A special color version of the incarnation from Godzilla: Final Wars (2004), this "Death Trigger" variant was created by the same person responsible for Gigan's 2004 redesign, Yasushi Nirasawa, and is a recolor of Bandai's more movie-faithful Chogokin Gigan 2005 release. Despite its relatively simple appearance, there is quite a bit that can be done with this figure.
Details
From the "tubes" running along its arms and legs, to the armor plating on its shoulders and thighs, Gigan is about as accurate to the original suit as it can get, and it looks stunning up close. The body armor is also littered with tiny dents that add to the detailed look of the figure. While some of this detail may be a bit obscured due to the gloss coating the body, it's hard not to admire the close attention put into the sculpt. Also, Gigan has a surprising amount of heft to him due to the use of diecast parts, so once you set this figure down, it won't be going anywhere so easily.
Articulation
One of the main highlights of this figure, Gigan has a decent amount of articluation available, whether in its base form or modified appearance. The upper arms can rotate in their sockets back and forth with great range, while the lower arms can bend at the elbow 90 degrees inward. The leftmost and rightmost back fins can be spread apart from the middle back fin around 45 degrees. Sadly, the legs are much more limited, as the upper legs can kick back and forth about 25 degrees, while at the knees the lower legs can kick back and forth about 10 degrees. At the very least, the legs can nearly do the splits, being able to spread apart about 45 degrees. The feet can be rotated in place nearly 360 degrees, and have a little wiggle room to be adjusted up or down.
Probably the two most disappointing points of articulation are with the mouth and the tail. The mouth barely opens 5 to 10 degrees for any of the forms, and has a bad habit of just shutting closed if not propped open all the way. The tail is divided into 5 segments, but the base part connected to the body cannot be moved at all. The four remaining segments can sweep to the left and right around 45 degrees, but the tail can barely lift off the ground due to the red metallic plating on the tail limiting the articulation. Most of the figure's movement issues can be attributed to the design of its own body working against it, such as the protruding parts on its calves or the jutting armor pieces on its shoulders preventing a wider range of motion for its legs and arms respectively. Still, the figure has a satisfying amount of movement as is, though I do wish there was a way to rotate the neck or head.
Accessories
When taken straight out of the box, instead of being pre-assembled, Gigan has to be built using an assortment of pieces. The base form of Gigan is the one primarily being advertised, but he also comes with several extras that allow for a little more flexibility with how he can look on your shelf.
As opposed to having head articulation, Gigan comes with a separate head piece that makes him look skyward as opposed to straight ahead. When used in conjunction with a separate neck piece and with a little tweaking to his arms, legs, and fins, Gigan can be put into a "flying mode" stance. Unfortunately, he does not come with any flight stands, so you will have to make due if you prefer to have him in this form.
The other form Gigan can take is his modified appearance (referred to as the "Power Up Type" on the box). This form utilizes the blood-red chainsaw hands, an upgraded version of the head, a metallic brace placed at the base of the neck, and a neck piece that attaches to the back of the head. While swapping Gigan's hands and head is easy enough, the piece that attaches to the back of his neck seems to have an issue with remaining locked in place, and had a habit of falling off when the figure was moved around. This could very well be user error, but just be gentle when messing around with poses for the modified form.
Paint
The biggest draw for this figure is its color scheme, and does it look stunning! In particular, the vibrant red on its claws, head spikes, toes, and metallic tail end piece have a brilliant sheen that cannot be captured properly in photos. The black and red colors mesh together strangely well with the dark magenta portions of Gigan's wings and visor, giving the monster a unique flair. Despite only having silver on its beak and mandibles, the colors are integrated nicely and don't stand out at all, instead naturally complementing the rest of the body.
Overall
Despite some of my personal gripes with the articulation, this "Death Trigger" version of Gigan is still beautifully crafted and fun to pose. Even if this had been a statue, I would have been just as satisfied with the sculpt and colors, so the added articulation and swappable form pieces were major bonuses. As this figure has long been removed from retail circulation, if you are a casual collector, I'd say pick this up if you can find it at a reasonable price, if only for the novelty. But for fans of the monster, this is a very easy recommendation!
**Below are a number of bonus images. Note some photos used camera flash to bring out darker details of the figure.**
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