Japanese release date: December 2013 Manufacturer: Bandai Line: Sailor Moon Mini Cushion MyFigureCollection
These plushies were one of the first of the 20th Anniversary celebrations! They’re vastly different than the plush of the 90’s, but without doubt still managed to be some of the cutest plushies out there.
Advertising
I do not currently own any advertising for this product.
Packaging
These plush come loose individually, as well as in a box set. While the individual plush averaged about $10 each, the box set, in places that were selling it for suggested retail, sold for about $40, so slightly discounted. There are no differences between the BOXED plush, and the LOOSE plush though.
Posing
The plush are made so that they sit. The bottoms are stuffed with beans, the bottoms sewn so that they’re flat, and the legs so that they stick out on the front. For the most part they sit just fine, but I’ve found my Jupiter and Venus have issues balancing. This could be because of Jupiter’s stuffed hair, and Venus’ hair bow.
Embroidery, Accessories, & Stitching
The plushies seem relatively strong and high quality. I wouldn’t expect many pieces to fall off of these because of old glue or wear. Most things appear to be stitched on. The only pieces that appear to be glued are the earrings, which are also a fabric or paper.
Everything is done extremely clean on these plushies, from the embroidery in their eyes, to how each piece has been stitched on as part of the plush. It seems most of these are put together as a PLUSH, instead of a body with clothing on it like some of the earlier pieces from the 90’s (some important pieces had been glued on).
The gems on their bows are just plastic rhinestones, but are a nice touch compared to the normal fabric or paper materials. The stripes, which in the past were normally stitched on, are printed and solid. Unfortunately the tiara gem gets ignored and appears to be printed into the fabric tiara. The same goes for Sailor Moons hair bun pieces, which appear to be some sort of thick card stock.
Tags
The tags for this set are probably among my favourite for any plush series I’ve owned yet. Each tag has the character on the front, and a profile in Japanese on the inside. It also has the TOEI tag on the back, instead of on the tush tag. Copyright information and warnings can also be found printed on the inside left flap, and back. They’re attacked to the top of each Senshi’s head.
Tush Tags
The tush tags are located on the back butts of the plushies (hence, tush). On the top they’re printed with the corresponding Senshi’s symbol, and on the bottom is their plushie number (392 – 398), the month/year they were released (Lies! They were delayed and released in Dec, not Nov as scheduled), and where they were made (China).
Overall
These plushies are very nice. They’re cute, well made, reasonably priced at 800 – 1200 yen average retail, and are small enough to keep on a shelf, or display case. The fabrics feature lots of wonderful textures that do not hinder their appearances, and displayed these plush look ADORABLE.
Recommended for Plushie, and general collectors. If plush don’t normally tickle your fancy they will just be plush. There’s nothing to make them particularly special compared to most plushies beyond being a part of the Sailor Moon anniversary. Compared to the typical plushies Sailor Moon received from Banpresto claw machines in the past though, these are a huge step up in quality.
Feel free to comment with any questions you might have!
A Taste of Animethon was this weekend, and boy was it GREAT! I had a table in the Artist Alley that sadly didn’t do as well as I had hoped it would, but you win some you lose some. Guess it’s time to retire some prints, and create new ones!
Along with my table I also ran a Sailor Moon panel on Saturday night. I covered merchandise announced between my last panel in August, and now. Surprisingly that only took 40 minutes, despite the details I pointed out, questions, conversations, and my overwhelming amount of “Uhms”. When I get the footage from my friend I’ll be sure to post it here.
AToA never hurt my pocket too much though. I only picked up 1 print, 3 buttons, and a custom Digimon crest necklace (photos below). But I also received some free art and birthday presents from friends. That was really cool.
I’m a little bias when it comes to my opinion of Animethon. It was my first convention, I’ve been attending as a patron and Artist in their Artist Alley for roughly a decade, and I even ran their Artist Alley for a year… but overall I think AToA was a great event, and I can’t wait for their main event in August. It has a wonderful community vibe to it, and everyone from the staff, to the vendors, to the artist alley are friends. Competition is rough, but everyone seems to care about everyone’s welfare in the end.
And yes. My birthday was January 16th. I turned the ripe old age of 25, and I’m a little horrified by that… but it has to happen. I celebrated with a few close friends at Boston Pizza, and then a walk through of the Harry Potter Exhibit which is currently showing in my city. My BFF and her husband bought me Hermione’s wand as a gift, and I picked up a Raven Claw pen ❤
Sorry I have no photos of the exhibit. You weren’t allowed to take any photos.
The details in the pen and wand are amazing. Sadly I wanted Sirius’ wand, but they didn’t have one for sale at the event.
On to the loots!
This month has been a little overwhelming. I have orders from AmiAmi, MBTToys, Jungle, Mandarake, and HLJ. Photographed above I have:
– Mars, Venus and Jupiter completing my Plush set
-Luna Tissue box cover
-Luna plush pencil case
-Disney’s Frozen DVD/Blu-Ray Pre-order release Lithograph extras
-Rei Hino garage kit (pink box under Mars)
-Ariel LE Doll
-Pre-order slips for LE Anna and Elsa, and Frozen Blu-Ray
-Sakura figure
–Sailor Moon Nail Polish Collection (review linked)-Kanaria and Souseiseki figures (Kanarias umbrella broke as I tried to place it in her hand =( …)
-Shinku Nenodoroid
-Disney’s Jasmine and Ariel Kinderegg Surprise toys
-Rozen Maiden die cast gashapon
This is stuff I picked up after the first image. I jumped the gun and forgot I had a convention and various other things planned >.>
-Tangled Flynn and Rapunzel wedding set
-Pokemon bag (birthday gift)
-Infinity Rapunzel and Vanellope figures)
-Adventure Time Fionna and Cake Pop! figures
-Vanellope Pop! figures
-Sailor Moon cards (trade)
-Custom Sailor Moon cards (birthday gift)
-New glasses!! Finally! I can see!
