Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts General Grievous

Release Date: November 2025

RRP: 18,150 yen

While Bandai Tamashii Nations are constantly revealing new and exciting figures in the S.H. Figuarts line, sometimes the most satisfying releases are the ones that have been sitting in Bandai purgatory for years only to suddenly get a surprise release. 2025 marked the 20th anniversary of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, so there couldn’t have been a better time for S.H. Figuarts General Grievous to suddenly become a reality. First seen at an event all the way back in 2015, Grievous (along with many of the other Star Wars figures seen at the same event) hadn’t been seen since despite the line continuing on strongly. How much of that old prototype is still in this new release is another question entirely, but nevertheless this is one fans (including myself) have been waiting a long time for.

Given his height it shouldn’t be any surprise to hear General Grievous comes in larger than usual packaging, but other than size the box matches up with everything else we’ve seen from the Star Wars range so far. The predominantly black box features a large window section on the front showing Grievous off in all his glory, with the Star Wars logo stencilled in gold foil over the top and the character name printed underneath. One side of the box features an image of the figure, while the other the usual grey strip of ship-like detail. On the back of the box are a selection of images showing the figure off in all its glory, and then inside Grievous and (most of) his accessories can be found on a moulded plastic tray. The cloak and Tamashii stage are stored separately underneath in their own individual plastic bags.

True to how he appears in the film, General Grievous is one tall figure. When fully straightened out, he absolutely towers over other Star Wars releases. And when it comes to detailing, Bandai have definitely done the character justice. His bone-coloured armour plating is covered in all sorts of battle damage detailing, from scratches and scrapes to tiny dents. Behind the gunmetal ribcage is a translucent green chest piece, barely visible unless there’s light shining behind it. The head sculpt is particularly impressive, with pipes on either side of the neck and the last vestiges of Grievous’ organic body peeking out from behind the mask’s eyeholes. The figure also includes Grievous’ cloak, something which was the subject to some debate prior to release as the colour isn’t completely screen-accurate. Bandai have opted to go for a black cloak with red lining here, whereas onscreen it's more of a dark grey. In certain lighting it could perhaps be perceived as black, but it’s strange Bandai went this route when the original prototype had a grey cloak. The cloak is fabric and features wiring around the hem so can be bent into shape. Putting the cloak on simply requires slipping the it over the figure’s head and plugging a socket into the back of the next (after first removing the plug piece covering it), and although ideally it’s supposed to sit under Grievous’ collar this quite difficult to do. All of Bandai’s stock images show it sitting there comfortably, but go through actual collectors’ images of the figures and very few seem to have managed it. If the clasp on the front opened up this would be easy to do, so it’s a shame Bandai didn’t go that route rather than making the two sides permanently affixed. Still, even if you can’t manage it the cloak looks perfectly fine sitting on top of the collar and the ability to pose it makes it all the more impressive.

When comparing this figure alongside the Black Series General Grievous, the big difference between the two is detail. Naturally that’s to be expected given that the Figuarts costs significantly more than the Black Series release, but for fans of the character that extra cost is worth every penny when you see how much more detail there is. The sculpt and colours are both far more defined, and none of that battle scarring on the armour has been lost. The fact the Figuarts uses separate pieces for the separated arms also means there’s no pegs or gimmickry on the arms either, as well as having the ability to switch the hands. To the Black Series’ credit though, having the arms be able to split like they do in the film is pretty cool. The other thing the Black Series has over the Figuarts is that the cloak is a more screen-accurate grey, whereas the Figuarts has the black. Despite the inaccuracy the black doesn’t look awful though, and the internal wiring makes it a lot more poseable than Hasbro’s basic soft goods. Both versions also lack the insignia printed on the back. Basically it’s all up to preference and how much you like the character – the Black Series figure is very good for its price, but when it comes to overall quality you get what you pay for with the Figuarts.

