Pachimon Kaiju Showcase: Daigoras

I know I promised the weird vampire critter Kyuradoros, but my hopeful collaborator Dr Zock is currently unavailable. And I wish not to showcase that monster if Zock has some unique, additional information to share. Needless to say, Kyuradoros will have to wait.

And besides, I have TONS of other Pachimon Kaiju to share until then.

Daigoras, also known as Dygorus - possibly from 1968

This handsome fellow is known as Daigoras, or Dygorus as it’s sometimes spelled.

Daigoras is a reworking of the character of Eleking; an electrical Space Kaiju who made his debut in the classic series “Ultra Seven” (1967-1968). And like all popular Ultra Monsters, Eleking would make multiple reappearances throughout the franchisee. Including that of a ‘Hero Kaiju’ in “Ultra Galaxy: Mega-Monster Battles” (2007-2008).

Eleking; the popular “Ultra Seven” character whom Daigoras is taken from

Daigoras...would not.

Like a lot of the Pachimon Kaiju, Daigoras has only this lone bromide card to be remembered by. Though there might be some Daigoras vinyl figures, made for the modern collector markets.

Actually, that’s a little unfair for me to say, as Daigoras is one of the more recognizable Pachimon Kaiju since the frivolous internet began! And this bromide is an admittedly impressive piece of pre-digital photo art, at least where the lead monster is concerned.

It might be an altered Eleking photo. But the execution is so solid (compared to other Pachimon), that I was honestly convinced Daigoras might have been an actual creature suit. Instead of just well done airbrushing.

The only major give away (beyond the disconnected background), is Daigoras’ mouth and eyes, which is the most obvious in the airbrushing department.

As stated before, the background, and the foreground for that matter, suffers from a clear disconnect with the central monster figure. But it’s still quite dynamic, complete with a gorgeous fireball explosion, which almost dwarfs Daigoras.

Alternative version of the first Daigoras file

And if that tower (which Daigoras is crushing in one of its hands) seems familiar to you Kaiju fans, well then you’re not mistaken. It’s none other than Kobe Port Tower, located in Japan’s Port of Kobe.

Both the port and its iconic tower are very real places, which have been recreated in model form for both “Gamera vs Barugon” (1966), and episode 15 of “Ultra Seven”, “The Ultra Garrison Goes West, Part 2” (January 14th, 1968).

In the latter example, Ultra Seven defends Kobe Port Tower from the flying saucer robot King Joe. While in the former film, Kobe Port Tower has a far less fortunate fate, being destroyed by the reptilian demon Barugon. Clearly, Daigoras is taking a page out of Barugon’s playbook.

A compilation of Daigoras images, taken from ancient floppy disc storage