Dogora
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Dogora (ドゴラ Dogora) is a mutant space cell kaiju that first appeared in the 1964 Toho film, Dogora.
A single-celled organism living in Earth's atmosphere, Dogora was mutated after coming into contact with a radiation pocket over Japan. The creature began destroying satellites before descending to Earth to feed on sources of carbon, primarily diamonds and coal. Dogora grew at an accelerated rate as it fed, eventually growing into a colossal tentacled monster. The JSDF were able to blow Dogora apart with their missiles, but this only induced the creature to undergo cellular fission and reproduce into countless more Dogora cells. Fortunately, it was discovered that wasp venom caused a chemical reaction within Dogora's cells which caused them to crystallize, and so chemical plants around the globe worked to synthesize artificial wasp venom. The JSDF attacked Dogora using this compound, crystallizing all of its cells and finally ridding the world of the space monster.
While it debuted outside of the Godzilla series, Dogora began to cross over into Godzilla media beginning with the 1988 video game Godzilla: Monster of Monsters!, in which it appeared as an enemy. Dogora went on to appear in other media such as the 1997 television series Godzilla Island. Dogora made its first appearance in a Godzilla film during the intro of the 2017 film GODZILLA: Planet of the Monsters, which briefly depicted Dogora attacking London. Dogora's role in the continuity of the anime trilogy is explored in greater depth in the film's official prequel novel, GODZILLA: Monster Apocalypse.
Development[edit | edit source]
The idea for Dogora originated with Jojiro Okami's 1962 story proposal Space Mons, which was picked up by Toho to be adapted into a film in 1964.[5] The screenplay did not give the space monster a name, and went under the working titles Earth Martial Law or just Space Monster.[5] The premise of Dogora was to be be a truly alien lifeform with an unconventional design that stood out from more conventional movie monsters. The design for Dogora came from a 3D illustration by Shigeru Komatsuzaki for the Shogakukan publication Weekly Shonen Saturday.[6] The monster's design used protozoa for reference. The process of creating Dogora's onscreen prop was very time-consuming and characterized by trial-and-error in every step, from searching for the correct material to determining the method in which to shoot it.
After seeing the design for Dogora, Keizo Murase thought about using soft vinyl, a material which had recently become available on the market. Murase visited a factory in Chiba and purchased a soft vinyl mold for 200 thousand yen. While the mold was rather expensive, special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya agreed with Murase's decision to use soft vinyl.[5]
Next, Kanji Yagi created a 1-shaku clay mold for Dogora and brought it to the aforementioned factory where it was used to create a soft vinyl miniature for Dogora. However, there was concern that attempting to operate the prop through the normal method of suspending it in the air with piano wire could risk breaking it. Murase came up with the method of placing the prop in a tank of water and manipulating it with fishing line. When Murase showed this to Tsuburaya, he was very pleased that they had finally found a successful method to manipulate the prop.
When shooting began, the Dogora prop was placed in the tank and made to "dance" through the water using water flow from a valve fixed at the bottom of the tank. This had the unintended effect of producing bubbles which became visible in the finished take. According to Teruyoshi Nakano, the water from the local Waterworks Bureau on the day of filming was white and cloudy, meaning the staff had difficulty keeping the tank transparent enough for filming and was unable to shoot very much footage of the Dogora prop.[7] As a result, Dogora's full jellyfish-like form only appears briefly in a single sequence in the finished film despite being heavily featured in marketing and promotion.
Dogora's single-celled form, which was the primary state the creature appeared in onscreen, was created by sandwiching liquid organic glass between plates of solid glass, which was then synthesized into live-action footage.[5] To depict Dogora's cells crystallizing, a light bulb was attached to a 15 centimeter polyvinyl chloride miniature. An electrical current was sent to the bulb through piano wire, causing it to illuminate and giving the effect of the miniature flashing and emitting light.
Design[edit | edit source]
Dogora initially resembles a bluish amoeba-like blob. Dogora can take the form of a bluish-green vapor, or even be invisible at times. After growing substantially from consuming carbon, Dogora takes the form of a colossal light green jellyfish with long thin tentacles, and an opening on its underside through which it can absorb sources of carbon. When Dogora is struck by missiles, it undergoes cell division and splits into countless smaller blob-like forms. When Dogora comes into contact with wasp venom, its body undergoes a chemical reaction that causes it to crystallize into hardened multicolored rocks.
Origins[edit | edit source]
According to Dr. Munakata, Dogora is a space cell that lived in the Earth's upper atmosphere. The cell was exposed to a huge cloud of radiation located in the atmosphere over Japan, causing it to mutate rapidly. The cell then began to require large amounts of carbon to sustain itself, and so descended to Earth to feed on carbon sources such as diamonds and coal.
History[edit | edit source]
Showa era[edit | edit source]
Dogora[edit | edit source]
Dogora first appeared in space, feeding on radiation. It destroyed a television satellite, causing it to mutate further. It came to Earth and began eating diamonds and coal. A professor created a synthetic diamond, and Dogora was attracted to it. It melted the safe doors and ate the diamonds. It attacked a coal plant, and it was discovered that it feeds on carbon. Defense forces thought they detected Dogora in the sky over Kyushu, but it was a swarm of bees. The bees flew into a cloud, and dozens of multiple-colored rocks fell out. Dogora was detected again as it attacked Fukuoka, now taking the form of a colossal jellyfish-like creature with long tentacles. Dogora began to feed on coal and diamonds, but was confronted by the JSDF, who blew it to bits with their missiles, but not before hurling a bridge at the humans in an attempt to ward them off. The pieces of Dogora regrew into their own cells, and attacked again. It was discovered that Dogora was weak to wasp and bee venom, as it caused its cells to crystalize. The JSDF released large amounts of wasp venom onto the Dogoras, causing them to harden and die.
