Name
 Hedorah
Version Source
 Godzilla vs. Hedorah
Company: Bandai
Extras: Attached tag
 
Classification: Figure Reissue: No
Release: 1993 Height: 18 centimeters
Comments
Steve Johnson

Hedorah, released in 1993 in Bandai's standard Godzilla line, stands a shade over 7 inches tall. Hedorah is crafted in very hard vinyl, and only sports limited articulation in his two arms. Hedorah toys are fairly rare when compared to other classic Showa kaiju, and along with the recent 6 inch release from Bandai, this is probably the most well known. However, I don't feel they did a particularly excellent job in capturing the unique Smog Monster in toy form their first go round.

Side View

Hedorah appears both a bit too lumpy and too thin here for my liking. He has two small "legs" that are molded together, forming a flat base for him to stand on. His "tail" is molded into the back and appears 'melted' into the legs. I really wish he was a bit more spread out in appearence, it would help make him look a little more imposing. As is, he almost looks as if he is perpetually seeking a hug. The strange upright posture he's depicted in doesn't match the lumbering, hunched posture of his on screen counterpart and just seems out of place. Hedorah almost looks like more of an old timey piggy-bank than a toy!

Godzilla and Hedorah

Hedorah is made of black vinyl, with highlights ranging from silver to green to red, which does a decent job of portraying his 'sludgy' nature. Bandai took a unique approach with the eyes here, as they appear to be printed on either paper or plastic, then covered by thick transparent plastic. The effect is somewhat spoiled by what appears to be a plastic cylinder in the middle of each eye, perhaps implanted to keep the eyes in place behind the plastic.

Hedorah, not counting his blink-and-you-miss-it cameo appearence in Godzilla: Final Wars (2004), only had one on screen appearence, that being his debut film of Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971) . He pairs up well with the Movie Monsters series Soshingeki-Goji, released in 2006. Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971) is known as one of the more under-appreciated entries in the Godzilla series (Tomoyuki Tanaka was even quoted to have told director Yoshimitsu Banno that he "ruined Godzilla" with his unique film!), and perhaps I'm under-appreciating this figure, but I just don't love it. It's a passable Hedorah, but nothing more, and for that I give it a final score of 2 and a half stars out of a possible five. Bandai would improve on Hedorah in both color, pose, and overall look in a future release....but we'll have to save that for the 'sequel'.

Rating: Star Rating