Action Figure #540: S. H. Figuarts Momo Ayase

 Close encounters of the plastic kind

 Well... I started reading Dandadan when it first released and thought it was fanservice garbage. For whatever reason, a year later or so I gave it another chance... and I was instantly hooked. Most of the fanservice is gone, and now we have emotional character driven moments next to all sorts of creative monsters that look as if they came straight outta Gantz, albeit kid friendly. The moment I saw Momo Ayase and Okarun announced.... I knew I was going to get them.

 Well... on a surface level, she looks nice. Her head looks a bit rounder than I expected, so maybe she is based on her anime looks? I don't watch anime, so I don't know, but she's not as close to the manga as I expected. I also feel like her arms are over engineered. All the lines that break the sculpt in weird places makes her look like a toy. She has six pairs of hands and five face plates, which is pretty cool.... But not a single effect piece? Without her ESP powers she just looks like a normal school girl.

 Articulation is really when the figure suffers the most. She has single jointed elbows and knees, but with really deep bends on both. No thigh swivels, but she dies have swivels on her biceps. her shoulders connect to the torso via ball pegs, giving her plenty of range on her arms. The ab crunch and her waist are on ball joints... but her chest piece can barely rotate a few inches, if you want to twist her torso, it has to be through the waist joint.

 But ultimately, her ab crunch is pathetic, and this is as far as her legs go due to the skirt. She is a bit shorter than Bucky Cap. 

 This release is just... lacking. The articulation is limited, no effects and a underwhelming sculpt. Yeah... I'd skip this one.

4.0 

Action Figure #539: S. H. Figuarts Sabo

 No Haki needed to handle it.

 Eneru used to be my favorite One Piece character... until Sabo came along. He looked SO cool and then he gained fire powers.... making him even better. Figuarts' One Piece line has been... underwhelming, to say the least, so I was a bit scared of getting this figure... 

 Well, the sculpt is beautiful. While I thought I preferred his original black costume... After playing and posing this Sabo a bit, I think I might like this white vested look better! They nailed his look, and I love the bright, vibrant color of his plastic. His coat is, much like other figures in the line, solid plastic, but while he doesn't include a stand... I was able to balance him pretty well and getting him on some cool poses with the coat on. He comes with an alternate head, for the top-hat, four alternate pair of hands, four face plates and a DLC faceplate for base Luffy. He also comes with his pipe... but sadly, no fire effects.

 His articulation is fantastic. His elbows and knees look double jointed, but they are single jointed. The way they work gives him great range on both pairs of limbs anyways. He has swivels on his thighs and biceps, and his boots can swivel 180 degrees. His ab crunch and waist lie on ball joints with very generous range on each. While he has no butterfly joints, his shoulders connect to his torso via ball pegs, giving him plenty of movement. Both of his arms kept coming off, but I coated them in super glue and now they stay firmly in place as I move them. Lastly, the coat can be removed, and both sleeves are articulated for more dynamic poses. He is almost as tall as Bucky Cap.

 I think this Sabo figure is as close to perfect as it gets. I love him, and has been so much fun to play with! For as many bad Zoro and Luffy figures as Figuarts is releasing... they are also coming out with bangers such as Kidd and Sabo!

10 

Action Figure #538: Star Wars The Black Series Cal Kestis(Inquisitor)(Inquisitor Cal Kestis 3-Pack)

 Everyone loves a bad boy.

 Considering Cal Kestis is, alongside Anakin, one of my two favorite Star Wars characters, why not get his evil Inquisitor incarnation?

 I really like how he came out. The body is, as far as I know, completely new, but the headsculpt is the same. That said, they used different on his head, and as subtle as it is, they managed to make him look meaner. At first I was disappointed that his double-saber isn't the mixture of Cere's and his mater's... but then again, this Cal became an Inquisitor, so fair enough, he probably never met Cere. Maybe? He was nothing more than a half-a-second vision AND a bonus boss in the original game! But, yeah, this is a fantastic looking evil Cal. That said, Inquisitor Cal could separate his saber into two so it's kind of a missed opportunity that his saber can't be split.

 I find it interesting that he is made in the newer style of Black Series figures, as opposed to the original, so he has single jointed elbows and knees. His ab-crunch is on a ball joint, and he has no swivel on his waist, but there are swivels on his thighs.

 Minor nit-pick, but I feel as if his butt is kinda... it kinda looks like he is wearing a diaper, doesn't it? He is a bit shorter than Bucky Cap and just as tall as the original Cal.

 Overall, I really dig this figure. I had fun posing him against Cal.

8.0

Action Figure #537: Star Wars The Black Series Second Sister(Inquisitor Cal Kestis 3-Pack)

  Not all villains wear capes... but she does.

 I kinda love Trilla AKA The Second Sister, and I didn't know that she had a figure. As a matter of fact, this is a rerelease of her, as she was sold on her own a few years ago. While she was not the specific reason I purchased this 3-Pack, she was a huge bonus because of how much I loved her role and character in Fallen Order.

