Skip to main content

S.H. Monster Arts Godzilla 2004 (Final Wars)


The final pre-order from late April was delivered this week, Godzilla 2004. Which is fitting, since he’s from the film Final Wars, the last live action movie that Toho produced before taking a 12-year hiatus, finally ending with 2016's Shin Godzilla . They next went on to do 4 anime films, but the less said about them, the better. 




Like the film he’s from, this Godzilla arrived with his share of controversy; mainly complaints from certain customers about his quality control. The 2004 suit had long been a fan favorite (unlike the movie, which is either loved or hated), and fans had been making their wishes known for Tamashii Nations to finally give us a sculpt of this version. Well they finally did, and his articulation was alleged to be much more expressive than previous releases. And that is where the issues arose. Some collectors gave reports of the figure easily falling apart every time they attempted a pose, while others claimed to have gotten one with tight joints that stayed on. This caused anxiety in those of us who hadn’t yet received their figure, praying that we’d get a good one. When mine was finally delivered this week, I was able to breath a sigh of relief when it didn’t collapse like a poorly constructed house of cards.




So let me begin this review by talking about his impressive articulation. This Godzilla can achieve quite a few surprising poses, such as kneeling on one leg, a full sit, and that famous superhero landing pose. This is due to larger gaps that allow for wider range, and a few extra ball joints in his arms, ankles, and neck. He’s also made of a softer vinyl, so you’re better able to move his upper torso and waist for turns and ab crunches. I had a lot of fun playing with him, as he’s just so expressive.










While the impressive articulation causes him to have more visible gaps, this can be countered by rearranging his limbs, including a floating piece on his neck, to better conceal those gaps. 



His eyes are painted well, although his right temple seems to be thicker. I’m not sure if that was on purpose or not. His lower teeth are painted ok, but his upper row contains a bit too much gum bleed, as if he’s been eating some kind of sticky, purplish candy. His dorsal spines have a slight blue hue that’s subtle but stands out in certain angles. The rest of his body is the classic grey, with bone yellow nails and toes. Overall his sculpt is on point, accurate to the much slimmer suit.









I guess since Tamashii Nations gave us great articulation, they felt no need to include any accessories. While others felt an atomic breath beam or extra hands would have been nice additions, I think a small Gotenko ship would have been a great extra, but nooooo! Another missed opportunity from the Monster Arts line. Imagine that?








Despite being yet another bare bones release, S.H. Monster Arts Godzilla 2004 is a really fun figure that you’ll have a blast messing with, provided you get a good one that doesn’t collapse to pieces like the Tokyo tower in so many films. I lucked out in that department, hopefully you do, too.








Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ultraman Omega finale

Episode 25, the series finale of Ultraman Omega aired this Friday. From the very first episode I was hooked, and the series continued to maintain a high quality until the surprisingly emotional end. Sorato (Omega) regained all his memories, learning that he was one of many Space Gazers, who's job is to watch a planet and not interfere with any wars between the species (in Earth's case, humans and kaiju). A space Gazer's job is to observe, study and take notes, to learn from a planet's successes and mistakes, in the hopes of finding the right formula to achieve universal peace. Having returned to his previous role as simply a watcher, Kosei, Ayumu and Sayuki were forced to rely on themselves and their team to defeat the powerful kaiju Zomera. As he continued to watch the battle, Sorato/Omega found himself wrestling with the inactive role he was meant to do and his memories of the friendships he had forged with the others, as well as the examples of human kindness he had ...
Post a Comment
Read more

S.H. Figuarts Father of Ultra

Last week I received the latest SHF Showa Ultra figure, the one and only Father of Ultra, who made his debut in the series Ultraman Ace. He’s the 1st of the two Ultra related August releases I had pre-ordered (the other being Ace Killer). Father of Ultra is easily recognized by the huge horns on his head. The rest of his body is the standard red and silver color scheme that the other original Ultra brothers have (different colors wouldn’t be introduced until Ultraman Tiga decades later). Bandai did a fine job in capturing his look, much more accurate than the highly stylized Ultra Act version, which made him quite muscular. For his accessories, he comes with 6 pairs of hands (fists, two sets of holding, 2 sets of flat/karate chop, and grappling). He has an extra right flat hand that shoots out his signature beam, called the Father Shot. What makes this different from other releases is that the beam and hand are 2 separate pieces, with a clear plastic peg on the side of the fingers that...
Post a Comment
Read more

Help Me… I’m Possessed (1974) / #Missingcouple (2024)

I've watched some weird, obscure horror movies throughout my life. I can now add this lurid 1974 schlockfest to that growing list. In a castle in the desert, Dr. Arthur Blackwood runs a sanitarium filled with mentally disturbed patients (as well as staff). He claims to be working on finding a way to cure people of any violent tendencies they have, and brags about his younger sister, innocent, child-like Melanie, as evidence that his treatment works. When she was a child, their parents had to keep her locked up and chained in the basement, to control her violent fits. Now that he's cured her, Arthur has his wife Diane come to the castle to meet Melanie, so that they can be one big, happy family. Diane begins to grow suspicious that something is amiss after a Sheriff shows up investigating the murder of 2 local teens, and sets about on her own investigation, hoping to uncover the sinister secrets that she feels her husband is hiding. Help Me... I'm Possessed is an outrageous,...
Post a Comment
Read more