In an unorthdox approach, this is a tag team review by myself, Chris Mirjahangir, and longtime site contributor Andrew Nguyen. The review is split into two parts, to get both of our takes on this S.H. MonsterArts release:
Andrew Nguyen
When the SH MonsterArts line first appeared on the scene in early 2011, amongst the first figures presented was the Burning Godzilla from Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995). At the time, it was almost an exact copy of the regular Heisei Godzilla from Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (1994). However after complaints came in about the SH MonsterArts Godzilla, Bandai and Tamashii Nations created a new figure of Burning Godzilla with a focus on poseability. Burning Godzilla would finally become available under the name of "Godzilla (1995)" in November 2012.
As with the SH Monsterarts figures of Godzilla (1994) and SpaceGodzilla, Yuji Sakai is the designer of this figure, which stands at 16 cm when the figure is completely standing upright, a few centimeters taller than the SH Monsterarts Godzilla, which is a small surprise due to Burning Godzilla not having any height changes in the movie.
While the original SH MonsterArts Godzilla suffered some poseability issues, it was very accurate to how the Godzilla suit performed in the movie. In this case, the Burning Godzilla focused on articulation, which is good although at a small immediate cost of the design and sculpture of the figure with lower waist sections being the most noticeable. Despite that and the fact that at times it seemed to have a little too much paint in at least one or two locations, the design of the figure overall is very accurate to his appearance in the movie.
For coloring, the Burning Godzilla is virtually accurate with that of the movie though with a darker tone for the coloring of the skin. However that is not a detriment for it actually makes the figure look more intimidating at times. Worth addressing that the tail is white, making it stand out oddly compared to the burning red dorsal fins found on Godzilla's back. However, this is movie accurate with the way the character looks in the film itself, although this detail is shrouded through most of the film as there isn't a whole lot of shots with the full tail in them.
On the issues of posesbility, the Burning Godzilla has many more parts in its joints that allow it to do poses that outdo nearly all of its predecessors. While this is mostly a good thing, at times it can be an annoyance as initially it leaves several large gaps particularly around the leg joints. Fortunately, they are mostly correctable and the joints can adjust to a more movie accurate position.
For accessories in the initial runs, the Burning Godzilla has an extra pair of hands as well as two maser tanks: one freezing equipped DAG-MB96 from Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995) and the other one is the MBT-92 from Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989).
Sadly, the figure is missing the spiral atomic ray accessory that is sold in other releases. If one has bought either the SH MonsterArts Fire Rodan or the Toho Special Effects pack, both have the atomic ray that Godzilla used in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995), with the atomic ray in Fire Rodan being more accurate to the movie. If anyone would like to see it, here is a picture of the figure using the accessory from the Fire Rodan release by Bandai and Tamashi Nations.
Overall, it is a very good figure though the articulation is a bit much and the accessories pale in comparison to its predecessors. As with all SH Monsterarts figures, the Burning Godzilla is a bit pricey. If the focus on articulation and the price is not a bother, this figure is definitely worth a buy for fans of the Burning Godzilla design from Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995).
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Chris Mirjahangir
Okay, my turn, and I enjoyed the figure a bit more although we have come to a lot of the same conclusions. First, to get it out of the way, the S. H. MonsterArts line is one of your more "high end" lines of figures and is not intended for anyone under 15. These figures are for the more hardcore collector/stop motion animation enthusiasts. These aren't figures a child should be playing with.
Now the S.H. MonsterArts Burning Godzilla is a thing of beauty. The plates on his back are a beautiful mix of translucent orange mixed with dark painted green which contrasts nicely with the smaller white spikes from the top of his head down to the tip of his tail. Some fans have said this is not film accurate while others have said that this design was based on a pre-production design for the film. You don't get to see a real good shot of Godzilla in full form in the film so it's open to debate. One thing I've noticed about the claws, and maybe it's just my figure, but the color of the claws on the left hand is darker than the claws on the right. It doesn't detract from the figure. It's just something I noticed. The teeth, mouth, and tongue are all meticulously painted and it looks absolutely beautiful. The orange translucent paint on Burning Godzilla's legs, arms, and chest is nothing short of awesome and his red eyeballs with the mix of orange and black are really well done.
In terms of bulk and texture, Burning Godzilla is a little hefty in the weight and, slightly surprisngly, feels nice to the touch.
Burning Godzilla has quite a few articulate points from the 3 in his neck, to his jaw, to his wrists (with removable hands), to his tail. He's fully poseable for a wide variety of cool poses. Since he is fully articulated however, sometimes gaps will be noticeable in the leg/shoulder area but you can always re-adjust him to correct this. Not all the articulation is perfect however. For example, when his mouth is opened all the way, you can get someone of a "slack jawed" effect because the bottom jaw doesn't line up with the top of the jaw. This can be easily corrected by centering the jaw though. Also, below the right kneecap, the bit of plastic that is part of the leg can move around a little bit.
Burning Godzilla comes with an extra set of claws and two Maser tanks, DAG-MB96 from Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995) and the other one is the MBT-92 from Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989). The Maser tanks cannon's do have swivel action which is quite nice. Included with the SH MonsterArts Fire Rodan set is Godzilla's Spiral Beam which looks really cool when mounted into his mouth. Why is it included with Fire Rodan and not Burning Godzilla? Capitalism.
Overall, Burning Godzilla is a pricey figure but he is, again, aimed at collectors/stop motion enthusiasts who like to make stop motion videos of their S.H. MonsterArts figures (or just stop motion enthusiasts in general). It's a grand piece of work and if you're going to get one figure or start your collection, I'd go with this figure first.
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