Bandai Ultra Action Kanegon

It's been a long time since I purchased a figure from Bandai's Ultra Action line, but when I saw that they released an articulated Kanegon, even before S.H. Figuarts, I had to order one myself. Now I have him in hand, in all his goofy glory.

Kanegon made his debut in episode 15 of Ultra Q, the series that preceded Ultraman. A greedy young boy named Kaneo Kaneda found a magical cocoon that swallowed and transformed him into a coin eating monster. Despite not appearing in any other Ultra series during the Showa era, Kanegon remained popular among fans. He eventually returned in later shows, including Ultraman Z and most recently Ultraman Arc, where he was an AI character that kept swallowing currency. His head is wide and resembled a sort of seashell, though it was originally meant to resemble a coin purse, with the mouth opening being a large zipper. He sports two eyes on tall, narrow stalks atop his head, like a snail, with his body being chubby, with short arms and legs. He's molded in dark gold, with red on the inside of his mouth, and white, orange and black in his eyes. Bandai did a great job in accurately capturing his unique, unusual appearance.

The articulation includes head on a ball joint, eye stalks on a swivel, swivel hinge shoulders and thighs, hinge elbows and knees, a full wrist and bicep swivel, and ball joint ankle rockers. The body is one solid piece, with no torso or waist cut. The section where his eyes are attached to can be pulled out, revealing a small, hollow compartment (perhaps to store small coins?).While he is not the most expressive figure, mostly due to his body shape, he’s able to sit, kneel down on one knee, achieve one-legged stands and running poses. Pretty much most of the moves that the suit could do.

Bandai Ultra Action Kanegon is a fun release. This line, which offered a cheaper alternative to the pricier SHF line, first began releasing various Ultraman figures. They have recently started tackling the kaiju, such as Zetton, King Joe, Gomora and Baltan. All of those monster figures have turned out pretty solid, and Kanegon is equally as impressive. Even if SHF never give us a Kanegon, this release is worth owning, especially if you want a more articulated version of this iconic kaiju. He'll make a great addition to your Ultra collection.

Comments

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 ...

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...

Hiya Godzilla Exquisite Basic 1999

After getting delayed by a few months, Hiya’s Godzilla 1999 has finally dropped. I had preordered it well over a year ago on Kowkis Toys . Once they got their stock in, they shipped it, yet it still took about 3 weeks to arrive. Stuff from China always seems to ship super slow, much more so than from Japan . Either way, I’m happy that it’s finally in my hands. The first thing you notice is just how damn accurate they got the sculpt. It’s almost like they shrunk the actual suit down to action figure size. Godzilla 99/2K is known for his longer snout, larger, lizard like face (gone is the cat look from the Heisei era ), and his very long, jagged dorsal spines. In the films ( Godzilla 2000 and Godzilla x Megaguirus ), the spikes were purple, with a green wash over his body. The spikes on the figure are more metallic red, with no green shading. Still, he looks fantastic, by far the most accurate G99/2K in super articulated form. I’m also impressed with the rock-like scales at the base ...

Musings of an Inkd Geek

Search This Blog