-Sailor Moon hair bow (birthday gift)
-Digimon crest (Chinook Crafts on Etsy)
-Crisis Locket bag charm
-A Taste of Animethon earmuff headphones
-Sailor Mercury shirt
The Infinity figures! I haven’t decided how to play this game yet. I own only a Wii, but I’ve heard the play is different on each system… so I’m considering maybe a PS3 so I can also play the new KH games. Have any of you played Infinity yet? Is it worth buying for the Wii?
I’ll be posting up a new review this week! I have LOTS of pictures of everything here… just need the time to edit and get them up.
The Miracle Romance Nail Collection is a modern day spin-off of the 90’s Crystal Star Henshin wands which first appear in the Sailor Moon R arc. While the wands in the anime and manga served solely for transformation purposes, the toys were turned into nail polishes. It is theorized by fans that the reason the Sailor Senshi’s nails are painted during their anime transformation, only to be covered by their gloves, was to sell merchandise. Further proof in this can be found when the Outer Sailor Senshi are introduced. Their transformations include lip stick instead of nail polish, and the toy versions of their wands are lip glosses instead of nail polish.
The images above show the animated versions of the wands, the toys made in the 90’s (the wands with actual handles), and the nail polishes released in 2013 (short polishes in the box).
Initial fan reactions to these nail polishes were positive… until they seen the price tags. These retailed for 5000 yen, or about $50 USD from the P-Bandai site. Of course, to turn a profit, stores that purchased and resold these from P-Bandai listed them anywhere from $65 USD to $140 USD, making them not really worth the effort, and dropping desire for these from most international fans.
On top of that, many retailers refused to mail these to North American countries as their alcohol content was too high for certain regulations. Many fans had their parcels shipped back to the store they came from once they hit customs. I shipped mine EMS, and since customs did not search the package I did not have any issues shipping it. Alternatively, I am in Canada and I am not sure if my regulations are the same as the ones in the US.
Advertising
These have appeared in magazines, and I believe in various fliers advertising P-Bandai items, but fans really done the job for these. There really isn’t much to say about the advertising on these. They were included in an invite only event in Japan for the initial unveiling of the Miracle Romance line. Attendees got to see each of the announced products in person (compact, nail polish, nail stickers (which were announced later that week), and the eyeliners), as well as try some of them in areas where there were ladies applying the nail polish, and stickers.
For the most part though, they were relatively silent.
Packaging
This slip cover was a WONDERFUL surprise. It’s so pretty and delicate.
The slip cover pulls off to reveal a lovely case that shows off each of the bottles, and a lovely Senshi and Miracle Romance inspired design on 2 opposing corners. The roses and bows are very reminiscent of both the Crystal Star compact packaging, as well as the eyeliners, but I love how they change colour and represent each of the girls.
The back of the slip cover includes ingredient listings and all of the usual warnings, as well as the TOEI sticker, 20th Anniversary Sailor Moon logo, and Miracle Romance logo.
One of the lovely touches with this packaging is that the polishes don’t slide out of the box. The window panel lifts up.
WARNING: When pulling out the nail polish do so gently to avoid hurting the package. Lift from the lower midsection of the bottles, and when the bottoms lift out, slide out the lids. The lids are hidden under the openings in the tray.
Assembly and Fit
One would assume that nail polish doesn’t really have much to assemble. Well… you’d be wrong. Technically you probably shouldn’t pull these apart, but I’m assuming that you can in the case that you run the nail polish out and manage to find a refill that fits.
If you can find a bottle that matches these then you’ll have no problem using these and being able to replace them. I suppose you could also refill the bottle after cleaning it out. To remove the bottle just lift up on the bottle while holding the plastic piece. It will feel loose, but won’t slide out all that easily. DON’T DO THIS unless you HAVE too. You risk breaking the plastic if you pull it out wrong.
The star also comes off as a ring. It’s small, and not particularly wearable on probably most North American adult fingers, but it’s plastic, cheap, and meant for the lid anyway, so I wouldn’t recommend it.
Bottles – Sculpt and Paint
The bottles are super cute and detailed, maybe even slightly more than the actual artwork. I have no complaints with the bottles. They’re small, but size appropriate for what they are. The gold paint is nice and clean. The lids match most of the nail paint colours (the lids are SLIGHTLY bolder than the in-bottle paint).
There are some seam lines on the plastic casings which are kind of ugly. For the product they’re relatively ignorable, but for the price tag and a P-Bandai/CreerBeaute product they should have tried much harder.
The backs are plain.
The bottom of the containers have a sticker (detailed shot below) most likely detailing ingredients in each piece, as well as copyright. There is also a small sticker on the back of the glass bottles as well.
Nail Polish
The actual polish itself is much runnier than any typical North American nail polish I’ve ever purchased. While the colours appear bold after drying on the paper towel, I assume that it would be difficult to get a solid layer when painting on nails where it is easier for the liquid to run. When shaking the bottles to mix the polish before sampling I did not hear a mixing ball inside, so I recommend shaking them really well before use.
Overall
Another fine collectors piece from P-Bandai and the Miracle Romance line. These are most definitely display pieces as the polish appears low quality, and the bottles don’t even contain a mixing ball. Too add to that, the bottles are tiny, and not particularly readily available if one of them becomes your favourite shade (assuming they haven’t used a pre-existing shade they sell cheaper in Japan).
