Burning Godzilla [Egg Monsters Godzilla]

30 years ago, in 1995, Toho released Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, closing out the Heisei era and marking the end of that series’ Godzilla. Even three decades later, Burning Godzilla is still burned into everyone’s memory. His internal nuclear reactor-like heart was approaching a full meltdown — once it hit 1,200°C, it would trigger a thermonuclear explosion capable of melting the Earth down to its core. And on top of all that: a new monster enters the scene — Destoroyah! Due to his meltdown state, Godzilla spent the movie covered in glowing, burning patches as he neared critical mass. Needless to say, it looked extremely cool.

Today we’re looking at the Egg Monsters toy of that incarnation. Originally released in 2014, Bandai reissued it last November alongside several others. I had already gotten the rest of that wave, but I just found Burning Godzilla recently at Target. He must’ve been hiding in the back or something.

As you’d expect, Burning Godzilla uses the same mold as the standard Egg Monster Godzilla — which is fine, because it’s a great toy. The new deco is what sets it apart. The figure is mostly cast in translucent orange with dark green painted over it. The green is so dark it almost reads as black, and the orange shining through gives the whole thing a more sinister presence. Between the translucent plastic and the glowing lava look, I kept thinking of Rock Lords — this could practically be one.

Bandai really nailed this one. Burning Godzilla has always been one of the most visually striking forms of the King of the Monsters, even if it's depicting his death. Combine that with my love of transforming egg toys and this becomes a stellar release. Awesome job as usual, Bandai.

edit- I wasn't aware of the new Godzilla Fest short, Shinjuku Burning Godzilla when I wrote this. This post was written a week ago and sometimes the universe is just really neat.