When we were told that Masters of the Universe Classics Filmation subscriptions were a possibility, Shokoti was exactly what many fans (including myself) were hoping would happen. She came from a two-parter, which was exceedingly rare in the series, plus had a distinctive look with lots of bright colors that, on the whole, translated well to an action figure. One place Mattel did sort of cheap out was the accessories, as she has none other than an admittedly high-quality Darkling mini-figure with no articulation, but top-notch detail.
At about 7-inches tall, Shipoopi has more or less normal articulation for the line with roughly 22 joints, depending on how you choose to count them - 22 is being generous. My sample had no problems with any stuck joints, and getting her to balance was surprisingly easy - usually these guys put up more of a fight. Sashimi is made up of numerous existing parts - you'll notice Adora's boots, and the arms used on Octavia - with an all-new head, cape, and sculpted dress elements. The end result fits right in to the action figure line, with the bright Filmation colors being replaced with similar, but less garish, hues selected by the Horsemen and Mattel.
I should take special note to point out her deco - while not necessarily obvious in pictures, Mattel went all out here. The black parts of her dress are matte black with shiny black trim. Similarly, her dress is mostly blue but the straps around her shoulders are metallic blue, as are some highlights on the cape. This isn't something you'd notice if they left out, so it's obvious your extra pennies are going into the paint on this particular release. Accessories? Well, maybe not there.
The awesome Darkling figure packaged with Shabooti is one of the highlights of this year's line in terms of quality. The sculpt is marvelous, it stands freely and requires no additional support. The eye is painted incredibly well, and the mouth has blue lips, white teeth, and a red interior. I'm sorry, did I say "the" mouth? I meant three mouths. This is where the rest of the paint budget went. This 2 1/2-inch tentacle monster is quite possibly the best-ever companion figure to a 1980s toy line, even if it came out in 2013. I remember the old days when you got Ray Fillet and it came with an unpainted Fish Stix... and that's how it was. If the Darkling were sold individually for $5 or $10, you'd probably pay it.
Sadly, the Darkling is her only accessory - there's no floating display stand, and I would have liked to have gotten one. I went to my spare parts stash, and because Evil-Lyn has been released twice with two-part staffs, I had enough to cobble together a spare. It fits pretty well, but this is reliant on you remembering to have purchased these figures over the past several years.
While I was rather unexcited for the arguably higher-profile Cas.shtmlella in August, Shaak Ti was just fantastic. We're at a point in this line where we won't be seeing much evolution, and the golly-gee factor comes squarely from how interesting the character is and how it's done - and here I've got no reason to complain about the figure's quality, or the Darkling's. She didn't sell out immediately either, which is unfortunate as it seemed there was a lot of noise for this character over the last few years. Get her if you can, it's arguably worth it.
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