Maw-Ray

Maw-Ray
	; Artwork from Super Mario Odyssey
First appearance	Super Mario 64 (1996)
Latest appearance	The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)
Variants
	Mega Unagi; Spike Eel
Comparable
	Gringill

Not to be confused with Maw-Maw.

Maw-Rays, previously referred to as Unagi^[1]^[2] for most of their history, are recurring eel^[3] enemies in the Super Mario franchise that debuted in Super Mario 64. They are enormous maroon-colored morays dappled with yellow spots, often depicted nesting in underwater cavities on the seafloor of an area. Maw-Rays typically lunge at player characters that approach their cavities with snapping jaws.

The English name "Unagi" is shared with a Japanese dish traditionally made out of the freshwater eel Anguilla japonica, similar to the shark enemy Sushi that also debuted in Super Mario 64. The name "Maw-Ray," introduced with its more realistic eel design in Super Mario Odyssey, is a play on "maw" and "moray." This name is more comparable in origin to its Japanese name 「ウツボ」 (Utsubo), the common name for real moray eels.

Maw-Rays are the first of several large cave-dwelling eel enemies in the Super Mario series that exhibit similar behavior, including Eely-Mouth, Gringills, and Spike Eels.

History[edit]

Super Mario series[edit]

Super Mario 64 / Super Mario 64 DS[edit]

Screenshot from Super Mario 64

One Unagi, also referred to as Unagi the eel^[4] or simply as the Eel,^[5] appears in Super Mario 64 and its Nintendo DS remake. In the Jolly Roger Bay mission, Plunder in the Sunken Ship, Mario can lure Unagi out of its sunken ship home by swimming near and provoking it to attack. The player must then swim a short distance away and then swim back to the ship. Unagi will have left the ship, allowing the player to enter it via the ship's window. Unagi is the focus of the next mission, Can the Eel Come Out to Play?, where it now appears in a water cove. Unagi can be lured out in the same manner as before, and it now has a Power Star attached to its tail that can be obtained by touching it. However, if too much time passes, Unagi will return to the alcove and will have to be lured out again. In later missions, Unagi circles where the sunken ship formerly was.

New Super Mario Bros.[edit]

Unagi and their big counterparts appear as underwater enemies in New Super Mario Bros. Unagi keep their Super Mario 64 DS design. They are encountered only in World 4-3 and World 8-3. Some Unagi swim around while others live in small underwater coves, attacking anything in its vicinity. Unagi can be defeated with a Mega Mushroom and a Super Star.

Super Mario Odyssey[edit]

In Super Mario Odyssey, Maw-Rays (referred to by this name for the first time) make an appearance as enemies, primarily in the Underwater Tunnel to the Lighthouse in the Seaside Kingdom. They are redesigned to have a more detailed appearance with realistic anatomy as well as menacing, glowing eyes. Similar to their appearance in New Super Mario Bros., they attack by lunging out of their nesting spots at a high speed before snapping their enormous jaws and receding, and can be positioned either horizontally or vertically. Before they emerge, a plume of sand can be seen coming from their caves. Entering these caves is impossible, as they appear to be blocked with sand. A few Maw-Rays also appear in one area of the Mushroom Kingdom; here, their caves are not seen, as they instead lunge upwards out of the clouds.

A Spike Eel appears in concept art for the Underwater Tunnel to the Lighthouse in the Seaside Kingdom in place of Maw-Rays, but they were eventually replaced by Maw-Rays.^[6]

Mario no Bōken Land[edit]

Scan of Mario, Luigi, and Donkey Kong encountering Unagi in Mario no Bōken Land

The manga Mario no Bōken Land features adaptations of various games, one of them including Super Mario 64. The Super Mario 64 section of the book features Mario, Luigi and Donkey Kong traversing through several of the worlds in Super Mario 64; one of them, being an encounter with Unagi in Jolly Roger Bay. Unagi eats them, but Mario's sword allows them to escape.

Mario Golf[edit]

In Mario Golf, Unagi's name is sometimes on the score card.

Mario Party series[edit]

Maw-Rays appear only a few times in the Mario Party series. In Mario Party 3, a brown Unagi appears in the foreground of Deep Bloober Sea, attempting to take a bite from a pink Sushi's tail. A similar giant turquoise eel also appears nearby. In the minigame Manta Rings from Mario Party 4, a reddish-brown eel resembling an Unagi darts in front of the characters with a high-pitched noise as they pass a sunken ship. If bumped into, three points are deducted.

