Monster Hunter concepts

Nerd blog about Monster Hunter art concepts and facts

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Revealing a Seikret

With the newer Monster Hunter Wilds trailer dropping, I wanted to give a thought about our new companion, the Seikret.

While the departure of Palamutes is sad, these dinobirbs seem to offer new ways to traverse the map, such as gliding.

Interestingly I just discovered the etymology from a Twitter post revealing that in Chinese, their name is a play of words with secretary bird! So it is no doubt that Seikret is a wordplay with Secretary!

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Monster Hunter concepts Pt. 9: the hidden shadow

Today I will make a shorter post about a long-time fan favorite: Nargacuga, the Swift Wyvern! This quadrupedal flying wyvern is the flagship of Monster Hunter Freedom Unite, or MHFU for short.

Nargacuga is a marvelous example of Monster Hunter design: a visually appealing look that feels naturalistic and organic, while keeping a very original and recognizable concept behind. As anyone with eyes could see, this monster is based on a black panther, but the design is implemented in such a way that you truly believe it is a dragon that has evolved convergently to look like a panther. Its beak, wings and snake-like tail are all unexpected elements that are implemented without clashing with the animal base and add more to differentiate it, and even better, they all have a biological basis as to why it has them. Specially for the wings, which as sharpened like blades that serve both as weapon and as an adaptation to traverse densely forested areas where it lives, concept notes even say it uses them for echolocation, which could be the reason why they vibrate when it stands before its prey. Its tail, which is the main weapon and is used as a whip, is covered in dagger-like quills that rise up when enraged and can be shot as projectiles, making it extra deadly. Also it possibly has the most cool-looking rage mode, with its red eyes leaving a red trail when it moves around. All around, Nargacuga reflects perfectly its nature as a monster that relies on speed and cunning.

Regarding its etymology "Nargacuga" (Narugakuruga in Japanese) is a combination of Naga, a half-serpent being from Hindu mythology, 날개 nalgae (wings in Korean) and Cougar (the animal, not the other thingie :>).

Overall, Nargacuga is top tier. Do you agree?

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*points at a 2 storey tall monster* what a little guy :)

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Monster Hunter concepts Pt. 8: the Fated Four

I think it would be cool to talk about more popular monsters, so today I will talk about these four peak design monsters that were introduced in Monster Hunter Generations: The Fated Four. While each one has a different theme, they are inherently part of the same core concept and thus must be explained collectively. I will try to keep it brief, but each monster is conceptually very rich so it will be difficult!

So what exactly are the Fated Four? Well as you may know, MHGen is the portable game of the Fourth generation, which started with MH4. MHGen was conceived as a celebration of the saga and its core theme is the number four: four villages, four hunting styles, and of course, four flagships: the scorching blade Glavenus, the lightning rebel Astalos, the immovable mountain god Gammoth, and the bewitching dance Mizutsune. Being defined as a group, each one of these monsters is intended to embody both a generation and a stereotypical archetype in a "hero team" (think of the Power Rangers, sorta).

Firstly we got Astalos, which is the rebel of the group, its color is green. Astalos embodies the First Generation being a Flying Wyvern and being found in the Forest and Hills (now Verdant Hills) near Kokoto, the village from the very first Monster Hunter. Its design is quite amazing, as it combines insect traits, with iridescent, semitranslucent wings, spiky legs and an earwig-like tail, its different insect-like parts charge with electricity as it attacks, a perfect reflection of its energetic and agressive nature. Its name in english comes from Astrapi (lightning in Greek) and -los to indicate it's the rival of Rathalos, which is much worse than its Japanese name Raizekusu (or Raizex for friends) which sounds way cooler, and is a combination of 雷 rai (thunder) and Insekt, the german word for, well, insect.

