S.H. Figuarts Sailor Moon Crystal & Tamashii Nations 2014 review

Apparently, it's been 10 years since Sailor Moon Crystal came out, which was an adaptation of the original manga but was meant to be faithful compared to the 90s anime, even though it initially received criticism for the animation quality and how Sailor Venus didn't kill Queen Beryl. The animation quality improved by Season 3, and we also got to have 2 movies that were each split into 2 parts for some reason, with Eternal focusing on the entirety of the Dead Moon Circus arc, and Cosmos focusing on the Stars arc. I guess the so-so quality of the series led to mediocre ratings at the time so they probably wanted to distance themselves from the Crystal subtitle yet continue the story. Merchandise is also limited, of course, thanks to the 90s anime being more popular. Only the titular character got a Figuart, so we shall review it and compare it to the original anime color version of the 90s incarnation because these figures aren't the exact same beyond the faceplates.

Here we have Crystal Sailor Moon in-hand, who is a new sculpt sharing no parts with the 90s version whatsoever. It makes sense in a way given their aesthetics are not 1:1 with each other due to the manga influences present in the more recent iteration of the franchise, and I appreciate she is more than just a head swap. We still have the similar outfit design traits, from the palette of pink, white, and blue to the skirt, knee high boots, and collar. While her bow isn't as wide, the skirt flows out a little more, and the hair is not only more dynamic in sculpt with the additional strands, but each piece is not molded in the same shape. It's the equivalent of new mask, same task, though I have to take points off for those awful knee joints. Sure, it's an action figure, and it's not like the regular Sailor Scouts had normal-looking knee joints, but this is a human, not a robot! Another nitpick would be that the skirt does prevent her arms from going down properly; while it manages to be faithful to the Crystal/manga look there are some issues with the figure specifically (I'm not bashing Crystal even if the animation was bad from the start).

Her head sculpt is also different from the 90s version, from the smaller odangos and tiara to the addition of the feathers that were in the manga yet anime SM only had them when she went Super. The eyes are also more detailed than what the 90s anime could offer, no doubt better matching the artstyle Naoko went for. Her accessories include 4 alternate faceplates, a Cutie Moon Rod, 7 alternate hands, and a display base.

Articulation is about the same as her regular anime counterpart, with a multi-joint for the head that can look left and right, another meant for looking up and down, another for head-tilting motion, ball-jointed ponytails, shoulders that can move front and back on ball joints, in and out on hinges, swivels within the upper region of the sleeves, deep single elbow bends, and hands that hinge up and down as well as in and out. There is a diaphragm joint and a slight ab-crunch joint that is hindered by the bottom flaps of her dress, but the legs are on ball joints that can't really pose much due to the rigid flaps, slightly swivel at the thighs, bend at the knees, and the feet can swivel, hinge, and pivot.

While the accessories work more or less like what we got with her 90s version, the hands are at least a little more plentiful, even if we lack anything for her tiara and we go for the Cutie Moon Rod instead of the Moon Stick (or the Crescent Wand which is a better name and you can't deny that).

Instead of any winking, open smile, or crying expressions, Crystal Moon instead comes with two alternate faceplates looking either left or right, with the latter having her mouth open as she does her attack name shout out. At first, I thought they were kind of creepy, but they end up adding extra expressions without leaving you stuck with a figure facing forwards all the time as the Dragon Ball Figuarts did right (with face plates) versus what some McFarlane DC Multiverse figures got wrong (with the permanent side eye).

Now to quickly go over the Tamashii Nations 2014 version of Anime Edition Sailor Moon, she was made between the original version of the figure and the recent Animation Color Edition released a few years ago. They may seem similar at first glance, but the bows, boots, tiara gem, choker, elbow guards, and odangos are a richer red instead of being slightly pink in hue, while the blues may be almost identical. The whites look the same, and the stripe thickness is different between the two on their collars. Their skin tones may be slightly different, but barely to the point you can get away with swapping faceplates. The hair, however, is closer to a honey yellow on the ACE version while the 2014 version has a brighter banana yellow closer to Sailor Venus's shade. These differences make the TN2014 version closer to the movie trilogy while the ACE version matches the anime proper without any pink or green tints. I will comment that the elbow joints on the TN2014 version are thinner than the ACE's, and the skirt appears to be more spread out slightly. That being said, the way the upper legs were sculpted as well as the hip joints were altered between releases. While my TN2014 copy broke at the drop down system (which is a common design flaw the older Figuarts had) as I tried removing the leg at the ball joint socket, you can see that the original had the thighs stop at the opening of the socket. The ACE version further adds to the sculpt of the upper leg, making it look more organic in addition to adding a bit of lower glute to make the butt sculpt more natural whenever the figure posed with the legs forward. While many would find that perverted, it's not like seeing fan art of the characters loving each other in their own shipping wars is any better than observing action figure retooling.

