The S. H. MonsterArts series is one of your more "high end" lines of figures. It is not intended for anyone under the age of 15. The line has seen most of the Heisei series accounted for, although a few familiar faces have been late additions. On that point, Mothra FINALLY makes her first appearance in the S.H. MonsterArts line and for the most part, it's a great entrance!
In terms of design, although Mothra is nice to look at overall, but there are a couple of blemishes. The head is very nice and since the Mothra maquette in the film was furry, the attempt at fur in plastic form is on the character as well and it looks pretty nice. There are two very cool features with the head that stand out to me. First up are the antennas. They're thing yet very detailed and actually pull off the illusion that they're real antennas. The second feature and my favorite are the eyes. They're a really nice blue color and are very detailed just like Battra's (adult form) are.
Next up are the wings. When you look at them dead on, they're lopsided. I can't figure out exactly why and it certainly wouldn't hurt the figure to have them centered. The wings are nice and sturdy and are made of thin yet sturdy plastic. They are pose-able via metallic joints which for some reason are plainly visible. It would have been less eye catching if Bandai had at least applied a little bit of black paint to hide the joints.
Considering Mothra isn't that aigle in the movie, articulation doesn't seem like it would be a strong suit for the character. However, it is a hallmark of the S.H. MonsterArts line. Now one of the faults Battra had been in the legs. They were very weak and were prone to falling off. That problem however has been fixed with Mothra. They're very sturdy and are very pose-able. The back abdomen is pose-able as well and can bend forward and backward (and also rotate 360 degrees). While it never moved in the film, I find it's nice that it was made to be articulated because it adds some variation to posing the figure. Mothra's head antenna and antenna near the mouth are pose-able although not by much. Mothra's mouth does open and close and her head can move up, down, and side to side as well as rotate 360 degrees. Sometimes if you move the head or abdomen too far, gaps can start to appear.
For the accessories, Mothra comes with no beams which is a shame. She does come with a stand that features a cool Mothra logo, though.
Mothra's paint is very well done overall. The wing patterns are still that stencil paint job look that Battra had but it's FAR less obvious on Mothra. Her legs are a dirty yellow color while the claws are a darker yellow with bits of black mixed in. The top parts of her wings look nice but not perfect. Small bits of black from the mold poke through but it's not distracting in any way, the mix of yellow, blown, and orange are all nicely done with no paint blemishes at whatsoever. Special mention to the antennae on the head: very, very well done! It may seem like a simple paint job to some but it's the way that the top of the antenna was given a nice light brown top and white paint underneath that gives it the illusion that it's a real antenna to me.
Overall, it's about time Mothra entered the S.H. MonsterArts family and aside from the nitpicks, this is a stellar release. Mothra is a must own for collectors and Mothra fans alike!
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