Secondly we got Gammoth, which is the big guy, the champion of the group, its color is blue. It embodies the Second Generation as a Fanged Beast, a class introduced in said generation, and is found in the Snowy Mountains (now Arctic Ridge) near Pokke, the village of MH Freedom 2 and Freedom Unite. This massive behemoth is based on a mammoth and also combines beasts from Greek mythology like hecatoncheires and cyclops, inspiring its weird armored head and and eye-like markings of its shoulders. Fight wise it covers its legs with snow and then tries to crush its enemies, as well as using its trunk as a versatile ranged weapon, however due to its enormous size with barely any back defense, its fight is possibly the easiest of the four. Lore confirms that its deep hatred for Tigrex is a result from childhood trauma (amazing). Its etymology is pretty straightforward, being a combination of the Hindu elephant god Ganesha and mammoth.

Thirdly we have Mizutsune, which is the girl (yes thats an archetype) of the group, its color is pink (cuz girl!!!!). It embodies the Third Generation as a Leviathan, a class first seen in our beloved wet MH3, and inhabits the Misty Peaks near Yukumo, which had never appeared in the west because it was only featured in MH Portable 3rd. This monster combines different traits from foxes, weasels, carps/goldenfish and snakes to create a really beautiful design. Mizutsune fights by secreting a soap-like substance to create bubbles, this slippery foam increases its movility while hindering that of its rivals, its gracefulness and agility allow it to face even powerful threats like Zinogre, using its giant brush-like tail as main weapon. Its etymology is pretty obvious if you are a bit of a weeb, "Mizutsune" is a combination of the Japanese words for water 水 mizu and fox 狐 kitsune, originally its Japanese name is Tamamitsune, which uses Tamamo-no-Mae, the legendary woman from the Japanese fairytale of the same name, instead of water.

And lastly we got Glavenus! The leader of the group obviously, its color is red, altho at first glance it may appear to be blue. Surprisingly, Glavenus is not the first fire-breathing Brute Wyvern that uses its tail as a sword, if you know your monsters you will know that Abiorugu from MH Frontier, while completely different, has these core traits too. In any case, Glavenus is still a really good design, who doesn't love a Carnotaurus with a giant blade as a tail that lights up like a 1000 degree knife? Its flame-shaped shell and horns also become red when enraged which give it a very fiery look, everything about its design screams fire. Interestingly, it is also mentioned in interviews that Glavenus was intended to be a land Rathalos, which would explain why it hates Rathian so much. Despite all of this, I still find odd that the monster that is supposed to embody the Fourth Generation is not from a class introduced in it (we need more Snake Wyverns!), overall it's the only monster in the group that does not really embody its generation all that well, but that's fine, we still love the top contender of the Jurassic Frontier (I guess Cretaceous Frontier was too long). In terms of etymology, "Glavenus" is a combination of the latin words Gladius (blade) and Fervens (burning) plus -saurus (cuz it's a dinosaur), while in Japanese Dinobarudo is a combination of Dinosaur, Nova and Halberd.

So that is all! Four banger monsters in one go, which one is your favorite? Do you also pray every night for Gammoth to return in the future or that it will remain forgotten like Gigginox? I really hope people find these ramblings interesting lol

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Monster Hunter concepts Pt. 7: Big Mouthed baddies

Well I have been a year without posting but got the inspiration again so here we go, today is the turn for two odd Leviathans from the third generation: Nibelsnarf and Gobul!

Let's start with Gobul, the Lantern Fish Wyvern, as you may have noticed from its massive mouth and bioluminiscent bulb, it is based on an anglerfish, but this monster from the flooded forest hides more than it meets the eye. And not just figuratively, because if you played MH3 or 3U you will know this monster hides beneath the bottom to ambush its prey, using the whiskers on its lower jaw (not its lantern) as bait and camouflage to catch unwary herbivores such as Epioth! Its combination of monkfish, frogfish and ray traits really tell us that it isn't a good swimmer, and as a bonus, this monster can inflate its back like a pufferfish, covering its back with toxic needles that paralyze its victims. Truly a smart combination of odd fishies, unfortunately, while it is a very interesting monster both in looks and behavior, its fight is rather boring and a lot of players are not fans of Gobul, and with no underwater in newer games, our beloved Gobul might not see the light (pun intended) again.

