Toy rant: Saint Seiya Myth Cloth (Part 3)

And now I'm finally finished with ALL the Saint Seiya + Lost Canvas anime as well as the Lost Canvas manga~!!! Phewww!! That took, like, 3 months!! >_O Not surprising to say, 4 more boys (technically 5) joined the Saint family over the past month and here's their current family picture~! ^__^ (Note to self: I actually bought those 4 all in a day o_O!!!)

And so there're a total of 13 Saint boys at the moment with 1 more coming in late October or more probably early November. It's getting sooooo much harder to figure how to fit them all in there...!! x_X (But it's a nice challenge XD) Out of curiosity and for fun, one night I lined them all up in order of height to see what the line up's like. (They are measured based on height of chin (from the ground), cos' it's unfair to measure by their shoulder, head or hair.) And here's how it looked like. =)

It's a coincidence that all the light/gold armored ones are shorter than the dark ones with the exception of the tallest (Gemini Saga), but I suppose he'd be considered 'cheating' cos' he's from a new and improved line of Saint figures (known as the EX version) and they are meant to be taller than the older/original version. I really can't wait to replace Scorpio Milo with the EX version when it comes out next year. I'm predicting its release will be in February, but it's yet been announced.

(Again, please be warned there are spoilers below.)

HADES

God of the underworld and main antagonist in the Saint Seiya OVAs as well as Lost Canvas (sort of). A classic villain who aims to consume and rule over the world with. Also a narcissist, Hades loves his own physical body so much he locks it away in case of injuries from battle and possesses other humans/bodies instead once every 200+ years (part of 'fate' in the Saint Seiya plot) to resume his quest of world conquer. XD He doesn't actually return to/use his real body until the very end of the Saint Seiya OVAs.

The figure: THIS. Is. THE. Very. Figure. That got me into the series. If it weren't becos I saw this figure (object form) at the local toy shop, I wouldn't have entered this Saint Seiya phase following/watching/reading/buying it! >.< In human form, Hades is unable to stand without a support/stand (which comes with it) if you attach his gigantic wings. He can stand alone without the wings but he has a weak/unstable right leg which makes him unable to stand straight. (His right leg looks a little bent) But the worst thing is, almost all (but one) the extra hand pieces are unusable as the hole in the hand is simply too big; this is utterly frustrating. It's the only reason why I'm forced to use the original hand piece (unarmored) for his right hand. Everything else is perfect, however.

This is also the only figure I've ever tried/bothered assembling the object form (2nd row of pics above) and man was it confusing/hard! The shoulder armor actually becomes an additional (top) part of the 'skirt' when in object form and there's an extra collar piece as well, which makes the armor look slightly different in human vs object form. It took me more than hour to assemble it, but the finished product is sooo worth it! It's sooo gorgeous!!!! <333 All the parts and pieces are fitting, nothing is amiss and the fixed pose is majestic. No wonder I fell in love at first sight!!! IMO the armor really fits the object better than the human, so I've decided to forever leave it in object form. Besides, I have much better plans for the human form... or rather, the head. =P (See the last figure below)

Thanatos

One of two twin gods who serve Hades - the god of death. The twins have the highest authority among the entire Hades army for as long as the real Hades has not appeared/fully resurrected. Between the twins, Thanatos is the aggressive and violent one, often not (or never) heeding his brother's advice.

The figure: A very pretty combination of purple and black. The head/face is so well done it's actually prettier than the actual character in the show, which is the main reason why I finally decided to get him after seeing it on the shelves for the past 3 months. He originally has a giant pair of wings on his back, but I didn't attach them in the pics above cos I don't intend to use them at all or they won't fit in my cabinet T__T. There's just NO space for people with wings. Fortunately, he still looks great even without his wings. No complaints on the figure itself as well.

Hypnos

The other twin god who serves Hades - the god of sleep. Contrary to his twin, Hypnos is regal, calm and dislikes violence. I can't seem to find anything more to say about him... >.<!! But in Saint Seiya (not Lost Canvas), I like them both equally. Hypnos is particularly cooler only in Lost Canvas.

