LEGENDARY GODZILLA 2014 - Atomic Roar Godzilla Review

I managed my first Godzilla 2014 toy this afternoon. It's Bandai's Atomic Roar Godzilla from the new Legendary Studios film, due out 2 months from now. As a collectible, it's pretty awful, but as a toy it's actually quite cool...

Atomic Roar Godzilla stands 10 & 3/4" to the top of his crown, and runs about 14" nose to tail. He is posed with his tail curled around and pointing forward. The sculpt is soft and doesn't feature any intricate details, but gives you the general sense of the beast. For example, in the beautiful picture on the right hand side of the package (which is actually doing a lot to get his new design to grow on me - I really didn't care for it at all at first), we can see a series to ridges running from Godzilla's jaw hinge down the side of his neck, where they meet some pretty angry looking spikes above the shoulder. The toy has some light bumps along the outside of the neck, but that's about all. The scales all over his skin aren't very deeply cut, and the dorsal spines look more like a 6 year old's idea of a mountain range than anything fearsome. There's also a pig-like upturn to the snout on the toy that's more curved on the image.

The toy is cast in a greenish plastic with a light spray on the chest (tan?). The only other colors are the tiny spots of yellow in the eyes and the whites of the teeth. It looks like we will have screw holes on the right side of the toy, and there's a series of openings in the chest for the microphone. This version is articulated with cut shoulders and hips, nothing more (well, except the split in the head, but we'll get to that next).

There's a play gimmick with Atomic Roar Godzilla that I thought was pretty ridiculous at first, but which I've seen my 8 year old really enjoy. Lift Godzilla's tail until he's nearly horizontal (head to tail) and his skull splits apart a the jaw line allowing his "atomic breath" to shoot out and light up as he roars. The roar is great - long and loud. The breath looks ridiculous, but it lights up a cool glowing blue and shoots out really far. Like I said, my son can't stop playing with it, and that's a big reason why I say this is a pretty cool toy.

This is no X-Plus figure. It's a cheaply made toy (that's overpriced at $34.99, in my opinion), but unlike X-Plus's statues, which are meant for staring at, this is one you can put your hands on and really have fun playing with. He's much better suited to the sandbox than the shelf. 

I'll wait for NECA and Tamashii Nations to give me my true collector versions of the new Godzilla, but I just couldn't pass up the chance of getting my first 2014! Bandai's other offerings don't do much for me, and I'll most likely pass on them. JAKKS Pacific's Giant Size is a definite for me, just because of his sheer size. And as far as this guy goes, I like him for what he is: a fun toy that kids are going to love. That's great news in my book, because anything that gets Godzilla into the hands of the kids is a plus...

UPDATE: Ok, I've had this guy for 24 hours, and he's been out of his package for half that, and he's encountered 3 kids, none of whom could stop playing with him. Two boys (aged 8 and 7) and a girl (age 10) absolutely love playing with him, and the action feature is sounding off his roar non-stop. So, I guess the verdict is in- as a toy he's terrific. Detailed enough to get the job done, durable and with a super-fun play action feature. Don't collect him, play with him!

Lots of screw holes on the right hand side...

Much better from this angle!

Size comparison with SH MonsterArts Godzilla 1994

Size comparison with X-Plus GMK Godzilla 30cm