Friday, July 10, 2015

S.H. Figuarts Garo Part 6 [Final]

Design and detailing discrepancy

Another round of action poses from S.H. Figuarts Garo to start off this final posting for this series series. ^^






Supported using Soul Stage Act 4 for Humanoid Clear.







Finally, as previewed way back in Part 1, a comparison between this S.H. Figuarts version and its smaller Garo Kiwami Damashii version to get a better idea of the difference in their design focus. ^^





Closeups on the details:




[Head]



[Back]




[Body]




[Arms]





[Legs]

With the cape attached:








Garoken:







Even though the Garo Kiwami Damashii version stands up to just the chest level of its larger S.H. Figuarts counterpart, its Garoken is just about 1.5cm shorter, with blade that is visible of the same size as that of the former. ^^;

Looking past their sizes, and paint work (specifically the contrasting shades of gold used), the difference in design emphasis is very obvious between the two Garos. While the S.H. Figuarts version emphasizes accurate representation of the character as seen in the TV series, the Garo Kiwami Damashii version gave it a more stylistic, beast-like rendition instead. ^^

Just purely based on the armor design, I like the Garo Kiwami Damashii version more, but when size, paint scheme, and (especially) articulation (^^;) are being considered in the comparison, the S.H. Figuarts version is definitely the superior action figure - it has to be, since its price is close to four times higher than that of the former. ^^; In all seriousness though, there are merits in both versions that made them appealing to me almost equally. ^^ I like the Garo Kiwami Damashii version for its "artistic" design, and high level of detailing on a pocket-sized figure, but I also like the S.H. Figuarts version for its size, show-accurate look, and posability. ^^

The Makai Kadou (魔戒可動) version would probably be a good combination of both the Garo Kiwami Damashii and S.H. Figuarts versions that consolidated their strengths. However, given that its stylistic design is what I consider to be its most significant attraction to me, and I already got that with the Garo Kiwami Damashii version, I gave the Makai Kadou a pass. I do have Kiba from that series, and despite having the Garo Kiwami Damashii version of that character as well, the figure's large size, coupled with Kiba's fiercesome image was hard to resist for me. ^^

To bring everything back to the review on this S.H. Figuarts figure, I think it's fair to say that there are going to be more collectibles from the Garo series coming up on my blog in the future. ^^

All reviews on S.H. Figuarts Garo
Part 1: Shiny, but not that shiny
Part 2: Realistically fake wrinkles
Part 3: The knight in golden armor
Part 4: Combination of tightness and looseness, combination of flexibility and limitation
Part 5: The art of sword-posing
Part 6 [Final]: Design and detailing discrepancy

View full gallery:
S.H. Figuarts Garo

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