Takara-Tomy Beast Saga Kingdom of Gloria Action Figure Set Takara-Tomy, 2012
Day #540: November 28, 2012
Kingdom of Gloria Featuring Big Serow, Jidam, and Raioga
Beast Saga Action Figures
Item No.: BS-01 Manufacturer:Takara-Tomy Includes:3 shields, 3 spears, 3 shields, 7 dice, play mat, game instructions Action Feature:Dice launch out of stomach Retail:1,575 yen (or about $21) Availability: September 2012 Other: Your Second Best Purchase
While the "Sea Death" set is the gem of the launch window, there's no denying that the Kingdom of Gloria action figure set is worth a look as well. Raioga the Lion has unique accessories in this set, and he's joined by Jidam the Hamster and Big Serow the Deer. As with the single figures, they have shields, melee weapons, dice, and trading cards.
Each figure has 4 points of articulation and is made of a soft, rubbery plastic. Since the figures have closed fists, getting the weapons in there can be a tight fit. Each figure has a hard plastic die launcher in their chest which has a swell light-piping effect making use of clear plastic and a tiny prism.
The leader of this good guys is Raioga, which is the same figure (but different accessories) as the individually packaged BS-04 Raioga figure. His armor is red, his shoulders are huge, his mane is green, but the sword and shield are quite different. The sword has beastly overtones, including a face below the blade, while the shield looks like it's almost a claw weapon. Since the single BS-04 Raioga's weapons come with the bat or with the clear "flaming" Raioga, there's no real reason to get the single one.
There's not much to say here we didn't say in the last review, so let's move on. Oh, and he's still got a toothy vagina thing on his armor.
Next up is Big Serow, which is really odd because "Big Serow" was the Japanese name of "Deer Stalker" in the original Battle Beasts line. The original Deer Stalker figure had crazy glasses, a drill arm, and exposed hooves. Few of the new Beast Saga figures have visible feet or paws on the ground, and instead wear sandals or booties, which is, well, no odder than bipedal cybernetic dice-launching animal figures. Raigoa is the only fantastical looking head in the set, as Big Serow looks more realistic and almost like they stuck a taxidermy deer head on some Super Deformed Gundam body. Classic Battle Beasts had brightly-colored eyes which helped make the figures slightly less creepy by giving them an exaggerated robotic or cartoony feel. The fur sculpting is great, the antlers are a soft plastic (which I fear may break with time), and the armor is insanely bulky. He looks like he has two giant rockets on his shoulders, and these work as grips for your fingers when you use the die launcher in his chest. The figure's sculpt isn't too wacky, but his back does have Optimus Prime-esque smokestacks poking out the back. And that really is weird.
Armed with a lance made like a drill, it's obvious that the figure is meant as a tribute to the original Deer Stalker toy. He unfortunately lacks the sculpted glasses and drill arm, but hey, they tried. The shield is quite ornate and has a design that vaguely resembles antlers, giving the overall figure a pretty strong look.
The odd man out in the set (and line) is Jidam the hamster. Like Big Serow, the tiny rodent has a fairly realistic head slapped on a tiny body, which lacks the large shoulders on other figures in the line. Actually, this is the smallest figure in the line so far and is only barely larger than the original Battle Beasts figures. The green armor looks great, but lacks any real paint detailing which I suppose makes sense given the quality of deco on the face with a little pink nose, black eyes, and brown highlights on grey fur. It's really adorable, but the armor would probably benefit from a tiny splash of color.
The only figure to include a gun, Jidam is a figure I could see people buying to steal his weapon as it looks awesome with Glyos figures or original Battle Beasts. His shield seems like it was meant to reference modern military superpower hardware, with the tank-like figure, with some grenades near the shoulders, having a shield with a big star on it. While it would be ridiculous to suggest this is what kind of pets the guys in G.I. Joe might have... well, look at him. It would make sense, wouldn't it?
Were this item more easy to get and cheaper, I'd say run out and buy it. For $15 this would be a fantastic buy. For $30 or so (after shipping) it's worth it if you're a crazed fan of the line, like I am. I mean, I wouldn't be able to sleep knowing this came out and I didn't have it, but I should also say I didn't play with it much since getting it. I opened it, enjoyed it, and then put it down for a bit. It's by no means bad, but I'm thinking Beast Saga (and most figure lines) are best enjoyed one or two figures at a time, getting 20 at once is overwhelming and sucks the fun out of collecting them. So if you can, get this set, and maybe the Sea Death set, and see what you think before buying more. I think you'll enjoy them but you don't want to OD on them.
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