Number twenty-one in Revoltech’s Sci-Fi line is Toho’s 2nd giant monster, Anguirus. A loyal friend to Godzilla with a tenacious fighting style, Anguirus has become one of a beloved kaiju among fans. Plus, I’m also hoping that between his and Rodan’s inclusion in the line, Godzilla can’t be too far behind.
In 1955, Godzilla returned to the big screen in Godzilla Raids Again, but this time he wasn’t alone. Toho upped the stakes by giving him his first monster to fight, Anguirus. Based on a mutated Ankylosaurus, Anguirus fought the Big G to a near standstill until he got his throat ripped out. (It is Godzilla’s movie after all.) But Anguirus got better and he and Godzilla made amends, becoming the best of monster friends. Now he’s got Godzilla’s back in any fight, and he’s even helped save the world a couple times.
One of the things that make me love Anguirus is his characterization on the TV show Godzilla Island. Still a tough fighter and loyal friend to Godzilla, Anguirus has a more emotional personality. To offset his thick hide, the writers gave his ego thin skin. Anguirus is super sensitive and easily becomes depressed when yelled at or insulted. Giving the character an Eeyore-like complex is hilarious and makes him more than just a giant lizard of destruction.
Being one of the original Toho three I was happy to get Anguirus, but I never realized how cool he would be. Sculpted by Takuma Katsuo, Anguirus is one of the larger kaiju in the line so far. His already bulky body is given even more heft by the giant spiked carapace on his back, and his huge tail is longer than his entire body. The only figure that’s more massive than him is Moguera.
I was also really happy with Anguirus’ sculpt. He’s given that realistic/man-in-suit look that I like. His underbelly is crisscrossed with skin folds while scales cover his arms, legs, and tail. His face has this perfect annoyed look to it and his mouth is so detailed they even sculpted a uvula at the back of his throat.
Anguirus’ body is made out of normal hard plastic, while his carapace and most of his tail are rubbery. I figured his spiky back would have to be soft so it wouldn’t impale any hands, but what surprised me is that he also has spikes on his fore arms and ankles. To fit into his box, Anguirus’ right arm and leg come detached. When you go to place them onto the figure, the little spikes become tiny torture devices for your fingers. Also, the large spike at the tip of his tail, with the three smaller ones coming off of it, is hard plastic and can easily impale your hand if you grab it by the wring place.
Anguirus’ paint scheme is very basic. He’s molded in a light gray while a black dry wash was used to highlight all the sculpted gaps between his scales. His spikes were given a light tan look, while his claws are darker and yellowish. His teeth are all white, while his gums and tongue look wet with a glossy red. Even his giant eyes were given a gloss to look more realistic. Continue to Page Two….
Way I figure it, there’s a couple of potential holdups with making a Godzilla.
A. Toho wants tons more of the license. After all, he IS the key star of the Toho Kaiju galaxy, right?
B. Just WHICH look does one pick to make the one Godzilla? I’d vote something around the ‘Destroy All Monsters’ period but I know the ‘Vs. Mothra’ folk have a loud voice, and then of course the more ape-ish First Godzilla.
I have lots of faith the Revoltech guys could find a way to make a fusion of all the Showa era Godzillas that would rock. 🙂
When all is said and done, I think I’d like a Godzilla figure from the Showa, Heisei, and Millennium series. That way we can get his different looks over time. Also, and this may sound blasphemous to some, I’d like to get a version of Zilla, the American Godzilla. Zilla has her own unique look, plus she was in Final Wars and one of the video games if I remember correctly.
Oh, in a perfect world I’d love every variation of Godzilla made. 🙂
I don’t know what it was about the MM era but the only memorable look for Godzilla for me was Final Wars. he just had that completely ripped bad-ass look going on, like Hulkster in his prime. Throw anything at him, he didn’t care!
*ahem* sorry. I know Final Wars is a point of contention to some but I thought it was pretty cool. ‘Course, they could have canned about 80% of that mutant nonsense and given us more kaiju…
BTW, I didn’t say it, another excellent review. I suspect you are the first person ever to put the Markalite in a monster’s hand and have him go ‘Pew! Pew!’. 🙂
Also, I suspect the Revoltech King Ghidora would be epic.
Thanks. King Ghidorah will be awesome! I hope he’s huge.
i want the matt broderick movie version!
Me too. Zilla gets too much hate. She may not be Godzilla, but she’s still a kaiju in my opinion.
Based on what little I remember about my conversation with the guys at Kaiyodo’s “Tokusatsu Revoltech Team” last summer:
Godzilla is in the works, but Toho is reluctant to issue a license for their most precious property.
Toho wants to avoid any confrontations with Bandai – the largest and most powerful toy manufacturer in Japan. Other manufacturers that have released Godzilla products are either small enough not to have been caught on Bandai’s radar, or they have actually been granted a license by Bandai.
Kaiyodo has made other figures (such as Transformers) under license from TakaraTomy, but Bandai isn’t as willing to share their licenses with other major manufacturers.
To date, all of the Godzilla monsters released by Kaiyodo have actually had movies of their own, without Godzilla. This technically makes them non-Godzilla monsters, not requiring any Godzilla license for Kaiyodo and no obligation for Toho to grant such license.
With the release of Gaigan in February as well as Jet Jaguar planned in the near future, it is thought only a matter of time until Megalo and Godzilla licenses are granted. My guess is that Bandai never got the license for that particular movie, or they let that license run out (I think I used to own a vinyl figure of Jet Jaguar, manufactured by Popy – which was bought out by Bandai).
My guess would be that the first Revoltech Godzilla would either be a vs Megalo version or a conglomorated Showa hybrid.
That’s pretty interesting. Hopefully at WonderFest they’ll have some good news to report. Megalon is a must. I wouldn’t mind that version of Godzilla, but I’d also like to get his other looks.
Do you think they’ll be able to make unique characters from the Godzilla Island TV show like Firefighter and Medical Jet Jaguar or unique characters like Gororin (even though he’d be super lame)?
Sir Reviewer, what material is the SY-3 made out of? Soft PVC/rubber, or hard ABS plastic?
Sorry about that, I should have mentioned it in the review. Both the SY-3 and the smoke trail are made out of hard plastic.
I recently got Anguirus as well and I love him. So far the only Kaiju Revoltechs I have are him and Gamera, but I really want Baragon and the rest. I also have Gigan pre-ordered because he’s by far my favorite. I assume you’ll buy and review him too?
Definitely getting Gigan. He looks fantastic already. Baragon’s pretty cool too. I like Anguirus more, but Baragon has this doofy look on his face that I love. That’s why I have him waving hello in those group shots. He’s like a big dumb happy kaiju, lol.