DSC_4404
Next up on the Vancouver list, Figma 237 - Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex Kusanagi Mokoto.
Here's another interesting one. it's a Figma that I've known about for years now, but never really found one for a price that was reasonable. Finally found a second hand one for $45 CAD while in Vancouver - not my ultimate best price, but a fair price. It was complete and in good shape, so why not? To date, there are two Figma of the character - the Stand Alone Complex version based on her appearance in the series, and a release of her in an Optical Camoflague suit that is based on her appearance in a movie that I guess I never saw. As the title suggests, this figure is based on the former.
Read enough manga or watch enough anime, especially Sci-Fi stuff, eventually you'll run into the Major, Mokoto Kusanagi. She is the lead protagonist of the Ghost in the Shell series, and is a fully body prosthesis cyborg, with the only organic elements being her brain and spinal cord. She is the field commander of Section 9, and effectively is written as a character that can do it all with a fierce sense of determination. She reminds me very much of another femme favourite of mine, Black Widow, though I suspect the Major would probably rip her to shreds. I have not read the original Manga, but I did see the John Woo anime movie back in the day, in theatres even, bits and pieces of the series, and yes, including the visually impressive but otherwise kind of boring live action version with the Widow herself, Scarlett Johansson. Mokoto is probably the most famous of the many detailed mecha based creations by Masamune Shirow.
Released in 2017/18, this figure represents the standard Figma figure in terms of pricing, clocking in a 5,370 Yen, and contents. There's the figure itself, three total face plates (neutral/determined, smiling, shouting), both still and windswept bang pieces, two chest parts, her traditional weapons of Seburo M-5 and Seburo C-26A, the latter with a removable barrel, a variety of hands and of course, your standard Figma stand. Again, not particularly rich in accessories, but the basics are there. Her jacket is made of a more pliable rubber as compared to the rest of her body to allow for "better" range of motion on her arms.
One interesting thing to point out at this time is that I remember this wardrobe on Mokoto, but I don't really recall the more skimpy version that she's worn for her other SAC merchandise, such as the Yamato VMF figure I have of hers. After a bit of research, it appears that the more skimpy stuff is based on Shirow's original artwork, whereas this more conservatively dressed version is straight out of the series itself. Changes like that do happen, so no real gasp of shock or astonishment from me.
The overall figure, at least from the front and kind of from the side, looks pretty accurate. You're gonna lose some accuracy due to the use of the standard Figma 2.0 as your basis for window dressing, but lets get it out of the way - most Figma don't look that great from the back, and Mokoto is certainly no exception. Her back view looks functional at best, but I guess it does the job. Her front view is helped by the general curves of the Figma body, as well as the two interchangable chest parts, one of which is full size, as it were, with the other slightly compressed to allow for more natural two armed weapon holding poses. Or so they say.. it wasn't particularly natural looking in my opinion, but to be fair I didn't try without the compressed chest part either. Head/face is a tad small, but again nothing new to the world of Figma, and as mentioned above, there's that rubbery jacket that allows for better movement. Unlike the VMF release, this jacket stays on the figure and has segmented sleeves instead. Detailing on both still and windswept hair is good considering the scale, with the windswept hair definitely being the one of choice for me, and quite honestly, Mokoto deserves to constantly be in action mode.
From an articulation perspective, Mokoto actually fares better than your typical Figma 2.0 figure. She's got the basics, of course - toes, ankles, knees, hips, waist, mid torso, shoulders with chest collapse, elbows with rotation, wrists, and neck. She also has, unlike most of the other 2.0s that I have, neck articulation as well, though you really need to force it to get the neck to pose as the rubber collar of the jacket gets in the way. The Figma body, as always, gets the job done, but after comparing it to the one on my Endgame Black Widow, who has a very similar shape and outfit style, you can kind of get a better appreciation for the work that Tamashi Nations put in to squeeze out better range of motion and overall better articulation with an equally jointed look (or in some cases, fewer joints exposed). Mind you, Figuarts tend to be pricier, so there is that. It's a shame that these days, it's unlikely that you will get a property with both Figma and Figuarts licensing because that would make for an interesting article.
Beautiful work from a paint perspective, though mind you, not as complex as say, Angela Balzac. Her body is pretty much that lavender/grey, with charcoal grey for her jacket. Overall, the short story is like every other Figma product you pick up, paint finish is smooth, unless there are some really intricate detailed parts, of which there are effectively none on Mokoto. Paint textures are smooth, and this includes the paint work on her exposed flesh tone parts. Her paints and jacket are a more glossy finish, most likely to replicate the look of leather. Decal work is solid, of course - no crossed eyes for this figure. Build quality on the figure is again that consistent Figma solid, with strong joints that hold up to typical forces applied while changing joints. As there is some heavy paint apps on pretty much all the body parts, assembly gaps aren't exactly evident even if there were there, but that's never really been a significant with Figma. I do have a bit of a QC grumble, as I think the tolerances on the rear of her hair might be a bit on the large side, causing the front piece to fall out rather easily. Better than the head not fitting on, I suppose.. stupid Megumin. Weapons fit in her hand perfectly, though as always, figuring out the grip on the C-26A is somewhat of a challenge.
So, other than wishing Mokoto had better articulation, she's everything I dreamed of. Simple clothing showcasing her curves, trademark weaponry - it's not exactly heavy weapons toting, wetwork wearing, pissed off Mokoto, but it's not meant to be.
I wonder if I'll find the movie version one day.
