Agon The Atomic Dragon aka Giant Phantom Monster Agon 1964 DVD

Filming of Giant Phantom Monster Agon was completed in 1964, but Toho Studios, complaining Agon too closely resembled Godzilla, prevented it from being broadcast at that time. It later came to light that Shinichi Sekizawa (writer of several of Toho's kaiju films) and Fuminori Ohashi (apprentice of Eiji Tsuburaya, Toho's head of special effects) were involved with the project. Convinced the two men were not intentionally copying Godzilla, Toho allowed the series to be broadcast in 1968.

 

Agon was filmed in black & white, but with a sepiatone tint, giving it an unusual look. Also of note is the unique musical score composed by Wataru Saitô. Toho would again become involved with Agon when they re-edited the four TV episodes into a feature-length movie for a VHS release in the mid-1990s.

 

The Agon monster suit, with some modifications, was later reused in the tokusatsu series The Space Giants, first as a generic dinosaur, later as Giant Fire Monster Aron. This is the complete 4 unedited episodes.