DSC_0134
Another week down, another week closer to the end of this quarantine situation.
In an effort to support local, I recently purchased a few things that are a bit out of my normal appetite. But, in the interest of the greater good, why not, I suppose. Also, they look neat, which I guess is what counts at the end of the day.
The first of which is the S.H. Figuarts Akuma-Shogun from Kinnikuman.
I've never watched the original Kinnikuman, but I did watch most of the dubbed Nisei series, Ultimate Muscle. The original Kinnikuman was a product of the 80s, and followed the exploit of a bunch of warriors known as Chojin who effectively happen to be superpowered professional wrestlers. The storyline features many pro wrestling angles, including stables as well as face and heels.
The overall antagonist is known as Akuma-Shogun, leader of the Akuma Knights, a stable made up on the main bad guys in the series. He's got a very interesting backstory but the general gist is that unless you know his secret, there's basically no way to actually hurt the guy.
Akuma-Shogun comes packed with a decent number of accessories, though not mind blowing by any stretch of the imagination. There's the figure, two "expressions" (normal, angry eyes), closed fist, articulated hands, slightly wider finger spread articulated hands, pair of chromed swords, free weight, cape, and backdrop.
There appears to be at least two versions of the toy, a there is another one that features the Gold and Silver masks along with a monument rather than a free weight and backdrop, and this version features metallic gold hair rather than the yellow of the earlier release. This version also silver trunks and waist flaps, as compared to the black one of the other version.
Akuma-Shogun is sized between the standard Figuarts and larger ones like the Hulk and Thanos and has an impressive, if not accurate, build.
If you're not familiar with the era, let me just say that the character design is very 80's. I mean sure, you can argue that the Silver Samurai-esque get up could be modern, but nothing, and I mean NOTHING, says 80's like the Glam Rock hair he's got.
Well.. rocker hair and giant ass shoulder pads.
The cape looks decent and some some good detailing, but ultimately, being a giant hunk of plastic that doesn't do anything, is best left off the figure as it does cause stability issues. The free weight works in conjunction with the included backdrop. If I know my anime tropes, there's probably some story arc where weights are gathered from characters and used to open some magical door, represented by the backdrop.
As much as I love the chromed swords, they are poorly designed, connecting to the body by the worlds smallest tab. As you can imagine, this causes the swords (and by extension, the pieces that are used when the swords aren't deployed) to come off the body with the slightest touch. On the other hand, I suppose with such a small tab, the chances of it permanently breaking are much reduced.
According to the box, Akuma-Shogun was built using the Tamashii Nations Fighting Body, which based on my experience is what Triple H was built on. They effectively have identical articulation, just that Akuma-Shogun has better range of motion. You get fully rotating ankles, double jointed knees, hips with pull down function, waist, mid torso, shoulders with chest collapse and bicep swivel, double jointed elbows with full rotation, wrists, neck, and head. There's also articulation in some of the hands, two points for the flaps on his waist, and a point for the hair to move which incidentally allows for better head turning than Triple H.
The main selling point of Akuma-Shogun for someone like me is definitely the paint work - it is glorious. He's effectively covered head to toe in metallic paint, mostly silver with some red, blue, and gold to break it up. All paint is applied on masterfully, being smooth all around, with sharp masking where needed. It's a bit hard to make up, but there's also spots of blue and red air brushing which further adds to the sheen of the figure.
Truly, the only thing that could have made the figure more visually impressive is if they chromed the guy.
Finally we have build quality. Other than the aforementioned annoyance I have with the pieces that attach to the gauntlet, Akuma-Shogun is built solidly like you would expect. Good materials, joints, no issues with limb length. I found seam lines, usually quite visible, were a bit harder to see, probably due to a combination of a better finish on the plastic itself and the great paint work.
Akuma-Shogun is a beautiful looking figure with great articulation that is put to good use if you're looking to have him throw the Encyclopedia of Pain at his opponents. It's just unfortunate that the cape is just.. kind of there and those wrist pieces come off so easily. I honestly have no idea with the demand is for this figure, as it's the only one I've ever seen and you can't really trust eBay, so the only advice I've got is if you're going for one is aim for below MSRP.
