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.

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.

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. MonsterArts Godzilla [1972]

Release Date: February 2024

RRP: 11000 yen

With the Showa era of Godzilla films all reaching their 50th anniversaries over the last few years it's been a particularly good time for the S.H. MonsterArts line. After years of mostly ignoring it, Bandai Tamashii Nations have been marking these milestones with long-awaited releases of classic characters, starting with Godzilla vs Hedorah before moving forward into both Godzilla vs Gigan and Godzilla vs Megalon. 2023 was particularly special as it saw the release of S.H. MonsterArts Gigan, but what good is one of Godzilla's most iconic foes if we don't have the proper Godzilla to go along with him? Hence the release of S.H. MonsterArts Godzilla [1972], the third version of Godzilla to be released from the Showa era (following on from 1954 and 1964) and the first from Godzilla's fully established time as a heroic kaiju.

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. MonsterArts Gigan [1972]

Release Date: July 2023

RRP: 12100 yen

2022 marked the 50th anniversary of Godzilla vs. Gigan, and as such the introduction of one of Godzilla's most popular adversaries. Although he only appeared in two films during the Showa era run and then wouldn't be seen again (albeit looking very differently) in 2004 in Godzilla: Final Wars, kaiju fans definitely can't get enough of Gigan. And considering he's a giant cyborg space chicken with hooks for hands and a circular saw in his chest, can you blame them? Gigan's 50th anniversary saw the release of a special Godzilla vs. Gigan Rex short as well as a wide selection of new merchandise - among them being S.H. MonsterArts Gigan [1972]. After largely ignoring the Showa era for so long, Bandai Tamashii Nations finally gave the public what it wants and ensured this would be an anniversary worth celebrating.

Top 5: Tamashii Nation 2023 Reveals

That time of year where the wallets of toy collectors all over the world cry out in pain has rolled around again, with Bandai Tamashii Nations holding their annual Tamashii Nation showcase event in Tokyo. The event saw the usual array of reveals and announcements for their various toy lines, with a wide selection of anime, tokusatsu, video game and Western media products. While my personal hopes/predictions for the event were a bit off this year, that didn't stop Bandai from revealing a whole host of great items that'll tide me over into 2024. As usual here are my five favourite reveals from the event, as well as hopes and prayers that none of these will end up in Bandai purgatory. Though truth be told, they've gotten much better at "announce less, release more" in recent years.

Top 5: Tamashii Nation 2022 Reveals

This weekend saw the Bandai Tamashii Nations 2022 event take place in Tokyo, and as usual it was an exciting few days of brand-new reveals to look forward to over the coming years. 2022 saw big moments such as the grand return of One Piece S.H. Figuarts, the continuation of the Super Sentai range, Metal Heroes gain new life in the Chogokin line, a strong return for S.H. MonsterArts as well as the usual impressive displays from the likes of Kamen Rider, Gundam, Ultraman, Macross and more. So today I'm looking back on my five favourite reveals from the event, all of which I simply can't wait to preorder…providing these aren't more examples of figures that revealed and immediately end up in Bandai purgatory that is.

Top 5: Tamashii Nations Reveals That Never Happened

We're only a few weeks away from the annual Tamashii Nations event, where Bandai Tamashii Nations reveal a whole bunch of forthcoming releases from their various toy lines. But while these events are always a big source of excitement for collectors as they see all the newest figures to add to their wish lists, they can also be a time of frustration as many of the figures on display never make it past the prototype stage. So in the lead up to the event I've decided to put together my top five reveals that have happened at Tamashii Nations events over the years, which have then never come to fruition. Reader beware – this list contains a whole lot of "what could have been", and if you've been following these events for some time are likely to drum up some painful memories of Bandai prototype hell. 

Favourite Toys of 2019

Has another year gone by already? 12 months a whole lot of reviews later the time has come to sit down and think about what were some of my favourite toy releases from 2019. As usual it's worth noting that I'm only counting figures that were first released in 2019 (so reissues like the excellent S.H. Figuarts R2-D2 are sadly disqualified) and that I've managed to review for the blog so far. There are a fair few releases from November/December that I sadly haven't got around to yet (or in some cases, haven't even arrived yet), but even so I'm fairly confident in my picks this year. So without further ado, let's bring on the list and find out what my favourite toys of 2019 were!