Godzilla Island[edit | edit source]
Dogora was a trickster alien who offered his services to Zagres after the Xilien endured a chewing-out by her boss, the Giant Dark Emperor. His plan was to summon SpaceGodzilla's ghost to possess Godzilla, who would then pick off the other monsters of Godzilla Island one by one. As the haunted Godzilla wreaked havoc, Dogora tried to use various illusions to keep Torema lost in the woods as she attempted to reach King Caesar. She dissipated Dogora with a shot of her laser pistol, but he quickly reformed. As King Caesar traveled with an ofuda to exorcise Godzilla, Dogora ran interference again, causing an explosion atop a nearby mountain to bury him in rubble. After Godzilla Junior freed King Caesar and he administered the ofuda, Dogora rocketed back up into space, never to return.
Reiwa era[edit | edit source]
GODZILLA: Planet of the Monsters[edit | edit source]
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Dogora attacked London in September 2002, causing 3.9 million deaths.[8]
Abilities[edit | edit source]
Flight[edit | edit source]
Dogora can hover in Earth's atmosphere and travel through space.
Corrosive Touch[edit | edit source]
A single Dogora cell was able to burn through the steel door of a safe.
Consumption[edit | edit source]
Dogora can vacuum up sources of carbon and other objects such as cars.
Tentacles[edit | edit source]
Dogora’s mature form sports four tentacles which were able to lift the two-kilometer Wakato Bridge.
Cell Fission[edit | edit source]
After the JSDF blasted to Dogora's mature form to pieces with surface-to-air missiles, each individual piece lived on and possessed the capability to grow into another massive monster.
Weaknesses[edit | edit source]
Dogora solidifies when exposed to bee and wasp venom, and potentially other types of venom containing hyaluronidase.[9]
Filmography[edit | edit source]
- Dogora (1964)
- Godzilla Island (TV 1997-1998) [episodes 69-71, 73-83]
- GODZILLA: Planet of the Monsters (2017)
Video games[edit | edit source]
- Godzilla: Monster of Monsters! (1988) - Nintendo Entertainment System / Famicom
- Godzilla: Heart-Pounding Monster Island!! (1995) - Sega Pico
- Godzilla: Trading Battle (1998) - Sony PlayStation
- Godzilla Generations (1998) - Sega Dreamcast
- Collect Godzilla: Giant Monster Assembly (1998) - Sega Dreamcast VMU
Godzilla: Monster of Monsters![edit | edit source]
Dogora appears in three different ways in the Godzilla game for the NES. It appears in its own hyperspace type, and can first be encountered on Earth. Dogora first appears in its classic, large jellyfish form in the stage's background, and doesn't attack.
Dogora's other two versions appear as smaller enemies in the stage. One version is dark purple while the other is a bright orange/yellow. The differences between the two colors dwell upon the damage they deal and the items they drop. Purple Dogora deal no damage and drop health power ups when they are destroyed. Orange Dogora deal a small amount of damage and drop energy power ups when destroyed. This is also the only time in the game that the energy power ups can be found.
Dogora in Godzilla: Monster of Monsters!
The larger Dogora, seen in the background of its stage, plus two Dogora Cells in Godzilla: Monster of Monsters!
Dogora's sprite in Collect Godzilla: Giant Monster Assembly
Books[edit | edit source]
GODZILLA: Monster Apocalypse[edit | edit source]
Dogora was the second kaiju to appear on Earth. It first made contact with the Russian space station Mir in the atmosphere, then appeared over London in September 2002. Dogora absorbed thermal energy from the attacks of the British military and moved on to Manchester. Dogora was eventually defeated when chemical plants throughout the United Kingdom and European Union mass-produced chemicals containing active ingredients from wasp venom and sprayed them into the air. By the time Dogora was defeated after two days, major landmarks such as the Tower of London and Big Ben were destroyed and an estimated 3.9 million people were wounded or killed.[10]
Comics[edit | edit source]
GODZILLA: Planet of the Monsters[edit | edit source]
Dogora appeared in the 21st century to wreak havoc on humanity, along with other kaiju such as Kamacuras, Rodan, Anguirus, Baragon, and Biollante. However, all of these monsters were no match for Godzilla, who proceeded to kill many of them and was the cause of humanity fleeing Earth in a search for another habitable planet.
Gallery[edit | edit source]
- Main article: Dogora/Gallery.
Roar[edit | edit source]
Dogora's sound effects were created by capturing the sounds of clams using a special respiratory sound pickup microphone.[5] These sounds were combined with other sound effects which would later be used for the Lady Guard alarm in Invasion of Astro-Monster the following year and for the monsters Alien Baltan and Bullton in Ultraman in 1966.
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References[edit | edit source]
This is a list of references for Dogora. 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]
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