MechaGodzilla 2021 (Movie Monster Series) (Bootleg / TWCare)

2021's MechaGodzilla is one of the most brutal, villainous versions of the character, the reanimated, mechanized corpse of a vengeful King Ghidorah following his gory defeat in Godzilla: King of the Monsters; elated not only to finally have arms, but to finally get back at that atomic a-hole, Godzilla. 

Many fans are mixed on the Bayformers-type design, but I've come to love it's creepy, disheveled skeletal look - plus, a usual strength of the Monsterverse movies, his excellent characterization, clearly filled with an evil joy as he murders and maims; you can really feel that diabolical Ghiddy-brain coming through.

Now... as one might've noticed, on this Lord's day, I have committed a sin. No, not that one - or that one - no... intentionally buying a bootleg. A strange little creature known as TWCare has been producing a pretty wide variety of MMS (and BC!) bootlegs for the past few years, flooding the skeevy depths of e-retailers with... honestly, good enough lookalikes; occasionally typical knock-off crap, but, seemingly more often than not, sometimes fairly close to, or at least interesting spins on the actual figures. The majority of their offerings are fairly common to begin with, though here and there, you'll find pretty cool variants such as a rainbow of Godzilla '19s, a snazzy teal MechaGodzilla '75, a custom Gigan Miles - or, rarest of all, an almost perfect counterfeit, like BC's Showa Gigan, or today's lovely lad.

"Helps to find new playmates." So true.

The doppelganger he is, TWCare's MechaGodzilla '21 is an almost exact copy of MMS original; the literal only key difference, beyond possible paint specifics, being the articulated tail - otherwise (clearly unnecessarily) glue sealed. Oh, and you can see a little dash in the mold where the real figure's tag must've hung, if you know where to look - plus, zero copyright indications. Neat!

Bandai traditionally loves their mech designs, and MechaGodzilla's no different; a bonkers amount of detailed seams, vents and machinery designing the robo-monster, truly covered in intricate animatronic detail - definitely one of those figures to spend time simply looking at. He's a bit rounded out compared to the CG model, being sofubi and all - notice the hands, bunched into somewhat undefined fists, rather than big, scary grabby-claws - but nevertheless, I think the likeness is pretty much spot-on. I especially dig his unique lurched pose, an extra bit of flair you don't normally see with MMS' Monsterverse figures. I really can't overstate how nice this guy looks. 

At five points of articulation, MechaGodzilla can strike some really manic, threatening poses; the unsealed tail even acting as a stand, allowing for some neat action. Once again, I appreciate the figure's subtle sculpted stance, adding some spark. He's also a big boy; not quite outscaling Godzilla '19, but certainly a touch larger than your average MMS figure, especially when stood upright.

MechaGodzilla's paint is limited, but covers all the bases; coated in a vibrant, shiny sleek silver, with a globby solid red dotting his antenna spines and buggy eyes. I definitely think some dark metallic sprays, or printed details defining the neon recesses in his machinery could've elevated the very attractive sculpt, but it's all serviceable, and looks cool.

Bandai's - er, I mean, TWCare's - MechaGodzilla '21 is one of the series' nicest MonsterVerse vinyls, an excellent take that, in the best MMS fashion, totally brings the character to life. It's not necessarily an A-lister, perhaps a little blasé, but at the same time, I can't find a major fault. I see no reason not to go for the counterfeit, as the original - a bit unreasonably, if you ask me - has already climbed up the aftermarket, and, considering Bandai's general indifference to the MonsterVerse series, is unlikely to be officially released again soon; plus, they're the same, and TW's gonna run you $20~, if not less, rather than the roughly $40+ standard. Hell, you can even make it a two-fer. In fact, there's an even more obscure golden MechaGodzilla bootleg, for those of you who really want an excuse. I'm a big fan of unique bootlegs, or ones that serve some kind of otherwise purpose; be it availability, creativity, or, such as in this case, offering a cheaper and totally sufficient alternative to what really shouldn't be a pricey figure. He's ready, waiting, and "develops communication" - so, what's to lose? He's a great pick.

