Introducing the Beatle! - Dream Rocket ドリームロケット Akakage kaiju Agon アゴン

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DREAM ROCKET ドリームロケット Akakage kaiju Agon アゴン.
Mail order limited black “iron shell” version.

ドリームロケット　怪忍獣包囲陣シリーズ　アゴン　鉄甲ver.

Black vinyl with silver eyes and very subtle metallic highlights. Standard size (about 8.5 inches tall).

通販・イベント限定 大きさは約21cmです。

Agon is part of Dream Rocket’s Akakage (Red Shadow) kaiju series. The Akakage series is based on kaiju that appeared in the Masked Ninja Red Shadow TV series that was produced by Toei Company Ltd., aired on KTV and Fuji TV from April 5, 1967 to March 27, 1968, with a total of 52 episodes (divided into four segments). This was Toei's first color tokusatsu superhero show. The TV show is variously referred to as “Masked Ninja Red Shadow,” “Red Shadow: The Masked Ninja,” and “Kamen no Ninja Akakage” (仮面の忍者　赤影) .



In the show, the masked ninja Red Shadow (Akakage) and his sidekicks Blue and White Shadow save ancient Japan from evil. Akakage is a the best swordsman of the three and a master of disguise. The crystal in his mask fires an energy beam.

The figures featured in Dream Rocket’s Akakage kaiju series all appeared in Episode 38: Mysterious Patience Animal Array (featuring the following six large monstrous beasts: ganda, gabari, agon, dogma, gatsupo and jiyako). (怪忍獣勢揃い（再生六大怪獣＝ガ ンダ、ガバリ、アゴン、ドグマ、ガッポ、ジャコー）The individual monsters also appeared in other episodes, either alone or with others.

Also known as "Kamen no ninja Aka-Kage", "Masked Ninja Akakage" or "Masked Ninja Red Shadow".

Regarding Agon (from Dream Rocket’s website):

「根来篇　甲虫怪獣　アゴン ・身長　１８ｍ　　体重　１２００ｔ ・虫寄せ風葉の奏でるオカリナ（３２話では草笛）の音で巨大化する。 ・角から発する光線は相手を痺れさせ動けなくする。 ・口から吐く泡状の液体で、さらに相手の身動きを封じ込める。 お待ちかね（ですよね？）のアゴン登場です。 赤影４部作の中で地味な印象がある根来篇ですが、最後まで飽きさせず見せた要因の一つ は、 中盤を大いに盛り上げた二人のくの一　風葉と矢尻の功名心争いと　このアゴンとドグマの 対決であることは間違いないことでしょう。 特に二匹が対決する３３話はその他にも印象に残るカッコいいシーンが幾つもあります。 赤い三日月をバックにシルエットで登場する虫寄せ風葉や、その後の　風葉の指パッチンを 合図に白影に襲いかかる下人達、 同時にお馴染みのアクションＢＧＭがかかる件は感涙ものです。 さらに、信長と青影が登った火の見櫓に炎を吐きながら襲い来るドグマのシーンで、 赤影の「アゴォン　頼むぞ！」の声と共に画面手前下からせり上がるアゴンの角！ いかにもアゴン起動開始！という感じで大興奮です。 ちなみに、このアゴンとドグマの対決シーンですが、３３話ではドグマのテーマ曲（！？） が使われていますが、 総集編的な３８話では　お馴染みのアクションシーンのＢＧＭで再編集されています。 （このＢＧＭでの怪獣同士の対決は魔風篇の「ががら対ざばみ」をいやがうえでも期待させ ますよね） アクの強いドグマを相手に奮闘したアゴンは、まさに「赤影」を代表する怪獣と言ってもい いでしょう。 どことなく人なつっこさを感じさせるマルッこい体形や、無表情な顔が 逆にアゴンというキャラクターを際立たせている点などが人気がある所以ではないでしょう か。 今回のソフビ人形では、顎の下にある着ぐるみの中の役者さんの為の のぞき窓のようなモノは怪獣に敬意をはらい、モールドしていません。 デフォルメであろうがリアルであろうが、目立たないようにしているモノを敢えて作るよう な無粋なことはしたくありません。 確かにどこまで作るか、という境界線は難しいものがありますけど・・・ ドリロケのアゴンソフビ、楽しんで頂けたら幸いです。」

Photos © 2007 Geozilla Omni-Monster except photos from Red Shadow series © Toei Company Ltd. All rights reserved.

CCP AMC Giant Hedorahs

CCP Artistic Monsters Collection (AMC) Giant Hedorahs. (2nd Hedorah Project – Magazine Exclusive).

GID version and Black version, both with LED eyes. A little over 10 inches tall each.