DSC_0134
Another week down, another week closer to the end of this quarantine situation.
In an effort to support local, I recently purchased a few things that are a bit out of my normal appetite. But, in the interest of the greater good, why not, I suppose. Also, they look neat, which I guess is what counts at the end of the day.
The first of which is the S.H. Figuarts Akuma-Shogun from Kinnikuman.
I've never watched the original Kinnikuman, but I did watch most of the dubbed Nisei series, Ultimate Muscle. The original Kinnikuman was a product of the 80s, and followed the exploit of a bunch of warriors known as Chojin who effectively happen to be superpowered professional wrestlers. The storyline features many pro wrestling angles, including stables as well as face and heels.
The overall antagonist is known as Akuma-Shogun, leader of the Akuma Knights, a stable made up on the main bad guys in the series. He's got a very interesting backstory but the general gist is that unless you know his secret, there's basically no way to actually hurt the guy.
Akuma-Shogun comes packed with a decent number of accessories, though not mind blowing by any stretch of the imagination. There's the figure, two "expressions" (normal, angry eyes), closed fist, articulated hands, slightly wider finger spread articulated hands, pair of chromed swords, free weight, cape, and backdrop.
There appears to be at least two versions of the toy, a there is another one that features the Gold and Silver masks along with a monument rather than a free weight and backdrop, and this version features metallic gold hair rather than the yellow of the earlier release. This version also silver trunks and waist flaps, as compared to the black one of the other version.
Akuma-Shogun is sized between the standard Figuarts and larger ones like the Hulk and Thanos and has an impressive, if not accurate, build.
If you're not familiar with the era, let me just say that the character design is very 80's. I mean sure, you can argue that the Silver Samurai-esque get up could be modern, but nothing, and I mean NOTHING, says 80's like the Glam Rock hair he's got.
Well.. rocker hair and giant ass shoulder pads.
The cape looks decent and some some good detailing, but ultimately, being a giant hunk of plastic that doesn't do anything, is best left off the figure as it does cause stability issues. The free weight works in conjunction with the included backdrop. If I know my anime tropes, there's probably some story arc where weights are gathered from characters and used to open some magical door, represented by the backdrop.
As much as I love the chromed swords, they are poorly designed, connecting to the body by the worlds smallest tab. As you can imagine, this causes the swords (and by extension, the pieces that are used when the swords aren't deployed) to come off the body with the slightest touch. On the other hand, I suppose with such a small tab, the chances of it permanently breaking are much reduced.
According to the box, Akuma-Shogun was built using the Tamashii Nations Fighting Body, which based on my experience is what Triple H was built on. They effectively have identical articulation, just that Akuma-Shogun has better range of motion. You get fully rotating ankles, double jointed knees, hips with pull down function, waist, mid torso, shoulders with chest collapse and bicep swivel, double jointed elbows with full rotation, wrists, neck, and head. There's also articulation in some of the hands, two points for the flaps on his waist, and a point for the hair to move which incidentally allows for better head turning than Triple H.
The main selling point of Akuma-Shogun for someone like me is definitely the paint work - it is glorious. He's effectively covered head to toe in metallic paint, mostly silver with some red, blue, and gold to break it up. All paint is applied on masterfully, being smooth all around, with sharp masking where needed. It's a bit hard to make up, but there's also spots of blue and red air brushing which further adds to the sheen of the figure.
Truly, the only thing that could have made the figure more visually impressive is if they chromed the guy.
Finally we have build quality. Other than the aforementioned annoyance I have with the pieces that attach to the gauntlet, Akuma-Shogun is built solidly like you would expect. Good materials, joints, no issues with limb length. I found seam lines, usually quite visible, were a bit harder to see, probably due to a combination of a better finish on the plastic itself and the great paint work.
Akuma-Shogun is a beautiful looking figure with great articulation that is put to good use if you're looking to have him throw the Encyclopedia of Pain at his opponents. It's just unfortunate that the cape is just.. kind of there and those wrist pieces come off so easily. I honestly have no idea with the demand is for this figure, as it's the only one I've ever seen and you can't really trust eBay, so the only advice I've got is if you're going for one is aim for below MSRP.