Shin Universe Robo

THIS IS AMAZING.

Godzilla Type Evangelion

I'll probably never play this machine. But I'll gladly admire it.

Time to Shin Again

I've got a few Shin Godzilla toys, this is the newest. Playmates decided to improve upon their prior toy with this vastly improved figure. I really like it. It's Shin Goiji in all his glory... but safe to sell next to other toys on the aisle. Just a little toned down, you know? I've said it before... and I'm saying it again. I REALLY like the Playmates Godzilla toys. Not to mention, it's been neat watching the rocky start to the more polished current toys. Godzilla (2016) as they label Shin Godzilla, like I said is a great representation of that timeline. The first Playmates Shin was a bit of a mess, a mess that I found some charm in, but still a mess. This is a more refined figure and sculpt. 

This is a bulkier figure that represents Godzilla in his Shin Japan Heroes Universe depiction pretty well, though a little toned down as I said before. It's a pretty scary version of Godzilla and they're selling these next to Batman figures at my local Walmart. Though he's still pretty accurate and a good representation. Shin has a few points of articulation, what you'd expect from a sofubi style kaiju toy. Basic arms, legs, head, and tail articulation with some ankle swivel for stabilization. As with the prior Playmates kaiju, he's a harder vinyl, but still fits right in with your Bandai soft vinyl toys. 

The paint looks pretty good, maybe a bit simple, but still looks good. Sometimes less is more and with a layered look like Shin Goiji has it'd be pretty tricky to nail at this figures price range (around 12-13 bucks). Still they managed to get that crispy scaly look down with some red cracks and highlights in the fins. I do wish the second head at the end of his tail would have more detail... but that's such a small detail that it doesn't hurt to not highlight it much. Like I said, they curbed the freakishness a little. I don't think all those skeletons would have made for an ideal kids toy. Regardless, it still looks good and looks like Shin Godzilla without any question. It's a great figure of a scary monster idea for kids or adults.

Monsters of Monsters

 

Official pictures of some upcoming Playmates Godzilla toys were recently released and I wanted to talk about them a little. Top left is a new Shin Godzilla that looks like a big improvement over the last version Playmates put out in the lines first wave. If anything, it's a nice way to see the improvement of the line from then to now. It really looks good. To his right is Kong as he appeared in Skull Island. Seemingly another use of the Kong figure from the Godzilla vs Kong series that flies off shelves. It's a great toy and comes with the chain weapon used against the giant skull crawler at the end of the movie and one of those classic helicopters.

Bottom left is Godzilla from 2019's King of the Monsters. Specifically in his 'burning' form. I never get tired of Burning Godzilla toys and this one has a great looking new sculpt and a tank. They never come with a bus though. I mean, he could pick it up and put it back down. It really does look great and I hope several variations in different decos come from it. Let's go old-school Playmates, give me translucent glow in the dark Godzilla with a bus. Last but not least to his right is Godzilla's third form from Singular Point known as Terrestris Godzilla. Representing a more juvenile version prior to maturity he's not fully erect and hunched over. Really, it's that sharp color scheme that draws me to this toy. It's a cool design, sure, but that blue!

I'm always ready for more Godzilla and have been a steady fan of the Playmates toys. The new releases coming down the pipe are just exciting. There's nothing like getting one and just being in awe of it for the first time. I'm really looking forward to seeing these at my local stores. Playmates has really been putting out a solid line of Toho Kaiju. Here's looking forward to figuring out how to stick them on a shelf with others. Those tails can really get in the way.

Shin Godzilla's Pretty Gnarly

The other day I found Godzilla 2016/Shin Godzilla from the Playmates Godzilla and Kong line. I had been looking for this guy as his face sculpt has been in multiple memes in kaiju groups. Despite the many jokes... in person it ain't so bad. Silly, sure, but a little better paint detail could fix that. Really it's a pretty decent sculpt full of Shin's gnarly features.

Like the prior Playmates toys, Shin is a hard vinyl toy. He feels more like an action figure than a sofubi, but fits right on in next to my Bandai Creations toys. I prefer sofubi toys for my kaiju, so this is welcome. You really can't complain about walking into your local Walmart and buying a Godzilla for $12. Unless you're an asshole.

Shin is in his 4th form from the movie as it's the 'adult' version of the character and most recognizable. Sure, he's a gnarly mutant, but still looks like Godzilla. My last toy of him was the 2nd 'baby' form from Bandai's 65th Anniversary boxed series (I really need to get the rest of those) and before that was Necca's Atomic Blast figure. He's not my favorite incarnation, but I sure do like him. Know that song 'Life is a Highway'? Love it.

