Whilst I was buying something from Suruga-ya anyway, I decided to shove something else in the order, which was also kinda needed to meet the threshold for free shipping.
Found a set of Devilman trading figures. Opened? OK, they won’t be too big…
The main thing that threw me was that the picture used to advertise the set was just of the figures themselves, unboxed, so I expected to receive a pile of inner bags, and not the boxes and retail box itself! Included a standard-sized card for scale.
So let’s get onto the figures! Trust me, this preamble is a lot shorter than the process of unbagging and assembling these figures!
Figures 1 & 2 of the set:
Wow, love these two. These are probably my favourite ones in the set – I love the colours, pose and the fact that the wings are semitransparent.
3 & 4:
These two are solid entries, at least in looks. I prefer the orangey one – the green one looks a bit like he’s now a zombie! Unfortunately the orange one was broken in the bag, and I had to glue one of his arm horns on. There is a tiny bit of articulation, but it’s not very useful. Just enough to get them balanced and standing, though you can move the heads nicely.
5 & 6:
These figures are of Satan, but it’s not particularly obvious imo. I love the colouring, especially on the green one, but it’s far too hard to make out the details properly. Too much see-through and an overly detailed sculpt kind of turns them into a bit of a mess, sadly. They look striking at first glance, but analysing them in detail is a pain.
7 & 9. Did these together as they’re both busts:
I love the transparent wings on the left one, and his face is… interesting. It doesn’t really scream “Devilman” to me, but it’s still nice, and has a good arse!
The one on the right stands out in the set, and takes advantage of its larger size to deliver a much cleaner sculpt. The colours work well too, and I really like this bust. The back is rather odd though, but it does help them save material.
8:
Doing Google Translate on the paper that came with it, it sounds like this was based upon an illustration of Devilman coming out of the TV. So we have Devilman effectively splitting into two. I think it’s an interesting and ambitious figure, that’s sadly let down by its paint job. The Devilman looks a bit too “plasticine” too. I think if you made a larger figure of this, and gave it a more detailed paint job, it’d be a more exciting figure.
Last, but not least, 10:
If the first ones are my favourite, this one comes in at a close second! He isn’t the best balanced of figures, so I may end up using a Glu Dot to prevent him from falling over. He can stand up, but it doesn’t take much vibrations to knock him over… which doesn’t help if your husband hoofs around. From the fact he is purple, to his transparent wings, and the included stomp effect… he’s an impressive one to look at!
Overall, I’m very happy I got this set. There’s some very nice looking figures, and the less-good ones are still OK. With all my costs factored in, they cost about £3.70 each, which I think is good value!