Check out my previous MMS reviews:

Gamera 1965

Barugon

Godzilla 1968

Zigra

Gigan 1972

Gigan 1972 (BC)

King Ceasar

Godzilla 1984

Godzilla 1992

Gamera 1995

Godzilla 2001

Godzilla 2001 (2024)

Zilla 2004

Godzilla 2014

Godzilla 2014 (BC)

Gigan Rex

Gamera Rebirth

Godzilla Minus One

Godzilla Evolved

Review - Godzilla 2014 (Bandai Creations)

Godzilla 2014 brought the mega-monster back to the limelight after a long, meandering decade of silence with a kaiju-size Hollywood blitz; complete with - what else? - loads, and loads of merchandise; from fun kiddie stuff, such as the amazing two foot tall Jakks Godzilla '14, to NECA and SH Monsterarts' awesome articulated figures - who can forget that incredible 12" Godzilla - to, naturally, Godzilla-lifer Bandai's grand array of G'14 junk; destruction playsets, chibis, gashapon, eggs... the list goes on.

While the Movie Monster Series had been dormant since 2009, stateside, a similar sofubi vinyl series produced by Bandai Creations chugged along, producing a good variety of unique figures inspired by, but certainly distinguishable from their MMS equivalents - for better, or for worse. Any western fan who grew up in the 2000s most certainly had one or two of BC's figures, and, as time goes on, I find myself missing the sometimes wonky, sometimes killer little sub-series. As G'14 sparked life into the comatose MMS, returning with a fresh new G'14 lineup, it also marked the end of BC's reign of arguable terror; their spin on the titular monster marking their final vinyl release, leaving further plans, including a Shin Godzilla, on the cutting room floor.

As usual, I'll mention that I don't normally care to get into a figure's packaging; be it tagged, or cardbacked, it just feels a bit irrelevant, especially concerning this particular series. Still, for the sake of conversation... here we are. Pictured above, G'14 came in a film stylized box, using the movie's typical merchandise design; I was never a huge fan of the look - especially that overused, jolly Goji render - but, it is what it is. I definitely prefer BC's more inspired boxes. Though it's hard to tell, thanks to my box clearly having been sat on by none other than the big G himself, Godzilla is strapped to a sort of upward angled cardboard base, giving the packaged figure a neat displayed look.  

G'14 is massive. and mountainous, roaring in a striking unique sculpted pose resembling his triumphant rise after decapitating the MUTO. It's an iconic, and very appropriate pose for the imposing incarnation of the character; huge, and brutal. Though his articulation is somewhat limited by said pose - more of a statue than traditional action figure - at four points of articulation, it's par-the-course, and regardless is carried by that absolute quality sculpt. The best MMS figures bring great energy, personality, and sculpting to the forefront, and that's certainly true of BC's G'14.

The figure is carved in excellent detail; all varieties of scales and scutes shingling his heavy, bear-like build, textured by intricate wrinkles, grooves and leathery grain. It really is above at least the BC standard, close to a full-on "art toy" eye for detail.

Many BC figures featured conspicuously curved, or otherwise shortened tails, so as to better fit the box; though sometimes jarring, I've never particularly minded this choice - especially as it's done here, adding to the dynamic pose, and, naturally, saving some shelf space. The tail is glue sealed in three separate segments, though these breaks were used as articulation on the figure's 12" reissue - we'll get there.

Molded in a dark slate brown, the figure's vinyl has a nice sheen to it; somehow attractively capturing the light, giving it this almost tactile reptilian gloss. Off the bat, that alone gives him such a sleek appearance. A mossy tan highlights his underbelly, reaching all the way to the tip of his twisted tail, with cleanly painted white teeth, a deep red tongue, and feirce yellow eyes - which, as one might notice are missing their pupils... though, it ain't a bad look for the big guy, eh? I imagine it should've been easy enough to paste a couple dots in those peepers - somehow, the even smaller MMS did it - but, I really don't care; looks cooler, more demonic, and stylized this way. Brings out his inner GMK.

