The first wave of Super7’s ReAction line contains the expected (Godzilla 1954, Mothra) and unexpected (Godzilla 1957) in what is an interesting lineup, but things are not what they seem. So, let's go through them one by one.
Godzilla '54
Design: This is a rather “cutesier” version of Godzilla 1954 with its friendly yet creepy grimace. It’s a little stylized over the original design but it still look cool. The body has the suit creases which are a nice touch and it's cool that Super7 added in that little detail. The hands are in the usual “standing stance” pose with the fingers/palms open a little, almost like an open grip. The tail is shortened though, but hey, it’s a smaller, stylized figure and it looks great.
Articulation: While the head, arms, and tail can all rotate 360 degrees, the legs are a different story. They can rotate nearly 360 degrees but then stop when it’s about ¾ of the way through. The legs can only move that high forward but not backward.
Paint: The backplates (with a great black paint shading application), claws, and toenails have the same grey/white color and it’s all expertly painted. The black pupils look great and they look straight ahead as opposed to the Godzilla 1957 figure, which has the pupils looking down at the sides like the old Godzilla 1954 promotional photos.
Overall: Godzilla 1954 is a pretty standard Godzilla release and while more stylized than accurate, it’s a nice addition to any collection.
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Godzilla '54 Glow in the Dark SDCC Exclusive
Design/Paint: The mold is a translucent white with the glow in the dark effect, which looks pretty cool, but I like how it looks in normal light better.
Paint: The paint, mixed with the translucent white mold, is what makes the figure for me. I’m a big fan of the metallic silver paint on the teeth, toenails, claws, and eyeballs. It’s not a color I’ve seen often on the figures I’ve reviewed paint-wise and it really brings the figure to life. The baby blue paint is an interesting choice as well. It’s applied seemingly randomly to the figure. The color is also applied to the backplates which looks really cool but, on my figure, a big blotch of black paint ruins the overall effect. It’s odd because there’s no black paint on the figure at all. Finally, the baby blue paint for the pupils look great and ALMOST line up perfectly to give Godzilla a sinister look when you look at him from the front.
The paint application is also, like Rodan, very different from what was being sold on the Super7 website. Although, to be honest, I prefer this version better as it looks more unique.
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Godzilla '57
While there have been a few Godzilla 1957 figure releases in Japan over the years, this is the first time a figure for this design has been released in the U.S. (For more on the history of this design, read here: The Volcano Monsters)
The design is essentially the same as Godzilla '54 save for the head, arms, legs, and torso. The arms are more muscular and the fingers are bigger and more splayed out, which I like. The tail might look the same as Godzilla 54’s, but I think the tip of the tail may be a little thicker. The head is more angular and looks almost like a precursor to the 1962 design. This was also the first time Godzilla had three toenails instead of four.
The paint application is the same as the 54 except for the eyes. The eyes have that “looking down” effect on each side, which is what Godzilla 1954 is known to have. It looks ok but it’s not accurate to the suit that I’ve seen in photos. The eye has more of a “looking up” look. If you angle the figure head on, it looks like the eyes are totally white. It looks really cool.
For articulation, there’s not anything new to write about here. It’s the same as Godzilla 1954.
Overall: It’s great to see Godzilla 1957 stateside. Eye paint aside, Super7 did a wonderful job with this figure. Recommended!
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Jet Jaguar (1973)
Design: Jet Jaguar is a mostly faithful version of his film counterpart. The only different I can spot is that the mouth seems smaller, like he’s gritting his “teeth”. The rest of the figure is spot on and feels great to the touch. It’s interesting seeing Jet Jaguar at this size because I’ve only ever seen him up close as the 6 inch (with the exception of the Deforeal version).
Paint: The paint doesn’t really have any blemishes and looks nice. While the lower knees look different than the advertised photos, it all blends together really well. The metallic paint for the body and head look great in conjunction with the rest of the colors and the light blue eyes look amazing.
Articulation: The head and arms all rotate 360 degrees and the legs can move forward waist high, and that’s it.
Overall: Jet Jaguar is a cool addition to the line and stands out above the rest in the Wave 1 line.
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Jet Jaguar (1973) Glow in the Dark SDCC Exclusive
Design/Paint/Overall: While the mold is the same, the translucency of the figure makes him very unique. Nearly see-through (due to the glow in the dark effect), this Jet Jaguar is the one to get. The paint scheme on him looks way better than what’s advertised. The blue and red paint are a lighter shade and the orange paint is swapped out for yellow paint. The eyes are painted black instead of the light blue.
Overall: I prefer this version over the standard release and it’s nice to see that Super7 did something different with the paint for this release.
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Rodan (1964)
Modeled after the 1964 version of Rodan, the figure has a pretty cool sculpt. The neck and legs have some definition in them and so do the feet. The wings and back are smoothed out with a little definition in the wing membrane. It’s a pretty accurate representation of the 1964 suit. Rodan’s head sculpt looks pretty cool and he actually looks a tad menacing. His chest spikes protrude a good amount and have a slipt sharpness to them and feel nice to the touch.
