Inuyasha & Kagome Toynami figure review

Inuyasha was a series that I got a chance to see back when I was a teenager delving into the Adult Swim era of Toonami. Or at least that's what it was when it used to pop up in the weekends after watching some King of the Hill and Family Guy. I did see a bit of Bleach and whatever else was on at the time, but something about Inuyasha clicked with me. I don't know if it was because the characters were the right balance of humor and genuine storytelling, but it was something that made me later become a fan of the Rumic World. I know some would look at Urusei Yatsura for its true vintage quality or Ranma ½ for its fanservice done right, but this is easily my favorite out of the franchises that Rumiko worked on. And now I get to review some truly retro anime merch. A lot of the figures I've reviewed were generally either super poseable Figuarts (or Figma with Lum and Revoltech for Rei and Asuka) or chibi characters, but now we can at least see how these two hold up.

Here we have Inuyasha in-hand, pre-posed and meant to simulate an action pose of sorts. I normally don't cover statues or anything of the sort, and I rarely cover McDonalds toys, but these were meant to be part of a specific style of anime figures made back in the new millennium, when super poseability was not a common feature and most merch for a series like this was usually gashapons, plushies, and keychains. Here, we have pretty decent takes on the characters. Translating 2D characters in 3D usually varies on the art style and the various angles a character is drawn in, so while the Inuyasha cast succeeds in that, making the sculpted details look faithful to the aesthetics of the show is a whole other task. I think the pre-posed nature of this line at least means fewer joints to disrupt the sculpt, especially with an outfit as baggy as Inuyasha's. I do wonder if the feet are supposed to be that small, especially in contrast to the way his hands look and especially the pants of the robes. The sculpting on the collar is a nice touch, especially with it being what let's Kagome control him with a comedic "SIT BOY!" to his dismay. Beyond that, the overall figure is a case of "what you see is what you get" in terms of presentation.

His head sculpt is decently recreated in plastic, with him in a yelling expression that appears to be the more common version. I know there is a version with a closed mouth, one of him with his black hair from when his abilities were blocked off, and one of him as a demon. It's pretty decent for a mid-2000s toy. He can sort of be posed preparing to unsheathe his signature sword, the Tessaiga.

His head can either hold said weapon as it is or use the optional meat cleaver-sized version that he is more famous for. His articulation consists of a ball jointed head, shoulder rotation , slight wrist rotation, a waist rotation, and slight ankle rotation. He sadly has no proper stand to hold him upright.

As for Kagome, she is more in-line with the style of anime merch you'd usually see where the female character is pre-posed or is part of some semi-articulated line. Here, she is pre-posed in a somewhat feminine pose with her hip to one side, though this is likely done to preserve the sculpt. It's funny how this was her most common outfit, but with the fascination over Japanese female school uniforms resembling sailor outfits, this makes sense. And hey, she does look like Rayei Hino.

Her face is a little rougher than with Inuyasha, mostly because of how far apart her eyes kind of come across. That and the mouth, despite attempting to be a simple smile, ends up making her look like she's a bit derpy. Could be better in that department. With her bow and arrow, she has neck articulation, shoulder rotation and weird swivels at the elbows, and what may appear to be a waist swivel that I don't want to risk breaking since the torso splits at the seams. She does come with her stand though it barely works.

Here they are with Knightfall Batman, just to add some blue into the mix. The scale should be fairly comparable if you keep in mind that the characters are not standing upright. Overall, the ToyNami figures aren't exactly the thing you'd get that easily given how most copies are either worn from age or are kept MOSC for years and this gained higher prices in the aftermarket. Keep in mind that most anime fans would mostly prefer either plushies, statues, or a Figma or Figuart; if you grew up with Inuyasha or have nostalgia for these vintage figures, I recommend them. Just keep in mind they're going to take up a lot of space of they're MOSC because of how big the blisters and bubbles are for such small items.

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