Muruchi's name comes from the Japanese pork dish Inamuruchi.
The "Zoa" in Zoa Muruchi's name means "Hate" in the Alien Mate's language, hence Bio's hatred against Earth for his father's death.
Design
Muruchi's head design is based on a salmon. Muruchi features some elements of his design in common with male salmonids (fish in the salmon family, including salmon, trout, grayling and char), such as his long jaw and hooked kype.
History
Return of Ultraman
Muruchi in Return of Ultraman
The first Muruchi was originally seen chasing after Ryo Sakuma at the beginning of the episode, until encountered and sealed underground by an Alien Mates, who would later adopt the boy. However, Alien Mates was tragically shot and killed by a police officer in an angry mob (who were trying to kill the boy too).
The death of Alien Mates caused the sealing of Muruchi to be undone, allowing the monster to resume its reign of terror. Believing that those people who were responsible for the innocent alien's murder, Hideki Go initially refused to transform into Ultraman Jack and let the villagers reap for their sins, but he eventually did under the persuasion of Captain Ryu Ibuki. From the moment the battle began, Jack held the upper hand against Muruchi, He easily dealt with the monster in hand-to-hand combat, eventually forcing Muruchi to the floor. Jack threw Muruchi into a burning oil refinery, leaving the monster howling in pain, then finished him off by firing his Spacium Beam into the wreckage, killing him instantly. The Monster User and the Boy
Muruchi reappeared in Ultraman Ace episodes 7 and 8 as Muruchi Ⅱ(ムルチ二代目, Muruchi Nisei).
A second Muruchi appeared in the middle of the battle between Ultraman Ace, Doragory, and Alien Metron Jr.. As TAC looked on, Muruchi II immediately joined the fight, beating up Ace, then joining Doragory and Metron Jr. in tag-teaming the Ultra, briefly overwhelming him. Monster vs. Terrible-Monster vs. Alien
Despite intending to help the others, Muruchi II's appearance was short-lived. Muruchi II picked up Ace and threw him to the ground, but then tripped and accidentally rammed into Doragory. Doragory brutally assaulted Muruchi II, throwing him to the ground, then tearing off his jaw. As Muruchi II screamed in agony, Doragory continued his attack, grabbing hold of and ripping off the monster's left leg, leaving him to die a slow and horrific death. Life of the Sun Is the Life of Ace
Trivia
Muruchi II is very thin compared to the first generation, he is colored more silver, and the tip of the tail is shaped like a tail fin of a fish.
Muruchi II's sudden appearance in the series has caused some confusion as to how or why he appeared. Some believe that this Muruchi was in fact the original, having survived his fight with Ultraman Jack, and was disturbed by Ultraman Ace's battle.
However the Ultraman Encyclopedia states that Muruchi II is actually the son of the first, theorizing that the first Muruchi might had laid an egg sometime before he fought Jack.
Seagorath was originally intended to appear in Muruchi's place, but was changed for unclear reasons.
The Muruchi II costume is actually an altered first generation Muruchi costume. It was used in other works over the years and became too battered to be used any futher, which is why the developers decided to have Muruchi II ripped apart by Doragory in the screen play.
Zoa Muruchi(ゾアムルチ) was originally a normal Muruchi being enhanced through biological remodeling when Bio sneaked into Earth in the early years when defense forces was very weak.
Zoa Muruchi was created by Bio, the son of the original Alien Mates (from Return of Ultraman), but this time as a means of vengeance against the humans for killing his father. And then Bio unleashed Zoa Muruchi to destroy the nearby city. While Zoa Muruchi and Ultraman Mebius fought, Bio met a woman, a principal of a kindergarten, who tells him that she knew the boy whom the elder Bio's father had adopted. After learning of a tragic story about his adopted brother's efforts to find the his father's UFO, Bio found reason to forgive the humans, however he had created Zoa Mururchi as the embodiment of his hatred towards the humans. Overcome with grief, but wanted to believe in human kindness again, Bio then called out to Mebius to end his hatred by destroying Zoa Muruchi. Mebius used the Mebium Shoot, and destroyed Zoa Muruchi, after it let out one last anguish-filled cry, ending the suffering the human disguised Mates had gone through. The Monster Master's Legacy
Trivia
Zoa Muruchi's design is more streamlined than the normal Muruchi and they have a cluster of blue spots on their belly, as well as yellow highlights on the fins.
Despite being different variants, Zoa Muruchi's suit is used to represent the normal Muruchi in modern recreations of the scenes from Return of Ultraman episode 33.