ソフビ・フィギュアのCCP

＜ブラックVer＞ ・仕様：レッドアイズ血管入りドールアイ、LED内蔵（点灯式） ・全 長（頭から尻尾まで）：約390mm、全高：約260mm

＜蓄光Ver＞ ・グリーンアイズ血管入りドールアイ、LED内蔵（点滅式） ・全長（頭から尻尾まで）：約 390mm、全高：約260mm

CCP　アーティスティックモンスターズコレクション　ヘドラプロジェクト第2弾　Gヘドラ　フィギュア王誌上限定(蓄光Ver.)

CCP　アーティスティックモンスターズコレクション　ヘドラプロジェクト第2弾　Gヘドラ　フィギュア王誌上限定(ブラックVer.)

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

Red King レッドキング (Marmit real sofvi kit リアルソフビキット)

Sculpted by master modeler Toru Oishi 大石透.

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About 9 inches tall.

２２ｃｍ／ソフビ製. マーミット. リアルペイントキットシリーズ.

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

Pigmon or Garamon? ガラモンとピグモンは同じ着ぐるみですか？

Why is the "same" figure sometimes called Pigmon and sometimes called Garamon?

I have seen this question come up quite a number of times. It was posed again over at the Rotofugi board in response to some of my pics of the Marmit Garamon I posted there.

Here's my explanation anyway...

Garamon was a giant, partly robotic, building-smashing monster that first appeared in the Ultra Q television show in Japan. Garamon tears up the Tokyo Tower, for example. Garamon weighed 60,000 tons and was 131 feet tall.

I believe the name “Garamon” is short for “Garadama Monster.” The monster arrives on Earth on a Garadama (i.e., a meteor).

The costume used for the giant Garamon in Ultra Q was later "recycled" and used for the human-sized “Pigmon” (Pygmon) (Pigumon) (from “pygmy”) in a few Ultraman related episodes. The Pigmon character was friendly to humans and a somewhat comical figure, as compared with the giant building-smasher menace Garamon.

As a practical matter, it is really pretty hard to tell whether a particular vinyl figure is supposed to be of Garamon or Pigmon - Usually the toy maker specifies which one they are intending to portray, but sometimes it is hard or impossible to tell just by looking at the figure.

In any case, if the figure has a balloon attached, it is almost assuredly intended to be Pigmon (although not all Pigmons have balloons). The balloon first showed up in the Ultraman “Monster Lawless Zone” episode. The balloon served both as a tracking balloon (so that the Science Patrol could see it bobbing along through the underbrush) and a “bomb” (to be exploded by shooting at it from afar).

The Science Patrol attached the balloon to Pigmon by shooting it into Pigmon’s back as he was running away: Pigmon was actually trying to help the science patrol by leading them to an injured scientist that they were looking for on the island. Later in that same episode, the balloon plays a role in helping Ultraman defeat Red King, who also was on the island wreaking havoc. (Pics of Red King coming here soon.)

The Ultra Q show predated Ultraman. Unlike Ultraman, it was in black and white and did not feature a giant superhero (such as Ultraman). Instead, Ultra Q was more of a Twilight Zone/Outer Limits like show that involved the human characters dealing with supernatural “unbalance.” There was a different monster in each Ultra Q episode. Most shows started off with the statement (again, sort of like Outer Limits), that “for the next 30 minutes, your eyes will leave your body and enter inside this fantasy time" (where “time” was probably intended to mean more like “dimension”).

The picture above is a still from the Ultra Q show picturing the giant Garamon on the rampage near the Tokyo Tower:

And here is a still from the Ultraman DVD "Monster Lawless Zone" episode showing the diminutive Pigmon, just before the balloon is released in front of Red King, and shortly before Red King kills Pigmon by tossing huge rocks onto him from above(don't worry, Pigmon is "resurrected" without explanation in later shows).



All of the information above is based on what I have been able to glean from various sources, including the Ultraman DVD and various sites online. If anybody has any corrections or additions, please feel free to chime in.

Photos © 2007 Tsuburaya Production Co. Ltd. All rights reserved.

Garamon ガラモン by Marmit マーミット

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By Marmit (Parababies). Standard size (about 7 inches). Mail order limited version. White vinyl with paint. This version came with a Garadama (ガラダマ) (meteor) (not shown). Garamon travels to Earth in the Garadama.

マーミット　ビニパラベビー　ガラモン (通販限定)。大きさは約17cmです。

Garamon originally appeared on the Ultra Q ウルトラQ television show.

ガラモン (ウルトラ怪獣)
ガラモンは、特撮テレビ番組『ウルトラQ』第13話「ガラダマ」、第16話「ガラモンの逆襲」に登場したキャラクター。「ガラモン」は「ガラダマモンスター」の略。
宇宙怪人セミ人間（チルソニア遊星人）によって造られたロボット怪獣である。電子頭脳からの電波で操られて破壊行為を行なう。
体長：40メートル
体重：6万トン

For more info regarding Garamon and Ultra Q, see these links:

http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/ガラモン_(ウルトラ怪獣)
http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/ウルトラQ
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra_Q

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