The figure: In one look it may look exactly the same as Thanatos, but there are differences, mainly in color and their 'skirt'. I actually got the Japan import for this cos' I know of no other shop that's got him, and this shop only has the Japan import which makes him the second most expensive Saint Seiya figure in my collection. However, to my greatest disappointment, even though he's twins with Thanatos his head/face is painted inaccurately and does not actually look like Thanatos. Worse yet, it makes him look half as attractive as he should have been. Next, because of the way his 'skirt' is designed, I can't seem to be make him stand with his feet apart like everyone else or his 'skirt' will part in two and look unnatural (altho' the stock photos/box art show that it's possible O_o). His shoulder armor is also surprisingly tough to attach; I actually took 15 minutes to attach the one on the right omg. x_X Lastly, the figure head fits very loosely onto his neck hence prone to beheading himself when handling him. >_O! Oh yeah, like Thanatos he has a pair of wings as well which I don't attach to conserve cabinet space.

HADES (Shun form)

If you look at the first image (anime screenshot) above, this is actually Hades in possession of Shun's body. It didn't last long cos' eventually Shun was able to force Hades' soul out of his body. But what I did here, is to transform this 'Hades in Shun's body' into the real Hades himself, by attaching the head of real Hades (from my Hades figure) onto Shun's body. LOL. This royal robe/outfit originally belongs to Hades and I really wanted to see the real Hades instead of him in someone else's body, hence the reason I bought this figure. XD

The figure: This figure includes the body + robes, and the Hades throne. The robe is simple but accurate, and makes him unique among everyone as it's the only figure with a full fabric outfit. The throne/chair is very grand and fits Hades perfectly. Both the figure and chair are easy to assemble and they stand out beautifully in the lot. I'll never be using Shun's figure head (the original that comes with this figure) but this is how this figure is supposed to look like for your reference. =)

Saga/Kanon (Gemini) [EX version]

One of the twelve Gold saints, constellation Gemini. Typical of most concepts based on Gemini, this gold saint is one of a pair of twins, his name Saga, his younger brother Kanon. They look exactly the same (Kanon has a darker shade of blue hair tho') and even share the same voice (by Okiayu Ryoutarou), but started out with opposing ideals and mindsets. There is only one Gemini cloth, however, and it originally belongs to Saga.

The figure: The very first figure in line of the Myth Cloth EX series, which is a much improved version of the original Myth Cloth figures. The first thing they changed is the proportions, hence making him much taller/slimmer than the rest (especially the original old Golds). The luster is a little disappointing - it's not a bright yellow gold but rather a dull gold. (It still looks very gold under a yellow spotlight tho') However, practically everything else is perfect. The head/face is accurate, and all the parts and pieces are fitting (including the hands!!) and easy to attach. There is just one piece that is prone to falling off - the front cover of his skirt, but that's just a minor flaw. A very good figure overall, recommended for all Saint Seiya fans! I so can't wait for the rest...! (Baby Leo's up next in late October/early November!!)

Here are a few more random shots of the boys - Hades with the twin gods, Rhadamanthys with flared wings, Shura sitting, and a couple full family shots I previously took before the thirteen of them gathered. It is sooo not easy trying to pose everyone together in a limited amount of space >_<!!

Toy rant: Saint Seiya Myth Cloth (Part 2)

Oh my god I finally finished the Saint Seiya anime! Original TV series 114 eps + OVA 13 + 12 + 6 eps, and Lost Canvas 26 eps! *Phewww!* That took 6 weeks! >_< Lost Canvas isn't finished, though, but who knows when the next season will be, assuming there're even plans for it. Now I'm supposed to follow up by reading the Lost Canvas manga where the anime left off but I told myself I can't start that until I finish this post so here I am geeking about toys again~!! Gyahahahaa~!

And so in about 6 weeks I got myself a total of 9 Saint Seiya figures and all of them are finally out of their boxes! (Click here for the same pic above but with their names) There're 4 new ones since the last blog post, and here it goes. (Warning: There may be spoilers!)

Shura (Capricorn, Surplice version)

Shura is one of the 12 Gold Saints, constellation Capricorn. After being defeated and losing his life in his battle against Shiryu, Hades resurrected him, along with several others, and provided them with Surplice (hell) armor, which is the Specter/Hell version of the Gold cloth (basically Gold cloth tinted black/purple). Shura has only one form of attack - Excalibur. He is able to create a physical shockwave via his right arm and cut or cleave virtually anything in his path. Now I'm left wondering just what his left hand can do. XD