Her hands are the same as the original, Luna is barely different, and she comes with the same angry, yelling, and closed smiles faces, but she also comes with a Crescent Wand with the Silver Crystal as well as a faceplate without the tiara to correspond with her Moon Tiara Action/Magic/Boomerang/whatever. Those accessories came with Zoisite Moon, so those should be compatible with ACE Moon provided the skin tones match decently.

And that about wraps up my final look at the Sailor Moon Figuarts. Overall, Crystal Moon is an underrated addition to the line in spite of being seemingly samey to the original apart from the aesthetic differences. It sucks she never got any other characters from her anime specifically. As for TN2014 Moon, only get her if you prefer the colors on that figure despite the differences being minor, especially given the fragility concerns as well as the price being much higher than what you can get at some shops for ACE Moon.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (for both)

And now it's time to put an end on the Sailor Moon review saga. The Super Senshi are barely different other than the faceplates and longer back bows, I doubt I'd buy any of the transformation brooches or wands, and there isn't much I plan to revisit that matches my other collections. So thanks for reading if you made it this far, and...

Marvel Legends Extremis Iron Man vs Mandarin review

We already covered the Extremis Iron Man design back in 2023 in a review along with Ultimate Captain America, and while it was cool to get a more poseable version of a famous armor, I still wish there was more added to make him even better, from additional torso articulation and more convincing metallic shades so he wouldn't look plasticky. In addition, a new Mandarin has always been on many fans' wish lists, though Hasbro seems as reluctant to make one as much as they are to represent Slave Leia, hooded Cobra Commander, the ROTF Twins, and anything related to Temple of Doom. Admittedly, the Iron Man villain himself looks cool in a suit, almost like a badass evil John Wick, though it comes at the cost of reducing the character to being a reuse of a more generic body. That being said, let's see if this set is any worth picking up.

Here we have Iron Man in-hand alongside the other versions of the character. Or maybe I should say suit since the figure was retooled into Iron Patriot, an identity notably used by Norman Osborn as part of the Cabal. He's mainly here because of the mold history, but I mainly wanted to discuss the two versions of Extremis Iron Man. The original version from 2023 had some gold paint apps that don't mesh all that great with the marbleized plastic used for the hips, while the reds were barely even metallic and were rather drab. The new Iron Man tries to make the colors more vibrant, yet he ends up looking less metallic than even his stock photos. Whether you like the consistency or not is up to you, but would it hurt Hasbro to make a figure they're reusing metallic? It's all retooled parts, so use the budget to make him a little less cheap? I guess one positive is that minus the shape of his arc reactor, the colors vaguely resemble Armored Adventures.

The figure has had some modifications beyond the shades of red and gold, such as a new torso piece meant to accommodate additional articulation in the neck and butterfly joints. Neither really works the best, and it doesn't help that the torso ends up being slightly narrower despite broader chests making more sense for comic book superheroes. Sure, the Extremis armor is leaner than earlier Iron Man designs, but still.

To its credit, the new Iron Man can lean back slightly more if you only use the diaphragm joint, but the addition of an an crunch makes further improves his range. Still, if Ultimate Iron Man had a double ball torso for his articulation, why couldn't Extremis 2.0?

As for the Mandarin, this figure reuses a suited body with the longer, unbuttoned coat seen previously on many Legends figures without a flashy costume, I'm sure. The head looks a little oversized, and the hair doesn't really so much to hide that. It could be worse compared to most other Legends figures, but the Mandarin looks less like he could be a supervillain wearing a suit disguise and more like a generic Japanese mafia thug. Don't get me wrong I appreciate that the black plastic is nice and matte rather than shiny, cheaper materials, but he ends up feeling less cool than the comic art since we've seen this body so many times, and the proportions don't quite fit the Mandarin as well as Hasbro hoped.