For its etymology, "Gobul" is an aberration of Gobble, a very fitting name for a monster that swallows its prey whole. The original name in Japanese is Chanagaburu, the Gaburu part is the same, while the Chana part comes from Virochana, which is a Sanskrit word that means illuminating.

Speaking of monsters that love to gobble things, Nibelsnarf is not really a monster that bothers to nibble its prey, despite the name. I am no expert, but I am fairly sure Nibelsnarf was designed originally as a land version of Gobul, both have the same body plan, with their main trait being its gigantic mouth, however, their design differences both in looks and combat are notorious.

Honestly I am not the biggest fan of Nibelsnarf, while I find the giant salamander idea nice, the execution isn't the best. There is just too much going on for my taste: it has gills that "absorb nutrients" from the sand (why), a lower jaw covered in holes to filter sand (what about the gills?), a back covered in rugged plating and in the shape of a dune (okay?), a bulbous nose (to detect vibrations?), and a vibrant lower side of contrasted dark patterns intertwined with cyan and yellow in a similar way to Volvidon. With the big nose and bright gills it ends up looking like a clown, overall, all these fancy traits do not combine despite the reasoning behind them. A thing I love about it, however, is its equipment, which has a really cool military theme with weapons resembling stuff like military knifes and grenades.

Now regarding its etymology, this monster reached the western audience in 3U with the name Nibelsnarf, while MH Portable 3rd players knew it before from its Japanese name Hapurubokka. Nibelsnarf did cause a bit of a commotion because the origin of the name is, and I quote, "Nibble, nibble, snarf, snarf!", love it, or hate it. Meanwhile "Hapurubokka" is a combination of Harpoon (a type of missile) and Bocca, which is mouth in Italian.

Would you like these monsters to return in the future? Or rather that they bite the dust :P

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Monster Hunters concepts Pt. 6: Serpents of Wind and Thunder

With lightning and hurricane we sear and slice For we are the architects of true paradise

Prolly one of the bangerest lines of Rise monster intros... For a final boss that is probably not the best. Ibushi and Narwa are two flying elder dragons that serve as the final boss for the story in Monster Hunter Rise, the source of the Rampage.

These two are based on the Japanese deities of wind and thunder, Fujin and Raijin, each control their respective elements that combined create disastrous storms, other motifs on their design include royalty and marine species such as moray eels to fit the under the sea ambience of the Coral Palace. Ibushi's membranes resemble flowing wind, while its inflatable air sacs are supposed to resemble the "bag of winds" Fujin carries on its back, as for Narwa, the strange flaps resemble a fiery mane, while the floating rocks it uses during the battle might resemble the drums that surround Raijin. While these traits are fine I don't really think their final designs stand out that much, the only peculiar thing is their divided jaws and their upside-down floating.

Regarding their etymology, their English names are just shortened versions of their Japanese ones with the title <thunder/wind serpent> preceeding them, which is fine I guess considering how long their original names are. The final form of Narwa is known as Narwa the Allmother.

Ibushi in Japanese is Ibushimakihiko, a combination of Ibuki 息吹 (to breathe), Shimaki 風巻 (strong wind) and Hikogami 比古神 (male god).

Narwa in Japanese is Naruhatatahime, a combination of Narukami 鳴神 (an old Japanese play about a monk sealing a rain dragon inside a waterfall), Hatata 霹靂 (violent thunder) and Himegami 比売神 (female god, additionally hime also means princess).

I give 'em a 5/10

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Magnamalo's Etymology

The flagship monster of Monster Hunter Rise, the Malice Wyvern Magnamalo has the unique ability of using gas obtained from its prey as deadly hellfire in battle.

