After years of waiting, Tamashii Nations finally decided to give its MonsterArts fans an articulated Jet Jaguar. It ended up being the version from the anime Godzilla: Singular Point, and not the much-loved original from the 1973 film Godzilla vs. Megalon. While this newly updated design of the robot didn't immediately wow me, once I saw him in action during SP (probably the best scenes of that drawn-out borefest), he grew on me. Now that I have the figure in hand, I find myself pleasantly impressed. This guy is fantastic.
This version of the beloved robot has a bulky, thick torso, with small head and thin arms and legs. Hands are now replaced with 3-fingered claws, and he sports red wire that coils around his calves. His color scheme is the same as the original, sporting red, yellow and blue amid an off-white base. They seem to have added a light tan coat to his head and the white segment of his body, to give it a weathered appearance. His face is pretty much the same as his '73 counterpart, sporting mechanical blue eyes and that big, goofy smile, as well as folded antennas on the side of his head. His new look is very cartoonish, but that's part of what gives this modern update its charm.
His accessories include a jet pack that can be mounted on his back, a flight mode jet pack that sports 2 large propellers, an alternate set of antennas that can be displayed sticking out, 3 pairs of hands (spread fingers, pointing, and curled), his weapon which is the Anguirus spear, made from one of the kaiju's spikes, and a small, single colored Yun Arikawa figure as well as a seat that can be mounted onto the robot's back so that he can ride along. Despite being a solid green, the Yun figure is decently sculpted and actually has articulated arms, legs and knees, unlike the tiny Jet Jaguar accessories that were included with the Godzilla Ultima figure. The hands/claws can easily attach via a peg, and the Anguirus spear is highly detailed and painted. It comes in two pieces that attach together for the figure to hold it. One thing to note is that the "spear" part of the weapon is quite heavy, so you'll most likely need a stand to keep it up, as those skinny arms won't be strong enough to hold it, or pose it in a manner that supports its weighty end. The flight mode jet pack also clips into his back, and comes with a clear stand to help balance it. As for the alternate antennas, they can easily clip onto holes on the side of his head, you'll just have to be extra cautious, as they are very tiny and can easily get lost if you were to drop one. Tamashii Nations seem to have put a lot of effort with his accessories, something that is both welcome and appreciated.
His articulation is where Jet Jaguar soars, easily living up to his icon status. His head is on a ball joint, and he sports multiple hinge and swivel joints throughout his shoulders, arms, thighs, legs and feet. His torso is connected to his tiny waist via a swivel hinge joint, so his body can achieve a decent range forward, backward, and side to side motion. Each of his individual propellers can spin, and where the wings are mounted on the jet pack, there's a hinge that allows them to turn all the way around. There's also a small hinged wing on each side, to control the direction of flight, like on airplanes. The amount of fun, unique poses that can be achieved will have you playing with him for hours, as pretty much every posing idea that you can think up can be done. This has got to be one of the most expressive robots Tamashii Nations have given us in the MonsterArts line. Stiff piece of metal he most definitely is not.
S.H. MonsterArts SP Jet Jaguar turned out to be an impressive surprise. Despite what it may look like in the promo pics, its not until you have the actual figure in your hand that you can truly assess whether its a hit or a miss. JJ has always been one of my favorite Godzilla characters, and Tamashii Nations have made me fall in love with his upgraded anime version. He's one of their best releases.
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