I have a headcanon that whatever gas Narwa and Ibushi produce to stay afloat causes animals (including people like humans and wyverians) to trip absolute balls, hence the whole linking with the serpents that the twins have.
Honestly would make a lot of sense. Gases with extraordinary qualities tend to have more than one, including messing with the brain like that. It's also my headcanon for the they "speaking" part. That sounds a whole lot like what the people would think, not what the massive sky serpent elder that prolly saw the hunters more as very annoying ants would think even if they were sapient.
Lavasioth Candiru are fish that live in the gills of larger fish and feed on their bloodstream Maybe Lavasioth do the same thing with Zorah Also if Zorah are from the old world and crossing the sea during the elder crossing There might be more of them there And that could explain why old world Lavasioth are so big cause they have more hosts
@@PangaeaUltima-xu7hu Maybe, if they’re related to jyra they probably do. But if we go off the information UHC has given in the snake wyvern video then it’s probable that Zorah are very rare, or at least adults are and most Zorah die very young. Possibly due to lavasioth parasites draining too many nutrients from adolescent and juvenile specimens and due to both the participants size even a adolescent Zorah could host multiple lavasioth which certainly have a higher metabolism than most typical parasites
The Serpents do seem like oddities that are so specialized for an aerial lifestyle that when they have to come down to earth to lay their clutch that they become almost paranoid and nuke the surrounding area to protect themselves and their eggs which may take a while to hatch as they presumably are born ready to go despite having a long life history
I think Narwa either gives live birth or is ovoviparous - which is when an animal has eggs that develop inside her womb, hatch inside her and are then pushed out of her once they're truly ready.
Things I felt were of note- The Rise art book confirms that the Ibushi consumption is unusual, it was a willing sacrifice on his end to protect his family. The Orbs along her Thundersack are also confirmed to be eggs, seeing as this is this is constant for both High and Master rank Allmother we know that she has at most eight offspring per breeding season, that may seem like a lot considering it’s 4 times the hypothetical replenishment rate but considering just how large organisms they are and the fact the breed at most once in a half century and take that long minimum to reach reproductive maturity means they are HEAVILY leaning into K-selection. Filter Feeding Serpents is an interesting idea, I presumably thought they were similar to moray eels, piscivore analogs who hunt down slippery prey much smaller than they are. (presumably flying monsters like Wyverns) As for my personal thoughts I like them even if I think the **narrative** of Rise lets them down, I don’t like the games tone in general but they do feel like a sort of sympathetic antagonist and if you lean on that more then they work very well. I don’t actually dislike the idea of Elder Dragons or at least some of them being sapient and if they were more explicit on how the Serpents “Paradise” was their family to be and that the act of reproduction itself is what necessitates them to destroy the local environment then you could really play up the tragedy of them fighting tooth and nail to reunite and continue the circle of life despite its effects on the wider world. Making the parallel between them and the community of Kamura as two families being ripped apart by forces fated to conflict with each other can make their inevitable deaths a poignant reminder on the nature of life and conflict rather than the celebration it is in game.
I really like the idea of a monster with human level intelligence. Commenting on how humans warp and exploit nature by showing us a monstrous mirror. And I could’ve SWORN the iceborne lore book said safi’jiiva and fatalis had human level or beyond, intelligence. Though safi and fatty's fights don’t do a terribly good job showing that intelligence.
@@huntlordx8885 I mean you could argue they show elements of it like Safi’jiiva prioritizing the highest dps hunter and Fatalis attempting to melt you. Safi’jiiva also altering the Guiding Lands to suit its needs is a nice touch.
@@huntlordx8885well Fatalis is well known for its intelligence and fatalis will melt you onto its skin for ‘extra’ armor and can regenerate or be born from a single scale of a Fatalis.
I do like your idea about showing the conflict between the two sides and showing the parallels between the two would have made for a better story; maybe they'll show up again in a future game if with more focus on the story. Hopefully, story will be a consideration for MH games moving forward. Honestly, I would like to see these two back in a future game especially one in which they can show the serpents effect on the environment and their "need" to destroy.
I know many people are not fans of these two, but I personally love them. I think elder dragons are at their best when they are super weird. And their battle themes, all three of them, are amazing.
I like them quite a lot. They are very unique elder dragons that don't reuse the same normal European dragon rig but instead go for something completely unique. I hope wilds new elder dragon will be also unique just like rise & sunbreacks elders Narwa and Gaismagorm. Maby the new elder dragon the white wraith is a snake like serpentine dragon that is Maby inspired by South American dragon if they do go further In to the more tribal direction in wilds.
@@dohickey7184I really really, really despise the mystical shit that Monster Hunter uses with elders and personally I can’t like a fight designed around the wirebug because I despise the wirebug as a concept
While I didnt like em at first, and there's alot other elder dragons I prefer, I've grown to appreciate how alien they look and behave the same manner has xeno andd safi, there's something about how they just float in the air that makes me believe they arent actually from the planet, more so than any other elder dragons, I mean most elder dragons have 5 limbs has the go to for differention from other every other "normal" wyvern, but the whole magnetism usage and floating in the air upside down makes them feel really foreign to the world when compared to other elders even similar ones like Amatsu or Yama tsukami.
23:00 *Insert Hinoa and all other wyverians getting blasted steadly by a wave of hormonal signals from Ibushi that are roughly translated to "I'M HORNY AF NEED NARWA MILKIES" for most of the entirety of Rise's story here, honestly I'd rather have that than the weird mind controlling thing they added between the twins.
Very glad that, overall, this video was positive. Rampage gameplay and Resonance aside, this was actually a pretty glowing review of the two of them, and I think they deserve it. For all the faults of the story, isolated from it, Ibushi and Narwa are just so new. So fresh. Even with Amatsu existence, with it's addition in Sunbreak it's shown clear as day just how different the Serpents are from it. The use of so many underwater motifs, the coral-like horns, anemone-like glowing bits, their whale Ventral Pleats, which ironically enough support the filter-feeder theory. They're all around really fascinating designs that manage to be weird in a way that still feels genuine and in the spirit of Monster Hunter. My personal theory for awhile were that they were smaller, sea-dwelling monsters they, like the Flying Fish, jumped out of the water a lot and had adaptations for prolonged gliding before returning to the water. This just continued to evolve for better and better prolonged airtime before they left the sea entirely, and their underwater adaptations being relatively well-fitting change to fit the high altitudes they live at. The parasite theory is also really cool though. So all in all, great video. Hard to imagine the Serpents coming back. I think the best thing to do with them is having easter eggs of them being barely visible, high in the sky and clouds, just like Ibushi in Rise's intro.
Haven't finished the video yet but I had a feeling the video was going to be more positive despite UHC's feelings on Rise. I remember him responding to a comment that asked what he thought of the Rise monsters as a whole, and while he said they're his least favorite batch of monsters atm, he really liked Ibushi and Narwa, along with Rakna-kadaki. As for Sunbreak, he doesn't like Garangolm, thinks Lunagaron is alright, likes Malzeno well enough, and really likes Gaismagorm.
I thought that the rampages were cool. I was determined to finish the game solo, that made me try to understand the Rampage mechanics better and, honestly, I had fun with them. It's nice to have an alternative game mode to the classic hunts.
This was a very interesting take on the sudden kill. I always interpretexd it as Ibushi sacrificing himswlf to Narwa in order to give her a boost and be able to either flee or repel the threat (the hunter) once and for all. As the song that played in Allmother's phase is, if I remember correctly, talking about Narwa mourning the death of Ibushi.
My theory is that the sky serpents' floating abilities are neotenic, in a way. If a given environment can seemingly only support a few Elders, this would necessitate the swift dispersal of their young to prevent their habitat's resources being rapidly depleted. With their especially great size, Narwa and Ibushi's ancestors would need _especially_ massive territories, so perhaps the aerial floating began as a way for the wingless offspring to establish themselves in distant habitats before their parents could outcompete their own progeny. This dispersal method would then be co-opted by the adults when they switched to a wholly aerial lifestyle. This is just a theory, however; there are most likely holes in it. Edit: also, I think the next video is Radobaan and Uragaan. You can hear the jaw slams at the end.
To add to this if we look at UHCs theory that the sky serpents are actually derived draconic tapeworms the floating ability could be used by there young to disperse to find a host if there ancestor past there eggs through a hosts digestive track before they became independant of it Also the pairs weird jaws would make since if they had an ancestory as parasites and would explain the hook like teeth and they could either be on the way to losing them overtime or they play some roll in feeding well young being more active predators before switching to filter feeding as they grow large
I think Ibushi willingly offered himself to Narwa, since it was his last chance to mate with her. But also with this, he gave her his last remaining power, to help her fight off the hunter. It couldn't do much more anyway and was already close to dying. Elder Dragons are mostly shown to be very intelligent, sometimes even human level intelligence. So a decision like this would make sense. I think their mating usually doesn't involve killing Ibushi. But what might be happening under normal circumstances is that Ibushi offers a part of its power to Narwa every once in a while to feed her, especially while pregnant.
my understanding as well, he looks to be intentionally be trying to secure insemination while also giving his mate as much of his power/energy he still has to help her fight off the predator or in this case the hunter that manage to fatally wound him; while in any other situation where he would remain healthy, i think ibushi and narwa may continue living together until the babies grow enough to no longer need him around for the extra protection.
