Mogusion

Mogusion (モグージョン, Mogūjon)^[1][2] is a Kaiju who first appeared in the sixteenth episode of Ultraman Blazar.

Subtitle: Vision Kaiju (幻視怪獣, Genshi Kaijū)^[1][2]

Conception

Etymology

Mogusion's name is derived from the Japanese word Mogura (モグラ, lit. Mole) and the English word Illusion.

Design

Mogusion was designed by Takanori Tsujimoto, who was also the director of the creature's debut episode.^[3][4]

History

Ultraman Blazar

Mogusion was a predatory underground kaiju that had been tunneling near the surface in search for food, targeting farms all around Fujigaki City for their livestock and causing the ground to collapse where it had burrowed. The SKaRD were deployed for one such incident at a redevelopment site near the city, but were having trouble investigating after receiving conflicting reports on the kaiju's appearance from its fear-stricken victims.

Given the nature of subterranean animals, the SKaRD were left with no choice but to hold out at the site, with Teruaki and Yasunobu on first rotation. Teruaki had his suspicions that the victims' confusion might be the work of poisonous gas and tried to test his hypothesis, but was proven wrong before being caught in the kaiju's illusionary spell. As morning came, Mogusion finally reared its ugly head, famished. Using its hallucinatory powers, the kaiju almost caught Anri and Yasunobu, who were immobilized with fear, in its grasp, but not before Gento snapped out of the spell and saved them both, as it began moving towards the city in search of its next prey.

Mogusion shrugged off the military's arsenal and almost had its fill before it was met with resistance in the form of Earth Garon piloted by Emi, but she soon found herself at the mercy of a hallucinatory nightmare. Seeing this unfold, Gento transformed into Ultraman Blazar and attempted to use the Rainbow Slash to get Mogusion off Earth Garon, but the kaiju effortlessly deflected the attack. Blazar, who was being overly-cautious of Mogusion's hallucinatory powers, was then overwhelmed by its absurd strength and bizzare abilities, before Emi snapped out of the spell and helped the Ultra out. Realizing that his current approach wouldn't work, Blazar chose to discard sight entirely and focus on detecting the kaiju through his senses. Mogusion responded with silence, but Blazar managed to get the better of the kaiju with Emi's assistance. Summoning the Tilsonite Sword, Blazar defeated Mogusion for good with the Raidenz Finish.^{Terror from the Underground}

Little Mogusion (もぐ～じょんちゃん, Mogūjon-chan), a chibi-style digital avatar created from the data of Mogusion, later appeared in two special recap episodes hosted by the digital navigator Pag, alongside Little Gedos.^{Blazar Digital Picture ScrollPag's Ultra Lecture}

Trivia

• Actors:
  • Suit actor: Hiroyuki Arai
  • Voice Actress (Little Mogusion): Konomi Kohara
• Mogusion's roars consist of a mix of a heavily slowed down Rodan roar, a sped up Arstron roar and a Vakishim roar. At some points, Mogusion’s roar uses modified Bazanga roars. Upon death, Mogusion utters a modified Titanosaurus roar.

• Mogusion's illusions include Raibasser, M1, Baraba's tail, Takkong's suckers (all perceived by the workers who first saw it), giant clusters of ohagi (Teruaki), Taganular (Anri), Alien Cannan (Yasunobu), a wrecked Earth Garon (Gento), and a giant Emi Aobe (the real Emi).
  • Due to the construction workers each seeing a different kaiju, the result was a sketch combining Raibasser, M1, Baraba and Takkong into one creature.
• Mogusion's ability to create illusions of monsters based on people's fear is similar to that of Moravia, who also created illusions of monsters based on people's fear using the Mejiwogu flowers and its disguises.
• According to the weekly Chroyu News article, Magular's remains were found in Mogusion's burrow.

Ultraman Arc

After Zadime's defeat at the hands of Ultraman Arc, a rift in space-time remained over the skies of the forests near Hoshimoto City, from which a mysterious egg fell. Later, a short video was sent to the SKIP depicting Sorajima campsite visitors experiencing uncontrollable bouts of fear. When Yuma Hize and Shu Ishido were sent to investigate, what appeared to be giant tendrils emerged from beneath the ground and flashed a blinding light, before revealing itself to be the vision monster Mogusion! Shu tried to use the Elemagun on the Kaiju, but the projectiles passed through its body to no effect, as if it were a ghost. As it tried to approach the two humans, prayer bells rung, and to the surprise of Yuma and Shu, Mogusion disappeared into thin air.

