S.H. Figuarts Tuxedo Mask review

A lot of the Sailor Moon Figuarts I reviewed are from the Animation Color reissue line, but two were the exceptions if you recall the second and third volumes of the compilations made. That being said, a third addition comes in the form of a main character who, as of this moment, has not been reissued whatsoever. I'd argue that he should have had a reissue much sooner since Super Sailor Moon is an additional form that I'm sure will get an updated recolor if they do an event for S or SuperS, while Sailor V is fairly niche and not as prominent as regular Venus. So who is this character I have been referring to? Tuxedo Mask. Sailor Moon's love interest and future husband. A character we have seen since Episode 1, and had quite the importance to the series as the piece of Usagi/Serena's past in Season 1, attempting to reconnect with him in R, maintaining their love in S, his role as the bearer of the Golden Crystal in SuperS, and his absence affecting our titular heroine in Stars. So the wait is finally over as I give Mamoru Chiba, aka Darien Shields, a review as the kamen who tends to ride a motorcycle. 

Here we have Tuxedo Mask in-hand, depicted with his ever-stylish suit that represents quite the class in contrast to the outfits worn by the Senshi, which are more colorful and each includes a specific code to go with their character designs (mostly the hair and facial details). Tux's slick black suit has an inner white shirt. I'd claim he has a lot in common with Batman, but Tux is less likely to go Arkhamverse on thugs or even break the no-kill code than The Dark Knight is. I also love the use of dark sand blue to highlight the inner parts of the tuxedo and the parts on the sleeves that cover the wrists. Thankfully, there is no color discrepancy since this is all molded plastic that is likely painted over for consistency's sake, and the joints fit in pretty well along with the rest of the figure. And yeah, Mamoru/Darien is a very tall-looking man without the cape. 

His head sculpt is set up without the hat or masks equipped, with the anime proportions and young yet mature facial expression that represents an independent character like Mamoru/Darien when it comes to living on his own. I mean, the characters are sometimes drawn to look older than they really are, so this guy ends up looking like he was in his early 20s despite being 16/17 depending on the continuity. His mouth isn't prominently visible but it is sculpted lightly, with his softer, bishounen contrasting the older, realistic look from Tony Stark in the last review, huh? Anyways, he has an alternate head with the hat he is also known for, three alternate faces: one with his eyes closed, and two with the mask with eyes either visible or obscured, a stick for him to hold, a peg hole cover, the locket that would later restore his memories, a rose, a variety of alternate hands, a display base with a dark tint to help make those paint apps pop, an arm for the base as well as the usual claw for both pieces to attach to the base, and finally, the cape.

The hole cover is appreciative if you don't want to have the figure's back look unsightly, but the way it sticks out looks more like there is an action feature that he does if I press on it, like a karate chop or a sound clip. I'm also used to figures with holes in their backs not being filled in, as was the case if a Legends figure had flight-stand compatibility or was a Transformer that used weapon storage. While he doesn't hold it securely, resting the locket is possible if you use the fourth set of hands. As for the cape, you have to first detach the part that rests on the shoulders so you can easily attach the cape onto the back if the hole cover is not there. Once fully complete, it's a good time to mention the cape is made of hard plastic rather than cloth or rubber, something that contrasts how Hasbro or McFarlane handled capes for their Marvel, Star Wars, and DC figures. It's more like Coronation Starscream's capes, where it is articulated enough to make the flares more dynamic than the pre-sculpted or wireless (not that kind of wireless) nature of the PVC/cloth capes mentioned. The bolts and gaps are visible if you look at it in certain angles, but at least the upper body will hide those issues as well as it could.

While he's seen here standing naturally with either his signature rose or his stick weapon, I should cover the points of articulation: a ball joint that connects to the hair for quizzical tilts, a neck hinge, a neck swivel, shoulders that are on ball joints for front/back/inward/outward movement as well as another joint that helps shift the shoulders up and down. The elbows bend, and the wrists can hinge and swivel at two points so you could alter the directions the wrists hinge (though I can't get the joints connected to the forearms to work). There is a diaphragm joint, ball-jointed hips that also feature drop-down hips, thigh swivels, knee joints, and very limited ankle articulation for either the hinges or pivots. As for why you have to give him another head that is meant to fit the hat, it's not going to stay on securely without that weird peg that Tuxedo Mask is shown on his head.

While Tuxedo Mask could at least benefit from an ACE (Animation Color Edition) release that gives him a naturalistic skin tone and updated tolerances, he can at least fit in perfectly fine with the reissued Sailor Guardians compared to, say, mixing and matching the scouts from 2013/4 releases and their ACE counterparts. So next to Sailor Moon and Sailor Mini-Moon, we now have the Tsukino family completed. I'd make a group photo with more senshi, but I already found it annoying trying to get them to stand without their flight stands. Regardless, he is appropriately taller than either his girlfriend or their future daughter.

Now that being said, should you get this guy despite being expensive as hell in the aftermarket??? Yes and no. I would say yes because Tamashii has yet to make any announcements that they'll be making an updated version of the character, and I would say no because, well, LOOK AT THE PRICES!!! The lowest you'll probably get this guy is around $150, though at least twice, I saw him go for around $40 from sellers unaware of his value. So maybe be on the lookout if you want to buy him for a less horrific price. But once you get him, he will certainly complete a gap that many Sailor Moon Figuart collections will have unfilled...that is unless there are fans out there that hate this guy's guts for dumb reasons.

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