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Writer's pictureStephen Miller

Tokyo Comic Con: S.H. Monsterarts Legendary Godzilla Figures

Updated: Jan 3, 2019



Welcome to PART 2 of my Tokyo Comic Con post. In my last post, we took a look at what was revealed at the Godzilla: King Of The Monsters panel. We got to hear the new rendition of Godzilla's theme song, we saw official concept art, we got a teaser for the new trailer coming out next week, and we got a glimpse of one of the new Godzilla figures from the Tamashii Nations S.H. Monsterarts line. It wasn't only Godzilla that was revealed, but also Rodan, Mothra, and King Ghidorah figures were revealed as well. I honestly expected Godzilla to be the only figure to be revealed, but I am happy to see that Tamashii Nations is doing all of the monsters. How Tamashii Nations made the figures is that they were given a copy of the original 3D graphic files used to make the monsters and used those as a reference. So the figures you are seeing are based on the original 3D models from the movie making these figures screen accurate. So in this post, we are going to take a closer look at the new figures that were revealed at Tokyo Comic Con.


LEGENDARY GODZILLA:



While I did go over this figure in my last post, I only went over the changes in his design compared to his design from his last appearance in the 2014 movie. I really love how the toes are more spread out. Before, they were more clumped together making his feet look stumpy like an elephant's foot or a sauropod's foot. Here, this looks more like the type of feet that Godzilla would have. They still look a little stumpy, but the toes protrude out and are elongated. The dorsal fins look awesome as it looks very close to the original 1954 design. This is just my opinion, but I think the tips on the dorsal fins could curved out a little more, make the tips more pointy, and could use some blue as well. In the trailers, his dorsal fins are always pulsating with light. I think some blue on the dorsal fins could make the figure stand out more. The body is definitely a little bulkier and the head is noticeably a bit bigger as well. One thing I noticed is the tip of the tail is rounded out. The 2014 version was pointy so it can be used to whip his opponents. Not that it matters, but I actually liked the pointy tipped tail from 2014 over this one. Overall, Godzilla looks awesome and I can't wait to see him in action when the movie comes out.


LEGENDARY MOTHRA:



Legendary Mothra is one that I am sort of iffy on. Let's start with the good part about Mothra's design. The wings are really impressive. They look like the wings of the Monarch butterfly. Maybe this is coincidence, but considering that she looks like a Monarch butterfly could it be that the design of her wings is inspired by the people from MONARCH like Madison and Emma? That would be an interesting take with Mothra seeing how a few people can influence how a monster behaves or in this case how Mothra grows from her larval stage to her adult stage.


She does not look like how a moth should look. I think it is mostly because of her arms and legs. They don't typically look like the type of arms and legs that moths would have. Also, she does not look very furry. She looks scaly. The impression I am getting with this design is that Dougherty took a lot of references from the Mothra in GMK: Giant Monsters All Out Attack. It is very obvious from the small eyes, the stinger, being scaly instead of hairy. That is what I am getting from the Legendary Mothra. There are times where Mothra would look more like her evil twin, Battra, from the movie Godzilla And Mothra: The Battle For Earth. She just looks too much like a wasp and that was what Battra was. Out of all of the monsters revealed, Mothra is probably the least traditional looking and my least favorite design so far. I just think that they changed too much of Mothra's design. However, it all comes down to execution and I am going to have to see Mothra in action before I can give a final word on it.


LEGENDARY RODAN:



It's a bird! It's a plane! It's RODAN! It's been so long since Rodan has been a major player in a Godzilla movie. Even though his last appearance was in Godzilla: Final Wars he was knocked away quite easily and didn't make him much of a threat. Now, Rodan can show off what he is really capable of thanks to Michael Dougherty being a huge fan of this monster. Back in July, he gave lots of praise to this monster and wanted to give Godzilla a perfect rival even describing him as flying A-bomb. The design for Legendary Rodan really shows that he really comes from the volcano. Look at the small ridges and scales on his wings and body. He really looks like his body is made out of hardened magma. I know that he is suppose to be based on a pteranodon, but I can't help seeing different types of modern day birds like eagles and vultures, which really helps make this particular version of Rodan stand out from his previous incarnations.



LEGENDARY KING GHIDORAH:



Last, but not least to be revealed, it's the devil with three heads, King Ghidorah. I saved this guy for last because this is the most impressive design and my most favorite design as well. This guy is gigantic and so intimidating. This is the type of monster that you would not want to tangle with. This version is staying very close to the tradional design while at the same time looking like a dragon that you would see in a fantasy story or from legends that you here. However, there is something that I would like to point out.


Despite looking huge and intimidating, King Ghidorah looks like he has a balancing issue. I understand that he would need stands for his wings since they are so large, but he also needs a stand just to keep himself standing. I'm not sure how his body works, but with those legs there is no way that he can stand on his own two feet. Which makes me beg the question how Ghidorah will move around in the movie? Will Ghidorah be like a wyvern and crawl around with his wings or will he fold his wings in or wrap his wings around his body so he can walk on his two feet? Either way, Ghidorah can't simply have his wings spread out while walking like the past incarnations can. He is too top heavy to stand the way he does now. Overall, this monster is probably the largest version to date and he is just so impressive looking and I can not wait to see him in Godzilla: King Of The Monsters.


I actually cannot wait to see all of them in action in the movie. It looks like most of them are in good hands with Michael Dougherty. Like I said I am unsure about Mothra, but I will have to see her in action to make my final call. Will I buy these action figures?...Maybe not. I can see them ranging from $65-$200 USD. I do want to see what NECA has been making as well. I know they are making figures for the movie and I hope that their figures look just as good.


What do you guys think of these reveals? Which monster design do you like the most? Which design do you like the least? Will you be purchasing any of the S.H. Monsterarts figures or are you going to wait to see what NECA reveals? Leave your thoughts in the comment section on my Facebook page and be sure to follow me on my Facebook page and Twitter for more news, reviews, and discussions.

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