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Overview


Barugon (バルゴン,   Barugon?) is an ancient kaiju created by Daiei that first appeared in the 1966 Gamera film, Gamera vs. Barugon.


Name

Barugon's name is sometimes stated by some as being an edited copy of Toho's Baragon.

Appearance

Barugon is a gigantic quadrupedal reptile, with sharp teeth, a long horn on his snout, smaller horns above his eyes, and a long whip-like tail. He has two rows of short spikes running down his back, which begin to glow when the creature is ready to attack. Barugon also possess a very long, stiff tongue with a clubbed tip, and has purple blood.

Origins

Barugon's origin is never definitively explained in the film, but numerous hints are presented that suggest Barugon is of mystical, possibly even divine nature, based on his myriad of bizarre powers and statements made by local villagers on the island where his egg resided.

A version of Barugon is featured in a manga remake of Gamera vs. Barugon that shares continuity with Shusuke Kaneko's trilogy. This version is described as being an early attempt by the Atlanteans to create a deterrent against the Gyaos that was ultimately discarded in favor of Gamera.

History

Showa Series

Gamera vs. Barugon

In ancient times, Barugon's egg was placed in a cave on his native island of New Guinea. Hundreds of years later, an expedition to the Island to get the egg (thought to be a giant opal) was undertaken. The egg was then taken back to Japan to be sold. As the ship docked in Osaka one of the sailors left it under an infrared lamp meant to cure his jungle foot fungus to go play poker. While the sailors were gone, the lamp incubated the egg and it hatched into a baby Barugon. It then grew to full size, causing the boat to explode. Barugon then headed into downtown Osaka. As it rampaged, the military attempted to destroy it with a missile strike but Barugon destroyed it with his rainbow ray. The Radiation of the ray attracted Gamera. The two titans clashed, and just when Gamera got the upper hand, Barugon froze him solid. With the military and Gamera out of the way Barugon left Osaka and headed for Tokyo. The military tried to lure Barugon into a deep lake, knowing he would drown in fresh water, with a large diamond on two occasions, the second attempt applying infrared light, but sadly, both failed. Just as all hope seemed lost, Gamera emerged from his icy prison and began to fight Barugon. Gamera successfully defeated Barugon by dragging him deep into the lake. As Barugon was pulled down into the water, he began to violently bleed, and soon drowned in the icy depths.

Gamera: Super Monster

Barugon would later make an appearance in Gamera: Super Monster as one of the monsters revived by the alien mastermind Zanon, and was the last monster to engage in battle with Gamera. Like before, he was eventually defeated. Barugon's appearance in this film was made entirely with Stock Footage.

Video games

Comics

Kadokawa's Gamera vs. Barugon Manga

Barugon Manga

Barugon in the Gamera vs. Barugon manga

In the manga adaptation for Gamera vs. Barugon, Barugon's story is adapted to fit in with the Heisei series of Gamera films, featuring a new, more powerful species of Barugon which represents the Azure Dragon of the Four God. An expedition headed deep into a cave, where they discovered a giant skeleton with a gem in its skull. The expedition force went mad, and tried to kill each other, with the survivors taking the gem to the surface. This gem quickly hatched into Barugon, and he then attacked the JSDF with his icy breath. When warships come to attack him, he retaliates using his famous rainbow ray. Gamera, after learning from Asagi of Barugon's assault, came to fight. Gamera broke Barugon's tail using his fireballs. It is discovered that the Barugon has a weakness to water when he tries to escape after being thrown into Tokyo Bay. He freezes Gamera, and goes about freezing Tokyo. Eventually, Gamera thaws out, and the two fight on an iceberg made by Barugon. Although Gamera is gravely wounded during the battle, Barugon is blown off the iceberg by Gamera's fireballs and sinks into the sea.

Books

Friends: Gamera the Brave

G Barugon appeared along with other G monsters that were born by intaking Gyaos's DNA akin to Zedus. In their first battles, G monsters appeared only to defeat Gamera and they also fought each other. In the final battle, they were led by Zedus.

Holy Beast War Chronicle: White Shadow

Using storylines of Heisei trilogy and the 2003 comic Gamera vs. Barugon, Barugon, representing the Azure Dragon of the Four Gods akin to the 2003 comic, was summoned and controlled by a gokenin named Iekiyo Ryūzōji with a magatama.[1] Ryūzōji summoned Barugon to stop Jiger which represents the White Tiger and was initially summoned by Kotaro Tsushima to defeat Mongolian armies during the Mongol invasions of Japan in 1281, but lost its control and attacked Japanese armies. The two battled in Sea of Japan, and were presumably stopped by Gamera summoned by Nichiren.

Abilities

Barugon Rainbow Beam

Barugon's rainbow beam in Gamera vs. Barugon

Barugon has three unique powers. One of them is his extendable tongue, which he can fire out like a giant battering ram to knock opponents and objects over, as well as hit opponents from a distance. Zedus also had a similar tongue, but it had a spear-like point. His second power is an icy mist, capable of freezing Gamera solid for eight hours, that he can project from the end of his tongue. Barugon's final power is the ability to use the spikes on his back to project a super-heated rainbow off of his back that can destroy a whole line of missiles.

Weaknesses

Barugon has a deadly weakness to fresh water. In the movie, they kept him under restraint with artificial rain. In the final fight with Gamera, Barugon is drowned by Gamera in a deep lake. Barugon is also attracted to shiny objects. He was almost lured into a lake with a diamond on a boat with an infrared light shining through it, but he used his tongue to grab the diamond and walk away unharmed. Barugon's Rainbow Ray can be reflected by a large mirror. If the reflected Rainbow Ray strikes Barugon, it is capable of inflicting moderate to serious damage on the beast.

Gallery

Main article: Barugon/Gallery.

Roar

Trivia

  • Barugon's ability to use ice was possibly based on Ice Giant, the original foe planned for this film.
  • Barugon is Gamera's very first opponent.
  • Barugon is the first ancient monster in the Gamera series.
  • Barugon was considered for Gamera: Guardian of the Universe, but his role was ultimately replaced by that of the Gyaos.
  • Barugon is the only one of Gamera's opponents from the Showa period not to make an appearance in Gamera: Rebirth.
  • Because of a similar pronunciation in their names, Barugon is sometimes called Baragon and is oftentimes mistakenly identified as the monster to be as such. This is mainly because of a typo with the American release of Gamera vs. Barugon, where Barugon's name was misspelled with an "ra" instead of an "ru", which has led many fans over the decades to confuse the two.
  • Barugon is the first Kadokawa kaiju to eat a person, the second being Gyaos and third being Iris.
  • Barugon is the first of the Kadokawa monsters to be seen as an infant, with Jiger's offspring, Iris and Toto following later on this stage.
  • Barugon's roar was reused for the Ultra kaiju Gubila and Twin Tail.


Kaiju


  1. Shinichiro Inoue (Kadokawa representative director), 2015, Seijū Senki - Shiroi Kage (聖獣戦記 白い影, lit. Holy Beast War Chronicle: White Shadow), Kadokawa
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