Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts -Shinkocchou Seihou- Ultraman 60th Anniversary Edition

Release Date: July 2026

RRP: 15,400 yen

2026 marks two big anniversaries for the Ultraman franchise. Not only is it celebrating its 60th anniversary, but the S.H. Figuarts range is also celebrating its tenth anniversary - having first started back in 2016 to mark the 50th anniversary. As such, Bandai Tamashii Nations have some big plans for the line over the next year or so - with plenty of announcements still yet to come. Kicking the celebrations off in style however is S.H. Figuarts -Shinkocchou Seihou- Ultraman 60th Anniversary - a lavish new edition of the original giant of light from Nebula M78. The figure was released as at general retail, sporting a much higher price tag than previous editions of the figure due to the sheer number of new parts and accessories included in the set.

This 60th Anniversary Edition of Ultraman comes in new wider-style version of the two-piece Shinkocchou Seihou packaging previously seen with both the Kamen Rider 1 (Legendary Showa Masked Riders Edition) and Akarenger (Super Sentai 50th Anniversary Ver.) figures - the larger size mainly introduced to fit the newly included display stands in but here also to simply house the sheer number of accessories it comes with. The matte black box features a bust shot of the figure on its top half/lid, accompanied by another picture showing off how the figure looks on the included display base. The sides of the lid feature the character name in gold foil lettering, complete with the "60th Anniversary Edition" tagline printed just above. On the bottom half/back of the box you'll find a selection of images showing off the figure in various poses, as well as one breaking down the full contents of the box. Inside the contents are stored across two moulded plastic trays - one housing the figure and a couple of accessories, and the other covering the rest of the accessories. Underneath the trays is the display base, stored in a clear plastic bag along with the remaining handful of accessories. For anyone completely overwhelmed by the amount of parts included, there's also a handy instruction leaflet explaining how to use/swap all of the parts as well.

The figure itself is not a brand new sculpt, but a re-release (albeit with a few slight changes) of the original Shinkocchou Seihou Ultraman figure previously released back in 2022. That might seem like a while ago, but despite some of the advancements the line has made in the years since this one is still top tier. Featuring the line's signature "true bone carving" method, the sculpt and proportions are directly based on original suit actor Bin Furuya to make it look as realistic as possible. Sure the various joint cuts mean it doesn't look like an actual suit, but there's still an element of realism to it that you don't get with standard Figuarts. As with the other Ultraman Shinkocchou Seihou releases it uses rubbery parts in the torso - a choice which was initially met with criticism at first but seems to have become less of an issue with subsequent releases. There's always the question of how long before these parts begin to degrade, but the original release is still going strong so there doesn't appear to be any immediate worry of that. The paintwork and quality control here is excellent though, with not a detail out of place.

Naturally the Shinkocchou Seihou mould is a considerable improvement over the original S.H. Figuarts release from 2016 in pretty much every way, but the differences between the 60th Anniversary Edition and original Shinkocchou Seihou release are far more subtle. The mould itself and the materials used are exactly the same, however the paint deco has been slightly revised. The 60th Anniversary Edition features a marginally brighter shade of red, as well as a more muted shade of silver. That might sound like a negative compared to the original's more metallic silver, but the new one feels both more screen-accurate to the original series suit and fits in better with the more muted tones of the other Ultra Brother figures. Other minor differences include the eyes and colour timer being slightly duller on the new release, likely due to the way the light-catching gimmick has been implemented. Similarly the new version has removable back panel as part of the gimmick, whereas the original it's a solid piece. Otherwise the figures are near-identical however, with the appeal of the 60th Anniversary Edition definitely being the extra accessories rather than any deco modifications/improvements.

With the mould being exactly the same that also means that the articulation is exactly the same as it was on the previous release, consisting of;

- Ball jointed head, neck, torso, waist and wrists

- Swivel hinge shoulders, hips and ankles

- Butterfly joint shoulders

- Double hinge/swivel elbow

- Double hinge knees

- Single hinge toe sections

- Bicep and thigh swivels

There are a few aspects to the Shinkocchou Seihou Ultraman figures that really make them stand out from the standard S.H. Figuarts releases, and the first of those is the inclusion of bicep swivels. It might not seem like much, but combined with the butterfly shoulders and double hinge elbows make the cross-armed Specium Beam pose extremely easy to pull off. The second (and arguably much bigger) difference is the use of rubbery material on the torso and waist, giving the figure a better ab crunch for those iconic grappling poses. Nearly five years on and this figure still feels as fresh as ever, offering plenty of poseability at that high Shinkocchou Seihou standard.

The 60th Anniversary Edition version carries over all the accessories from the previous Shinkocchou Seihou release, which included 13 swappable hands, alternate red Colour Timer, Specium Beam effect part and two Ultra Slash effect parts - one fixed to a right hand and the other loose to be displayed mid-throw. The latter version uses a clear plastic stand, with two arms included so it can be displayed at different heights. The wide selection of hands on offer covers all the bases for Ultraman's core poses, including grappling, flight and beam pose pairs. As tends to be the case with most Ultraman figures, the Specium Beam is also fixed to an additional right hand to give it better stability. Both the Specium Beam and Ultra Slash parts are moulded in a milky white plastic, with their appearance closely matching how they looked on the original show. Finally there's the alternate red Colour Timer, which is very easy to switch in and out despite both its small size and how far it sits into Ultraman's chest. Just as it was back in 2022 this is still a solid set of accessories, covering all the basics one would expect from an Ultraman figure.

