Pogola Dan - BE@RBRICK
DAN is an artist that creates designs and sculptures of original kaiju monsters. Many of their designs feature an incredible range of strange, unusual characteristics that give DAN’s kaiju an iconic style. DAN’s first and most popular creation is Pogola, which was first seen in the late early to mid-2010s and has since received many different sculptures, color variations, and so on. In 2016 and 2017, BE@BRICK collaborated with DAN to create the “BE@RBRICK Pogola 400%”, which fused the design of DAN’s Pogola with the unique bear-like form of BE@RBRICK figures.
DAN x BE@RBRICK Collaboration Background
The first BE@RBRICK figure to be produced as a collaborative effort between DAN and BE@RBRICK was the “Artist [DAN] 100%” figure, which, like its 400% counterpart released a year later, is inspired by DAN’s first kaiju creation, Pogola. As of early 2021, Pogola is the only kaiju monster created by DAN that has been recreated as a BE@RBRICK figure through this collaboration.
Collaboration Planning and Launch
Although a 100% version of the BE@RBRICK Pogola was originally released in December 2016 as a part of the Series 33 release, the 400% version of Pogola was created in October 2017 as a limited release that was sold exclusively at Medicom Toy’s Project 1/6 store. Project 1/6 was first opened in 1997 and offers a variety of Medicom Toy exclusive goods that cannot be purchased anywhere else.
BE@RBRICK Pogola 400%
This unique product recreates DAN’s first original kaiju design known as Pogola as a massive BE@RBRICK figure. Although many colorful iterations of Pogola have found their way to the market, this BE@RBRICK figure sports Pogola’s yellow design. Aside from the bright yellow color, this figure features Pogola’s fluffy tufts of fur, pointy teeth, and sleepy eyes. The bear-shaped ears of the figure also show off the kaiju’s characteristic magenta horns, which, much like its matching claws, add a bit of color variety. Like most other BE@RBRICK figures, the arms and legs are articulated, allowing its user to change up its pose a bit. Those that are fans of kaiju will definitely want to add this unique entry to their collections.
- Product Name: BE@RBRICK Pogola 400%
- Manufacturer: Medicom Toy
- Specifications: Painted and articulated plastic figure
- Height (Approx.): 280 mm
About DAN
DAN is a Japanese kaiju designer and sculptor that was born in Fukuoka in 1987. After enrolling in Musashino Art University’s industrial design program in 2008, DAN began creating their own figures that they would later submit to art exhibits. The first example of this happened in 2009, where DAN submitted his first figure to the Tiny Toys Exhibition, an art festival held by Musashino Art University. DAN would later go on to create a variety of different kaiju through Medicom Toy’s soft vinyl figure line, Sofvi Tokyo.
About DAN’s Pogola
Pogola is one of the kaiju that were created by DAN, who strove to create unique monsters that live just out of sight of the human world. This design would later go on to be recreated as a vinyl figure. As time went on, Pogola received an incredible number of limited releases that featured a variety of different color variations from simple solid colors to incredibly intricate palettes with beautiful finishes and gradients. Some fans of Pogola enjoy collecting many of the unique figures of the lovable monster.
Other Important DAN Works
Although Pogola is DAN’s most prominent monster, they have gone on to create several other kaiju. A few of these monsters are showcased below.
Poundy Moo
Poundy Moo is a kaiju with several bear-like features, like rounded ears on top of its head, a short muzzle with fangs poking out from the bottom, sharp claws on its legs and feet, and small button eyes. That said, Poundy Moo is considerably taller and lankier than an average bear and has a pair of long horns that grow straight out of its head. Like Pogola, an impressive number of different iterations of Poundy Moo have been released as soft vinyl figures, making the kaiju quite popular among collectors and fans of DAN’s work.
Panda Moo
This kaiju was created by DAN as a collaborative effort between DAN and adFunture. It acts as a hybrid with features of DAN’s Poundy Moo and adFunture’s Fire Panda, resulting in a unique monster. Panda Moo has the long horns of Poundy Moo and the body of Fire Panda. The clear blue body has a red flame pattern on its stomach that contrasts perfectly with the yellow and red horns, which creates a figure with a wonderfully balanced aesthetic.
Other Related Figures
Medicom Toys has also released a pair of BE@RBRICK figures of Negora, a cat kaiju created by Konatsuya. This adorable cat monster is available in both 100% and 400% sizes and were both released in 2018. The soft vinyl figures of Negora are often shown alongside Pogola and Poundy Moo. As such, many collectors of soft vinyl figures often associate them fairly closely.