Mario Kart series[edit]

Mario Kart Wii[edit]

Several Unagi in Mario Kart Wii appear in the background of the underwater tunnel segment Koopa Cape, poking their heads out of various Pipes, and a closer Unagi can be seen swimming outside of Chain Chomp Wheel.

Mario Kart 7[edit]

Unagi in Mario Kart 7 similarly appear in the underwater sections of GCN Daisy Cruiser and Wii Koopa Cape.

Mario Kart Arcade GP DX[edit]

In Mario Kart Arcade GP DX, Unagi make a small appearance in the underwater parts of the race track Tropical Coast.

Mario Kart 8 / Mario Kart 8 Deluxe[edit]

Unagi in Dolphin Shoals

A single Unagi appears in an underwater section of the Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe course Dolphin Shoals, where players race along its body for a short section and can perform Jump Boosts from its undulating body. They also make a return in the booster courses GCN Daisy Cruiser, Wii Koopa Cape, and Piranha Plant Cove, once again making cameos in the underwater sections of each course and retaining their design and model from Mario Kart Tour.

Mario Kart Tour[edit]

A Maw-Ray in Mario Kart Tour

In Mario Kart Tour, Maw-Rays appear in the underwater sections of several courses. They utilize their design from Super Mario 64 DS in this appearance, which was also used in previous Mario Kart games. Unlike other sentient obstacles in the game, they are not affected by items whatsoever. They are found in the following courses:

Piranha Plant Cove
Piranha Plant Cove R
Piranha Plant Cove R/T
Piranha Plant Cove 2
Piranha Plant Cove 2R
Piranha Plant Cove 3
Piranha Plant Cove 3R
GCN Daisy Cruiser
GCN Daisy Cruiser T

Most Maw-Rays simply roam around an area above the track, usually after emerging from a pipe in a wall. In Piranha Plant Cove 2, Piranha Plant Cove 2R, and GCN Daisy Cruiser T, Maw-Rays can be interacted with, as there are currents that can send drivers high enough to reach them; they act as minor, wall-like obstacles that simply cause drivers to lose some speed when run into. The Maw-Ray in Piranha Plant Cove 2 can be bounced off of for Jump Boosts.

In Piranha Plant Cove 3 and its T variant, one Maw-Ray lurks inside a hole, lunging at drivers to bite them. Drivers who run into this Maw-Ray spin out.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie[edit]

The Maw-Ray leaping out of the water in The Super Mario Bros. Movie

“So this is the end: being slowly digested by an eel next to an... idiot in overalls.”

—Donkey Kong

A large Maw-Ray appears in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, where it consumes Mario and Donkey Kong after they plummet from Rainbow Road. Soon after, the two are able to escape the Maw-Ray by using a Rocket Barrel from the remains of DK's kart. The Maw-Ray's design is based off the enemy's appearance in Super Mario Odyssey.

Gallery[edit]

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Maw-Ray.

Screenshot from Super Mario 64
Artwork from Super Mario Bōken Game Ehon 6 3 Tsu no Takara
Several Unagi in Mario Kart Wii
Artwork from Super Mario Odyssey
Screenshot from Mario Kart Tour

Additional names[edit]

Internal names[edit]

Game	File	Name	Meaning
Super Mario 64 DS New Super Mario Bros. Mario Kart Arcade GP DX Mario Kart Tour	`data/enemy/moray` `data/enemy/moray.nsbmd` `Data/Model/Object/moray` `assets/main/content/mapobj/moray/moray_prm.asset`	moray	English translation of the Japanese name

Names in other languages[edit]

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	ウツボ^[7] Utsubo	Moray
Japanese	大おおウツボ^[8] Ō Utsubo	Big Moray
Chinese (simplified)	海鳗^[?] Hǎimán	Moray
Chinese (traditional)	海鰻^[?] Hǎimán	Moray
Dutch	Maw-Ray^[?]	-	Super Mario Odyssey
Dutch	Moeraal^[?]	Moray	The Super Mario Bros. Movie
French	Anguy^[?]	From anguille ("eel") and possibly the male name "Guy"
	Mordrène^[?]	From mordre ("to bite") and murène ("moray"). The name is written in lowercase in the Canadian version (mordrène) while it is capitalized in the European version (Mordrène)	Super Mario Odyssey
	Murène^[9]	Moray
German	Kano^[10]	-
German	Murani^[?]	From "Muränen" ("moray")	Super Mario Odyssey
Italian	Mordorena^[?]	Portmanteau of mordere ("to bite") and murena ("moray")
Korean	곰치^[?] Gomchi	Moray
Russian	Мурена^[?] Murena	Moray
Spanish	Morena^[?]	Moray
Spanish	Mordimore^[?]	From morder ("to bite") and morena ("moray"). The name is written in lowercase in the Latin American version (mordimore) while it is capitalized in the European version (Mordimore)	Super Mario Odyssey

