Bagan

Bagan is an ancient god beast and is a popular monster throughout the Godzilla fandom for his many scraped movie appearances who’s only appearance is the super Godzilla video game

## Unmade History

### RESURRECTION OF GODZILLA (1980)

The first proposed appearance of Bagan, or maybe actually Bakan—we'll go into the name confusion in the Trivia section, but for now let's just refer to this incarnation as Bakan—was in "Resurrection of Godzilla," a project which existed as a 47-page proposal by Tomoyuki Tanaka in 1980 as a revival of the Godzilla franchise. No concept art exists for Bakan.

The 1980 Bakan was an ancient shape-shifting god monster that took three different forms. It started out in its Monkey Beast form, but after being wounded it morphed into the Dragon Beast form, and later dove into the water and turned into its Water Beast form. After Godzilla was awakened by nuclear dumping in the Pacific and drawn to Japan in search of more nuclear fuel, he fought and defeated Bagan.

Sadly, the project was dropped by Toho because of concerns that it would be too risky to produce such a big budget film, even with Godzilla's name attached (Bakan's transformations being the source of the concerns).

### RESURRECTION OF GODZILLA (1983)

Unknown to most however, there are multiple versions of this project; the second major version the one to actually introduce the famous "Totem Bakan" concept commonly associated with the "Resurrection of Godzilla" title. In 1983, Akira Murao and Hideichi Nagahara collaborated on a revised script for "Resurrection of Godzilla," which while very close to Tanaka's 1980 proposal, differed in a few ways. This time, each time Bakan changed form, it healed itself. Also when it ran into Godzilla, finding that it couldn't defeat him in any single form, it transformed into a towering combination of its three forms. Bakan managed to temporarily defeat Godzilla in this stage, though it soon found out that it could no longer change shape, meaning it could no longer heal itself. This allowed a Godzilla revitalized by nuclear energy to rise back up and defeat the exhausted Bakan, who would die out at sea.

As more revisions were made to the story, Bakan and other elements were removed altogether. Ultimately, the idea was replaced by what would become "The Return of Godzilla."

The art most commonly associated with the so-called "Totem Bakan" was artwork made by suit actor Hurricane "Ryu" Hariken and published in the "Encyclopedia of Godzilla (Mechagodzilla Edition)."

### MOTHRA VS. BAGAN

Two more versions of Bakan, whose name was modified to Bagan now, were proposed for the 1990 film "Mothra vs. Bagan," a movie starring Mothra that would have been set in the same universe as the Heisei Godzilla series.

Bakan's "three-form monster" concept would briefly live on in the first version of the new Bagan, now in the forms of a Spirit God Beast (the Monkey God Beast equivalent), a Dragon God Beast (a mix of Bakan's Dragon God Beast and Water God Beast forms), and a Demon God Beast (a replacement of the Water God Beast). As development continued, special effects director Koichi Kawakita thought the shape-shifting element was unnecessary, and so removed it.

An ancient demonic beast that destroyed the world's forests, Bagan was sealed away in the Himalayas long ago by a clan of Mothra, only to be reawakened in the modern day by global warming. He began his savage attack against humanity, destroying some remote villages and the city of Calcutta, but was eventually confronted by Mothra. As the fight between the two monsters took them to Bangkok, Mothra's egg hatched and the larva arrived to help its parent, and with their combined powers they were able to end Bagan's reign of terror. A mortally wounded Mothra then carries Bagan's unconscious body out to sea and seals him away again before perishing.

While the storyboards featured a Bagan with an appearance ("Design B") similar to the canonical Bagan look ("Design A") it turns out these were placeholders, as Bagan's look had not yet been finalized. This demonic-looking concept created by Yasushi Nirasawa was the one intended for the final film, had it been made.

Unfortunately, after "Godzilla vs. Biollante" did not perform as well at the box office as Toho had hoped, they decided not to risk making another movie with another new monster, and so the movie was canceled.

### GODZILLA 3

This same version of Bagan was planned to go on to face Godzilla in the tentatively titled third entry of the Heisei series, "Godzilla 3," since as was mentioned earlier, "Mothra vs. Bagan" was going to share continuity with "Godzilla vs. Biollante" and "The Return of Godzilla."

Continuing right after "vs. Biollante" and where "Mothra vs. Bagan" would have ended, it's learned that Bagan was allegedly created by aliens who were also responsible for the ruins of the Nazca civilization in Peru. Aside from this, there's not much to say; once "Mothra vs. Bagan" was thrown out, so was "Godzilla 3."

### MOTHRA VS. GODZILLA (1990)

When "Mothra vs. Bagan" was scrapped, writer and director Kazuki Omori briefly thought about adding Bagan to "Mothra vs. Godzilla," a proposed movie that would have had Godzilla fight Mothra. However, fear that Mothra's appeal would not be enough to draw in audiences meant that this idea ended up being shelved. The concept of having Mothra fight the King of the Monsters would be revived later however, and elements from "Mothra vs. Bagan"'s script would be thrown in along with Battra for what would become the 1992 "Godzilla vs. Mothra."

### GODZILLA VS. BAGAN (1991)

Bagan was to face Godzilla in one of Kazuki Omori's earliest scripts for a "Godzilla vs. Biollante" sequel. In a July 2006 Vantage Point interview, Omori mentioned that "Godzilla vs. Bagan" was one of many drafts where Godzilla was pitted against a variety of different foes and that it was "another year that went by" after the cancellation of "Mothra vs. Bagan" before he wrote the script for "Godzilla vs. Bagan." However, with King Ghidorah turning out one of the most popular monsters in polls among Japanese audiences and Toho's 60th anniversary rapidly approaching, "Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah" ended up being made instead.

