Tuesday, December 30, 2025

Review - Anguirus 1968 (2024 Version) (Movie Monster Series)


2024's DREAM5 box set brought a fun array of previously unseen, or otherwise outdated kaiju to the modern MMS line; Anguirus '68 falling into the latter category, having first seen an MMS release in 1997 - itself, using a sculpt dating all the way back to 1984 - which saw regular reuse up until as recently as 2005. Pretty crazy. A mere 20 years later, Godzilla's oldest adversary finally saw a well-deserved, full-on redux with the DREAM5 set, hitting mainline MMS a year later. 

I initially felt the new Angy was a waste of a spot, seeing the older, Y2K figure as a solid good enough - boy, was I wrong; the new Anguirus is an MMS masterpiece, really proving Bandai's ability to nail a scuzzy Showa sculpt when they really want to - in my opinion, the nicest figure of the DREAM5 set, a modern "must-have" for any classic Godzilla nerd. Hell, any Godzilla nerd, really.

Anguirus perfectly captures not only the unique '68 likeness, but the rugged feel of the suit itself; its excellently tactile grit really bringing the figure to life, from his sharp, spiny carapice, to heavy, gnarled scales. The figure is so rich in detail, even the "white space" between his spines is appropriately textured - just stellar.

Something about it all reminds me of the suit's later... more waterlogged appearances, specifically as seen in 1972's Godzilla Vs. Gigan - easily his finest hour, if you ask me.

Angy features a solid five points of articulation - including a rare tail swivel. Neat. His lively tail and dragging back legs can aid in some vaguely dynamic poses... but, generally, what you see is what you get. Still, that alone is better than usual for present day MMS, no? Particularly useful or not, I'll always take more articulation over less, and this guy delivers.

With a sort of dusty, desaturated color scheme (that was for some reason kinda tricky to capture on camera?), Anguirus takes a grey-brown base, with warm tan horns, white teeth, very well detailed brown-on-white eyes, grey claws, and a bony off-white carapace. Very cleanly done, great variety of color - again, well above the modern day MMS standard. I especially love those mean little peepers. Killer.

That said, a little nitpick - I totally miss the wicked golden carapace present on the original Anguirus figures! Not sure how screen-accurate it really was, or anything, but what a cool, toyetic look, y'know? Oh well. Speaking of the original figure...

So, as mentioned before, the original original MMS Angy dates all the way back to 1984, as part of Bandai's 8" Godzilla Collection. Jeepers. Best I can offer is the previously reviewed 200x 6" edition; one of the earliest scaled-down reissues of the figure, and probably the best.

There's really no contest between the 200x, and 2025 Anguiri - and, I mean that in the best of ways; the original figure has always been one of my favorites, and, now, Bandai's improved upon themselves ten-fold. Both are unique, snappy takes on the character, with their own distinct charms - the original carrying that flashy, old-skool Bandai style, while the redux more deliberately, dedicatedly aims for screen-accuracy, beautifully capturing the feel of a vintage kaiju via sofubi vinyl. More attuned to modern collector's tastes, I think most fans will gravitate towards the 2024 version - but hey, don't sleep on the classics.
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