Release Date: April 2024
RRP: 9900 yen
Despite having already released an impressive range of monsters and aliens from the original Ultraman series in the S.H. Figuarts range there are still a number of important gaps for Bandai Tamashii Nations to fill, which just goes to show how iconic many of these creatures have become. One such example is S.H. Figuarts Red King, who has taken a whole eight years to come to the line despite being one of the franchise's most enduring foes. First appearing in episode eight of the original series, the ferocious "skull monster" has gone on to appear in numerous instalments across the franchise, most recently in the opening scenes of currently airing series Ultraman Arc.
Being among the larger Ultraman kaiju releases S.H. Figuarts Red King comes in a large box more akin to the kind you see with the S.H. MonsterArts line, but with the art layout still the same as it is with all the other classic Ultra releases. The box is primarily beige with blue foil borders to nicely mirror Red King's own colour scheme, with the front of the box also featuring an image of the kaiju lifted directly from the 1966 series. There are window sections to get a decent look at the figure inside, and then one of the sides of the box also features a shadowy profile image of the figure as per the rest of the Ultraman Figuarts range. On the back of the box you'll find the usual selection of images showing the figure off in various poses, and then inside Red King (along with its handful of accessories) is neatly stored on a deep plastic tray.
Red King is a rather interesting kaiju. Ultra Series fans will already know that the name is a holdover from when Ultraman was originally going to be named 'Redman' instead, with Red King proposed as the King of the Monsters. This is why Red King isn't in fact red, but rather an off-white bone-like colour with lots of blue shading running through the various ridges on its body. Despite its powerful body, Red King has a tiny head which coming off of the monster's neck almost feels as if the design is coming to a point. If I had a tiny head like that, I'd probably be as angry as Red King is a lot of the time as well. As usual Bandai have done a really nice job here creating a figure which is clearly based upon the first Red King from the original series, but works just as well with any other Ultraman figure as well. On top of the great sculpt design which features lots of articulation points without too many obvious breaks, the whole body is textured to convey that tough hide. The blue wash/detailing throughout looks great too, in that it's both consistent and emphasises all those raised sections. Even the tiny little head sculpt has some nice scaly detailing, glossy black eyes and well-sculpted teeth and tongue. These larger Ultraman kaiju also have a great size on them too - scaling perfectly with the Ultraman Figuarts and S.H. MonsterArts releases, whilst being notably cheaper than the latter.
As tends to be the case with the Ultraman kaiju figures Red King's articulation is primarly made up of various ball joints spread across its "skeleton", with the skin parts overlaid to create a well articulated figure. In addition to a hinged lower jaw Red King sports ball joints in his head/upper jaw, neck (x3), shoulders, torso, waist, elbows (x2), wrists, hips, knees (x2), ankles and tail (x9). Interestingly the hip joints are also the the classic hinged "drop down" style used in the line, giving more clearance from the body for better posing even if it does create big gaps in the sculpt. Overall you can get some decent poses out of the Red King, but don't let the number of joints fool you because the movement is EXTREMELY limited in certain areas. For example despite being double jointed, the elbows and knees can barely bend at all. That said other areas on the figure are really good, such as the shoulders and neck sections. The combination of ball jointed upper jaw and hinged lower jaw also allow for some fun facial expressions, even if the lower jaw does have an annoying habit of unclipping sometimes.
Red King's accessories include a pair of alternate closed fists hands as well as a boulder, the latter of which also has an additional right hand connected to it. At first it seems like this hand is permanently connected to the boulder as per the Ultras' beam effects, but in fact it's simply pegged on and can be easily removed. This is great as it means the boulder can be used as a more universal effect part - both alongside other figures and as part of a diorama display. Credit where it's due it's actually a really nice boulder piece - well detailed in both shape and texture to give it a look of realism whilst also giving the sense of it being a lightweight tokusatsu prop. Thanks to the ball joint connections the hands swap on and off really easily too, giving Red King a little more variety when it comes to posing. Overall it isn't the most extravagant set of accessories, but sometimes getting any at all with the larger kaiju figures is a luxury.
Given its status as one of the franchise's most iconic monsters S.H. Figuarts Red King was long overdue, and Bandai Tamashii Nations certainly haven't disappointed when it comes to bringing this ferocious kaiju to collections everywhere. Minor gripes with some of the more limited areas of articulation can easily be justified in that the suit itself probably wasn't much better, and the small selection of accessories is a nice addition to both Red King and effect part options. Also with the way Ultraman keeps its most popular kaiju in circulation with minimal changes to the design Red King fits just as well alongside any other Ultra from the past 58 years as he does the original!
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