Comparing it to the MMS one-on-one... yeah, there's no contest. The MMS, while very nostalgic, and I suppose not terrible, just never hit the same as the beautifully done BC - one looks flat out 3-D printed, the other looks dedicatedly thought out and designed. 

To got into specifics; First and foremost, the MMS is significantly smaller, taking a rather stock, standard pose. The BC's wicked sculpt just blows it out of the water, truly bringing the character to life - not to mention, scaling ever-so-slightly better with the MMS MUTO. In it's credit, I actually think the MMS' sculpt is more screen accurate than the BC, if only by a small margin; the BC appears slightly exaggerated, while the MMS very accurately captures his true proportions - tiny head, and all.  They're both equally articulated, neither exactly what I'd describe as "poseable", but the BC at least looks great regardless. 

The BC is overall much darker than the MMS, giving him a nice, murky color scheme. I will say, I think it could've been still a bit darker - particularly, that sandy underbelly highlight - but, meh. Only little details I think the MMS has over the BC in the paint territory are the figure's cool fiery orange eyes - complete with, y'know, pupils - and the subtle red paint emphasizing his slasher-smile jaws. 

Final verdict - the MMS, while seemingly more accurate, is significantly held back by the figure's odd paint work, and uninteresting design; the BC just looks so much better in practically every way. 

Godzilla '14 saw two reissues of sorts; the first, and most interesting, is the New York Comic Con exclusive atomic blast redeco, giving the figure an overall darker color scheme and shiny metallic blue spines - complete in a very attractive window box, framed by the burning remains of San Fransico. I'd love to own one of these, if not just for it's obscurity, than for the wicked overall presentation - definitely the best version available. Second, came something of a rescale - the 12" G'14; largely similar, albeit with added articulation in the head, and, as mentioned before, throughout the tail - plus... pupils! They said it couldn't be done.

Unfortunately, that was about it for the little guy; effectively the grand finale for Bandai Creations, the final unique vinyl Godzilla the off-shoot series would ever release. BC's G'14 is one of their finest figures, and an excellent note to end on, emphasizing the inspired detail and creativity that made BC's best takes so exciting. 

Unfortunately, despite being very easy to come by for a period, it's perhaps overwhelming commonality, paired with it's release near the end of the series' lifespan, seem to have led to it going a bit under the radar - not exactly rare, or expensive, but certainly growingly uncommon, as time has gone on. Well worth the hunt, whether you're a dedicated G'14 fan, or just dig the character in general, it's a real sweet little figure, and definitely the best MMS-type GarethGoji available. 

Check out my previous MMS reviews:

Gamera 1965

Barugon

Godzilla 1968

Zigra

Gigan 1972

Gigan 1972 (BC)

King Ceasar

Godzilla 1984

Godzilla 1992

Gamera 1995

Godzilla 2001

Godzilla 2001 (2024)

Zilla 2004

Godzilla 2014

Gigan Rex

Gamera Rebirth

Godzilla Minus One

Godzilla Evolved

Review - Godzilla 2001 (2024 version) (Movie Monster Series)

A Gaggle of GMKs

Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack - or, GMK - is one of my favorite Kaiju movies, and, naturally, one of my favorite Godzillers; I've owned both the standard and theater exclusive variants of the 2001 8" MMS figure, the S.H. Monsterarts, the NECA, the X-Plus USA, the Marmit, the Real Action figure... heck, I've even had the ugly-ass Bandai Creations pass through the collection now and again. Needless to say, I really, really like GMK - so, when Bandai revealed a new 6" version of the character, I was all over him. 