This is a maybe piece. If you are hell bent on collecting all of the Miracle Romance line then I say go for it! If not, and your iffy about the purchase, your collection will do just fine without it. If you’re still not convinced, whether you like the polish or not, these pieces look lovely on display.
Event: Sailor Moon Anniversary EventDay: Sat February 1, 2014Time: 20:00-21:00Room: Courtyard A
To kick off the 2014 convention season I will have an artist alley table at A Taste of Animethon 2014, and, at some point, I’ll be hosting my next Sailor Moon panel. Unfortunately the schedule isn’t done yet, so I don’t know what time my panel will be, but I’ll update closer to the event.
If you’re interested in my table I’ll be carrying whats in my Etsy, as well as taking commissions. I might also have some hand painted figures and items there as well. Unfortunately, I cannot resell old merchandise at an AA table, so official merchandise will have to wait for a future event. In the mean time though, I will be accepting cash and credit at the event! Paypal MIGHT be an option. Or you can purchase through Etsy!
My Sailor Moon panel will run for 1 hour at which ever time it is scheduled. Please get there early if you wish to attend. My Animethon 20 panel nearly filled a Grant MacEwan theater room, and I expect to see lots of people here as well. Along with a slide show I’ll have a small display of both old and new Sailor Moon items related to the anniversary events.
Japanese release date: December 14, 2013 International release date: February 2014 Website:http://sailormoon.tamashii.jp/
Sailor Mars, also known as Rei Hino, is the unexpected best friend of Sailor Moon, and a sort of center for the group outside of Usagi. Throughout the entire series Usagi and Rei bicker to the point of making the viewer wonder why they’re even friends to begin with? Their friendship starts with a strong hit to the face with an Ofuda as Rei mistakingly believes Usagi is some sort of evil entity.
Their true friendship is proven when Rei is trusted with the Crescent Moon Wand as they mock fight for leadership in order to trick the enemy. There are also various scenes and episodes where Rei is attacked or dies where, while Usagi is clearly distraught over other characters as well, she runs to Rei.
Rei is a Miko at Hikawa Shrine, owned by her Grandfather, and her specialty is in the paranormal and with fire. She is often found meditating and consulting spirits for the missing piece of the puzzle.
Packaging & Advertising
Oddly enough Sailor Mars has been given a strange colour theme on her box. Purple, green and yellow. Fans have seemingly accepted the purple as alright (although many question why not red?), but the green corner has everyone confused. On both Moon and Mercury’s boxes this corner was yellow.
Personally, I think it’s ugly, but I bought the figure for the figure, not the box.
For Sailor Mars her TOEI sticker is usually located above the 20th anniversary logo. For the international release it might be located beside or above the International logo.
Despite pictures, everything came sealed. My Mars was opened for pictures previous to my review *gasp* So the base should be wrapped in a plastic bag.
Of course, like Mercury and Moon, Mars has a casing for the faces and hands. This casing unfortunately doesn’t include the hand that holds her Ofuda though.
As with Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars did not get much advertisement. Photos were posted on the Tamashii site, and an AmiAmi review got her lots of wonderful photographs, but there were no advertisements or commercials. She did (and probably will) see lots of events from a display case though!
Parts, Assembly, & Fit
Sailor Mars comes with 21 pieces, so far the least of the 3 Senshi released. Her special parts include a hand piece that fits both arms for Fire Soul, as well as an Ofuda and hand to hold it.
Mars joints seem to hold together well. She also has 2 jointed hair pieces for effect that seem to roll smothly. Despite no issues with mine, I’ve read some complaints about loose leg joints, as well as a case of the leg snapping off at the knee upon opening and posing the figure. These should not be common issues, but contacting Bandai Japan for replacement parts would be a good first step, instead of purchasing an entirely new figure.
Mars comes with 4 different face plates that ultimately suit the character, but don’t offer much variety as 3/4 faces are angry attack faces. I guess they watched all of the episodes where she was frustrated with Usagi while picking expressions.
I edited this picture as darkly as possible to show the paint choices. 5 of her hands appear to have a pink base to them, while the other 6 are pearl white. Some of these are attack hands, so it’s possible they thought it would suit her fire attacks? Her body matches the pearl white hands, but it’s not particularly noticeable in the photos whether I’m using a pink hand or a pearl white hand.
The peg for her hand is similar to Sailor Mercury’s so it’s possible their hands will be compatible with each other.
Sculpting & Posing
After Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury there really isn’t much to be said about the sculpting. Like the last two Sailor Mars’ head leans forward just a little too much, but posing her and playing with her position allows you to find good spots where her head doesn’t look awkward.
Because of the flexibility in how the feet may be posed her joints aren’t hidden slightly in the legs, but are mostly exposed. In regards to the usual Figuarts/jointed figure design there isn’t really much they can do to hide this piece, especially on a character with bare legs and ankles. But for Mars in particular it stands out as distracting.
Unfortunately for Sailor Mars, posing her is difficult. Because Sailor Mars has long hair it is extremely difficult to pose her using the base and arm she comes with. Her hair gets in the way of the arm, and the only way to use it properly is to turn her head sideways (seen above) or lift her hair, which in turn makes her look down. To make it all the more difficult she is nearly impossible to pose standing without her base because her hair is so heavy.
Her hair is very detailed, and there are two pieces on ball joints that move. If positioned correctly they are great assets for a good pose.
