{"id":25035,"date":"2013-09-27T10:14:35","date_gmt":"2013-09-27T15:14:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=25035"},"modified":"2013-10-01T21:33:23","modified_gmt":"2013-10-02T02:33:23","slug":"vault-review-s-h-figuarts-sailor-moon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=25035","title":{"rendered":"Vault Review: S.H.
Figuarts Sailor Moon"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was pretty excited this week when I got my shipping confirmation for Bandai\u2019s new Sailor Moon figure.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been waiting twenty years for decent toys from this franchise.\u00a0 I honestly thought the franchise was never going to get an action figure treatment.\u00a0 But when Toei Animation announced a new series was going to start in winter 2013, Bandai saw their chance to make a few bucks off of the older fans.<\/p>\n

\"samo01\"<\/p>\n

But I\u2019m pretty sure they never anticipated just how much demand there was for toys from this series.\u00a0 Most of the online Japanese retailers sold out of their preorders the first day they went up, and Bluefin even made a few comments about having to raise the amount of stock on their Amazon store because it was getting close to selling out as well.\u00a0 Apparently I wasn\u2019t the only one who was waiting all this time for some decent toys.<\/p>\n

\"DSC02734\"<\/p>\n

But the downside of anticipation is hype.\u00a0 While this Sailor Moon figure is good, I was a bit disappointed by some minor flaws with the final product.\u00a0 One of the biggest things to keep in mind when looking over this figure is that females are not Bandai\u2019s strong suit.\u00a0 Armored mechs, robots, bug men, and rangers they\u2019ve got down pat when it comes to production, but there\u2019re some issues with clothing, skin, and facial features that they still haven\u2019t perfected.\u00a0 So don\u2019t expect Figma results here or you\u2019ll be setting yourself up for disappointment right out of the box.<\/p>\n

\"samo03\"<\/p>\n

Sculpt wise, Serena was based on the anime design more than the manga.\u00a0 She\u2019s got her standard first appearance look with the sailor suit, short skirt, and long boots and gloves.\u00a0 A lot of the fabric pieces that have been added on, like her bows and skirt, are made of a rubbery plastic.\u00a0 These parts look really good visually, and prevent most of her movements from being hampered.\u00a0 But you\u2019ll also want to watch out for them.\u00a0 A good example is the large bow on her back, which is only attached by a small piece and could easily be ripped off with little force.<\/p>\n

\"samo04\"<\/p>\n

While the sculpt does look good, there are a couple of practical issues that bug me.\u00a0 First are her feet.\u00a0 They\u2019re a bit too short, which limits how much she can balance in dynamic poses.\u00a0 I can\u2019t even tell you how many times she fell over during the photo shoot.<\/p>\n

My second problem with the figure also encroaches on her articulation.\u00a0 The two meatballs on her head are glued on, but the ponytails attach to them with a ball joint.\u00a0 Unfortunately the ball joint is on the side, which really limits just how far back and forth her ponytails can move.\u00a0 So certain scenes just aren\u2019t going to be possible because the hair can\u2019t replicate that windswept look.<\/p>\n

\"DSC02713\"<\/p>\n

As for the rest of her articulation, Bandai did a pretty good job.\u00a0 Her head, wrists, and ankles are swivel\/hinges.\u00a0 Her elbows and knees have very similar joints, but instead of being round they\u2019re flat.\u00a0 This actually keeps them locked in place where the pegs attach to her limbs.\u00a0 So they really just act like a very versatile hinge with very limited swiveling.\u00a0 Her shoulders are ball joints attached to swivel\/hinges.\u00a0 Her chest, lower torso, and hips are ball joints, while her thighs have swivels just underneath that joint.<\/p>\n

\"DSC02687\"<\/p>\n

Interestingly, Bandai went with shiny paints instead of the darker colors of the anime.\u00a0 The white of her uniform is pearlized, while the blue and pink areas are more metallic and have that glittery effect when you look closely in the light.\u00a0 Another strange choice is that they went with more of a pink color instead of red for her boots and bows. Continue to page 2…<\/a><\/p>\n

\"DSC02730\"<\/p>\n

There are a few issues when it comes to SM\u2019s paint job though.\u00a0 They paint they used is a little thicker than what you normally see from most Japanese figures.\u00a0 This unfortunately allowed for more slop and overpaint in some areas.\u00a0 There\u2019s nothing that ruins the figure, but there are definitely some noticeable areas when you\u2019re holding her.<\/p>\n

