#9: Yotsuba&! - Revoltech Yotsuba

While my first toy to open this year was the Revoltech Danboard, Yotsuba was actually the first toy that I bought. But because I ordered from a service that shipped straight from Japan, it took a few weeks to arrive. Like Danboard, Yotsuba's figure has been pretty popular, so Revoltech periodically re-releases it, and this is the most recent release. It's a pretty cute representation of the manga character, with a big smile as her default expression. For the most part, it's pretty easy to pose, although there are some weird articulation points. Her shoulders have two sets of swivels, which help a bit with angling the arms, but more lateral motion would have been nice. I'm guessing it was done for the aesthetic of the shoulders, as the only place where the articulation makes things look a little weird is at the elbows and possibly the ankles, which are both swivel/hinge joints.

Yotsube includes a stand that can function two ways. It has a peg that can plug into a foot like a standard action figure stand. Then there is also an arm that can plug into the base and support the waist, like a doll stand. She also includes a small bag and a hat. The top two braids on her head are removable so that the hat fits on the head, and it has grooves on the inside that correspond with her bangs, helping hold it in place on her head.

Yotsuba has a couple of alternate facial expressions. This is the extra happy face, which goes well with the ice cream bar and extra hand for holding it. The kid loves ice cream. Swapping expressions basically means removing the entire head and swapping out the hair. This also involves swapping out the neck peg, which can be difficult to remove from the head. I was able to resort to using tweezers, as my bare fingers couldn't get a proper grip. It would have been nice if it was just the front half of the head that had to be swapped.

The other alternate face is more of a determined/displeased look. Seems appropriate with the squirt gun and extra hand to hold it. There are also a couple of other extra sets of hands: one with the fingers splayed and one with the hands in "karate chop" position.

#1: Yotsuba&! - Revoltech Danboard

Danboard has been a staple of toy photographers for a while now, and even though I didn't know what the character was from, I've always wanted one. Fortunately, Revoltech has been smart enough to keep re-releasing him to keep up with demand. I was at my very first convention a couple weeks ago, SacAnime, and Revoltech Danboard was one of the main toys I was looking for in the dealers' room.

Since the character is a child in a cardboard robot costume, it's not super posable. The front and back flaps of the chest can move a bit, and the hips and shoulders move, as well as the head. The shoulders are the only points with the ratcheted Revoltech joints. The head has a nice range of motion, which is definitely helpful for adding personality to poses.

Danboard includes an alternate head. I've only started reading the manga Yotsuba&!, but I haven't reached the volume where Danboard is introduced, so I don't know who this child is yet. Still, it is nice to have an alternate display option of another head. There is even a separate peg to connect the head. The box's peg is black, while the human head has a flesh colored peg. Danboard's only other accessory is a stand with the writing "Yotsuba&! Enjoy Everything" on it.

Danboard includes one really cool play feature: its eyes light up.

#72: Sci-Fi Revoltech 005 - Jack Skellington

I've been feeling the Halloween spirit, and I've been reading reviews of Revoltech figures but don't have any, so those circumstances combined have inspired me to pick up the Revoltech Jack Skellington figure. Jack looks pretty accurate to his onscreen appearance, so he's ridiculously tall and thin with tiny feet. The only thing that looks off is the appearance of the revolver joints which are basically swivel-hinge joints. He is very well articulated, though. Even the neck is articulated on both ends. The bow tie can rotate too, as it is attached by a peg.

Jack includes a display base which consists of a section of sidewalk with a bit of fence interrupted by a gate, with a tree behind it. The three jack o' lanterns are attached by pegs and can be repositioned. A branch of the tree plugs into the back of Jack's torso. While the coattails are parted in a way to allow the branch through, it does still push them back a little.

For accessories, Jack includes a few extra hands. There are two grabbing hands, and a pointing left hand. The hands are very easy to swap out, as they are attached by a simple peg. There is also a name plate which would wouldn't look out of place sitting in front of him on a desk. For storage, a small box made of orange translucent plastic is also included.

It seems like a lot of Japanese figures get alternate face plates with different expressions, and Jack gets four extra heads rather than different face plates. There's a scared face, a scary face, a big smile, and a thinking face. They're all very nice looking and easy to swap out on his neck.

Even though his feet are tiny, Jack can be posed without the assistance of his base.

SKELETONS!