His head sculpt is decent, but it feels somewhat like a mix between being generic expression and Hasbro trying hard not to apply any racial caricatures. It's mostly fine but not quite a spitting image of the Mandarin, to be honest. Articulation is standard for these suited bodies, so I will instead go over some of his alternate hands. Unlike the relaxed hands, these are more gestural in comparison while perfectly accommodating his effect parts. They definitely feel like reuse from a Morbius-type figure, though, given the length of the fingers.

They both have alternate heads, with Iron Man having an unhelmeted option that doesn't look too out of scale on him compared to putting the one that came with Hulkbuster on this body. I like that it's sculpted to resemble him wearing a thin layer of headgear-like material to either protect him or better interface with the helmet. The Mandarin, on the other hand, has a screaming head with grey hair as well as the 10 Rings in his fingers. The grey hair is based on Daniel Knauf's run on the Iron Man comics, something not many people bring up since the average Marvel Legends collector on social media probably pays little attention to comic lore as much as they still believe Exo Man was actually Iron Man in those fan made 70's Avengers videos.

Overall, this 2-pack is just okay. Iron Man is a decent second stab at the Extremis mold yet still has room for improvement. Mandarin, meanwhile, feels like an excuse for Hasbro to make the second or third best known version of the character to casual fans without going all out on his classic character design. The price I paid for this set isn't as high as what you'd pay for the Gamerverse 2-packs, but I know there should have been more done to make them a little more worthwhile than just "yo I got new Legends, check 'em out". Still waiting for that Animated Series Mandarin, Hasbro. You made a whole line dedicated to the 90s Iron Man series and failed to deliver on making him or any other villains present in the Season 1 intro!

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Transformers Animated Grimlock review

It's been soooooooo long since I reviewed any proper Animated toys. While I did cover the Legacy versions of Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, and Prowl, the last time we took a look at any proper releases would have to go as far back as the Battle Begins 2-pack featuring battle-damaged repaints of Optimus Prime and Megatron. Both were Deluxes, both had the same punching gimmick, and both were out of scale; that being said, Optimus was in his Earth mode while Megatron was in his Cybertronian mode, which makes them entirely incompatible with the cartoon they were packaged with (or rather the pilot). Now, it's time we give that show some long-overdue love, as it, along with the first Michael Bay movie, will be turning 20 in less than 2 years. And what better way to start than with the only Dinobot to speak in the series proper than Grimlock himself?

Here we have Grimlock in his dino mode, which is a Tyrannosaurus Rex, more man-made in appearance than alien. This was explained in the series from the Dinobot trio being dinosaur animatronics that were made into Transformers via the power of the Allspark, giving us Grimlock, Swoop, and Snarl, who is not a Stegosaurus but a Triceratops, and the first time a character based on G1 Slag was renamed to avoid any inappropriate naming conventions in the UK. Grimlock's design, though tubby in the body and thin at the arms, at least fits the way a T. rex should be proportioned. I also like that there is a bit of red behind the gold neck that gives him a pseudo skin pattern of some kind.

His design is undoubtedly more cartoony than the old G1 version, but honestly, does it really matter? Not like the G1 version was any more serious a character. I will admit that maybe his tail should be longer, but at least it is a very close match to the cartoon. Being a dinosaur, he mostly has articulation in the legs that will be the same in the arms...

...but he also has a gimmick where pressing a button makes his jaw open. I kind of like that it has that old chomping trap look that once again reminds people of his man-made origins prior to his gift of sentience. The only problem is that the robot mode head is visible from underneath. But who cares? Not this guy!

For a size comparison, here he is towering over the same character whose VA he shares, Optimus Prime. I always appreciate it when the same man who voiced Megatron for a decade (minus RID 2001) got to distinguish his smooth, theatrical voice from the younger yet easy-to-take-seriously Optimus Prime and his own spin on the dimwitted yet powerful Grimlock. 

Transformation is close to the old G1 design, with the tail becoming the legs while the dinosaur's legs turn into the arms, and the dinosaur's head and upper body turn into the neck. It's easy to do, yet still satisfying all around. The resulting robot mode is appropriately stocky, and somehow the skinny arms look decently imposing on him. Maybe it's because they look thick with how deep they are from the sides. I also like that the dinosaur's claws are his digits in bot mode, rather than making separate hands on the G1 version. An interesting bit would be him having a Minicon port on one of his tail halves, so maybe powerlinking can make him do a super kick? His dino head kibble stays on the back as it should, but the chest is interesting since it's a clear piece layered over painted circuitry; this was done a decade before Power of the Primes, mind you.

