Switching back to completed figures for a while, the next items up is the Stardust Crusaders Kujo Jotaro figure from Medicos. Specifically, it is version 1.5, an improvement on the original release with different outfit colours (this one is black, the other one is more of a blue) and an textbox with his "Yare Yare Daze" catchphrase written on it.
This is not a new figure by any means, as the Stardust Crusaders figures were amongst the first in the Jojo SAS line, all the way back in 2012. Also, this is a reissue, the real reason I actually have one as aftermarket prices were insanely high, or more accurately I considered them insanely high.
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is an ongoing manga series that became popular enough that there were anime adaptations, video games, and various character goods. My first introduction was the arcade game, actually - the Capcom one, rather than the more recent one, and during COVID 2020 I actually binged through all five anime seasons. Stardust Crusaders is the third arc, and in it we are introduced the concepts of Stands, as well as possibly the crankiest member of the Joestar family, Kujo Jotaro.
He's a lovable scamp, dressed in his high school uniform and quite frankly, the only figure I own where a metal chain is part out of the outfit. Unlike his grandfather, Jonathan Joestar, he doesn't talk that much - he just either outwits or beats the crap out of his opponents.
With regards to the Medicos SAS (Super Action Statue) line, while they've got other properties, they're probably best known for the Jojo figures as, well, nobody else seems to make them anymore. Medicom used to do 1/6 scale, but nothing new has been seen for a while. The SAS figures are about 6 inches tall, and like the Figuarts Dragonball Z line up, features characters using two different bodies, and my guess is that eventually they'll remake all these old ones using the new bodies.
Retailing for 7,480 Yen, the contents are comparable to what you'd get with a figure around this price point - maybe slightly more:
- 1 X Main Figure,
- 2 X Head Sculpts (normal, smirking)
- 12 Posing Hands, including two specifically for sticking in his pocket
- 2 x Open Pocket thigh pieces
- 1 x "Yare Yare Daze" expression (Good Grief)
- 1 x Base and Stand, along with dedicated arm for expression
So, including this one, I own a WHOPPING 3 SAS figures - Jonathan Joestar (Final Battle), Jonathan Joestar (Stardust Crusaders, reissue), and well, this one. Final Battle Joestar was a classified ads find, from the middle of nowhere I might add, for $20 CAD and I was pretty impressed. Then I got Joestar Sr and learned there was an older body style. Either due to degradation of moulds or lower QC standards, but I found both reissues to be cruder than the Final Battle figure. There's some articulation differences , but perhaps the greatest difference is that the proportions on the older figures just looks off, specifically the tiny heads, and the hands look kind of big.
Paint apps are also another issue, though to be fair they weren't horrible on Joestar Sr. In an effort to give the faces a shading effect, parts of it are unpainted. The issue is that there is almost no fading effect between the painting and unpainted parts, and is particularly bad on the normal sculpt.
So, no, Kujo wasn't doing cocaine - he was born that way.
From an articulation perspective, the figure isn't too bad. Rather than list everything, I'll just refer you to the above photography.
Overall, you can get him in some decent action and trademark poses, including the hand in the pocket once you swap out the thigh pieces. Unlike Joestar Sr., his outfit doesn't get in the way of functional butterfly joints. They even added articulation for the coattails.
Getting the hips to work is a bit of chore. As they can freely rotate, you need to line up the split in them with the direction you want the legs to move in. Of course, it's hard to see as the part is black and kind of tucked away.
Paint Apps are... alright. Definitely nothing mind blowing, and ignoring the face, I'd say you get slightly better than your typical NECA figure, with mostly clean apps and some pretty gnarly detailing. The actual facial detailing is pretty sharp.
Build Quality is another area where it is competent, but not exactly earth shattering. The thigh pieces swap out fairly easily and mate quite well. Similarly hands swap out fairly easily. Joints can hold poses, and the overall figure doesn't feel flimsy, which is something I'm very much an expert at, having done nothing but work on models this past month. If you look closely, however, you'll see that some of parts don't quite have a very good finish, with very visible seams or in some instances, where they've cut too deep to clean a part.
Also, that neck joint is just visually BLECH.
So while it's nice to have a figure of the moodiest Joestar ever, it's certainly not the greatest figure ever made. For all it's flaws, however, at least it can actually pose, which really is the name of the game when it comes to both action figures and of course, the Jojo franchise on the whole.
I hope Medicos is doing these reissues to raise the money for developing these older figures in new bodies, as they really do deserve to look as good as the newer stuff.
For Full Gallery, please visit:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/22877494@N02/albums/72157719523961155
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