From what I can tell, it appears the 6" GMK, despite taking clear inspiration from the old-school 8" released alongside the film, is an almost entirely new sculpt; though, certain areas appear to be largely the same, albeit with minor differences that could be chalked up to the obvious changes in scale, production, so on and so forth. It's most clearly a new take when you compare the figure's heads, spines, and overall texturing - I'm sure the original sculpt was at least used as a "base", but, to be certain, this is a new version of the character. Fear not, completionists - he's not just a downscale.

Needless to say, a lot of the praise I have to give to this figure can also be said of the original; so, for a more detailed rundown, be sure to check out my previous MMS GMK review. 

Nevertheless, GMK is once again fantastic; I think they've managed to improve on what was already a damn near perfect sculpt, generally making the figure much more detailed, and sharp. Some notable differences I'll expand on are the fresh head sculpt - which is likely a result of the removed neck swivel, allowing the opportunity for a somewhat more accurate likeness, and hunched stance - the improved spines - far softer, and less defined on the original  - and overall greater width, doing an ever-so-slightly better job of capturing the incarnation's almighty dad bod. Even the position of his tail is different - though, again, it's sculpt is very, very similar.

As mentioned before, the new GMK is less articulated - missing both the neck, and tail articulation - though, he's still perfectly poseable for an MMS. It's about exactly what you'd expect. 

Cast in a deep black, the dark original figure was very bold, with ghastly grey eyes and spines, off-white teeth and claws, and a vibrant red tongue; the new version, instead, moreso matches the average MMS Godzilla, with an overall lighter, desaturated color scheme that in many ways does look a bit better. I definitely prefer the original's leather black hide, and miss the variety and contrast of it's cool bone yellow sprays, and eerily faded spines - but, the new figure works just about as well. This time around, GMK's cast in a more standard grey, his eyes, spines and claws painted a bright white, with a mauve purple tongue resting behind his yellowed teeth. Despite how it may appear in photos, his spines' spray even lightly fades to the tip of his tail - though, it's very faint, and could vary from figure to figure. I think the original version generally looks nicer, as a figure, but the new take is somehow much more clean, and perhaps even accurate to the suit itself; and, paired with the 6" scale, just fits in better with the wider MMS collection.

It's absolutely wicked to finally have a proper 6" GMK, after years of having to settle for Captain Ugly... AKA, the Bandai Creations version. While I'm not gonna say he's a must-have if you've already scored the original, which does have a better "presence", its still an excellent figure; perfect for new collectors, and taking nearly everything that made the OG so great, and punching it up. Neither version is particularly hard to come by these days - the new figure's release has definitely made the original much less sought after - so, make your choice, and go for one of the coolest MMS figures out there.

Check out my previous MMS reviews:

Godzilla 1968

Zigra

Gamera Rebirth
Godzilla 2014

Gigan 1972 (BC)

Gigan Rex

Zilla 2004

Barugon

Godzilla 1984

Godzilla 2001

King Ceasar
Gamera 1995

Gigan 1972
Godzilla Evolved

Gamera 1965

Godzilla Minus One

Godzilla 1992

Review - Godzilla 1968 (Movie Monster Series)

1968 saw the release of the ninth Godzilla flick, the classic Destroy All Monsters; a monster-mash soaked in camp retro-futurism featuring nearly every old-school Toho Kaiju - from classic creatures such as King Ghidorah and Mothra, to freak-out hippie weirdos like Varan or Gorosaurus. While it's not all that exciting of a picture - despite what's written on the tin - it's still a memorable, seminal installment in the Godzilla series, even if most only remember the (admittedly, spectacular) effects scenes. 

As with various starring monsters, Godzilla saw a fresh redesign for the film, referred to by fans as "SoshingekiGoji"; the seventh unique Godzilla, going on to become the longest used Godzilla suit in the series' history - featured in four consecutive films, tattered and visibly falling apart by his final appearance in 1972's Godzilla Vs Gigan. Naturally, Destroy All Monster's Godzilla became one of the most prolific versions of the character, and for many, still stands tall as "the" Godzilla - very fitting, considering it was the final suit worn by original Godzilla actor, Haruo Nakajima. 