I could see the pharyngeal jaws of Narwa and Ibushi to be an adaptation for soft-bodied, large-sized aeroplankton, similarly to the throat spikes of leatherbacks and penguins. We do see that animals exist on a scale from macropredator to filter-feeder- leopard seals are a good example of this, having powerful jaws to tackle moderately-sized prey like penguins and other seals, but also possessing molars that can be used to strain krill or small fish from the water, with up to 83% of their diet being krill consumed in this way when large prey is scarce. So perhaps this is an inverted version- large pouch-like external processing to capture and strain small prey, with the larger jaws being used to snag animals such as the assorted soft-bodied aeroplankton we see in World. So perhaps there's a whole ecosystem up there, inhabited by creatures such as Iceborne's Wintermoon Nettle that are only rarely seen at surface altitudes.
Maybe the canabilism is a means of offspring protection the hunter was strong enough to take on ibushi so it and narwa made a desperate last attempt for the pair to protect their unborn young/nest, maybe narwa consuming ibushi for a power boost is something similar to how rajang eats kirin horns to jumpstart their lightning.
23:25 I don’t think that the dialogue was what they were actually thinking. I think it was more like what the people of Kamura they thought the dragons were thinking and giving them human emotions, sorta like how people think cats are trying to destroy them when the cat attacks their hand, when in reality it’s just how they play. I think Narwa and Ibushi were just trying to mate and the people of kamura saw it as them wanting to destroy the world because of their destructive powers.
I wasn't expecting to get a video on the storm serpents, i'm so glad! Ibushi is my favourite monster in the series, so a video dedicated to him is a wonderful treat
my only REAL issue with these 2 is the fact that the mystery is sort of gone the moment you see them like in world it's, what is the elder crossing? why is nergigante here? why are elders going here to die? and the game has you solve it gradually, Rise is sort of just "OH SNAP IBUSHI, here is his back story, his goal, his mothers maiden name and his credit card info"
I think that is just a matter of setting. The New World is right on the tin- it's new, therefore the ecology and life cycles of the region are unknown, and there is almost no history or mythos to take queues from, (among the few would be the legend of the Sapphire Star, which if Xeno/Safi was indeed the Sapphire Star, then it turns out to have been a bad thing instead of a good omen all along, which was an interesting twist for sure.) Kamura is an old place with a lot of history and mythos, therefore the people have stories of the appearance of Ibushi and Narwa, have a basic understanding of their dynamic and the consequences of their coming, (devastating storms.) While I was mentally prepared to have to fight the two togethers as a duo, their size and fights would have made that mostly an exercise in frustration- I admit I was pretty surprised by the turn at the end where Narwa consumes Ibushi's power to gain mastery of both elements. This was both an interesting twist and a cool display of the personalities of the creatures- Ibushi's unyielding dedication to securing the future of his offspring at any cost, and it felt like the following battle was a display of Narwa's rage towards the hunter for causing the death of her mate, whom she was begrudgingly forced to kill in a hopes of their children having a chance in this world. I was touched by the tragedy of the scenario. For World, I didn't feel that the story portrayed the personality of most of the Elder Dragons, they are simply forces of nature who do X because that is what they do. Which nothing is wrong with, but it didn't evoke the emotional sympathy that I felt for Ibushi and Narwa, so this is something I distinctly feel that Rise's story actually delivered better. I am honestly curious as to what the motivations of Shara Ishvalda were, or what Safi'Jiva would do once it has absorbed enough bioenergy. Did they have an intention? Did Shara want to collapse the Secluded Valley to crush the pupating Xeno'Jiva to avoid disaster? Was Safi'Jiva just a highly intelligent biosphere destroyer, or would it do something else once it is sated, possibly something even beneficial as part of some sort of grander life cycle of the New World, where it depletes then rejuvenates ecosystems? Personally, I have a lot of problems with Nergigante's revealed intentions, or at least what we were shown. It was going to feed on Zorah's bioenergy once it died? How? Zorah is too large and too tough to get into, how does this work? Presumably the death of a Zorah Magdaros is a major ecological event that can provide bioenergy for thousands or millions of organisms- Nergi can't secure that corpse alone. Then Ruined Nergi went to Origin Isle to stop Shara Ishvalda? I simply don't believe that Ruined Nergi could defeat Shara Ishvalda in combat, considering that Shara is larger than it, very likely stronger than it, (it moved around while wearing the rock armor that likely weighed well over 30,000 lbs, and or it has effectively magical geokinesis abilities to move said rocks which only further solidifies it as beyond any normal lifeform,) can casually cause the collapse of massive rock formations, and not to mention the big one- if Shara *does* have any predators and can indeed be defeated by Ruined Nergi, Shara is effectively impossible to hunt. It can dissolve the ground around it into sand and sink into the earth rapidly, effectively making it immune to predation. The player defeating it can be handwaved by it being a Monster Hunter game, where monsters don't flee combat like they actually would.
@@user-mr6hc9hy2t good point their I guess records might exist of them before hand, but I feel when the point was "what caused the rampage" I would have preferred finding out myself, maybe after finding the big fossils in the volcano With Nergigante eating Zorah, I think the process too is a mystery, which further adds to worlds mysteries Share destroying the place you fight it in I always saw as more accidental, like he's just THAT powerful that the area around him is falling apart As for why Ruiner hunted it, it just saw it as a tonne off hard to get, but VERY rich food, we never got to see the 2 fight though due to us beating ruiner before fight started As for Safi, he's apparently classed as a black dragon, so the end result of draining an area would probably be he leaves full of energy and the land is barren Thing I have noticed with all black dragons is that they all force the world to leave them alone in some way . Fatalis is naturally feared by all, leaving its territory empty . Alatreon is agitated by EVERYTHING so it chooses to live in isolation in extreme locations . Dire Miralis boils the seas it is in, killing everything near it . Safi drains the area it lives in, making it desolate
I really do hope they implement these two back especially since Wilds is now looking at a proper weather system, they could properly show a Narwa and Ibushi's -ACTUAL- environmental effect in action. ie. Narwa and Ibushi spawning in a map causes massive environmental changes that -removes- anything else in the map until the two leave or die. I think this might be the future of Monster Hunter especially calamity-tier monsters-- allowing the monsters to show what they are capable off, not just with their moveset but also their effect on the environment.
From the very start I was certain that hinoa wasn't hearing ibushi she was just straight up going insane, and honestly my theory is still out there hinoa's "possession" might just her stressing so much of ibushi's destruction she started hearing voices in her head and started going insane Someone needs to check up on her cause she cannot be trusted with an oversized weapon
I absolutely love the idea of the serpent elders being derived parasites of the Giga-Megafauna that MH call home, seriously makes incredible sense to me upon retrospect and comparing their anatomy. This is now my headcannon.
Also, from what I heard, the whole evilness that Ibushi and especially Narwa had is mainly in the English translation. In Japanese, it's more or less indifference or excitement at the prospect of having offspring. I still think that the two "talking" is a poor writing choice, but eh.
The Resonance phenomenon has multiple contributing factors beyond "possession to talk". There's the Wyverian angle of course, but Hinoa and Minoto are identical twins which is rare in Wyverians and are known for exaggerating the angle of twins feeling each other across distances. And then you have the Elder Dragons known for communicating across vast distances and use that to explicitly herd the local Monster populations via their Resonance. And that's a major thing, too. The Rampage itself is due to Resonance, and Hinoa and Minoto ended up basically becoming "resonance chambers" for the Storm Serpents' thoughts, likely interpreted rather than literal. Whereas most Monsters are simply sent into an organized frenzy, with the Rampage Apexes in particular becoming vessels of pure rage who can utilize Resonance to a degree as well, the Wyverian twins with their unique bond and abilities end up becoming "the voices of the gods" like traditional Japanese priestesses who interpreted the kami. And Resonance can be applied to other parts of the lore, too. The big one is Safi'jiiva, Alatreon, and Fatalis. Resonance would be a good established means of explaining how they're sensing each other across vast continental distances, having the most powerful Elder Dragons' raw emotions being tangibly felt by other equally powerful Elder Dragons.
@@2468h-s9eTo be fair, Rise and most of its specific made monsters, sucked. From talking Elder Dragons apparently being able to posses and mind control to a degree, to Magnamalo or whatever it's called, Rise is the "Frontier" MH title for the Western world.
Despite being less focused on ecology in general, I'd say portable final bosses are generally more ecologically grounded than their "numbered" game counterparts, which are mostly "evil dragon blows stuff up because nobody knows".
I'm pretty sure the Serpents don't have any mind control abilities, and the mind control effect we see on the twins is a result of their Resonance ability instead. Resonance appears to function similarly to a radio antenna, but for emotions, and so the "mind control" occurs when the Serpents' emotions are strong enough to overwhelm the twins and drown out their own thoughts. I imagine the Serpents "speaking" through the twins is not the Serpents' own words, but instead the twins unconsciously putting those emotions into human words like sleep talking.
At first I wasn't very keen on the serpants at first hunting them, but overtime I grew to like and appreciate them more everytime I hunted them. They are amazing monsters.
One theory I would suggest for All-Mother Narwa would be that she becomes hermaphrodite with the transformation. It could be that Ibushi and Narwa are a heavily monogamous couple, not choosing a new mate once they lost their own, and maybe this transformation is a response to that. To ensure Narwa can still reproduce after losing Ibushi, she consumes him, his genes and his bioenergy to trigger the transformation, becoming an hermaphrodite in the process while adquiring his powers too, thanks to the bioenergy.
