Hey, kiddos; welcome to the Hobby Haven. We're winding down on the new releases of the Sailor Moon S.H. Figuarts series, and today, I'm bringing you another review of them. This time, we're taking a look at the Sailor Senshi of the ocean, Sailor Neptune. (I missed getting this back in March, but...better late than never?)
Neptune and Uranus went up for pre-order on the same day, way back in July of 2014. I placed an order for one of each, knowing that I wouldn't see hide nor hair of these until 2015.
In early March of this year, I got an email from Amazon informing me that my Sailor Neptune Figuarts would not be shipped to me on time, due to a now-delayed release date. We're talking going from getting her in early March to the mid-to-end of April. Ouch. Saturn didn't even take that long, guys. Then a few weeks later, Amazon sent out another email stating that they were reinstating the original release date, and surprise, they were shipping her right then and there! (I'm still not sure what caused the delay; some people are theorizing that the West Coast dock strikes are to blame, which is certainly plausible. Bob over at RACS has stated several times over the past couple months that getting shipments of figures in from Japan has been slow and difficult due to the strikes, so it's not out of the question.)
All I can do is shrug at this point. Anyway, on to the review!
First off, I finally found why Uranus and Neptune are more expensive than their Inner Senshi cohorts; they are apparently web-exclusive, and not available via brick-and-mortar retailers. Therefore, they are more limited in supply compared to the other figures. All of this leads up to a $49.99 ballpark price on Amazon, although it does automatically qualify for free shipping.
Sailor Neptune came in pretty good time (a few days early of the late March estimated shipping date), and packaged well. I noticed that like Uranus, her box came in another box...I'm guessing to protect it? The box does mention the Bandai store, so I am guessing that this brown cardboard box is added to all of their products shipped from their online store, and that they included them for the Amazon release as well. It's easy to open, so it's not a big deal.
As is proper, Neptune's box is colored in varying shades of blue, from a deep navy in one corner, down to a turquoise shade in another. It's predominantly aqua-shaded, and looks rather nice, although I would have liked a slightly darker shade of blue to provide better contrast to Neptune herself. Her image on the front of the box looks rather washed out and monochromatic compared to the actual figure.
And here's the back of the box showing the different poses that you can have her do. I see two of her iconic attacks, plus the pose she always strikes when she introduces herself. I don't remember her striking the praying expression on the side of the box, though... Anyway, nice to see that they're sticking with the slim build of the box. Less materials used, less waste.
The paint job isn't bad! Her hair is a very bright aquamarine; you can see, by looking at the box in the background, how washed out the box photography is. Her shoulder-length hair kind of makes it difficult to move her head around, which I didn't like. As for the rest of her uniform, the colors are pretty much spot-on for the anime. I feel that the shoes should have been a darker green, though, to match the dark kelly green of her uniform. And is the jewel on her bow the same color as the one on Uranus' uniform? Are they re-using paint colors?
Her hair has a sort of ombre effect in the back, shading from aquamarine down to a more ocean blue shade at the tips. It looks kind of nice!
Like Uranus, Neptune comes with some extra arm pieces so you can do a crossed-arm pose. The underside of one, and the upper side of another, have this awful rough-looking hole and lump of plastic...I am guessing that this is done on purpose so it will sort of lock in place. It looks terrible, though, like a factory defect, and just looks trashy and awful. I won't be using those pieces.
I am pleasantly surprised by how well-sculpted Neptune's mirror is, though. (Not that you can really tell, because my camera refused to focus properly.) The detail work on the front is exquisite. The Deep Aqua Mirror, Neptune's talisman, is very detailed in the manga, featuring a carved sea nymph with flowing hair. And the sculpt is on the mirror! It's itsy-bitsy, but still visible, and you can make out the nymph's face, dress, etc. Props on that, Bandai! (I can't wait to see Tuxedo Mask's Star Locket, or Pluto's Garnet Orb!)
You get about the same number of hands and faces that Uranus came with. Neptune has her default face, plus a frowning/shouting one, a happy smiling one, and a calm face with closed eyes, like she's asleep or concentrating. It's easier to change her faces out, since her bang piece comes with a lock of hair that you can tug on. You don't have to pry them out with your nails like some of the other figures.
Overall, I feel that Neptune is a pretty decent figure, like the others before her, just not one that sets my world on fire. Or maybe I'm getting more jaded with each release that isn't Pluto. I'd say that the gross sculpting on the folded arm pieces, plus the wobbliness on the feet place it in the "okay" camp. I wouldn't pay full price for it, so I'd suggest waiting for a gift card or a sale.
Miss Scarlett suggests: That Bandai hurry up with Pluto before I lose my patience.
