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See also: Great white shark, Magu Tapa

Thanatos is a legendary great white shark who appears in Endless Ocean 2, acting as the first "boss" in the game. He is much larger and darker than the other great whites seen in-game, with a menacing, battle-worn appearance.

The title "Lone Shark" is obtained by focusing on him.

Marine Encyclopedia

Endless Ocean 2

Description


Trivia


Story Relevance

Thanatos is the first of three legendaries to play a role in the main story of Endless Ocean 2. His existence is hinted at by GG upon arrival in Ciceros Strait, but the player is not formally introduced to him until they discover the Triton Village Ruins later on at night. There, GG again warns them about Thanatos, before quickly swimming off. Shortly thereafter, Thanatos shows up to attack the player and Oceana, accompanied by two standard great white sharks; the pulsar can be used to calm both of the smaller specimens, but has little effect on Thanatos. The player and Oceana have to evade him by swimming into the Well of the Full Moon, where he cannot follow, as he is far too large to fit. Subsequently, the pair discover a secret passage beneath the Well that leads to the ruins of Valka Castle.

Thanatos makes another appearance in a notebook mission entitled "Memento", in which a woman named Marzia asks the player to help her obtain an item from a shipwreck, the Wreck of the Pride of Athens, the same ship that her father disappeared in when it sunk. Thanatos appears while the two are inspecting the wreck, this time without his cronies, and the player has to deter and distract him until Marzia can open the door to the ship, at which point he swims away.

Location

Endless Ocean 2

Aside from the scene at Triton Village and the "Memento" quest, Thanatos is found solely within coordinates H-6 and H-7 of Ciceros Strait, near the Wreck of the Emerald Lady. He swims at the same height as the surrounding great white sharks in the area, at a depth of around 75 ft. (23 m).

Additionally, Thanatos can be seen outside the windows of Valka Castle from time to time. He cannot interact with the player and does not attack them, preferring to menacingly swim past the windows of the Underwater Gallery, the Mermaid's Ballroom, the King's Chamber, and the chamber adjoining the two on the eastern side of the map.

Dialogue

Endless Ocean 2

Main Story

Oceana: "Whoa! That's an enormous great white shark! Is this what GG was worried about? The man-eating shark Thanatos? Oh no! He's coming this way! If we don't do something about him, we won't even be able to surface! Can you use the Pulsar?"

[...]

Oceana: "I don't believe it... The Pulsar has no effect! We've got to get away from him... There's got to be something we can do!"

Memento

Jean-Eric: "This is Jean-Eric! A huge object has just appeared on the ship's sonar. It's the man-eater Thanatos! What's he doing here at a time like this?! It's too dangerous for both of you to try and escape. Your first priority is the safety of your client! You have to distract him until Marzia can open the hatch! Don't let Thanatos get anywhere near Marzia--but it's also dangerous to get too far away from her! Buy her some time by distracting him, but try to stay close!"

Behavior

Thanatos spends the majority of his time near the Wreck of the Emerald Lady. He swims around here relatively slowly, following a circular path in and out of the map, with approximately a minute between him leaving and re-entering the map.

Unlike the very similar legendary shark seen in Endless Ocean, Magu Tapa, Thanatos is highly aggressive and will attempt to attack the player as soon as they swim near him. Though the player is told he cannot be calmed using the Pulsar, it can in fact be done, though this is incredibly difficult and impractical in most situations. Therefore, if spotted by Thanatos, the best course of action to evade him is to swim in unpredictable vertical columns and attempt to make sharp turns. If Thanatos comes near enough, he will slap the player with his tail. During his story encounter, this will remove one bar of oxygen from their tank, akin to other sharks, while he removes two bars in subsequent encounters.

During his encounter in the "Memento" mission, if the player remains beneath the Wreck of the Pride of Athens, Thanatos will be unable to reach them, making completion of the mission much easier.

Much like his base species, as well as most other legendary creatures, his trivia can be gained by taking a picture of him. Given his ferocity, and the fact that this can only be done by focusing on him, such a task can prove difficult, as Thanatos can kick the player out of Camera mode by attacking them.

Gallery

Videos

Pulsing_Thanatos_in_Endless_Ocean_2

Pulsing Thanatos in Endless Ocean 2

Notes

Magu Tapa 4

Magu Tapa, Thanatos' counterpart from Endless Ocean.

