Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Kaijujitsu KwikShot: Orchid Monster???



Perhaps its a snap dragon?

No. It is a Gyango ギャンゴ (aka Gango, Giyango) from Episode 11 of Ultraman ウルトラマン ("The Destroyer [Ruffian] From Outer Space” (1966)). This is by Nostalgic Heroes ノスタルジックヒーローズ, an exclusive edition of 50 done in GID vinyl (reproduction of figure originally by Marusan マルサン). It is about 10.6 inches tall.

ノスタルジックヒーローズ 電動怪獣倶楽部 ギャンゴ(蓄光)。 限定50体 大 きさは約26.5cmです。



From Wikpedia:

"Gyango was a monster from the Ultraman television series. Gyango's origin was one of the more peculiar. The monster started as a semi-sentient meteor that fell to Earth, and was discovered by several school children. The meteor had a symbiotic relationship with sentient beings, attempting to take on the shape and function desired by whomever contacted it or stood closest to it. The children imagined a race car set, a birthday cake, and a piano. But the meteor's form only persisted until a person's mind was distracted, or focused on something else. Hoshino was among the children, and decided it was best to turn the meteor over to Science Patrol Headquarters.

In a press conference, scientists explained the discovery to members of the press, inviting one of them to test the meteor's properties. The reporter imagined a beautiful bride, but as he stepped to take the arm of the bride, the meteor reverted, and in a gag moment, the reporter unwittingly took the arm of a man standing nearby.

Observing all of this was a thief with criminal intentions. The thief left a speaker under a desk in the room where the meteor was being stored, and after everyone had left, he communicated to the meteor from a microphone as he sat in his car in the parking lot. (Apparently the meteor could comprehend English and respond to verbal commands even if the person issuing the commands wasn't present.) The thief instructed the stone to become liquid, and it poured off of the table into a puddle. Then he instructed it to become a rocket, to fly out the window to his location. The meteor reverted, and the man began to make off with it, but he was spotted by Arashi as he gunned his car away. Arashi shot his repulsor gun to hit the button to close the Science patrol gates. The thief's car was damaged, but the thief got away.

In a hotel room later, the thief first came up with the idea of forming a monster out of the meteor, and Gyango formed as a man-sized monster. Gyango had a long colorful neck, hands shaped like c-clamps, and ears that rotated. The thief used Gyango to stage numerous pranks at the hotel. But he then thought to terrorize the city with the monster growing to giant-size. However, this caused damage to the hotel, and the thief was knocked unconscious. Because the thief's last conscious thoughts were on the giant-sized monster, it persisted. Ultraman appeared, and one of the more comic fights of the series ensued. In the end, when the thief was awakened in a hospital, Gyango ceased to exist. Hayata later took the stone from Patrol HQ, stating he would ask Ultraman to take the stone into space. Fuji attempted to follow him out but the door closed on her and we then see Ultraman taking the stone far into space."

From Wikipedia Japan:

ギャンゴは、特撮テレビドラマ『ウルトラマン』第11話「宇宙から来た暴れん坊」(1966年9月25日放送)に登場する、架空の怪獣。別名「脳波怪獣」。宇宙から飛来した、人間の脳波を受信してその人間の思った物に変化する「石」が、悪人によって拾われ、その悪人が「石」に「怪獣になれ」と願ったために変化した怪獣。出現時は人間ほどの大きさで、ホテルで悪戯程度のことをした後、悪人が「もっと大きくなれ」と言ったため巨大化した。巨大化と同時に悪人も気を失ってしまったため、悪人が意識を取り戻して「消えろ」と願わない限り消えることが無いという状況となってしまった。出動した防衛軍の熱線砲によって頭部のアンテナを破壊されたものの、そのまま暴れ続けた。

ウルトラマンとの戦いでは、騙し討ちをかけるなどずる賢い戦法でウルトラマンを苦しめた。かと言ってとりわけ強力な攻撃力があるわけではなく(駄々っ子のように腕を振り回して殴りかかる位か)、ウルトラマンを窮地に追い込んだわけではなく、対するウルトラマンも「怪獣の腋の下をくすぐる」「プール際で戯れるカップル風にバシャバシャ水をかける」「跳び箱風に飛ぶ」「海へ蹴落とす」という何ともコミカルな戦法で応酬する戦いが繰り広げられた。しかし、そうこうする内にタイマーが赤に変わり、あわや時間切れというところで悪人の意識が回復し、再び「石」に戻ってしまった。その後、「石」はウルトラマンの手で宇宙に返された。

余談だが、「石」が化けた順に列挙すると「ビー玉」・「レーシングカー&サーキット」・「デコレーションケーキ」・「グランドピアノ」・「花嫁」・「怖そうなオヤジ」・「ドロドロの液体」・「小型ロケット」となる。

Photos © 2007 Geozilla Omni-Monster. All rights reserved.

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