"Awaken, Shin Dragon! Awaken and announce the coming of the world's final day!"
The 1998 OVA "Getter Robo Armageddon," the first in the "Getter Robo" series, featured a wide variety of Getter Robos. Among them was a constantly evolving machine that showcased multiple forms throughout the story. That's right! Today, the Toy People editorial team is getting hands-on with the large-scale "Shin Dragon" (真ドラゴン) soft vinyl figure, planned by the Taiwanese label Echoes Gallery, developed by the toy design brand Phantom Theatre, and officially licensed by Dynamic Planning!
>> Limited-Time Lottery Form URL: Fill Out Now
Registration Deadline: November 27, 2024 (Wednesday) 00:00
This Shin Dragon comes from what is arguably the most renowned and popular animated work in the Getter series' history, "Getter Robo Armageddon." In the story, the leading authority on Getter Rays research and the developer of Getter Robo, Dr. Saotome, seemingly betrays humanity by leading his mass-produced Getter Robo G army to side with the Invaders. In reality, he deceived both sides in a grand scheme to ensnare the Invaders and have his countless Getter Robo G units combine into "Shin Dragon," humanity's ultimate weapon for a final counterattack.
Throughout the 13 episodes of "Getter Robo Armageddon," the Shin Dragon formed from the numerous mass-produced Getter Robo G units appears quite early. However, the figure we are reviewing today is based on its final evolved form, which only appears late in episode 12. After undergoing two stages of evolution, Shin Dragon ultimately grows into a colossal weapon over 6,000 meters long, featuring the upper body of Getter Robo G's flight form, "Getter Dragon," and the lower body of a massive dragon. Compared to Shin Dragon, the Shin Getter Robo piloted by Ryoma, Hayato, and Benkei is roughly the size of Shin Dragon's palm, creating an overwhelmingly exaggerated sense of scale.
▼ Shin Dragon as seen in "Getter Robo Armageddon." You can see how tiny Shin Getter Robo is on the dragon's head.
In addition to its Shin Dragon form, which corresponds to Getter-1's abilities, it also possesses a "Shin Liger" form for Getter-2's moves and a "Shin Poseidon" form for Getter-3's techniques. Its combat power is so immense that a single "Getter Beam" can obliterate Jupiter's moon Ganymede, and it even has the ability to generate artificial wormholes for spatial jumps.
In the series, Shin Dragon's power is amplified when working in concert with the Shin Getter, which acts as its escort unit. During the final battle, it uses the power of Shin Getter to replace its damaged reactor core and successfully unleashes its ultimate weapon, the "Shin Shine Spark." This attack allows it to burst through a space-time rift to strike the Invader fleet, with its immense power overflowing beyond the rift, shattering a nearby planet with just the aftershock.
Early on, fans often referred to Shin Dragon as "Getter Shin Dragon (ゲッター真ドラゴン)," which frequently caused confusion with the original machine "Shin Getter Dragon (真ゲッタードラゴン)" that later appeared in the PlayStation game "Getter Robo Daikessen!". In fact, the design of Shin Getter Dragon was based on a concept for Shin Dragon's final form conceived by Ken Ishikawa during the production of "Armageddon," which ultimately went unused. In the game, it was reimagined as an evolution of Getter Dragon, becoming the most powerful Getter unit, surpassing even Shin Getter.
It wasn't until the 2019 release of "Super Robot Wars T" that the development team revisited the original concept and added new elements, establishing Shin Getter Dragon as the ultimate Getter Robo evolved from Shin Dragon. It condensed all the powerful armaments like the Shin Shine Spark and its game-breaking performance into one unit, and it is widely recognized by players as the strongest machine in the game.
After all this trivia about Shin Dragon and Shin Getter Dragon, do our readers who weren't as familiar before have a deeper understanding? Now, let's get to the main event—the toy itself! The prototype for this Shin Dragon soft vinyl figure was supervised by Guangzhou-based artist Lion Chen, the founder of the Lion.C Toy brand. He combined the wild aura of the machine with his own signature sculpting style, reinterpreting Shin Dragon's proportions while using a massive 46 cm length to create an incredibly substantial presence! Notably, this is also the very first time Shin Dragon has been immortalized in soft vinyl. Let's dive in and take a closer look.
▼ The length when viewed from the side is truly astonishing! The tail, in particular, has an absolutely explosive presence.
▼ Now, let's admire the form of Shin Dragon from various angles!
▼ In addition to its satisfying volume and outstanding sculpt, this Shin Dragon sofubi boasts an impressive heavy texture from its multiple metallic paint applications and an excellent overall gloss finish.
▼ To give you a direct sense of this Shin Dragon's immense size, I've taken it out of the photo studio to hold it in my hands. This volume feels so good!
▼ Next, let's look at the close-ups of each part, starting with the lower body's dragon head, tail, and torso.
▼ The dragon's eyes are painted with a red gradient effect, reminiscent of the scene in episode 12 when the final evolved form of Shin Dragon appears.
▼ The representation of the cracks on the torso is completely different on each side.
▼ Next is the upper torso, which resembles Getter Dragon. The golden spikes on both sides of the head and on the shoulders, as well as the blades on the outer forearms, inject a fierce aggressiveness into the overall design.
▼ The finger joints are meticulously detailed with a silver spray effect to create a sense of depth.
Now let's move on to the articulation! First up are the pair of horns on the lower dragon head, both of which can rotate 360°.
▼ The entire dragon head can be rotated.
▼ Combined with the neck's articulation, the range of motion for the entire dragon head is actually much greater than you'd expect!
▼ Although the tail only has one point of articulation at the base, its inherently curved sculpt allows for a significant change in appearance when rotated.
▼ The upper torso features a swivel joint at the waist, allowing the entire body to turn left and right without any issues.
▼ Next is the arm articulation, with joints at the shoulders, upper arms, and wrists. However, due to the massive shoulder armor, the range of motion is somewhat limited as the armor and wrist blades can get in the way.
▼ The head also has a considerable range of rotation, basically limited only by the chin hitting the shoulder armor.
And that's a wrap for our look at Phantom Theatre's Shin Dragon soft vinyl figure! For fans of Getter Robo and Super Robot Wars, this toy of Shin Dragon in its ultimate form is an absolute must-have rarity. The fact that it's presented in such magnificent specifications makes it incredibly tempting! If you also love this Shin Dragon sofubi, feel free to join the discussion and share your thoughts in the comments section below!
Phantom Theatre × Go Nagai "Getter Robo Armageddon" Shin Dragon (真ドラゴン)
‧ Collaboration: Go Nagai x Phantom Theatre / Planning: Echoes Gallery
‧ Prototype Supervisor: Lion Chen
‧ Suggested Retail Price: TWD 14,175 (tax included)
‧ Product Dimensions: (L) 460 × (H) 250 mm
‧ Product Material: Soft Vinyl / Sofubi
"Online Lottery Sale"
Online lottery form opens on November 21, 2024 (Thursday) at 18:00 (GMT+8)
‧ Official Product Information: Phantom Theatre
‧ Lottery Information: Echoes Gallery
>> Limited-Time Lottery Form URL: Fill Out Now
©1998 GO NAGAI-KEN ISHIKAWA/DYNAMIC-BANDAIVISUAL-MARUBENI-AYER