### GODZILLA VS. BAGAN (1995)

Bagan was potentially considered for another film, also titled "Godzilla vs. Bagan," which according to Takao Okawara was an early version of "Godzilla vs. Destoroyah." —"I heard about GODZILLA VS. BAGAN while GODZILLA VS. DESTOROYAH was being planned, but I didn't hear anything about its plot." Rumors at the time suggested the story would be very much like "Godzilla vs. Giant Monster Varan"—in which Varan is described as being a "harbinger for the end of the world," awakening in 1999 and dead set on ending all life, but ends up being defeated by Godzilla and Little Godzilla—though not set in the future. Bagan took the place of Varan, with Mothra and the Gotengo from "Atragon" set to appear as well. Ultimately, the shape-shifting monster Barubaroi would be favored, and that concept would eventually transform into "Godzilla vs. Destoroyah."

### REBIRTH OF MOTHRA (SERIES)

Not outright discarding the idea years earlier of having Mothra face off against Bagan, the monster was also considered by special effects director Koichi Kawakita to appear in the "Rebirth of Mothra" movies. Nothing ever came of it, however, and no further details are known.

### YAMATO TAKERU II

Bagan's last proposed appearance was "Yamato Takeru II," an unmade 1997 sequel to Toho's 1994 fantasy film "Yamato Takeru," also suggested by Kawakita. According to the book "Heisei Godzilla Perfection," Bagan was to play a role in the movie alongside Orochi. It went unproduced apparently after Shogo Tomiyama delayed production to 1997 following the first movie's not-too-impressive box office performance, as well as director Takao Okawara apparently having read the script and saying that it simply "was no good."

## Official History

### SUPER GODZILLA

Bagan received a starring role as the final boss in the 1993 video game "Super Godzilla," starting off in its Energy Form but soon transmogrifying into a familiar form. Born in a super-ancient China and supercharged by cells from Godzilla and King Ghidorah that his unnamed alien commanders had spliced into him, Bagan is easily the most powerful foe in the game. Generally, he is seen as impossible to defeat as normal Godzilla, and still seen as a difficult opponent as Super Godzilla.

This version of Bagan possessed very high physical strength and durability, and his array of attacks were the strongest used by any enemy in the game. Additionally, he had the most health out of any enemy, and regular Godzilla's attacks would only cause a very small amount of damage, making it necessary to transform into Super Godzilla to defeat Bagan.

Also, according to LeMay's "The Lost Films," the unnamed alien antagonist from SNES Super Godzilla is actually a recycled version of alien Miko from the unmade 1972 "Godzilla vs. the Space Monsters." Pretty interesting!

### GODZILLA MOVIE STUDIO TOUR

Bagan's last appearance was in the 1998 "Godzilla Movie Studio Tour" alongside Godzilla and Dogolas (a monster who only ever appeared in this game) in the Publicity Dep., a game mode where players can create and even print out mock posters for their custom movie. He also appears in the Kid's Shop in the form of a printable "Sumo Wrestling" tabletop game, with his opponent being Godzilla. Thus, with this, ends the legacy of Bagan…

## Design

The Bakan from "Resurrection of Godzilla" had three separate forms: an ape-like Sacred Monkey Beast, a fish-like Sacred Water Beast, and a winged Sacred Dragon Beast. Each form could only be used on land, in the sea, and in the air, respectively. Also, each form was individually said to be a different color, with only the Sacred Water Beast's color being known through its description of having "green slimy skin all over its body, a face somewhat reptile-like with a wide-opening mouth, and hands with fish-like fins for swimming." For the 1983 draft, an additional fourth, totem-like form was written in. No official, contemporary concept art exists of any of these forms.

When Bakan, now Bagan, was revived for the first version of "Mothra vs. Bagan," it had three distinct forms, like the original. According to "Shinji Nishikawa: Drawing Book of Godzilla," the only form which was specifically described was the Spirit God Beast (equivalent to the original Monkey Beast), which was mentioned as having "a figure like an elephant." In addition, there were the Dragon God Beast (a mix of the Dragon Beast and Water Beast forms) and Demon God Beast forms (a replacement of the Water Beast). Widely varying concepts were submitted by Shinji Nishikawa, Minoru Yoshida, Hiroto Aragaki, and Takashi Sonoyama, though little about these pieces seem to have been carried over to later designs.

As development continued however, special effects director Koichi Kawakita decided that Bagan would have only a single form. For this second version, Nishikawa and Yoshida continued submitting art with the addition of Yasushi Nirasawa. Yoshida and Nirasawa steered the direction of the monster's look, with one of Yoshida's concepts ("Design B") being used in storyboards, while Nirasawa's demonic-looking concept was decided upon as being the final design. Down the road, this rejected taupe and red concept by Yoshida, dubbed "Design A", would end up becoming Bagan's 'canonical design.'

"Design A" artwork would go on to be commonly placed alongside information regarding the "Super Godzilla" Bagan (and even recolored to more accurately match the video game's sprite in "Super Godzilla Official Guide Book"), though it's not actually the exact source of the video game Bagan's appearance. Another piece of concept art by Minoru Yoshida was recycled for Bagan's final form in Super Godzilla. Differences between the game design and the "Design A" Bagan, aside from coloration, include the lack of bulbous orbs in Bagan's legs, back and shoulders, and the shoulder and tail protrusions being more akin to spikes. Bagan's Energy Form is a tangled mass that pulsates green, bearing some resemblance to Biollante's nucleus.

The "Movie Studio Tour" Bagan's design, in reality a poseable character model created by the toy company Kaiyodo, is based off the "Design A" Bagan, though it has a gray armor coloration with dark brown horns and spikes, purple orbs, and no hairy tail tip.

Bagan is Not canon yet