Toybox REVIEW: S.H. MonsterArts Jet Jaguar [1973]

Release Date: June 2024

RRP: 11,000 yen

They might have taken their sweet time getting there, but now that Bandai Tamashii Nations is fully embracing the Showa era in the S.H. MonsterArts line they are finally tackling some firm fan favourites. After the 1972 double hitter of Gigan and Godzilla, it’s now time for them to turn their attention toward the following year and the 50th anniversary of Godzilla vs. Megalon. But the titular villain will have to wait a little while longer, because before then it's the turn of the film's real MVP. S.H. MonsterArts Jet Jaguar [1973] finally brings the original version of Godzilla's mechanical ally to the line, following the Godzilla: Singular Point version of the character back in 2022. The figure is a Tamashii web exclusive, and the first designated release from Godzilla vs. Megalon.

S.H. MonsterArts Jet Jaguar [1973] comes in a much smaller box than your average MonsterArts release, but then humanoid characters aren't all that common in the line either. As a Tamashii web exclusive release the box is windowless, but makes up for it with its psychedelic multicolour background and nice big image of the figure on the front. Also feature are the character name, S.H. MonsterArts, Godzilla vs. Megalon and various other Godzilla logos. One side of the box simply features the character name in bold yellow lettering, while the other features a greyscale image of the figure which works really well against the colourful backdrop. On the back of the box there are further images of the figure showing off both its articulation and accessories, and then inside it can be found neatly stored away on a moulded plastic tray.

Straight out of the box and S.H. MonsterArts Jet Jaguar is an interesting figure. Obviously scaled to work alongside other MonsterArts releases (even if there aren't any others from Godzilla vs. Megalon at the time of writing), Jet Jaguar is a solid-looking figure with a chunky body and the kind of proportions you'd expect from a sofubi toy. The design features very straightforward detailing so none of the moulding is out of place, and the colours are all nice and vibrant. The eyes are translucent blue lenses, however take a look at them closely and you can see the circular shaping in them that's present on the suit itself. But while MonsterArts usually have the approach of trying to look like the onscreen suit whilst also incorporating all the elements you'd expect on an articulated toy, there's something noticeably toyetic about Jet Jaguar. There really isn't much in the way of detailing here as all of the body has a smooth finish save for the wrinkled texture of his "belt buckle" emblem. Likewise the head has very soft detailing, with barely pronounced rivets on the forehead and some so-so paint application on the mouth grille. Comparing the figure to images of the suit it looks to be pretty on point, but the clean finish definitely takes away that aspect of the figure even if it was still the intention. That all said, part of Jet Jaguar's charm comes from the simplicity of the design and it definitely still gets that across – that cool retro sci-fi Japanese robot look that made the character such a fan favourite even if he only made one appearance in the film series.

Despite being a humanoid figure and thus having the potential for articulation more along the lines of what Bandai do with the S.H. Figuarts line, Jet Jaguar is built very similarly to the rest of the MonsterArts line in that his body is held together almost entirely by ball joints, with various bits of sculpting covering their visibility. Altogether Jet Jaguar features; 

- Ball jointed head, neck, torso, waist, elbows, wrists, knees and ankles 

- Swivel hinge shoulders 

- Drop-down ball jointed hips 

This is where the biggest problem with Jet Jaguar quickly becomes apparent – Bandai are capable of doing much better than this. Yes there is an element of trying to make the figure move as close to the onscreen suit as possible, but everything just feels limited and/or outdated here. While the ball jointed elbows and knees do add swivels above and below the joint that lessens the need for a bicep or thigh swivel (more so for the biceps), the bend they provide is less than ideal. The drop-down hips just feel antiquated given this is the kind of thing Bandai were engineering when they started the Figuarts line 16 years ago, offering a decent range of movement but much less seamless. Jet Jaguar doesn't even have hinged toe sections, something which has been standard on Figuarts since day one. Yes they are two different toy lines, but they are sister lines with you'd think would have a similar approach to things. While you can certainly get some decent (and movie-accurate) poses out of Jet Jaguar, it doesn't offer a whole lot in terms of poseability that would set it above cheaper options. But then perhaps that's the thing – there aren't a great deal of cheaper options out there at the moment.

One thing Jet Jaguar does have that puts him ahead of most S.H. MonsterArts releases though is accessories! Unlike the various Godzilla releases which can't even come with a beam effect these days, Jet Jaguar comes with a nice selection of optional parts to enhance posing and display. Altogether the set includes two additional pairs of hands (knife-strike and open/posed hands to compliment the default fists), alternate eye piece, three swappable antennae pieces and a miniature (human-scaled) figurine of Jet Jaguar. In addition to this, there is also a small tool piece to assist with swapping the eye piece as well as replacement versions of the centre antennae should you accidentally lose them. The hands need no real explanation, although arguably the thumbs up hand is the highlight of this entire section. The alternate eye piece is cast in a lighter blue translucent plastic and meant to simulate Jet Jaguar's eyes illuminating as they do in the film, although honestly the difference is only really noticeable when a bright light is cast on them. To swap the parts, simply remove Jet Jaguar's faceplate and then lift the eye piece off inside using the included tool, swapping it out with the new one. The antennae parts, which fold out during his flight mode, are an essential inclusion but both fragile and fiddly – the side ones could very easily snap whilst trying to unpeg them, while the collapsed version of the centre one is just small and very easy to lose. When displayed properly the flight mode antennae look great, but you're unlikely to want to frequently swap them purely because of how stressful it is to do. Finally we have the miniature figurine, which is nicely detailed with all of Jet Jaguar's key details but unfortunately painted entirely in silver. It doesn't look awful, but a fully painted version that skimps on some of the detailing would have definitely worked better here. While it's nice to get a MonsterArts release with a decent range of accessories for once (and truth be told these do cover all the essentials you'd want with Jet Jaguar), much like the figure itself the execution on some of them does feel a little half-baked.

S.H. MonsterArts Jet Jaguar [1973] was my most anticipated figure of the year, and while it definitely has a place in my heart purely for being Jet Jaguar this release really emphasises many of the issues collectors have had with the MonsterArts line for some time now. Despite being considerably more expensive than similar Tamashii Nations lines (even if some of that probably comes from Toho licensing), it really is way behind them when it comes to both sculpting and articulation. It's easier to make excuses for the kaiju figures as their builds warrant a different way of doing things, but with a humanoid character like Jet Jaguar there really is no reason why this couldn't be more along the lines of an S.H. Figuarts release. But side by side Jet Jaguar doesn't even feel like it's from the same company, let alone sister lines. A more basic looking sculpt, far more limited articulation – while it may have the sense of looking like the onscreen suit going for it (and even that's debatable), the Ultraman Figuarts range does exactly the same thing and does it far better at (usually) a much cheaper price. Jet Jaguar deserves a place in every Godzilla fan's collection, but he also deserved better than this.