Chameleon June
Review by SentaiSeiya
So the Saint Seiya series is a sausage fest. This is why any female character’s release in the Saint Cloth Myth is a welcome change from the pretty-boy assortment that dominates the line. Unfortunately, the female Saints do not seem to sell as well as their male counterparts; which is why the release we are looking at today is a Tamashii Web Exclusive. This toy was released in the month bearing the name of the character, June. But since there is some lag between the Japanese release and the time that we get things here in the US, especially Web Exclusives, here I am reviewing June in July.
June is Andromeda Shun’s training partner. Both of these young saints trained on Andromeda Island. Though June plays a minor role early in the series, she was a good friend to the young Saint of Andromeda and even a potential love interest.
Being a Tamashii Web Exclusive, June is packaged in the signature Tamashii Web box, which protects the actual product box inside.
The design for June’s box is pretty much that same as that of the Bronze Saints in the line.
The only major difference is that her box does not open in the middle, like the usual book-style boxes that the line is known for.
June’s Cloth is a chameleon on a tree branch when in Object Mode.
This small, yet neat Object Mode is a little bit pain to put together. It is composed of many small pieces in a fairly small area, so putting it together requires a bit of patience.
I want to note that the Object Mode should have a tongue, which is the antenna part of the headpiece. This antenna piece comes has a square peg on it, so that it can attach to either the headpiece or the inside of the Object Mode’s mouth. With my figure, however, the square hole on the Object Mode was too. I tried forcing it in a couple of times with no luck. So rather than end up breaking this fairly small piece, I just decided my chameleon would go without a tongue.
The tail of the figure is comprised of the whip, which flows from the chameleon’s back, over its tush, and wraps around the branch and trunk of the tree.
So this figure looks great and is pretty spot on to how it looks in the show, which is that of an 80’s dominatrix Saint.
The two circular boob armor pieces have holes in them that go through the chest armor and attach to the chest of the figure ( which is actually a second chest piece that has holes in it). Though it is a bit odd that the boob armor pieces do not sit flush against the armor, leaving a gap.
While the figure looks great, the amount of plastic used for the armor is more than I would like for a character that is so light on the armor. Yup, all of those red highlighted armor pieces are plastic.
As you can see, most of the armor is plastic. Only the arm guards, lower leg armor, the feet, and chest armor are made of metal.
June’s shares the same body type with the other female warriors in the line: Ophiuchus Shaina, Aquila Marin, and Mermaid Thetis. This body is a hybrid of the previous female body that was used for Athena and Pandora, and the third generations Saint Cloth Myth body. So you get lots of good articulation with this figure.
The only issue becomes keeping her upright, since she is wearing high heels, which can this character fall over quite often. She is much harder to keep standing than Shaina or Marin. So much in fact, that I cheated with many of the shots that do not show her legs, by propping up the character using a stand to hold one of the legs.
While getting June to stand can be a chore, June can sit just fine, just like the other female Saints in the line. This is one thing these female bodies have over those of the male Saints in the line.
Completing the dominatrix-inspired look of June is her trusty whip; she comes with not one, but two.
One is a plastic whip that is folded and meant for the character to just hold.
The second is whip made of metal.
I went through a couple of emotions when I found out this whip was made of metal. At first, I was super excited! After all, the more metal, the better. Then the reality of this choice in material sunk in. The fact that the thong( the legit name for the long part of the whip) it is made of these small interconnecting links, means that is the whip is going to flop on the ground. You can’t really display the whip in midair, speeding towards the enemy.
It can just lie on the ground… Or it can be used to choke one of your other figures… You know, if it is into that kind of stuff…
As for accessories, June comes with 2 hair pieces. One is to be used with the headpiece and the other without it. June also has 4 faceplates. Beside the masked faceplates, which I have already shown in the review, there is an extra mask that June can hold.
In this picture, you will also see the third faceplate, which is the plain face that is to be used with the headpiece. This one looks quite sad and depressing to look at.
