Thanatos

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Name Thanatos
Toy Line Saint Cloth Myth
Number
Manufacturer Bandai
Released 2008
Materials ABS, Cloth, Diecast, Plastic
Scale
Category Action Figure, Anime Figure, Character Toy, Chogokin, Figure
Series Saint Seiya
Designer
Orig. Price ¥7800
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Damn is this box big! The package is in the standard Saint Cloth Myth book style box but is thinker and longer than the biggest Saint Cloth Myth I have previously handled and that is what I would expect after getting to know the quality and caliber of the Saint Cloth Myth line, besides it’s not every day Bandai releases a God Cloth. Heck, even the trim detail on the box is printed in a silver foil to mark the occasion.

Thanatos is the God of Death, a villain from the Saint Seiya OVA series, The Hades Chapter – Elysium and hands down one of the best character designs to emerge from the series to date. Thanatos and his twin brother Hypnos stand between our Heroes and rescuing the imprisoned Goddess Athena. Thanatos only appears for 4 episodes but his short appearance is wrapped up in one of the most dramatic developments of the series, Pegasus Seiya’s Bronze Cloth evolving itself into a God level Cloth (coming soon from Bandai for the Saint Cloth Myth line :).)


The basic figure of Thanatos is much like the previous releases in the Saint Cloth Myth line - over 40 points of articulation, made of plastic with the feet being die-cast metal. The face sculpt is excellent and a great likeness of the character from the cartoon.

When Thanatos is not being the God of Death and killing stuff (because being the God of Death it’s what you do), he spends his downtime wearing a robe and playing his harp for all the cute Nymphs of Elysium and in usual attentive Bandai detail they include the robe and harp for your display.

While all of this is nice, it is the full armored figure most folks are interested in and this one is a beauty! Whether you are a fan of Saint Seiya or not it’s hard to deny this collectibles presence on the shelf. The figure is about 50% die-cast and 50% plastic. Normally die-cast content is higher in a Saint Cloth Myth figure but the figure is so large it wouldn’t stand if they made more of it die-cast.

The Chest, arms, legs, cod piece and hip pieces are all diecast. The skirt details, helmet and wings are plastic. The wings do pivot and rotate as well as able to fan out. The wings are beautifully designed and really make this display stand out. The figure does stand on it’s own without support with the wings on full display but to keep balance display options are limited. Bandai makes an aftermarket stand for the line you might want to consider getting when purchasing this figure if you want to display him dynamically.

Now most Cloth’s will form a statue of the Constellation they are aligned with but the God of Death is a bit different, the statue is basically just the Cloth on display on a “dummy” body and not an actual object or item. As of now this is how I have the armor on display because the “dummy figure” locks into the base allowing the wings to be fully out, giving the piece a very dramatic look.

There is not much else to say about this fine piece other than get it! It meets the usual high quality of previous released Saint Cloth Myth figures and looks absolutely stunning. Fan of the show or not I am totally recommending you get one if you can, you will not be disappointed.


Full video review is below…






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NekroDave's picture
Submitted by NekroDave on 19 May, 2008 - 19:44.

Maybe I'm just nuts, but I think I'd actually display it with the robe on. It reminds me more of an old fantasy wizard character. Maybe it's the head-dress but it makes me think of "The Lost World Of The Warlord" or "Diablo" and stuff like that, which I used to love. Otherwise, this sure does look like a nice, intricate figure.

"This must be settled the way nature intended....with a vicious, bloody fight!"
Onyx Blackman
Principal, Flatpoint High



Atom's picture
Submitted by Atom on 19 May, 2008 - 21:32.

I agree the robe looks good too. I just really like the way the dummy body is designed to display all the plates of the armor in a perfect spread. All in all it's just an awesome figure all around.

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CollectionDX Writer



Sanjeev's picture
Submitted by Sanjeev on 20 May, 2008 - 10:46.

I'm definitely digging this figure. I dunno if I'd display it with the robe, though. I'd definitely lose the weird headgear. Just not feeling it. The full armored look with the bare head looks more interesting to me.

--
Sanjeev



JoshB's picture
Submitted by JoshB on 20 May, 2008 - 10:47.

Gad, could this be the figure that tempts me over to the dark side? aaaahhh

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CollectionDX Admin



Atom's picture
Submitted by Atom on 21 May, 2008 - 18:35.

Bwahahahahahahahaha. Join me and together we will rule the Galaxy... er, um sorry wrong franchise.

___________________
CollectionDX Writer



quinjester's picture
Submitted by quinjester on 21 May, 2008 - 08:10.

I've glanced at these at places like Angolz and Toy-Wave before, but never really gave them more than a passing thought.

This guy looks really cool though. Damn. I didn't even realize they had die-cast content, either.



Atom's picture
Submitted by Atom on 21 May, 2008 - 18:44.

yeah I think most have seen the figures around at some point or another but it quietly goes under the radar. There really are some nice character designs in the series and Bandai has been making a very nice set of collectibles with the Saint Cloth Myth line. I say take the plunge and give one a try, I think most won't be disapointed.
___________________
CollectionDX Writer



Blitz's picture
Submitted by Blitz on 21 May, 2008 - 14:54.

never seen any of this show but this is one cool toy reminds me of microman stuff (or at least how it used to me)
_____________________________________________________________________________
Transformer and other robot art by me on my DA site blitz-wing.deviantart.com



Sanjeev's picture
Submitted by Sanjeev on 21 May, 2008 - 17:05.

Nice production, Atom!

I really enjoyed the musical montages at the beginning and in the middle! Oh, and using an Onell Design figure for scale is classic! :P

Hey, just a random question about these figures: are the bodies/armor interchangeable? Like, if I liked a certain character but wanted another characters armor on him, would they be compatible? Or would it depend?

--
Sanjeev



Atom's picture
Submitted by Atom on 21 May, 2008 - 18:41.

Thanks for the compliment, I sometimes wonder if anyone actually realizes the work that goes into these video reviews and I do keep upping the ante so to speak with the production. Glad you noticed.

In general yes the figures should be interchangeable with the armors, the only problem you might run into with some is height (Thanatos is taller than most in the line) and the hair sculpts could get in the way depending on armor designs and hair designs.

Yeah that little Exellis figure keeps making his way into my reviews, it's like he has a life of his own... But in all seriousness I really dig what Matt does over there at Onell Designs and have a lot of respect for him. Any chance to pimp a friends stuff is one I jump at. :)

___________________
CollectionDX Writer



xiombarg's picture
Submitted by xiombarg on 27 May, 2008 - 12:02.

Thanatos looks excellent. Maybe a bit over the top for me, but I love the Wyvern figure from the same series.