The Daikaiju of the Meireki Era

<CAUTION> THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE CONTAINS SPOILERS! READ AT YOUR OWN PERIL!

The Daikaiju of the Meireki Era
Name
Kanji	明暦の大怪獣
Romaji	Meireki no Daikaijū
Characteristics
Status	Deceased
Species	Kaiju
Gender	Unknown
Hair Color	None
Debut
Manga Debut	Chapter 66 (Mentioned) Chapter 113 (Full Appearance)

The Daikaiju of the Meireki Era (明暦の大怪獣, Meireki no Daikaijū) was an ancient and powerful Kaiju who, in the year 1657, rampaged for one hundred days and was the cause of the greatest massacre of Kaiju slayers in history.

In present times, this once mighty Kaiju was found by a juvenile Kaiju No. 9, who fused with it inside its body until it reawakened upon near defeat and took over the fight against Kafka Hibino and the Defense Force. It met a permanent demise at the end with Kaiju No. 8 dealing a final blow to its core.

Appearance

This entity appears as a massive amalgamation Kaiju whose body is made of different monsters' body parts. Its main head presents a human-like face with ten eyes set in three vertical rows, and a small mouth at the bottom, lacking a nose. Its shoulder and upper body are made of multiple Kaiju heads, and two pairs of arms sprouted from its back. It also had a massive long taii. It also had a mouth in the middle of its back that only opens when it roar.

Its current fused form with Kaiju No. 9 takes the appearance of No. 9's previous form before absorbing Kaiju No. 2, with a large vertical opening going from its head to its pubis. Inside this opening lie numerous eyes that belong to the Meireki Daikaiju, with four fingers keeping the gap open from No. 9's chest. This form also presents a long pointy tail and four pairs of arms, three more compared to No. 9's original form.

The Daikaiju of the Meireki Era's portrait in the anime

Personality

The Daikaiju of the Meireki Era seems to be an extremely destructive force, essentially behaving like a wild Kaiju that wreaks havoc with all of its strength. This Daikaiju has also shown the ability to draw other Kaiju to itself and establish a symbiotic relationship with them. After having its core destroyed, No. 9 reveals that it will now become "a beast that only destroys", hinting at the unstoppable thirst for destruction of the Meireki Era Daikaiju.

After realizing Kaiju No. 8 contained and was the result of the resentment of the warriors it previously killed, the Meireki Daikaiju started laughing in its first sense of sentience and acknowledgement that the people it killed returned.

History

In the year 1657, Meireki Era, this Daikaiju appeared in Tokyo and unleashed a cataclysm that burned down the Kanto area and the majority of Edo. During the fight, more Kaiju slayers have died than at any other point in history.

Eventually, Ryunei Shrine was built in the spot where the fight took place.

At some point, a juvenile Kaiju No. 9 was "guided" in a cave where it found the hidden Daikaiju of the Meireki Era, who bonded with No. 9 and entered his body.

Plot

The Compatible User Arc

Arrived at Ryunei Shrine for training, Soshiro Hoshina and Kafka Hibino discussed the history of the shrine and what happened centuries before because of the Daikaiju of the Meireki Era.

The Last Wave Arc

After a long and extenuating battle, Kaiju No. 8 managed to effectively destroy Kaiju No. 9's core, before the latter decided to have a "little chat". No. 8 found himself in No. 9's mind, with the latter admitting defeat and how its lifelong desire to learn about humans had come to an end. However, No. 8 noticed a mass of Kaiju coming out of No. 9's body, as the other one declared that it will be turned into a "beast that only destroys", as the Daikaiju of the Meireki Era appears in front of Kaiju No. 8. Out of No. 9's mind, No. 8 was severely injured by the lifeless body of its opponent. Attempting one last attack, two circles of runes appeared on No. 8's arm and chest, blasting him away and leaving him apparently dead. Then, No. 9 effectively fused itself with the Meireki Era Daikaiju in a new form, before destroying Mina Ashiro's cannon and having runes appear on her body too.

Powers & Abilities

Overall Abilities: As a Kaiju of historical importance, The Daikaiju of the Meireki Era is an immensely powerful being. It is strong enough to slay the highest number of Kaiju slayers in history and burn down massive areas in the process. Its presence in No. 9's body hints that this Daikaiju was the source of Kaiju No. 9's unparalleled might, while Kaiju No. 9 kept it contained, viewing it as too dangerous and unstable. After Kaiju No. 9's core was destroyed and losing equilibrium, the Meireki Daikaiju awakened, having a Fortitude level deemed "immeasurable" by the Defense Force.

Powers

• Immense Speed and Reflexes: The Meireki Daikaiju has amazing reflexes that have allowed it to react to and block attacks from Soshiro Hoshina and Gen Narumi using its multiple arms, both of whom are considered the strongest close-combat fighters in the Defense Force, even catching their fastest multi-staged attacks with Narumi's precognitive abilities are unable to land a blow towards the Daikaiju's defense longer to make him overheat, and managed to defeat Hoshina in a single blow without him dodging
• Immense Strength and Durability: The Meireki Daikaiju was to defeat and knockout Hoshina and Narumi despite their Number weapons' capability and their attacks being able to kill an Identified Number Kaiju, and was able to survive from the attacks of the Evolved Kaiju No. 8.
• Keen Intellect: Although, a rampaging monster, it is noted that having absorbed Kaiju No. 9, the Meireki Daikaiju developed some semblance of intellect, with those fearing it could become as smart as No. 9.

Abilities

• Mental Powers: While the full extent of its capabilities is unknown, this Daikaiju seems to have some mental influence on Kaiju No. 9, guiding it to where it was hiding and leading to their first encounter. This capability is so powerful that even Mina Ashiro was unable to escape from its influence inside No. 9's mind if it weren't for Kafka Hibino's interference.
• Runes: The Daikaiju of the Meireki Era can manifest shining runes on the opponent's body, which upon blinking causes them to split their targets in half while causing a tremendous explosion from the aftermath.
• Energy Attacks: Due to Kaiju No. 9 absorbing Kaiju No. 2, the Daikaiju was able to release energy blasts to attack the enemy from afar—the only different is that Meireki can shoot dozen of blasts while changing trajectory, a feat which Isao and No. 2 were unable to do.
• Necromancy: Due to having absorbed No. 9 when it got out. The Daikaiju of the Meireki Era was able to resurrect all dead Kaiju, including Identified Kaiju all over Japan by letting out a roar.

Trivia

The Daikaiju of the Meireki Era as it is portrayed in history books

• When Soshiro and Kafka first mentioned this Kaiju it appeared in a completely different way compared to its real form. It looked like a large lizard-like quadrupedal beast with a long pointy tail. However, it was soon revealed to be yet another form that the Meireki Era Daikaiju took on to hide before revealing itself.
• This Daikaiju appears to be the in-universe cause for the Great fire of Meireki, a real historical event which consisted in a fire that burnt roughly 70% of Tokyo on March 2, 1657.