Just a glance at its armored look and its bright purple flames that remind of will o' wisps (called onibi in Japan) clearly give off the "phantom armor" that is the main motif of this Fanged Wyvern, combined with a tiger of course. While not the biggest fan of its design, the ghost armor of a fallen samurai is a pretty cool concept, not gonna lie.

As for the name, the etymology of Magnamalo is pretty obvious: a combination of "Magna" meaning great and "Malo" meaning evil in Spanish, basically "Great Evil" (or Big Bad as I like to call it).

The Mag- initial part also resembles its Japanese name, Magaimagato, which is a combination of ma 魔 (demon), gai 鎧 (armor), maga 禍 (disaster) and to 兜 (helmet), which also makes a play of words with the expression "magamagashi" which means "ominous". Pretty smart huh?

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Monster Hunters concepts Pt. 5: The Monkey's Paw

With the second generation the games started to add a wider diversity of monster types, as the original roster was mostly comprised of wyverns. We got new classes for mammalian monsters, the Fanged Beasts, and large crustaceans, the Carapaceons.

Today I am going to talk about some members of the Fanged Beasts: Congalala and Blangonga. These two were the first bosses to use the monkey rig, introduced in MH2, which made their fights very unique compared to other monsters.

First we have Congalala and its minions, the Conga, these beasts are characterized by their pink fur, their hippo-shaped head and their ability to attack by... Farting. Yep. The Congalala sports a large horn-like crest of hardened hair as status symbol, while the Congas just have a tuft of green hair. Its large belly and farting ability are probably based on herbivorous monkeys such as the proboscis monkey and the gorilla, which are very gaseous animals with long digestive tracts to digest plants. When enraged, its face and butt-cheeks will turn red. As its long claws are not good for grasping, it uses its prehensile tail instead, and usually carries food such as shrooms with it, this affects the fight, as depending on the type of shroom it eats its breath attack will have different effects: poison (Toadstool), paralysis (Parashroom), soiled (Blue mushroom) or fire/blastblight (Nitroshroom). Overall this monster is pretty much an oddball design with some interesting gimmicks, and despite its large size, they are quite fast, showcasing the greater focus on speed and agility of Fanged Beasts. As for its etymology, the Congalala very likely comes from Kong (as in King Kong) and Alala (Greek war cry), whereas its Japanese name Babakonga comes from Baba ババ, which is the way to say poop in the Kansai dialect of Japan.

Then we have Blangonga and its loyal companions the Blango. These primates are found in the Snowy Mountains and sport a dense white fur and a colourful face. Their design is quite clearly based on baboons and mandrills, as well as possibly Japanese macaques due to their mountain environment. The Blangonga, as the leader, is much muscular and sports several status traits on its head, namely its large fangs, but also a blue-skinned domed forehead, long whiskers and two protruding spikes on its snout. The Blangonga has a moveset that relies more on punches or taking advantage of its snowy environment, burying in the snow to attack from below, throwing large chunks of ice or even using an icy breath attack. It can also command its minions using its powerful roar. Interestingly, its roar loses effectiveness when you break its fangs, which may also reference that a Blangonga with broken fangs can no longer be a leader. For its etymology, the Blango base name is a combination of Blanco (white in Spanish) and Gorilla, while the -gonga suffix probably comes from Gong, referencing its loud roar. Meanwhile the prefix of its Japanese name, Dodoburango comes from Todoroku (to roar).

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Monster Hunter concepts Pt. 4: Beastly Bosses

I am going to keep covering a few more early bosses from other generations, and no better example of this than with the so called "Beast Trio": The blue bear Arzuros, the white rabbit Lagombi, and the red armadillo Volvidon, these conveniently colour coded Fanged Beasts were introduced in MH Portable 3rd, and first appearing in the West in MH3 Ultimate.

It is quite remarkable how different their fights are despite sharing the same base rig. Arzuros, the first you encounter, has the most basic moveset, which mostly consists of claw swipes and some body slams, meanwhile Lagombi slides on its belly like a penguin and throws chunks of ice, and lastly volvidon is basically a giant roly-poly that expels stinky gas.