\"DSC02689\"<\/p>\n

Serena comes with a ton of accessories, most of which are alternate body parts.\u00a0 She has six different faceplates: smiling, determined with mouth open, determined with mouth closed, and determined without her tiara on.\u00a0 The two other faceplates are winking with mouth open, and crying.\u00a0 These last two are first edition bonuses, and won\u2019t come with any rereleases of this figure.<\/p>\n

\"DSC02719\"<\/p>\n

As for alternate hands, she comes with a pair of open fingers spread and fists.\u00a0 Then there is one doing the Dr. Strange pose and another loosely grasping for her left side.\u00a0 The right side has one pointing, one doing the peace sign, one for holding he wand, and a last one with her tiara disc attached to it for attacking poses.<\/p>\n

\"DSC02696\"<\/p>\n

Serena comes with two versions of her wand:\u00a0 one with the crystal and one without.\u00a0 She also has a heart shaped stand labeled Sailor Moon.<\/p>\n

\"DSC02708\"<\/p>\n

Lastly, and probably most importantly, they included Luna in the package.\u00a0 She\u2019s a very simple figure with only two points of articulation: a ball jointed head and tail.\u00a0 The paint job is also simple with most of the body being in that dark blue, light black color.\u00a0 I wouldn\u2019t mind seeing a couple more versions of her as the line progresses.\u00a0 It\u2019s good that she\u2019s standing, but I\u2019d also like to have a sitting and laying version as well.\u00a0 And of course, hopefully Artemis will come with Venus.<\/p>\n

\"DSC02722\"<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t the perfect Sailor Moon figure, but I\u2019m going to give some leeway to Bandai on this one.\u00a0 Their first MonsterArts Godzilla had some issues also, but Bandai has fixed almost all of those problems and they haven\u2019t cropped back up since.\u00a0 I\u2019m hoping the Sailor Scouts will be given a similar treatment.\u00a0 If you are planning on picking up these figures, and they\u2019re your first Japanese imports, I strongly suggest being careful with them when handling.\u00a0 Don\u2019t force anything.\u00a0 Use hot water if necessary, and slowly work it free.<\/p>\n

-Vault<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":25049,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[1986,34,10],"tags":[445,1607,2113,905,1313,1276],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.itsalltrue.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/samoFP.jpg?fit=480%2C195&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pObc6-6vN","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":25280,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=25280","url_meta":{"origin":25035,"position":0},"title":"Bandai of Japan Unveils New Proplica Line\/Moon Stick","date":"October 16, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In "News"","img":{"alt_text":"f601c932","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.itsalltrue.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/f601c932.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":21608,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=21608","url_meta":{"origin":25035,"position":1},"title":"Tamashii Nations 2012 Armchair Coverage","date":"October 26, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"While convention season is pretty much over stateside, Japan had a big one up its sleeve with Tamashii Nations 2012!\u00a0 Bandai of Japan has been garnering a large portion of my collecting interest over the last couple years, and the 2013 reveals make it blatantly apparent that my wallet doesn't\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Event Coverage"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.itsalltrue.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/tamf3.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":13426,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=13426","url_meta":{"origin":25035,"position":2},"title":"Tamashii Festival Summer 2011 Galleries","date":"July 16, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"It\u2019s convention season and ItsAllTrue is kicking off our convention coverage with a look at Tamashii Feature\u2019s Summer 2011 show.\u00a0 This year Bandai\u2019s showing off plenty of Gundam, Kamen Rider, Super Sentai (Power Rangers), Godzilla and more to whet your toy collecting appetites. Bringing you our coverage from Japan is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Event Coverage"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.itsalltrue.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/tam2011sum007.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":23705,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=23705","url_meta":{"origin":25035,"position":3},"title":"Vault Review: Iron Man 2 S.H. Figuarts War Machine","date":"June 19, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In "Marvel"","img":{"alt_text":"fawm1","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.itsalltrue.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/fawm1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":25117,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=25117","url_meta":{"origin":25035,"position":4},"title":"Vault Review: S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider V3","date":"October 4, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","img":{"alt_text":"krvt1","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.itsalltrue.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/krvt1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":28760,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=28760","url_meta":{"origin":25035,"position":5},"title":"Figuarts Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Black & Blue Ranger Review","date":"July 17, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In "Film & TV"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25035"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25035"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25035\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25082,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25035\/revisions\/25082"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/25049"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}