Well, here we are for the next little while - Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. A combination of delays, me wanting to cheap out on the shipping, and some oddly favourable local finds, has resulted in a glut of Jojo related figures, ready for the camera. Today, we start with the lovely Joylne Cujoh, sole daughter of the great Jotaro Cujoh.
While the Jojo SAS line has been around for a while, I'm more familiar with the anime series, which has the first half (or part.. I dunno) of the Stone Ocean story arc airing on Netflix. We are introduced to the character of Joylne, who is framed and put into jail as part of a plot to get some vital information from Jotaro. With that in mind, I'm guessing it was a no brainer to reissue the Joylne figure, which came out in 2014.
Being an older figure, Joylne seems to be based on the first generation of SAS bodies. It's also the first female SAS I've had in my possession. Contents of the set are pretty typical:
- 1 x Figure
- 2 x Heads (Neutral, Shouting)
- 6 x Posing Hands
- 4 x Stone Free effects
- 1 x SAS Stand
As Stone Free's ability manifests itself by having Joylne unravel herself, starting from her fingertips, the included effects more or less mimics that, though jumping a bit ahead of myself the effects are made of material that is too soft, and don't exactly give that "flying across the room" effect very well.
So while Joylne is based on older tech, at least she doesn't seem to have the tiny head that plagued the Stardust Crusader lineup. Designs aren't the same as the anime, but they never are as those tend to be simplified versions of their manga looks - though clearly they carried forward her colour scheme, as well her trademark look.
Articulation wise, your major points of articulation are present, including your double jointed elbows and knees, but no butterfly joints. Range of motion is very good on the available joints, though that is undoubtedly due to the fact that she's not wearing a bulky outfit like most of the other character I own do.
The hips look weird due tot he design of the of the upper thigh, though the twist does allow for articulation at that point. The coattail is flexible enough to move, tough I don't know exactly how well it is anchored to the body, and I wouldn't want to risk a tear. The double jointed elbows and knees do a look a bit strange if posed in extreme positions, but that is life.
Paint wise, it's up to the Medicos level of quality, which generally means above average. The major paint apps are fine. Smooth, consistent, and sharp. But when you start looking at the more detailed paint apps, you'll see it's really just average, especially considering the price point of these figures. I find their flesh tones are really mediocre in terms of their acceptable level of QC, which is further complicated by the not-very-subtle shading apps applied to give muscle tone and joints a bit of depth. Still, as mentioned, she's still typical Medicos quality, which means she's still better than Stardust Jotaro.
Build Quality wise, parts fit on the body as designed, if a bit loose with the hands. There are no limb lengths issues. I find that finishes on the parts can be kind of rough, most notable being the hands, which could all use some better sanding. though fortunately none of this appears to have results in poorly managed seams in the various parts. Otherwise, it goes back to the poor choice of materials for the various Stone Free effects, because honestly, with the exception of the dedicated hand with threads, al the effects just look like floppy messes.
Overall, the underlying body isn't too bad, paint issues and all that. Sculpts were nicely done,, turning out not too shabby. But the effects were... really lacklustre. Maybe if they were better made, or didn't just resemble wet noodles, they could have been better. Just... something, I guess. But again, better than Jotar, who is strangely the worst of the Jojo figures I own.
Up next... the three ultimate lifeforms!
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