Let's take a glance at Arzuros, while the base is a regular bear, the additional elements of its design perfectly give it a monster appearance. It has large arms covered in spikes and long red claws highlighting its main defenses, meanwhile the blue shell on its head and back and the long flaps and crest of white fur give the hunter something to catch upon looking. Another interesting element is its long, constantly dropping tongue that is likely based on sun bears and helps the beast to cool off, as having a shelled frontal body hinders thermal regulation. For its etymology, Arzuros comes from Azure and Ursus (bear in latin), while its Japanese name Aoashira comes from Ao (blue) and Gashira (head).

Next we have Lagombi, this furry contender from snowy areas shows more clearly other animal inspirations besides a rabbit. Its large nose draws inspiration from wombats or koalas, while its sliding skills are taken from penguins. It is pretty nice to observe other small details on its design such as the frontal plating on its arms as protection when it slides, the grooves on its belly, and the fur crests running through its rump. While it is a pretty cute design, you won't think it's so cute once it tosses a giant snowball at you. The etymology of Lagombi is confirmed to be a combination of Lagos (hare in Latin) and Bambi to give it a "cute feeling", meanwhile its Japanese name Urukususu comes from Ull, the norse god of skiing, and Akousis (hearing in Greek).

And finally Volvidon, the most strange-looking of the bunch not only for its striking red colour with orange accents, but also because of its oddly reptilian eyes and head shape, but it is always pretty satisfying to see it curl into a perfect ball... Until it tries to crush you. This monster also sports large claws to destroy mounds and an extremely longue tongue to eat bugs like an anteater, this insect diet also makes its saliva induce paralysis. Moreover, the striking cyan and yellow colours of its belly serve as a warning when it is left turned over like a turtle, this is known as aposematic colouration. The etymology of Volvidon comes from Revolving and the -don suffix to give it a dinosauresque feel to fit its reptilian look, meanwhile, the Japanese name Rangurotora comes from the french Langue (tongue) and the Italian Rotolare (to roll)

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Monster Hunter concepts Pt. 3: Chickens!

What is next on our list? Of course, the very first winged menace we face in the original Monster Hunter: Yian Kut-Ku.

The Yian Kut-Ku is the basic definition of a Bird Wyvern: a small-sized wyvern with bird-like traits, namely its massive yellow beak, as for a technically limited era feathers were very much out of the question. However, despite the lack of feathers, this monster feels very much bird-like thanks to its thin frame and, most importantly, to its quick movements, and with that pink shell it is very reminiscent of a featherless chicken! The numerous shells and scales that cover its body reflect quite well the design phylosophy of the first generation, where monsters were covered in ridges and plates from head to toes. However, the design still feels very natural indeed, no scale feels out of place. The Yian Kut-Ku also sports the peculiarity of having large fan-shaped ears that make it look like a parabolic antenna, providing them a very acute sense of hearing to detect bugs underground, this also makes them vulnerable to sonic bombs and monster roars.

This defining trait is also present in its etymology: the name Yian Kut-Ku (Iyankukku in Japanese) comes from "Ear" (Iyan) and "Cock" (Kukku) as in rooster (what else were you thinking?), this was then romanized differently into the English name we know today.

We can't forget about the more infamous relative of Kut-Ku: the Yian Garuga. This monster first appeared in Monster Hunter Freedom. Unlike its pink cousin, the Garuga has a dark purple shell, a sharper beak, spikier ears, a silvery mane and a venomous tail, it can also throw fireballs like a Rathian. Its whole design is screaming "I'm the meaner, edgier cousin of Kut-Ku", and it truly is, as it is much more dangerous, as well as cunning enough to avoid traps. The Yian Garuga is designed after the motifs of a "Lonely wolf" and a raven/crow, specially considering its dark appearance and remarkable intelligence. Its etymology is quite simple: Yian Garuga (Iyangaruruga in Japanese) shares the Yian part with Yian Kut-Ku to indicate their close relation, while the Garuga part comes from Garuda, the bird demigod from Hinduism.

