Many, many people have been quite vocal about how much they hate the Batman Ninja movie. Now, I haven't watched it in its entirety, but I'm pretty confident if you are used to gripping tales like Mask of the Phantasm or The Killing Joke... this movie was doomed to meet your expectations. It's an anime, after all - not that they can't be deep and thought provoking.
Its just unlikely that something titled Batman Ninja was ever going to be that.
So, from what I can tell, pretty much any of the figures, regardless of what company made it, didn't sell particularly well, and I'm thinking that is a product of both disdain for the source material, and the price, which would undoubtedly turn off the casual action figure fan.
Oh, and it doesn't help being Star Ace either, a company that isn't particularly loved in the one sixth world. So much so that I actually nabbed the normal Batman Ninja figure off Big Bad Toy Store for $100USD. It's definitely not something I would have considered at MSRP, not after Catwoman and the non response to my QC issues.
Like with Catwoman, my understanding is that this figure was offered in two flavours - the Normal version, which is what I got, and the War Edition, which provides extra accessories. I'm thinking that unlike Catwoman, however, Batman got two different boxes. Yes, that's the level of cost cutting these guys operate on.
So the figure originally sold for $240 USD shipped from Hong Kong, so lets call it about $190 USD. From that perspective, the pack ins aren't too bad:
- 1 x Main Figure
- 7 x Gripping/Posing Hands
- 2 x Kunai
- 2 x Shuriken
- 1 x Katana/Scabbard
- 1 x Base/Stand
The manual the figure comes with is basically pointless, as all it really does is just reiterate the box contents. The one thing it could have done was neglected, which is to tell me that the Ninjitsu pose looking hands are actually meant for holding the throwing weapons. I had to figure this out by going to their website and looking at promotional photos.
From what I can tell, this figure doesn't look too bad. At least overall, the finishes seem crisper than on my Catwoman. Coloujr palette seems appropriate.
But from a proportions perspective, there are some issues. This Batman looks big and bulky, whereas the one in the anime appears to be sleek, or at least sleek compared to the rubber suit inflated sizing we got here. He looks more like Batman Wrestler than Batman Ninja. The head is also a touch too small for a neck of that size, and this problem is further made worse when the oversized collar on the cape is applied.
Speaking of the cape, it's really not that great. The material itself is basically maybe a step above the material they used to make capes on Mattel figures, a single layer of it to be exact, stitched together with wires embedded in the seams.
The cowl/head sculpt looks about right, or at least from the front. The anime gives Batman a very sleek looking head, and I feel this was replicated fairly well. The subtler details of the face like the facial hair are a bit on the cruder side for a 1/6 figure, but doesn't even compare to how rough the side view is with those really poorly sculpted straps and very weak detail lines on the sculpt itself.
So, in case it wasn't obvious, Batman Ninja can't really pose. The underlying body is a jointed body of some sort, with the aforementioned bulky rubber suit on top. The rubber suit interferes with range of motion... I know, surprise, surprise, so the positions you can get the arms and upper body in are somewhat limited. What I wasn't prepared for was the fact that even under this cloth pants, he's wearing a rubber suit. My best guess is that someone got a deal, or these were parts that were repurposed because I honestly can't see Star Ace leaving the rubber pants in for the sake of being realistic to the portrayal in the movie. Anyway, point is, legs can't really move either, and the feet are mounted to pegs rather than ball joints. Wires in the cape allow for some posing options.
Overall, stiff stiff stiff, but at least it's Batman
Paint Application wise, Star Ace isn't anywhere even close to the level of Hot Toys. At best, they're pulling what Storm might do, though from what I've seen it's probably more on NECA level. The finer paint applications aren't going to win any awards, but at least they're better than the ones on Catwoman. With regards to Build Quality, it's pretty much the same - it's not great, but it's better than what I got with Catwoman. At least there was more stuff here to screw up (not a naked seamless body and all) and that fins and sharp edges weren't warped on Batman Ninja..
So overall, Batman Ninja surpasses Catwoman is pretty much all aspects with the exception of the one thing, and that is articulation. Which is kind of unfortunate when you're a ninja. Does he pose any worse than other similarly designed figures? No, not really. I can't exactly say I get much posing action out of my Hot Toys in suits like this. But I can't help but think that they could have made this figure without resorting to a bulky rubber suit, which not only affects the posing capabilities, but also the proportions of the figure as well.
It is worth the price of admission? Well clearly at the $100 mark yes but at MSRP,, especially at Sideshow, a bit more money could result in a much better Batman figure, probably based on an IP you will like. I say if you're going to go down the Batman Ninja rabbit hole, at the very least try to get what you want from Star Ace directly as their prices are shipped. Having said that, though, maybe having that peace of mind in case any Star Ace QC issues arise isn't a such a bad idea.
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