His head sculpt is pretty similar to Crunch from the Orbots, who, yes, Thew once mentioned Grimmy looked quite a lot less gay in comparison (before censoring himself because trying to have a squeaky clean reputation at all costs is totally better than admitting you were reckless and crude back then), and no, I never saw the Orbots before. His articulation consists of a neck swivel, ball-jointed shoulders, hinged elbows, forearm rotation, claw-ticulation, waist rotation, somewhat limited hip movement, hinged knees, and rotation below the knees. 

His flaming sword is able to clip into his hand without 5mm ports, meaning only he himself is worthy of holding it. And why wouldn't it be? He can flick his wrist, and a button built into his right hand lets additional flame bits spring out, adding an extra bit of fire to a smoldering sword comparable to the one guarding the Garden of Eden.

Grimlock's Takara variant was made 2 years after the release of Hasbro's, giving him a metallic paint job as well as fully detailed sigils rather than the silver ones Hasbro stuck with. While this does look nicer, the Japanese versions always came off as inaccurate without the matte look from the animation style. 

Sadly, they canceled a repaint known as Goldfire Grimlock was prominently gold and black with some silver bits here and there. While some of the final Animated figures were sold in Toys R Us, Grimlock was one of the victims set aside as Hasbro began shifting gears towards the Aligned continuity.

For a size comparison, here we have Grimlock next to Legacy United Optimus Prime in bot mode. I think they don't feel too distinct from each other in terms of aesthetics, though there is a KO of OP that better matches the series he's from. While Grimlock should be taller than Optimus, the scale isn't too bad, though you can always get the Deluxe version that scales better with Grimmy. While they fight over who gets to clap Blackarachnia's spider-booty, I'm going to say that Grimlock is the best of the three Animated Dinobot molds, from the overall engineering to looking good in both modes. Swoop definitely looked great in bot mode, yet his beast mode was mediocre. Likewise, Snarl felt like a weird hodgepodge of G1 Slag and Snarl design elements, but his dino mode was okay. I was lucky to get this figure for $40 at a toy shop, so good luck getting yours at any cons or the bays of E!

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Transformers Power of the Primes Battletrap (Battleslash & Roadtrap) review

While we wait for Age of the Primes Year 2 to roll out, why don't we revisit the last time Hasbro tried focusing on the Primes in a line made a decade ago? Power of the Primes felt like a mashup of Combiner Wars with Titans Return figurines that lacked faces, and it went about as well as it did. While it was cool to see the Evolution side of Leaders as well as rep for combiner teams we didn't get in the mid-2015s as well as new versions of Dinobots and the female Autobots, we still had issues from the stickers, the way combiners worked compared to the Legacy-onwards versions, and the overall execution of the Prime Masters. That being said, the Legends figures were at least consistent in quality, mostly focusing on the Minibots with a few additions here and there. The best part was the inclusion of two little vehicles that made up a robot known as Battletrap. Yes, long before the name was used for the Terrorcon shown in Rise of the Beasts, Battletrap was one of two Duocons in G1, which meant the two little vehicles mentioned form parts of a robot rather than having individual robot modes. Siege's Skytread (aka Flywheels) didn't get this feature and stuck to the purist-accurate 2 Vehicles, One Bot approach, but how did the inclusion of two bot modes named Roadtrap and Battleshash turn out? Let's find out.

Here we have Roadtrap and Battleslash in their vehicle modes. Representing the pick up truck and helicopter that make up Battletrap, they feel about as robust as their original counterparts. While Roadtrap fares up fine with a decent front section that at least has the grille, headlights, and windshield all painted in different colors from the prominent blue, Battleslash looks like he flew straight out of the Power Core Combiner limb philosophy. Sure, the truck has a chest section in the back with no attempt to conceal the bot mode head or the waist and hips of Battletrap, but at least it isn't stuck with a gaping hole in the front like some penis shaft, both the canopy and rotors being undersized, and a tail thicker than Geewunner's head. I know Doctor Lockdown's going to do his Australian reeing while pulling up a sign that says "IT'S A LEGENDS FIGURE", and yes it is, buddy, it's not a Core Class. Anyways, while some will defend this for being a smaller figure, I wouldn't have bothered with Battleslash if I never wanted to complete the Duocon himself.