Shin's  got some decent articulation. His head and little grubby arms move as do his legs and tail. He actually has ankle swivels, which help stabilize the toy when standing. The tail is segmented in 2 parts and can move around a touch. Not enough to point the second head in his tail at anything (it's a weird movie), but you can adjust him enough to not fall over. You'd think with the bulk of his design in the legs and tail he'd have a more stable center of gravity. It's not really much to complain about and despite initially wanting this toy due to silliness, I've found myself liking it quite a bit.

Godzilla Store Invasion!

2019 Toho x Kinokuniya
GODZILLA STORE INVASION
A Godzilla Pop Up Shop

With the highly anticipated release of GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS on May 31^st, several Kinokuniya stores across the nation have come together to bring the Godzilla Store to you to provide you the best in Godzilla merchandise! At Godzilla Store Pop Up Shops, you can find an abundance of unique visual books, a whopping 12 of the Godzilla “B SIDE LABEL” stickers, various Godzilla T-shirts including the coveted TOMODACHI shirt featuring Godzilla and Jet Jaguar, a Second-Form Shin Godzilla Cable Bite, several Godzilla straps, and so much more! These unique and one-of-a-kind items can be found nowhere else outside of Japan’s Godzilla Store in Tokyo. GODZILLA STORE INVASION will be available at these Kinokuniya locations starting from May 18^th to June 30^th.

New Jersey

New Jersey

Mitsuwa Marketplace
595 River Road
Edgewater, NJ 07020

Illinois

Chicago
Mitsuwa Marketplace
100 E. Algonquin Road
Arlington Heights, IL 60005

Washington

Seattle
Uwajimaya Village
525 South Weller Street
Seattle, WA 98104

California

San Francisco
Japan Center
1281 Webster Street
San Francisco, CA 94115

Los Angeles
Little Tokyo
123 Astronaut E. S. Onizuka Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Texas

Austin
6929 Airport Blvd.
Suite 121
Austin, TX 78752

Carrollton
Carrollton Town Center
2540 Old Denton Road
Suite 114
Carrollton, TX 75006

*Thanks to Rogers & Cowan for providing Zone Base with this news*

Atomic Blast Shin Godzilla

One of the great gifts from my wife this Christmas was this really cool Shin Godzilla figure from Neca. The figure is a great sculpt of the crazy scary Godzilla from the movie Shin Godzilla with his mouth open to breathe fire!

Godzilla is gnarly looking, really bringing the unique version from Shin Godzilla to life. I really appreciate his super long tail and tiny grubby hands. They did a great job bringing the way his mouth opens in the film when letting that atomic blast go to life. It's a bit uncomfortable to look at, just like the king was in the movie.

Neca saw to include two atomic blasts that could be inserted into his mouth to simulate that groovy atomic beam. A nice touch was that the beams are wire bendy type toys, so one doesn't have to worry about the long pieces getting bent out of shape. Just a little adjusting and you can straighten it back out. The toy is really nice. It's super heavy and features a bunch of articulation (not needless joints, but where they should be) with a gimmick that just looks great.

Godzilla vs Evangelion

This news slipped right past my radar last week with my just learning of it earlier this week. One of the Attractions at Universal Studios Japan's 'Cool Japan' Festival will be a Godzilla vs Evangelion 4D theater attraction and man just another reason I'm so very jealous of those who get to go. 2019 is Godzilla's 65th anniversary and what a way for Universal to celebrate it!

Godzilla forever mofo

 Last week the news that Toho plans to start a new Godzilla series after 2020 hit and the kaiju fans went nuts. I've been waiting to talk about it here as I wanted to see if anymore news would come before I started talking about it. Some were upset that it was outright said there wasn't going to be a Shin Godzilla sequel. Personally, I liked Shin Godzilla, but don't want a sequel. I'd much rather have a return to traditional Toho Godzilla movies. As Monsterverse rages on, the 2020 time frame is the same as when talks of Shin Godzilla 2 were going around. I believe it's part of Toho's deal with Legendary as so the movies don't compete with one another (which would really be self defeating, all it takes is a look at the time frame between current Toho Godzilla movies and Legendary's time frame to get the idea). With Legendary's Godzilla 2 and King Kong vs Godzilla coming in 2019 and 2020 respectively, it's clear as to why the 2 year wait. Allegedly there will be a span of 1-2 years in between Toho releases, which is standard Godzilla series timing. Realistically, they're probably going to be filming the first movie during this time.

I'm very, very, very excited. It's no secret how much I love Legendary Pictures offerings in the genre, but Toho is king of the giant monster movies and a new series from them is super exciting for a life long fan. Fortunately this new era is during the modern age where watching a foreign movie isn't that much of a challenge anymore. Gone are the days of finding bootleg dub jobs on VHS while waiting for an American release that's often limited in release. As the US releases of Shin and the animated movies show, the turn around for a US release is pretty quick.

The prospect of these being on Netflix in the US like the animated movies just made me scream in excitement out loud.