'68's MMS reign of terror began with 2005's Godzilla 50th Anniversary Memorial Box, a celebratory set of 20 MMS figures featuring loads of cool characters and unique incarnations spanning Godzilla's storied history - definitely one of the coolest things to ever come out of the Movie Monster Series. Like most Showa-era Godzillas included in the set, the Memorial Box '68 featured a unique greenish color scheme, replicating how the suits often appeared across older media. A year later, in 2006, '68 was given a mainline re-release, with a new, slightly more accurate charcoal deco - which is the version I'll be incessantly praising here today.

Let's cut to the chase - Godzilla '68 is pretty much a perfect figure. His sculpt is totally 1:1 with the original suit, by MMS standards; perfectly capturing the classic incarnation, from the wrinkled, heavy body, to the crooked shape of his jaw, to that iconic Nakajima roar - it's all there. Even the whip of his tail totally reminds me of the spry performances true to the '68 version. There's a couple oddities to the sculpt eagle-eyed fans might notice, but by and large, '68's an all-around A lister.

Though only featuring four points of articulation, that iconic pose really carries. A head, or (intentional) tail swivel would've been neat, but I'm not complaining. He feels very alive.

Paint wise, '68's still winning; His cutesy googly eyes and pink. gummy maw of needle teeth are very cleanly applied, with a dark, bone grey spray across his plush spines and little claws, as well as lightly highlighting his knees and chest. There's even a bit of spray around his left eye area, reminding me of the battle damage seen in Godzilla Vs Hedorah - though, it's most likely a happy accident. His softly faded spines look particularly nice - not to mention, again, that super sharp face. It's even nicer upon closer inspection. 

'68 is easily one of the all-time best MMS figures, and definitely a must-have for any fan of the Showa Godzilla era. As with most figures from the collection, The Memorial Box version's pretty hard to land, though the '06 reissue's always been one of those middle-of-the-road figures as far as rarity goes; I got mine mint at the same convention where I met Godzilla stars Haruo Nakajima and Akira Takarada, weirdly enough.

Beyond these earlier versions, in 2007, a totally new - and, well... inferior - '68 was featured in Bandai Creations' American MMS equivalent, later being carried into MMS proper with 2015's "Movie Monster Series EX" lineup. It's been the most common version for years, on both coasts, but I've never liked it much at all - far too exaggerated and wonky for even the sometimes froggy '68 design.

Just recently, the original figure was reissued with some very subtle modifications, this time representing the monster as seen in 1971's Godzilla Vs Hedorah - more or less. The sculpt's about... 0.1% different, not at all replicating the violently battered '71 Godzilla you might expect; instead serving as an alternative, or better yet, more accessible option for new fans to pair with the many modern-day MMS Hedorahs. 

I'd say you're best off going with the '06 version - it really is flawless - but there's plenty of options, and, for what it's worth, that '71 ain't too shabby. Just... maybe avoid the Bandai Creations / MMS EX take. Ugly. Either way, G'68 is truly a classic.

Check out my previous MMS reviews:

Zigra

Gamera Rebirth
Godzilla 2014

Gigan 1972 (BC)

Gigan Rex

Zilla 2004

Barugon

Godzilla 1984

Godzilla 2001

King Ceasar
Gamera 1995

Gigan 1972
Godzilla Evolved

Gamera 1965

Godzilla Minus One

Godzilla 1992

Review - Zigra (Movie Monster Series)

1971's Gamera Vs Zigra tells the lovely tale of the titular sharkboy, Zigra; a telepathically talented megalomaniac of a Kaiju bent on world domination, possessing the minds of human and monster alike as he hungers for flesh after the pollution death of his home planet - much to the chagrin of the Friend to All Children, Gamera.

