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In the Sailor Moon universe, the team eventually gets upgraded into their super forms during the aptly named SuperS series. it would have been great to get all the Super ones, but I'd be happy with a team of the regular form ladies as, well, I'm cheap. But, as fate would have it, I recently came upon an well priced ad for one of the Senshi that I did not have, and it happened to be in her Super form.

 

Presenting the SH Figuarts Super Sailor Jupiter figure, purchased off Kijiji for $55 CAD.

 

For the uninitiated, what is a Super Sailor Senshi? Well, like all series, new elements are introduced to reinvigorate interest in a franchise. In the fourth season of Sailor Moon (SuperS), Usagi, Chibi Moon, and the rest of the Inner Senshi are upgraded by a benevolent creature called Pegasus. I've seen enough bits and pieces throughout the years to visually all this in my head, but I can't exactly say I ever actually watched it on screen. The ladies get snazzier costumes and of course, new ways to unleash hell on their enemies. So what does this mean in terms of the figures?

 

Well, naturally the Super Senshi would have their outfits updated to reflect the new look as per the anime. But the bigger change is that Bandai crammed these Super Senshi with more accessories, including much needed attack effects because honestly, with the exception of one or two of the Senshi, hand to hand wasn't really their strength. These upgrades were I'd say very much a necessity to get a collecting public to basically buy the same figure again.. or maybe they just tried harder back then because it's not like they're trying that hard with Dragon Ball that have multiple iterations across the timeline.

 

So in addition to snagging a pimped out figure for a good price, this one also happens to be Sailor Jupiter, who just happens to be my favourite Inner Senshi in terms of personality and design. Her civilian form is Kino Makoto (Wiki says she's Lita in the DiC dub.. I honestly can't remember). She's easily the most adept at hand to hand asswhooping amongst the group, built like a brawler, but with the dream of settling down and having a family of her own one day. IIRC one of her more humourous traits is that she's one of the more competent cooks in the series, because in anime you're either decent or you effectively cook poison. Being aligned with the planet Jupiter, she exercises control over lightning and plant life.

 

With that out of the way, lets dive into the figure itself.

 

Contents of the box shouldn't surprise you at this point seeing how I glossed over it. There's the figure, five total face plates (neutral, smiling, eyes closed, focused attack, winking), 11 additional hands including one dedicated to holding her Crystal Change Rod, the Rod itself, a base, two dynamic stand arms (one for the claw attachment that will hold the figure, the other for supporting the Jupiter Oak Evolution effect), the aforementioned affect, and an additional hair piece with a green energy effect on the peak of the tiara. Based on my reading, effects aside, this set has two extra faces as compared to the first release, and one extra hand, specifically the one that holds the Rod.

 

Sailor Jupiter is officially 5' 6", which puts her about half a foot shorter than Sailor Uranus, the tallest at 6' even. Perhaps its this shorter stature (by comparison), but Jupiter doesn't seem as stretched out as Uranus is in terms of limb length. Horribly malnourished, sure, but at least she doesn't look like the Kareem Abdul Jabbar of the Sailor Moon universe. As with many of the older lines, it seems that Tamashii Nations stuck to one face shape for ease of production - that's not to say it's horribly off, but it certainly doesn't seem bang on even at the most casual glance. Better than those OG Dragon Ball Figuarts though, mind you. Like all the other Senshi, Jupiter has small, nonsensical feet that make posing or even standing, a test of patience, though at least a challenge that can be completed unlike some other figures in my collection. Her ponytail is sculpted in mid motion, which makes for generally more dynamic poses.

 

Between the figure in my hand, the figures I own, and recall from an article or two I've read, here's a run down of the differences between the actual pre and post Super figures.

 

1. Bow on the back are significantly larger and have articulated translucent tails

2. IIRC the colour of the tiaras are different

3. Shoulders of the outfits now have semi clear non coloured plastic extensions

4. it seems to me that, at least on Super Sailor Jupiter, that the skirt material is thinner compared to all the other ladies in my collection, allowing for greater range of motion in the legs

 

Other than that, the actual figure itself appears to be consistent with the rest of the squad.

 

Continuing our usual path, we first talk about articulation, and yes, nothing new to report here other than the skirt allowing for more movement. So there's ankles, single jointed knees, hips with the pull down function for more range of motion, waist, mid torso, shoulders, bicep swivel, single jointed elbows. wrist, head, as well as a single point for her pony tail and one point for each of the bow tails. Combine this with the various hands, especially the dedicated attack pose hands, stand, and actual attack effects, you end up with a good range of display options for the bestest Inner Senshi of them all.

 

Paint, for better or worse, is the same as with all the other Senshi. Generally strong paint applications across the board, with some really clean detailed paint applications on areas such as her choker and the tiara, but suffering from some lacklustre paint masking in areas involving white paint, most notable being where her top meets her skirt. The white on her is predominately a pearl finish coat of paint, with the greens having a metallic finish, and the remainder generally being a flat finish. Her Jupiter Oak Evolution effect is predominately a clear green plastic with some paint applications on the ends of the energy balls. Decals are applied accurately and aren't crooked. As always, I'm overcritical when it comes to things like this, and the short version is that while it's not perfect, you can tell it's not a bootleg.

 

Build quality is solid. For starters, the arms aren't meant to come off like Uranus and Neptune, and as such there are no issues with limbs falling off. Otherwise, joints hold your position, limbs do not have issues with uneven lengths, tolerances are good, and finishes, while a bit crude on some parts, are generally acceptable overall and do not feel rough to the touch. Moulding of parts is crisp, with all the fine details still present after the application of paint.

 

So overall, the figure is of the quality one would expect from the Figuarts lineup, which.. makes sense. Having said that, what about value? Well, the original was 4,200 yen in 2014 and Super was 5,500 yen in 2017. Overall, if anything I'd say that original series was probably overpriced, though I guess you could argue that maybe the tooling being already developed made the Super line cheaper to make. There's no doubt that from a presentation perspective, the Super lineup gives you more to play around with, but whether or not its worth the extra $20 - $30 USD (roughly.. your mileage will vary) is up the collector. While I personally don't regret paying the surcharge for Jupiter as she's my favourite, I'm not hardcore enough to go MSRP for the remaining Super Senshi, or to double dip on any of them unless I find them at fire sale prices.

 

But, regardless, no matter how you look at it, Sailor Jupiter does the Sailor Moon Figuarts lineup proud, and I eagerly continue my hunt across the globe for the rest of the ladies at prices that give my luck a workout.

Done