Mowe & Nausicaä (Full Action Ver)
Review by JoshB
My first exposure to the worlds of Hayao Miyazaki came in the form of a 1985 copy of Warriors of the Wind, a badly edited and english dubbed version of Nausicaä, But I didn't know that then, I just thought it was a cool, beautiful animated movie, like any 12 year old would. A few years later, I got into comics and I saw that Viz began releasing the original Nausicaä comics in comic stores, and I quickly grabbed them up as I was devouring ANYTHING manga at the time. It was only then I realized that Warriors of the Wind was Nausicaä, and that the original movie was out there.
Those days in the mid to late 80s in comic stores were amazing. Viz, Eclipse and Dark Horse brought over some very influential comics, like Xenon, Battle Angel Alita, Area 88, Mai the Psychic Girl, Grey, Outlanders, Appleseed, and a host of others. I was hooked.
I never actually saw the original Nausicaä movie until 2005 when Disney brought over the uncut original movie.
The movie is full of iconic designs - fantastic creatures, likeable characters and amazing mechanics. The most iconic of which is the Möwe glider. In English, the glider is referred to as Mehve.
Over the years, Studio Ghibli has been reluctant to make action figures of it's properties, preferring statues, stationary and plush. But recently a few exceptions have emerged, one of wich is the Glider.
The Mowe & Nausicaä (Full Action Ver) is a Bandai product, but not a Tamashii Nations product. It comes in a compact box, its small size dissapoints when opening the shipping box. I thought it would be bigger for almost $100.
Inside everything is displayed in a nice tray, with a sky colored background.
Some assembly is required to attach the handles and the fins to the gliders. Also, two LR-41 batteries are required (not included) for the light up effect.
Despite the price to size ratio - it's really quite beautiful. The small figure can hold onto the handlebars in a variety of poses.
I've used a Flightpose stand here - There's no hole for a Tamashii stand because this is not a Tamashii product.
The flaps move up and down.
The head has a jointed section on the back to allow for more movement.
On the back of the glider there are places to plug in placeholder weapons. They are just short stubs that plug in to replicate storage in the glider.
The set includes possibly the smallest accessory ever. I believe it is a whistle that makes the Ohmu calm down and follow her. It's maybe 2mm long.
A small stand is included, with adjustable legs on the base.
One of the most interesting features of the glider is the ability to spread apart into an elegant, butterfly-like configuration, something it did not do in the movie, and I don't think it did in the comic.
Now we have to talk about the figure. Nausicaa is small. Like Glyos figure small. Like half the size of a regular Star Wars figure small. I was not expecting this. I thought at least it would be 4 inches or so, but it is so very tiny.
Don't get me wrong, it's a fine figure, but it's small. Most of the joints are ball joints that pop apart, maybe a little too easily, espescialy the hips and elbows. But otherwise it's got a great range of motion that is very expressive. Included with the set are several sets of variant hands (closed fist, open hands, glider grabbing hands, gun holding hands etc) that switch easily. She's also got a variant head and hood accessory for aan unmasked version.
She also comes with two weapons - a rifle and a long pipe / club. The rifle can sling over her shoulder. Funny enough, it was so hard to get her to stand on a flat table - I had better success on the tree!
Here you can see the LED effect. The bottom panel pops off and then there is a small panel that needs to be unscrewed to insert the batteries. The on-off switch is here too. The effect is nice, but if the room is really dark you can see the inner glow through the body.
Overall, it looks great, it's just small. Had I known the size when I bought it, I probably would have passed. But now that I have it, I kinda like it.
Comments
1 comment postedI would've gladly paid $200 for this if Nausicaä were SH Figuarts scale and the glider didn't separate into that weird butterfly nonsense. And she should've come with an accessory of her pet! How can you forget including that, Bandai?!?!? And some extra head sculpts to configure her with/without goggles, face mask, or helmet would've been nice too.
However, with a figure at this small a scale, it wouldn't be that difficult to make a play set or diorama of her secret laboratory. That would be a fun project to undertake.