Painting
The usual bad spot on these figures is the brooch. Sailor Mars is perfect! It’s super clean, the bow looks nice, the collar looks lovely, so does her choker, arms, and skirt.
The skirt isn’t all around that bad either. Where the skirt meets the white piece around the waist it’s not quite smooth, but it’s about as clean as it will get at such a small scale.
This is where my concern begins for the paint. There are 3 smudge marks on her back, as well as a mark on the collar that I am unsure about. I’ve contacted Bandai, but I haven’t heard back from them yet.
The paint on her feet feel a little messy. Visually I think the camera picks up more issues than you can see with the naked eye, but it does appear
Base
The base for Sailor Mars resembles Sailor Mercury’s, and does not have the flexibility of Sailor Moons base arm. The claw also appears to be the same as Sailor Mercury’s.
As mentioned previously, the base is really annoying to use with Sailor Mars as her hair gets in the way of the arm and claw. Most likely you’ll have to turn her head left or right to make it work. This can be REALLY annoying when you have a display in mind, and it makes it impossible to use.
I have managed to pose Mars, and prop her up on the base with the arm instead of clamping it around her waist.
As Sailor Venus will have very similar hair, I expect this to be an issue with her as well.
Identify Bootlegs
Overall
I feel like from a distance and on display Sailor Mars is perfect, but playing with her might be an issue. You’ll always see more criticism than praise, but I feel like I’ve read a lot of complaints or issues ranging from the box, to actual figure defects. Issues like defective parts and paint spots will never really disappear completely as no company in their right mind will QC proof every single figure.
For the set I highly recommend Sailor Mars, but I also recommend cracking open the box and checking her for defects. The chances of getting a defected piece should be very small. Most of the complaints I’ve heard have been on MFC, but not on Tumblr, or from friends who collect. So in a place that complaints would generally be posted.
Japanese Release Date: October 25, 2013 International Release Date: November 2013 Website:http://sailormoon.tamashii.jp/
Sailor Mercury is a fan favourite in Japan. While her crime fighting partner Sailor Moon is known to be rather useless in her studies, and motivation, Ami Mizuno is the exact opposite. She strives to do the best she can in school and receives top grades. She is kind, calm, and patient, and the only time you’ll see her break a sweat outside of a Monster of the Day attack is when Usagi falls asleep during the Senshi study group.
Ami starts the series off at 14 years old, and appears first in episode 8 as a new transfer student at Usagi’s school. Her identity is revealed as Sailor Mercury after Luna and Usagi suspect her of being a MotD, only to discover that she is actually the victim. Her Senshi symbol appears, and Sailor Mercury blasts her way into the series as a very valuable friend.
Sailor Mercury is known for using water and ice based attacks, as well as a visor and mini pocket computer that help calculate and identify enemies, as well as potential hazards.
Packaging & Advertising
S.H.Figuarts Mercury is a little different than Sailor Moon. While her box is virtually laid out the same there are some things we can expect on all of the boxes without confusion.
First, the TOEI sticker is located above the 20th Anniversary logo between Sailor Mercury’s legs on the Japanese Edition. On the international release it is located to the left of the international printed logo. Second, the international Sailor Moon logo is on every single box. Third, as this figure does not come with any “first edition bonuses” there is no sticker on the window of the box.
No real issues were found with Sailor Mercury’s packaging. Despite lots of Sailor Moon boxes being sent out after being factory opened and resealed presumably for a loose instruction sheet, Sailor Mercury’s came sealed with no second sealing sticker. Some of the instructions on the extra sheet with Sailor Moon appear to have been added to the only sheet with Sailor Mercury.
Sailor Mercury’s faces and hands are packaged in a wonderful little compartment that is removable and comparable to Sailor Moons. Only this one includes her hands in it as well.
Her other accessories also have nicely moulded storage in the blister tray.
In regards to advertisement for Sailor Mercury she did not get the “Moon treatment”. There were not really any special large displays, commercials, or paper advertisements. She mostly just displayed at various events from the prototype stage to completion. Now she also displays with Moon, and the other Senshi as they go through the same process.
Of course, she also received various promotional photographs on the Tamashii site, as well as in her AmiAmi blog review.
Parts, Assembly, & Fit
Sailor Mercury comes with 25 pieces, including everything that is removable, the actual body, and the base pieces. While Mercury is a little stiff upon initial opening, she is easy to pose, her bangs, and face plate are easier to remove, and her hands hold better.
To the left is Sailor Mercurys arm and to the left is Sailor Moons. Their hands are not compatible because the pegs which hold them on are different. After several reviews and complaints about how Sailor Moons hands did not hold very well it appears they adjusted the pegs to have a small ball on the end of it.
While it’s unfortunate that the hands can’t be used interchangeably, it’s better to have this improvement so that the figure is easier to pose and display.
A lot of people seem to think that the visor is part of a faceplate, or a separate piece from everything else. It is actually a piece connected to a separate bang piece and does not disconnect from them. (As a note for Sailor Venus, it’s assumed her mask will be made the same way).
As far as parts go I feel Bandai made a great choice in what they included with Sailor Mercury, but I think most fans will agree that an attack piece similar to Sailor Moons “Moon Tiara Action” hand would have been great with Mercury. Most fans were hoping for a hand set that included a bubble for Sabao Spray (Mercury Bubbles Blast).
Sculpting & Posing
The sculpt is nice and clean, and I think it’s a safe bet that Sailor Moon is being used as a base for the rest of the Sailor Senshi. The only real issue on mine is a bit of extra plastic on the front bow. The rest appears smooth and fine.
There are some small seam lines in the back bow, and on her sides, but they’re mostly not noticeable.
