Well, sadly we're coming towards the end of another summer, but on the flip side I guess at least things happened this year - things which have been delayed due to COVID. So on that note, today we take a quick look at something that has also been delayed for many years, the S.H. Figuarts Eternal Sailor Moon figure.
To say that the Sailor Moon should have been finished by now, really is an understatement. Despite the 90s series being finished in, well, the 90's, the product that was released never really reflected the full cast like the Dragon Ball stuff did (I think Black Lady was the only villain). You never really got the full line up of heroes either, though that was more complete.
The only figure from the last season, Stars, was this Eternal Sailor Moon, and my guess is that she was only released for sale recently due to the resurgence in demand due to the modern Crystal series. To put things in perspective, I think this figure was previewed in what.. 2017 or 18? Tamashii Nations never made figures of any of the Starlights, despite them playing a large role in the series.
About the only thing more confusing is why, despite Crystal revitalizing the series, that only Sailor Moon was released in this new art style.
Content wise, pretty much what you'd expect in that it's not like Tamashii Nations did anything to make this release extra special:
- 1 x Main Figure
- 4 x Face Plates
- 8 x Posing/Gripping Hands
- 1 x Eternal Tiare
- 1 x Base/Stand
I'll be honest - Eternal isn't exactly my favourite look for the character, but it IS replicated nicely in figure form. There's just something abot the how haphazard the colours on the skirt go with the pink shoulder puffs.. Much like the Super version, Tamashii Nations gave Usagi translucent twin tails, and the pearl finish angel wings are a nice touch. Textures on said wings are also quite nice.
I'm not exactly sure hw many parts were recycled from other Sailor Senshi, but given the track record of the company, it wouldn't exactly surprise me.
With regards to articulation, well these figures weren't exactly known for being super poseable, Old engineering is used and, and the issue further complicated by the fact that generally speaking you're gonna want to use the stand with this figure constantly, due to the horrible sense of center of gravity due to the giant backpack she's wearing... not that the tiny feet help anyway.
Paint work wise, the figure is quite nice, and is definitely less sloppy than some of the earlier Sailor Senshi offerings, particularly on the finer details, as well as the gold paint applications which were really thick on some of the other figures. There are of course some blemishes, which is par for the course on many Figuarts releases (and other figures in general), most notable being the red lines.
With regards to Build Quality, pretty solid stuff, which is good go have because some of the design choices on other Senshi aren't the greatest. Haven't hand any snapped pegs, hands that refuse to fit on pegs, fragile hip joints. Furthermore, it seems like one improvement made was that the clamp uses plastic that won't shatter if you look at it funny.
So all-in-all, pretty much what I expected, and its nice to get some closure on the Sailor Moon Figuarts line.... sort of. It's closure in that there wasn't anything else that was supposed to be released, but it isn't in that there are so many gaps in the line up, both classic and Crystal.
It's not like it wouldn't sell, Bandai.
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