Excellent work done on what are likely the weirdest monsters covered so far, I always expected Amatsu to be included with them but given how much space their breeding biology took I don't think there was much left for it. Given their role as filter feeders of the skies, I kinda wonder if the duo actually went unrecorded for long because they spend a lot of time in the Coral Highlands feeding on coral eggs and eventually move back to the Old World to breed (Coral Highlands are afterall barely explored due to the first expedition being halted by Legiana for years). I'm almost tempted to suggest a migratory fish-like cycle in which the babies are born in the Old World (the concentration of elders during the Crossing might make the New one too much of a hazard as a breedign ground) and use it as a nursery, then at some point they migrate over to the coral highlands to bulk feed and boost their growth, and eventually move back to Old World to breed. If not, there could also be some unknown locale in the monster hunter world that serves the same purpose... As for next video, I guess the teaser answers my question about if the large ore eaters would be treated together or separately. Really looking forward to it, ore eating is a topic I think has been too "normalized" in the MH universe but should get more covering about how it works and the evolutionary pressures behind it (kinda tempted to say it was born from osteophagy?)
I personally like the idea of elder dragons haveing human like level's of spaience, that said I do agree that they should never be too anthropomorphized. Though in regards to Ibushi and Narwa I never really got the impression that they were evil in the story. While yes they were causing mass havoc their main motivation was to simply find one another and raise their children safely, if anything they seemed to be portrayed more sympathetically compared to other end bosses.
I love your Monster Hunter Ecology videos so much they are all so interesting ! Found your channel a few days ago, subscribed, and has been binging a ton of them ; couldn't be happier seeing this one pop up today ! Wonderful work
They are underated and unique. The fact that we find out that they have full blown conversations with each other through the twins resonations should make us wonder how unique that is. Can Gaismagorm think like they can too? Do other high level elder dragons have consciousness like them?
In the Allmother fight where Ibushi died, it took me a minute to realize he'd even died, I thought it was just a sort of similar situation to the Teo/Luna interaction in World
It would be an interesting thought if the serpents evolved from ancient stray qurio parasites having fed on Amatsu, and eventually taking on its characteristics. That could also explain the two serpents having a mouth similar to Gaismagorm
The "dragon tapeworm" hypothesis is something I didn't think I needed to hear about. I hate and love it at the same time. Parasites evolving into non-parasitic lifeforms is a very untapped spec evo/bio.
Regarding the question of Elder Dragon intelligence, intelligence is something that's pretty difficult to measure when the animals in question (especially from the perspective of humans) don't have a capability to express it so easily as we do....
Lovely video. I thought about angler fish with the consumption of ibushi, adding the traits to the female in a physical way. Totally agree about the story pieces…but did enjoy the monsters! Kinda hoped their offspring was amatsu, but that doesn’t quite make sense.
You really cooked with this one, I love the suggestion that the sky serpents are descended from some kind of zorah magdaros tapeworm from hell. That would be a really interesting concept for MH to explore, a multistage parasite within one of the more gargantuan elders, that eventually breaks loose of the host and molts into a wind serpent esque imago form to reproduce. you could do some interesting narrative stuff with that, similar to the mystery around Zorah in World.
Felt really torn to not vote for Ibushi on the favorite monster poll. Ibushi gracefully floating from the sky in the rampage really stuck with me and I absolutely love his theme song. Idk what it is about Ibushi that Narwa doesn't have but I really enjoy him.
I really liked the serpent duo, my only gripe with them is that there was no hunt with both of them at the same time, as I feel that would've made them really stand out among final bosses in MH. I hope Capcom takes the concept of two related monsters being responsible for the plot again, and actually have us fight both together with unique tandem attacks.
With these two being based on seahorses, who are famous for males being the ones to carry eggs, I wonder if Capcom will make an ibushi variant one day when they need to fill the monster roster. The reason for its emergence would be its narwa somehow got seriously injured and died so it took over the eggs and some of narwa's power at the last second. And now aside from wind powers it can also shoot dark dragon lightning all over the place
They have EM abilities, perhaps using them to communicate. Maybe the twins were just picking up the signals and rerouting them through their brains over and over until it made enough sense for them to speak out loud.
I can't find the source anymore because finding information on the internet is apparently impossible now, but the skull shape for Narwa and Ibushi is based on a "dragon fossil" that was dug up in historic Japan. I'm sure the info is better attainable somewhere
Or taking his gonads in the bite Like an anglerfish breeding She takes in the males gonads Also, might i add with the added part of the male gonads also producing the hormone needed to increase strength in their wind power organ The hormone is quite potent in the male so much so that the female intake of said hormone has taken such a fast effect
I’m still really sad we didn’t get a narwa and ibushi double battle. It would be so cool fighting both of them at the same time even if it’s was in an optional quest.
Taking the perspectives of the video on the Resonance and the morality/intelligence of elder dragons and running with that a bit, I think an excuse could be made for the twins giving a perspective of intelligent maliciousness without compromising the integrity of elder dragons still being animals. Kamura is under threat by the elder dragons, and so the view on their actions is inherently seen as negative by the inhabitants. With this negative painting, natural behaviors could be viewed as malicious. Ignoring the why of Resonance, but taking the story as the twins interpreting natural signals and relaying them. As inhabitants of Kamura, the twins could read those signals through a negative lens when relaying them, giving not the elder dragon's intelligent perspective, but the twin's intelligent understanding. It's like how some people view sharks as just monstrous killing machines due to their exposure to Jaws and other media.
Yeah, I'm against UHC on this one, cause while the full mind control aspect is not explained well enough and a general Wyverian sense of dread or stress would make more sense considering what we know about Resonance, the idea that UHC sees Hinoa and Minoto's speeches as literal interpretations of exactly what the dragons are thinking is kinda laughable.
I'm using voice to text so forgive the grammar what if they reproduce like Pacific octopi. Narwa stops eating and uses all of her energy for brooding her offspring and when they hatch Norwood dies if I remember correctly the mail octopus will detach his reproductive organ and leave it attached to the females mantle for her to use at her leisure it doesn't 100% fit but I think it's an interesting way to look at it.
Narwa and Ibushi would definitely passively generate lots of static electricity just by flying. That could definitely be part of the source for some of the electricity powers. I definitely also think the MH gravity must be lower, i dont care what in game calculations say.
The end of this video made me realise how amazing this theme is! I do actually really like these elders! Super cool monsters, I wish I got to hunt them more!
I'm not sure the 2nd pair of jaws really makes much sense for a filter feeder, as Ibushi (not needing them for the love bite) would seemingly have no use for them. My take on the pair was that their jaws were roughly based off of various species of eels (mainly pelican and moray eels), with them eating analogous prey in the air. Instead of slippery fish I imagine they might be adapted for the small and agile flying reptiles that seem to be present in every locale, such as the remobra. Their signature elemental powers could aid in the capture of more agile prey, where the 2nd inner jaws could pull wriggling prey deeper into the mouth where the strange jaw sack could fully envelop the prey preventing escape. In all likelihood the pair’s strange jaws are probably there to make them look cool and alien, but this would be my best guess as to how they could function practically.
The ascended dragon parasite theory holds more water when you realize that their arena is directly above a Rotten Vale-esque flesh pit. While this could just be a patented Monster Hunter Rise moment, it could also imply that these mass death sites are more common than initially thought. Maybe the adaptations for flight came from dispersal so they could populate multiple different flesh pit regions.
There seems to be giant aerial corals in the area where we fight Narwa, similar to those found in the Coral Highlands from the new world. We could assume that the eggs from these coral could become part of the aereoplankton which Narwa and Ibushi feed on (as we have already seem in the new world that several monsters, like Paulumu, Raphinos and Coral Pukei-Pukei, base their diets on aerial corals eggs). So maybe Narwa being in that place is not coincidental, but rather the choice of a place with quality food resourcers, traslating into a healthier offspring.
I'm always happy to wake up and seeing a notification from UHC it is a great day to start the morning, also Narwa could've introduced magnetism status from frontier
About the possible elder dragon sapience, it doesn't bother me that they don't seem to show compassion towards people while still being sapient, their way of thinking might be totally alien to us and what we percieve as malice could not be. It's just like how most people don't generally show compassion towards ants and such, it does not make them automatically evil... Also, the resonance thing is not that egreigeous to me either, since World established that magic energy that runs in the ground and in every living being is a thing in this universe, it opened the door to other fantastical stuff.
9:15 Damn it I just wrote an entire paragraph on how I think activating genes via digested epigenetic factors would make more sense than horizontal gene transfer lol. I will say that, to my knowledge, sex chromosomes typically don't have "unique" structural genes. The hypothesis I learned is that sex chromosomes evolve from a "normal" chromosome: one allele will develop one or more genes that tell the embryo what sex it is while the other allele remains essentially normal. The special allele will generally begin to lose its other genes as it becomes a chromosome specifically for determining sex (since animals have two copies of every chromosome, both sexes will have at least one copy of the "normal" chromosome, so the special sex chromosome can lose its genes without worry). This is why the X chromosome in mammals is so much bigger and why folks with XY chromosomes are more likely to suffer from genetic diseases like color blindness: their X chromosome carries a mutation and the Y chromosome lacks a healthy copy of that gene. Regardless, I love molecular biology and I find it pretty cool that it came up in one of your videos like this. As far as I know you're more of a zoology guy, but I'd love to see you try to tackle the biochemistry/genetics side of monsters more if it ever comes up!
I honestly think that Bioenergy is involved in Narwa's ascension to the Allmother state rather than any genetic transfer, as much of a cop-out as it is. As for sexual cannibalism, it makes sense that as a long-lived (and possibly monogamous) elder dragon, Ibushi wouldn't let itself be killed by its mate if it wants to make babies, as it can only do so every 50-100 years. Perhaps the Allmother state is indeed a means by which an Ibushi can insure its mate has the best chance to survive her pregnancy. It's just that the weakened Ibushi that HR Narwa consumed was on death's door, so the process finished him off, as you stated. In the case of Ibushi and Narwa's mouths, there's an animal in the real world that has the same arrangement, and an aquatic one at that - the moray eel. In my eyes, the Sky Serpents would act similarly to such an animal, except they'd be more active hunters - they'd use their storms to trap and batter anything airborne, then use their teeth to either deliver a killing blow or grip the weakened/dead prey while swallowing it whole. Perhaps they also include aeroplankton This may also fit into their preference for environments like the Coral Palace as a place to nest. Perhaps there is (or was) a population of Sky Serpents that used the New World's Coral Highlands as a nesting spot. It's also possible in my mind that the Highlands themselves were created by an incredibly ancient and powerful Ibushi/Narwa pair (or Sky Serpent ancestors) that yanked them out of the sea an unspecified amount of time after the unbelievably colossal Dalamadur(s) died there and served as the continent's Bioenergy foundation.
