Oh you didn't know? I'm into articulation too as well as aesthetically pleasing action figures, so here we are with the Amazing Yamaguchi: Psylocke that I have had my eyes on for a while! This is my introduction to the toy series which has gained quite a following within the community of Toy Collectors I dabble with. Let's get right into the toy review and check her out!
It has been some time since I found myself messing with a Revoltech action figure. I mean a long time. Fun fact: Revoltech is the first import toy line within the smaller scale that I was first introduced to. The Revoltech Fraulien Asuka was my very first and that carries over with the Rebuild version of the Evangelion star. It was a pretty good action figure for the time and being a young collector and during the early rise of action figure collecting, I was impressed with the anime likeness and the relatively amazing articulation gimmick it had. Though there was a few hiccups along the way and I felt that Revoltech was losing its flavor. The Mark V Iron Man did not resonate with me and the action figures after that I ended up purchasing fell flat as well--and I bought a couple of Iron Man action figures from Revoltech too. Though I was going to be out of the market when it comes to these import scale figures after the sour taste that Revoltech gave me. Of course when I was introduced to #Figma (with another Evangelion action figure believe it or not), I knew that Figma was going to be my go-to when it came to small scale waifu action figures. And for some few years and more, Figma will be just that but once in a while SH Figuarts catches my attention and just recently, Revoltech once again caught my attention. It takes someone like Psylocke to do that. The only other person that could have really did this for me is Spider-Woman, duh!
Now the first time I saw the Amazing Yamaguchi line did not fully appeal to me. I believe it was the Spider-Man action figure and the characters that followed after were not a must. Spider-Gwen came out and I was tempted for a moment but the complex joints and what seems to be 'too much work' for an action figure derailed me completely from going in. But Psylocke is a favorite of mine so I had to just swallow the bullet and try. I mean just look at all those poses that she is capable of!
Accessories is a plenty with this action figure. I think with imports action figure stands are a norm so it's good to have that confirmed with Revoltech. She has a bit more blades than I expected and some props with the blades to give the impression of it sheathed and unseated. She has her psi-blades, of course, her sash, four pair of hands, and two alternate face. She also has articulated eyes, mind you. Great start since I always appreciate a handful of accessories with action figures.
There's no real reason for me to talk about Psylocke's costume. This is her most iconic one and darn the modern age for taking it all away. Still, a lot of people in my generation that were fans of Psylocke/X-Men will remember her wearing this. So to talk about it in Yamaguchi form, Revoltech did some great stuff. There are sculpted details all throughout her costume, something that a typical retail action figure will simply just paint like her leg and arm bands. There are wrinkles all over her outfit suggesting just how skin tight it is. Even vanilla posed, there are dynamics that can easily be seen through her hair and her sash--which, on their own, have plenty of intricate and very anime-esque wrinkles and the such the makes them so vibrant in design. Basically the sculpt makes it readily to see what kind of dynamic pose this is capable of. And articulation is one of this toy series' main selling point after all. What you can do, how she can pose, and just how dynamic each photo can be is what Amazing Yamaguchi is meant to be. But with the articulation gimmick comes a price. What is the consequence I am talking about? The joints and the anatomy suffers. To make this action figure 'work', joints are everywhere, there are gaps between limbs and the body, there are swivels and did I mention joints everywhere? This figure, when looking at it from a vanilla pose, is not eye pleasing compared to something like Figma. And that might be one of the biggest turn offs for some people. It's one of the reasons why I stayed away from Amazing Yamaguchi to begin with. But if one can look past that, it still has that import finesse to it; as I mentioned, it has a lot of good sculpting but one has to pair that with some pretty odd aesthetics.
Now when it comes to the color scheme, Amazing Yamaguchi does not fail to impress. I most definitely like the effect they did on her hair. The way the black fades into a light purple is flawless. It reminds me of Bishoujo's signature hair coloring but this is a bit more exaggerated and there's nothing wrong with that. Her outfit has a nice shine to it despite it being a darker shade of navy blue. The shade of red of her sash gives a nice complimenting contrast that makes it pop. Skin tone ain't too bad, not the best or my favorite part of the coloring scheme but definitely not terrible. I think my least favorite part about her coloring are the joints--they're more the same shiny tone as the rest of her costume and the off color makes them stand out more. They're already big enough to stand out as it is so making them the same color as her costume would have helped. The joints on her flesh tone are the same color at least. All in all, I like the coloring.
