Vault Review: S.H.
Figuarts’ Gokai Green

There are only three episodes left of Gokaiger and then it’ll be over.  So I thought I’d celebrate its ending by reviewing my Gokai Green figure, and also paying for my Gokai Silver which was just released this week.  Now just the two girls left.

Gokai Green, aka Don “Doc” Dogoier, isn’t a very good pirate.  Unlike his comrades, Doc has very few fighting skills and a somewhat cowardly disposition when it comes to confrontations.  But when he’s forced into battle, he’ll stand up to his enemies with a clumsy fighting style, using anything in his surrounding environment attack with or at least cause a distraction.  All in all, he’s easily the comedy relief character in the group.

Doc’s real strengths lie in his ingenious technical and organizational abilities.  The Gokaigers first enlisted his help to fix their ship, the Gokai Galleon, after a particularly harrowing battle with the Zangyack fleet.  But when Don was also able to organize the cluttered bridge and prepare a nutritious meal for the crew, Captain Marvelous “insisted” he join.  Since then Doc has used his skills to improve the Gokai’s arsenal and assisting his crew in battles, even if it still scares him.

If you’ve read my other two Gokaiger reviews, you already know what to expect with the Figuarts sculpt since they guys all share the same body.  There are a couple of new pieces though; most notable is his helmet with a boxy looking visor.

His paint job is also familiar, only now with a green shade on his colored bits.  One thing that I’m happy to report is that I’ve had no more issues with quality control in this area.  I’m much happier to end up with a bad Red, than have these problems continually plague the line.

I think the Figuarts body is probably my favorite “buck” system just because of how awesome the articulation is.  Green’s head, neck, torso, hips, and ankles are all ball joints.  His shoulders are swivel/hinges attached to a ball joint.  His elbows and knees are double hinged, and there’s also a hinge on his toe joint.  His wrists are swivel/hinges, and his biceps and thighs have a swivel joint.  You can get some very lifelike poses with this articulation.  This particularly comes in handy with a character like Doc, who’s always clumsily leaping and cartwheeling through battles.  Continue to page 2…

16 thoughts on “Vault Review: S.H.
Figuarts’ Gokai Green

    1. Yeah, I already preordered one of those table sets since that desk set turned out pretty well.

      I do wish Matty would take a few hints from Bandai of Japan, but with our luck they’d probably just copy Bandai of America instead 😛

      1. In defence, when Bandai America did something right it was fairly impressive. Bandai Japan had pretty much sidelined the Gundam ‘MS In Action’ toys when the Great Assault to bring Gundam to America happened, and Bandai America just went CRAZY with Mobile Suits. But, in that so typical way they failed to time the releases or separate the lines into distinctive SKUs and so there was a feel that there was only one shot to get any of them. Then came the sheer stupidity of the ‘battle damage’ line and that completely and utterly killed it.

        And I was buying those stupid things like candy. Still unhappy I could never find the ‘full armor’ Gundam that got dumped at Kay Bee toys. That debacle was tied to the ‘failure to launch’ of not getting Zeta Gundam on Cartoon Network as they thought was going to happen and even advertised at NY Toy Fair that year (2002 IIRC)…

        Annnnd I’ve just showed just how obsessed I get about that Japanese stuff, huh? 🙂

  1. Wow, I bet that cost you a pretty penny. Should I say congratulations or I’m sorry? 😛

    If it’s any consolation, she really is a fantastic figure. Both of her.

    On the down side, you might be tempted to pick up her sister Metis now. http://www.itsalltrue.net/?p=10787 Not quite as great as Aegis, but still pretty good.

    Let me know how you like the two Aegis figures.

    1. I forgot to mention, be careful with the normal Aegis’ thigh swivels. They were really tight on the first release and will take some hot water and gentle working to loosen up. I’m not sure if that problem was fixed for her second release, but I didn’t have any of the same problems with on my armored Aegis.

  2. They did cost a bit, but thanks to the refund I got from AmiAmi for Play Arts Lightning, I only spent about $60 for both of them.

    You’re right, they are a lot of fun, but I think I favor Heavy Arms; she’s more visually interesting and her joints are smoother; basic Aegis’ thigh swivels are so tight I’m afraid to force them.

    I may pick up Metis later, but I have pre-ordered Phantasmoon.

    1. Ha! They’re both great figures, but Heavy Arms does have that super cute face too. Maybe she is the better one 😛

      I had to order a Phantasmoon too! I have no idea who she is, but I love how she looks and those two bats she comes with are awesome.

      I don’t know if you’re a fan of Metroid, but did you see the Samus Figma is up for preorder? She looks really good.

      1. I also like putting basic Aegis’ happy face on Heavy Arms. It would be awesome if she had a thumbs-up hand to go with it. Oh, and I just managed to loosen up basic Aegis’ thighs.

        I like Phantasmoon’s style. Very clean and basic. I’m also curious about her alternate hands. I don’t know if the one, two, and three finger hands have any special meaning, but they are multi-purpose.

        Samus does look slick, but I already have enough things on pre-order at the moment.

        1. “Enough to preorder”, what is that? lol

          Phantasmoon should be pretty great. I really wish Figma could get the license to Sailor Moon. That would be perfect,

  3. Haha, yeah. Pre-orders are dangerous. I’ve got Street Fighter Play Arts Cammy and Akuma, Vanquish Play Arts Sam Gideon, Phantasmoon, and Mass Effect 3 on tap. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but random “sure, why not?” purchases take surprisingly big chunks out of my budget.

    1. Yeah, I know what you mean. On this side of the ocean I’m being very tempted by the majority of the Transformers Prime toys. Or course I’m fairly safe if we never get that second wave.

      1. And…I just won a bid on yet another figma, Rider from “Fate/stay night.” I’ve had my eye on her for a while, even before I knew what figma, Revoltechs, and Figuarts were.

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