Review: SH Figuarts Kinnikuman & Warsman!
Most of us are only familiar with the following characters through their americanized release in the 1980’s as M.U.S.C.L.E. men.
However these were originally released in Japan as Kinnikuman which were a tie in to the Manga of the same name. Ive read a grand majority of the manga and it is quite good. This manga starts off as a Dai-Kaiju and Super Sentai parody, with the titular Kinnikuman as the bumbling would be Sentai hero. As the series progressed they moved away from this angle and it became an over the top, intergalactic wrestling comic.
You can find out more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinnikuman
First allow me to start with:
ACCESSORIES
Neither figure come with accessories per say, so lets just call them parts. Both figures come with 2 sets of hands and 3 different heads. These are all interchangeable and attach to a ball joint at each connection point.
Kinnikuman:
Warsman:
Warsman unlike Kinnikuman has the closest to an actual set of accessories, in that the pads on the back of the hands are interchangeable. These allow you to switch between his basic fists and his hidden blade fists.
The following section of the review will focus on the figure sculpts and posing capabilities. I feel that this is the strong point of these figures, but you can be the judge.
Both of these figures have ample articulation. Hinged nesting shoulders allow for tight posing near the chest and a wide back swing. The elbows feature the classic in out bend but also have a center swivel. The wrists feature similar movement to modern joes only the tilt function is not in the hand but the wrist itself. One set of hands has mid-palm joints that allow for more interesting poses. The neck is double jointed, featuring one at the bottom and the swivel and tilt joint at the top which is attached to the neck ball. This allows for a great range of motion. However, the figure head sculpts do tend to limit the range of motion to a degree.
The torso has mid-torso and waist articulation, with a sliding abdominal plate that allows for exaggerated bends forward and backward. This plate also covers the articulation points when in poses. This plate also nests very neatly under the pectoral sculpt and in the waist band of the trunks.
The legs feature a multi-jointed hip with a nesting slide that allows for a hyper extension of the upper thigh. This then leads to the knee which features a type of articulation similar to that of the elbow. Double jointed with mid-joint swivel. However this swivel does not possess the range of the elbow. The ankles have the up/down, left/right and tilt articulation found in many figures today.
As seen in the previous images, the figures feature the classic muscular sculpts featured on may figures. The rear of the figure is where the most sculpt detail stands out, and show many of the muscle groups on the human back. Great sculpting all around here.
To me these figures are wonderful! They only fault that is truly present is the raw nature of the joints and hinges. These features are not hidden much at all, and take away from the “realism”. This is more of an aesthetic issue than anything and not something one should worry about.
However, the multitudes of joints and their various methods of posing do tend to get hung up. It only takes a moment to adjust and get the movement free, but it still takes away from the play-ability when you have to shift your focus from setting a new pose to unbinding a previous one.
As it stands I feel these figures are great. The price point is around 40 dollars per figure. However, with the quality of sculpt and materials, as well as the ample pose-ability for play and photography, these figures are worth every peeny in the humble opinion of this reviewer.
I would definitely recommend anyone who is familiar with these characters scoop them up if you can! They are currently in stock at BBTS, with 2 more entries coming soon, Robin Mask and Neptune Man.
Until next time enjoy this now and then photo set.
