| “ | "I can only say well-done, Muska. You're a credit to our country. As such, you deserve this reward." | „ |
| ~ General Muoro's last words before his death along with his soldiers. |
General Muoro is the secondary antagonist of the 1986 animated Studio Ghibli film Castle in the Sky. He is a general in the army and Colonel Muska's subordinate.
Muoro is voiced by Ichiro Nagai in the Japanese version, the late Mike Reynolds in the Streamline English version, and Jim Cummings in the Disney English version, who voices Pete.
Physical Appearance[]
Muoro is a stocky, bald man with a thick, grey mustache and heavy, dark eyebrows. He always wears his military uniform and has two medals pinned to his chest.
Personality[]
Muoro is abrasive and aggressive, and he likes being in control. He resents Muska's authority over the army and the Laputa project, and he is sometimes suspicious of Muska's actions, such as Muska's methods of dealing with Sheeta after her capture.
History[]
General Muoro was first seen at a conference in a military base. After Sheeta and Pazu are captured, Muoro urges Muska to interrogate Sheeta to learn the location of Laputa, but Muska disagrees with the idea and smugly points out it's his fault that the Dola Gang interfered with their operation since it was their message they decoded. Muoro furiously reminds him that he was the one who was put in charge of the search for Laputa by the government, but Muska simply replies back that as their agent, he's in charge of him.
Later, Muoro is seen admiring the Airship Goliath as it arrives. However, after the deactivated Laputian robot they have near the bottom of the base is reactivated due to a spell Sheeta recites to herself, it starts rampaging through the fortress to reach and protect her. When Muoro tries to contact Muska to ask him or what is trying to blow up his fortress, Muska simply has his fellow agents cut and rewire the line so he can contact the government. Eventually, the Goliath is able to critically damage and destroy the robot with an aerial strike, but the robot still manages to save Sheeta by getting her to Pazu and the Dola Gang, who successfully rescue her. Therefore, when he arrives, he's distraught and left almost speechless by both their escape and the massive amount of damage the robot did. However, Muska finds Sheeta's crystal among the rubble, which emits a beam of light pointing to Laputa, allowing them to depart as scheduled.
Later, Muoro is seen aboard the Goliath when they're firing at the Dola Gang's ship upon finding them in the clouds while both trying to find Laputa. When their ship disappears into the clouds again, Muoro asks why Muska why he isn't trying to pursue them, which the latter replies to by calmly stating it's impossible to find them there, that he's not going to concern himself with a wild goose chase, and that all he has to do is keep following Laputa's light. Shortly after, they find their ship again anyway and inflict serious damage on it, much to Muoro's delight. He isn't seen again until shortly after Pazu and Sheeta get to Laputa safely and they discover the army has arrived too and is looting the lower part of the castle of all its treasures. They also spot Muoro with Dola and the Gang, whom they captured, with Muoro mocking Dola by showing her a valuable necklace and remarking he "has a different kind of necklace for her", indicating he plans to have them hanged. He then asks Muska if he's contacted the government yet and requests that he send them a message that's difficult to decode before joining his men in the looting.
Not long after this, however, he's informed by some of his soldiers that Muska sabotaged their communication systems altogether by destroying all the radios, as well as that he was spotted sneaking into a secret part of the castle with a couple of his fellow agents, to which he remarks to himself that Muska was finally showing his true, traitorous colors. He then leads his men in trying to follow him into the center of the castle by using dynamite to blast their way in, but it proves ineffective. Just then, Muska speaks to them over the intercom, re arranges the castle's structure, and opens a door to invite them in. Despite hesitating due to being sure it's a trap, Muoro sees no other choice and leads the charge inside to find and arrest him. They then finds themselves in a lower chamber surrounded by see-through glass, and much to his surprise, Muska and Sheeta appear before him by descending through the ceiling. Muska then tells them they'll need to address him as their new king and demonstrates Laputa's power by firing an atomic bomb-like blast into the ocean, announcing that with it's destructive powers, he intends to make the world bow to him. Seeing just how mad and evil he truly is, Muoro tries to shoot him with several bullets, only to find out it's just a projection of him. Having grown tired of him and no longer having any use of the army's help, despite Sheeta trying to stop him, Muska overpowers her and presses a switch that open the floor underneath them, dropping Muoro and many of his soldiers to their offscreen deaths.