SH MONSTERARTS GODZILLA (1972) | Figure Review

With so many anniversaries of the Showa Era films coming up in recent years, it makes me giddy seeing Tamashii Nations putting effort into making figures based on the characters from them. Weather it's making my dreams come true with a Showa Gigan and FINALLY giving us a Jet Jaguar figure.
But what of the Big G himself from those respective films? Most Godzilla figures coming out have ranged from the Heisei era to the more recent MonsterVerse films and Minus One.
Where's my Minus One review you ask? I'll tell ya when the Blu-ray comes out in the US.

And then this figure came out!


When it comes to Showa Godzilla figures in the SH MonsterArts line, we've had two 1964's (MosuGoji), a 1954 (ShodaiGoji) and a 1962 (KingGoji). While they're all good figures in they're own right, I think it's safe to say some liberties were taken with the designs, weather it be size or sculpt.

For this 1972 Godzilla, or SoshingekiGoji, I'd say the sculptors did a damn good job capturing the appearance of this suit.
I mean, I could be pedantic and say "If this is supposed to be the 1972 suit, where are the tears on the arms and dangly pieces as a result of this suit being used and abused in 4 consecutive films?" But I'm willing to believe this was done to make it an all purpose SoshingekiGoji suit as well as to help it pair better with the recent Gigan figure, which it does!
Admittedly, this isn't my favorite Showa Godzilla design, but still, the sculpt is pretty great.

The head looks appropriately fierce, the eyes are painted nicely and the teeth look so good. I know some people would have preferred it if this figure's mouth could close all the way so we couldn't see the teeth, but me? I'm more than happy to see those chompers out!

The rest of the body looks great and the paint is once again on point with the charcoal grey with a greenish tint applied to it. 
The claws have an appropriate boney color to them and look nice. 

And we can't forget about Godzilla's iconic dorsal fins that in the later part of the Showa series always looked poofy to me. Sculpt and paint is very nice!

Before we get into articulation, let me answer your first question:

Yes, he can! And it is GLORIOUS!

Head and neck can move up/down, look left/right and tilt side to side. 
Godzilla's mouth can open up widely enough, but when the mouth is closed, you'll likely notice this gap between the Jaw and the neck. Could the really not have added some more material there to make the gap less noticeable?
Yet another reason why I keep the mouth on this guy open.
DON'T. TRY. MOVING. THE. TOUNGE! Just trust me on this!

Arms can fully rotate and the shoulder and move in and out. When the arms move out, you'll notice some extra pieces inside to avoid an awkward armpit gap.

Godzilla's body can tilt side to side and is able to lean very far forward thanks to that mid torso joint that I love very much. Helps with the fin gaps.

Speaking of the fins, the fin you see above is on a hinge that can move back and forth. I don't know if that was necessary, but it is a commendable addition. It doesn't have the tightest connection though, so keep that in mind. 

Legs move forward and backward, as well as move in and out at the waist where we once again have extra pieces to prevent thigh gaps. The Knees bend and the feet can move up/down, rotate and pivot.

I'm sure you've seen the flexibility of the tail, it can do all the things you'd want an SH MonsterArts tail to do.

And the joints on this tail are so tight that not only can they hold their position no problem, but you can stand this figure up on the tail and it will support the weight! How amazing is that?!

Surprisingly, this Godzilla figure does come with an accessory. An extra head with blood paint on it to mimic the aftermath of Godzilla getting smacked on the head by Gigan's hooks. 
The head is cool, but at this point, I think we're overdue for an updated Atomic Breath effect. 

When it comes down to it, I'd say this is the best and finest Showa Era Godzilla figure in the SH MonsterArts line. 
I only hope future Godzilla figures can follow the standards set by this guy. I'd love to see a MegaroGoji figure announced in the near future with this same level of engineering. 

Till next time, I have been your host Gryphon

and thank you for joining me here in my lair.

So long...

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