2001 Godzilla ("GMK, Giant Monsters All-Out Attack") NECA, 2016

The seventh figure in NECA's Godzilla series has arrived!  NECA has slowed down from the speed that began this series, but thankfully, it is still alive.  Here is their production so far:

2014 - Three figures (beginning in June of that year)

2015 - Three figures

2016 - One figure

If I recall correctly, Shin Godzilla is going to be next, but I'm sure it will be in 2017, at this point.  Here's a halfway-decent look at the new figure:

It's another stunning sculpt, and the bulkiest Godzilla so far, and that even counts 1985's thunderous thighs.  This figure's are actually bigger, and to my quick comparisons, everything is newly-sculpted.

Also, the biggest feet so far.  This Godzilla has huge, thick feet, and I think that's accurate to the design.

I decided to make a comparison to Bandai's version of this Godzilla, from their line of American vinyls (credited to Bandai Creation, of course).  You can see the major difference right away:  NECA's 2001 can't stand up very straight.  It's really true for all their Godzillas.  

Now, this really isn't a deal-breaker.  It's just the way it is.  In the first unboxed photo above, that is the absolute straightest he will stand and still have both enormous feet on the ground.  Sure, you can lean him forward more, but his heels will be off the ground.  You'll notice Bandai's posture is very rigid in comparison, and it just comes down to what you prefer for a given display situation. 

Of course, Bandai's 2001 isn't super-articulated, and this figure has all of the great design elements of the previous six, including the jaw.

Oh, and points for the tail, which has a lovely, blunt end, as well as the usual bendable wire.  (The point of the tail was a complaint of mine in reviewing previous figures.)

Overall, NECA's 2001 has a wider stance, a more impressive bulk, and nice-looking texture to the folds and scales of the sculpt, achieved with a dark wash.  Originally pushed back to September--and then again to October, until finally arriving in November--I ordered mine from Entertainment Earth, thinking they would never show up on store shelves.  However, I was surprised to see several of this exact figure on the shelves of my local Toys [backwards "R"] Us the other day, so you just never know.

Godzilla 2001 Atomic Blast (NECA, 2017)

Welcome NECA Godzilla figure #10 to the world...was anybody reporting on this? I apologize if I missed it, but, I don't think anybody was reporting on this....but, there I was in Toys [backwards "R"] Us the other day, and this exists.

Is this a TRU exclusive? Who knows. All you need to know is, it's a repaint.  To be precise, it's a repaint of NECA's excellent Godzilla 2001 figure, but more importantly, it is the polar opposite of their last repaint (NECA figure #8), the abomination known as "Reactor Glow Godzilla" (which you can see in this article).

How is it the opposite? Well, first of all, this is something that actually happened in a film. Moreover, they included an accessory that we didn't previously have, namely, the beam.  If you are going to do a repaint--if you absolutely have to--then this is the way to do it.  

He may be shipping with Shin Godzilla, because there was one of each figure on the shelf. I say this every time, but I sure hope this line continues.

Shin Godzilla (NECA, 2017)

Collectibles from SHIN GODZILLA in the United States were, let's face it, non-existent, unless imported.  I suppose we were lucky to get to see the movie at all, even in the very modern arrangement of short-term, special-event showings.  In the old days, that never would have happened.

Anyway, it was very nice of NECA to add the new design to their roster of wonderful action figures.  By the way, this makes #9 if you are counting.  What happened to #8, you ask? Well, you really shouldn't ask, but since you did, it was a "Loot Crate" exclusive, one of those monthly subscriptions for boxes of random junk...excuse me, collectibles, and it was called "Reactor Glow Godzilla."  It was a direct repaint of the 1995 "Burning Godzilla," except the "burning" spots were now glow-in-the-dark green.  Trust me, even though the secondary value will remain high due to its limited distribution, it's just dumb. And I'm a completist, that is, until the thing I'm trying to complete becomes something that never happened in the life of the character (here, the actual Godzilla films), and feels like a shameless cash-grab.  Then, I skip it. Which I did.

See?

Back to Shin Godzilla, I haven't even had time to open the package, but he's a weighty sucker.  Also, his tail is going to be nice and long, because there are two segments to attach instead of the usual one.  If anyone's wondering, I found this at ToysRUs, and boy was I surprised.  They had him and the previous figure (2001 Godzilla) on the shelf.

Monster Zero and Biollante VCD's (Video CD's)

 

Around here, we talk quite a bit about the formats that Godzilla movies have been released on.  My primary interest is in releases from the USA, but today we have a couple of examples of Video CD's (commonly just called VCD's), a format which really didn't take off in the United States.  

VCD's were really what they sounded like.  Without getting too technical, they were CD's that utilized MPEG-1 encoding to present video and audio.  They were playable on computers and DVD players alike, and tended to match their audio cousins in capacity:  the old 74-minute blanks held 74 minutes of VCD content, and 80 minutes for the, well, 80-minute discs.  The main draw was that they were easy to record/encode and could be copied as easily as an audio disc. They were huge in Asian countries, and were quickly eclipsed by the higher quality (and, for the manufacturers, copy protection restraints) of DVD.

Here we have Video CD releases for GODZILLA vs. MONSTER ZERO and GODZILLA vs. BIOLLANTE.  The former is interesting because it utilizes the title, artwork, and design of the 1998 Simitar release here in the USA, which here was obviously licensed to Progress Video for the release in Hong Kong.  Interestingly enough, while this item wasn't sold in America, a very similar one still was (though very sparsely):

There isn't much difference between a VCD and a "DVD-ROM."  Other than that the PC version comes with a launcher or program of some kind.  (If you are keeping score at home, it's not even clear that Simitar released all five of their Godzilla titles this way.  I personally have found DVD-ROM releases for KING OF THE MONSTERS, MONSTER ZERO and GODZILLA vs. THE THING only.)

This BIOLLANTE disc is completely unique, though, and made by the Mei Ah Laser Disc company in Hong Kong. (Apologies for the slight blur--these came to me sealed, and the shrink plus the slight distance from the scanner glass causes some fuzziness.)

On the back, we have the moment that resulted in what was recently called "Biollante Bile" Godzilla in a NECA action figure release.  

VCD's were/are an interesting part of the history of video technology.   For completeness, I should include mention of the Phillips CD-I (which survives in infamy among game historians, since it gave us HOTEL MARIO and a couple of meme-tastic Zelda games) because VCD movies were available for that system...but like their larger relative, the laserdiscs, long movies still meant multiple discs, and interruptions.

For the record, I will admit that around 2001-2002, I dove into the format with full force.  I even purchased a recorder called a "Terapin" and began dumping VHS onto discs by the score, determined this was the successor to tapes.   Bad move.