Sailor Moon was one of those anime series that kick started the whole love of anime on this side of the world. There were some.. interesting choices made when it came to the localization, with fans waiting decades to finally watch the story the way it was meant to be told with the current Crystal series. Figuarts fans have also been kind of shafted, as it's been over a decade since the collection start, and we still don't have a complete set of Sailor Senshi from either the classic or new series. I've done my part through the years, but I gotta say even getting a complete collection of what's actually out there is a bit of a chore.
As luck would have it, a few weeks ago I actually came across a Classified Ad for Imposter Sailor Moon, a one time character that was really Zoisite in disguise. The figure was one of those Convention Exclusive figures, and back in 2015, they certainly weren't as easy to get as they are now. So, I went for it.
Like with most of the Figarts convention exclusives, the box art isn't exactly exciting. In fact, it doesn't even have a window.
Unsurprisingly, the figure is effectively the original Sailor Moon figure with some cosmetic differences and some part swaps. Sadly, my set lacks the stand, but if you've ever seen the stands you'll know they're not that great either. If you're reading this, I'm going to presume that you have a familiarity with the original release, so it's just gonna be a highlights reel here.
There's one character specific faceplate, a Boomerang (used in place of Moon Tiara Magic because.. why not?) and for some really strange reason, a stoned looking Luna.
Out of box, this looks like Sailor Moon but with an evil smirk filled face. Jumping a bit ahead, the figure is generally revered as "best that there is because there's nothing else". These figures were plagued with many issue, ranging from QC to general design and material choices. Imposter Moon here, due to pedigree, shares these same problems. Overall, the accuracy to the screen model is very much not there, and I'll leave it at that.
The rest of the faces are basically taken directly the first set. I guess they swapped out the neutral face for this evil face. Otherwise, you COULD take the parts and turn this figure into a really oddly coloured Sailor Moon.
And here's Luna. Like I said.. stoned. I don't ever recall this particular variation making an appearance in the show, and I'm guessing it was a repaint of the existing Luna piece because they could.
As for the rest of the story, as mentioned, it's OK. Pretty much everything about the figure is awkward, but adequate. This includes my usual criteria of Articulation, Paint Applications, and Build Quality. With regards to the Build item, most figures break at the hip or at the elbow/knee, so be mindful of that. Furthermore, due to the overall imbalances and the shoes, chances are you're gonna need to use the stand to get anything really dynamic into a pose.
That pretty much does it here. If you want a figure of this character, it's not like you really have another choice. Chances are, you're getting this because you want a complete collection of this series, because even as characters go this wasn't quite that memorable.
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