Ghogo

Ghogo™ Alternate names Gorgo Subtitle(s) Legendary Beast (伝説獣,   Densetsujū) Species Fairy Height 20 centimeters Weight 0.9 kilograms Allies Elias, Mothra Leo Enemies Dagahra Designed by Yasuko Ambiru Modeled by Kyoji Maeda First appearance Rebirth of Mothra 2

Ghogo (ゴーゴ,   Gōgo) is a fairy kaiju who appeared in the 1997 Toho film Rebirth of Mothra 2.

Name

The English name "Ghogo" appeared in the Japanese theater program for Rebirth of Mothra 2 as well as other tie-in materials for the film. It was used on Toho's official trademark icon for the creature, and is an unregistered trademark. Despite this, he is called Gorgo in the English-dubbed international version of the film, in the credits on Sony's 2014 Blu-ray release of the film, and in several Japanese books.

Development

Ghogo was designed by anime and picture book artist Yasuko Ambiru. Shinji Nishikawa also submitted at least one concept, which lacked legs. A prototype model of Ghogo was created, which director Kunio Miyoshi and other key staff members used to deliberate over the creature's design. Kyoji Maeda of Up-Art produced nine total props for Ghogo, including a radio-controlled closeup prop, a remote-controlled closeup prop, and seven "action" props. The two closeup props consisted of FRP (fiber-reinforced plastic) cores, fitted with mechanisms to remotely control their eyes independent of one another. Latex was attached around the eyes, and their eyelids could be opened or closed. The props were covered with a Japanese fabric called boa, often used for plush toy stuffing.

Design

Ghogo has a long yellow-white fur coat which covers his whole body except for his eyes, antenna and claws. He has big white eyes, also with large black pupils, with an antenna on his head that takes roughly a fourth of his total height. He moves constantly by hopping, with feet similar to chickens' claws.

History

Heisei era

Rebirth of Mothra 2

Shortly after a strange red starfish attacked a fisherman off the coast of Okinawa, two other local fishermen, Mikio Otani and Junichi Nagase, encountered a small fuzzy creature. He leapt at Mikio, who swatted him back into the water, causing him to drop a gold ring. Believing they'd discovered a new species, the two resolved to capture it.

A young girl, Shiori, encountered the fuzzy creature while picking flowers. Both were equally terrified at first, but she managed to befriend him. She soon ran afoul of two school bullies, Kyohei and Yoji. Just as they caught her, Belvera, wicked sister of Mothra Leo's priestesses Moll and Lora, appeared on Garugaru. She informed them that the creature was called Ghogo—and demanded that Shiori hand him over. Shiori gave her the basket containing Ghogo, only to slip him out and run away. As Belvera and the boys gave chase, Moll and Lora arrived on Fairy. As the laser beams flew, Belvera revealed to her sisters that she planned to use Ghogo to obtain the miraculous treasure of Nilai-Kanai. Shiori and the boys tossed Ghogo to each other, keeping Belvera at bay long enough to reach a heavily populated beach, and she retreated. Ghogo, seeing that Yoji injured his knee during the chase, healed it with his urine.

Moll and Lora formally introduced themselves to the kids. At their school, they researched Nilai-Kanai, which according to Okinawan legend was a magical kingdom that sank into the Pacific Ocean 12,000 years ago, also known as Mu. Translating Ghogo's conversation with Fairy, Moll and Lora learned that Dagahra, a monster created by Nilai-Kanai to consume pollution, had returned, with the Barem he produced threatening to choke the world's oceans. The Elias vowed to stop him using Nilai-Kanai's treasure. Commandeering the computer, Ghogo instructed them to take him to the coast of Ishigaki Island.

That night, Shiori and the boys stole their teacher's canoe and set sail, with the fishermen, now in Belvera's employ, following them on a water scooter. After they found the submerged ruins of the Nilai-Kanai pyramid, Ghogo dove into a small opening, causing a beam of green light to shoot into the sky and pulling the kids into a water tunnel, which ended inside a room with a stone lion. Suddenly, the entire pyramid rose to the surface, allowing Fairy to enter and blast one of the Barem that followed them in. Dagahra arrived to attack the pyramid, but rays from the stone statues flanking it drove him off. Moll and Lora fly off to summon Mothra Leo, tasking the kids with finding the treasure.