The figure: In one glance it may seem like he has the simplest looking armor design, but it's really sleek and fitting of him. The figure head is very accurate and looks just like him in the anime. Even though it doesn't look as shiny as the rest due to the dark colors, the unique shade of black/purple is still very pretty. However, assembling this figure was by far the hardest and most painful of them all. The reason being he for some reason has 3 neck parts. No other figure even has a separate neck piece. According to the manual, one neck is for the armor, one for without, and one more to fit the head of the Gold version of this figure. This neck piece is painfully hard (seriously it hurts!) to fit/remove and there is only one ball bearing to share between two of the necks. Removing that ball bearing and fitting it into the other is just as painful. I swear this figure's sadistic. I had to do it like 4~5 times in total just because I used/tested the wrong neck a few times, and by the end of it my fingers were soooooo sore! >.< Other than the neck, the next slightly troublesome piece would be his 'skirt'. It isn't very easy to attach but at least it's not painful. Lastly, I know he doesn't look it, but he's actually the second most expensive figure of the lot, just behind Shun, all because I got the Japan import version (gold sticker).

Julian Solo (Poseidon)

God of the seas. His soul was originally sealed in an urn by Athena, but was awakened by a certain someone a number of years ago. He chose to possess Julian Solo, the son of a wealthy family who have generations of ties with the sea, and was supposed to gain full control of him when he turned 16. Hence, unlike Saori (Athena) Julian wasn't actually born to be Poseidon. When Julian discovers his 'identity' on his 16th birthday, he awakes to the ambition of overturning the lands partly due to the angst towards Athena previously rejecting his proposal. (What the... LOL)

The figure: Majestic and pretty. Its shine a pretty metallic rust (reddish brown). IMO the top 3 most attractive figure among all the Saint figures I currently have. Also, I really gotta commend the accuracy - it really looks a lot like him. There are flaws, however, pretty bad ones too. First, the separate pieces on his 'skirt' come off easily; you are bound to drop them while assembling the rest of the armor pieces on him. Next, he has very loose hand parts that some of them are practically unattachable at all. Either that, or they are extremely loose and falls out super easy, which causes the rest of his arm armor to slide off. It's soooo frustrating! In the above pics, he has a trident in his right hand. That hand is actually barely hanging onto its wrist (so is the other); it can't actually carry the weight of the trident even though it's very light, so this is practically the only pose he can do with it, which really is a shame. He also doesn't stand very well and tends to topple backwards when trying to pose him, which would be a disaster cos' everything would just fall off. x_X Still, despite all these, he is worth it. He's just that pretty. XD

Rhadamanthys (Wyvern)

There are a total of 108 Specters who serve Hades, the top 3 being the three Judges, of which the strongest and most loyal is Rhadamanthys. That's... about it actually. XD! Oh yeah, I suppose I can just throw in the fact that he's voiced by Koyasu Takehito (子安 武人), which is prolly a good thing for most fangirls except for me (cos' I recognize his voice so clearly that I can't differentiate his characters from him anymore). Fortunately, though, he sounds less 'default' this as Rhada, hence I was still able to enjoy the character. *Phew*

The figure: Easily the most eye-catching of the lot I own... until Hades arrives of course. =P He's the only one I bought before I knew who the character was, so good thing he didn't disappoint. =) Contrary to the complex look of the armor, Rhada is surprisingly one of the easiest and painless to assemble. He has fitting hands and none of his armor pieces are prone to fall off. The base of his feet is wider than everyone else, but due to the weight of his wings he is able to stand only if the bottom tip of his wings touch the ground and help support his weight, hence restricting his posability. Regardless, like Julian, he looks awesome just standing upright. Definitely a worthy figure for any Saint Seiya fan.

Shun (Andromeda, God cloth version)

Ikki's little brother, constellation Andromeda. I got the God cloth version cos' it's the prettiest. Nuff said. XD

The figure: The most unique thing about this figure is most likely its color - a unique pretty metallic pink. It also has a set of wings, but I didn't attach it as they take up a lot of space and the shelf's already packed as it is. He may not look as grand without his wings but Andromeda never had wings, so if you ask me he looks perfectly fine without them. He takes some time to assemble but at least he's painless and all the pieces are fitting. (The hardest/trickiest part is actually his head, which is made up of 4 separate parts.) He was the last to join the group on the shelf and I wasn't sure how I should pose him, but in the end I decided that as Andromeda perhaps it would be most fitting if he poses just like her, all chained up. =P Last but not least, considering overall accuracy, prettiness, stability and articulation, Shun is most likely the best figure of the current lot of nine.

