Figure Review: Toho Monster Series 25cm Godzilla 1975 Ric

X-Plus' Godzilla 1975 depicts the monster king in his last Showa film of all-time, "Terror of Mecha Godzilla" -- a fan-favorite that gave fans our last glimpse of Godzilla for about ten years. 

By the time the 1970's swung around, Godzilla went from being a nuclear terror to mankind's savior. Godzilla returns to fight off the mechanical nuisance MechaGodzilla. Although one of the stronger entries in the series at this point, it became clear that the series need a new direction. Even children were getting over Godzilla as daily television shows were satisfying their city-smashing, monster fighting needs at home.  

In America, the '74-75 Godzilla is a very popular and nostalgic suit.  I think that when Godzilla films were first being aired here regularly on cable, it was often "Terror of MechaGodzilla". A lot of fans grew up with this Godzilla more intimately than the 50's version.  And it isn't hard to see why--young fans who were introduced to a giant building smashing dinosaur (as we all generally viewed him as in our young years) gravitated to him and his somewhat-human personality that he displayed in this film. And if there is one thing I think X-Plus nails with this figure, it is that exact spirit.

A far cry from that merciless stare that '64 has

  

He's almost in a pure fighting stance with his fists up. His overly big head looks less comical than some of the prior early-70's films, thanks in part to the menacing brow over the eyes. But X-Plus couldn't really perfect the face this go around. The suit had a neat lip curl that showed an upper level of sharp teeth that made him give off a snarling appearance when threatening an enemy. Since that detail is lost here, the roaring pose doesn't look as good on this figure. If this came out as a closed mouth version, it would be more faithful.  While still a nice representation, the mouth throws the whole thing off a bit.  

The neck down is a spot-on sculpt. A little stumpier looking compared to other incarnations and his maple-leaf looking spines going down his back, this Godzilla is a long ways away from some of the other classic suits but he looks great in his own right. But part of the fun of this hobby is seeing these beasts evolve from film-to-film.  It's not just Godzilla: Rodan, Anguirus, King Ghidorah & MechaGodzilla have all gone through major transitions as well. 

The inaccuracies don't stop at the sculpt unfortunately.  The paint is a little off as well. The spines should be more silver in color and the figure has been highlighted by a little too much grey in my opinion. The charcoal base color is perfect but I think some brown highlights would have popped out way more nicely, and considering how dirty he got fighting his opponents in the film (he was completely buried underground at one point), I think the brown would have accentuated the details of the suit a lot better.  Instead, the figure looks more static and statuesque and not as lifelike as their other work.  


If you can get your hands on the Ric edition of the figure, do so. He comes with the Mecha Godzilla head and an extra arm to hold it. As far as exclusives go, it's one of X-Plus' best as far as my $.02 goes.  It's a nice redeeming quality for one of X-Plus' more inaccurate figures.  To be fair, X-Plus is held to very high standards so some of this might seem like nitpicking--and maybe it is.

Overall he's a neat little figure.  If you look at him, as fans of the series, you should be able to pinpoint which film he's from even without the head in his hands.  It just goes to show you that even when they miss the mark X-Plus still puts out quality merchandise.  But I cannot say this figure is a perfect 5, and even a 4 since that's what I gave the 30cm '54.  For the mouth drawbacks and the paint fail on the spines (which should have been easy to get right), I have to give this figure a 2.5 out of 5.  Hopefully this is the lowest score I ever give an X-Plus.  

Size Comparison:

Power Rangers Legacy Dragonzord & 25cm Godzilla '75