(and if you think including two-packs is technically cheating, you might want to look away now)

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Monsterarts Gamera [1995]

Release Date: August 2019

RRP: 10800 yen

It isn’t very often we see something that isn’t Godzilla related in the S.H. MonsterArts line these days, but every so often Bandai Tamashii Nations creeps something through that reminds fans just how much untapped potential the line has. One of the most pleasant surprises in 2015 was S.H. MonsterArts Gamera [1996], based on the titanic turtle’s appearance in the second of the Heisei era Gamera trilogy - Gamera 2: Attack of Legion. Though sadly an accompanying Legion figure never came to fruition a version of Gamera based on the 1999 instalment Gamera 3: The Revenge of Iris eventually arrived in 2018, and now in 2019 the trinity is finally complete with S.H. MonsterArts Gamera [1995]. Based on the monster’s appearance in Shusuke Kaneko’s epic Gamera: Guardian of the Universe, this is the only of the three Gamera figures to have been a Tamashii Web exclusive.

Favourites from Tamashii Nations 2016

Last weekend Bandai Tamashii Nations held their annual Tamashii Nations event, and as usual it was packed full of new items from the likes of S.H. Figuarts, S.H. MonsterArts, S.I.C., Super Robot Chogokin, Soul of Chogokin, Hi-Metal R and more. As usual a lot of these items will probably never see release (I’m personally still waiting on the Kikaider REBOOT Figuart from 2014) but it’s always fun to speculate what could be coming soon. Here are my five personal highlights from the event, based on the items which were available for photography and not on display for attendees only.

And as usual, there was absolutely no sign of Kamen Rider Kiva at the event. Because why break tradition?

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. MonsterArts Godzilla [1954]

Once upon a time the S.H. MonsterArts line looked to be the perfect answer to articulated kaiju toys, offering a variety of monsters from Godzilla's long and illustrious history with the usual high standard of Bandai Tamashii Nations toys. However more recently it seems like the line may have fallen into more difficult times, not only predominantly taken up with web exclusive releases but also toys of Godzilla himself - leaving many other popular monsters sadly unrepresented. However the truth is there are still plenty of Godzilla costumes left to do, and it is only now that Bandai are getting to possibly the most important of them all. The original 1954 Godzilla finally joins the line as its latest mass release figure, just in time to coincide with the release of the Shin Godzilla movie in Japanese theatres.

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. MonsterArts Gamera [1996]

As much as I love Godzilla, when it comes to giant monster movies my heart definitely belongs to Gamera. Sure Godzilla has had the more illustrious film career, but the Heisei era Gamera Trilogy don't just rank as some of the best kaiju flicks you'll ever find - they're some of my favourite films of all time. The suits and practical effects are among the very best you'll find in modern tokusatsu, and the plots and characters are pretty damn good too! So imagine my excitement when Bandai Tamashii Nations announced that they would finally be visiting the Gamera franchise in their S.H. MonsterArts line - starting with the 1996 version of the character that appeared in the second instalment of the trilogy, Gamera 2: Attack of Legion. While the Gamera franchise did receive some love from Revoltech's SFX/Sci-Fi/tokusatsu subline a few years ago, this was a chance to see Bandai give it the same high quality treatment it's given the likes of Godzilla, King Kong and even the Alien/Predator franchises.

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. MonsterArts Gigan [2004]

With the brand new Godzilla film from Legendary Pictures hitting cinemas this very month, the world is in a bit of a Godzilla frenzy right now. So it couldn't be a better time for me to get my first experience of Bandai Tamashii Nations' S.H. MonsterArts line, which has been providing high quality, articulated versions of Godzilla's finest kaiju (along with a few Western creatures) for a few years now. However my first purchase isn't the big G himself, but my all-time favourite Godzilla monster - Gigan. After Revoltech released a great figure of the Showa version back in 2011, Bandai have gone bigger and released the 2004 Millennium era version of the character which made it's appearance in the final Japanese Godzilla film to date - Godzilla: Final Wars.