Review: D-Arts MetalGarurumon

The time has come! The final entry for D-Arts week! The reason for this entire theme week is finally here!

Let's begin!

Check out the video review here!

Introduction: For years now,  D-Arts and Digimon fans have been clamoring for Tamashii Nations to release the second half to Omegamon. Countless posts on official pages, threads asking when it would happen, and a lot of hope went into this figure. Finally, it was announced for release!... as a Tamashii Web Exclusive. With this saddening news, those in North America, and other territories, were forced to use a middleman service to obtain a figure in the making for years now. With the official release happening in June, was MetalGarurumon worth the wait? Read on and find out!

Box (3/5): Unlike some of the box of Dukemon, MetalGarurumon comes with a very plain box that just features the promotional shots we have all seen before. Not overwhelming to any degree, though not bad for what it does. It is just that; a box.

Sculpt and Paint (5/5): Truly breathtaking. MetalGarurumon looks absolutely fantastic. Every panel line on MetalGarurumon looks great, the headsculpt is fantastic, the paint is absolutely marvelous and look very metallic, what with a shimmery effect in the paint. With something like this, one cannot help to hope the Original Designer Edition of Wargreymon looks this great.

Articulation (2/5): Unfortunately, articulation for MetalGarurumon is a bit lacking. Ball joints in the paws, shoulders, "waist" and hips with a hinge for the toes on the paws, the "wings", mouth, and shoulder cannons (which also sport a sort of swivel joint), neck, tail and elbows/knees. While it seems to be a good amount, the articulation is limited.

For example, MetalGarurumon can only move its head up and down with no hope for left or right. Also, the front and back sets of legs are rather limited to a pseudo swivel of a ball joint. Also, the hard plastic used on the figure prevents any sort of give in the sculpt to allow an extra bit of articulation. However, the paws have a fantastic use of ball joints, allowing for interesting poses. Seeing the picture below, the paws have a cutout that allow the paws to be point fully forward.

Accessories (4/5): MetalGarurumon comes with awesome accessories for the figure. It comes with the signature Metal Wolf Claw freeze blase, Garuru Tomahawk chest missile, dashing wings effect parts (which do not slide on to the existing ones, as shown below), and an odd balancing piece to support MetalGarurumon on a stand. If the accessories are so awesome, why the lower score?

The Metal Wolf Claw blast feels fragile and, despite a grove mark in the part to align the teeth, there's a worry of knocking out some teeth on the figure every time this reviewer inserts the blast. Also, it feels like a fragile part. To go along with this, the Gruru Tomahawk looks great, but aside from displaying the figure in an upright position, it is an almost moot accessory. Finally, the piece to display the figure looks unsafe and, given the figure's exclusivity and aftermarket prices, one probably should not risk breaking this figure.

Overall, solid, but a normal Stage ACT claw would be preferred.

Watch Out!: MetalGaurumon is made entirely of a hard plastic that could, potentially, be really, REALLY fragile. A shelf dive or careless handling could mean the end of this figure, so be sure to handle this figure with care, especially when using the effects parts. The Metal Wolf Claw blast feels like a number one contender to do so.

Overall (4/5): MetalGarurumon sports a great sculpt and paint, solid accessories, and acceptable articulation. At the end of the day, this figure will impress those that are fans of the character, though individuals looking for articulation may not have their needs met. At the end of the day, though, this figure is a solid representation of MetalGarurumon

Well, that's it for D-Arts week! Hope everyone enjoyed the reviews and pieces thrown up on the site this past week. Here's to looking forward to the rest of this year and beyond!

We'll see you again!

Review: D-Arts Charizard

Introduction:  Charizard is quite the popular Pokemon, and is the second Pokemon to be released in the D-Arts line. Coming hot off the trails of Mewtwo, does this figure stand up to the standards that Tamashii Nations is known for? Read on and find out!

Box(4/5): Charizard's box is great, looking similar to the other boxes, with the holographic effect. However, the box is very large for a figure of this size, which almost seems unneeded.

Sculpt (4/5): Much like the other Pokemon D-Arts, it would be hard to get Charizard wrong... though, somehow, Charizard's jaw look not so great from particular angles, and when the mouth is closed. Other than that, the sculpt is spot on.  However, due to the fact the articulation is ever present, the sculpt is a bit shopped up in places, and looks a bit unsightly to some. There are some great idea implemented in Charizard, though; for example, a nice touch given to Charizard's tail is that of a translucent fire effect at the tip.

