Toy Review - Kamacuras Gashapon

"Dufe, what the fuck is a gashapon"
I'M GETTING TO THAT HOLD ON

"Gashapon" is the Japanese term for "vending machine toy". You know vending machine toys, right? Those little trinkets found in capsules, and you get one by putting in a quarter (or, nowadays, a couple of quarters) and turning the crank to claim a randomly selected prize. Well, vending machines are big in Japan. The Japanese people absolutely love 'em, and part of that is their appreciation of surprises. Apparently, not knowing exactly what you're getting is a big thrill there, because even some non-vending toys are sold in "blind boxes" - identical, non-windowed packages that could contain any one of several possible toys.

But you don't need to go to blind boxes for a quality random product - since vending machines are so popular, their offerings are a lot more interesting than what we get in the USA. Instead of tiny rubber frogs, sticky bugs, and superballs, Japan's machines offer some pretty cool prizes - not the least of which are these highly detailed miniature models by Bandai.

Godzilla gashapons are generally not for playing with - to fit in the vending machine bubble, they come in pieces. Perhaps you've seen the "3D Puzzle" toys? Not only is that exactly how most gashapon figures work, but some "3D puzzles" actually are gashapons, imported from Japan and upgraded to shelf items because our vending machines aren't fancy enough.

But enough about gashapons in general - what about this one? What we have here is Kamacuras, a praying mantis monster that is known for speed if not durability or might. He is smaller than most Godzilla gashapons because he came with a second monster - Kumonga the spider. However, I only have Kamacuras because I bought him off the internet separately.

For being so small (he's about an inch high and two inches long), Kamacuras is very well detailed and accurate to the film the toy inspired - in this case, Godzilla Final Wars. He stays together perfectly well, although if handled a lot he will usually split in half and you'll need to reattach his thorax to his abdomen.

Good Kamacuras toys are hard to come by. This is one of the cheapest and easiest ways to get the mantis into your collection.