Here they are along with the altmode components of Skytread. Since the latter group lacks any individual robot modes, it leads to their vehicle modes being much better than the POTP duo. Sure, they look about as comparable to the old G1 Scramble City limbs in terms of proportions, but it's still better than what Battleslash has.

Transforming Roadtrap feels similar to the way Bumblebee works, with the roof being the chest while the front becomes the feet, and the bot mode is even bulkier and aggressive than the yellow scout wished he could ever be. His chest is angular like his head sculpt, the armpit wheels are an underrated detail we see on Transformers, and he still gets to wear Vans. Nice shoes even in the smaller bot mode! He does feel cold from the back, though. As for Battleslash, his proportions are about as puffy as the Michelin Man with birthing hips that are wider than Shakira's hips that don't lie. I guess the head is about as "nifty" as the one that was used for the Decepticlones from the same year, and the torso is also kind of cool apart from the insignia rubbing off the chest. I even like the arm-mounted copter blade like the ones we usually see on most heliformers. However, the dumpy proportions and the reverse chest meant for Battletrap can't compare to his pooper scooper piece hanging from his butt. His little blue shoes are funny, though.

They share almost the same level of articulation, with neck rotation and ball joints for the shoulders, elbows, hips, and knees. They don't have weapons, but they retain 5mm weapon ports as seen on Legends figures since Thrilling 30.

And as for the Battletrap formation, it's almost like an Energon Powerlink at a smaller scale! Battletrash forms the feet and body with a wild transformation that feels like switching out the smaller, insignificant arms and head with better ones while having the cockpit on the chest where it should be. As for the feet and legs, they understandably have less to do since Roadslap is halfway there anyhow but that torso at least results in beefy kneecaps that will be hard to bust. Together, they form the leaner-than-usual Battletrap! Despite his synched waist, I love how dynamic and lean he looks compared to Skytread, and I'd argue that designing him this way is better than making him as blocky as his fellow Duocon. He just has that Animated-esque influence to him that ironically is more stylized than the Legacy figures we got, from the superhero torso physique to the stomping boots once again in the form of these nice shoes named Vans. I know some will complain that the arms aren't blue, but I think a better way of integrating the Battleslash arms would have been better.

His head sculpt is almost like if the Seeker heads were blue instead of grey and has visors that looked better than whatever crappy eye stickers were used on the old G1 toys. His articulation is slightly enhanced compared to the individual bots. While he still has swivels for the neck and ball joints for the shoulders, elbows, hips, and knees, he now has a waist swivel, ankle articulation via the ball joints that were originally Roadtrap's knees, and a pseudo ab crunch thanks to the hinge used on the connector being on a hinge.

For a size comparison, here he is alongside Siege Skytread, showcasing the duality of engineering between two Legends figures that combine into a Deluxe-sized figure, and a Deluxe figure made up of two vehicles with half the parts used to make a Legends figure each. I find both of them have their own pros and cons, from the more visually unique character design and appealing colors of Battletrap to his athletic proportions and the concept of having bot modes for his vehicles; meanwhile Skytread manages to have better looking vehicle modes, a more solid robot mode, and including weapons. By the way, anyone prefer the name Skytread over Flywheels; the old name honestly suits Battletrap better since he has wheels, while tanks and jets are usually known for battling.

And for anyone wondering, you can swap each other's components to make Battletread and Skytrap (Battread? Skrap?), though be aware of any different tolerances. The colors work less this way, but maybe you can try Slamdance out since he's a blue and red repaint of Skytread. So with that out of the day, do I recommend POTP Battletrap? For the most part I think he's the best the character's going to get for an update. I don't think you should wait for another stab at him that just removes the bot modes. Battletrap won't need a slightly, slightly, slightly, slightly, slightly better version of himself when we still need characters like Powerglide, Octane, Broadside, Defensor, Abominus, and Predaking. Prices on Battletrap will vary on the seller, no doubt with prices fluctuating thanks to his ROTB incarnation, but if you see him for less than $50 since Roadtrap is harder to find, get him. 

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