The Ibushis may have a history as parasites, they may assimilate dna from their hosts, and their mouthparts look strangely similar to Gaismagorm, who is known for having parasites that take to the air… hmm…
While I agree that its execution in Rise was done poorly, I disagree with the idea that having certain Elder Dragons be of human level intelligence is inherently a bad thing. Maybe I'm just too fantasy-brained, but the idea that Fatalis destroyed Schrade for the sake of revenge, or Alatreon actively seeking solitude in inhospitable regions because it doesn't want to cause random cataclysms, or even Malzeno purposefully becoming a host for the Qurio to weaken Gaismagorm is far more interesting than them just being absurdly powerful animals. I will say, though, that human level intelligence should be profoundly rare; I don't think something like a Kushala or Valstrax should be any smarter than a particularly intelligent gorilla or something.
I really like their designs, it feels completely alien yet is grounded in real-world inspirations, I just wish their arms were a little smaller to really hammer the point they've adapted specifically to fly and the arms have become vestigial
I was wondering when you'd do a video on the Storm Serpents. I like how inspired by sea life they are, especially sea horses. The Coral Palace is inspired by Shinto beliefs, specifically a palace at the bottom of the ocean (Ryūgū-jō).
I do agree that making them talk was a very strange choice. I think your take on having all the wyverian affected like the monsters would have been better. Heck they could probably have their cake and eat it too by making the dragons “talk” but not in purposefully evil way. The dragons could have said things like “my children are more important then the end of your world” or “this is how we live our lifes.” This still shows the dragons as uncaring or “evil” to our character but without the grandiose revelry in the end of the world, personality the game gave the dragons.
I like how both Narwa and Ibushi have faces reminiscent of spinosaurs, I remember some people even comparing them to Irritator when the paper about its potentially pelican-like mouth came out
I think that was misinterpreted, the new spinosaurid jaws have been suggested to widen like a pelicans at the back of the jaw, not at the front like ibushi and narwa.
As a note, elder dragons being intelligent and aware of their actions is not new. Alatreon is fully aware of its destructive abilities, and thus prefers to isolate itself to prevent such a thing. Edit: stated in the MHWI book
alien sky serpents are cool and i appreciate them for the actual restraint and thought put into them even as someone who really enjoys the charm of more grounded monsters. also i do find it funny how much you use the speculation as a qualifier but you're the one with a degree in this field, i would believe without question or hesitation that there some forms of life ejected their raw brain material as a means of direct cognitive communication if you said there were. I only wish there was still a discord to talk about this stuff with people especially in regards to my own personal projects n stuff
First time I actually hear someone criticising Rise for making monsters in general feel like nothing and this is my biggest problem with Rise tbh. You go on a hunt and while you're fighting a monster and an elder attacks? Free damage! How? Well you use as a puppet with some bug silk obviously, unless it's an apex for some reason. Pack of Veloci used to be a danger for a small village, now a village can fight off a horde
The weird shape on the serpents's outer, lower jaw always reminded me of pelicans, maybe they can, sometimes feed on fish or smaller leviathans by using their bioluminesence to lure fish to the surface, and in the case of Ibushi, use their element to create more favorable conditions that would make fish aproach the surface
Great video, although I'm surprised you didn't mention that Narwa's eggsac goes through a change when she transforms and what that may or may not represent
Very darn good video on these 2, brought up some very nice points on their biology and lifestyles. I always really loved the Storm Serpents, their designs are fantastic and have a perfect balence of aetherial with that alien aspect to them, there themes especially Allmothers are simply phenomenal and Id argue some of the best music in the franchise to date, and even their fights are pretty fun. I say this largely cause Insect Glave is perfect for the verticle stances they tend to take hahaha. I do agree tho on the points about how the story didnt really do em justice or implemented them as good as it could have. I will say personally I always interperted the frasing that the wyvernian twins give us as the Storm Serpents willing to do everything and anything to garenteed their ofsprings survival. Even at Narwas death it seems as the gasses burst out of her sac, it might be a last ditch attempt to launch her eggs in hopes they survive. Tho I have to say given the sugestion of these two being areal filter feeders, their destructive abilities like what we see in Ibushi's cut scene could be them both displacing as many potential threats to their young as possible, and kicking up alot more areal plankon into the atmosphere to increase food flow for their young. Intelegence wise Id say elders can be smart yes but not quite sepient, in the Storm Serpents case I think cetaceans can be a good anologue.
Huge agree on the fact that Narwa and Ibushi are cool ecologically and design-wise, but the "possession" aspect really ruined it for me as well lol Whenever my friends ask about that part I basically just go "I think the twins are crazy and hallucinating it due to stress or something"
If they mate for life narwa giving her life for her children could be something only done if ibushi has been killed and so this would be her last brood anyway
The fact you made these two Elders make complete sense is crazy. I know that the monster hunter team didn’t put THAT much thought into their designs, but literally the fact that you made each design choice of theirs make complete evolution sense is just 🤯
One other idea I’ve had about their diet is the various sky jellyfish of the series and the curved teeth work similar to the spikes in a leather back sea turtles mouth but this is entirely dependent on if said jellyfish exist outside the coral highlands and hoarfrost reach
I think the serpents have amazing designs and the base of their world building and ecology is so interesting that it's a shame they got released in "anime" story game. It would have been cool to have more focus on how they effect the ecosystem around them during their mating cycles. Ibushi creating clearing's as he's tearing up forests making his way to Narwa. Narwa terraforming the land with her electro magnetism in order to create a nest to raise her young. The 50 year cycle of clearing out the other large monsters for how-ever long their mating cycle lasts. All of that would have an incredible effect on the land and you can kind of see little bits of that thought in the shrine ruins and coral palace, especially if the coral palace is a highly sought after nesting location that humans just kept building on and then acting surprised when the big thunder monster comes back and knocks all their shit down again.
“NARWA, THIS IS THE LAST OF MY HAMON!
TAKE IT!”
IBUUUUUUUUUUUZZZZZZHHHHHIIIIII!!!
(Proceeds to gooble him up anyways)
KONO BRACHYDIOS DA! WRYYYYY
Rajang: ZA WARRRUDDDOOOO
I have a headcanon that whatever gas Narwa and Ibushi produce to stay afloat causes animals (including people like humans and wyverians) to trip absolute balls, hence the whole linking with the serpents that the twins have.
Fentanyl serpent ibushi
Honestly would make a lot of sense. Gases with extraordinary qualities tend to have more than one, including messing with the brain like that.
It's also my headcanon for the they "speaking" part. That sounds a whole lot like what the people would think, not what the massive sky serpent elder that prolly saw the hunters more as very annoying ants would think even if they were sapient.
I don't believe Narwa uses gas like ibushi, she utilizes magnetism to stay aloft
@@andreybelyshev5093
gas is more likely, even if its not quite so dependent or doesn't use quite as much.
thatd be some pretty extreme magnetism.
@@hitmanmastodon1580fentanyl doesn't make you trip as a painkiller it slumps you and would give a feeling of euphoria.
I never thought I would hear “Dragon tapeworms” but now I’m afraid of what type of internal parasites things like Zorah magdaros have
Lavasioth
Candiru are fish that live in the gills of larger fish and feed on their bloodstream
Maybe Lavasioth do the same thing with Zorah
Also if Zorah are from the old world and crossing the sea during the elder crossing
There might be more of them there
And that could explain why old world Lavasioth are so big cause they have more hosts
@@PangaeaUltima-xu7hu Maybe, if they’re related to jyra they probably do. But if we go off the information UHC has given in the snake wyvern video then it’s probable that Zorah are very rare, or at least adults are and most Zorah die very young. Possibly due to lavasioth parasites draining too many nutrients from adolescent and juvenile specimens and due to both the participants size even a adolescent Zorah could host multiple lavasioth which certainly have a higher metabolism than most typical parasites
Maybe they are more opportunistic parasites
The first place my mind went was "mile long, 4ft diameter tapeworms" and now I'm wondering if that'll ever be a monster we fight.
@@madmanvarietyshow9605
well, there's khezu
The Serpents do seem like oddities that are so specialized for an aerial lifestyle that when they have to come down to earth to lay their clutch that they become almost paranoid and nuke the surrounding area to protect themselves and their eggs which may take a while to hatch as they presumably are born ready to go despite having a long life history
I think Narwa either gives live birth or is ovoviparous - which is when an animal has eggs that develop inside her womb, hatch inside her and are then pushed out of her once they're truly ready.
Things I felt were of note-
The Rise art book confirms that the Ibushi consumption is unusual, it was a willing sacrifice on his end to protect his family.
The Orbs along her Thundersack are also confirmed to be eggs, seeing as this is this is constant for both High and Master rank Allmother we know that she has at most eight offspring per breeding season, that may seem like a lot considering it’s 4 times the hypothetical replenishment rate but considering just how large organisms they are and the fact the breed at most once in a half century and take that long minimum to reach reproductive maturity means they are HEAVILY leaning into K-selection.
