attempting to to assimilate Godzilla as its prey.

As the first new monster in the Heisei series, Biollante's costume required not only stuntmen to operate it from the inside, but also a crew of 20 who manipulated 32 piano wires to mobilize the beast.
― Biollante Kaiju Guide bio

Biollante appears as a boss in the 2014 Godzilla video game. She will appear in Area 17 at night during Stage 6. She attacks by using her vines as a melee weapons, and she will spit sap at Godzilla. As her life bar runs out, her abdomen-light will change color and blink. Occasionally, the Super X2 will arrive and enter battle with her.

Moveset[]

Square Tap: Ivy Attack (2 hit attack)
Two taps: Ivy Attack (4 hit attack)
X
Tap: Charge
Forward + Tap: Bite
Triangle Tap: Ivy Whip
Forward + Tap: Subterranean Ivy Attack (Front)
Backward + Tap: Subterranean Ivy Attack (Area)
Circle Tap: Acid Sap
Roar + Tap: Acid Sap Shower
R2 Tentacle Dance

Godzilla: Kaiju Collection[]

Biollante appeared within the title Godzilla: Kaiju Collection in both her rose, and final form.

Comics[]

Godzilla, King of the Monsters[]

Biollante appears in Kodansya's Godzilla manga. Revived by the mad doctor Oniyama, this new 'Biollante Neo' fought Godzilla. Eventually, Godzilla lifts her up and Megalon accidentally kills her with his lightning bolt. Biollante's DNA was later incorporated into Oniyama's final and finest creation, King Godzilla, manifesting as her head when his chest was blown apart and regenerated to activate her DNA.

The Godzilla Comic[]

In the fourth story in The Godzilla Comic, Monster Warrior Godzilla, Biollante is one of Godzilla's opponents. Godzilla is attacked by Biollante, but kills her by slicing her head off with a gigantic sword.

The Godzilla Comic Raids Again[]

Biollante also appeared in the The Godzilla Comic Raids Again living in space debris. She attempted to stop the Xiliens in their Earth conquest by battling King Ghidorah. Biollante was even able to absorb the space dragon's energy via a gravity beam, and transform into a plant-like King Ghidorah clone. But, even with her new enhancements, Biollante was defeated.

Godzilla: Oblivion[]

In the fourth issue of Godzilla: Oblivion, Biollante emerged from an interdimensional portal alongside Mothra, Rodan, Anguirus, King Caesar, and Zilla while Godzilla was battling Mecha-King Ghidorah (Hedorah joined them in the next issue). Biollante was seen with the other monsters trying to fight the cyborg monster but she then decided to rampage throughout the city. Later, after Mecha-King Ghidorah was defeated by Godzilla, all of the monsters were left behind as the humans left the Earth as it became covered by tiny robotic cells that served as interdimensional doorways.

In other languages[]

  • Russian: Биолланте
  • Chinese: 碧奥兰蒂

Trivia[]

  • With her weight of 220,000 tons (200,000 metric tons) in her final form, Biollante is the heaviest Toho monster to appear on film, and was the tallest monster at the time.
  • Biollante is the first creature to have Godzilla's DNA. The others are SpaceGodzilla, Orga, Megaguirus, and Kiryu.
  • Biollante's rose form was originally going to look more like a lily, with a gigantic tendril extending out of its center.
  • In the Trendmasters Godzilla toy line, Biollante is said to be a male, which is inaccurate.
  • Biollante is the only opponent Godzilla fights in the Heisei series who is unable to fly in her standard form.
  • Biolante in her final form bears a striking resemblance to Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors as they both are monstrous, and scary looking plant monsters destroying cities.
  • Biollante, or a monster similar to her, was meant to be part of the Genseishin Justirisers series.
  • Biollante is the first female kaiju in the Godzilla series that isn't an insect.
  • Biollante shares many similarities with SpaceGodzilla, suggesting that she is more likely responsible for SpaceGodzilla's creation than Mothra. These similarities include tusks on the sides of her mouth, membranes on the inside of her mouth, rows of sharp teeth inside of her mouth, a screeching roar, and the ability to break apart into energy spores after being mortally wounded.
  • Biollante, like her other kaiju cohorts has been referenced and seen in external media outside of the Godzilla franchise.
    • Biollante's wailing cry was used for a scene in the Japanese horror sequel Ring 2, where the protagonists make contact with the afterlife.
    • Biollante is the world 4 boss in I Wanna Be The Boshy, a PC game known for being incredibly difficult.
    • In Sonic Adventure, Perfect Chaos resembles Biollante in appearance and size.
  • After Biollante's rose form was defeated, the vision of the second form that was seen made a cry not used when it returned later in the movie.
  • In an interview with Michael Dougherty and Ken Watanabe, the former revealed that if he could direct another Godzilla movie, he revealed he would like to include Biollante in it.[3]

List of appearances[]

Films[]

Video games[]

Comics[]

References[]

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