DSC_4404
Next up on the Vancouver list, Figma 237 - Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex Kusanagi Mokoto.
Here's another interesting one. it's a Figma that I've known about for years now, but never really found one for a price that was reasonable. Finally found a second hand one for $45 CAD while in Vancouver - not my ultimate best price, but a fair price. It was complete and in good shape, so why not? To date, there are two Figma of the character - the Stand Alone Complex version based on her appearance in the series, and a release of her in an Optical Camoflague suit that is based on her appearance in a movie that I guess I never saw. As the title suggests, this figure is based on the former.
Read enough manga or watch enough anime, especially Sci-Fi stuff, eventually you'll run into the Major, Mokoto Kusanagi. She is the lead protagonist of the Ghost in the Shell series, and is a fully body prosthesis cyborg, with the only organic elements being her brain and spinal cord. She is the field commander of Section 9, and effectively is written as a character that can do it all with a fierce sense of determination. She reminds me very much of another femme favourite of mine, Black Widow, though I suspect the Major would probably rip her to shreds. I have not read the original Manga, but I did see the John Woo anime movie back in the day, in theatres even, bits and pieces of the series, and yes, including the visually impressive but otherwise kind of boring live action version with the Widow herself, Scarlett Johansson. Mokoto is probably the most famous of the many detailed mecha based creations by Masamune Shirow.
Released in 2017/18, this figure represents the standard Figma figure in terms of pricing, clocking in a 5,370 Yen, and contents. There's the figure itself, three total face plates (neutral/determined, smiling, shouting), both still and windswept bang pieces, two chest parts, her traditional weapons of Seburo M-5 and Seburo C-26A, the latter with a removable barrel, a variety of hands and of course, your standard Figma stand. Again, not particularly rich in accessories, but the basics are there. Her jacket is made of a more pliable rubber as compared to the rest of her body to allow for "better" range of motion on her arms.
One interesting thing to point out at this time is that I remember this wardrobe on Mokoto, but I don't really recall the more skimpy version that she's worn for her other SAC merchandise, such as the Yamato VMF figure I have of hers. After a bit of research, it appears that the more skimpy stuff is based on Shirow's original artwork, whereas this more conservatively dressed version is straight out of the series itself. Changes like that do happen, so no real gasp of shock or astonishment from me.
The overall figure, at least from the front and kind of from the side, looks pretty accurate. You're gonna lose some accuracy due to the use of the standard Figma 2.0 as your basis for window dressing, but lets get it out of the way - most Figma don't look that great from the back, and Mokoto is certainly no exception. Her back view looks functional at best, but I guess it does the job. Her front view is helped by the general curves of the Figma body, as well as the two interchangable chest parts, one of which is full size, as it were, with the other slightly compressed to allow for more natural two armed weapon holding poses. Or so they say.. it wasn't particularly natural looking in my opinion, but to be fair I didn't try without the compressed chest part either. Head/face is a tad small, but again nothing new to the world of Figma, and as mentioned above, there's that rubbery jacket that allows for better movement. Unlike the VMF release, this jacket stays on the figure and has segmented sleeves instead. Detailing on both still and windswept hair is good considering the scale, with the windswept hair definitely being the one of choice for me, and quite honestly, Mokoto deserves to constantly be in action mode.
From an articulation perspective, Mokoto actually fares better than your typical Figma 2.0 figure. She's got the basics, of course - toes, ankles, knees, hips, waist, mid torso, shoulders with chest collapse, elbows with rotation, wrists, and neck. She also has, unlike most of the other 2.0s that I have, neck articulation as well, though you really need to force it to get the neck to pose as the rubber collar of the jacket gets in the way. The Figma body, as always, gets the job done, but after comparing it to the one on my Endgame Black Widow, who has a very similar shape and outfit style, you can kind of get a better appreciation for the work that Tamashi Nations put in to squeeze out better range of motion and overall better articulation with an equally jointed look (or in some cases, fewer joints exposed). Mind you, Figuarts tend to be pricier, so there is that. It's a shame that these days, it's unlikely that you will get a property with both Figma and Figuarts licensing because that would make for an interesting article.
Beautiful work from a paint perspective, though mind you, not as complex as say, Angela Balzac. Her body is pretty much that lavender/grey, with charcoal grey for her jacket. Overall, the short story is like every other Figma product you pick up, paint finish is smooth, unless there are some really intricate detailed parts, of which there are effectively none on Mokoto. Paint textures are smooth, and this includes the paint work on her exposed flesh tone parts. Her paints and jacket are a more glossy finish, most likely to replicate the look of leather. Decal work is solid, of course - no crossed eyes for this figure. Build quality on the figure is again that consistent Figma solid, with strong joints that hold up to typical forces applied while changing joints. As there is some heavy paint apps on pretty much all the body parts, assembly gaps aren't exactly evident even if there were there, but that's never really been a significant with Figma. I do have a bit of a QC grumble, as I think the tolerances on the rear of her hair might be a bit on the large side, causing the front piece to fall out rather easily. Better than the head not fitting on, I suppose.. stupid Megumin. Weapons fit in her hand perfectly, though as always, figuring out the grip on the C-26A is somewhat of a challenge.
So, other than wishing Mokoto had better articulation, she's everything I dreamed of. Simple clothing showcasing her curves, trademark weaponry - it's not exactly heavy weapons toting, wetwork wearing, pissed off Mokoto, but it's not meant to be.
I wonder if I'll find the movie version one day.