Zigra was introduced to the Movie Monster Series with the Gamera Memorial Box, a commemorative set released in 1999 featuring each and every Showa-era Gamera character in one package - a real holy grail. Though the majority of these figures were rescales of the early 90's Gamera Series line, Zigra, along with Gamera himself, were the two to receive an entirely new sculpt - and rightly so. Yikes. 

Zigra had multiple "forms" thoughout the film; first, as a sort of detached head, looming over his base - second, a wafting fish, growing to gargantuan scale under Earth's foreign conditions - and third, a proper, suited monster, standing upright on conspicuously disguised feet-fins; often obscured by buildings and scenery. The original Gamera Series figure took on a sort of mix of his latter two forms, awkwardly lacking proper feet, while the MMS instead directly adapts the suit version. 

A pretty flawless take on the suit, Zigra captures both the quirks and appeal of the uniquely designed kaiju; from his angular, sci-fi head, to his odd little feet. His detailing is especially beautifully done - the bumpy, insulation-like texture of his body, the fine grooves along each fin, even the folds and creases of the suit itself. Its all there. While it's a sort of simple sculpt from a distance, being 20+ years old and all, I'd say it perfectly captures the look.

Zigra only features three points of articulation - both arms, and his tail - though his head is glue sealed, and probably could be moved without warping the figure, which is typically the reason behind the seemingly unnecessary seals on these figures. Of course, it never moved onscreen, and beyond perhaps hip joints, it all feels appropriate for the character; he was never much of a dynamic monster, and the poseability is pretty par-the-course for MMS' more humanoid creatures.

Zigra'a paint is, likewise, really spot-on; sculpted in a light, sky blue, bright metallic silver sprays define his head, beak, body and spines, with a dash of bold red on all three of his devilishly evil eyes - pretty much exactly replicating the onscreen design. 

Zigra's definitely one of the best members of the great Gamera Memorial Box, truly summoning the mind-bending monster from the murky, alien depths. He's never been re-released outside of the set, however, he's not exactly rare, being such an obscure kaiju and all. If you're like me, and have surrendered free will for the future of Zigra planet, you'll love this freaky little fish. Obey Zigra.

Check out my previous MMS reviews:

Gamera Rebirth
Godzilla 2014

Gigan 1972 (BC)

Gigan Rex

Zilla 2004

Barugon

Godzilla 1984

Godzilla 2001

King Ceasar
Gamera 1995

Gigan 1972
Godzilla Evolved

Gamera 1965

Godzilla Minus One

Godzilla 1992

OBEY ZIGRA - Unbiased Thoughts on Gamera Vs Zigra

 

"No! Do not kill the people! It would be a very foolish mistake. On earth, the people live on land, and eat the things in the sea... but it is the opposite for us! We live in the sea... and eat things on land! So, you see... it would be unwise to kill the earth creatures!"

1971's Gamera Vs Zigra follows the mysterious appearance of a funky alien ship following a series of worldwide disasters, which lands somewhere off the coast nearby Kamogawa Seaworld; attracting the attention of two marine biologists working for the zoo, who's children, our stars, have secretly snuck along for the ride. Arriving at the ship's landing point, the families are teleported inside, encountering... a space woman! How strange.

The alien, "X-1", explains Zigra, who's corpse-like visage is embedded atop the ship's cobwebbed ceiling, seeks to take over the Earth after being driven to space by his homeland's deadly pollution. Broadcasting a threat to destroy Tokyo across the airwaves, the confused biologists attempt to intervene, only to be hypnotized by the woman's odd eyeball powers - with a glare and a snap, the men are comatose. The children escape, dragging their lifeless fathers along as they freeze the alien with her own technology, reappearing outside of the ship.

