The phrase “from outta nowhere” comes to mind…
Less than a month after revealing their new (and stunning) Godzilla 2001 (star of fan favorite Godzilla flick Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack), Bandai collector wing Tamashii Nations has announced, COMPLETELY out of the blue, the next installment of the newly revitalized S.H.MonsterArts series of articulated kaiju figures… the one that started it all, Godzilla, as he appeared in his seminal first film over 61 years ago.
This is not only an unexpected and exciting reveal for fans of the line, its also a puzzling one, as Tamashii has been infamously avoiding the Showa series since the line began, offering only the 1964 Godzilla nearly 3 years ago, and re-releasing it repainted a few months ago. The reasons for this are economical, as Tamashii has always courted “younger” collectors (between the ages of 20-40), and have believed that releasing any characters from the 1950’s, 60’s, or 70’s might result in lower profits and stores full of shelf-warming kaiju toys. Fans, however, have been begging for Showa releases since the line began, and have been hoping against hope that Tamashii would change their policy regarding the era, and its fifteen Godzilla movies full of loved and nostalgic monster characters and designs.
Well, it looks as though those prayers were heard. Godzilla 1954, beautifully sculpted by SHMA, X-Plus, and model kit veteran Yuji Sakai, will be a Standard Release (available in stores in Japan and even Barnes & Noble here in the U.S.), and will invade Japan this July, with the North American release via Blufin most likely following in August. Details on price, scale, and possible bonus parts will be known (and added here) soon.
So, what do you think? Are you as surprised as the rest of us? What do you think of S.H.MonsterArts’ take on the original Godzilla? Will you add it to your collection? Let us know, and be sure to stick around for more updates! Also, be sure to check out our Official S.H.MonsterArts Info and Updates Thread for info on all MonsterArts releases past and present, and join the discussion about why you love the line.
Images/Info courtesy Toho Kingdom
Big thanks to KingKaijuGojira in the Godzilla forums for posting this to the Official SHMA Thread!