Paint (4/5): Charizard has similar paint to the other Pokemon D-Arts, what with it being a bit chalky. However, Charizard is mostly painted in a fine way, with little to no chunks being present.The shading on the wings and forehead can be a bit much, though, and unfortunately do not photograph too well for this reviewer.

Articulation (4/5):  Charizard has a LOT going for it in terms of articulation; ball jointed neck, tail, hips, knees, hands, and wing bases, hinged jaw, wings, and mouth, and a bicep swivel. Mostly, this is everything a collector could ask for. However, due to the design of the figure, Charizard's true potential for any pose imaginable is not truly reached.

Some really great poses can be achieved, though, and as one can see here, Chariazard does have a series range of movement.

Accessories (3/5) Charizard's accessories are very basic. It comes with a fire effects part, a Pokeball base, an arm, and a claw to help with flight support. The claw given here does not really help Charizard to achieve a flying post, and the fire effect... What is it supposed to be? Ember?A bit disappointing, considering Blastoise comes with what looks like Hydro Pump, and Mewtwo comes with Shadow Ball. A Flamethrower or Fire Blast effects part would have suited Charizard better. Regardless, though, the fireball that comes with Charizard is sculpted well.

Watch Out!: Nothing really to watch out for with Charizard! Just be careful with the wings, as they may loosen quickly over time, and Charizard's tail like to pop off at random spots for next to no reason.

Overall (4/5): Charizard is by no means a perfect figure, but it is well done. The articulation is fine, as is the paint, but both could use more work in their areas. The accessories feel as if they are just filler to ship Charizard with something,  though the fireball is well done. Fans of this Pocket Monster will like this figure a whole lot!

Now it looks like Charizard is about to face a long standing rival...

Review: D-Arts Mewtwo

Introduction: Power.Wrath. Calamity. 

Mewtwo is the 150st Pokemon, and one of this reviewer's personal favorites. For those that played Pokemon Red and Blue, this was the Pokemon to have, and it was the most powerful. After six generations and countless endgame Pokemon, Mewtwo reigns supreme as the first Pokemon to get the D-Arts treatment. Is this genetic beast one to enter into YOUR collection? Read on and find out!

Box (5/5): Very space consensus and flashy, Mewtwo has a fantastic box. It is small enough to fit almost anywhere, yet it still looks fantastic, like other large boxes.

Sculpt (5/5):  Realistically, Mewtwo has a simple design., and the sculpt is very hard to mess up. It looks like Mewtwo! The body is made of hard plastic, though the tube on Mewtwo's head that connects to his back is made of a soft,  bendable plastic/rubber of some kind. It has a lot of give.

Paint(3/5): Mewtwo's paint is one of the aspects that hinders this figure in an attempt at being perfect. The paint looks chalky for the most part, and it tends to clump in some areas, such as the tail shown here. Not horrible, but could be done much better, considering Mewtwo's basic color scheme.

Articulation (4/5): Mewtwo's articulation is, surprisingly, great for a figure of this design. The head and neck are on ball joints, as are its fingers, wrists, shoulders, hips, and every tail segment.  Mewtwo also sports nifty bicep swivels and ankle swivels. Finally, elbow and knee hinges round off the joints. Unfortunately, though, due to the figure's design, it can be difficult to articulate great poses, though, luckily, an accessory helps fix this slight issue. Not perfect,but the articulation is fine.Read on in the Watch Out! section for the downside to some of the joints. 

Accessories (4/5): Mewtwo's accessories are just fine. It comes with a Pokeball base, two support arms, one claw, a Shadow Ball effects piece, an extra hand to support the Shadow Ball effects piece (which does not always work well enough), and a first production bonus of Mew! While everything here helps improve Mewtwo, the Shadow Ball included feels a tad lacking in appearance, being mostly flat, and Mew will not be included in future production runs of this figure. Luckily, the stand helps to balance Mewtwo and counteracts its horrible balancing issues.

WATCH OUT!: Mewtwo's hands like to pop out of their sockets. A lot. It can be difficult to get the right pose due to this, and what doesn't help is that its fingers like to pop out of their joints, too. Also, the tail suffers the same fate. 

In addition to this, Mewtwo also suffers from balancing issues that almost always require another method of support, either through the arm and claw supplied, or Mewtwo's tail. Given the design, though, this should be expected.

Overall (4/5): At the end of the day, Mewtwo is worth adding into one's collection if one likes the character. The paint issues are a bit bothersome at times, and the balancing issue can be bugging, but Mewtwo is still enjoyable.

It's face off time!