Articulation: The wings can only move side to side and are pretty limited. They don’t really hold a pose unless they’re moved forward/middle and unless they’re in that position, Rodan’s going to fall over. Rodan can be balanced easily to stand on his own. He’s just kind of limited. The head can move 360 degrees and the legs can turn 180 degrees - they could do 360 degrees, but are blocked by Rodan’s tail. You can get a slight stance out of Rodan by moving a foot forward, but if you go too far, he’ll fall over.
Paint: The paint a a big departure from not only the design, but what’s on the box and in the promotional images. For whatever reason, the light brown paint scheme was abandoned for more of a Halloweenish orange. It looks cool but it’s rather strange to see when next to the official artwork and promo art. It’s done well enough with a blemish here and there. Rodan’s eyes do look kinda crappy and quickly painted. The right pupil is bigger than the left and the white for the eyeballs is haphazardly applied. I wish more care was taken so that the eyes looked at good as the prototype photos because they look great. Finally, the wings are also painted differently than in the official images. On the figure, they look like they were dipped in light brown paint. It looks ok for what it is, but the prototype paint job is a lot nicer looking because it’s blended better and more accurate to the design.
Overall: It’s nice to see Rodan 1964 in this line, but I think it might be best to think of this release as a “variation” as opposed to an accurate release. The sculpt is great but the paint drags the score down a little. If you can look past that, by all means, pick him up!
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Mechagodzilla (1974) Glow in the Dark SDCC Exclusive
Design/Paint: Like the other SDCC 2022 exclusives, MechaGodzilla features a translucent white body sculpt and glow in the dark feature. The articulation is the same as the general release. The paint is really cool with its metallic silver application on the teeth, armbands, backplates, top of the head, and finger missiles. Strangely, there’s no metallic paint for the toe missiles. I don’t know why it was omitted but then again, it doesn’t look like it does in the official photos either. Rounding out the paint is the red paint on the neck, stomach, waist, eyes and sides of head. It really adds to the overall presentation of the figure.
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Mothra (1964)
Mothra 64 is an interesting addition to the line because she’s the only one that comes with an accessory.
Design/Paint: The paint used for Mothra - boy, it's awful. For whatever reason, this weird whiteish red/orange color is not only not looking as advertised, but it just looks off and makes the figure look really ugly. The rest of the paint looks good for the most part. There are a few blemishes and missing paint alongside the left wing. One thing that’s part of the Mothra 64 design that I noticed on this figure that I’ve never noticed before are the yellow squares on the end of her wings. I thought it was a mistake but when I checked out the 1964 film, there they were. There’s always something new to find!
Articulation: Mothra’s wings move up and down and can hold a pose. Her head also rotates 360 degrees.
Accessories: Although incorrectly painted, it’s nice to see Mothra’s egg from the film to be included. It has a thumb sized indentation on the bottom so it doesn’t roll away.
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Wave 1 Final Thoughts
While it’s nice to see some deep cuts like Godzilla 1957 in the line, I still can’t help being irritated that what you think you’re buying via official product photos look nothing like what you’re actually getting. I’m hoping that this was all just a fluke and it’ll be corrected for Wave 2 should there be one. Just to be safe however, I recommend waiting until people get the figures in Wave 2 in hand before buying and checking out their photos. Normally, when a figure is revealed in promotional photos, the paint does look nicer than what you get because it’s a painted prototype (as many reviews on this site have pointed out). This is the only time I’ve seen such a drastic night and day difference in paint across an entire line. Paint differences aside, this is a great introductory wave to the Godzilla ReAction line and I can’t wait to see what deep cuts show up!
Addendum: Toho ReAction Figures Wave 1 - NYCC 2022 Exclusives
NYCC brought in three additional releases to the Wave 1 Godzilla ReAction line and it’s a bit of a mixed bag.
Rodan and Mothra were initially announced as exclusive NYCC 2022 releases that would also not just glow in the dark, but the packaging would as well, and an image of the glowing packaging was shown off early and then scrubbed before production began.
Godzilla '54 (Silver Screen With Oxygen Destroyer Canister)
This one is the same as the Godzilla '54 normal release, and like that release, the paint is different than advertised. Here, the teeth, nails, backplates and claws are, for some reason, metallic silver and it looks really cool. I know that this is an error, but in this case, it worked out for the better. Also included is a mini Oxygen Destroyer which looks pretty nice.
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Shogun Rodan (Glow)
Same mold as the original release except the different paint scheme as advertised and is glow in the dark. I like the abundance of red on the body and the red eyes look really cool.
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Shogun Mothra (Glow)
Same as the original release and again, different paint wise from the advertised photos. Mothra looks pretty interesting here with the baby blue paint on the wings and eyes - especially the eyes. They really make her pop. The feet, mouth, and end are of an orange-brownish color, which looks ok. The red on the wings looks nice, but what I like most of all is the grey paint in the middle. It’s an interesting choice because it’s a darker color in a mix of a clear mold and brighter colors. The egg itself has the same orange-brownish color on the underside of the egg, which fades up on both sides and actually fits this Mothra design.
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NYCC 2022 Exclusives Final Thoughts
Overall, it’s nice to see Super7 doing more with the line, but again, the actual product needs to match what you’re actually getting. |
