DSC_9424
Rejoice! The S.H. Figuarts Super Sailor Mars figure not only marks the completion of my Inner Senshi (sort of cheating, but meh.. whatever.. it's a Mars) as well as the first time I've ever actually bought such high end goods from Amazon - good times.
Sailor Mars, aka Rei Hino is a Shrine Priestess, and is the third Sailor Senshi to join the group. She's not my favourite (not that I hate any of them per se), but she's definitely got personality and is always at odds with Usagi, something that isn't really played on in the Crystal series.
Jupiter FTW all day.
Guardian of Love and Passion, Sailor Mars controls the element of Fire, and of all the Inner Senshi, definitely has some of the flashiest techniques. It was these attack effects that are the reason why I opted to go Super for her rather than vanilla.
Let's dig in.
Super Sailor Mars, like Super Sailor Jupiter, comes with much more than her vanilla incarnation.. so much so I'm going to point form this for you.
You get:
- the figure
- five total face plates (neutral, chanting, winking, smiling, and attacking)
- 13 extra hands for posing and holding accessories
- one dedicated clasped hand for her Fire Soul attack
- her signature talisman (single and bunch)
- her Crystal Change Rod
- the actual Fire Soul effect
- a Mars Flame Sniper effect (including a dedicated hand)
- a Burning Mandala effect
- the standard Sailor Moon series Figuarts stand
Sailor Mars of course comes decked out in her Super upgraded uniform, including the translucent sleeves and bow on her back. She also features a more pliable skirt, something that now that I have two Super Senshi, seems to be a design change for this line, allowing for greater range of motion and better posing. She also has the wonky proportions that plagued the entire line, being too slender and tall, along with a tiny head.
Then there are those attack effects. I can see why they included so many.. the don't take that much plastic to make, unlike the Oak Evolution of Super Jupiter. The variety makes for many different display options and I think for that reason alone it's well worth ignoring the vanilla release.
Sailor Mars comes with the standard suite of Sailor Moon line articulation - ankles, single jointed knees, hips, waist, mid torso, shoulders with some chest compress and bicep swivel, single jointed elbows, wrists, and head.
She also has similar hair to Sailor Venus, in that it's long. As such, there two points of articulation in the hair that allows for it to spread out for scenes where she shows more volume. However, it's sculpted such that it is perpetually at an angle, blowing backs. Great for dynamic looks... not so much for poses where you want her standing still. On the other hand, if they hadn't done that, you wouldn't be able to turn her head (I'm looking at you, Wonder Woman). Furthermore, as you can imagine, the weight of the hair makes standing the figure without support somewhat of a challenge.
From a paint perspective, gain, solid by Figuarts and line standards, featuring predominately pearl finish white and red. There's nothing to write home about in a good way - solid work in general, some muddy detailing and paint masking. Decal work is sharp on all applicable spots, which include the face plates and of course the talisman. Printing and forming work on the Burning Mandala are quite nice.
Build quality is again what I expect, so hopefully the weaknesses observed in Mercury are a one and done thing. No issues with limb length, strength of joints, or overly rough finishes. The translucent plastics uses for the Fire Soul and Mars Flame Sniper effects are quite nice, with no noticeable bubbles or other blemishes that would not only affect the visual quality, but also, the brittleness of these parts.
So yeah.. the Inner Senshi are done. It's definitely a price jump between vanilla and Super, but honestly if it's like an extra $10 - $15, you might as well go Super if you're going to have only one Mars in your collection. If you're insisting on being a purist, I think the vanilla Sailor Mars figure comes with the talisman in terms of effects, as well as the clasped hand for Fire Soul and posing hands.
Hopefully soon, I'll find a Pluto and complete it all.
DSC_9424
Rejoice! The S.H. Figuarts Super Sailor Mars figure not only marks the completion of my Inner Senshi (sort of cheating, but meh.. whatever.. it's a Mars) as well as the first time I've ever actually bought such high end goods from Amazon - good times.
Sailor Mars, aka Rei Hino is a Shrine Priestess, and is the third Sailor Senshi to join the group. She's not my favourite (not that I hate any of them per se), but she's definitely got personality and is always at odds with Usagi, something that isn't really played on in the Crystal series.
Jupiter FTW all day.
Guardian of Love and Passion, Sailor Mars controls the element of Fire, and of all the Inner Senshi, definitely has some of the flashiest techniques. It was these attack effects that are the reason why I opted to go Super for her rather than vanilla.
Let's dig in.
Super Sailor Mars, like Super Sailor Jupiter, comes with much more than her vanilla incarnation.. so much so I'm going to point form this for you.
You get:
- the figure
- five total face plates (neutral, chanting, winking, smiling, and attacking)
- 13 extra hands for posing and holding accessories
- one dedicated clasped hand for her Fire Soul attack
- her signature talisman (single and bunch)
- her Crystal Change Rod
- the actual Fire Soul effect
- a Mars Flame Sniper effect (including a dedicated hand)
- a Burning Mandala effect
- the standard Sailor Moon series Figuarts stand
Sailor Mars of course comes decked out in her Super upgraded uniform, including the translucent sleeves and bow on her back. She also features a more pliable skirt, something that now that I have two Super Senshi, seems to be a design change for this line, allowing for greater range of motion and better posing. She also has the wonky proportions that plagued the entire line, being too slender and tall, along with a tiny head.
Then there are those attack effects. I can see why they included so many.. the don't take that much plastic to make, unlike the Oak Evolution of Super Jupiter. The variety makes for many different display options and I think for that reason alone it's well worth ignoring the vanilla release.
Sailor Mars comes with the standard suite of Sailor Moon line articulation - ankles, single jointed knees, hips, waist, mid torso, shoulders with some chest compress and bicep swivel, single jointed elbows, wrists, and head.
She also has similar hair to Sailor Venus, in that it's long. As such, there two points of articulation in the hair that allows for it to spread out for scenes where she shows more volume. However, it's sculpted such that it is perpetually at an angle, blowing backs. Great for dynamic looks... not so much for poses where you want her standing still. On the other hand, if they hadn't done that, you wouldn't be able to turn her head (I'm looking at you, Wonder Woman). Furthermore, as you can imagine, the weight of the hair makes standing the figure without support somewhat of a challenge.
From a paint perspective, gain, solid by Figuarts and line standards, featuring predominately pearl finish white and red. There's nothing to write home about in a good way - solid work in general, some muddy detailing and paint masking. Decal work is sharp on all applicable spots, which include the face plates and of course the talisman. Printing and forming work on the Burning Mandala are quite nice.
Build quality is again what I expect, so hopefully the weaknesses observed in Mercury are a one and done thing. No issues with limb length, strength of joints, or overly rough finishes. The translucent plastics uses for the Fire Soul and Mars Flame Sniper effects are quite nice, with no noticeable bubbles or other blemishes that would not only affect the visual quality, but also, the brittleness of these parts.
So yeah.. the Inner Senshi are done. It's definitely a price jump between vanilla and Super, but honestly if it's like an extra $10 - $15, you might as well go Super if you're going to have only one Mars in your collection. If you're insisting on being a purist, I think the vanilla Sailor Mars figure comes with the talisman in terms of effects, as well as the clasped hand for Fire Soul and posing hands.
Hopefully soon, I'll find a Pluto and complete it all.