I've got a Love/Hate relationship with the JoJo figure line up. Conceptually, there's quite a few characters I like, as pretty much all the main characters are well written and have very distinct personalities. The problem is that, like Dragonball, only one company (Medicos) makes figures, but the issue is that their body appears to be stuck in the early 2010s.
The only good news is sticking with my usual buying criteria, I'm actually caught up with all the female releases, as there's only been two female releases - Joyne Cujoh, daughter of Jotaro and the recently released Lisa Lisa, aka Elizabeth Joestar, Master of the Ripple and mother to Joesph Joestar.
Making her appearance in the second story arc, Battle Tendency, this figure was actually only recently released first in Japan as an exclusive, followed by a general release. To say that Medicos doesn't follow chronological order with figure releases is saying it nicely. I suppose as I have Joseph, at least if I ever find a Caeser I can complete the set.
The price on these figures is about 9,000 Yen, and I'd say in terms of accessories they all come with the fundamentals for that character (except for any Stands). In the case of Lisa Lisa, outside of posing hands and a base/stand, she gets three total heads, a hand dedicated to holding the Red Jewel of Aja, and a pair of sunglasses to use with one specific hand.
Now the sculpts for this series are generally pretty good, and Lisa Lisa looks pretty good overall. She's depicted as looking kind of like Rose from Street Fighter , and that's pretty much what we get here. Stylish dress, leggings, and that awesome scarf. Things are off to a good start.
The head sculpts are... interesting. They're OK, but clearly the one with the Blow Up Doll expression is the most cursed. Clearly that one is going to be my favourite.
If there's one thing that JoJo figures should be able to do, it's pose. The entire series is famous because of all the outlandish poses the characters come up with. It is Articulation that is in fact this figures greatest weakness. So lets start with the hips - despite being around for over a decade now, the SAS body has apparently never considered drop down hips for that extra bit of articulation, or in this case, would allow it to have normal amounts of articulation. The weird diaper thing she's wearing severely limits motion to a point where I don't think she can even sit down properly. Her waist, back arch/ab crunch, and chest are actually very well articulated but with legs like that you're pretty much doing standing poses, though if you're easily frustrated you'll probably want to use the base/stand as those heels are a pain.
Things get even more silly from here. So there's only a minute amount of Butterfly joint articulation, but that's not even the punchline. The scarf, specifically the section around the neck, gets in the way of all shoulder rotation, and the hair further interferes with the right side. Head tilt is of course affected by the large mass of hair.
If it makes you feel better, the strands of the scarf can be posed.
Paint Applications are alright. Paint work on these figures has always been a tad rough in comparison to Figma, but it's still better than what you get with a NECA release. Flesh tones are probably the roughest on the figure, making so little sense that there are like three different flesh tones in play and none of it is used for creating shadow or anything. You can also see how rough the paint work is on the faces, which look like she's caked in foundation. Other paint apps, such as the ones on the Jewel, are again, acceptable, but not stellar.
There are a few issues with Build Quality. In no particular order, I find the tolerances not that great on this figure. The result of this ranges from the inability tor the hand to hold the sunglasses to the elbows falling off. Finishes on parts are not Dollar Store bad, but the sanding work on this line of figures is generally the weakest I've ever seen on any modern Japanese figure. At least the joints do their job. Overall, I would consider things tolerable but there is significant room for improvement.
When the SAS line was firs released, they were amongst some of the most advanced bodies out there. But whereas Figma and Figuarts have improved and added modern convivences, I'm almost certain that like Play Arts/Bring Arts, there have been almost no innovations for this toy line in the longest time because they have an iron grip on a very popular IP, and basically if you want something from it, you're pretty much buying something from them. Now, to be fair Lisa Lisa is just particularly bad as she's one of the bulkier designs from the line., but at the same time I feel if anyone actually tested the figure, they'd run into the same problems I had and perhaps would have tried to come up with a solution.
For Full Gallery, please visit:
Comments