I must say that I never found myself to be very impressed with the character of Shimo. Don't get me wrong, she has a fantastic design but after seeing the awe inspiring power of King Ghidorah with his world tour of devastation and Mechagodzilla giving Godzilla his biggest beat down in the entire MonsterVerse yet, I just never particularly found her to be all that interesting as a character or very threatening as an advisory the way a significant portion of the fandom seems to have. I write all this to properly set the stage because with this being my feelings on the Shimo character, I did not expect Hiya’s Exquisite Basic Series Shimo figure to end up becoming the most impressive release of theirs that I've had the pleasure of reviewing!
Details
Let's start off by looking at the sculpt and detailing on this figure. Just going by how she feels in hand Shimo is easily the heaviest, most substantial, and arguably the largest Hiya figure yet! While King Ghidorah is still Hiya’s biggest figure, a great deal of that size is made up by the wings which cover a lot of space but are very lightweight. Shimo on the other hand doesn't have any light or thin limbs like King Ghidorah and this makes nearly every part of her feel sturdy and solid. Shimo doesn't just look big, she feels big and is very satisfying to hold and pose because of this.
The sculpt for Shimo is absolutely first rate! Shimo has a design that feels more animalistic than fantastical and the life like details worked into her simultaneously enhances this design and the figure's quality simultaneously. When I first handled the figure, I got the impression while looking at her head on that I was actually holding a real life reptile. I'm not sure exactly how to describe it but looking at the various patterns of scales across Shimo's chest and fore legs, I suddenly became somewhat unnerved by just how life-like the quality of the figure was. A portion of my brain became convinced I was handling a living, breathing lizard. I'm not sure there's any higher praise I can give Shimo's sculpt after that statement! The various scale patterns running across the entirely of Shimo all look beautiful and feel wonderful to the touch! The top back of the front half of Shimo also features grooves that allow for the upper torso to be pushed back without damaging some of the rear spines which greatly enhances the figure's articulation. The areas of Shimo's sculpt which are the least detailed are the blue spikes or crystals positioned behind her head, down her back, and across her tail. However the minimal amount of details are precisely the right choice for these areas and are not detrimental at all. The angular shapes and smooth textures across them give the impression that they were comprised of ice which naturally fits perfectly with Shimo's freezing abilities. If I had one area of the sculpt that I would have liked to have seen more detail in it would be the eyes, both of which are quite small in scale and detail. However, this isn't enough to count as a detriment to the figure and I mention it here as personal opinion and not as criticism.
Articulation
Shimo's articulation is absolutely up to par with the excellent standard we've come to expect from Hiya and their prior releases! Shimo has a classic four legged creature design and her articulation is designed accordingly. Pherhaps my favorite bit of articulation comes on both of her forepaws which features articulated fingers and thumbs. Her fingers have a single joint where they attach to her hands while her thumbs feature the same plus a second joint in the middle of the thumb in a similar manner to how our own thumbs are articulated. Having the single articulation point for each finger is fantastic but the additional joint on the thumbs really blows me away! There is a good amount of range from nearly all her joints although I personally wish there was more flexibility in her tail, but that's more of a nitpick than a legitimate concern. The wide range of articulation Shimo comes is probably best demonstrated by the figure's ability to maintain both a four legged and two legged stance! Yes, Shimo can be posed standing upright on her hind legs and what's more is that she can withstand this position without the aid of any figure stand! I was able to get her into this upright pose myself and as you can see from my photos, Shimo stood tall without the aid of any stand or having to lean against any kind of display piece or separate figure to maintain this pose! I would caution against leaving her in this pose long-term because I myself wouldn't be comfortable leaving her in this pose long-term however this comes from my own habitual worrying and not from any issue raised by the figure itself. This wide range of articulation combined with her physical presence on the shelf are what ended up making Shimo the most impressive Hiya figure I've reviewed yet!
Accessories
Shimo does not come with any accessories. However, as demonstrated by my appreciation for her detailing, articulation, and size, I find their absence to be perfectly acceptable.
Paint
The painting is as first rate as the sculpt but thanks to the simple white on blue pattern, it tends to get overshadowed by the sculpt except when viewed up close. The painting has a wonderful glossy coat that can be overlooked at a distance but which really shines when viewed up close! The restrained use of blue compared to the predominant white coat helps to add some vibrant variety to her appearances. Perhaps the best part of her paintwork is displayed on the large ice like crystals adorning her back. I'm not sure how Hiya achieved this, but the crystals appear to shift from cold blue to royal purple or a mixture of both based on the surrounding light and what position you view the figure from. It's absolutely beautiful and while I've done my best to capture this in my photos, in person it's clear that the painting on Shimo is top notch.
Overall
As I stated at the start of this review, my indifference to the character as introduced in The New Empire film did not lead me to anticipate that Hiya’s treatment of Shimo would blow me away to the degree that it has here. So much so that I'd say that Shimo is arguably their greatest figure yet! If you're a fan of the Shimo character, the MonsterVerse, or just love well designed toys, then Shimo comes highly recommended!
**Below are bonus images of the figure.**
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