Of all
the kaiju ever made by Toho, one stands out as my absolute
favorite. Shockingly it isn't the monster king Godzilla,
but instead a variation of his famous nemesis. Sadly
this version of Ghidorah never faced the mutant, but
instead was stuck in a kid-friendly film titled Rebirth of Mothra III (1998) . Yes, that is right, my favorite
kaiju of all time happens to be Grand King Ghidorah.
Maybe it was his ruthlessness that made him by favorite,
or his simply stunning design, but whatever it was,
it just clicked with me. At G-Fest X, I managed to
get hold of the best available figure of my favorite
kaiju, and this figure did not fail me in any way.
Unlike other figures from Bandai, Grand Ghidorah was
placed in a cardboard box that, thankfully, I saved
and is pictured behind the figure.
The figure of the three-headed monster is, strangely,
called Super Dragon King Ghidorah, or Super Dragon
Monster: King Ghidorah if one is completely literal
in the translation. Possibly this was an early name
for the character, since the toy would have to have
gone into production well before the movie's release,
or perhaps Bandai just prefered this title for the
character. Either one is possible, and Bandai has coined
their own names before, such as "Bio-Biollante" for
that creature's second mutation. Regardless, the figure
stands at about a foot tall, making it tower over nearly
every other Bandai figure released for Toho's properties,
and also having him stand out like a sore thumb when
put in the same area as other Bandais. Thankfully the
company did release a few other figures his size, but
none happen to be any of the kaiju from his movie.
The figure's length could also become an issue for
it cannot fit in a basic shelf without extending a
bit off the sides, and its massive wingspan can easily
force other kaiju to the side.
The three-headed space dragon features gorgeous detail,
but this is nothing new for the Bandai world of kaiju
toys. The figure's scales give the alien beast a nice
texture like its movie counterpart's. The wings, unlike
other monsters released by Bandai, need to be attached
to the figure. The toy comes with directions, but they
are in Japanese. Fortunately for us English-only collectors,
it isn't hard to figure out. Ghidorah's heads is where
some of the best detail lies on the beast. Every head
is crowned with its horns while the rest of the heads
show off the same small details that the movie monster
showed. Even the kaiju's eyes are detailed just right
with orange, yellow, and black. The insides of
this release's mouth are also detailed fully with
ridges on the top jaw. Furthermore, the tails of the
hydra end in the infamous ball of spikes that he had
in the third Mothra film.
Like all other Bandai figures, Grand King Ghidorah
also has movable parts. All three of its necks rotate,
allowing it to look in any direction. The heads can
also move in the same manor. The tails
can also move, although as a single piece. The
wings are also given some movement, but not the same
level of directionality as the heads.
When it comes to impressive figures, Grand King Ghidorah
is one of the best. Its high level of detail, as said,
is simply awesome to look at and is a very faithful
representation of the movie inspiration. In the end,
this figure gains the highest rank I can give. There
is simply not a single thing about it that I can complain
about besides it never being released in the borders
of the United States.
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