Viral

Viral (ヴィラル) a shark-type Beastman with feline genetics. His appearance is more humanoid than most other Beastmen, except for his cat-like eyes, shark-like teeth, and large clawed paws in place of hands. He is very cocky and headstrong and refers to humans as "Naked Apes."

Etymology
Viral's name comes directly from the word "viral", tying in with the Beastmen's genetics theme, but there are other theories about his name's origin. One is the fact that it can also be an anagram for "rival", referring to his constant rivalry with Kamina, which transferred to Simon throughout the series until near the end. Another possible theory comes from the Nikopol Trilogy of comic books written by Enki Bilal, as Enki is the name of Viral's first Gunmen and "Bilal", pronounced in Japanese, sounds like "Viral". Supporting this theory is Viral's theme song, which is titled "Nikopol", on the anime's soundtrack.

The name of Viral's Gunmen may be tied to the Sumerian deity Enki, though it is much more likely that there is a deliberate connection between his second Gunmen, Enkidu, and the character of Enkidu from the Epic of Gilgamesh. The myth consists of Enkidu ('Enki's creation'), a man of the wild who seeks to challenge King Gilgamesh, a mighty warrior, but who later befriends him and assists him in in his travels, which may be a referance to Simon and Kamina, as he initially wanted to beat them but later joined Simon to save the universe.

Beastmen War Arc
While hunting for food, Viral attacks Kamina when he found, running into his Ganmen Enki after Yoko interferes in a ensuing fight between the two. He manages to overcome Simon and Kamina's attacks, but leaves before the fight ends. The next day, Viral returns to execute his mission as member of the Human Execution Squad, facing Kamina and Simon again; this time however, Viral is defeated by the newly formed Gurren-Lagann, barraging it missiles in order to conceal his escape, swearing revenge on Kamina for his humiliation when he took Enki's helmet in the fight. Viral later returns alongside Supreme General Thymilph and the Dai-Gunzan to crush Team Gurren with the upgraded Enkidu, but is severely injured in the battle, which resulted in the Dai-Gurren's capture and the death of his superior. He tries to obtain another chance to fight by trying to join Supreme General Adiane's side, in spite of her treating him like garbage as she blames him for Thymilph's demise. Still, Viral saved Adiane from harm during a fight with Team Dai-Gurren, by stopping the Dai-Gurren's foot from crushing her. After Adiane's death by the Dai-Gurren's attack and being the only survivor of the Dai-Gunkai, Viral curses the Gurren-Lagann and swears to bring pain and punishment to those who killed his two superiors and robbing him of his honor.

Under Supreme General Cytomander's command, Viral took part on the aerial attack on the Dai-Gurren. His battle with the Gurren-Lagann, piloted by Simon and Yoko, extended to the control room of Cytomander's aerial fortress, the Dai-Gunten. There, he finally learned of Kamina's death, and more infuriated that all those confrontations after where brought by a human child as well, challenging Simon to a one-on-one duel in their mecha. But the battle was interrupted by Cytomander, who took Yoko hostage, and ordered Viral to destroy the defenseless Gurren-Lagann. However, Viral disobeyed as he knew this outcome would not make him regain his lost pride and honor. For this action, Cytomander asked the Spiral King's permission to execute him for treason, but Viral's last request was hearing from the King himself of what is the true nature of human race. Thus, Lordgenome dispenses Cytomander and conducts Viral to a room where he reveals the truth behind the Beastmen's existence before making him immortal. Believing it was to finally obtain his vengeance, Viral uses his modified Enkidudu to attack the Gurren-Lagann when it entered the Spiral King's throne room. However, while being soundly defeated, Lordgenome revealed that the reason he gave Viral immortality was not to fight against Simon, as no Beastman can stand against a human with "Spiral Energy", but to make use of him as an eternal witness to tell of the Spiral King's triumph against Team Dai-Gurren. But after Lord Genome's defeat and the fall of Teppelin, Viral's whereabouts were unknown and was presumed dead in collapse of the Dekabutsu.

Anti-Spiral Arc War
Years later, now wearing a ragged cloak instead of his militant garb, Viral resurfaced and causes an uproar with his Ganmen, calling Simon out to fight him, but Rossiu stopped Simon from going after him and sent their Grapearl force instead. Gimmy and Darry together managed to take down Viral's Enkidudu and put him under custody. When questioned by Simon about why he continues to fight even after the war ended before being sent to Rikane Prison, Viral stated that his intention was to protect a human settlement which refused to leave the underground, leading Simon to learn of Rossiu acting without his consent to count and find out how close mankind's population was from reaching the one million danger level. Simon later encounters Viral when he is sent to Rikon to await his death sentence to be carried on, with Viral mocking him until the two get into a brawl until they are locked in individual cells and were left behind as the other jailers and inmates abandon the prison. But when Yoko arrives to bust Simon out, Viral is also released by him and accepts his proposal to join Team Dai-Gurren against the Anti-Spirals as the Gurren's pilot. This position is cemented after the battle, when Simon declares him the Gurren's official pilot in a meeting with the Team members; this title goes uncontested. Viral pilots Gurren-Lagann with Simon. When Simon attempts to Transform the Chouginga-Gurren, he tells Simon to rest when the drill shatters. He explains to Simon that he would help if he had Spiral power. Boota then climbs down and helps Simon power up,much to Viral's surprise.In the Anti-spiral's illusion, his dream is that he has a wife and a daughter. Despite being a Beastman, he obtains a Core Drill when broken free from the Anti-Spiral's illusion, even though Beastmen should not be able to produce Spiral Energy. He is the last to return to Gurren-Lagann. He then helps Simon in defeating the anti-spirals by flying out with Simon in Gurren-Lagann and throwing Lagann in order to finish off the anti-spiral. This is likely in homage to Kamina and Simon's first named special attack.

After Anti-Spiral War Arc
Viral is seen commanding the Super Galaxy Dai-Gurren as a representative for Earth in the upcoming Spiral Peace Conference; due to his immortality his appearance stays the same, in spite of the fact that 20 years had passed.

=Skills=
 * Hand-to-hand combat: Viral is a skilled fighter on foot. He was able to overpower Kamina in a duel (a sneak attack by Kamina was the only thing that saved himself). He also was able to overpower Simon in fist to fist and showed superior combat to Simon.


 * Gunmen Pilot: Viral is a skilled pilot. He was able to overpower Littner village, which was filled with defenses, Kamina, and deflect Yoko's attack. He was able to overpower Kamina in most battles and was skilled enough to defeat a few Geaperals, which were far superior to his Gunmen.


 * Immortality: At the end of first story arc, Viral reveals to Simon that he is now immortal. His immortality given to him by Lordgenome gives him an advantage in battle as well, as his wounds heal almost instantaneously, as shown when he purposely takes an attack by a fellow Beastman. He also is able to fight without becoming tired and needs no rest. Because of this factor, Viral's physical appearance remains unaged after 20 years.

= Trivia=
 * Viral is the only character in Gurren-Lagann to have his own unique theme song. The song "Nikopol" plays every time he makes a entrance as a villain. Though after he sided himself with Team Dai-Gurren, the theme isn't played again.
 * In the Japanese version of the anime, Viral is voiced by Nobuyuki Hiyama. Hiyama is best known for providing the voice for The Legend of Zelda's main protagonist Link. Throughout the series Viral will scream or let out grunts in frustration that sound identical to similar screams or grunts Link cries out.
 * In the original ADV Films dub, Viral was to be voiced by Vic Mignogna, who told a Gurren Lagann fan that he would have given Viral a rather Gollum-like voice, high and raspy.