Storm Collectibles releases for me are incredibly sporadic, where often years go by before a planned figure appearance happens. Well, such a Canon Event did just take place in October 2023, when FINALLY Storm released a new female Street Fighter character, Juri Han.
Released as part of the SFV collection, I believe this is the third female release for this line. Juri herself was introduced in SFIV, in the Super variant IIRC. I guess the body suit was a battle suit variant or something (I've never used her) but she seems to have two looks - this body suit and her normal of basically leggings and a bra - the hair style has never changed.
Retailing for $95 USD, which is pretty typical for a Storm release these days, Juri come decently packed though I miss the glory days of when Chun Li was released:
- 1 x Main Figure - 3 x Head Sculpts (Neutral, Smiling, Chaos Engine)
- 8 x Posing Hands
- 1 x Kick Effect
- 1 x Arcing Kick Effect w/Stand
I'm too lazy to do a comparison so I have no clue how she scales compared to other figures. Proportions are generally alright, a bit long in the torso IMO. Hands are gigantic though, Speaking of gigantic, based on what art I've seen of her, I feel that sculptors were a bit generous with her bust line.
Naturally, hard and soft plastics are not going to replicate the fabrics used in the game. Unfortunate, but understandable, though I tell ya.. shiny would have photographed much, much better.
The sculpts seem to continue the tradition of "it sort of looks like the character but it doesn't really". The hair is about right, but the faces are.. well, they're kind of generic. I mean yeah sure, it looks like a Korean woman, but it just doesn't have the sheer fanaticism of Juri, who is pretty expressive from all the footage I've seen of her, with her looking derranged at every possible opportunity.
Also, see.. giant ass hands.
So in a way, the choice of the body suit over any other costume was a wise one, as it results in a body that can exercise maximum range of motion, definitely much appreciated given that Juri possess a wide assortment of high kicks. The larger feet, sadly, don't actually translate into a more stable figure, as the joints are still normal strength. Balance issues aside, however, at least the body is capable of poses.
While we're on the topic of articulation, some wonderful news - the articulated neck joint, missing since Chun Li on female figures (Cammy and Tyris Flare can attest to this) is back. What I don't know if this was because Juri has a lot of moves where she needs neck articulation to replicate, or that Storm decided the 10 cent savings per figure was something they could live without
Effects parts seem to attach decently well. I've seen some nice shots, particularly with the round arc effect. These aren't those photos.. but they do demonstrate that they really only work with the right foot, something you need to figure out from trial and error as it seems manuals don't exist anymore.
Paint wise, it's that "basically above average" quality that Storm is known for. I mean, overall, it's quite clean but isn't like there is a large number of fine paint applications to show off their skill with, though credit given where credit is due - the smaller paint applications on the ankles can be a paint to do, as well as the finger and toenails. There's evidences of imperfect masking on the body, and some paint chipping can be observed on my figures left breast.
Build wise, pretty stable. To date, the only Storm figure I have which presented Build issues was the first Zangief I got. Otherwise, things are pretty solid, with joints working properly and parts fitting as designed. None of the body parts start popping off if I put the figure into extreme poses.
Overall, Storm has made another well developed figure, one with a working neck joint, no less. Can pose decently well, doesn't look too shabby. So physically, the figure is fine, just like pretty much all of their catalogue. The real test of how successful Juri will be, however, depends on how popular the character is. There's a group of collectors that never really got past the roster of SF2, which might explain the slow speed of these releases, so this might be Storm testing the waters to see how well the new characters sell before committing any resources into R & D. Hopefully this is the start of some more sorely needed characters in this line.
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