Ultra Galaxy Mega Monster Battle
Zoa Muruchi, as seen in Ultra Galaxy Mega Monster Battle
Confronting the ZAP SPACY underwater after King Joe Black shot the Pendragon down into the ocean, Zoa Muruchi was attracted by a sonar frequency that the ZAP SPACY had created to scare away a group of Arigeras. Threatened by the imposing monster, Rei sent out Eleking to battle it, as Gomora was not as adept at fighting underwater. The battle went back and forth, but eventually, Eleking's electric attacks proved too strong, and Zoa Muruchi was destroyed by his electric tail shock. The Pendragon Doesn't Rise to the Surface!
Zoa Muruchi returned in episode 12 of Ultraman Ginga S, where he was Monslived by Alien GutsVorst to attack Chigusa Kuno and Alien MetronJace. Metron grew to the monster's size but before he can strike, Muruchi fired his Energy Beam at him and he was struck down. Ultraman Victory and
Ultraman Ginga appeared to assist him but they could only accomplish so much. They only distracted and held off but Muruchi only wanted to put the hurt on Metron Jace. When the alien started dancing with his lighters, thanks to Chigusa's singing, Muruchi became distracted by the alien's singing and dancing and, as a result, got blown up by a combination of Victory's Victorium Shoot and Ginga Strium's Ultra Shot. In Order to Meet You
Trivia
The long take and cut of the battle scene at the rugged oil tanks, might possibly be paying tribute to the original Muruchi's battle against Ultraman Jack.
This is the final appearance of Zoa Muruchi's suit. Two years later in Ultraman Orb, the suit was modified into Maga-Jappa. However, a cheaper suit still exists for stage show events.
Tri-Squad VoiceDrama
"A trump card needs to be saved for the last, Ares. Now throw down your weapons. That kid's life depends on you."
―Imbiza to Ares.
As recalled in Ultraman Taiga's past, a modified variant called Re-Muruchi(改造ムルチ, Kaizō Muruchi) was one of the members of Gua Army's Mechanized Monster Army under Imbiza's leadership. While Imbiza launched his army against Andro Ares on Planet Maijii, Re-Muruchi was kept hidden under the sea to capture Taiga and used the young Ultra as a leverage to force Ares into surrendering himself. Outraged by Imbiza's use of dirty tactic, Taiga mustered all of his strength to escape and toss his captor in mid-air before punching through the monster's gut, giving Ares the opportunity to deliver his counterattack on the Battle Captain himself. For Whom Is That Fist For - Part 2
Trivia
Modified Muruchi's death may be a reference to its Ace incarnation who teamed up with Doragory, the latter's defeat also having a hole punched through it.
Heat Ray: Muruchi can fire a flame-like heat beam of yellow energy from his mouth. Medium in strength, this ray can cause small explosions.
Burrowing: Muruchi can burrow at low speeds.
Heat Ray
Muruchi II
Muruchi II
Stats
Height: 48 m
Weight: 10,000 t
Origin: Underground
Powers and Weapons
Burrowing: Muruchi II can burrow.
Smokescreen: Before Muruchi II reveals itself, he unleashes a mist to cover the area.
Smokescreen
Zoa Muruchi
Zoa Muruchi
Stats
Height: 48 m
Weight: 10,000 t
Origin: Planet Mates (Ultraman Mebius), Planet Boris (Ultra Galaxy Mega Monster Battle)
Attack: 800
Defense: 800
Speed: 700
Powers and Weapons
Energy Beam: Zoa Muruchi can launch a beam of blue energy from his mouth. This beam is relatively powerful, capable of covering whatever it strikes in a series of explosions and rivals Eleking's electric discs in power.
Underwater Adaption: Zoa Muruchi can easily maneuver and fight underwater.
Energy Beam
Underwater Adaption
Other Media
Kagayake Ultra no Hoshi
In the non-canon manga Kagayake Ultra no Hoshi, a Muruchi was one of the many monsters under Giant Yapool's command to fight against Ace in Shikoku, Japan.
The first known figure of Muruchi was created by Popy in 1978 as part of the "King Zaurus" toyline. It has about four to five rotating parts, and its design is relatively show-accurate. However, being an older figure, its paint job isn't incredibly accurate to the costume seen in the show, painted with mostly red as well as some yellow and green around the body. The figure stands at approximately 6-7 inches in height.
A figure of Muruchi II was created by Marmit in 2010. It's estimated to have six rotating parts and it is highly show-accurate when compared to the original. The figure is approximately 9 inches in height.
In more recent years, a figure of Zoa Muruchi was released as part of the Ultra Monster 500 series. The figure has three rotating parts and has a somewhat show-accurate paint job, however, its appearance lacks certain details that are noticeable in the show. The figure is # 38 in the series and stands at 5 inches in height.
