Articulation is standard for the line since Jitsu uses almost all the parts of a basic buck. The paint work was also pretty standard with clean lines on the figure. I did get a random black splotch on the loincloth, which was annoying when I plucked Jitsu from this packaging. I do have one minor quibble on the paint choices. It’s a shame they couldn’t paint Jitsu’s “hidden” bracer. I know I’m not supposed to take the hand off at all, but that unpainted flesh tone plastic looks super cheap.
Jitsu included three accessories. The first was his vintage katana. This piece gets a nice update with a good sculpt and I love the metallic orange pain on the blade. Like Fisto, I probably won’t have him holding the sword too often, but it’s a cool accessory. I kinda want to use it for a “Faker goes to Japan” scenario more than anything.
The other two accessories vex me a bit. It’s really unfair of me because they are, in fact, MO2K elements, but Jitsu the figure really only has one hand – so what does he need with two kamas? They look cool and the idea of them hanging like hooks on his back is cool, but the slappin’ hand makes having a pair of any accessories extraneous. I know logistics means that you can’t simply swap out one piece for another, but I find myself wondering what Jitsu could have come with instead.
All three weapons fit on the back of his armor, though I have a hard time getting the sword to stay in the slit securely. Whenever it pops out, that brings me right back to wishing Jitsu had his MO2K belt and that it could’ve included a sheath for him to carry his sword at this size similar to Marzo.
Overall, I know that some will say I’m just not being fair to Jitsu – I do agree that he’s a great Classics figure, but I can’t shake that feeling that I wanted a little more. The handful of new pieces get the job done and he looks great mixed up with the villains on the shelf, but I’m naturally inclined to put him with Fisto and that starts the comparison ball rolling all over again…
Maybe if Mattel would get me Stridor & Nightstalker, I’ll be quiet about it…
For more MOTU reviews, check out our
MOTU Classics Collector’s Guide.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
For all our MOTU reviews, check out our
MOTU Classics Collector’s Guide.
Great review and pics, and the rock/paper/scissors had me laughing out VERY loud! You’ve just brightened my Wednesday a great deal!
Now it’s a matter of how long will this guy take to get to England . . . .
By the way, I think you might just have a poorly-cast chopping hand on yours, rather than a “design choice.”
Scott has been saying that MOTUC subs have been down from last year and the year before, so cost-cutting measures such as unpainted bracers and lack of extra stuff is likely in the offing. Maybe Jitsu’s additional gear will show up in a future Weapons Pak?
I never had Fisto or Jitsu as a kid but if I had gone back to collecting MOTU at the time, these guys would have been the reason. They look like warriors and Jitsu always had that cool samurai look about him, even more so now that the 4H have re-envisioned him with an ever edgier head sculpt. This is probably going to be my favorite MOTUC figure of 2013 along with Rammy.
the problem is clutch, the price hike was supposed to balance the downed sales numbers. remember the “which would you rather have, a price hike or a simplified fig w/ fewer accessories and fewer paint aps?” well, we bought into the price hike, so stuff like that still shouldn’t happen.
it’s no worries noisy, not every toy can be the best, and fisto is truly the highlight of the motuc line. he updated the classic fig, but gave you a TON of elements to re-create the 200x look, more pieces than even whiplash did. that was cool, it gave fans of both eras/looks a reason to buy the fig. the only motuc i’ve seen that might usurp fisto as the most effective update will be mantenna, but as he’s not released yet, it’s fisto’s world, we just live in it. and so does jitsu. he’s fun, but he’s got some illogical choices happening there and some cost cutting choices that just mean he doesn’t shine like the crazy diamond you want him to. no harm in that. as you say, he’s not the best figure ever… only one figure can be, right? jitsu, if you were ranking the figs by the quality execution of the update, is a solid B class fig, not quite wild enough to score an A rating like fisto or man at arms, but bouyed up by the djordje head, he’s certainly better off than a dud like spikor.
the grand question is, what kind of longevity does the line have when even the B and C grade upgrades cost like an A grade fig in other lines? example there, mantenna can easily justify his increase in pricetag from where i sit, king he-man is going to feel like a complete screwjob. icer looks like a total dud for that price, he’s translucent plastic and a neckbeard for 27 bucks???? and they’re trying to sell subs on that? oh, but don’t forget, he comes with an accessory for another figure… that that figure can’t hold. OOOHHHH! that’s a sweetened pot, eh?
I have a few people say that about Icer’s “beard”..I’m pretty sure thats an furry hood and not his actual hair. Also Stratos CAN hold accessories…I have mine rocking a sweet SMC hammer for weeks now.
oh yes, it’s a hood, but it looks like a dramatic neck beard.
as for stratos, well, he may be able to hold a weapon, but that’s by guile, not intent, he doesn’t come w/ the sculpted “gripping” hand. the staff could be forced into his hand, by rubber band or blue tack, but it’s certainly not there in any kind of permanent way by virtue of intended sculptural element. it’s rather like arguing that jitsu could hold both kamas because you wedged one between his thumb and palm… you’d have to secure it with outside aid to be able to “play” w/ the figure.
ok I didn’t know if you really thought it was a beard or not.
As far as Stratos..I really think that is a bit of a stretch..sure he doesn’t have the full kung fu grip that most guys have, but he has been holding onto a pretty heavy SMC hammer for weeks now (while perched atop a wind raider slanted downwards on the stand holding on with his other hand)so to say you would need a rubber band or blue tack isn’t really fair. I would bet dollars to doughnuts that the staff will be far lighter than the abs and pvc hammer I have given him. I’m not sure what play entails other than posing him around…if you mean flying him around the room then no he wouldnt be able to hold it, but if he can pose with it it is good enough for me.
