Oh, lordy. Miss Momo just sent me some news, and I am all aflutter with anticipation and a tiny bit of despair. I mean, I expected it and all, but it's still too soon!
...oh, welcome to the Hobby Haven.
Anyway, Miss Momo just sent me a link about the Wonder Festival 2015 exhibition that is going on in Japan right now. Seems like Bandai made some announcements regarding new figures. We are finally getting Sailor Pluto's Figuarts! ...Along with a whole bunch of other head-scratching things.
I may have mentioned this before, but it's finally confirmed that Bandai will be making an "original anime version" Figuarts of Sailor Moon. All this means, dear folks, is that her outfit will be colored the same as in the anime, as opposed to the design more frequently found in promotional artwork/the live-action show/etc. The latter design of Sailor Moon has a soft blue skirt and a pink-ish bow (and sometimes the boots are pink-tinged), while the former has a dark navy skirt and collar, with a very flat red colored bow and boots. That's it. That's the difference. It's a slightly different shade of red and blue. Color me unimpressed, Bandai. Pun very much intended.
We are also getting--wait for it--a Figuarts version of Super Sailor Moon, as well as Sailor V. I am wondering if this means that we will inevitably get Figuarts of the other senshi in their Super forms, as well as their Eternal forms. (Although a Figuarts of Eternal Sailor Moon might be rather unwieldy.) From the pictures. Super Sailor Moon looks very lovely; the white of her costume is painted a lustrous white with a pearl finish, and her back bow and sleeve frills are translucent. Sailor V seems to have the same type of paint finish as the other girls, not as many bells and whistles here. I am wondering if her mask is removable...
Lastly (and most oddly), we are getting a Figuarts of Zoicite...but not in his regular Dark Kingdom uniform. Remember that episode in the first season where he cross-dressed as Sailor Moon and went around the city impersonating her? Yeah. They're making Sailor Zoicite. I am...well, I'm scratching my head here. Are they trying to get as much use out of the Sailor Moon mold as possible? (All they would have to do here is paint the boots and bow purple, and make a different face plate.) Are we going to get Figuarts of all of the Dark Kingdom? I just can't figure this out.
Lastly, they displayed the Figuarts Zero models of Sailors Moon, Mercury, and Mars (but their Sailor Moon Crystal designs, not the original anime), and the "Tamashii Buddies" version of Sailor Venus. For the curious, the TB (heh) are miniature figures with a display stand. You can get them on Amazon for pretty cheap (less than $15), but I don't like them because I don't find them to be as cute as the Petit Chara figures.
The photos of all of the display models are up on HobbyLink Japan's Facebook page, for the curious. (Oh, and no release dates yet, either! These are just reveals of all of the designs.) What's my takeaway on all of this? Well, I won't be getting most of these. I really am not big on buying more than one version of the same character, and both "original anime colors" Sailor Moon and Super Sailor Moon are firmly in that camp. Sailor Zoicite I am puzzled by. It might be cool to get him, but I don't think I desperately need to have him. Not the same way that I need Pluto. Sailor V...well, I'm torn. I love Minako, she is my favorite character in the franchise. And I don't see Sailor V as being the same as Sailor Venus. I suppose it will ultimately come down to this: what other Figuarts are we getting? Will Bandai release the Super Sailor and Eternal Sailor versions of the characters? Will they release villain characters? Will we get the Sailor Starlights and other ally characters?
If they're just going to keep releasing different versions of the same characters, then sure, I'll get just Sailor V and be done with it. But if they release more characters, I would probably pass on V, since the money would be far better spent on other figures. I'd love to get the Sailor Starlights, Princess Kakyuu, the Four Heavenly Kings, Sailor Galaxia, and Luna and Artemis.
Being a Sailor Moon fan: Not for the faint of heart. Miss Scarlett, signing off!
