Watching
my second favorite Showa Godzilla movie, Godzilla
vs. Gigan (1972), I decided what better time
than to review one of my many Gigan figures. The one
I choose I decided will be the first reviewed American
Bandai toy released, the Gigan released in 2002 along
with Godzilla '54, Burning Godzilla, and Rainbow Mothra.
Like all Bandais, Gigan is a slick representation of
his movie counterpart, and surprisingly, this model
seems to be based more on the Gigan from Godzilla
vs. Megalon (1973) rather than
the original 1972 version. The Space Hunter cyborg
stands at a nice six inches and sports movable legs,
arms, tail, and head, allowing Gigan to be placed in
various poses like his Japanese figure counterpart.
For the most part, this release of Gigan is pretty
good, but there are a few flaws.
For some reason, instead of being the bluish color
Gigan he appears in the 1972 movie, he has been painted
green. Also, while some may not be aware of this, both
the Showa era Gigan's tail ended in a silver spike-like
object. The kaiju never used it in battle, but even
the Trendmasters release of Gigan featured the tail
spike. Another note to mention about this Gigan is
its sails details, or lack there of. Gigan has his
infamous three sails that allow him to fly, but they
are hardly detailed like the rest of the figure.
I do have to thank Bandai for making this Gigan no
so soft as the original release. While he is still
made of vinyl, it is much more hard than the Japanese
release and doesn't squeeze inward as easily. Speaking
of the two, most collectors are advised to try and
track down both releases. While the figure released
in Japan is modeled strictly after the Godzilla
vs. Gigan version, the American release has been done up
to look more like the 1973 Godzilla
vs. Megalon version.
I believe this makes it the first time the 1973 Gigan
has been released in the form of a six inch figure.
Sadly, Bandai America has yet to release a Megalon
to go with him.
In the end, Bandai America could have started better.
Gigan may not be the worst figure of the cyborg, but
it isn't the best either. The wrong colors used for
his non-golden hide and lack of tail spike lower the
rating a bit, and the lack of detail on the sails is
just inexcusable. Thankfully Bandai America has amped
up their talents a bit for their later releases seem
to be much better.
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