Other than the visual impact of fur hood + mukluks = person you would find in a cold-weather environment, I never understood why Icer wanted his head and feet insulated like that. I suppose it’d be better than him going around buck-nekkid, but still . . . .
5: “Does he still have that rubbish beard?”
10: “No, we//…he was married.”
I may be the only guy who likes the Jitsu figure better than Fisto. I loathe the smooth ab piece. That part ruined (for me) two of what would have been favorites, Fisto and Hordak. If Fisto’s armor was handled like Jitsu’s, he would be my favorite figure in the line. As is, not so much. I only bought him because he is Fisto. I won’t buy any more figures that use the smooth abs. As it stands now, Jitsu may be my favorite MOTUC figure.
Cool pics & nice review.
Sweet review as always.
I really like Jitsu, and I think it’s criminal that he didn’t get the Millennium treatment like Fisto. The only saving grace for him is his head sculpt.
Oh my gosh you did a “paper, rock, scissors” joke thats priceless.
Had the pair as a kid so have to look into both when out at local things. Agree on hoping to see Stridor and Nightstalker down the road.
Man, how cathartic to see one of the best figures of the line (Fisto) clobber the hell out of one of the worst! 🙂
I think the kamas can “work” if you imagine them as throwing weapons instead. Toss one, grab the other . . .
My main beef is how goofy they look in orange like that. Somehow Fisto’s Tri-Klops sword doesn’t really bug me in purple. Maybe a metallic orange Trike sword could be in a weapons pack to further solidify the Fisto/Jitsu connection. 😉
As long as we get that sword in 200x (aka realistic) colors I’m good.
Also, I don’t see the small head issue. There’s a difference between “thin face” and “small head”.
Just because other figures in the line go for the chubby cheek detail-free look doesn’t make this one too small objectively.
BTW, did anyone else notice that in michael crawford’s jitsu review, he mentions a lack of paint on the accessories… how exactly does one get a matte orange hilt and a gloss orange blade on a one piece accessory and not credit that to a paint application? is the old man losing his touch, or is the metallic orange on jitsu’s blades really hard to make out under normal light?
Michael is color blind. He might have really missed it. That would be my guess.
Awesome pics for this review, Noisy!
DUDE! In my Jitsu Review (coming Mon on DK) I mention the same thing about the 2 Kamas …its a little silly to have tow identical weapons when he can only ever hold one at any given time.
Great review as always bud!
symmetry? plus, whats to say he didn’t have them before he lost his, erm, hand.
Well I’m assuming in “real life” Jitsu can open and close his hand so its not so much of a question there, but they could have included a different weapon since the figure can only hold one thing at a time….it is a minor complaint of a great figure (minus the lack of add ons). Gotta say though the Faker goes to japan storyline sounds like a winner to me, like a Frnak Miller Wolvie story with Faker
DUDE! that RPS gag killed me! LOL
at least you resisted the Big Pimp Hand joke. 😉
I didn’t even realize Jitsu was (sold?) out until the other day when I started seeing a couple pics on FB. Even then, I thought they were just advance purchases, as they were from the few usual MOTU people I’m ‘friends’ with. I guess blame it on the fact DR doesn’t want my money?
I don’t know anything about the character and never realized he was a villain? I guess he is Fisto’s nemesis, but I always saw him as complementary to the fisted one.
(ok, that can never sound not dirty! LOL)
I do think it’s a shame they didn’t even bother with the paint on the bracer, and the head close-up, you can see uneven paint on his collar rivets(?). As for your “holes” in the hand/gauntlet, it looks to me like there wasn’t enough plastic pellets to melt into the casting. This **should** have been caught at the factory, but Matty isn’t known for their perfect QC, are they? Unless this was a common feature that others also got, then that means the mold was dirty and should have been cleaned out. Even then, they should have tossed the hands into the regrind barrel.
speaking of hands, I still would like Matty to include a couple extra hands in their next weapons pack for these, uh, “hand”icapped warriors. (sorry.)
Well done as always, Noisy. The third pic on the 1st page looks like Jitsu’s showing Whiplash and Spikor a cheat sheet.
Yes, the deficiencies are glaring. If nothing else, couldn’t they lose a kama and give us the staction’s massive katana and/or a longer alternate topknot? Canonically, they could be explained for Jits’ look during his Snake Mountain reign.
It’s a shame too, because the Horsemen gave us a head on this guy that’s one of the best. This portrait has the distinctiveness, character and emotion that places it up there with greats like Marzo, Keldor and sadly, Fisto.
The thing about long topknots: as cool as they look, they might not only get in the way during battle, it’d also be easy for an enemy to grab it, pull your head back, and punch you in the throat. For example.
Having said that, if they ever do a Millenial-stlye Jitsu, I’d be up for that. I’d probably repaint his eyes, though, unless they come up with an adequate epxlanation why they were glowing red.
Oh, come on. Like getting punched in the neck with a big metal fist is anything this guy ever has to worry about.
Not necessarily a big metal fist, mate. All he has to do is turn his back on one of his fellow villains in the midst of battle, one who he thinks he can trust, but who secretly harbours a burning jealousy, and . . . WHAM! };D
This guy arrived this morning, and I gotta say the paint is more subtle than most reviews I’ve seen so far have mentioned. The gold ring around the cabochon on his belt, the little clasp that holds his topknot in place, and the “stubble” on his scalp took me pleasantly by surprise.
Now, if only he had a vac-metal gauntlet . . . .
Vac metal and would have been awesome really.
>That “Ultimate” Jitsu took up residence in my mind over the year between his reveal and Fisto’s.
I couldn’t agree more. Hopefully they can throw us a bone in a future weapons pak.