Godzilla Mystery Minis - Shin Godzilla review

Funko Friday

Back when Funko had a whole line of Science Fiction Mystery Minis, Godzilla appeared in Series 2. But as 2024 is the 70th anniversary of the original Godzilla (specifically, November 3), Funko has made an entire set of Goji-themed Mystery Minis, featuring him and many of his most famous enemies. You can find Godzilla himself in either color or grayscale versions (1:6 and 1:36 casepacks, respectively), or you might pick up a single box at Target on a whim and strike gold with the 1:72 Shin Godzilla.

While America was creating its own successful take on the King of the Monsters, Toho was not content to let other countries take the reins and announced a new project of their own. Written by Hideaki Anno, 2016's Shin Godzilla was a return to political allegory: while the 1954 original was about the effect of America's nuclear program on Japan, this was about Japan's own internal issues, specifically the government's poor response to the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, and the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

Shin Godzilla has the most upsetting design of any Godzilla. Its skin looks even more like cracked burn scars than ever before, and rather than having a long, distinct snout, its face is flatter, which in a creepy way makes it look more human. That's been softened for this Mini, so he appears more traditionally "Godzillaish." The arms are proportionally larger as well, rather than the little T-rex nubbins of the actual design. This Mini is posed in a defiant squat, with his palms facing upward and his tail curling around his right leg (since it would be too long to fit in the box, otherwise). Shin Godzilla's skin is not at all green, but instead a dark berry color, and the fins on his back are black, while the tip of his tail and the interior of his mouth are both red. The paint on his toenails is kind of sloppy, but fortunately that's only along the underside, so it's not hard to ignore.

Honestly, given the design liberties taken for this Mystery Mini, the tail is the only way I immediately knew who it was supposed to be. But the style is super cute, and dang it, now I want more from this line.

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