Imported Thoughts

 S. H. Monsterarts:  The Past, Present, and Potential  Future of Bandai/Tamashii's Monstrous Line

  Welcome, loyal Import Monsters to another edition of Imported Thoughts!  Seeing as it's Godzilla Week 2013, we saw it fit to delve a bit into the flagship Godzilla-centric toy line S.H. Monsterarts!  In this two part article, we will be exploring the history, the present, and the possible future of this amazing toy line!  Tonight is a bit of a retrospective, highlighting all the releases from Godzilla himself to the most recent releases.  We hope you enjoy!

  Part One:  What Was...

  The announcement of the S.H. Monsterarts line rocked the kaiju collecting world.  Period.  Whether you love or loathe the line, there is no denying this one simple fact.  Sure, there were collector oriented lines that catered to giant monster fans before.  Kaiyodo’s excellent Sci-Fi Revoltech line (with its fantastic, highly articulated renditions of classic Toho and Daiei beasts like Anguirus, Gigan, and Gamera) springs to mind.  An earlier line, Bandai’s high end Chogokin series, also contained a few select kaiju/mecha (including the ever popular Mechagodzilla).  However, these two collector oriented lines both shared one HUGE flaw: While some monsters from Toho’s Godzilla series were beautifully represented, the Monster King himself was conspicuously absent!  Needless to say, the lines felt incomplete to many fans.  It seemed as if there would never be a high end, super articulated Godzilla figure!

  In the winter of 2011 however, Bandai’s subsidiary Tamashii Nations unveiled these mysterious prototypes:

  G-Fans were treated to highly detailed and articulated figures of Super Mechagodzilla, M.O.G.E.R.A., and no less than two variants of Godzilla!  It was obvious that Tamashii (makers of the immensely popular S.H. Figuarts and Ultra-Act series) was gearing up for a new standard Godzilla action figure series!  Many fans couldn’t wait for the official announcement.

However, it would turn out to be a long wait.  Finally in July 2011 (a full five months after the initial unveiling), Tamashii Nations announced a brand new, monster-centric figure line:  S.H. Monsterarts!  Adding to the excitement was the announcement that the first release would be none other than the Monster King himself!  He was given a projected release date of November 2011.  A second figure figure, Mechagodzilla 1993, was slated for release in December 2011.  Best of all, Tamashii's North American distributor, Bluefin Corp., made it possible for Western customers to buy the figures at retail without incurring hefty middleman fees!

In the face of this obviously huge announcement, the kaiju collecting world was instantly divided.  Many questions were raised, debates were had, and tempers flared.  Were these new figures going to render the older figures obsolete?  Do giant monster figures really need extra articulation?  Why would they start with the Heisei (or Versus) series, rather than the ever popular Showa era monsters?

Around this time, another prototype was revealed:  S.H. Monsterarts Spacegodzilla, posed with Godzilla and M.O.G.E.R.A. amid an extremely impressive diorama of the Fukuoka battlefield.  Such displays were to become the norm, with most events using beautifully crafted environments to show off the figures. 

And the much maligned Japanese web exclusive effects packs were shown for the first time.

  The hype machine got rolling full steam when a late 2011 Tamashii event debuted the prototypes of no less than 5 new monsters:  Fire Rodan (from 1993's Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II); Little Godzilla (the final remaining monster from Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla); Yamato Takeru's heroic Utsuno Ikusagami; an Aggregate form Destoroyah (from the final Heisei Godzilla film, Godzilla vs. Destoroyah); and last but not least, Godzilla's popular arch nemesis King Ghidorah (from 1991's Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah)!  This was shaping up to be an interesting line indeed.  What's more, the monsters all seemed to be adhering to film accurate scale!

The as of yet unreleased Utsuno Ikusagami

November’s release of the first figure, Godzilla 1994 (from Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla), did nothing but add fuel to an already raging fire.  Some found that the figure did not resemble the prototype closely enough.  Others condemned it for the somewhat limited articulation.  Still others defended the Monsterarts Godzilla fiercely, despite its shortcomings.  It was a surprisingly divisive first entry in the series.  It didn't help that it's sole accessory was an unconvincing atomic ray w/ stand.
  

http://importingmonsters.blogspot.com/2012/05/review-s.html

  One major issue was a QC error that came to be known as "derp eyes".  Many of the S.H. Monsterarts Godzilla 1994s had misaligned eyes.  It greatly affected the overall look of the figure, especially when viewed from the front.

  The Infamous Derpzilla (left)

In early December 2011, S.H. Monsterarts Mechagodzilla 1993 was released to considerably better reception.  It came with a decent amount of accessories, and had no glaring quality control issues.  It also contained a fair amount of die cast metal, making it seem like a legitimate machine.   It wasn't without its share of issues though:  Fragile teeth and balance issues were prevalent design flaws.  And many were upset that the figure didn't come with the attachable Garuda warship.

http://importingmonsters.blogspot.com/2013/02/review-sh-monsterarts-mechagodzilla-ux.html

The next two releases in the line weren't monsters at all, but web exclusive effects packs.  One contained a red beam for Godzilla and various JSDF vehicles.  The other was an attachable companion piece to Mechagodzilla, the flying battleship Garuda.  Both were Japanese web exclusives, and were only available at drastically inflated prices stateside.  As a result the aftermarket price rose even higher!  This was quite annoying to those who want Super Mechagodzilla, but skipped the preorder.