Filter Feeding Serpents is an interesting idea, I presumably thought they were similar to moray eels, piscivore analogs who hunt down slippery prey much smaller than they are. (presumably flying monsters like Wyverns)
As for my personal thoughts I like them even if I think the **narrative** of Rise lets them down, I don’t like the games tone in general but they do feel like a sort of sympathetic antagonist and if you lean on that more then they work very well. I don’t actually dislike the idea of Elder Dragons or at least some of them being sapient and if they were more explicit on how the Serpents “Paradise” was their family to be and that the act of reproduction itself is what necessitates them to destroy the local environment then you could really play up the tragedy of them fighting tooth and nail to reunite and continue the circle of life despite its effects on the wider world. Making the parallel between them and the community of Kamura as two families being ripped apart by forces fated to conflict with each other can make their inevitable deaths a poignant reminder on the nature of life and conflict rather than the celebration it is in game.
I really like the idea of a monster with human level intelligence. Commenting on how humans warp and exploit nature by showing us a monstrous mirror. And I could’ve SWORN the iceborne lore book said safi’jiiva and fatalis had human level or beyond, intelligence. Though safi and fatty's fights don’t do a terribly good job showing that intelligence.
@@huntlordx8885 I mean you could argue they show elements of it like Safi’jiiva prioritizing the highest dps hunter and Fatalis attempting to melt you. Safi’jiiva also altering the Guiding Lands to suit its needs is a nice touch.
@@huntlordx8885well Fatalis is well known for its intelligence and fatalis will melt you onto its skin for ‘extra’ armor and can regenerate or be born from a single scale of a Fatalis.
@@huntlordx8885 I forget where, but I think it's said Fatalis enjoys killing Hunters, for it melts them onto its body for armor
I do like your idea about showing the conflict between the two sides and showing the parallels between the two would have made for a better story; maybe they'll show up again in a future game if with more focus on the story. Hopefully, story will be a consideration for MH games moving forward.
Honestly, I would like to see these two back in a future game especially one in which they can show the serpents effect on the environment and their "need" to destroy.
I know many people are not fans of these two, but I personally love them. I think elder dragons are at their best when they are super weird. And their battle themes, all three of them, are amazing.
People dislike them???
Thats news to me
I just dont like the random ballistas during the fight, other than that I love the soundtrack and fight.
I like them quite a lot.
They are very unique elder dragons that don't reuse the same normal European dragon rig but instead go for something completely unique.
I hope wilds new elder dragon will be also unique just like rise & sunbreacks elders Narwa and Gaismagorm.
Maby the new elder dragon the white wraith is a snake like serpentine dragon that is Maby inspired by South American dragon if they do go further In to the more tribal direction in wilds.
@@dohickey7184I really really, really despise the mystical shit that Monster Hunter uses with elders and personally I can’t like a fight designed around the wirebug because I despise the wirebug as a concept
While I didnt like em at first, and there's alot other elder dragons I prefer, I've grown to appreciate how alien they look and behave the same manner has xeno andd safi, there's something about how they just float in the air that makes me believe they arent actually from the planet, more so than any other elder dragons, I mean most elder dragons have 5 limbs has the go to for differention from other every other "normal" wyvern, but the whole magnetism usage and floating in the air upside down makes them feel really foreign to the world when compared to other elders even similar ones like Amatsu or Yama tsukami.
23:00 *Insert Hinoa and all other wyverians getting blasted steadly by a wave of hormonal signals from Ibushi that are roughly translated to "I'M HORNY AF NEED NARWA MILKIES" for most of the entirety of Rise's story here, honestly I'd rather have that than the weird mind controlling thing they added between the twins.
The implications of that happening in their cutscene together is uh- certainly something…
@@ProfessorRugops "Hunter, we need you to stop Ibushi from meeting his dommy mommy he doesn't know what he is getting into"
@@bract3519 Also we’ve quarantined the Twins for- reasons…
@@ProfessorRugopsOh no…
@@TheTrueUltimateGenLifeform_Oh Yeah_
Very glad that, overall, this video was positive. Rampage gameplay and Resonance aside, this was actually a pretty glowing review of the two of them, and I think they deserve it.
For all the faults of the story, isolated from it, Ibushi and Narwa are just so new. So fresh. Even with Amatsu existence, with it's addition in Sunbreak it's shown clear as day just how different the Serpents are from it. The use of so many underwater motifs, the coral-like horns, anemone-like glowing bits, their whale Ventral Pleats, which ironically enough support the filter-feeder theory. They're all around really fascinating designs that manage to be weird in a way that still feels genuine and in the spirit of Monster Hunter.
My personal theory for awhile were that they were smaller, sea-dwelling monsters they, like the Flying Fish, jumped out of the water a lot and had adaptations for prolonged gliding before returning to the water. This just continued to evolve for better and better prolonged airtime before they left the sea entirely, and their underwater adaptations being relatively well-fitting change to fit the high altitudes they live at. The parasite theory is also really cool though.
So all in all, great video. Hard to imagine the Serpents coming back. I think the best thing to do with them is having easter eggs of them being barely visible, high in the sky and clouds, just like Ibushi in Rise's intro.
Haven't finished the video yet but I had a feeling the video was going to be more positive despite UHC's feelings on Rise. I remember him responding to a comment that asked what he thought of the Rise monsters as a whole, and while he said they're his least favorite batch of monsters atm, he really liked Ibushi and Narwa, along with Rakna-kadaki.
As for Sunbreak, he doesn't like Garangolm, thinks Lunagaron is alright, likes Malzeno well enough, and really likes Gaismagorm.
That easter egg/cameo idea reminds me of Yama Tsukami in Jungle maps in GU
I thought that the rampages were cool.
I was determined to finish the game solo, that made me try to understand the Rampage mechanics better and, honestly, I had fun with them.
It's nice to have an alternative game mode to the classic hunts.
This was a very interesting take on the sudden kill.
I always interpretexd it as Ibushi sacrificing himswlf to Narwa in order to give her a boost and be able to either flee or repel the threat (the hunter) once and for all.
As the song that played in Allmother's phase is, if I remember correctly, talking about Narwa mourning the death of Ibushi.
My theory is that the sky serpents' floating abilities are neotenic, in a way. If a given environment can seemingly only support a few Elders, this would necessitate the swift dispersal of their young to prevent their habitat's resources being rapidly depleted. With their especially great size, Narwa and Ibushi's ancestors would need _especially_ massive territories, so perhaps the aerial floating began as a way for the wingless offspring to establish themselves in distant habitats before their parents could outcompete their own progeny. This dispersal method would then be co-opted by the adults when they switched to a wholly aerial lifestyle. This is just a theory, however; there are most likely holes in it.
Edit: also, I think the next video is Radobaan and Uragaan. You can hear the jaw slams at the end.
To add to this if we look at UHCs theory that the sky serpents are actually derived draconic tapeworms the floating ability could be used by there young to disperse to find a host if there ancestor past there eggs through a hosts digestive track before they became independant of it
Also the pairs weird jaws would make since if they had an ancestory as parasites and would explain the hook like teeth and they could either be on the way to losing them overtime or they play some roll in feeding well young being more active predators before switching to filter feeding as they grow large
@@troutinspace5427 Good idea; I hadn't considered how it could be used by a parasite.
I think Ibushi willingly offered himself to Narwa, since it was his last chance to mate with her.
But also with this, he gave her his last remaining power, to help her fight off the hunter.
It couldn't do much more anyway and was already close to dying.
Elder Dragons are mostly shown to be very intelligent, sometimes even human level intelligence.
So a decision like this would make sense.
I think their mating usually doesn't involve killing Ibushi.
But what might be happening under normal circumstances is that Ibushi offers a part of its power to Narwa every once in a while to feed her, especially while pregnant.
my understanding as well, he looks to be intentionally be trying to secure insemination while also giving his mate as much of his power/energy he still has to help her fight off the predator or in this case the hunter that manage to fatally wound him; while in any other situation where he would remain healthy, i think ibushi and narwa may continue living together until the babies grow enough to no longer need him around for the extra protection.
Ibushi and Narwa to our hunter be like : "You're a monster, hunter"
I could see the pharyngeal jaws of Narwa and Ibushi to be an adaptation for soft-bodied, large-sized aeroplankton, similarly to the throat spikes of leatherbacks and penguins. We do see that animals exist on a scale from macropredator to filter-feeder- leopard seals are a good example of this, having powerful jaws to tackle moderately-sized prey like penguins and other seals, but also possessing molars that can be used to strain krill or small fish from the water, with up to 83% of their diet being krill consumed in this way when large prey is scarce. So perhaps this is an inverted version- large pouch-like external processing to capture and strain small prey, with the larger jaws being used to snag animals such as the assorted soft-bodied aeroplankton we see in World. So perhaps there's a whole ecosystem up there, inhabited by creatures such as Iceborne's Wintermoon Nettle that are only rarely seen at surface altitudes.
Maybe the canabilism is a means of offspring protection the hunter was strong enough to take on ibushi so it and narwa made a desperate last attempt for the pair to protect their unborn young/nest, maybe narwa consuming ibushi for a power boost is something similar to how rajang eats kirin horns to jumpstart their lightning.
15:08 Ah yes, the Elder Dragon Izuchi, my favourite
Izutchi was using a minor percentage of its true power then, it didn't have its acorn to rend the earth to pieces
Jokes aside I like the fact that they have such similar sounding names😂
23:25 I don’t think that the dialogue was what they were actually thinking. I think it was more like what the people of Kamura they thought the dragons were thinking and giving them human emotions, sorta like how people think cats are trying to destroy them when the cat attacks their hand, when in reality it’s just how they play. I think Narwa and Ibushi were just trying to mate and the people of kamura saw it as them wanting to destroy the world because of their destructive powers.
