The Nature of Monster Hunter Rise - The Citadel | Ecology Documentary

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Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
00:44 - Overview
06:28 - Lord of the Soil
11:10 - Lord of the Moon
17:33 - Echo of Rancor
23:44 - Dragon of Dark and Light
32:56 - Lord of the Scarlet Scourge
39:11 - Outro

Sources:
Monster Hunter Rise In-Game Dialogue
Monster Hunter Rise Hunter's Notes
Monster Hunter Rise Official Setting Materials, pgs. 108-115
Monster Hunter Encyclopedia 4, pgs. 58-63

Notes:
- All taxonomic species names are made-up.
- The timeline re: Malzenos infection is extremely weird. It seems that it happened pretty recently, which would imply that there is only one Malzeno as we know it. But that is obviously untrue, as we kill multiple across various quests (every first time completion of a quest counts as "canon"). So while this Documentary assumes th entire species is infected, we don't actually know - the update in June might as well change that, and the compilation release will be corrected if that happens.

Find me on Twitter:

[Oceaniz]

The Forbidden Episode is next. But because Rise is getting one more surprise update in June, I will have to wait with production until we know what the story and ecology of the mystery final monster is. Don't worry, there'll be enough content in the meantime to carry you over, so I really hope you stick with me until then!

Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro
00:44 - Overview
06:28 - Lord of the Soil
11:10 - Lord of the Moon
17:33 - Specter of Rancor
23:44 - Dragon of Dark and Light
32:56 - Lord of the Scarlet Scourge
39:11 - Outro

Sources:
Monster Hunter Rise In-Game Dialogue
Monster Hunter Rise Hunter's Notes
Monster Hunter Rise Official Setting Materials, pgs. 108-115
Monster Hunter Encyclopedia 4, 58-63

Notes:
- All taxonomic species names are made-up.
- The timeline re: Malzenos infection is extremely weird. It seems that it happened pretty recently, which would imply that there is only one Malzeno as we know it. But that is obviously untrue, as we kill multiple across various quests (every first time completion of a quest counts as "canon"). So while this Documentary assumes the entire species is infected, we don't actually know - the update in June might as well change that, and the compilation release will be corrected if that happens.

[bignelly]

I expect hammer boi to be absolutely traumatized with his encounter with Gizmagom and Amatsu. I look forward to the forbidden episode.

[Person-itip]

I love the way you talked about Malzeno, it really sells how twisted the Qurios have made it.

On a completely separate note, I just realized that by dealing with the Anomaly Quests, the Hunter of Kamura is actively preventing another tragedy like what befell the Citadel. The people of the Citadel overlooked and ignored the Anomalies that were popping up and were destroyed by them, and Elgado was ready to do the same since they assumed the Qurio would kill their hosts before they could properly cause trouble. But with all of the Risen Elder Dragons, we know that they are more than capable of pulling another Malzeno with other beings of comparable power

[TheXell]

Fatalis: "You are a flagship-monster, but we do not grant you the rank of Elder Dragon."
Gore Magala: "This is outrageous! It's unfair!"
Fatalis: "Sit. Down. Wyvern."

[imalltheragex]

5:54 The Bogi, a.k.a the derpy dog raptor. Legit even though we didn't get a Great Bogi we best get the ability to have these derpy guys as monsties in the next Monster Hunter Stories game

[darthnius]

I sound like a broken record, but once again, this episode is even better than the last. The expanded intro on the region and it's habitatsworked really well as a setup for the Lunagaron.
Can't wait to see what you got in store for us next.

IncelMagnamalo/10

[JanusHoW]

Interesting note about the Frenzy Virus - apparently it's a fungus, and it may be based on the Cordyceps fungus, similar to the one that creates the zombies in The Last of Us, except it does not produce fruiting bodies (aka mushrooms). When the virus infects a host, it essentially takes over the monster's brain, and the host's hyper-aggressive behavior may be the Frenzy learning to "drive" its host while simultaneously trying to propagate. Real-life Cordyceps do the same thing, but they generally direct their host (usually an insect) up a tree so it can spread its spores over the largest area. This parallels Gore Magala's preference for very high places - like Heaven's Mount and the peak of the Citadel area - as a place to molt.