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Monster Hunter concepts Pt. 2: The Raptors II

After covering the raptor monsters from earlier gens it's time for those introduced from Monster Hunter Tri onwards. That brings us to the Jaggis and co.

The young males are known as Jaggi, the adult females Jaggia, and the alpha is known as Great Jaggi. This updated naming convention, using "Great" instead of the "-drome" suffix is not the only significant change in early bosses. It is clear that these small pink dinosaurs are an improvement over the Preys of previous generations, with a less rigid posture that feels bird-like and natural. Their pink and lilac colouration is also an interesting choice and somehow doesn't feel so out of place, and the frills on the sides of their head are a nice alternative to a crest. The Great Jaggi also improves the evolution of an leader design, as unlike Velocidrome, it isn't just a larger Velociprey with a larger crest: its body is way more robust and heavy, it has large hooked claws and bigger spikes on its tail, as well as a more prominent frill and a white mane running through it's neck and tail. It feels more menacing, or at least, menacing enough for a first boss fight. Can you hear it? AUGH AUGH AUGH. This monster is beloved by fans (despite being a punching bag) and it is definitely deserved, hopefully it will come back in future games.

Then we have Baggi and Great Baggi from the freezing Tundra (and also the Frost Islands), blue-yellow relatives of the Jaggi with a forward facing crest, their design might not be as elaborate, but the different limb shape and patches of fur are nice little changes that make them feel different enough. The Great Baggi doesn't fail to appear as a stronger boss either, thanks to its piercing yellow eyes, large crest and thicker limbs. The sleeping spit of these blue beasts also offers an additional level of difficulty.

Lastly for 3rd gen we have Wroggi and Great Wroggi, these are the most odd-looking of the bunch. Like Ioprey and Iodrome, their design has more amphibian traits, with a shiny orange skin and inflatable throat sacs. Wroggis sport two blue sacs on the sides, while Great Wroggi has a single, large purple sac as display structure. They are also poisonous, but unlike Iopreys, they emit this poison in a cloud that stays for a bit, making the fight against Great Wroggi a bit more interesting, breaking the throat sac of Great Wroggi also reduces its spitting ability, adding a tactical advantage to the break. Other elements on their design, including their narrow snout and multiple flaps on the forelegs and tail, kind of give it a feel of being semiaquatic despite being terrestrial.

While I wanted to talk about the etymology of the 3rd gen raptors, the truth is that it isn't really known. Theories include that Jaggi comes from "jagged" (due to their jagged tails), baggi comes from, well, "baggy" (referencing its sleep-inducing ability) and Wroggi (Furogi in Japanese) seems to come from "froggy" (ribbit ribbit). But honestly, it possibly is something less obvious.

In 4th gen we didn't get a new raptor until MH Generations with the Maccao and Great Maccao, these jumpy fellows have a pretty fancy design based on tropical birds: a yellow crest, vibrant red skin and green feathers on the body. They are also feisty and use their spiked tails and scuted limbs to hit you. The Great Maccao also uses a variety of movements including kicks and punches, something that previous raptors didn't really do, this makes its fight incredibly fresh and fun (if only it didn't last less than 5 minutes). The theme of this monster is clearly based on martial arts, and the name Maccao reflects this: while you may think it comes from "macaw", you couldn't be more wrong, as it is actually a combination of the taiwanese words Màt (punch) y Káo (knee).

