Viral

Viral is a character from the Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann anime.

Viral is a shark-type Beastman with feline genetics.

Appearance
Viral's appearance is more humanoid than most other Beastmen, except for his cat-like eyes, shark-like teeth, and large clawed paws in place of conventional human hands. During the first half of the series, Viral wears a brown jacket adorned with shoulder pads and fur collar with matching pants, and bandages from his knees down to his simple black pointed shoes. He had short platinum blond hair that reached to his chin in the front and his shoulders in the back. He also usually kept with him a large knife, resembling that of a butcher's, with which he was very proficient.

During the second half, Viral is reintroduced in brown rags covering his old uniform, though it is now tattered, along with two red belts. His hair had also grown considerably, reaching his shoulders in front and his shoulder blades in the back. After his escape from prison and induction into Team Dai-Gurren, he wore a blue full-body uniform with gold stripes around the waist and arms and a brown scarf that serves as a cloak of sorts, under which he kept hidden his old knife.

After the twenty year timeskip at the end of the series, Viral cut down his hair back to its original length.

Personality
He is very cocky and headstrong and refers to humans as "Naked Apes." He holds a rather strong contempt towards humanity, which wanes as the series progresses. Viral's most defining trait is a very strong sense of honor. Though he has a bigger sense of self-preservation than his rival Kamina, he will not attack a defenseless enemy or use dishonorable tactics, like taking hostages. Viral is a proud warrior and loves the thrill of battle.

After being inducted into Team Dai-Gurren by Simon, he shows that he is able to keep up with their bravado and adds to their short-but-inspirational battle speeches.

Episode 26 reveals some hidden depths to his character when he is shown with a family in a parallel universe created by The Anti-Spiral - reflecting a desire to have a family, even though he dismisses it as a "sappy dream" once he realizes what is really happening. After hearing several theories behind spiral energy, Viral stated: "I don't understand the crap you say but I like and believe it."

Abilities

 * Hand-to-Hand Combat Skills: Viral is a dangerous and agile fighter, proficient with a cleaver. He was able to overpower Kamina in a duel (a sneak attack by Kamina was the only thing that saved himself before Simon and Yoko interrupted the fight). He also was able to overpower Simon in a fistfight, showing his superior combat skills.
 * Archery: Though he only utilizes this skill once in the series, Viral is shown to be a good hand at archery (presumably with a long-bow, since one was thrown out of the grass when Kamina tried to shoot in his direction). He is able to hit a moving target with great accuracy, and even almost shot Kamina with an arrow, only narrowly missing because Kamina dodged at the last second.
 * Superhuman Senses: Perhaps due to his animal genetics, Viral appears to have excellent sensory abilities. He was able to detect Yoko before she could hit him with any of her rifle shots, despite the woman being on a distant peak. These senses may also contribute to his fighting skills and Gunmen-piloting abilities


 * Gunmen Piloting: Viral is a skilled pilot. He was able to overpower the heavily-defended Littner village, outmatch Kamina's Gurren, and deflect Yoko's attack. He was able to overpower Kamina in most battles and was skilled enough to defeat a few Grapearls, which were far superior to his Gunmen.


 * Immortality: After learning the origin of the Beastmen from Lordgenome, Viral is given immortality by the Spiral King so he can tell the tale of Lordgenome's victory over the Dai-Gurren Brigade for ages to come. Immortality gives Viral 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 unchanged after 20 years.
 * Spiral Power: Viral was able to pilot Gurren even though it was powered by Spiral Power and helped Simon perform most of his Spiral Power attacks.  He had a family in the Anti-Spiral illusion, implying that he was capable of love, something only races with Spiral Power can truly feel.  He also gained a Core Drill in the illusion and used it while co-piloting Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann.  In Lagann-hen, he summoned Tengen Toppa Enki Durga, confirming that he has Spiral Power at least in the film.

Trivia

 * Viral is the only character in Gurren Lagann to have his own unique theme song play in the show itself. 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. Other characters have songs associated with them, some of which (most notably Kamina's theme, sections of play during each of the show's eyecatches. Not to be confused with ""Libera me" from hell", which is the 'death song' of the series) are played during the anime, though not necessarily during a character's time on screen.
 * This theme song sounds similar to Points of Authority by Linkin Park.
 * 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.
 * According to the illusion, Viral had gained the ability to seek love and find the urge to have children, much like all Spiral beings strive for. While being a Beastman and sterile, it is possible that while Lordgenome granted Viral immortality, the result most likely had him infused with Spiral Power as well. For example, by the time Simon had been piloting Gurren Lagann by himself, it had been running entirely on Spiral Power (as it no longer needed an electrical charge like the Beastmen's Gunmen). Viral had the ability to pilot Gurren because he had been given the ability to use Spiral Power by Lordgenome. This unlocked in him the need to have a family ("Love changes the universe!" such as Leeron said). However, he still couldn't control his Spiral Power nor did he know he had it, so he was unable to help Simon initially when transforming Super Galaxy Gurren Lagann. Fortunately, Simon appeared in Viral's fantasy, and when Viral snapped out of it, he gained a Core Drill, signifying his unlocking of Spiral Power. Eventually, Viral learns to master his power, creating the Tengen Toppa Enki Durga in Lagann-hen's take on the final battle against the Anti-Spiral.