In Ultraman Arc Episode 2, “Legend in the Woods”, fans were introduced to the Ancient Kaiju, Leodo, a real rotten guy. (That’s a better joke than you might think, but we’ll get to that later.) A creature buried since antiquity, land development unearthed the oddly-architectural soles of Leodo’s feet, and once it felt the sun, it was sure to rise again!
Leodo is an interesting Kaiju, not just in general, but specifically in the context of the world of Ultraman Arc. Before anything else, it has been established from the earliest moments of the series that Kaiju started appearing on K-Day, 16 years before the present day. And yet, here’s Leodo, explicitly referred to in legends from 1200 years ago. What does this actually mean for the world of Ultraman Arc? It’s hard to say — all that’s truly clear is that SKIP and the GDF, the prime monster-fighting forces, may not actually know everything they think they do…
As for Leodo itself, it’s a bit of a curious beast — clearly elephantine with its trunk and tusks, there is an undeniably saurian quality to the beast as well, with its multiple spines and its lower body. In many ways, the creature bears similarities to the Bodyguard Monster, Black King… Probably just a coincidence!
Leodo’s physicality is a major part of its offensive capabilities. More so than the Shagong that Ultraman Arc battled previously, Leodo is a brawler, swinging violently at anything in its way and, during the battle with Arc, knocking him to the ground and mercilessly whaling on him. In addition, it is capable of generating gale-force winds by sucking in air through its trunk. Beyond that, the creature seems to generate some sort of corrosive, toxic mud within its body that it can expel through its tusks. It’s very volatile, capable of melting metal and setting it ablaze!
This mud, in practice, honestly seems to have a reaction similar to battery acid upon contact with air. Perhaps this is how Leodo is able to discharge electricity through the horn on its head, rotating forward to do so. Perhaps its body is filled with sulfates…?
The creation of this mud seems to be a core element of Leodo’s body chemistry, which is clearly volatile itself. This is proven by Leodo’s primary weakness, a mix of herbs synthesized by the ancient peoples who sealed it away 1200 years ago. Back then, it was enough to send it into hibernation long enough for an entire forest to be built on top of it — when SKIP used it in the modern day, a single jar’s worth was enough to have a major reaction, causing it to stumble and weaken as though inebriated — so much so that it fell into a pit again!
More than simply territorial, Leodo also seemed to be somewhat actively malicious towards nature around it. In the past, it received a bad reputation for making the land fallow, and it clearly finds greenery disgusting — or at least distasteful. Upon trying to consume a tree, it found the taste disgusting, and spat it out!
Thankfully, all of this speculation is fairly unnecessary now, as Leodo is no more, exploding as it fell through a bottomless pit at the hands of Ultraman Arc. Still, such a unique creature deserves attention for its unique capabilities and behaviors, right?
Next week, we’ll take a look at the biology of a very different sort of Kaiju from Leodo.
A Space Kaiju.
See you then!