Lastly we have the Izuchi and Great Izuchi that were introduced relatively recently in Monster Hunter Rise. Following the theme in the game around the yokai, it is quite obvious that this monster is based on the Kamaitachi, a weasel-like yokai with sickle-like limbs that travels in whirlwinds and leaves small cuts on people before they notice. Its chestnut fur is clearly based on a weasel, while the sickle tail on Great Izuchi is its predominant trait and main weapon. The most innovative gimmick of its fight, however, is that it always travels with two Izuchis and combines attacks with them. This raptor fight is by far the one that feels the most like a team fight. Lastly, to mention its etymology, unlike other "dromes" and "greats", the Japanese name for the Great Itachi isn't Dosuizuchi, but Osaizuchi, this is a combination of 長 osa (leader), 飯綱 izuna (weasel) y 窮奇 kamaitachi. Pretty cool right?

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Amatsu's Etymology

The new update of Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak has brought a new kickass fight against Amatsu, an Elder Dragon that floats in the air and controls typhoons at will.

Following the clear theme of Japanese folclore that MH Rise has it isn't suprising we got a monster that is designed after heavenly deities. Its many flaps and fins are meant to evoke the movement and flow of the silky robes worn by these gods.

The etymology also follows the same theme. The English name Amatsu is an abbreviation of the Japanese name Amatsumagatsuchi, you will probably be familiar with it if you have played MH Portable 3rd. This name is a combination of Magatsuhi no kami (禍津日神), a god of disaster, and Amatsukami (天津神), the heavenly gods. From these names, if we combine the words Amatsu (heavenly), Magatsu (of disaster) and Chi (Divine spirit or god) we obtain Amatsumagatsuchi, the "Heavenly God of Disaster".

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Monster Hunter concepts Pt. 2: The Raptors I

The next entry on the blog is going to be about the most ubiquitous first boss in the series: the Raptors. These enemies are of the Bird Wyvern class that hunt in packs, their morphology is clearly based on dromeosaurs (running dinosaurs like Velociraptor). The bosses themselves are the leaders of each pack, usually a larger and stronger version of the minion, characterized by a more developed head ornament that indicates their status.

In the early generations we have Velociprey, Genprey and Ioprey, which are pretty known for being quite annoying, and their respective alphas Velocidrome, Gendrome and Iodrome. Velociprey are the very first ones to be encountered, found in forest areas, they are characterized by their blue body with black stripes, a small red crest and a yellow beak. The leader, Velocidrome, has a more prominent red crest, as well as a larger red-tinted claw on each hand and feet. As curiosity, Velociprey have pretty odd hands that look like a fan with five claws, in the concepts, this is shown to be a result of their ancestor being a winged wyvern called "Keptos" (ケプトス Keputosu).

Next we have Genprey and Gendrome, which are desert dwellers, with a green and orange pattern and two crests, as well as long fangs on the leader. Lastly, Ioprey and Iodrome (capital i, not an L) are of a vibrant red with black splotches, found in volcanoes and swamps, they are the most odd-looking and instead have a bumpy crest on their snout, which becomes a purple axe-shaped crest on the drome.

Overall, their design is pretty straightforward: a raptor monster, each with a signature color (blue, green and red) to differentiate them, the leaders have the same anatomy with a characteristic structure on their head, the challenge they pose also escalates as both Gendrome and Iodrome have the added abilities of paralizing and poisoning the hunters respectively. Their fight, however, remains pretty basic, as their attacks mostly consist on pounces and bites, with the added difficulty of having minions annoying you, as being an older title didn't really allow for further coordination in the pack.

Lets delve into their etymology: if you look at the names they all share the words "Prey" and "Drome". As you may know, "Raptor" means "Bird of prey", take the name Velociraptor, change the -raptor for -prey, and you got Velociprey. In Japanese however the name is a bit trickier, Ranposu is the transliteration of rhamphos, which means beak in ancient Greek, due to their yellow-coloured snout, which if you look closely is quite similar to the pterosaur Rhamphorhynchus. You will notice as you learn the etymologies of first generation monsters that most of them are based on Greek words. Genprey and Ioprey follow the same root as their Japanese names Geneposu and Iosu, once again, their etymology comes from Greek: Geneposu comes from gené, which means race or kin, and Ranposu, indicating it is of the same kin as Velociprey. Meanwhile Iosu is a transliteration of ios, which means poison. For the leaders, we have "Drome" replacing the "Prey" part, "Drome" comes from dromeus, which means runner, as they quite literally run the pack as the leaders, this is also shown in other alpha monsters such as Cephadrome and Bulldrome. In Japanese instead we have the name of the monster with the prefix Dosu- (i.e. Velocidrome is Dosuranposu), this prefix probably comes for the Greek word for leader agos transliterated as adosu (keep in mind in Japanese d and g sounds are interchangeable, such as Tobi-Kadachi in Japanese being Tobikagachi).

