Monster of the Day #1021


This probably was the most beloved monster from Ultra Q, he reappeared on the show, and on the subsequent Ultraman, where he became a good monster.

He had a weird hopping motion and long flapping hands, which probably made him fun for kids to imitate just like Daleks were. (Indeed, I’ve seen one of Sandy Petersen’s granddaughters imitate him, and it was quite adorable.) In fact, he hops around so much it was hard to get good stills of him, because the frames were generally blurry. He’s pretty neat, though.

  • Flangepart

    He has Mick Jagger lips, and Al Jolson eyes. That, and he looks like a Chia pet bred with a koos ball.

  • Acethepug

    It looks like Godzilla’s spinal ridges just went forth and multiplied on his head, shoulders, and back. Really neat visual! Will have to track this series down!

  • The Rev.

    When we watched this at T-Fest this year (my first episode!), I kept calling it “Pigmon.” I’ve since discovered that technically this was a different beastie named Garamon. They obviously used the same suit, but this was kaiju-sized, whereas Pigmon (the version in all the Ultraman series) is a rare human-sized monster. Also, Garamon had an actual origin story, while Pigmon shows up out of nowhere and everyone just kind of goes, “Eh, at least it can’t destroy the city like all the others,” and proceed about their Science Patrol business.

    Sandy’s granddaughter pretending to be Garamon damn near overloaded my cuteometer, something that usually only happens with baby animals. He should post it online so I can show it to others. Thus far all I can do is show a clip from this episode and then say, “Now imagine a little girl in pink pajamas doing that.”

  • bgbear_rnh

    I guess this is a Japanese version of “Dam Busters”.

  • David Fullam

    Much prefer him as Pigmon from Ultraman.

  • Gamera977

    Forget Hello Kitty, this guy is so awesome and adorable why don’t Japanese girls have him plastered all over their backpacks???

  • bgbear_rnh

    Dinsdale! Dinsdale!

  • zombiewhacker

    I see a number of the Ultra Q eps are on Youtube, including at least one with Garamon.

  • zombiewhacker

    “Now imagine a little girl in pink pajamas doing that.”
    That will be MOTD #1022.

  • Rock Baker

    My introduction to this critter was via a plastic model kit, which translated his name as the pretty neat sounding Gallamon.

    Calling him a “critter” makes me notice Gallamon does bear a resemblance to the Krites which would appear in the 80’s.

    I’m pretty sure one of the more recent shows actually brought the creature back AS Gallamon after years of Pigman/Pigmon incarnations.

  • Ken_Begg

    I’ve never been a fan of Ultra Man-type shows, so I wasn’t expecting much, and the show just blew me away. I envy you watching it for the first time.

  • Acethepug

    Thank YOU for inspiring me! And for the site and reviews, too!

  • The Rev.

    “I’ve never been a fan of Ultra Man-type shows…”

    *gaspchokesputter*

    You did at least enjoy the “Ultraman” episodes Sandy has played at past T-Fests, right? I mean, one had a monster flying around via a rocket in its ass, and the other one was the Destroy All Monsters of the series in terms of kaiju saturation.

    Of course, you also fell asleep during Attack of the Supermonsters so I suppose I shouldn’t be that surprised…

  • Marsden

    Poor ol’ Pigmon. Got himself killed heroically, twice! He must have known he was the expendable comic relief monster.

  • Ken_Begg

    Definitely more fun with a group. I always found these show too repetitive, however. Ultra Man ended nearly every episode with the flashing light in the chest thing, and the spiel about “if it stops, he will never rise again,” and I was always pretty bored after a while.

  • The Rev.

    I must admit, I have trouble arguing with the repetitiveness accusation. I mean, as far as I’ve seen, every Ultra-series is like that. I like giant monsters enough that I can skate past that, I guess.

  • Deen

    Pygmon! It was soooo awesome watching him get stomped by Red King and then The Science Patrol almost coming to tears over it. Classic.