Iwakura Ganime Figure Review

Ganime is one out of three monsters that starred in Toho's kaiju movie, Space Amoeba. Ganime was created when a space amoeba crash landed on earth then possessed a stone crab after Gezora's attack was thwarted, forming the creature you see here. Ganime was one out 13 other figures to be randomly sold through Iwakura/Orion's Godzilla Ver. 3:  Godzilla's Son Collection series. All figures were packaged in the same (blind) box art.

For a figure this size that replicates a giant, mutated stone crab, Ganime is packed with a lot of detail and colors that complement each other. The hard shell body and limbs, combined with a wonderful shade of copper brown on goldish brown resin certainly look splendid. There are many thorny and spiky textures covering the body, as well as a few grains spanning across some surface areas. All eight legs and pincers were individually sculpted. Seeing the back pair of hind legs bend at an angle for the convenience of fitting the suit actor's feet adds a lot more novelty to this toy. Ganime's face contains two individually crafted antennas, two bulging, albeit goofy looking (black) eyes, and a gaping, fuzzy textured looking mouth. Overall, there isn't any bland spot on this miniature figure that lacks in detail, and considering Ganime may scale better with other HG Gashapon or Bandai Ultimate Monsters toys, it's amazing how accurate this figure is.

Ganime, due to his intended purpose, has no articulation, so he is essentially a perfectly crafted miniature statue. In fact, Ganime, as well as all of the other monsters featured in this line, serves as an ornament for a second option. Who wouldn't decorate his/her Christmas tree with Kaiju monsters? The original box that this figure came in had a fold out card that contained a picture of the monster, a movie poster of where the creature was featured, and a photo of the actual toy in the package; also, a gold string to hang the figure. Unfortunately, Ganime was purchased already loose without the accessories.

Currently, there aren't that many realistic figures of Ganime, Gezora, and Kamoeba. As far as I know, only Marmit's model kit and Bandai Museum's toy line were the only ones to provide those needs and in an 8 to 10 inch scale. Marusan's version of these figures are also a good option, but they are more stylized toys than realistic ones. Iwakura/Orion offers all three monsters with realistic sculpts, but in a smaller scale, which is what makes them affordable, compared to what Bandai Museum, Marmit, and Marusan's toys go for these days. Ganime is crafted and painted with perfection. I do recommend buying the colored version, instead of the monochrome (black and white) version.