I wasn't expecting to get a video on the storm serpents, i'm so glad! Ibushi is my favourite monster in the series, so a video dedicated to him is a wonderful treat
W!!! I never thought I’d meet another who’s fav monster was Ibushi
Ibushi's theme is one of my favs in the series
Ibushi is my favorite as well
my only REAL issue with these 2 is the fact that the mystery is sort of gone the moment you see them
like in world it's, what is the elder crossing? why is nergigante here? why are elders going here to die?
and the game has you solve it gradually, Rise is sort of just "OH SNAP IBUSHI, here is his back story, his goal, his mothers maiden name and his credit card info"
I think that is just a matter of setting. The New World is right on the tin- it's new, therefore the ecology and life cycles of the region are unknown, and there is almost no history or mythos to take queues from, (among the few would be the legend of the Sapphire Star, which if Xeno/Safi was indeed the Sapphire Star, then it turns out to have been a bad thing instead of a good omen all along, which was an interesting twist for sure.)
Kamura is an old place with a lot of history and mythos, therefore the people have stories of the appearance of Ibushi and Narwa, have a basic understanding of their dynamic and the consequences of their coming, (devastating storms.) While I was mentally prepared to have to fight the two togethers as a duo, their size and fights would have made that mostly an exercise in frustration- I admit I was pretty surprised by the turn at the end where Narwa consumes Ibushi's power to gain mastery of both elements. This was both an interesting twist and a cool display of the personalities of the creatures- Ibushi's unyielding dedication to securing the future of his offspring at any cost, and it felt like the following battle was a display of Narwa's rage towards the hunter for causing the death of her mate, whom she was begrudgingly forced to kill in a hopes of their children having a chance in this world. I was touched by the tragedy of the scenario.
For World, I didn't feel that the story portrayed the personality of most of the Elder Dragons, they are simply forces of nature who do X because that is what they do. Which nothing is wrong with, but it didn't evoke the emotional sympathy that I felt for Ibushi and Narwa, so this is something I distinctly feel that Rise's story actually delivered better. I am honestly curious as to what the motivations of Shara Ishvalda were, or what Safi'Jiva would do once it has absorbed enough bioenergy. Did they have an intention? Did Shara want to collapse the Secluded Valley to crush the pupating Xeno'Jiva to avoid disaster? Was Safi'Jiva just a highly intelligent biosphere destroyer, or would it do something else once it is sated, possibly something even beneficial as part of some sort of grander life cycle of the New World, where it depletes then rejuvenates ecosystems?
Personally, I have a lot of problems with Nergigante's revealed intentions, or at least what we were shown. It was going to feed on Zorah's bioenergy once it died? How? Zorah is too large and too tough to get into, how does this work? Presumably the death of a Zorah Magdaros is a major ecological event that can provide bioenergy for thousands or millions of organisms- Nergi can't secure that corpse alone.
Then Ruined Nergi went to Origin Isle to stop Shara Ishvalda? I simply don't believe that Ruined Nergi could defeat Shara Ishvalda in combat, considering that Shara is larger than it, very likely stronger than it, (it moved around while wearing the rock armor that likely weighed well over 30,000 lbs, and or it has effectively magical geokinesis abilities to move said rocks which only further solidifies it as beyond any normal lifeform,) can casually cause the collapse of massive rock formations, and not to mention the big one- if Shara *does* have any predators and can indeed be defeated by Ruined Nergi, Shara is effectively impossible to hunt. It can dissolve the ground around it into sand and sink into the earth rapidly, effectively making it immune to predation. The player defeating it can be handwaved by it being a Monster Hunter game, where monsters don't flee combat like they actually would.
@@user-mr6hc9hy2t
good point their I guess records might exist of them before hand, but I feel when the point was "what caused the rampage" I would have preferred finding out myself, maybe after finding the big fossils in the volcano
With Nergigante eating Zorah, I think the process too is a mystery, which further adds to worlds mysteries
Share destroying the place you fight it in I always saw as more accidental, like he's just THAT powerful that the area around him is falling apart
As for why Ruiner hunted it, it just saw it as a tonne off hard to get, but VERY rich food, we never got to see the 2 fight though due to us beating ruiner before fight started
As for Safi, he's apparently classed as a black dragon, so the end result of draining an area would probably be he leaves full of energy and the land is barren
Thing I have noticed with all black dragons is that they all force the world to leave them alone in some way
. Fatalis is naturally feared by all, leaving its territory empty
. Alatreon is agitated by EVERYTHING so it chooses to live in isolation in extreme locations
. Dire Miralis boils the seas it is in, killing everything near it
. Safi drains the area it lives in, making it desolate
I really do hope they implement these two back especially since Wilds is now looking at a proper weather system, they could properly show a Narwa and Ibushi's -ACTUAL- environmental effect in action. ie. Narwa and Ibushi spawning in a map causes massive environmental changes that -removes- anything else in the map until the two leave or die.
I think this might be the future of Monster Hunter especially calamity-tier monsters-- allowing the monsters to show what they are capable off, not just with their moveset but also their effect on the environment.
You bring up a good point there. I hope they go crazy with the inclusions. Let's see Dalamudur and Yama Tsukami, and the sky serpents, and Namielle.
From the very start I was certain that hinoa wasn't hearing ibushi she was just straight up going insane, and honestly my theory is still out there hinoa's "possession" might just her stressing so much of ibushi's destruction she started hearing voices in her head and started going insane
Someone needs to check up on her cause she cannot be trusted with an oversized weapon
I absolutely love the idea of the serpent elders being derived parasites of the Giga-Megafauna that MH call home, seriously makes incredible sense to me upon retrospect and comparing their anatomy. This is now my headcannon.
Also, from what I heard, the whole evilness that Ibushi and especially Narwa had is mainly in the English translation. In Japanese, it's more or less indifference or excitement at the prospect of having offspring. I still think that the two "talking" is a poor writing choice, but eh.
Their themes also suggest that they see us as basically just an obstacle and that they only want to bring forth the next generation.
Elder Dragon tapeworm is the most terrifying thing I've ever heard
The tapeworm cultivated for 10.000 years and reached apotheosis
Imagine you finally completed a hunt and you start carvivg and then you get jump scared by a dragonworm.
YES MY FAVORITE TH-camR FINALLY DROPPED A NEW VIDEO!
The Resonance phenomenon has multiple contributing factors beyond "possession to talk". There's the Wyverian angle of course, but Hinoa and Minoto are identical twins which is rare in Wyverians and are known for exaggerating the angle of twins feeling each other across distances. And then you have the Elder Dragons known for communicating across vast distances and use that to explicitly herd the local Monster populations via their Resonance.
And that's a major thing, too. The Rampage itself is due to Resonance, and Hinoa and Minoto ended up basically becoming "resonance chambers" for the Storm Serpents' thoughts, likely interpreted rather than literal. Whereas most Monsters are simply sent into an organized frenzy, with the Rampage Apexes in particular becoming vessels of pure rage who can utilize Resonance to a degree as well, the Wyverian twins with their unique bond and abilities end up becoming "the voices of the gods" like traditional Japanese priestesses who interpreted the kami.
And Resonance can be applied to other parts of the lore, too. The big one is Safi'jiiva, Alatreon, and Fatalis. Resonance would be a good established means of explaining how they're sensing each other across vast continental distances, having the most powerful Elder Dragons' raw emotions being tangibly felt by other equally powerful Elder Dragons.
He doesn't care about the lore, unless misinterpreting lore as biological fact gives him more reasons to complain about Rise mons and Zinogre.
IMO blatant psychic possession is still bullshit in a setting that's been very low-magic up until this point
@@Stroggoiidon’t forget Valstrax 😂
@@Stroggoiito be fair, zinogre really sucks.
@@2468h-s9eTo be fair, Rise and most of its specific made monsters, sucked. From talking Elder Dragons apparently being able to posses and mind control to a degree, to Magnamalo or whatever it's called, Rise is the "Frontier" MH title for the Western world.
Despite being less focused on ecology in general, I'd say portable final bosses are generally more ecologically grounded than their "numbered" game counterparts, which are mostly "evil dragon blows stuff up because nobody knows".
I'm pretty sure the Serpents don't have any mind control abilities, and the mind control effect we see on the twins is a result of their Resonance ability instead. Resonance appears to function similarly to a radio antenna, but for emotions, and so the "mind control" occurs when the Serpents' emotions are strong enough to overwhelm the twins and drown out their own thoughts. I imagine the Serpents "speaking" through the twins is not the Serpents' own words, but instead the twins unconsciously putting those emotions into human words like sleep talking.
Legit wondering how can you interpret anything other than that ^ ? Always felt like it was the most obvious meaning of Ibushi/Narwa....
At first I wasn't very keen on the serpants at first hunting them, but overtime I grew to like and appreciate them more everytime I hunted them. They are amazing monsters.
One theory I would suggest for All-Mother Narwa would be that she becomes hermaphrodite with the transformation. It could be that Ibushi and Narwa are a heavily monogamous couple, not choosing a new mate once they lost their own, and maybe this transformation is a response to that. To ensure Narwa can still reproduce after losing Ibushi, she consumes him, his genes and his bioenergy to trigger the transformation, becoming an hermaphrodite in the process while adquiring his powers too, thanks to the bioenergy.
So like an even weirder version of anglerfish fusion...i wonder if Ibushi's gonads are swimming in there like some sort of flukeworm
And one theory I would suggest is that you're making shit up
Excellent work done on what are likely the weirdest monsters covered so far, I always expected Amatsu to be included with them but given how much space their breeding biology took I don't think there was much left for it.