That standard array of accessories may be good for covering all the basics, but as tends to be the case with any Ultraman there's always more that could be included. Over the course of the series Ultraman uses a wide range of attacks, some of which may only appear the once and then are never mentioned again. For this special 60th anniversary release Bandai have finally answered the question of what a fully stacked Ultraman figure could look like, with an array of accessories that go far beyond those base Specium Beam and Ultra Slash parts. Also included here are effect parts for the following attacks/abilities;

- Fluoroscope Beam

- Ultra Eye Spot

- Ultra Water Current

- Ultra Psychokinesis

- Slash beam

- Ultra Attack Beam

- Ultra Barrier

- Ultra Air Catch

The Fluroscope beam and Ultra Eye Spot are both twin eye beams that plug into an alternate head which features sockets in the middle of the eyes. The beams are very similar in design, with one being moulded in translucent white plastic and the other translucent blue. The beams are also moulded at an angle, so can either be posed pointing upwards or downwards. Moving on the Ultra Water Current, Ultra Psychokinesis and Slash Beam parts are all attached to their own hand pieces rather than needing to be attached separately. The Water Current and Slash Beam pieces are very similar in design to the Specium Beam, the latter effectively feeling like a version that's used mid-flight. The design is slightly different though, whereas the Water Current features a stream of translucent blue plastic. The Ultra Psychokinesis parts are even more lavish - a spiral of translucent green emanating from each of Ultraman's hands. The Ultra Attack Beam however uses a slightly different connection method - a tube of energy that splits in half and then pegs over the top of Ultraman's outstretched arm. Finally there are the Ultra Barrier and Ultra Air Catch effects - both cut and printed sheets of plastic held up by an included display base. The Ultra Barrier is very similar to the one that was included with the original S.H. Figuarts Ultraman, but this is the first appearance of the Ultra Air Catch. While it might not be a completely exhaustive list of Ultraman's attacks, it's still an incredible selection that covers far more than any Ultraman release has before.

Not every effect piece included is technically for Ultraman himself either! Also among the accessories is a Catch Rings effect piece, representing the energy rings he used to hold Zetton in place during the series finale. Rather than being rings themselves the effect is a solid piece - cast in yellow-tinted clear plastic with a moulded bubbly texture. The piece just simply slips around Zetton to hold the kaiju in place, and then is clipped on using two curved plastic pieces. As with the others it's a fantastic looking piece that's both accurate to how it appears onscreen and adds an extra level of playability to the release. Since the mould is exactly the same it can be used with any version of S.H. Figuarts Zetton - the original 2016 version, the "One Trillion Degree Fireball" version or the new 60th Anniversary Edition.

Not all of the accessories included are attacks though! There's also a miniature SSSP Jet VTOL, 60th anniversary display base, two articulated display arms and even an adapter arm so that Ultraman can be properly displayed in a flight pose. The Jet VTOL is very similar to the GUTS Wings that were released alongside Ultraman Tiga, beautifully detailed and scaling well with the figure itself. An extra right hand has even been included that the vehicle can directly peg onto! Meanwhile the display base is very similar to the ones included with the aforementioned Kamen Rider 1 and Akarenger releases, large enough to feature multiple figures and sporting the Ultraman 60th anniversary logo. Three stand ports are located on the stand, so you're able to display Ultraman flying alongside the Jet VTOL. The flight pose adapter might not seem like much among the sheer amount of parts included here, but is something that feels long overdue on an Ultraman release.

Finally rounding off the accessories are optional parts to use the new light-catching gimmick, similar to the one recently featured on Shinkocchou Seihou Kamen Rider Agito Ground Form 25th Anniversary Edition (as well as some other forthcoming Kamen Rider releases). Here the gimmick has been implemented for both the eyes and the Colour Timer, and can be achieved by swapping out the both the red piece on the back of the head and a panel between the shoulder blades. The light-catching pieces have clear plastic windows allowing the light to shine through, resulting in glowing parts. While the glowing eyes aren't quite as vibrant as they are on the Kamen Rider releases, it works really well for the Colour Timer - likely due to the use of coloured plastic as opposed to the milky white. Both the standard head and the alternate eye beam one have the gimmick, so the alternate head piece can be used with either. As was the case with Agito, despite not being as extravagant as battery-powered light-up pieces they can still be used to really good effect when the light catches them right.

It may feel hyperbolic to say but the S.H. Figuarts -Shinkocchou Seihou- Ultraman 60th Anniversary Edition might just be the greatest S.H. Figuarts release ever. The original Shinkocchou Seihou Ultraman was already a fantastic release that covered all of the basics, and now Bandai have followed it up with what's arguably one of the most expansive Ultraman releases - including everything that made the original great along with a wide range of additional effect parts and accessories. There's so much here that it often feels like more than you could ever want. To expect this much from the line on a regular basis feels like a bit much, but as a release that celebrates something as monumental as a 60th anniversary? "Ultra" doesn't even begin to cover it.