SH Figuarts

Right now, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a little bit like Shrodinger's Star Wars. Longtime fans of the franchise have been burned by incredible trailers and hype before, and aren't so eager to let their guard down just in case Episode VII disappoints them yet again. But there's also reason to believe that the new trilogy (and the numerous other films in development) won't fall prey to the same pitfalls that ended up being the prequel trilogy's downfall. As such, The Force Awakens exists as both an incredible triumph and a spectacular failure all at once. It's interesting then that Tamashii Nations next three figures happen to tie the prequels and the new sequels together. The next wave of SH Figuarts Star Wars figures will hit this winter, and includes Obi-Wan "The Only Good Part of the Prequels" Kenobi, Kylo Ren and the First Order Stormtrooper. Tamashii's gone with the padowan incarnation of Obi-Wan, which is an interesting choice given that rat tails never took off as a viable haircut, but it does allow pit the soon-to-be Jedi Master against the previously released Figuarts Darth Maul. The figure looks sharp, even in the sculpted and articulated robes, and includes two different facial expressions. Kenobi's bemused confusion was certainly an expression used often in the early film, but I'm a little surprised Tamashii didn't go with something a bit more aggressive to match up with Maul.

You can never have too many Avengers figures. This is a lesson I'm now learning some months after the Marvel Cinematic Universe finalized its third phase. The merchandise just keeps on coming, whether you're ready for more of it or not. Honestly, the only thing I have to truly complain about when it comes to this kind of news is that I'm running out of money to afford all the things. That there are too many Marvel collectibles on the market to collect is a good problem to have. Sort of. While the rest of the core Avengers cast had already been announced as getting their own SH Figuarts incarnations earlier this year, the big bad of Avengers: Age of Ultron had been missing for some time. Tamashii Nations formally unveiled the SH Figuarts Ultron this week, bringing the number of Ultrons announced or released in 2015 to 1,345,875, which is an 1,345,875% increase year over year. Built to scale with the rest of the line, which is still minus Black Widow, Hawkeye, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch (I guess we can give up on that dream now), Ultron looks as formidable here as he did in the film.

We've already seen the rest of Bandai's planned offerings from Avengers: Age of Ultron, and the Hulkbuster was teased not that long ago. Now we've got our first official look at the magnificent beast, and it is glorious. And expensive. There are currently very few ways to get a standalone Hulkbuster action figure, and there are even fewer ways to get one at a reasonable price. While the price point on the upcoming SH Figuarts Hulkbuster is likely to turn many of you away, it is still quite a bit cheaper than the Hot Toys version. It'll also be just a tad bit more expensive than trying to hunt down all the figures in Hasbro's Hulkbuster BAF wave coming this summer.

Comic-Con International in San Diego is nothing if not a great excuse to buy things that you can't get anywhere else, and folks, I am no more immune to the siren song of consumerism than anyone else. For me, my particular vice comes in the form of action figures -- specifically the Tamashii Nations S.H. Figuarts line of high-end Japanese action figures. At their booth last weekend, they had not only all five of the Inner Senshi from Sailor Moon, but they also had that giant Hello Kitty that Hello Kitty herself pilots so that she can fly around and battle against giant monsters, aka the single greatest thing that has ever been produced by the hands of man. Obviously, I had to buy it all. So to justify my expense (and for tax purposes), join us on a journey to the floor of San Diego and find out just how much money I spent on toys. The answer will not shock you, but it may give you the impression that I should never have been trusted with a debit card.

Mega Man has been getting steady love from Bandai over the past few years with the release of several D-Arts action figures, but now that the line has been folded directly into the wider S.H. Figuarts brand there's been some question as to which character form Capcom's longtime video game franchise would arrive from the year 20XX. Having played in the original series and the Mega Man X universe, t

Toei's current fruit-based Kamen Rider series has been represented on toy shelves in its native Japan with a feature-focused "Arms Change" action figure series for several months, but in May Bandai will officially roll out hyper-articulated S.H. Figuarts versions of the titular hero of Kamen Rider Gaim and his rival Kamen Rider Baron.

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When it comes to the holiday gift-giving season, comic book readers are notoriously difficult to shop for. I mean, most of us are down at the shop buying our favorite stuff every single week, so when the time comes for people who like us to get us something we want, well, a lot of times we already have it. That’s why we’re stepping in with a public service, bringing you comics-related items sure t

Bandai's full S.H. Figuarts line based on the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Japanese Super Sentai counterpart Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger was more or less locked-in this past summer at San Diego Comic-Con, but it's nice to see the Bluefin Tamashii Nations booth confirm that MMPR fans will be getting a female version of the Yellow Ranger aka Trini Kwan. The 6" hyper-articulated figure was shown alo

This past summer at San Diego Comic-Con, Tamashii Nations teased S.H. Figuarts based on NetherRealm's DC fighting game Injustice: Gods Among Us with but a sign. Now at New York Comic Con 2013, Batman has broken the silence with a blank 6" prototype demonstrating the upcoming line's precision sculpting and articulation. It's still early to tell just how posable, colorful and accessorized this