Sailor Mercury is SUPER easy to pose. She doesn’t have the added weight of long hair, so it’s really just a matter of balancing her limbs and body. I took plenty of shots both with and without the stand, and it never took me more than a couple minutes to balance her without her base to hold her up.
Painting
The face plates are fine in regards to paint, but I do want to point out the tiara gem on the last plate. It doesn’t seem to have enough paint, and appears slightly green from the gold showing through the blue.
One of the major issues I had with Moon was that her boots were VERY poorly painted. This issue has been resolved with Mercury. While it could still use some improvement, the issues on her boots are very small when looking at the full figure.
The collar lines are painted VERY cleanly on both the front and back of her fuku. Even the puffs on the elbows of her gloves are painted nicely. The only real paint problems with her is the small dab of dark blue from her bow gem that’s on her actual bow. There also appears to be some slight transfer from the elbow pad to her joint in the bottom picture, but nothing terribly noticeable, or not fixable.
Base
This is where my real disappointment with the Figuarts line begins. Upon opening sailor Mercury I thought she would come with a base that was exactly like sailor Moons. While the flat display piece is exactly the same, although with customized decals for the different Senshi names and symbols, the arms are completely different.
Sailor Moons arm comes in 6 different pieces that then attach to the base. This allows for a wide variety of display options and flexibility. Sailor Mercury’s arm is only 2 pieces, the claw, and the arm. The arm only goes up and down, and because of the hole placement on the base it is virtually impossible to display Sailor Mercury directly in front of the base.
Another issue is with the claw. The claw is too large for Sailor Mercury’s waist, and despite no limitations on how far the arm can go in or out, it still leaves Sailor Mercury with too much space for her to be held properly.
In fact, I dislike the arm on this base SO much so that I am looking to replace it. Feel free to contact me or post links if you know where an arm more like Sailor Moons can be purchased.
Identify Bootlegs
Overall
Despite issues with her base I feel Sailor Mercury is a step up from Sailor Moon in regards to improvements. They learned from the issues with Moon and and that’s great to see.
As Sailor Mercury is my favourite character getting this one was exciting. I wasn’t disappointed. She’s top quality, and I look forward to playing with her!
Japanese release date: August 10, 2013 International release date: October 1, 2013 Website:http://sailormoon.tamashii.jp/
S.H.Figuarts Sailor Moon comes to us as a result of the 20th anniversary revival. An event that really began and established that it could be successful first in Italy in 2010/2011, it has brought us everything from refreshed and new artwork from Italian artist Marco Albiero, to toys, figurines, clothing, and more not just in Italy, but globally.
What was the first exposure to anime for a lot of my generation is still marketable and successful 20 years later to the point where a new musical and anime have been created to celebrate it.
While I knew of the S.H.Figuarts line before Sailor Moon she is my first and I do not know much about the other figures, although I am fairly familiar with the style. Please bare with me.
Sailor Moons box is bright, colourful, bold, and manages to incorporate her associated colours without being tacky. It feels much more involved than the S.H.Figuarts boxes I’m use to seeing in my local comic shops. The dithered shading on Sailor Moon also seems to match the comic book style Bandai has been reaching for in their other 20th Anniversary merchandise.
Between Sailor Moons legs is the new Japanese 20th Anniversary logo. To the right is the usual Toei sticker. The international release box will differ here. The Toei sticker will be slightly different (assuming this signifies international release) and will be placed half an inch or so higher on the box. Below it will be the international logo which is simply a stylized “Sailor Moon” font in yellow with a white glow. I mention this because earlier during box release there were several photos depicting both Japanese and International releases and speculation was that the International box could have been a bootleg. This is not true.
The sticker on the window of the box signifies in English and Japanese that the box you have is First Edition with the extra faces. Second press will either have an alternate sticker or no sticker at all. More than likely they just won’t have a sticker.
The back of the box is spectacular in all of its space art glory. The vectored stars and design behind “Moon Tiara Magic” Sailor Moon really make the back of this box POP! and it’s a beautiful tie-in with the marketing theme that Bandai has used since they began whipping out advertisement for this figure.
Despite the tight packaging of everything, when I received my box there was a slight rattling in it, and I was afraid my base had come lose, or that there was a problem. Turns out I wasn’t the only one with this issue. Many have noticed that their boxes had been cut open and then resealed.
After opening my box my best guess is that they forgot to package the instruction slips, as those were left loose in the very back of the box, whereas normally, with other figures I’ve received, they’ve been bagged and taped to the base or another part of the inside that is hidden from sight.
Packaging on the extra parts was especially good on the faces. They were in their own plastic compartment (that I accidentally threw across the room while trying to get the hands out lol!) that could be great for storage during use.
Lets just be honest, Luna looks happy and comfortable.
This image was pretty much THE FACE of S.H.Figuarts Sailor Moon advertising. It is/was everywhere. In magazines, flyers, posters, giant wall hangings, displays and basically where ever they could plaster it. Online though, a massive dumping of photos were released through the Tamashii website, Sailor Moon Channel, and the AmiAmi blog. There was even a video advertisement released online and on television.
Parts, Assembly, & Fit
Upon initial opening and playing with Sailor Moon she is very stiff, but after pieces are removed and reinserted a couple times pieces loosen up enough to use without worry. I am a little concerned about how much she might loosen up after a lot of use and posing, but I’m confident it’ll take a lot of wear to bring her to the point where her joints don’t hold position very well.