General Grievous has a rather unique looking frame, and to get a full range of articulation out of this Bandai have implemented some rather interesting engineering choices. Altogether Grievous features;

- Ball jointed head, waist and wrists

- Single hinge collar piece and elbows

- Swivel hinge shoulders, hips and ankles

- Butterfly joint shoulders

- Double hinge knees

The shoulder pad-like pieces are also attached to the figure via their own ball joints. This all sounds very similar to what’s usually on an S.H. Figuarts release, but it’s how it’s done that makes Grievous stand out. Rather than the usual chunky swivel hinge joint, both the shoulders and hips instead use much smaller versions that fit with Grievous’ skeletal frame. Both are unique configurations too – the shoulders use a pair of joints that work in tandem (whilst in the two-armed configuration), whilst the hip joints are dumbbell-shaped pieces with a joint on each end. Both take some getting used to (and I do advise taking care due to their size, especially when first handling the figure), but it’s very impressive how much range the joints have. And despite the note of caution, the joints are sturdier than you think. While the arms have more unrestricted movement when swapped out, the two-arm configuration still works surprisingly well considering you’re effectively getting two pairs of joints to move in the same way. Other little bits of engineering on the figure that work really well include the neck configuration, which allows Grievous to look straight up when moving along the floor like a spider. The torso can rotate a full 180 degrees too, allowing the legs to arch up backwards if posing him in this way (the double-jointed knees are particularly good for both this and crouching poses). Of course, a more significant benefit of the neck/torso articulation is that you can get that the figure in Grievous’ trademark hunched posture. There’s also a good range of movement in the ankles too, which is a relief as the feet aren’t necessarily the best for balancing. That all said, none of this changes the fact the figure (both body and joints) is thin and light. It can pull off poses really well, but how well the joints will hold up over time may be a concern. If you’re putting the figure in a specific action pose for a significant amount of time, it might be worth using the included Tamashii stage for extra support.

Grievous’ accessories consist of the aforementioned wired cloak, two additional pairs of hands (open and gripping), four swappable arms, four lightsabers (two with blue blades, two with green) and a standard Tamashii stage with articulated display arm. Display stages aren’t a common inclusion with Figuarts, but it makes sense with Grievous – not just because of how expensive he is, but those smaller limbs/joints mean he could probably benefit from the additional support when left in more extravagant poses. Much like with the articulation, the arms are actually really easy to swap out despite looking fragile – simply remove the rod-shaped forearms out of the shoulder joints and replace. Removing the default arms allows the shoulder pieces to move separately, giving Grievous full articulation in all four arms. In this configuration Grievous has mostly the same articulation as before, only with greater range because now the halves don’t have to work in tandem – resulting in additional bicep swivels. The hands are also now connected to disc-shaped swivel hinge joints and not swappable. Each hand can hold a lightsaber comfortably, giving Grievous plenty of range and flexibility when it comes to poses. The lightsabers themselves look great with detailed hilts – despite reusing Obi-Wan and Anakin’s hilts, this is actually accurate to the movie! As usual the blades are removable, and the hilts can be stored in the pockets sewn into the cloak. A fine addition to his collection!
It's also worth noting that originally the figure was also supposed to come with another accessory – the double-ended electrostaff used by the Magnaguards. This weapon was originally shown in the original promotional images for the figure released when preorders went up (and can still be seen online), but for some reason Bandai removed it prior to release. They did however announce this long before the figure hit shelves, so its omission doesn’t come as a shock or anything like that. While it’s a shame that Bandai did drop it from the set, personally I don’t think it harms it in any way – the figure is still superb and if anything it would have just been a nice bonus, all the necessary accessories are still here.

There’s no doubt that S.H. Figuarts General Grievous is a bit of daunting release – both in regards to its price tag and how fragile the figure looks. But rest assured Bandai really brought their A-game to this one, and the General has very much been worth the long wait. The level of detail is astounding, and despite needing a little bit of time to fully understand how the articulation all works the figure is incredibly poseable without ever feeling like one of those tiny joints is about to break. Some might be slightly disappointed that the cloak is black rather than grey, but the difference is negligible enough to not feel like a significant knock against it. The figure is a marvel of engineering, and undoubtedly one of the best releases in the Star Wars S.H. Figuarts range.