Ever look
back and wonder why you bought something? Purchased
an item that you can't fathom why you thought you
needed it? That sums up my feelings for this figure,
which was a reissue of the original that was released
in 1999, although with a slightly different paint
job. To be honest, I think it was mostly the novelty
of the fact that Gamera was being included in Bandai's
Movie Monster series, since the line of toys
was otherwise solely dedicated to Toho owned properties.
Whatever the reason was, this fairly lackluster
figure stumbled into my possession and now into
the spotlight for a fairly critical look at the
toy.
I guess I should start off by saying that I will
probably be a little unfair to the figure. It's
not horrible or even bad. What it suffers from is
that, even during its original release, Gamera was
enjoying some stellar toys from companies like X-Plus
and even Sega. Bandai's effort, in the six inch
line, always felt inadequate. It just never measured
up, for a variety of reasons that I will go into.
Now I never quite liked the "mohawk" type
look that Gamera sported in Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris (1999), but it was
never as overt as it is on this figure. Quite frankly,
it's a fairly distracting feature on the head. The
paint job on the claws is also haphazard. Although
really, this is nothing new, as many of Bandai's
toys display similar issues. If one is going to
talk proportions too, the shell here is a bit too
small here, although to be fair it doesn't look
awkward or anything.
My biggest complaint with this figure, though,
has always been the chest. Now the suit has a chest
plate that is, in color, fairly close to the rest
of Gamera's body. Bandai felt the need to make it
stand out, though, and so colored it golden. They
did the same thing with the 1996 Gamera toy they
released for Gamera
2: Advent of Legion (1996), but it looks
even stranger on this more "dark" version
of the character. What's sad, though, is that this
reissue of the toy is even worse in this regard.The
original at least had some of the coloring splashed
on the neck area. It was lazy painting, but its
absence here causes a distinct problem: it makes
the orange look almost shirt-like. It really does.
Look at the head on shot. Thanks to the fact that
the color was sprayed on his whole chest, and that
his arms and head were separate pieces that didn't
get sprayed, makes it look like Gamera is wearing
a unflatteringly tight shirt.
Overall, its a lackluster figure. The fact that
there are better alternatives to the market, not
only for the character but this version of Gamera
as well, makes it easier to be critical of the faults.
Suffice to say, despite the harsh words leveled
against it here, it would be far from an "abomination"
in anyone's collection, and does fit well alongside
the Toho figures already in the six inch scale.
Rating:  |
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