So I have a habit of buying random things, but sometimes, even I can't recall the logic in that moment of madness. Take this figure for example - the S.H. Figuarts Aquaman 2: Aquaman figure. Never saw the movie, not particularly a fan of the character. I think I just felt bad about how the whole thing was going for Jason Mamoa and got a figure. Maybe one day I'll get the chance to have him autograph it because, well, things happen, though truth be told I'd probably be much more ecstatic if it were Scarlett Johansson. Hell, she could autograph this Aquaman figure for all I care.
I think this was one of those P. Bandai exclusives, but whatever the case is, here's Aquaman. A very effects heavy set, the actual figure itself really just has the one alternate head and the eight hands, along with the Trident. It's seems to be a decent amount of parts within and to be honest without any actual knowledge of the figure, this seems to be complete.
Here he is out the box. Again, as a very casual observer, things look about right. Proportions could be a bit better for accuracy, but it's not like the poor guy is underrepresented. I like the way the Armour came out. There's scale like texturing across most of the surface which of course recreate the on screen look. The other parts of the suit had this sort of organic look which I feel came out nicely on the figure as well. Great colour choices were utilized to make things pop. While not shown here, this same care was put on the Trident as well. Furthermore, there is a panel on the lower back that you can pop out to use with a stand, sold separately of course.
The faces are alright. There's generally a bit more forgiveness when it comes to accuracy at this size, but even by Figuarts standards this is average. It's generally recognizable as Jason Mamoa, but the accuracy is nowhere as close as with the Black Widow stuff. Sculpted hair is... not the greatest. I'm not a fan of the method in general, but there are certain hair styles that work better. The up-do is pretty good. The relaxed hair? Looks like a blob of stuff.
Articulation is average. I know I'm used to the more flexible female Figuarts bodies, but I also own bulky male bodies, from Figuarts nonetheless, that are much better at posing. I guess they reserve those bodies for characters that are known for fighting. Having said that, it's not like the articulation is terrible, it's just compared to everything else I have it's kind of underwhelming. No real useful back arch/ab crunch, bulk of outfit limits hip and shoulder movement. The relaxed hair head can sort of turn thanks to the two part hair design. It's more of a refined Legends level figure in this regard.
Paint Applications really do make this figure shine. I suspect that they had to put extra budget into actually painting the the thing so that it would look that much better than everything else out there. Paint work is smooth and thanks to lack of small details, there's really no masking errors to be concerned with. Digital painting of the face is, as discussed, decent, and the highlights in the hair do help bring out the textures. I think this is one of those figures where every surface is actually painted, which is probably why the price is higher than usual.
Build Quality is right where I expect it. No fit or joint issues, all parts look nicely sanded and assembled. Even then translucent plastic effects came out nicely with no bubbles, a subtle transition between Blue and Clear and no tolerance issues. The parts on the Trident are sadly keyed, so they'll only fit on in one specific way.
There's nothing particularly bad about this figure - it's a great representation of the character with strong production values and a decent likeness. It's just that as a Figuarts, it doesn't really blow my mind either, as it's really pretty run of the mill when it comes to posing. Like I said, I have no idea why I clicked the preorder - maybe I just wanted something shiny to add to my collection.
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