Monogelos

Monogelos
Data
Height	59 m (Monogelos) 56 m (Digelos)
Weight	21,000 t (Monogelos) 22,000 t (Digelos)
Home World	Space
First Appearance	Ultraman Arc episode 1 "Arc to the Future"
Latest Appearance	Ultraman Arc episode 3 "Unleash Your Imagination!"
Roar(s)	Monogelos Digelos

Monogelos is a species of extraterrestrial Kaiju, which is also the only space monster out of the seven monsters who appeared during the fateful K-Day. After its defeat, a remnant named the Monohorn stands as a landmark in Mt. Shishio.

Later, the two-horned Digelos becomes Ultraman Arc's first opponent.

Subtitle: Galactic Beast

Conception

Etymology

"Mono-" and "Di-" are prefixes that mean "one of" and "two of" respectively, referring to the number of horns on Mono/Digelos' head.

The term "gelos" has not been officially explained yet. However, considering that Monogelos has one horn while Digelos has two, it may be that "gelos" is related to or adapted from Ancient Greek κέρας (kéras) "horn", from which word μονόκερως (monókerōs) "having only one horn" derives, despite the substitution of the voiced consonant /g/ for the voiceless one /k/ as well as the exchange between two liquid consonants which are /l/ and /r/ because of the indistinction or confusion in Japanese between the "l" and "r". (Μονόκερως's descendant in Latin is monocerōs and in English is monoceros; there is also a calque of μονόκερως in Latin which is ūnicornis, from which the word "unicorn" is derived.) Monoceros, the Unicorn, is also the name of a constellation near the stellar equator.

Design

Mono/Digelos was designed by Tomo Hyakutake, who previously was in-charge of the designs for Leviera and Dorgo in Ultraman Blazar. The Kaiju's motif appears to be inspired by Zetton and species of beetles, particularly the rhinoceros beetle for Monogelos, and the stag beetle for Digelos.

Mono/Digelos borrows design elements from Bemular (build and legs), Red King (back and tail), Antlar (horn) and Zetton (face and eyes).

History

Ultraman Arc

16 years ago, Monogelos emerged from a spatial disturbance and landed near the hillsides of Hoshimoto City, locked in battle with the giant of light, Rution. Unbeknownst to them, this was also where the Hize family were having their family outing, and when Monogelos set off its terrifying attacks, Yuma Hize's parents were caught in the aftermath. Thankfully, Monogelos was defeated by Rution before it could unleash its true power, but a remnant of it was left in the form of the Monohorn.

Digelos launches a massive attack on Hoshimoto City.

In the present day, the same spatial disturbance would appear above the skies of Hoshimoto City, with SKIP arriving to investigate. Later, a source of high frequency noise began to emanate from both the distortion and the Monohorn, almost as if in resonance with each other. In an otherworldly flash of light, another space Kaiju similar to Monogelos descended from the skies, this time with two horns. Dubbed Digelos, the monster located the Monohorn and began laying waste to the city, shrugging off any and all attacks from the responding GDF forces.

On this day, Yuma would also be granted extraordinary power, transforming into Ultraman Arc for the first time to face the extraterrestrial menace. However, try as he might, all of Arc's attacks were either countered by Digelos' own, or deflected by the Digelos Shutter. Arc struggled against Digelos' fearsome strength, and the situation appeared perilous as his Color Timer started to blink. But with the power of imagination, Yuma devised an innovative solution to the Digelos Shutter, turning the Arc Finalize into a flexible energy whip that went right around the barrier and through Digelos' head. This ended the Kaiju's threat as it exploded into countless pieces, with Arc finishing the job by destroying its horns to prevent another Monohorn situation.^{Unleash Your Imagination!}

Three months afterwards, activity was detected inside the Monohorn. SKIP investigated, where it was revealed an Oo-ze had been lying dormant inside for sixteen years before it finally became active and escaped.^{Arc to the Future}

Trivia

• Suit actor: Yoshiki Kuwabara
• The sound effect used when Monogelos fires its lighting beam is a reused Baryonyx sound effect from Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous.
• Digelos' defeat by replica doll explosion is the first time in three years since Megalothor in Ultraman Trigger: New Generation Tiga. Coincidentally both kaiju were the first opponent of their respective Ultras.
  • During the production of the replica doll explosion, concerns about potential damage or soiling of the background sky scene on the studio walls mean that such scenes can now only be shot outdoors. This preparation process is extremely time-consuming and typically only happens during the main director's pilot phase. If strong winds occur, the shoot will be canceled and deemed a failure.
  • The seamless transition from the suit performance to the replica doll explosion was achieved largely thanks to the 3D model scanned directly from the suit's cast mold, provided by Tomo Hyakutyake. The ability to create sculpted dolls directly from the 3D model data was a significant advantage. Additionally, the meticulous painting by the Tsuburaya maintenance team and the post-production work by the special effects team also contributed to realizing this effect.
• Digelos is the second kaiju to be an Ultra's chronological first opponent in their series, but appear in a flashback episode rather than the first, the first being Galberos for Ultraman Nexus.

Data

• Monogelos
• Digelos

Monogelos

Stats

• Height: 59 m
• Weight: 21,000 t
• Origin: Space → Mt. Shishio, Hoshimoto City

Powers and Weapons

• Lightning Beam: A series of lightning bolts unleashed from Monogelos' horn.
  • Monogelos appeared to be charging up a stronger variant of this attack when its horn began growing to a larger size.
• Light Bullets: A fusillade of homing energy bullets fired from the tube-like protrusions on its shoulders.

Lightning Beam

Monogelos charges up its beam

Digelos

Stats

• Height: 56 m
• Weight: 22,000 t
• Origin: Space → Hoshimoto City

Powers and Weapons

• Digelos Shutter : A front-facing energy shield that appears to be indestructible, yet partially intangible as Digelos was able to phase its hands through the barrier to counter Arc's attacks with its fireballs.
• Energy Beam: After collecting energy between its horns, Digelos lets loose a powerful focused beam from its "face".
• Energy Shells: Digelos can fire energy bullets from its "face".
• Lightning Beam: A series of lightning bolts unleashed from the space between Digelos' horns.
• Fireballs: A barrage of flaming projectiles of moderate strength, fired in quick succession from Digelos' hands.
• Light Bullets: A fusillade of homing energy bullets fired from the tube-like protrusions on its shoulders.
• Monohorn Resonance: Digelos was able to resonate with the Monohorn, causing both to produce noise and causing the structure to light up.

Digelos Shutter

Energy Beam

Energy Shells

Lightning Beam

Fireballs

Light Bullets

Monohorn Resonance

Merchandise

Ultra Monster Advance

• Monogelos & Digelos (2024)
  • Release Date: July 20, 2024
  • Price: 2500 yen
  • JAN/ISBN: 4570118242532
  • Materials: PVC

Ultra Monster Advance Monogelos & Digelos is a soft vinyl figure that stands 170 mm tall and has 7 points of articulation at its arms, legs, and tail. The main gimmick are the figure's interchangeable horn and head parts to recreate its two forms as seen in the show.

Gallery

Ultraman Arc

Monogelos

The Monohorn

Digelos

Miscellaneous

Monogelos

Digelos