S.H. MonsterArts Iris

The second late August pre-order I received was the S.H. MonsterArts Iris, the tentacled phoenix Gamera foe from the 3rd film in the 90's trilogy. Gamera III: Revenge of Iris (aka The Incomplete Struggle) was my favorite film in that series. It was a dark, apocalyptic tale about trauma and revenge, that saw the Gardian of the Universe suddenly behaving in a different manner, having severed the connection with humanity and causing him to kill his enemies with little regard for human casualties. The scene where he fights 2 small Gyaos in the busy Shibuya district was both spectacular and horrific, as multiple people are blown up and killed by Gamera's napalm attack. A young girl named Ayana, who's parents were killed during the 1995 film, finds a baby monster and raises it as her weapon of vengeance against the giant turtle, as she blames him for the death of her parents. The monster Iris was quite a sight to behold, an arresting, weird beast that resembled some type of Lovecraftian horror, with its long tentacles, strange insect-like face, wings and overall unusual features. When Tamashii Nations announced that they were going to release this kaiju in their MonsterArts line, I had to have it. Now that I own this bizarre beast in hand, I have some mixed feelings about it. In some ways it's great, in others, it's kind of a burden.

As far as sculpt and paint, Tamashii Nations did a fantastic job in accurately capturing this creature's appearance. The translucent blue parts on its torso and upper thighs are quite arresting, as is its beak-like face with yellow orb inside. Iris sports spiked hands, spikes on its shins and calves, pointed wings, long tentacles that end in claws, and its feet resemble some kind of cross between horse hooves and platform heels. Every part of its body is strikingly detailed. For accessories, included are a base and stand with several extensions for both displaying the figure in regular form, and for displaying it in flight form. 4 flight tentacles that are split with a translucent blue membrane, alternate spikes for its shins and calves, and claw ends for each tentacle. They went all out to make sure to include every possible thing to make this figure complete.

And now, about the flight mode. Boy, did I find it time consuming and quite cumbersome to switch out all the parts and get Iris onto that flight stand. You have to first build the base with all its extensions, then pull out all 4 tentacles and replace them with the flight ones. Add the claw sections to each end of the tentacle, replace the calf spikes with smaller ones, take out the shin spikes, bend the knee all the way back, then attach the other knee spikes, then get the figure onto the base. The flight tentacles are hard plastic and quite heavy, so you have to take your time to carefully prop each one onto the stand. The base seat that holds the figure's body was loose, so I needed to use a small screwdriver to tighten it, otherwise it kept wanting to fall forward and collapse due to the weight of the figure. Iris looks fantastic once it's on the stand, but getting there can be quite a pain. It probably would've helped if they made the flight tentacles a softer, lighter plastic.

As for the articulation, that's also a bit of a challenge. Iris sports a ball jointed neck, a ball jointed head, multiple ball joints on each tentacle, ball pegs on the end claws that allow them to open and close, ball jointed waist, hinged ball joint shoulders and thighs, single jointed, swiveled elbows, double jointed knees, ball jointed ankles and "toes", and ball joints throughout its wings on its shoulders and back. The figure is able to stand on its own, but due to the heaviness of the torso, you have to position the legs just right to support the weight. The stand helps to hold Iris up well, but you also have to carefully align the support under its body at just the right angle to achieve that. Due to the multiple joints on the tentacles, you need to move them slowly and carefully or they can pop out. Luckily, they're not as bad or delicate as Biollante's tentacles. One segment on mine kept popping out easily, so I applied some heat to the ball peg, re-attached it, and let it sit for a few minutes, allowing it to cool down and reshape into a better grip. That seemed to help. The claw ends on each tentacle are attached by a small ball peg, so you have to be careful when opening them, as pulling too hard can cause them to pop out. Since they're small pieces, you also have to be wary of them accidentally falling and getting lost. The shin spikes can also pop out if you brush against them, so that's also something to watch for. The best way to articulate the figure is to hold onto the torso firmly with one hand, then use the other to move the tentacles, head, arms, or whichever body part you want to pose, otherwise the legs will slide open or backwards, due to its hefty weight. Iris is a figure that you have to be patient with as far moving the joints, otherwise, you may run into problems.

S.H. MonsterArts Iris is a gorgeous, beautifully sculpted and painted figure. While the articulation is good and can achieve some dynamic poses, extra care is needed to ensure that everything stays in place. The first day I had the figure, I found myself easily frustrated. But once I figured out that this one needed some TLC, I was better able to pose it with less issues. Ultimately, I do like this figure, I just wish the joints weren't so finicky, and that switching it into flight mode wasn't such a chore. I've always longed for a 1968 MonsterArts version of the Gamera foe Viras, an upright, tentacled space squid, but given how Tamashii Nations tends to do tentacles, I can easily see that figure turning out a possible QC nightmare, so perhaps that dream is best not realized. Iris' issues prevent it from being a must-have release, which is a bit disappointing after the double whammy of winners they had with Gigan and Gamera Rebirth.