I also have this headcanon about how Afflicted Chaotic Gore Magalas and Risen Shagaru Magalas can come to be - if a Gore Magala inflicted with the Qurio Virus tries to molt, one of two things can happen depending on how tough the Gore is - if it is strong enough, the molt succeeds and it immediately becomes a Risen Shagaru, harnessing both the energy of the Qurio and the power of the Frenzy into one terrifying whole, making it the most difficult monster in Sunbreak at the time of this comment's posting. If it is _not_ strong enough, the molt fails, and it turns into an Afflicted Chaotic Gore Magala even without exposure to the "usual" method of creating their kind...and creating possibly the most agonized creature in the entire franchise.

[gabrielvalenzuela]

Oh boy cant wait to hear how those castle shaped rocks got there, Malzeno sure has a fun naturally ocurring habitat where no human civilization was wiped out, yep just castle and house shaped rocks all over.

[AristasTheMonsterHunter]

I have a theory about scorned's dragon element: in syntesis I belive that like you said it's dragon element acquired from eating elders, but could also come from Apex monsters as well. I think Apex are made by Ibushi as a mating gift to grant Narwa enaugh proteins (or bioenergy, whatever) to carry the pregnancy without having to resort to cannibalism; the Apex monsters are chosen and infused with dragon element wich makes them go insane, then they scare off other monsters, causing the Rampage. All the scared monsters and the Apexes are then eaten by Narwa after the "procession" to her nest (Kamura was just in the way). Since Magnamalo seem to like looking out for rampages to feed, it's possible that Scorned could also prey on Apexes and as such absorb part of Ibushi's dragon element.

[milanrincel]

How can you just keep on outdoing yourself man? The quality of your productions is insane, and I sure hope you'll keep gracing us lowly beings with these for years!

[afroling]

The way you describe melzeno actually made me like him even more to the point we’re he is one of my favourite elders.

[drexdqueen]

The writing captures the sheer tragedy of the Citadel and Kingdom so well!! Great stuff, Deniz

[heart]

Oceaniz: Scorned Magnamalo, Magnamalo broke their horn, get no snu snu but refuse to give up and becomes a bad boy that all the girls flock to him.

Everyone Else: Scorned Magnamoalo using the power of blue balls to fight.

Oceaniz: Basically?

[kennethsatria]

The Malzeno section really gets me hyped for the upcoming update, though with Qurio still involved it might not be an un infected variant which is a bit sad, its more likely to be some hyper infected instead. Here's hoping we meet a second uninfected version, and it helps us against the final boss kind of like Nergigante sort of did with the story bosses in World.

[miguelcabreracastro]

I didnt expect scorned magnamalo, but it is wellcome. The citadel is one of my fa maps, ust behind the jungle, its such a nice map to traverse and explore.

[kingvale]

Calling Garangolm potentially the largest fanged beast...Gammoth: "Am i a joke to you?"

[Shoyro]

I KNEW THIS WOULD BE SPECIAL!!! The "to be continued" shows it. I'm curious if we can get special focus on the Qurio for a separate video. To focus on them, Afflicted Monsters, and Risen Elder Dragons.

[Likhos]

Gotta appreciate one thing, how this vid managed to age well: The Sunbreak Artbook did confirm most Malzeno are corrupted.

Interestingly enough, I think it's one of the rare cases where an elder dragon gets actual speciation instead of a variant (with the rare case of Kirin).
considering how immensely different the corrupts and primordials are, it seems like both have had a divergent evolution after the initial contact with the Qurio, with the corrupt ones growing twisted as time went on, while the primordials stayed the same.

[Suirioujin]

I'm sure TU6 will have a pure Malzeno, a long lost individuals xho never encountered quirios

[JtAlone]

Excellent work! Been watching since Rajang and the quality of the writing narration, and pacing has improved more than I thought possible for videos of this type. The shots you get for demonstrating monster abilities are much cleaner and you do a great job making sure everything is visible. The interpretation on Scorned Magnamalo was fantastic as well; one of my favorite parts about this series is the insight you bring by contrasting the deviant monsters' behavior with the stock variety.