The second generation only added Giaprey and Giadrome as new raptors, found in the Snowy Mountains, they are characterized by their silvery-white scales and ice spitting abilities fitting to their frosty environment. Giadrome also sports a light blue crest and claws where Velocidrome was red. Considering these main traits it is no wonder that their name, derived from the Japanese name Gianosu, comes from khionos, which means snow.

In the next post I will talk about the raptors from 3rd gen onwards.

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Monster concepts Pt. 1: The Raths

The first entry on this blog gotta be about the flagship of the Monster Hunter series: Rathalos, and his female counterpart Rathian, both are usually referred as "Raths".

Monster Hunter as a franchise became massively popular after World, but a signature in the franchise since the first title is its unique creature design. Monster Hunter is considered to have one of the best creature designs in videogames due to its original combination of believable (while not always accurate) biology and organic designs with fantastical looking monsters. Keep in mind, while we have fire-breathing wyverns and wind-controlling dragons, their abilities aren't magic, but have a biological aspect or scientific explanation behind.

Anyway, that said, let's get to the Raths. It isn't hard to see that conceptually they are as basic as the roster gets, a fire-breathing wyvern, a typical creature of the western folclore. However, their design includes original elements that make them stand out and give them their unique look. Both are characterized by their large wings and talons, as well as their ears and "beak", both have poison and fire as offensive abilities. Rathalos has poisonous claws, while Rathian has a poisonous tail. In concept art, Rathalos also has a poisonous tail and uses it as a stinger, but this ability is never seen or implied in the games. They are also differentiated in smaller details observed mostly on Rathian: her "chin spike" (only Rathians have it because they use it to feed their young) and the poison barbs found on her body, as well as the different patterns on their wings.

To me, this is the most interesting aspect of the Raths: their sexual dimorphism, male and female. It is basically their defining trait, something that is often seen in nature as well, and this is considered not only in their look, but also their behavior. Rathalos is red (to camouflage in volcanic regions), Rathian is green (to camouflage in jungle areas), Rathalos is known as "King of the Skies" (air-based combat), whereas Rathian is known as "Queen of the Land" (terrestrial-based combat).

This dualism between male and female is also reflected in the etymology their names: the Japanese name for Rathalos is Rioreusu, which comes from "Leo" (lion in latin, which is transliterated as "rio" in Japanese) and "Basileus" (king in Latin, respective to the -reusu part of the name), the Japanese name for Rathian is Rioreia, again, from Leo, but also from Rhea, the mother goddess in Greek mythology. Meanwhile, their localized name comes most likely from a combination of "Wrath" and "Talon" and kinda loses the connotation.

This theme is further extended into some of their equipment (Siegmund/Brünhilde great swords, Wyvern Lovers dual blades, etc.) and their subspecies. Azure Rathalos and Pink Rathian have the colors that are linked to gender: blue for males, pink for females, as well as their equipment named after the dualism of the Soul (Rathalos) and the Heart (Rathian). The rare species as well, now with a hint of classical alchemy: Golden Rathian, the "Golden Moon" and Silver Rathalos, the "Silver Sun". However, this relation seems inverted, as in alchemy silver is linked to the moon and feminine gender, while gold is linked to the sun and the masculine gender. Interestingly, Golden Rathian is widely accepted as being stronger than Silver Rathalos, could that mean something? Probably not.

Pretty solid concept overall: 7/10