Introduction
Candy toys are a phenomenon in Japan like nobody's business. Thousands of ultimately disposable plastic little figures are made each year, focusing on fads the world over and selling quite cheaply alongside some of the worst candy you're likely to ever have. Godzilla and his friends were given numerous series of these over the years, and sometimes they revisit the same style repeatedly, like these Super-Deformed hollow plastic figures. Standing at roughly one inch tall, they're just a little shorter than a Mini-Con in robot mode, or one of the many Pokemon non-articulated figures from when Tomy and Habsro first released those.
As such, this is a great way for fans to get a variety of characters in a highly amusing style. Dozens have been released in numerous series, and this document will be updated regularly with more figures and more information.
| Baragon |
| Aliases: |
none |
Year: |
2001 |
Series: |
Soukougeki, #5 |
Appearances: |
Frankenstein Conquers the World, Destroy All Monsters, Giant Monster All-Out Attack, Godzilla Final Wars |
|
Baragon is a big lizard creature with bat-like ears in the movies, but as you can see here in this little plastic form, he looks more like a little puppy. Toho trots the character out for the obligatory must-show-all-monster flicks, but he really hasn't gotten all that much attention of his own, probably in part to his origins in the non-Godzilla Toho flick, "Frankenstein Conquers the World."
The originally bipedal creature is now on all fours, is chubby, and borders on adorable. If you like that sort of thing, you're in for a treat because this thing is dripping in cute, as far as Toho Kaiju go. He back looks like a different color in the picture, but in reality it's a shiny, almost metallic color that matches the plastic of the figure. The result is a very striking visual that is pretty astounding for a candy toy.
This is the only known Baragon in the area of super-deformed candy toys, however fans have quite a bit to choose from in terms of merchandise with countless large figures, stamps, and yes, even a soap dispenser.
This figure was released in a marked box in the Soukougeki series and was number 5, and a chase variant was also available. This number appeared on his box as well as on the checklist on the side of the box.
| Ebirah |
| Aliases: |
The Sea Monster |
Year: |
2001 |
Series: |
Soukougeki, #7 |
Appearances: |
Godzilla's Revenge, Ebirah Terror of the Deep, Godzilla Final Wars |
|
Ebirah is a large shrimp monster that has made few appearances in the Godzilla series of films, and when he does appear, many considered those to be some of the worst. This is to say nothing of his character design, which is typical cheesy and delightful Toho fare. Ebirah made his debut on the silver screen in Japan in 1966, and failed to be the kind of repeat foe that Godzilla fans may have been looking for.
This small plastic figure is fairly ornate for what he originally cost. Molded in orange plastic, he has dark brown/orange paint bringing out detail in numerous places. Also, there's a fair amount of silver on his claws and around his face. The texture sculpted into his back is really quite astounding for his size, especially considering that the American equivalent, fast food premiums, never really looked this good. For this reason, some of the images are larger than usual.
This is the only known Ebirah in the area of super-deformed candy toys, but many other toys based on the character exist. It should be noted that the kind of silver paint used on his claws has been used on numerous toys over the years and is prone to rubbing off if handled repeatedly.
Ebirah also made an appearance on Episode 213 of Mystery Science Theater 3000 when the bots looked at Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster. This figure was released in a marked box in the Soukougeki series and was number 7. This number appeared on his box as well as on the checklist on the side of the box.
| Hedorah |
| Aliases: |
The Smog Monster |
Year: |
2001 |
Series: |
Soukougeki, #10 |
Appearances: |
Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster, Godzilla Final Wars |
|
Hedorah is another one-time Godzilla foe, appearing in 1971's Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster and never seen or heard from again. Apparently he made a good impression, as numerous toys were made of this nebulous baddie and continue to be made to this very day. At New York's Toy Fair in 2004, an American company showed off a prototype for a plush version of Hedorah.
This happy litte fellow is the only known Hedorah in these series of figures. While all of his toys are often brightly colored, this one seems to try to look truer to his movie appearance than those of the 1970's. There's quite a bit of color in his eyes alone, and more on his back. The sculpting of The Smog Monster has him looking a little furry almost, but with his little waving hand, he comes off looking more cute than terrifying. And for everybody wanting a cute little Hedorah to call their own, this may be the absolute best one.
This is one of our favorites, due to the great sculpting, fabulous decoration, and downright odd nature of the character.
| MOGERA |
| Aliases: |
none |
Year: |
2001 |
Series: |
Soukougeki, #17 |
Appearances: |
Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla |
|
MOGERA (Mobile Operation G-Expert Robot Aero-type) is a large robot built to replace one of many mechanical Godzillas so the Earth folk would have their own defense against the monsters and was constructed by a Russian robotics expert. While the character has numerous fancy armaments, it looks significantly less menacing than other designs with eyes that resemble old lady (or Dame Edna) glasses and numerous birdlike facial features.
While this figure isn't the most ornate in the world, it has an excellent paint job given its size and original cost-- 100 yen, or about a dollar. There's a lot of detail here and we felt that the mechanoid looks better as a super-deformed character than as a full-size weapon of destruction to help the people of Earth.
This figure was released in a marked box in the Soukougeki series and was number 17. This number appeared on his box as well as on the checklist on the side of the box.
--Adam Pawlus & Erin Pawlus
Last Updated March 21, 2005
