On the heels of my review for the X-Plus Godzilla 1955 I figured it was absolutely mandatory that I follow that up with his co-star in the film, "Godzilla Raids Again".
The first monster to appear in the Godzilla franchise aside form the king himself, a lot of people forget just how old Anguirus is. This figure is a stark reminder. The classic traits are all there: spikey shell, long spiked tail, horns on head, long snout with fangs. But it looks a little more beaten down by father time and a little less constructed in a sturdy fashion. But that's the charm of this guy right here.
We always notice how much Godzilla has changed over the years but these figures can often point out how far the suits have come along the way. Anguirus, while a fantastic achievement for 1955, lacks the detail and realism that his 1968 counterpart has. Much like the Godzilla he fought against, he has big puppet eyes and the mouth has very little detail and depth in it. He has more of a blank stare. But that's X-Plus being accurate to the source material. The 1968 suit had more nuances and little details that made him more alive looking even despite the actor inside the suit crawling around on his knees.
X-Plus captures the wrinkles and pivots in the suit so well. He is a perfect translation of the monster that was actually on screen in 1955. Although meant to look like a man in a suit, the figure still manages to capture the musculature of the monster in a very impressive way. Wait til you see this guy's calves in person. I've come to realize that the body is my favorite part of this figure. He has a unique physique for Toho kaiju. He actually looks like a weight lifter or something.
It is a compliment piece to the X-Plus 30cm Godzilla 1955. Together, they go perfect together. Anguirus is posed in a way to be looking up at the tall, lanky Godzilla 1955. They are both posed to recreate the bloody encounter the two had in Osaka which eventually saw Anguirus be destroyed and left on fire. But that's okay--Anguirus is far from the last one to be downed by Godzilla he was only the first. But to my point, if you get one of them you should really get the other--they make for a really neat display.
The paint is mostly great and, like Godzilla, this figure is colored in a black-and-white fashion to mimic the film. Which is also another good reason why he stands out from the standard 1968 figure (not to mention this Anguirus is standing up on two legs). Everything is neatly painted and sculpted accurately. I do have a minor gripe and that is the specs of white used randomly on the shoulders. It looks strange to me. It literally looks like the painters felt like they had to do something to add some contrast to the monotone body and randomly decided to add little specs of white dots. I don't think it's suit-accurate and it looks like a lazy way to add in some color.
My only other two drawbacks are 1) I wish the inner mouth had some more detail, especially with Anguirus looking up, the lack of detail is easier to notice. This is a complaint I had about the 1954 Godzilla as well so maybe this gets less attention if they aren't painting the mouths red. And 2) I feel like his tail is a little flimsy. It's a very long tail and it connects in two places, but mine is a little loose where the smaller end of the tail meets the thicker part (his tail is very long). Maybe it is just on mine, but I tried to warp it with the blow dryer and it wasn't fitting right. So to me it seems a little delicate.
Other than that--this figure is a great product for the usual asking price of at or about $150. For an X-Plus, it's really a nice figure at a good price. And if you own a '55 Goji you aren't doing him justice until you have him to go along with him. He does have his drawbacks for me but Anguirus has always been one of my favorites and he really is a very cool design. Overall I'll give him a 4 out of 5.
Size Comparison:
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| X-Plus 30cm 1967 Gorosaurus and X-Plus 30cm '55 Anguirus |
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