Given their role as filter feeders of the skies, I kinda wonder if the duo actually went unrecorded for long because they spend a lot of time in the Coral Highlands feeding on coral eggs and eventually move back to the Old World to breed (Coral Highlands are afterall barely explored due to the first expedition being halted by Legiana for years).
I'm almost tempted to suggest a migratory fish-like cycle in which the babies are born in the Old World (the concentration of elders during the Crossing might make the New one too much of a hazard as a breedign ground) and use it as a nursery, then at some point they migrate over to the coral highlands to bulk feed and boost their growth, and eventually move back to Old World to breed. If not, there could also be some unknown locale in the monster hunter world that serves the same purpose...
As for next video, I guess the teaser answers my question about if the large ore eaters would be treated together or separately. Really looking forward to it, ore eating is a topic I think has been too "normalized" in the MH universe but should get more covering about how it works and the evolutionary pressures behind it (kinda tempted to say it was born from osteophagy?)
I personally like the idea of elder dragons haveing human like level's of spaience, that said I do agree that they should never be too anthropomorphized.
Though in regards to Ibushi and Narwa I never really got the impression that they were evil in the story. While yes they were causing mass havoc their main motivation was to simply find one another and raise their children safely, if anything they seemed to be portrayed more sympathetically compared to other end bosses.
I love your Monster Hunter Ecology videos so much they are all so interesting ! Found your channel a few days ago, subscribed, and has been binging a ton of them ; couldn't be happier seeing this one pop up today !
Wonderful work
They are underated and unique. The fact that we find out that they have full blown conversations with each other through the twins resonations should make us wonder how unique that is. Can Gaismagorm think like they can too? Do other high level elder dragons have consciousness like them?
Beautiful video, it was everything I could have hoped for and more! Thank you for your hard work!
Super proud of my buddy Kaijuking for getting his theories featured in a new UHC video (along with his excellent skulls ofc)!
In the Allmother fight where Ibushi died, it took me a minute to realize he'd even died, I thought it was just a sort of similar situation to the Teo/Luna interaction in World
It would be an interesting thought if the serpents evolved from ancient stray qurio parasites having fed on Amatsu, and eventually taking on its characteristics. That could also explain the two serpents having a mouth similar to Gaismagorm
The "dragon tapeworm" hypothesis is something I didn't think I needed to hear about. I hate and love it at the same time.
Parasites evolving into non-parasitic lifeforms is a very untapped spec evo/bio.
Why is the mental image i get from this a Jormungandr/World Serpent scale tape worm
Regarding the question of Elder Dragon intelligence, intelligence is something that's pretty difficult to measure when the animals in question (especially from the perspective of humans) don't have a capability to express it so easily as we do....
Lovely video. I thought about angler fish with the consumption of ibushi, adding the traits to the female in a physical way.
Totally agree about the story pieces…but did enjoy the monsters! Kinda hoped their offspring was amatsu, but that doesn’t quite make sense.
You really cooked with this one, I love the suggestion that the sky serpents are descended from some kind of zorah magdaros tapeworm from hell. That would be a really interesting concept for MH to explore, a multistage parasite within one of the more gargantuan elders, that eventually breaks loose of the host and molts into a wind serpent esque imago form to reproduce. you could do some interesting narrative stuff with that, similar to the mystery around Zorah in World.
Felt really torn to not vote for Ibushi on the favorite monster poll. Ibushi gracefully floating from the sky in the rampage really stuck with me and I absolutely love his theme song. Idk what it is about Ibushi that Narwa doesn't have but I really enjoy him.
I really liked the serpent duo, my only gripe with them is that there was no hunt with both of them at the same time, as I feel that would've made them really stand out among final bosses in MH. I hope Capcom takes the concept of two related monsters being responsible for the plot again, and actually have us fight both together with unique tandem attacks.
With these two being based on seahorses, who are famous for males being the ones to carry eggs, I wonder if Capcom will make an ibushi variant one day when they need to fill the monster roster. The reason for its emergence would be its narwa somehow got seriously injured and died so it took over the eggs and some of narwa's power at the last second. And now aside from wind powers it can also shoot dark dragon lightning all over the place
24:26 Audible "Dayum" from me on that Rampage dunk.
I genuinely love these two. They fight completely differently to all other monsters and their themes are top tier.
I will say this much...their combined theme is soo..soothing
They have EM abilities, perhaps using them to communicate. Maybe the twins were just picking up the signals and rerouting them through their brains over and over until it made enough sense for them to speak out loud.
I can't find the source anymore because finding information on the internet is apparently impossible now, but the skull shape for Narwa and Ibushi is based on a "dragon fossil" that was dug up in historic Japan. I'm sure the info is better attainable somewhere
Or taking his gonads in the bite
Like an anglerfish breeding
She takes in the males gonads
Also, might i add
with the added part of the male gonads also producing the hormone needed to increase strength in their wind power organ
The hormone is quite potent in the male so much so that the female intake of said hormone has taken such a fast effect
Yesss I was just thinking about wanting another UHC video yesterday! Excited for those one, these guys are very interesting designs
I’m still really sad we didn’t get a narwa and ibushi double battle. It would be so cool fighting both of them at the same time even if it’s was in an optional quest.
It’d be insanely chaotic, they’d both need to be reworked for a dual fight like lunastra and teostra bonding
Taking the perspectives of the video on the Resonance and the morality/intelligence of elder dragons and running with that a bit, I think an excuse could be made for the twins giving a perspective of intelligent maliciousness without compromising the integrity of elder dragons still being animals. Kamura is under threat by the elder dragons, and so the view on their actions is inherently seen as negative by the inhabitants. With this negative painting, natural behaviors could be viewed as malicious. Ignoring the why of Resonance, but taking the story as the twins interpreting natural signals and relaying them. As inhabitants of Kamura, the twins could read those signals through a negative lens when relaying them, giving not the elder dragon's intelligent perspective, but the twin's intelligent understanding.
It's like how some people view sharks as just monstrous killing machines due to their exposure to Jaws and other media.
Yeah, I'm against UHC on this one, cause while the full mind control aspect is not explained well enough and a general Wyverian sense of dread or stress would make more sense considering what we know about Resonance, the idea that UHC sees Hinoa and Minoto's speeches as literal interpretations of exactly what the dragons are thinking is kinda laughable.
My day got 10 times better seeing this notification ngl
Thanks for the info on horizontal gene transfer. I never knew about a thing like this and now i'm overflowing with ideas! Again Thanks.
I'm using voice to text so forgive the grammar what if they reproduce like Pacific octopi. Narwa stops eating and uses all of her energy for brooding her offspring and when they hatch Norwood dies if I remember correctly the mail octopus will detach his reproductive organ and leave it attached to the females mantle for her to use at her leisure it doesn't 100% fit but I think it's an interesting way to look at it.
Narwa and Ibushi would definitely passively generate lots of static electricity just by flying. That could definitely be part of the source for some of the electricity powers. I definitely also think the MH gravity must be lower, i dont care what in game calculations say.
The end of this video made me realise how amazing this theme is! I do actually really like these elders! Super cool monsters, I wish I got to hunt them more!
I'm not sure the 2nd pair of jaws really makes much sense for a filter feeder, as Ibushi (not needing them for the love bite) would seemingly have no use for them. My take on the pair was that their jaws were roughly based off of various species of eels (mainly pelican and moray eels), with them eating analogous prey in the air. Instead of slippery fish I imagine they might be adapted for the small and agile flying reptiles that seem to be present in every locale, such as the remobra. Their signature elemental powers could aid in the capture of more agile prey, where the 2nd inner jaws could pull wriggling prey deeper into the mouth where the strange jaw sack could fully envelop the prey preventing escape. In all likelihood the pair’s strange jaws are probably there to make them look cool and alien, but this would be my best guess as to how they could function practically.
To say I have been waiting a long time for this would be the understatement of the decade.
The ascended dragon parasite theory holds more water when you realize that their arena is directly above a Rotten Vale-esque flesh pit. While this could just be a patented Monster Hunter Rise moment, it could also imply that these mass death sites are more common than initially thought. Maybe the adaptations for flight came from dispersal so they could populate multiple different flesh pit regions.
There seems to be giant aerial corals in the area where we fight Narwa, similar to those found in the Coral Highlands from the new world. We could assume that the eggs from these coral could become part of the aereoplankton which Narwa and Ibushi feed on (as we have already seem in the new world that several monsters, like Paulumu, Raphinos and Coral Pukei-Pukei, base their diets on aerial corals eggs). So maybe Narwa being in that place is not coincidental, but rather the choice of a place with quality food resourcers, traslating into a healthier offspring.
New Unnatural history channel video LET'S GOOOOOOOO!!! 🎉
i really like how you dont use any background music in your videos, i wish more video essays did that.
I like the idea of "air snakes" But I wish there was some real explanation for "how they can float like that"
If i remember the ingame lore blurbs right, ibushi manipulates air currents to fly and Narwha uses electromagnetism? I could be mistaken though
@@steveneaddy5298You are correct!
@@steveneaddy5298 Makes more sense than Amatsu, who seems to be kept in the air only by anime logic.
@@joshuasgameplays9850 he's a cloud dragon so ummm cloud powers I guess?
Now this was an unexpected topic! As usual, though, very cool take. Airborne filter feeders? Classic UHC. It fits like a glove!
I'm always happy to wake up and seeing a notification from UHC it is a great day to start the morning, also Narwa could've introduced magnetism status from frontier
About the possible elder dragon sapience, it doesn't bother me that they don't seem to show compassion towards people while still being sapient, their way of thinking might be totally alien to us and what we percieve as malice could not be. It's just like how most people don't generally show compassion towards ants and such, it does not make them automatically evil...