Luckily, the plain faceplate to be used without the headpiece is not the same as the previous one. It is a much more playful and happy looking June.
June also comes with a couple of extra armor pieces. These include:
Armguards covers with spikes
Waist armor
A couple of extra pieces that go on the back of the figure
These are bit pointless, since the hair covers the back of the figure.
The part of this armor that is majorly visible is the holes on the side, to which the arms of the chameleon attach onto in Object Mode; which is a shame because those holes look out of place with the design of the Cloth.
With these pieces attached, the toy represents the manga version of June.
Which I admit looks a tad bit cooler and deadlier than the anime version.
Finally, the figure comes with 10 hands, which I did not photograph because they are pretty standard Bandai fare.
Overall, this is a so-so release. While it looks great, the execution could have used a bit more work. The simple addition of an effect whip would have raised this character to the next level of being a good display piece. Furthermore, unlike the Saint Cloth Myth releases of Shaina and Marin, there was no training gear included with this release. While not a necessity, it would have also made a neat addition to the toy.
Also the fact that the antenna piece did not work on the Object mode was a major disappointment. To add insult to injury, the antenna piece would not fit back onto the headpiece properly after I had tried to put it on the Object mode. So the headpiece fell off quite often. The fit on the hands was also an issue, since these pieces did not like to stay onto the small pegs they attach to.
So while I am glad this toy got made, so that Shaina and Marin have a new pal, I cannot shake the fact that this release left me wanting a bit more from this higher-priced Tamashii Web Exclusive.
Posted 29 July, 2013 - 16:57 by SentaiSeiya |
Comments
22 comments postedThe chameleon object mode is incredible.
I really kind of love this design, more so than a lot of the less elaborate Saint Seiya armors... but I just can't deal with all that chrome on a toy, just waiting for me to clumsily inflict fingerprints and scratches upon it.
I like how her shoulder armor is basically a Super Mario enemy.
That would explain why Bowser is missing a couple of Koopa Troopas... you know, besides the ones that Mario mercilessly slaughters on a daily basis.
For the the reviews, I wear gloves to keep my sweaty fingerprints out of the pictures. But after that, I handle with my bare hands. You should pick one up sometime, you will be surprised how durable the paint is on the armor. In fact, you are much more likely to scratch the paint on the rest of the figure, than on the armor.
Buena review;
Esta es una de las pocas paginas (no latinas) que hace reviews de Saint Seiya, de hecho no conozco muchos norteamericanos que hayan visto la serie, mientras que en los países de habla hispana, Saint Seiya o como se le conoció "Los Caballeros del Zodiaco" es un hito y clásico de culto.
Now ¿are you thinking on collecting the new EX figures?, I fell it is a kick on the nuts, that after collecting the whole 12 golden no sainto, they stop completing the appendix for early figures, and bring this new ones, that are even out of scale with the whole line
I love the shit out of this serie
Gracias!
La verdad es que Saint Seiya nunca pego aqui en los Estados Unidos. Cuando salio en la tele, cambiaron la serie bastante. Pero si hay fans norteamericanos de Saint Seiya, aunque son pocos comparados con los Saint Seiya fans de el resto de el mundo.
I already own all of the EX figures that came out., and am planning to get them all. I agree that the EX line is a slap in the face to those who were looking to get the appendixes of the last few Saint that needed them ( like Shura and Doko). But at the same time, if they had not released the EX line, we wouldn't have Gold Saints that are as poseable as the ones in the EX line. Even with the appendixes, there is no way you could get the original Scorpio, Leo and Aries to pull off an Athena Exclamation like their EX counterparts can.
Yes the EX being articulation wise is truth, yet the prices and effort of double buying the characters again, and having them as a stand alone line is not so appealing to me.
I have not had the chance to see them (the EX) by myself, but in the pictures some faces looks... kinda off to me.... more cartoonish and less stylized thant the original anime. Maybe it is just me on negation stage, but the faces from Leo, Sagitarius, Aquarius and Virgo appendix´s looks more acurate, I think the same about Aries, Scorpio, Piscis, Geminis, and Taurus myth cloths...
