Souchaku Henshin: GE-06 Garo
 

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Yea or Nay?
Nicely detailed with loads and loads of heavenly diecast armor pieces. Articulation is limited after putting on the armor, but still a nice display piece. Also, he’s SHINY! MILDLY RECOMMENDED.

Origins
Released in March 2006 by Bandai for the Souchaku Henshin line, Garo is the titular character of a series that touted itself as being a more mature Tokusatsu series. Tokusatsu is stuff like Kamen Rider, Ultraman and the Japanese version of Power Rangers. So while Garo had costumed heroes and CGI monsters, it also had stuff like death and topless women. In fact, the first episode more or less opens with death and a topless woman. Go figure.


Review
Souchaku Henshin or Trans Armor Garo here, uses one of the better base bodies from that line. In 2007, the Souchaku Henshin line essentially became proto-S.H. Figuarts. So Garo comes from a time when they were still somewhat short and bulky, but still proportioned and very articulated. Oh, and they still had shrunken heads back then.

Garo’s base body was one of the better ones too, as he had enough paint and details that he’d look good even without his armor on. Without his armor, this is a pretty articulated figure too. Alas, with the armor, his posing is restricted due to the sheer bulk and amount of splendid diecast he has. He becomes a wonderful display piece, but not that useful in the extreme posing department.

This is a very pretty and very VERY SHINY toy when you’ve got everything on. He’s heavy and bulky, which fits the Garo character. But most of all, he’s just shiny and oh-so-pretty.

If you can find him on the cheap, I recommend grabbing him. He’s not that great as a toy, but he makes a good display piece and in theory, he’s fairly poseable.


OVERALL
Some might say that GE-06 Garo is all flash and no substance. But what SHINY flash he has! This guy looks great. You’ll have fun (and a little frustration) putting on his armor. He’s very hefty but still somewhat poseable. And if you can find him for a reasonable price, you won’t feel gypped. If you like the design and have the disposable income, I’d say, get ‘em.

Pros: Shiny. Lots of diecast armor. Somewhat poseable.
Cons: Restricted poseability when fully armored.

Grade: B-

The presentation is beast but I hate how the armor hinders articulation. Interesting comments about the show, I feel inclined to check it out.

Think there's a couple subbed movies out for it recently. Search for "Garo: Red Requiem".

Its brutally awesome.

At first its a little episodic, but its really good.