  • Thanatos appears to be the replacement for Magu Tapa, a different but also intimidating great white shark who is only seen in Endless Ocean. Besides obvious differences in personality, the main feature that distinguishes him from his predecessor is his appearance; his skin is darker, and the bloodied parts of his body are less obvious.
  • Thanatos is the name of a Greek deity, the god of Death (not to be confused with Hades, the god of the underworld), who was son of Nyx (Night) and Erebus (darkness) and the twin of Hypnos (sleep)[1].
    • His name also matches that of a Freudian psychology concept, referring to one's "death instinct", or a drive towards death[2][3]. Considering his deadly reputation, this name is appropriate.
  • When diving with Hayako Sakurai and watching Thanatos, she says that "He's taken a liking to you...", and that he "Finds you especially delicious."
  • Although not outright stated, it is implied during the "Memento" mission that Thanatos was responsible for the Pride of Athens' sinking, and may have thus been responsible for the death of Marzia's father.
    • During a guided tour of southern Ciceros Strait, Oceana indirectly mentions Thanatos while talking about the Wreck of the Blood Lotus, which was split in half some time ago, hinting that he might be responsible for capsizing that ship as well.
    • Furthermore, seeing how Thanatos is most frequently seen at the Wreck of the Emerald Lady, it can be reasonably assumed that he was the shark behind that wreck too.
Thanatos Cutscene (Hayako, VK)

Thanatos sneaking up on and scaring the player from behind in a short Valka Castle cutscene.

  • Although Thanatos and other sharks do attack the player, they never kill. They do not attack by biting; rather, they lunge at the player and turn sharply, whacking them with their tails. However, no real-life shark aside from the pelagic thresher attacks in this way[4]. This was likely done to retain the game's age rating of E10+ (America) / PEGI 7 (Europe) and to preserve the generally calm and serene atmosphere of the game.
  • During the story encounter with Thanatos in Triton Village, the player's oxygen supply cannot be fully depleted. If it would be reduced to zero, either from an attack or time, the game instead plays the cutscene where the player and Ocean flee down the well.
  • Thanatos's appearance closely matches common descriptions of the mythical "Black Demon", a shark that is rumored to live in the waters of Mexico's Baja Peninsula and the Sea of Cortez[5]. It has been commonly described as anywhere from 20-60 feet in length, with a massive tail, dark skin, and even darker eyes[6][7]. The large beast is most often seen rapidly rising to the surface, before diving just as quickly, its giant tail whipping wildly, as it disappears to the depths of the sea.
  • Player rumors have circulated stating that Thanatos may be a small megalodon as opposed to a large great white shark, due to his overwhelming size in comparison to other sharks and his similar coloration. This is unlikely, however, as his size compared to the player is much closer to that of a large real great white than the standard ones seen in-game, suggesting that rather than Thanatos being exceptionally large, he merely appears to be because the other great whites surrounding him are exceptionally small.
    • Despite great whites being described as around seven meters long in the marine encyclopedia, comparing them to the player belies a size closer to three meters, which is slightly smaller than the size of the average male great white. By this logic, Thanatos would be around seven meters, which would be larger than average for a great white, but nowhere near megalodon-sized.
    • Additionally, there is no mention of Thanatos being a megalodon in-game, despite the game's willingness to freely portray and name other extinct creatures, such as Cameroceras and Anomalocaris.
  • Thanatos could belong to the same fictional genus that Magu Tapa does, that being Magu, backed up by their similar size, appearance, and behavior.
  • Though the game tells the player that Thanatos is impossible to pulse, this is actually not the case. Players have determined that Thanatos simply takes more shots from the Pulsar to calm than the player can realistically deliver before he shakes them off - 40 in total. It is impossible to do this without the maximum Pulsar upgrade, but with some determination and button-mashing, it is completely feasible.
Thanatos Sakaconne

A screenshot of Sakana Connection's rendition of Thanatos.

    • Interestingly, once pulsed, Thanatos takes a very long time to shake off the effect-- around 10-15 minutes.
  • If one counts Marzia's request in the "Memento" mission as a Guided Tour Request (considering the player needs to talk to Oceana in order to start it), then this makes Thanatos the only legendary creature who can appear during a guided tour, although he only appears during this specific mission.
  • In a now-defunct mobile fishing game called Sakana Connection - made by Arika, the same company that developed the Endless Ocean series - a shark by the name of Thanatos also makes an appearance. This is likely an homage to the Thanatos seen in Endless Ocean 2, though due to their different appearances and sizes it is unclear whether they are meant to be the same creature.


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References

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