Soon, Mogusion reappeared in Hoshimoto City, threatening the city's denizens with its illusion flash. In response, Yuma transformed into Ultraman Arc, but his blade simply phased through Mogusion's intangible form until the arrival of Zangill, who bestowed a part of his spiritual powers into the Arc Eye Sword. Joining forces, the two swordsmen matched up evenly to the might of Mogusion's attacks, but its illusion flash still posed a problem. Seeing his reflection in the Arc Eye Sword, Arc used his quick thinking and lunged straight towards the monster with the crystal blade shielding his face, deflecting Mogusion's illusion flash back at it, and seized this opportunity to destroy the Kaiju for good with the Arc Sword Finish and Arc Finalize. ^{The Light of Fear}

Subsequently, as confirmed by Zangill, the Mogusion that appeared in this universe is actually a specter kaiju from an "alternate universe." Under Hellnarak's control, Mogusion was transported in egg form through a dimensional rift, allowing it to arrive in the universe where Ultraman Arc exists. ^{Demon Slicing Meteor Sword}

Trivia

• Suit actor: Hiroyuki Arai
• In this episode, Mogusion showcases illusions that include a boiled tofu (an eyewitness at the Sorajima campsite) and the phantoms of a giant Yuma and SKIP members coldly bidding farewell to Shu.

Data

Stats

• Height: 54 m
• Weight: 59,000 t
• Origin: Underground -> Fujigaki City, Ochanozaki District

Powers and Weapons

• Burrowing: Being an underground Kaiju, Mogusion can dig and create underground tunnels.
• Prehensile Tongue: Mogusion can extend her tongue to great lengths and maneuver it like a limb to ensnare and catch prey.
• Buzzsaw Comb: The spiked crest on Mogusion's head and neck can spin like an electric saw to slash opponents when she jumps or charges towards them.
  • Energy Slash: Mogusion shoots several energy projectiles from her crest that spread out over an area.
• Extendable Arms: Mogusion can stretch her arms to great lengths to strike opponents at long range.
  • Projectile Catch: Mogusion's arms can also catch circular-shaped projectiles such as Ultraman Blazar's Rainbow Slash, and throw them back.
• Bite: Mogusion's bite force, judging by the visceral sound it makes and Ultraman Blazar's reaction to it, is great enough to possibly crush an Ultra's bones.
• Illusion Flash: By opening the petal-like organs on her palms, Mogusion can emit bright rays of light which stimulate the victim's amygdala, a region of the brain which governs the emotion of fear and its response to dangerous situations. This causes victims to perceive their worst fears in Mogusion's place, causing them to panic or be immobilized. This is both for catching other underground kaiju as prey and for intimidating rivals in Mogusion's natural underground environment.
• High Intelligence: For a kaiju, Mogusion displays unusually high intelligence, able to immediately react to, understand, and strategize against opponents. Such examples would be catching and throwing back the Rainbow Slash, performing a feint of her illusion flash to psych Blazar out before attacking physically, and understanding Blazar's eyes turning off as them being closed, keeping quiet and treading around carefully for a sneak attack.

Merchandise

Ultra Monster Series (2016)

• Mogusion (2023)
  • Release Date: 2023
  • Price: 700 yen
  • JAN/ISBN: 4570117960536
  • Materials: PVC

Ultra Monster Series (2016) Mogusion is a small soft vinyl figure with 3 points of articulation at its arms and tail.

Gallery

Ultraman Blazar

Mogusion

Little Mogusion

Ultraman Arc

Miscellaneous

References

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} https://m-78.jp/character/blazar-16/
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} https://cocreco.kodansha.co.jp/telemaga/news/feature/blazar/6c8oY
3. ↑ File:TsujimotoDesignedMogusion.png
4. ↑ https://twitter.com/TakaTsujimo/status/1717904070089011283
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} https://cocreco.kodansha.co.jp/telemaga/news/feature/arc/6yjZK