Toybox REVIEW: S.H. MonsterArts Godzilla [2024] Evolved Ver.

Release Date: October 2024

RRP: 14,300 yen

2024 was big year for the King of Monsters on both sides of the globe, with Godzilla Minus One riding an Academy Award-winning high whilst Legendary Entertainment's MonsterVerse continued on with its next big screen instalment – Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. Two very different films, but together showing off just how tonally varied a Godzilla film can be. During The New Empire, Godzilla absorbs the energy of the kaiju Tiamat to take on a new evolved form ready for the oncoming threat of Skar King. After releasing low-price point re-release versions of Godzilla and Kong to kick off their range of figures from the film, S.H. MonsterArts [2024] Evolved Ver. is the first newly sculpted release from Bandai Tamashii Nations – a Tamashii web exclusive release that in typical MonsterArts fashion boasts a noticeably high price tag.

Much like the film it hails from, S.H. MonsterArts Godzilla [2024] Evolved Ver. comes in bright and colourful packaging that really highlights the King of Monster's new colour scheme. On the front of the box is a large image of the figure that makes a point of showing off Godzilla's dorsal plates, together with the Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire film logo and the character name in bright neon pink text. One side of the box features a further image of the figure with the same text, whilst the other replaces it with the MonsterVerse logo. As usual the back of the box then sports further images of the figure, which do a great job of showing off the range of articulation and poseability S.H. MonsterArts have to offer. Inside, the figure and its (minimal) accessories are comfortably stored on a moulded plastic tray.

Upon absorbing Tiamat's energy along with trace amounts of its DNA, Godzilla evolves to take on a leaner, muscular build for improved speed and manoeuvrability - his once blue dorsal plates turning pink with the new power whilst also growing thagomizers on his tail as well as additional spiked protrusions on his elbows. Godzilla's new look certainly wasn't to every fan's taste, however designer Jared Krichevsky has said it is only a temporary transformation for the King of Monsters. I for one loved it though, with the form calling back to other transformed states Godzilla has had over the decades as well as the few times designs have moved away from the traditional silver/white or blue spines (such as 2000's Godzilla vs Megaguiras). Bandai have also done a brilliant job with the sculpt on this figure, the highlight of course being those gorgeous translucent pink spines which just shimmer against the dull grey of Godzilla's scaly body. The sculpting there is superb too, with lots of moulded detailing as well as additional splashes of brown and pink thrown in to highlight said detail all the more. The segmented style of MonsterArts' sculpts does lead to a few gaps here and there (the knees most notably), but overall the dark body does a great job of hiding it. Finally you have the head sculpt, which can often be a sore point with MonsterArts collectors due to the spotty paint apps they can have. Maybe Godzilla's eyes can look a little weird if you look at them really close up, but as the head sculpt is so small that any detail is going to look weird that magnified. In proportion to the whole body it looks great. I know people of had their fair share of complaints with SHMA MonsterVerse Godzillas in the past, but in terms of looks this version pulls it off pretty damn well.

But does Godzilla's new athletic build translate into a more articulated MonsterArts figure? As tends to be the standard with the line Godzilla's articulation comes primarily from ball joints across his whole body – most of which have then had skin pieces slotted over the top of them to create a more seamless sculpt. Altogether this includes his head, jaw, neck, shoulders, biceps, elbows (x2), wrists, upper torso, lower torso, hips, thighs, knees (x2), ankles, feet and tail. The tail is made up of around 20 different segments with a number of ball joints running throughout to give it realistic sweeping motion. Overall the system provides for an excellent range of movement, particularly in the shoulders, hips and ankles. I'm not quite convinced that the head can look up or the jaw open as much as they do on some of the box images, but it's still enough to replicate the same kind of poses. The tail movement is also pretty great, but issue I found is that it has a tendency to pop off at the ball joint that attaches it to the main body. It came detached in the box, and every time it pops off it’s a struggle to get it firmly back on thanks to the obtrusion of the tail segment that goes around it. That said, the tail is brilliant for providing additional balance in some of the more athletic poses the figure can do, such as the iconic running pose from both the trailer and climactic team-up with Kong.

Accessories aren't something that Bandai like to give away so readily with S.H. MonsterArts anymore, so it isn't really surprising to see that Godzilla only comes with a measly one extra pair of hands. This pair are a little more open than the default ones, so are perfect for slashing/attacking poses as well as just generally looking a lot better. Now it goes without saying that the figure would be far better if it came with a beam effect (particularly as a pink one would be a little more unique among the pantheon of Godzilla variants), but the same can be said of nearly all Godzilla figures these days. Why give collectors the beam now when they can just re-release a "final battle ver" of the figure a year or two later and pack it in then? Or then again, they may simply never release it at all – who knows how the minds at Bandai Tamashii Nations work anymore.

S.H. MonsterArts Godzilla [2024] Evolved Ver. is my first foray into the MonsterVerse, and while I'm well aware of some of the issues the range has had in the part I'm sufficiently impressed with this one. While having a very different feel from figures from the Toho films, the design still feels quintessentially Godzilla while having all the same highs (and lows) that part of the line has. An absolutely gorgeous sculpt (particularly those dorsal plates), with some great (if a little fiddly in places) articulation enhanced by this version's more athletic build. It's just a shame Bandai have to repeatedly show their greed with this line – not only from the high price tag but also making Kong's BEAST Glove look additional accessories with other figures. Godzilla is arguably worth the asking price, but a movie-accurate Kong definitely isn't worth the price of three.