S.H. Figuarts Anime Ultraman

This last year I got to watch the Ultraman Netflix anime. I found it quite enjoyable. Some fans felt that it was basically Ironman, and while it was the same concept, I still enjoyed it. When S.H. Figuarts announced they were releasing figures of the anime Ultraman and Ultraseven, I went ahead and pre-ordered them.

Ultraman is the first to be released. It comes with quite a few accessories, which is nice, as Tamashii Nations release certain figures with very little or no extras. This one comes with 3 swappable hands (fists, open and grasping), 3 alternate wrist parts (2 for his power up to shoot his beam, the other that you can attach the beam to), a beam, and 2 power buzzsaws.

The suit details look very nice, accurately capturing the suit. It's basically a more cyborg looking red and silver armor. The suit resembles a mix of Ironman and Ultron.

In certain ways, the articulation accurately captures what an armored suit would be like, meaning, there are limits to its movement. The elbows and knees are double jointed, the arms and legs have a decent range. The waist and neck, however, are more stiff. His torso can barely crunch forward or side to side, and his head can look down the farthest. To the sides it's limited, and it can not look up at all, making it impossible to get a good flying pose, so he wouldn't be able to look where he's going. And the feet can pivot forward, but not to the sides very well.

Another issue is that his wrist parts, that are swappable by clipping into the wrist, can fall out easily. The peg is not very snug, and the way they're designed, by putting pressure on certain parts when moving the arms will cause them to pop off.

His beam effect does fit snuggly when attached to the wrist piece. The power buzzsaws attach by placing the hole through the peg and then attaching his hand. One of them fits well, the other one is more loose.

He's in scale with other Figuarts, so he'll go well with your other 1:12 Ultra figures and kaiju.

I find him a bit of a letdown, due to the limited head & waist articulation, and those wrist pieces that fall out too easily. Any figure that has parts that can pop off instantly drops several points as it becomes a chore to always make sure they don't fall off and get lost. I'm hoping the Ultraseven suit is better constructed and articulated.

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