Sailor Moon comes with a total of 27 pieces. It is recommended that when initially opening this figure that extra care be taken in removing her bangs in order to change her face plate. It is a common complaint that her bangs are difficult to remove at first, and, although the pieces seem built well enough, it would be a shame to break it right out of the box.
Many people have used items like butter knifes to remove the bangs from Sailor Moons face. I recommend wearing gloves to avoid skin oil transfer and tugging on the hair piece while holding her head. Using a tool to remove it risks cutting into the plastic and damaging her forever, and it would be best to avoid it if possible.
During photographs and her time sitting posed I never had any issues with Sailor Moons hands. It was while I was changing poses or attaching new pieces that I had issues. Her left hand kept falling off while being posed (although admittedly usually I bumped her a little) but this was not an issue with the right hand at all. Apart from that her face plates held wonderfully.
^ Example of the back for compatibility with other figures.
AmiAmi.com’s blog has provided some excellent photos of the extra items and attachments:
Face 1 and 3 are the First Edition Exclusive faces. If you haven’t picked them up yet you better hurry! They’re selling out fast.
Something not depicted well here, but a little better in the collective parts shots above is that the “Moon Tiara Action” piece is actually another hand piece so it’s super easy to attach. AmiAmi’s photos actually show really well that the Ginzuishou (crystal) on the Crescent Moon Wand is actually transparent.
Sculpting & Posing
Luna is very basic… and that might be an understatement. She is also very unbalanced and somewhat difficult to stand Her head moves and her tail seems to have some pose-ability, but considering it doesn’t really do much or make much sense. Turning her head forwards makes her look down, and her tail shouldn’t really move unless for balance as it won’t make much sense.
(Please excuse the dust D=) When I originally noticed that the skirt was in 2 pieces I was extremely unsure whether I would like this figure or not, and it nearly made me cancel my order. After receiving her, posing and photographing her though it hardly notice it. In fact I nearly forgot about it.
Pieces like her front bow and brooch are beautiful, clean and accurate. Unlike some Sailor Moon figures the bow is not over the top with folds and movement, or too big (or small). They’ve made it flat, and very basic which very positively contributes to the clean look of this figure.
Some of the skirt ends seem a little untidy. Upon visual inspection it appears fine, but photographs bring forward small areas that probably could have been repaired in the mould. The issues on the skirt will probably only be issues with macro shots, but could easily be edited clean.
There are some mould seam lines and injection points that don’t seam to be cleaned or hidden very well (see behind Sailor Moon’s ear). Seam lines along her forearms are noticeable, and while avoiding a seam line entirely is not usually easily achieved I feel like these get rather intrusive. I have figures from 20 years ago that have less noticeable lines. Needless to say I’m not impressed with that, but it’s not Earth shattering in regards to a poseable figure.
Now that I’ve played with this figure quite a bit I can feel the joints that are looser than others and know her limitations. While Sailor Moon can sit down just fine, I find that in her standing positions, WITHOUT her base, there are points where her knee joints will not hold. She loses support and slips backwards. Considering the weight of her body and hair this shouldn’t be at all surprising, but the good news is that she DOES have some pose-ability without her base.
With her base she’s pretty much able to do what ever you expect within a poseable figures limits (She done the most ridiculous things yesterday lol). In regards to Sailor Moon figures released as of today, September 2013, she is THE figure for pose-ability and function. There really is nothing else for this series with this much flexibility, despite merchandise dating from the very early 90’s until mid 2000’s.
I took these photos to prove she could be posed without her base… and on an uneven surface at that! She’s standing on a blanket, and the floor beneath her is a metal sheet with holes punched in it. I’ve placed 2 pieces of paper over it to keep it looking solid white, but that’s not much for strength. It DOES take effort though. Her hair pulls her back a lot. In fact, it might be the biggest draw back for this figure. Her hair is constantly in the way.
Painting
Straight out of the box there was some slight transfer from her skirt to her gloves (and a small spot on her joint?).
Sorry about the poor picture, but the focus should be on her (our) left odango. I’m still unsure of whether this existed previously, or if it’s oil and dirt transfer from my fingers. Needless to say after I noticed it I tried and failed to clean it off, and wore plastic gloves for the rest of the review.
The stripes on her collar are SO nicely painted. They’re near perfect.
I also want to point out the joints for her arms. The only issue I have with them is their colour. They should have made them red, but I assume their concern was matching the plastic and paint colours, or that paint would wear away too fast. The skin tone is very distracting though.
I’m bringing this picture back to point out the brooch and her skirt again. The paint around the waist of her skirt appears a little messy. It’s nothing incredibly horrible though as it’s on the underside of the poof that belts around her waist. For the brooch I am 100% impressed. It’s SO tiny and SO detailed. They really done a great job.
Same goes with the painting on the accessories. There are 2 Crescent Moon Wands and both of them are spectacular.
There are some issues around the glove toppers. They’re a little messy.
The boots I am completely disappointed with. I originally took these pictures because I was impressed with the moons. I never even considered the white until I had the pictures and was editing them and thinking about what I wanted to say. The red paint is beautiful, but the white details are HORRIBLY painted. Even the gold in the moons are a little messy with red upon inspection of the close ups.
I have found that on display this isn’t as noticeable. There are a lot of Sailor Moon figures with this problem, but I honestly thought that after the beautiful paint on the collar that they would put the same effort into the boots.
Base
I actually learned with this base that there are pieces that pop out of this base to give us more options for display. It took FAR longer than I’m willing to admit lol.
The base is small, and pretty, although I wish they had done something a little more related to the series. Despite that, I think the matching set will look nice when the others are released. Shows with Moon and Mercury show Mercury with her version of the base which is exactly the same only blue. They’ll look beautiful and very rainbow displayed together.