Crystal Saint
Shaka
Ikki
Camus & Milo

Toy rant: Saint Seiya Myth Cloth (Part 1)

Saint Seiya was the first Japanese anime I've ever seen, before even Doraemon. I was four then and the show was dubbed in Indonesian. I barely a understood a thing - I only cared that there were pretty guys in armor. Sadly, I never saw more than a few random episodes before I had to leave for Singapore, and I never heard/mentioned of it again since... until I was fifteen when I found a VCD box set at the local store. Man I was ecstatic. I bought it and watched it all but it ended at episode 59 and for some reason I never figured there was a second box set. And so I never really mentioned it again... until 3 weeks ago when I randomly saw one of the most beautiful figures ever.

I had no idea who it was other than the fact he's from Saint Seiya (cos it was placed along the others I recognize); all I knew was that it was godamn gorgeous. I went home and googled, found out it was the character Hades, a character I've never seen. But I know he's from the OVA which is a sequel to the old TV series I once watched, and that is why I'm on my quest to rewatch the whole thing again starting episode 1, at the same time recollecting my childhood memories. XD

The downside is (or upside, however way we'd like to see it), where there's a favorite character, I must have his figure. LOL. Old typical me. I've seen 75 episodes as of this moment and several characters have made their way into my "favorites" list. I don't have all their figures yet, but slowly I will. Hades, for example, instantly sold out the day of released and that was back in March, so no matter how badly I want it now I can only pray and wait for a re-issue. For those I could get my hands on, here are five that I've taken out of their boxes. =)

These figures are produced by Bandai and are about 16-17cm tall. The older ones generally lack in luster/shine, have poorer articulation and the figure heads have poor character resemblance. Still, they are awesome and extremely tempting for fans of the series. Unlike my Kamen Rider figures that I once posted photos on, these Saint Seiya figures require assembling. The armor that they wear are individual separate pieces that you'll have to assemble on the body via the help of an instruction pamphlet. Every armor has a different structure, some are easier/harder, some are looser/more stable. I find this process both fun and challenging/frustrating, LOL, but ultimately you will be happy with what you see. Well, at least I am. ^_^

Moving on, below are the figures that I bought and opened in chronological order. For those who may be interested in picking up Saint Seiya, please note that there may be spoilers.

Crystal Saint

His name's not Crystal and his family name's not Saint. This character appears in the anime only and referred to only as "Crystal Saint". In Saint Seiya, the term "Saint" refers to someone who earned the prestigious status of being a protector of justice and the goddess Athena , who is then given a "cloth" (armor) for this purpose. Every cloth is unique, the majority of them based on Greek mythology, fantastical creatures and astrology. For example, the main character's cloth is based on the Pegasus. But because Crystal Saint is an anime-only character, he is given the element of Crystal (ice) instead, hence "Crystal Saint" and without a proper name. LOL. Regardless, I like him a lot. I couldn't find a better pic of him from the anime so please pardon the not-so-impressive screenshot above. Sadly, he is a they-came-they-went-they-died character, kicking the bucket in less than 3 episodes from his first appearance. Dammit. >_> But because he's so sweet and endearing, I just had to get him, and that's how he became my first Saint Seiya figure. ^_^

The figure: Not being biased here, but I think he's the best looking figure of the five currently opened. (However, the other two figures that I haven't open may easily beat him...) He's the tallest and slimmest of the five (it's important not to look stout if the character isn't). The die cast pieces of his armor are a beautiful metallic blue, and the head/face resembles the character well, if not better. He has the best articulation thanks to the simplicity of his armor design as compared to the others. Unlike the Golds (the 3 with gold armor), his cape is made of satin-like fabric, which makes it the only one that's actually presentable. There is but one flaw in this figure - shoulder plates. There are 3 plate layers, each pressed above the other, and they fall out easily if you pull them by accident.

Shaka (Virgo)

Shaka is one of twelve Gold Saints, all of whose armor are based on the twelve constellations (zodiac). His own constellation is Virgo. Contrary to his looks, Shaka is the strongest and most broken of the Golds Saint, and he doesn't even need to use his fists/feet. LOL. A practitioner and believer of Buddhism, he develops and trains his mind to the point that no one can screw with him thru illusions; only he screws others with his, altho' here's where we may argue whether they are merely illusion or the real thing. =P

The figure: Shaka's the 3rd figure I bought. He's got a pretty armor and helmet, and the shine is the most gold among the 3 Gold Saints I have. His only flaw is his extra hand parts, some of which cannot be used/attached to his wrist at all as the hole is too small, which renders them permanently unusable. The hand that I wanted to use the most is his Buddha palm, but that's the one that can't be used, dammit. Besides that, the only other minor inconvenience is his shoulder articulation due to the unadjustable wide collar/sleeve. As this is an old figure, the figure head isn't very well done, to which the makers tried to fix by coming up with an appendix (improved head and other parts) which can be used to replace the original with.