References[edit]

Maw-Ray coverage on other NIWA wikis:

Ukikipedia

^ Pelland, Scott and Dan Owsen (1996). The Super Mario 64 Player's Guide. Redmond: Nintendo of America. Page 12.
^ Loe, Casey (2006). New Super Mario Bros. Official Player's Guide. Redmond: Nintendo of America. ISBN 1-59812-009-3. Page 12.
^ NintendoAmerica (September 17, 2020). Take a nice swim in Jolly Roger Bay from Super Mario 64. There’s all sorts interesting things to find, like a pirate ship at the bottom of the bay, or a giant eel. Hmm, maybe there’s something special about that eel? #SuperMario3DAllStars. X. Retrieved September 17, 2020. (Archived September 17, 2020, 19:01:38 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
^ Pelland, Scott, and Dan Owsen (1996). Super Mario 64 Player's Guide. Nintendo of America (American English). Page 33.
^ Eel - (Course 3). Nintendo: Super Mario 64 Strategy. Retrieved 22 May 2024. (Archived February 24, 1998, 21:17:09 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
^ Sakai, Kazuya, kikai, Rachel Roberts, and Jenny Blenk, editors (2019). The Art of Super Mario Odyssey (First English Edition). Dark Horse Books. ISBN 978-1-50671-375-5. Page 228.
^ Sakai, Kazuya, and kikai, editors (2018). 『スーバーマリオオデッセイ公式設定資料集』. Tokyo: ambit (Japanese). ISBN 978-4-19-864696-7. Page 235.
^ Kazuki, Motoyama. KC Deluxe vol. 36 - Super Mario 64 part 1. Page 6Media:SM64 Character Info Book.jpg.
^ Nintendo official French magazine N1. Page 86.
^ Kraft, John D., Thomas Görg, and Marko Hein, editors (1997). Der offizielle Nintendo 64 Spieleberater "Super Mario 64". Großostheim: Nintendo of Europe GmbH (German). Page 7.

[1] Pelland, Scott and Dan Owsen (1996). The Super Mario 64 Player's Guide. Redmond: Nintendo of America. Page 12.

[2] Loe, Casey (2006). New Super Mario Bros. Official Player's Guide. Redmond: Nintendo of America. ISBN 1-59812-009-3. Page 12.

[3] NintendoAmerica (September 17, 2020). Take a nice swim in Jolly Roger Bay from Super Mario 64. There’s all sorts interesting things to find, like a pirate ship at the bottom of the bay, or a giant eel. Hmm, maybe there’s something special about that eel? #SuperMario3DAllStars. X. Retrieved September 17, 2020. (Archived September 17, 2020, 19:01:38 UTC via Wayback Machine.)

[4] Pelland, Scott, and Dan Owsen (1996). Super Mario 64 Player's Guide. Nintendo of America (American English). Page 33.

[5] Eel - (Course 3). Nintendo: Super Mario 64 Strategy. Retrieved 22 May 2024. (Archived February 24, 1998, 21:17:09 UTC via Wayback Machine.)

[6] Sakai, Kazuya, kikai, Rachel Roberts, and Jenny Blenk, editors (2019). The Art of Super Mario Odyssey (First English Edition). Dark Horse Books. ISBN 978-1-50671-375-5. Page 228.

[7] Sakai, Kazuya, and kikai, editors (2018). 『スーバーマリオオデッセイ公式設定資料集』. Tokyo: ambit (Japanese). ISBN 978-4-19-864696-7. Page 235.

[8] Kazuki, Motoyama. KC Deluxe vol. 36 - Super Mario 64 part 1. Page 6Media:SM64 Character Info Book.jpg.

[9] Nintendo official French magazine N1. Page 86.

[10] Kraft, John D., Thomas Görg, and Marko Hein, editors (1997). Der offizielle Nintendo 64 Spieleberater "Super Mario 64". Großostheim: Nintendo of Europe GmbH (German). Page 7.

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Maw-Ray

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