The joints are strong. I haven’t had any issues posing her due to limitations with the arm. The base COULD be a bit wider though. It does create some problems for iconic poses with wider stances.
Identifying Bootlegs
Overall
This figure is the start of a beautiful future for Sailor Moon, and I think she’s a must have for serious collectors who are unsure about adding her. She’s not perfect, and some of the imperfections ARE disappointing, but most definitely aren’t detracting from my display, and I feel like she’s a great start. For $42 retail value, and her International release upcoming on October 1st I highly recommend snatching her up before she sells out. DO your research though! Since the Japanese release she HAS stayed in stock on some less popular sites and it has been possible to find her on sale. International release might just drop her price and make her easier to find.
Website:CreerBeaute Store:P-Bandai MFC:Link Release Dates: October 25, 2013; November 20, 2013, December 24, 2013
Purchased from: BiginJap.com Paid: $56 USD When: Purchased June 2013, Received December 2013
This post was updated on November 1, 2020.
The Crystal Star Compact is used by Usagi in season 2 (R Arc) of Sailor Moon to help her transform in combination with the Silver Crystal. Traditionally in the Sailor Moon fandom merchandise of this item has sold for high prices. Being that most merchandise of this item consists of RPG toys from the 90’s, finding one in good shape and a box is difficult.
In regards to this particular Crystal Star Compact, ordering it has proven to be JUST as difficult. The compact is a P-Bandai exclusive item, but due to the popularity of the item various websites grabbed orders from P-Bandai, marked up the price, and sold it in their own shop. As demand was high it proved difficult to get on the P-Bandai website during the ordering period, and a lot of people missed out even if they had proxy services to order.
Prices have ranged from a decent 3790 yen on the P-Bandai website before taxes, to outrageous $250 USD price tags on Ebay, and scammers have been making a pretty penny offering “Pre-orders” that don’t exist and take buyers out of their time-period to dispute the stolen money.
As this item is sold out EVERYWHERE I recommend taking extra precaution if you come across a seller online. Do your research before getting scammed.
EDIT: Since this items initial release it has had several releases online, and in-store where P-Bandai cosmetics are sold (In Japan). It should be much easier to get it than when it was initially released.
Advertising
If I remember correctly there was no warning when this compact appeared. The first of three listings appeared on the P-Bandai website, and all hell broke loose. It crashed the site and prompted P-Bandai to make 3 extra release dates, and a pre-order option at the Sailor Moon La Reconquista merchandise table. All of which sold out before most people could even realize they were up.
P-Bandai, during this time, set up a page for the compact which consisted mostly of this image http://myfigurecollection.net/picture/720949 (linked for large size) advertising what it was, the packaging, and a comparison between the bulky 90’s toy, and the sleek, smaller compact we have today.
(Header image from P-Bandai listings)
Packaging
This box is flawless and fits the more adult theme of the Miracle Romance line. The pink has a soft pearl finish, and metallic foil is used for Luna and Serenity. There are lots of beautiful florals, gems, and popular motifs from Sailor Moon across all sides of the box. No side is boring. Even the back and bottom has small details that add to the aesthetic.
Assembly and Fit
There is really no assembly for this piece, but there is a button on the front of the compact for opening it and locking it shut. It holds well, and the hinge on the back of the compact is tight, so the top doesn’t just fly up. There is very little chance that if you use this compact as a regular make-up item that the lid will just pop open often, unless you wear down the hinge enough to loosen it.
The powder is covered by a plastic slip that represents the Silver Crystal and bows on the inside of Sailor Moons anime compact. It fits in nicely between the powder and the puff that sits on top of it. As a collectors item I DO NOT recommend throwing this piece out. It will be important to collectors.
Sculpt and Design
Everything about this compact depends on the lid. If the star is messed up then P-Bandai can go home with their money. Fortunately they seem dead on. I can’t complain about it at all. As a Sailor Moon fan, collector, and reviewer I have zero complaints about how the lid of the compact was designed. As a make-up compact vs a brooch that Sailor Moon would have worn on her dress it is a little bulky, but this compact is filled with make-up, instead of a mirror and stone.
While taking photographs I handled my compact as carefully as possible, and both dusted it with a camera brush, and wiped it down for finger prints with a microfiber cloth. There were no visible flaws in the moulding.
The bottom is actually quite irrelevant. In fact, the plainer the better, because the focus was on the lid and the inside.
I believe the 382 is a batch number of some sort for the make-up? I’ve seen comments from people with the same numbers, so it does not signify that you have ### out of ###. The compact was exclusive, but not seemingly limited by Bandai.
The boarder around the mirror is quite detailed and pretty. It should match the one around the 90’s compact.
Painting
BEWARE of the paint on the lids of these compacts. It is known to scratch and it’s impossible to fix. The mirroring effect is created with a special process in plant. Spray paints will not do the trick.
That said, the paint on mine is flawless. There are no scratches, no imperfections. No transfer at all.
Make-up
Lets be honest. How many of us bought this or want it because of the powder?
The make-up is kind of additional for most collectors, but is also a major selling point of the new compact for Bandai. It’s important to collectors because it proves that P-Bandai wants to cater to the adult fandom.
Edit: I have since purchased a second compact to test and it is just a transparent, shimmery powder. In Japan I have seen some decent reviews for the P-Bandai line, but for North American users I would warn that Asian make-up trends are much lighter than ours. This product is not highly pigmented, but it was manufactured that way on purpose.
