Wastelnd: 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.