In Final Wars, Gigan not only got a redesign, he also got a starring role! All of the older kaiju that reappeared in Final Wars were physically redesigned - often it was just a case of streamlining them so they don't look so paunchy (King Caesar), or making the general details seem slightly more realistic (Anguilis). Gigan, on the other hand, got a severe redesign. The designers at Toho Studios looked back to his original concept and realized that he was supposed to be a cyborg - the original monster didn't exactly look very cybernetic. So, they added some definite mechanical details to the costume. Then they took note of the fact that Gigan is portrayed as having the ability to fire lasers from the tiny second "eye" above his major eye - although he never actually does that in the movies. So, they made the eye slightly larger, and finally let him fire his laser beams (seriously - he even did it on the VHS cover of Godzilla vs. Gigan, but NEVER in the movies themselves?). Over the course of the movie, Gigan got decapitated by Godzilla, but was revived by the eeeevil Xilian aliens and "improved" - his normal scythe-like hands were replaced with dual chainsaws, and he got some neck armor. Of course, this didn't stop him from getting decapitated again, or from getting permanently killed when Mothra kamikaze-bombed him. Still, it's the thought that counts - Gigan is one of the major monsters in the movie, and his appearance mounts to more than a simple cameo.
Finally, before I start the review, I'd like to say that this toy came in a great box - it covers the figure entirely, but one side is decorated to look like the city streets. It's a nice little detail.
Sculpt:
Gigan measures 9" at the top of his head, and 10" at the tip of his wings/fins. This makes him larger than most vinyl Kaiju figures, which are generally scaled to 6" tall. Since Gigan is so big, the sculptors definitely took advantage of the size to add more detail. One of the changes that the Final Wars Gigan has is the fact that his body in general looks slightly "H. R. Giger-ish." It's definitely inspired in part by the Aliens now. As a result, Gigan has lots of littl ridges, bits of tubing, spikes, spines, and segments of armor plating. He has sculpted ribs, metal bolts, and a few extra ridges thrown in for aesthetic value. A nice little detail is the shape of his chest-buzzsaw - it's now more obviously ocnnected to a belt than, say, a simple circular saw (it curves with the contours of his body). Gigan's face is also suitably detailed - his beak is now curved in a menacing, toothy sneer, and the extra armor plating on his neck gives him a more fearsome look. In fact, everything about this Gigan looks more dangerous - even his back fins are sharper. This toy doesn't include the chainsaw hands, but instead sticks with the classic scythes - although even those have gotten an upgrade. No longer does GIgan wield blunt metal hooks; now his scythes look genuinely razor-sharp and dangerous - and have some extra blades attached near the wrist to add to the cutting power. Gigan's tail is also enormously different - the spikes and armor plating are huge, and he has a new claw-like attachment to his tail. In case you're wondering, I do like this sculpt.
Paint Job:
Gone is Gigan's old light blue and gold color scheme. Now he's all about black, metallic blue, silver, and deep red. His body is mainly black, with a heavy metallic blue wash - now he looks like a dark, shiny blue monster. Certain parts on Gigan's body are silver, implying that they're obviously metal - the guy is a cyborg, after all. His eyes and fins are blood red, and the shade used works really nicely with the overall package. The paint is pretty good - I also noiced some bits of glitter used in the blue wash to bring out the details, which works much better than it sounds. I;m normally against "darker, edgier" redesigns, but in Gigan's case this really worked.
Articulation:
My 6" Gigan figure moves at the arms, legs, and (sometimes if you really try) tail. THis figure moves at the arms, legs, wrists, head, base of tail, and tail attachment. There's no waist joint for an obvious reason, and the articulation is actually pretty good for a rotocast vinyl Kaiju figure. I personally like it for what it is, although an articulated jaw might have been nicer.
Accessories: Zip. Nada. Unless you count the box. I would have liked to see interchangable hands, but you can't get everything you want, can you?
Pricing: This figure usuallt retails for about $25, but I got mine for $17 at Anime Expo. Conventions are good.
GOtGm (1-10): 6.
Overall (1-5): 4.8. This is, without a doubt, the best Gigan figure made so far - and by default, my favorite Kaiju toy. It's huge, really imposing, well-articulated, and looks good. He's a definite addition to my display shelf!
Images:
Final Wars Gigan:
Attached Files
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Gigan_FW01.JPG 144.77K
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