 So, at a glance, I think she looks great, exactly like I remembered her. Her helmet is pretty cool, and I love her two-tone soft goods cape. I feel like her saber should've been a deeper red, but I'm good with it. Much like the other two figures on the pack, she has a pointing right hand, but unlike the Purge Trooper, hers doesn't get in the way of her weapon's hilt. Alright, despite how great I think she looks, I have one MAJOR issue with this figure... Trilla spends most of the game without her helmet. Fine, don't include an alternate head, I can live with that, but considering this was a rerelease... why not have her unmasked? I think Trilla is much more iconic without the helmet. But posing her against Cal, or Cere once they FINALLY release her, would look much more personal if she was unmasked.

 Articulation follows the older scheme of Black Series. Double Jointed knees, with thigh swivels, but single jointed elbows and no arm swivels. Her waist is on a ball-joint. Overall? Pretty solid. She is quite shorter than Bucky Cap.

 So, on one hand, I love this figure, but on the other hand, releasing her without her unmasked head is just criminal. We've had so few Fallen Order/Jedi Survivor figures, considering how many iconic character that series has, that at this point I'll take it, but... c'mon, release her without her helmet already!

7.5

Action Figure #536: Star Wars The Black Series Purge Trooper(Inquisitor Cal Kestis 3-Pack)

 What if Darth Vader and a Storm Trooper had a baby.

 I'm gonna be honest, I don't remember the Purge Trooper, even though I positively adored Fallen Order, it's the reason I got my first Black Series figure! As part of a three-pack there was no way I could say no to him. Literally.

 Well... he's not the coolest design out there. I guess the black and white with red eyes is supposed to look threatening, but it simply doesn't do it for me. His electro-hammer weapon is his most interesting feature, but they could've given it some electricity effects or something. His skirt is made of soft goods, for what it's worth.

 The articulation follows the oldschool model of Black Series figures. Double jointed knees, thigh swivels, but in this case... he has double jointed elbows! However... more on them later. He has no arm swivels. He has no butterfly joints, and his ab crunch is on a ball joint.

 For whatever reason, every figure in this pack has a pointing right hand, which in the Purge Trooper's case is actually a detriment for how he can hold his weapon. Why was he given this hand? Who knows.

  These grey bands that extend from his belt go... nowhere? I don't understand what they are supposed to be, but they don't get in the way of his legs. And his legs have pretty good range, unlike...

 His arms. What the hell is this? While he may have double-jointed elbows, he has the same issue as the umbra arc Trooper, the elbow-pad gets in the way, so he barely reaches a 90 degree bend. His pauldrons also don't let him raise his arms too much, which kinda sucks. He is almost as tall as Bucky Cap.

 The Purge Trooper... kinda sucks, and he doesn't have the cool paint job the Umbra Arc Trooper has going for him. What a dud!

4.0

Action Figure #535: Star Wars The Black Series Kit Fisto

 What if Squidward was one with the force.

 Well, there's never enough Jedi in one's collection, so it's time for one of the weirdest background characters: Kit Fisto. To be honest, I only wanted him in my collection because I love prequel era Jedi, hopefully once I watch Clone Wars I'll like him more...

 So, I'm gonna be honest with ya... Kit Fisto is a Phantom Menace Obi-Wan headswap. No, really, same exact mold, sans head, hands and color. For what it's worth, the tendrils on his head are very detailed, and all the brown... bracelets? Headlets? Tendrilets? are sculped onto them... and he is one ugly guy! The paint on his head is really nice too, he has grey spots all over and what not. But yeah, considering he was made on the cheap, I think he turned out really nice. His only accessory is his lightsaber. Considering he wore a cloak during the Palpatine Arrest scene.... a soft-goods cloak would've been a good accessory.

 For all intents and purposes, he has the same articulation as Young Obi-wan...

 Including the weird angled hip-pegs. He is as short as Obi-Wan which... I think is not quite right.

 This Kit Fisto figure is alright. I mean, considering he is not a character I'm fond of but I do like the figure... they did do a good job with him.

6.0

Action Figure #534: Star Wars The Black Series Pre Vizsla

  And what happens AFTER Vizsla? And DURING Vizsla?!

 I'm not gonna lie, I just discovered that this Mandalaroian with a horned helmet and the Darksaber existed and I just had to get him. There was also the Mandalorian Super Commando, but he is too expensive, so Pre Vizsla will have to do for now.

 At his core, this is just a Jango Fett recolor. He has all the benefits and detriments of that buck. I do love this gun-metal grey accents he has on his armor. But I did look this guy up, and Pre Vizsla shouldn't have all those cables coming out of his gauntlets, but I guess they didn't want to retool Jango's buck. Aside from that, I think he is a badass looking Mandalorian. He also comes with the darksaber, two guns and a jetpack, and his jetpack has a tiny hook for the darksaber's hilt, but let's be honest, it can barely hold it.

 Articulation is the same as Jango, for good or...

 ...bad. Remember how poor Jango's arm bend was? They didn't fix it, and in Vizsla's case it sucks because he fights with a sword. Also, for whatever reason, while it's easy to get him into dynamic poses, he has a hard time standing in neutral poses due to his tiny feet.

 Pre Vizsla is alright, but he is riding on coolness alone, because his articulation leaves a lot to be desired.

6.0