Golgo 13

Review by chachipower

If you need a professional, someone to get the job done no matter the odds, you don't need anyone... you need Golgo 13. Your target is behind bulletproof glass and the only way to get a target on him is from a building a mile away with two skyscrapers in the way, and to top it all off- a 50mph crosswind to make matters impossible. Impossible? I beg to differ.

He's got the longest running manga still in publication since 1969. If you don't like reading manga, you can find him in anime, live action movies and video games. Here is a little backstory on Golgo 13 according to Wikipedia:

"Golgo 13, also known by the pseudonym Duke Togo, is a professional assassin. His age and birthplace are unknown and there is no consensus in the worldwide intelligence community as to his true identity.[3] Most of his jobs are completed through the use of a customized, scoped M16 rifle.

Duke Togo's past is a mystery. Although many episodes of the series have presented speculation about his origin, such episodes always cast doubt on their own theories as well — leaving the readers uncertain whether the information was even true. It is only known that he had a son with ex-PIRA terrorist Catherine McCall named Joey, who was killed in an accidental explosion after he ignited some explosives at a PIRA safehouse."

Nothing can be better than seeing the Hot Toys name on the outside of this box. Hot Toys is synonymous with quality 1:6 scale figures and this Golgo 13 release is no exception. It comes in a smooth matte finish box with a great illustration that starts off with a line drawing and graduates to a full color illustration of Golgo 13.

It has a book style lid which opens to reveal the contents. My first impression when opening the lid was "OMG". Granted I am a fan of Golgo 13, but high quality 1:6 scale figures tend to make this type of impression on anyone.

The figure is mainly rendered off his anime style look as opposed to his earlier 60's manga style look.

The figure comes dressed up in his signature suit with red tie covered by a highly detailed khaki colored trench coat. The trench coat has a working belt strap and has a bendable wire running down the from seam edge to recreate the wind blowing it around. Very nice touch.

You are a very lucky person if you see this view and live. If you do live, he will warn you with "Never stand behind me..."

In real life, we would probably laugh at someone who seriously dressed like this and carried huge sideburns on his face, but Duke Togo really executes his look nicely. He is just one cool dude. A man of few words and many beautiful women.

Duke Togo, A.K.A., Golgo 13 is rarely if ever seen with any other expression other than this one seen here. About the only other expression he will ever make is if his mouth opens, but those eyebrows will always remain in place. Hot Toys managed to capture Golgo's look down perfectly. It keeps an anime cel look while giving it just enough subtle airbrush detail to make it more realistic. So cool.

He carries this little nifty briefcase too. Highly detailed from the realistic looking combo latches, to the very last stitch on the leather covering.

What's in this briefcase you ask? Only what any well deserving hit man would have in his possession. His baby. A customized scoped M-16. The interior of this briefcase is detailed with a soft foam diecut interior where the gun parts are neatly laid out.

Golgo likes to work alone and always has a backup plan should things get hairy. He covers his tracks to avoid getting caught. Should he happen to get arrested, he is always set free due to lack of evidence. This guy does his work cleanly. In this shot, I've curled up the ends of his coat to simulate a slight breeze.

Once he is in this position, the job is as good as done, no target is too difficult or too far. Here we see his M-16 with scope assembled out of the briefcase.

(Note: Scope is simulated for illustrative purposes)

The job is done.

The quality is top-notch. The texture of the fabrics used are perfectly scaled. The pants are ironed to achieve a sharp edge down the front, the coat is well made and lined on the inside. His suit has buttons to close it when needed. Even the tie is tied neatly around his neck. I really wish I had shades and black gloves to do this review. I do recommend those as they really do wonders for the figure's look. The only downside is that 95% of the figure is generic looking. The other 5% is his head that is exclusive to him. You can technically build this figure using generic clothing and a Golgo 13 head-sculpt.

This is a 2008 Hot Toys release that was only made officially available in Japan as far as I know. Tracking one down is not too difficult but pricey. Luckily for me, I got this through a trade. If you don't know anything about Golgo 13, I suggest watching the series on Netflix or buy the DVDs as they are cheap. I dont recommend the live-action movies as your entry into Golgo's world since they don't quite capture Golgo 13 in the way the anime or Manga can. You could also try picking up some manga but if you don't know Japanese, there are only a few releases printed in English.

And just in case he was too hard to see, here he is out of the shadows.