Kiru Giru

:This article is about the larval form. For the adult form, see Imago.
,Metroid Zero Mission Official Site also known as giant larvae,Metroid: Zero Mission: The Official Nintendo Player's Guide pg. 60-61, 101, 104 are the larval form of the insect Imago, and are native to the Norfair region of planet Zebes. One serves as the fifth boss Samus Aran fights in Metroid: Zero Mission.
On the official Japanese website for Zero Mission, the Kiru Giru (in all its forms) are referred to as a .
==Biology==
Hatching from small, pink-white eggs, at full size the Kiru Giru is roughly four times as large as a human. Its segmented, sloped body ranges from blue-green to purple, and features several round nodes running its length, which may serve defensive purposes. Most of its body is invulnerable to attack, save for its bright orange underbelly. While normally sluggish, the Kiru Giru can attack with surprising speed when threatened, using the small legs toward the front of its body to charge at enemies.
When the time comes for it to mature into its Imago form, the Kiru Giru will enter a grey, stringy chrysalis and rapidly metamorphose; within minutes, it is a full-grown adult, and capable of laying eggs.
==History==
Samus Aran encountered four Kiru Giru specimens while travelling through Norfair. The first two larvae were free-roaming, and had to be destroyed by using the newly-acquired Wave Beam and several Morph Ball Bombs, respectively. 
Later on, she encountered the long-dead corpse of a third larva, in a corridor infested by carnivorous Tangle Vines. It appeared to have been one of the many creatures to have fallen prey to the vines, which had pierced and devoured its flesh from within. 
The final Kiru Giru she encountered had been similarly ensnared, and was in the process of being consumed by the vines. However, this one was still alive, and attacked Samus by firing projectiles from its nodes. The only way for Samus to free the larva was to destroy the Tangle Vines tethering it to the ceiling. When the last vine was destroyed, the Kiru Giru plummeted through the floor, where it began to tunnel downward and formed a coccoon around itself. Shortly afterward, it emerged as the Imago, and immediately began to make its nest in its hideout.
==Battle==
The first two Kiru Giru are encountered in the same room, impeding Samus' progress. Only a layer of stone stands between Samus and the weak point of the first one, and it can be destroyed with just a few shots from the Wave Beam. The second one will actively attempt to charge Samus, but can be driven back by Missiles in a manner similar to Crocomire's fight in Super Metroid. To destroy it, Samus must lay Bombs while the larva is attacking, so that they detonate while the Kiru Giru is on top of them.
The ensnared Kiru Giru is trapped in a curled-up position, hiding its weak spot. To defeat it, Samus must freeze a Winged Ripper flying about the room, jump on it, and shoot the vines that are holding the larva with Missiles; however, it is possible to defeat it without using the Ripper by jumping up and shooting diagonally. Spores are constantly launched from the larva, either as a result of interior decay caused by vines or the latter attempting to reproduce. As Samus destroys the vines, the larva slowly changes from grey to its natural colors (possibly because the vines were absorbing its blood). When defeated, the larva itself will fall through the floor, opening a path for Samus to exit the chamber. An interesting thing to note is that the winged Ripper can be killed if it is directly underneath the Larva the moment it falls, thus crushing it.
==Development notes==
In the Debug Menu Event Viewer for Metroid: Zero Mission's prototype build, event flags are named IMOMUSHI, SANAGIFUKA, and SANAGISI. is the Japanese word for caterpillar, and is the Japanese word for pupa or chrysalis. These names listed are likely the internal names for the Kiru Giru in both its larval and ensnared states, respectively. 
*IMOMUSHI refers to the two Kiru Giru seen inside a Norfair Hallway. When this flag is active, it loads the post-Kiru Giru version of the hall. Interestingly, only the second (rightmost) Kiru Giru's death activates the flag. 
*SANAGISI refers to the flag that stops the ensnared Kiru Giru from loading once activated. SANAGIFUKA is related to the cocooned Kiru Giru and normally activates upon returning to its boss chamber after DMLANDING (Ridley's landing cutscene flag) has been activated. If Samus enters the Ensnared Kiru Giru's room from either the bottom door or from the crater with SANAGISI off, the hole leading out of the room will be present and when the boss is defeated, the dropped Kiru Giru may fall into a lower height than normal. Once SANAGIFUKA is active, a hole will appear leading to the Imago's room, plus the Cocooned Kiru Giru seen in Ridley will no longer be present, loading the post-cocoon version of the room instead.
==Trivia==
* The first two Kiru Giru larvae can be killed simultaneously with a single Power Bomb, if Samus encounters the creatures after exploring Chozodia. Likewise, they can also be defeated with a single beam shot to their underbellies after acquiring the Plasma Beam.
**By jumping and firing Missiles or Super Missiles up directly underneath the first larva's weak point, Samus can successfully kill it without acquiring the Wave Beam.
*If Samus enters the Kiru Giru larva hall from the right, the second Kiru Giru will appear more darker and become invincible to all attacks, blocking Samus from accessing the other side of the room. Using a Power Bomb will reveal its natural color for the duration of the detonation.
**Curiously, there exists an image of the first Kiru Giru during this situation, which would normally be unseen otherwise without hacking. The first Kiru Giru is fully grey as if completely hardened and is also invincible, however it is considered a background sprite instead of a solid object, meaning Samus can simply pass through it. A Power Bomb will temporarily reveal a brighter gray color of the immobile beast. 
*The room containing Kiru Giru also contains the only visible quantities of water in Norfair featured in Zero Mission. If Samus returns after defeating Ridley, the pools will have dried up.
*The ensnared Kiru Giru miniboss seems to pay tribute to Spore Spawn, as the former has a theme that sounds very similar to the latter's theme, and both can attack by launching spores.
**The beta version of Super Metroid shows that a green Ripper was initially going to be present during the fight against Spore Spawn. If this was kept in the game's public release, another parallel could be drawn between the ensnared Kiru Giru and Spore Spawn battles.
*The mechanic of firing at the Kiru Giru larva to push it back is similar to the battle with Crocomire, the Omega Metroid in Metroid Fusion and the Desbrachians in Metroid: Other M. Coincidentally, Crocomire went unused in Zero Mission.
*A Power Bomb will instantly defeat the ensnared Kiru Giru, though this can't be achieved normally as Samus cannot skip this battle to obtain a Power Bomb Tank beforehand. This can be seen with the Debug Menu however, using it to add Power Bombs during the battle.
==Gallery==
Bug Larva.png|The first Kiru Giru.
KiruGiruLarvaeAnimation.gif|A Kiru Giru sprite animation.
Zero Mission Kiru Giru 1 Cocoon.png|The first Kiru Giru in a hardened state (normally unseen).
Zero Mission Kiru Giru 2 Cocoon.png|The second Kiru Giru retreated in an impervious state within its shell.
Tangle2.png|Kiru Giru husk.
Kiru Giru dead.png|Sprite of the drained husk. 
Imago Larva.png|Samus battling the ensnared Kiru Giru.
Kiru Giru's room larva embedded in floor.png|The larva falls into the floor.
KiruGiruCocoon.gif|The freed larva in its cocoon.
Kiru Giru Cocoon.PNG|The larva's empty cocoon.
MZM Site Norfair.png|The Kiru Giru on the Metroid Zero Mission Official Site.
==References==
es:Larva Gigante atrapada
ru:Киру Гиру
Category:Bosses
Category:Zebes
Category:Norfair
Category:Imago Family
Category:Food
Category:Species