The fishermen abducted Shiori and Ghogo, only to lose both of them after Ghogo scratched Junichi's hand. Bouncing through the temple with determination, Ghogo led Shiori across an invisible bridge, and they soon reunited with the boys. Meanwhile, Mothra Leo engaged Dagahra, seeming to gain the advantage with repeated blasts of his Breast Power Beam. Dagahra retaliated from underwater with a Thundering Toxic Crimson Vortex which enveloped Leo and left him covered in Barem. With the pyramid's aid, the guardian managed to collapse on top of the structure.

The fishermen tracked down the kids and Ghogo again, but Moll and Lora intervened, destroying their spear gun. Cowed, they apologized, only for Mikio to grab Kyohei and Garugaru to shoot down Fairy. The door in front of them all suddenly opened. Inside they found massive statues, two with impressive orange gems on their foreheads. Mikio and Belvera retrieved them… causing the doors to close. An enormous, regal hologram of Princess Yuna took form at the center of the room and wordlessly sent Junichi flying with a blast of lightning. The Elias made their cases for possession of the treasure: Belvera wanting to use it to wipe out humanity, Moll and Lora striving to save it. Yuna explained that long ago, both Nilai-Kanai and Dagahra were buried by an earthquake just as the civilization's greatest scientists created a treasure to protect it. That treasure was not an object, however, but Ghogo. Belvera lunged for him, but a force field stopped her. Having crawled on top of the pyramid, Dagahra tried to finish Leo. His weight quickly caused the structure to crumble. Yuna instructed Shiori to bring Ghogo to Mothra, then stopped a statue from falling on them with a force field. The humans resolved to put their differences aside to escape, with Shiori using Ghogo to heal Junichi after he was injured by rubble. They crossed a bridge which shattered immediately afterwards, triggering a firestorm. As more doors closed, they seemed to be trapped, but Garugaru tripped a switch at the last moment, shutting another door and saving them. Belvera acknowledged her sisters before flying off. As they made it outside, the statues and Yuna granted Leo another burst of energy to knock back Dagahra, giving Shiori time to present Ghogo to him. The little creature started glowing and floated above Leo, giving his life to transform him into Rainbow Mothra.

Dagahra was no match for this new form, his rays reflecting off an invisible shield, but found no solace underwater either, as Rainbow Mothra transformed into Aqua Mothra to ravage him from the inside. Reverting to Rainbow Mothra, he dropped Dagahra on top of the pyramid, then liquefied them both. The humans, having safely made it to the shore, heard the voice of the hologram, reminding them that the future is in their hands. Shiori revealed the gift Ghogo left her: a single pearl she imagined as the Earth.

Abilities

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Merging

Ghogo can merge with Mothra Leo, transforming him into Rainbow Mothra. This transformation also disintegrated the hundreds of Barem latched onto Rainbow Mothra. He has not been shown to do this with any other kaiju.

Urine

Ghogo's urine can heal humans' injuries.

Agility

Ghogo is an extraordinary jumper.

Psychic abilities

Ghogo has psychic abilities.

Video games

• Mothra Tamagotchi (1997) - Bandai Tamagotchi
• Godzilla: Trading Battle (1998) - Sony PlayStation

Godzilla: Trading Battle

Ghogo is present through an effect card called "Fairy Ghogo" (妖精ゴーゴ,   Yōsei Gōgo).

Gallery

Main article: Ghogo/Gallery.

See also

• Garugaru
• Fairy Mothra
• Barem

References

This is a list of references for Ghogo. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: ^[1]

Bibliography

• Ozawa, Ryoko; Tomoi, Taketo; Nakamura, Satoshi, eds. (4 September 2016). All Toho Monsters Pictorial Book (4th ed.). Yosensha. ISBN 978-4-8003-0362-2.
• Kaneda, Masumi; Oishi, Shinji; Konuta, Kenji; Eguchi, Mizuki; Maruyama, Takeshi (28 July 2014). Toho Special Effects All Monster Encyclopedia (1st ed.). Shogakukan. ISBN 978-4-09-682090-2.
• Nishikawa, Shinji (24 June 2016). Shinji Nishikawa: Drawing Book of Godzilla (1st ed.). Yosensha. ISBN 978-4-8003-0959-4.
• Kawamata, Shigeo, ed. (22 August 2014). Rebirth of Mothra 2 Super Complete Works (Kindle ed.). Shogakukan. ISBN 978-4-09-101461-0.

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