NAME: 
Barugon (バルゴン)
FIRST APPEARS IN:
Gamera vs. Barugon, 1966
DESIGN FEATURES:
– snout-horn
– purple blood
– bung eyes
– reverse back-spikes
– long, gross, clubbed tongue
SKILLS AND QUIRKS:
– rainbow back ray
– a freezing mist that spurts out of his tongue
– a dislike of water
– a penchant for shiny things, especially diamonds made extra shiny by infrared light
– sleeping
MONSTER SOUNDS:
Barugon, not to be confused with Toho’s Baragon, in many ways reminds me of Anguirus. Both are the first monsters to battle their franchise’s title heroes. Anguirus was Godzilla’s first adversary in Godzilla Raids Again (1955), and ten years later Gamera would battle Barugon in Gamera vs. Barugon. They have similar shapes; their reptilian bodies crawling along the ground on all fours. Both of them are also rather underrated.
Gamera vs. Barugon, like many films in the Gamera franchise, has a poor reputation outside of Japan. I’d put this down mainly to its exposure from Mystery Science Theater 3000. Personally, I think it’s a bloody great monster flick. There’s plenty of action, nice cinematography and models, and, most importantly, there’s Barugon.
Barugon is a total bad ass. Born from an opal shaped egg, Barugon wastes no time fucking up Osaka (the change in location from the usual Tokyo is also nice). Barugon has some odd abilities unlike anything seen in your typical Nipponese monster. Rather than the usual heat ray or fire breath, Barugon ejects a long, demented tongue, which shoots out an ice-spray that freezes everything and anything in its path including fighter jets, Gamera and Osaka Castle.
Better still is Barugon’s rainbow ray. The first time I saw Barugon’s rainbow in action, my jaw hit the floor. He shoots a gigantic rainbow out of his back, stretching across miles and destroying anything unlucky enough to ram into it. The rainbow also leads to plenty of hilarious dialogue like the claims that Gamera “loves Barugon’s rainbow” and the lead character’s demands of “more rainbow” when they turn Barugon’s weapon against him.
Barugon defeats Gamera with impressive ease. He receives a few blows, dribbling his purple blood all over the place, but Gamera is no match for his foul, freezing tongue. Rather unceremoniously and quite horrifically, in their final battle, Gamera manages to drown Barugon only after he’s weakened by his own rainbow ray.
Sadly, like many other Daiei kaijū, Barugon would only make a singular cinematic appearance. He will be remembered for his absurd powers, his deformed tongue and his many scenes of peaceful sleeping. R.I.P. Barugon (1966 – 1966).