The next regular release in the line is widely regarded as one of the best (if not THE best) in the line:  S.H. Monsterarts Spacegodzilla!  Not only was the articulation greatly improved from the previous releases, but the sculpt was beyond top notch.  It was by far the best representation of the monster available.  The paint work alone was stunning, and the sharply sculpted crystals were molded in translucent plastic!   The only real drawback was that it was a tad light on accessories, coming (like Godzilla) with just a beam and a stand.

http://importingmonsters.blogspot.com/2012/06/review-s_12.html

Two months after the release of the stunning Spacegodzilla, his robotic opponent M.O.G.E.R.A. debuted.  This release continued the standard of excellence set by the previous figure, but upped the ante by including an absolutely insane amount of accessories!  The box is filled to the brim with effect parts, swappable pieces, and stands.  What's more, like Mechagodzilla, M.O.G.E.R.A. contains die cast metal.

http://importingmonsters.blogspot.com/2012/06/review-s_16.html

Next on the schedule was another web exclusive set, but fortunately Bluefin had it covered.  Little Godzilla was a sort of companion piece to Spacegodzilla, as he was packed with some of the big blue monster's crystals.  These crystals were articulated and came with stands so you could create a sort of prison for the mini monster.  All in all, this release was a bit underwhelming, which is no surprise...  the previous two releases were a tough act to follow.

http://importingmonsters.blogspot.com/2012/11/review-sh-monsterarts-little-godzilla.html

When Tamashii distributor Bluefin announced it's San Diego Comic-Con 2012 exclusives, S.H. Monsterarts collectors were in for a surprise:  The SDCC exxclusive Comic-Con Explosion Godzilla!  Like various Godzilla figures before it, this one was molded in a translucent orange plastic with yellow highlights.  This was to simulate how Godzilla would look when lit by an enormous explosion.  However, many fans took to calling it "Meltdown Godzilla", as it resembled the monster as he appeared in a scene in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah.

http://importingmonsters.blogspot.com/2012/07/review-sh-monsterarts-sdcc-exclusive.html

  Fire Rodan was released at a perfect time:  Out of the six monsters in the line, only one of them (M.O.G.E.R.A.) wasn't a Godzilla variant of some sort.  And as awesome as the renditions were, it was beginning to become monotonous.  Fire Rodan was packed with several interesting accessories, including a spare head for Mechagodzilla and a proper Red Spiral Ray for Godzilla!  Despite these interesting pack-ins, Rodan himself was a bit of a mixed bag for some.  There were complaints about flimsy wings, heads that fell off easily, and the soft sculpt of the beak.  Still, there were those that loved the figure.  Of course it didn't hurt that S.H. Monsterarts Fire Rodan was significantly cheaper than average.
     

http://importingmonsters.blogspot.com/2012/07/review-sh-monsterarts-fire-rodan-by.html

  September came and saw a release that most of the line's fans had been waiting ten long months for:  S.H. Monsterarts King Ghidorah!  Godzilla's arch nemesis was a wonder of sculpting and articulation technology...  with some MAJOR flaws.  Jaws popped out, pieces would fall off and be a nightmare to reattach, wings would sag...  and worst of all, wings would snap off (in one case due to nothing more than gravity).  It didn't help that King Ghidorah was the most expensive figure in the line BY FAR.  Fortunately,  Bluefin was very helpful with providing replacements for broken figures.  For some S.H. Monsterarts aficionados, though, King Ghidorah remains a gigantic golden stain on the line. 

  

http://importingmonsters.blogspot.com/2012/10/review-sh-monsterarts-king-ghidorah.html

When it came to S.H. Monsterarts Godzilla 1995 (AKA Burning Godzilla), Tamashii threw collectors a curve ball.  Instead of releasing the original prototype (shown more than a year earlier), they opted to instead resculpt Godzilla from the ground up.  The result was a bulkier, more film accurate figure with increased articulation.  The burning patches were molded in translucent orange.  The final product was stunning.  But again, it was divisive.  Many were put off by the increased size of the joint gaps.  Fortunately, they could be adjusted for a more natural look.  This figure ended up being one of the best in the line, and for some lost faith was restored.

http://importingmonsters.blogspot.com/2012/12/review-sh-monsterarts-godzilla-1995_2.html

S.H. Monsterarts  Godzilla Junior was another Japanese web exclusive release that left many underwhelmed.   Although it was more expensive than Little Godzilla and Fire Rodan, it didn't seem justified.  Junior himself was small, and came with two tiny helicopters and some unattractive stands.  Still, it was easily the best rendition of the character so far, and it scales well with Godzilla 1995.

http://importingmonsters.blogspot.com/2013/01/sh-monsterarts-godzilla-junior-english.html

Well that concludes the retrospective section of this feature!  Join us in two days for Part 2!