Ikki (Phoenix)

IMO, the only notable one among the 5 main characters (Bronze Saints), and the strongest. His 'constellation' is the Phoenix, which makes him ultimately broken as he is practically immortal. However, as a fantasy series, injuries and old age aren't the only way to die. =P Despite being one of the five main characters, Ikki clearly states that he's not a team player, hence usually works separate from the team. Still, if anything happens to the team, especially his lil' bro, he'll typically be the first to flock in.

The figure: This figure features his first and oldest armor, version 1, hence the simplicity. If you're new to Saint Seiya, you prolly wonder why he's got pink on him. I used to wonder that too, but I figured he still manages to look good in it (see first pic above) so I stopped questioning. =P He has a head gear like everyone else but it makes his head look so small and flat that I decided it's better he goes without it. His flaw includes the knee pads, which are attached just by pressing it into a hole in the knee, but it's so loose it's almost impossible to adjust the legs without them dropping off. One other flaw which really shouldn't be there is proportions. Ikki is a tall character but when placed beside Shaka's figure he is short. This is because this is a new figure (released in June) and new Saint Seiya figures have smaller figure heads (including Crystal Saint), which in return makes him look shorter when he shouldn't be.

Milo (Scorpio)

Another Gold Saint, constellation Scorpio. While I like Milo, I find myself at a loss writing about him so I'm just gonna skip this part and go on to the figure.

The figure: Milo is prolly the hardest of the 5 to assemble and has the most flaws. He has horrible hands. The armor on his arm is a tad too big for him that it eats up the space around the wrist, which makes it very hard to attach his hands. Even after attaching them, they fall off very easily with the slightest push/pull. His headgear has this very long scorpion tail that extends from the middle front all the way to the back, but it's broken into 4 smaller pieces which you'd need to attach to the end of each piece, and they can barely stay attached to the headgear I swear! I ended up only attaching 2 pieces, hence shortening the tail length by half and it still falls off! *facepalms* Lastly, and prolly the worst of all the flaws, is that Milo looks nothing like him (the face is so wrong!), and has really bad proportions. He's supposed to be taller than Shaka and Camus but he's the shortest of the three figures. His shoulder armor is also too big for him and that makes him look stout, like he has a short upper body. =( Milo's appendix looks awesome though! This is how he should be! But alas the appendix's selling for like 180 bucks on eBay and that's just... retarded. I'll wait for his EX (new and improved) version instead....

Camus (Aquarius)

Another Gold Saint, constellation Aquarius. He's good friends with Milo, I think, but let me skip this part too for now. ^^;

The figure: Like Milo, he has horrible hands and they fall out even easier, my god. Everything else is quite stable, but, for some reason he has a weak right foot/ankle. He can't seem to stand straight like Shaka and his ankle will always look a little bent. Camus' appendix also makes him look significantly better - he's got a better facial expression and closer resemblance. Ultimately, I bought Camus for Milo, really. XD

Rhadamanthys (Wyvern) & Shun (Andromeda)

These are the two that I haven't opened. Rhadamanthys (I'll call him Rhada for short) is a character from the OVA sequel which I haven't gotten to at the moment. I plan to take him out of his box only after I've officially seen his episode, so that it'll feel more special. I bought the figure before I even know the character for three reasons. 1) He's still available in stores at a decent price 2) His armor is so cool 3) He is potentially pairable with Hades. LOL. Yes. Nuff said.

Shun is one of the five main Bronze Saints, Ikki's little brother actually. I bought him for Ikki; the two can't be without each other LOL. But, as with Ikki and all the other Bronze Saints, Shun has several versions of armor and I decided to get his final GOD version, which happens to make him the most expensive of the lot. If I were to spend money on someone, I might as well get the best/prettiest one no? Ikki has a god version too but uh... I have my reasons for choosing the oldest version instead. Anyway, I haven't taken Shun out of his box despite already knowing the character cos' I haven't officially seen him in this god armor, so again I'll wait till then to open him up. =)

And that's it for now. ^_^ There'll eventually be more on my Saint Seiya figure list, so perhaps I'll post bout the new ones again then~ Wahahahaa!