Zigra's body awakens the woman, demanding she to seek and destroy the children - who, as one might expect, know too much - perusing the families' small dingy, only to be intercepted by Gamera, who heroically lifts the boat to safety. As the children inform the authorities, the woman pursues the kids, posessing - or, perhaps, undressing? - various panicked passerby as she weasels her way into Seaworld, where the authorities have convened as the mainland is evacuated. Meanwhile, Gamera takes on the alien craft, destroying it via Spongebob logic as he blasts an undersea turrent of flame, releasing the mighty Zigra. Affected by the earth's conditions, Zigra grows to massive proportions, Gamera luring the demon into land only to be subdued by it's telepathically disabling beam. As per series tradition, Gamera is, temporarily, down for the count, as Zigra announces his plans to savage the Earth as he is now unable to leave.

Chasing the poor kiddies around the vacant amusement park, the alien woman is quickly apprehended, the military discovering her coma-inducing powers can be stopped via sonar as they free her from Zigra's apparent mind control - discovering that she, herself, had been kidnapped from a moon base upon Zigra's arrival. Gamera is quickly revived using this newfound advantage, once again rescuing our heroes from the forthcoming Zigra as he lures the sea creature ashore, swiftly roasting him alive - but not before performing his own theme song on the creature's Xylophone-esque spines. Epic.

I watched the Sandy Frank / King Features Entertainment dub of this one; it's really entertaining how obvious it is which VAs actually tried, and which did one-takes with zero inflection or sentence structure. I'd assume the turnaround was pretty fast, with these flicks, so, unlike compliance with Zigra's holy will, effort may not have been entirely mandatory. I like the jarring edu-tainment vibe occasionally present in this movie, characters babbling on about dolphins and whales and stuff - plays into the children's film thing so heavily, its funny. Charmingly kitsch. As a big fan of retro amusement parks, I really enjoy the Seaworld setting, too; they definitely made great use of the location, even if it's very obviously sponsored and all that. It's a great time capsule of a place that, seemingly, is still standing to this day.

Zigra's a pretty awesome kaiju - I wonder if he was influenced by Gigan, both in appearance and concept? Even his boastful personality seems pretty comparable. If memory serves, there was a bit of cross-over behind the scenes, so despite this one coming out a year earlier than 1972's Godzilla Vs Gigan, I wouldn't be surprised. I totally love how he telepathically speaks directly to humanity - not enough Kaiju communicate. It's real fun, especially with a diabolical baddie like Zigra. It's too bad his 2023 Gamera: Rebirth reimagining dropped this - I love the idea of a commandeering kaiju mastermind.

As a weird-ass side note, Zigra is described as "Hitler in a sharkskin suit" by a particularly smarmy American VHS release; therefore definitively proving that Gamera did, in fact, kill Hitler.

I find it interesting how many of these movies feature female villains - maybe guys were considered too scary? Paired with Zigra, Ms. Alien is a fun villain, and I bet she had a great time chasing those damn kids around. Hilariously strange when she possesses a woman in a super thin bikini and tells a guy she's after a couple kids over at Seaworld. Hm. "If you come closer, I'll feed them to the dolphins!" She shouts, manhandling the kiddies, standing beside... an orca whale.

Effects wise, it's pretty much the Showa era Gamera standard - if not slightly below the mark - and the same goes for its storyline; nothing special, but I enjoy it. There's certainly a lot of filler, whether it be Seaworld stock footage, or meandering human stuff, but I find it all pretty entertaining regardless. What can I say, I've gotten really accustomed to this era of Kaiju's oddball mentalities when it comes to storytelling. I think the movie keeps you pretty entertained between it's usually brisk pace and campy action.

The last of the Showa era before the low-end compilation film Gamera: Super Monster, Gamera Vs Zigra is often bemoaned for its flimsy plot and flimsier production values, but it's still a lot of fun, and delivers on just about everything the Showa Gamera pictures are famous for; obnoxiously cute kids, insane monster action, and loads of creativity. if only Gamera could've saved Shamu...

"Ha Ha. You are right. Both of your mamas are very pretty."