Actually I dont feel that bad about Libra, since he hava a squere face on the anime, I really hoped appendix for Capricornio and Cancer instead...
Have you seen the LC models popping up at Amazon?? could there be any chance that if I grab one of those can replace the heads of Shura and Death Mask?
I totally get where you are coming from. I feel the same way with the Kamen Rider S.H. Figuarts. Now that I have all of the Kamen Riders that I want, they have announced a new body type and it looks like they are going to remake them in the same manner as the EX line ( minus the whole out-of-scale thing).
Yes, the faces do look more like a cartoon, but the details on the faces and hair of these is really amazing! As for the fact that the EX line is more expensive, it is definitely worth the extra money. Once you get used to the extra faces, hands, the three-piece capes and broken Cloths for the Bronze Saints, the regular Saint Cloth Myth line seems a bit lacking by comparison.
I have not seen the Lost Canvas models. Are they made by Bandai?
LC Models or LCM is a third party (I guess) developer that is starting to show up in Amazon, the models look like the EX, but they require assamble and cant form the objects, also are made completly of plastic. They also have figures of Tatsumi, baby Athena, Kiki, and pandora objetcs. The first time I found them i tought they were EX, because are very similar.
Im into Kamen Riders and Super Sentai S.H. Figuarts too... and have around 20 figures already, is the firts time I hear about a new type of body and scale... if that happens maybe I finish my love relation so far, with Tamashii
My mistake. People usually us LC for Lost Canvas. The third party LCM stuff is pretty cool, because its stuff that Bandai will never make. However, their models appear to be bootlegs using the same molds as the legit Saint Cloth Myth products.
There is a new body type for the Figuarts line, but it does appear to be in scale with the other S.H. Figuarts. From my understanding the Kamen Rider Black renewal is going to be the first one to use the new body. They have also shown blanks of the new body in the signature poses of other Kamen Rider figures. So a renewal version for other Riders seems inevitable at this point.
Well, its not as bad as I thought... I could use a new Kamen Rider Black, since I don't have the old one. It could be similar to what happens with Marvel Legends, they are always improving the body's, and some time upgrade an already existing figure, but does not mean they are incompatible with previous releases...
Could be a good thing if the scale is maintain.
Right now I'm looking to complete the 7 legendary riders, but its a pain in the ass due to the trade control at my country... so I just can grab a couple of figures per month
Wonder about the wrinkles at the crouch...
Yes. It is not as bad as the EX line, because you can mix and match the renewal and original version.
Where do you live?
Im from Venezuela, but the political issues have forced me to move and look forward for better lifes options in anothers countries; I spent two years at Spain, where I got the most Myth Cloths of my collection, and started with S.H. Figuarts; due to the hard economic situation that Spain is suffering, I was forced to go back to Venezuela, where the cultural enclosure forced by the government, the brutal trade control and others factors have undermine quality of life. Right now the country have cross the "no way back point", so I guess is matter of time a social outburst occurs.
In the last 4 years, I have lived in europe and in the amazonian jungle doing anthropological researches, trying to scape from the Chavez madness... so far not so good.... even after dead...
Sometimes I forget how good we have it here in the US. I am sorry to hear about your hardships and I hope things work out for you and your collecting!
Very pretty.
I'm not a Saint Seiya fan (Pegasus Fantasy is awesome though) but I wouldn't mind having her ^.^
Glad to hear you have found a second thing you like about Saint Seiya.
Hehe, you're welcome^.^
Also, I love the image with Jun and Woody (the whole Pervert woody meme is HILARIOUS)
Pervert Woody never gets old!
If I ever get the Revoltech Woody, It MUST be that one. no exceptions :D
After reissuing the one without the perv face, Kaiyodo is finally bringing back the one with the perv face. It is coming out later this year and is up for preorder.
I am very happy! :D
I am actually getting her for my b-day btw. This makes me happy :D