Also, the resonance thing is not that egreigeous to me either, since World established that magic energy that runs in the ground and in every living being is a thing in this universe, it opened the door to other fantastical stuff.
9:15 Damn it I just wrote an entire paragraph on how I think activating genes via digested epigenetic factors would make more sense than horizontal gene transfer lol.
I will say that, to my knowledge, sex chromosomes typically don't have "unique" structural genes. The hypothesis I learned is that sex chromosomes evolve from a "normal" chromosome: one allele will develop one or more genes that tell the embryo what sex it is while the other allele remains essentially normal. The special allele will generally begin to lose its other genes as it becomes a chromosome specifically for determining sex (since animals have two copies of every chromosome, both sexes will have at least one copy of the "normal" chromosome, so the special sex chromosome can lose its genes without worry). This is why the X chromosome in mammals is so much bigger and why folks with XY chromosomes are more likely to suffer from genetic diseases like color blindness: their X chromosome carries a mutation and the Y chromosome lacks a healthy copy of that gene.
Regardless, I love molecular biology and I find it pretty cool that it came up in one of your videos like this. As far as I know you're more of a zoology guy, but I'd love to see you try to tackle the biochemistry/genetics side of monsters more if it ever comes up!
I love the sky serpents
They’re so unique and beautiful
I love their designs
(Also Allmothers theme is Amazing)
That's six syllables,
then eight on the second line;
wrong version of "their"
@@maddockemerson4603 oh that’s from the stupid auto correct I did not notice that thanks
I honestly think that Bioenergy is involved in Narwa's ascension to the Allmother state rather than any genetic transfer, as much of a cop-out as it is.
As for sexual cannibalism, it makes sense that as a long-lived (and possibly monogamous) elder dragon, Ibushi wouldn't let itself be killed by its mate if it wants to make babies, as it can only do so every 50-100 years. Perhaps the Allmother state is indeed a means by which an Ibushi can insure its mate has the best chance to survive her pregnancy. It's just that the weakened Ibushi that HR Narwa consumed was on death's door, so the process finished him off, as you stated.
In the case of Ibushi and Narwa's mouths, there's an animal in the real world that has the same arrangement, and an aquatic one at that - the moray eel. In my eyes, the Sky Serpents would act similarly to such an animal, except they'd be more active hunters - they'd use their storms to trap and batter anything airborne, then use their teeth to either deliver a killing blow or grip the weakened/dead prey while swallowing it whole. Perhaps they also include aeroplankton
This may also fit into their preference for environments like the Coral Palace as a place to nest. Perhaps there is (or was) a population of Sky Serpents that used the New World's Coral Highlands as a nesting spot. It's also possible in my mind that the Highlands themselves were created by an incredibly ancient and powerful Ibushi/Narwa pair (or Sky Serpent ancestors) that yanked them out of the sea an unspecified amount of time after the unbelievably colossal Dalamadur(s) died there and served as the continent's Bioenergy foundation.
Yay my favorite sexually dimorphic sky serpents are being covered by UHC :D
2:32 Spider Warning, the way my soul left my body 😅
Traumatic mating is the most hardcore concept I have ever listened
The Ibushis may have a history as parasites, they may assimilate dna from their hosts, and their mouthparts look strangely similar to Gaismagorm, who is known for having parasites that take to the air… hmm…
While I agree that its execution in Rise was done poorly, I disagree with the idea that having certain Elder Dragons be of human level intelligence is inherently a bad thing. Maybe I'm just too fantasy-brained, but the idea that Fatalis destroyed Schrade for the sake of revenge, or Alatreon actively seeking solitude in inhospitable regions because it doesn't want to cause random cataclysms, or even Malzeno purposefully becoming a host for the Qurio to weaken Gaismagorm is far more interesting than them just being absurdly powerful animals.
I will say, though, that human level intelligence should be profoundly rare; I don't think something like a Kushala or Valstrax should be any smarter than a particularly intelligent gorilla or something.
I really like their designs, it feels completely alien yet is grounded in real-world inspirations, I just wish their arms were a little smaller to really hammer the point they've adapted specifically to fly and the arms have become vestigial
I love how both of Rice's Final Bosses have weird Jaws
I was wondering when you'd do a video on the Storm Serpents.
I like how inspired by sea life they are, especially sea horses.
The Coral Palace is inspired by Shinto beliefs, specifically a palace at the bottom of the ocean (Ryūgū-jō).
I can’t wait to see your take on Nakarkos and Shara Ishvalda someday.
I do agree that making them talk was a very strange choice. I think your take on having all the wyverian affected like the monsters would have been better.
Heck they could probably have their cake and eat it too by making the dragons “talk” but not in purposefully evil way. The dragons could have said things like “my children are more important then the end of your world” or “this is how we live our lifes.” This still shows the dragons as uncaring or “evil” to our character but without the grandiose revelry in the end of the world, personality the game gave the dragons.
I like how both Narwa and Ibushi have faces reminiscent of spinosaurs, I remember some people even comparing them to Irritator when the paper about its potentially pelican-like mouth came out
I think that was misinterpreted, the new spinosaurid jaws have been suggested to widen like a pelicans at the back of the jaw, not at the front like ibushi and narwa.
As a note, elder dragons being intelligent and aware of their actions is not new. Alatreon is fully aware of its destructive abilities, and thus prefers to isolate itself to prevent such a thing.
Edit: stated in the MHWI book
alien sky serpents are cool and i appreciate them for the actual restraint and thought put into them even as someone who really enjoys the charm of more grounded monsters.
also i do find it funny how much you use the speculation as a qualifier but you're the one with a degree in this field, i would believe without question or hesitation that there some forms of life ejected their raw brain material as a means of direct cognitive communication if you said there were. I only wish there was still a discord to talk about this stuff with people especially in regards to my own personal projects n stuff
First time I actually hear someone criticising Rise for making monsters in general feel like nothing and this is my biggest problem with Rise tbh. You go on a hunt and while you're fighting a monster and an elder attacks? Free damage! How? Well you use as a puppet with some bug silk obviously, unless it's an apex for some reason. Pack of Veloci used to be a danger for a small village, now a village can fight off a horde
The weird shape on the serpents's outer, lower jaw always reminded me of pelicans, maybe they can, sometimes feed on fish or smaller leviathans by using their bioluminesence to lure fish to the surface, and in the case of Ibushi, use their element to create more favorable conditions that would make fish aproach the surface
my head canon is that only fatalis has human level intel.
other elders have animal intel with the more powerful the more intel, but still animals
Great video, although I'm surprised you didn't mention that Narwa's eggsac goes through a change when she transforms and what that may or may not represent
15:10 izuchi
nah but great video as usual, these never seemed explainable as real animals to me before
Finally someone did a video on the Serpents! I actually liked them alot although the armor didn't look...the best.
I absolutely adore this channel because who else makes the connection of nematode anatomy with aerial leviathan dragons?
Imagine loosing your virginity, then becoming a permanent super-saien. Thats basically the all-mother state.
Very darn good video on these 2, brought up some very nice points on their biology and lifestyles. I always really loved the Storm Serpents, their designs are fantastic and have a perfect balence of aetherial with that alien aspect to them, there themes especially Allmothers are simply phenomenal and Id argue some of the best music in the franchise to date, and even their fights are pretty fun. I say this largely cause Insect Glave is perfect for the verticle stances they tend to take hahaha.
I do agree tho on the points about how the story didnt really do em justice or implemented them as good as it could have.
I will say personally I always interperted the frasing that the wyvernian twins give us as the Storm Serpents willing to do everything and anything to garenteed their ofsprings survival. Even at Narwas death it seems as the gasses burst out of her sac, it might be a last ditch attempt to launch her eggs in hopes they survive.
Tho I have to say given the sugestion of these two being areal filter feeders, their destructive abilities like what we see in Ibushi's cut scene could be them both displacing as many potential threats to their young as possible, and kicking up alot more areal plankon into the atmosphere to increase food flow for their young. Intelegence wise Id say elders can be smart yes but not quite sepient, in the Storm Serpents case I think cetaceans can be a good anologue.
Despite the issues with their execution i LOVE the allmother narwa theme excellent
Huge agree on the fact that Narwa and Ibushi are cool ecologically and design-wise, but the "possession" aspect really ruined it for me as well lol
Whenever my friends ask about that part I basically just go "I think the twins are crazy and hallucinating it due to stress or something"
If they mate for life narwa giving her life for her children could be something only done if ibushi has been killed and so this would be her last brood anyway
Will you do a video on Amatsu as well? I really enjoyed this one.
The fact you made these two Elders make complete sense is crazy. I know that the monster hunter team didn’t put THAT much thought into their designs, but literally the fact that you made each design choice of theirs make complete evolution sense is just 🤯
One other idea I’ve had about their diet is the various sky jellyfish of the series and the curved teeth work similar to the spikes in a leather back sea turtles mouth but this is entirely dependent on if said jellyfish exist outside the coral highlands and hoarfrost reach
I think the serpents have amazing designs and the base of their world building and ecology is so interesting that it's a shame they got released in "anime" story game. It would have been cool to have more focus on how they effect the ecosystem around them during their mating cycles. Ibushi creating clearing's as he's tearing up forests making his way to Narwa. Narwa terraforming the land with her electro magnetism in order to create a nest to raise her young. The 50 year cycle of clearing out the other large monsters for how-ever long their mating cycle lasts. All of that would have an incredible effect on the land and you can kind of see little bits of that thought in the shrine ruins and coral palace, especially if the coral palace is a highly sought after nesting location that humans just kept building on and then acting surprised when the big thunder monster comes back and knocks all their shit down again.
The baby ibushi looks hilariously cute😂