So far the summer has been alright. Nothing overly exciting... YET, but I know things have only just gotten started. Some minor victories so far - figures I've been looking for quite some time.. incomplete in various ways, but when they're super fire sale prices, I'm not that picky. I've gotten two so far, the first of which we're going to take a quick look at today, the D-Arts Mega Man/Rockman set.
For those who don't remember D-Arts, about a decade ago Bandai had a S.H. Figuarts subline dedicated to just video game stuff. Some are a bit of a pain to find because they're characters that nobody else has made a better (or any) version of, but mostly it's just sellers not being realistic with their pricing. Mega Man (aka Rockman) is one of these sets, and it's kind of weird it's not the only one now, though it IS the only one that comes with Rush, as well as a Hard Hat enemy. I guess because it's one of a series of characters in this aesthetic that collectors still seek it out? Whatever the case, my copy here is from a Pawn Store, of all places, bought for $30 CAD but lacking the enemy and the box (people know I love my boxes).
Everything else was there, which is the figure, 3 face plates, pair of fists, pair of open palms, along with the parts to have the figure either be double armed or double blaster, and a triple shot effect.
So when I say art style, it's pretty much the modern (as of 2010) interpretation of the character, aesthetically, which I believe changed once it went off the NES onto the PSX. Characters weren't as crude of squished looking (we'll get back to that a bit later) but it's clearly recognizable as the character. I believe Mega Man/Rockman has a newer look courtesy of the recent Mega Man/Rockman 9 game. The character has always bee somewhat of a challenge to get into action figure form due to the gigantic boots all the main characters feature, which is even a thing outside the initial series.
Since 2013, there have been other companies taking on the character, most notable being Sentinel, who did I think all the Mega Man/Rockman at the time of the line, which included a con exclusive version of some sort, and the Kotobukiya kits that you had to assemble yourself. I believe the Kotobukiya kits were of the more modern design, but the Sentinel figure, pictured here, definitely was gunning for the classic NES era look with its much more compact proportions and larger head.
Now, some collectors might be turning up their noses at the segmented look of the Sentinel version, but believe when I say this figure can do poses the D-Arts can only dream of, including the slide. Of course, on the flip side, the D-Arts can do things those terrible Funko figures could only grasp as being possible.
The three faceplates are about right in that I don't ever remember the character ever actually smiling or anything in promotional art.. of course half the time he's either trying not to die or he's taking a breather. Overall, the faces go well with the helmet.
Articulation wise, the fundamentals are there, and it isn't BAD per se, it just doesn't feature a lot of features that make a modern figure, well..modern. No butterfly joints, and single elbows/knees, and limited head tilt, combined with the admittedly awkward proportions of the character result in a figure that does decent posing, but can't quite pull off iconic poses perfectly.
Rush actually features a decent amount of articulation as well, featuring fully articulated limbs (but standard rotating shoulders) along with a ball jointed head. Tail is mounted on a ball joint as well. Only one expression, and the figure doesn't transform, just for those who are keeping track but quite honestly I wouldn't expect those when the figure is an add in accessory.
As is tradition, there's really not a whole lot of Paint on the figure itself., mainly on the helmet, collar, and the bold on the Mega Buster. There are translucent red plastic inserts in the Mega Buster and in the soles of the boots. Decal work is generally crisp. Similar statements can be made for Rush though I think that figure actually features more paint than Mega Man/Rockman himself.
Finally, from a Build perspective, modern figures haven't really had an issue, and it's not exactly a surprise that older figures don't really show an issue either. To be fair, though, Mega Man/Rockman is one of the better D-Arts release... that or the ones I handled in the past were crappy ones. Several of the Pokemon release had loose joints and one of the Persona 4 releases (whoever is the one that Yosuke uses) had paint gumming up the arms so bad that the arms couldn't even move, which apparently was a common problem.
This particular Mega Man/Rockman figure isn't bad, but as I mentioned, lacks many of the modern amenities that newer Figuarts feature. But it is nice to have a line that features more than the main character, even if that second character figure isn't the one we were expecting. It's also neat to have accessories that happen to be secondary characters, which further bolsters the numbers on your shelves. If you can find it at a price that doesn't make your eyes bleed, I'd say it's worth adding to your shelf, despite its advanced age.
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