Now as far as her alternate faces go, I have seen better. They're not by any means terrible but they're not what I picture Psylocke's face to be. Strange as it may sound, it's not asian enough... or at least, I might have Jim Lee's Psylocke artwork in mind? Or at least the prettiness of the Psylocke Bishoujo Statue 2.0. Also, something I found bothersome was how easy Psylcoke's face would come off when I changed positions. Not a very good scheme since the face is not very secured; I think Revoltech should have taken some notes from Figma.
Betsy's alternate face is not all that different from each other which is another disappointment. The second face isn't smiling and I think a shouting or some kind of angry face would have changed the dynamic a bit more. But the other feature that Revoltech does offer are the 'articulated' eyes. This isn't by any means a new gimmick but it's only the second time I have come across this. The first time was with the Figma Elsa, which, might I add, was done way better because it was easier to move her eyes about. It's neat, but it' something I don't try to mess with too often especially with how fickle Psyckoke's face is. It just doesn't stay on as much as I would like it to.
Psylocke's accessories are pretty neat and she comes with a few that makes this action figure so fun! Psylocke comes with her signature Psi-blades, a psychic energy katana, and a regular katana. The aforementioned accessories are pairs so two of each for more telekinetic/psychic kunoichi action.
Psylocke also comes with an 'unsheathed' scabbard and a 'sheathed' scabbard for those who pay attention to detail. Then Amazing Yamaguchi's stand is also pretty darn good and it manages to hold Betsy in every different way I wanted. There's also a backdrop of one of my favorite Psylocke miniseries. I used it a few times and find it as a nice change.
Now let's talk articulation because despite this being a nice looking figure, despite it having some pretty good sculpting and painting, despite how generous Revoltech is with accessories, the Amazing Yamaguchi's selling point is the collector's ability to pose the figure all about.
As I mentioned, there are joints and swivels practically everywhere. The sacrifice of aesthetics may turn off a lot of collectors but for me, someone who isn't entirely the type to go for ultimate articulation actually found something incredibly satisfying with this version of Psylocke. I never would have thought that I would own an action figure of Psylocke that could be posed in various Marvel Super Heroes like ways. I was able to get her posed with some exaggerated and sensual jumping/fighting poses, able to get her to (pseudo)unsheathing poses, crouching while holding weapons/psi blades, and amongst other things the Marvel Legends version isn't able to do, not even in the slightest. I could spend an entire paragraph or two describing every single joint and swivel but that's not going to be fun for you and me. Basically, Amazing Yamaguchi, at least my experience with this action figure, is just a pleasure, but there is a learning curve to go through. I'm not the best action-figure-poser in this niche, but I can say that I have done my fair share through the means of Marvel Legends, Figmas, and a few others in the toy industry so I am able to get some alright to spectacular poses with ease and some difficulty. Again, let's just allow the pictures to do some talking here.
Through the dozens of joints, swivels, and action figure stand, creating the illusion has never been easier. Though it takes some imagination, knowledge of/exposure to the character, and some good references to pull off some of these.
Now it's not by any means always easy to hide awkward joints but given what can be done with this action figure, it's forgivable. One thing for me that almost broke the process of posing and taking pictures is the fact that both faces don't seem to want to stay as securely as I have experienced with other imports. I think it goes without saying that #Figma and #SHFIguarts can definitely give some good tips for Revoltech in regards to alternate faces and the such.
Believe it or not, vanilla posing Psylocke was one of the hardest part in this photoshoot! But despite that I had a ton of fun. I really do think that the whole face security fiasco is the biggest downfall for me when posing Amazing Yamaguchi's Psylocke!
Look past the gigantic joints, Psylocke is well sculpted and engineered. She's painted good, minus the mediocre faces. The articulation is, of course, its main attracting point but the harder-than-should-be face security does offer some annoyance. But with some pretty good accessories along with the other good things about it surpasses the cons. I also love this character so I can honestly say that's a big factor. It is indeed a complex action figure--not for the norm and definitely not for everyone. I'd like to say that in order to really get into this toy series, one has to enjoy posing figures and finding ways to get the 'right' image into plastic form. One has to like the character and is willing to gamble with a few bucks. I'm sold and if there are anymore characters that I like that are released in this line (SPIDER-WOMAN PLEASE), then I'm all for it. That's all I got in this toy review!
Until Next Time!
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