Identifying Bootlegs
No bootlegs for this item as of December 18, 2013. If bootlegs have been spotted please send me a PM or comment and I’ll update this section with information on how to spot the bootlegs and help you avoid getting ripped off!
Overall
This is totally of bias opinion, but I LOVE this compact. It is easily the best purchase I’ve made for my Sailor Moon collection, at less than $60. There isn’t currently another Sailor Moon Crystal Star Compact readily available that I could buy for cheaper than this, and at this level of quality.
Overall I think this is an A+ must have item for any Sailor Moon collector. If you collect RPG items you will love it!
Personal Collection Information: Purchased from: Collector in Japan Paid: $72 USD + shipping When: October/November 2013
The Star Prism Power Eyeliners are a part of the Miracle Romance line from P-Bandai’s Creer Beauty series and are part of the 20th Anniversary Sailor Moon merchandise. They come in 5 colours: Black, Brown (tea), Blue, Red and White. Black, brown, and white are adorned with silhouettes of Princess Serenity, blue with Sailor Mercury, and red with Sailor Mars, but the line has shown no sign of equivalent pieces for Jupiter or Venus yet.
I purchased mine from a lady who lives in Japan and done a group buy for some LiveJournal users. Currently the easiest, and most reliable way to purchase them is in-store. That said, P-Bandai also released 2000 pink, and 2000 blue boxes that sold online for 3465 yen a set, but contained 3 eyeliners (black or brown, red or blue, and white). The separate eyeliners retail for 1260 yen for the liquid liners, and 945 yen for the white (listed online). So the price is the same for them separately or with the limited edition boxes. They’ve also appeared on the Japanese Amazon site, as well as Jlist.com
Advertising and Packaging
Eyeliners were released both individually and in 2 limited edition sets containing 3 eyeliners that complimented each other. The white pencil was the only eyeliner included in both sets. Production of the boxes were limited to 2000 each, while the eyeliners themselves seem to be much more mass produced and available in stores.
Advertising for these online has been nearly completely viral marketing by fans outside of Japan. Official releases were made on Sailor Moon Channel, P-Bandai, and Creer Beaute, and that seems to be it. In Japan displays have been set up in stores selling the eyeliners, and there is also an unscanned magazine ad that has been found, but not posted in whole.
The boxes are surprisingly sturdy, although for Mercury, Mars and the White box they have a panel that bends around the box and is sealed with a tab into a slot, and a sticker. This bulges around the box, and is not flat like the black and brown boxes, so it’s possible for this part to bend and crease during shipping if not properly packaged.
The boxes on their own are beautiful, classy, and well designed, using various Art Nouveau motifs that are repeated and recoloured to represent the Senshi. The designs are surprising, considering the amount of flowers, bows, stars, pin stripes and curling girly fonts used on the box. It is overflowing with girly stereotypes, but they’re used expertly and well represent Sailor Moon, and her older fan base.
The black and brown boxes are rather large for no other reason than to make room for the outside flap on the box with additional aesthetic appeal. Be careful when opening this box style. The round 20th anniversary logo is actually a sticker holding down the flap.
The back of the boxes including the Toei stickers.
Black Liquid
Tip Size: 0.1mm Brush Liquid Amount: 0.4 mL Origin: Made in Japan Price: 1260 yen Ingredients: Water, (ethylhexyl acrylate / methyl methacrylate) copolymer, BG, glycerin, 1,2 – hexanediol, (acrylates / methyl styrene / styrene) copolymer ammonium, panthenol, hyaluronic acid Na, centifolia rose flower water, hydrolysis Silk, pentylene glycol, caprylyl glycol, ethyl hexyl glycerin, silica, carbomer, AMP, methyl paraben, phenoxyethanol, carbon black, Al
The black applicator applies REALLY well. I’ve used liquid liner before and it frustrated me a lot. This brush style was easy to use, and left a nice, thin, clean line despite my shaky hands. The container is easy and comfortable to hold
The liquid itself applied nicely and lasted through the night. I tested the water proofing both on my eyes and in the shower with just a marking on my hand. The shower test removed quite easily (although it wasn’t applied for more than 5 minutes), but the test on my eyes after all night seemed to hold well enough.
Brown Liquid
Tip Size: 0.1mm Brush Liquid Amount: 0.4 mL Origin: Made in Japan Price: 1260 yen Ingredients: Water, BG, (ethylhexyl acrylate / methyl methacrylate) copolymer, glycerin, panthenol, hyaluronic acid Na, centifolia rose flower water, hydrolyzed silk, Penchirengurikoru, polyaspartic acid Na, beheneth -30, (acrylates / methyl styrene / styrene) copolymer ammonium, polyvinyl alcohol, 1,2 – hexanediol, caprylyl glycol, ethyl hexyl glycerin, TEA, silicate (Na / Mg), citric acid, silica, EDTA-2Na, methylparaben, phenoxyethanol, iron oxide
The brown liner applicator and liquid match similarly to the black. The colour is a little more transparent, though application to the test strip seemed good.
Application, waterproofing, and last is comparable to the black liner.
Blue Liquid
Tip Size: 0.1mm Brush Liquid Amount: 1.0 mL Origin: Made in Japan Price: 1260 yen Ingredients: Water, BG, ethanol, (acrylic acid alkyl / diacetone acrylamide) copolymer AMP, (styrene / acrylic acid alkyl) ammonium copolymer, 1,2 – hexanediol, panthenol, hyaluronic acid Na, grape leaf extract, Penchirengurikoru, stearoxy PG hydroxyethyl cellulose sulfonic acid Na, Caprylyl glycol, ethylhexyl glycerin, carbomer, silica, AMP, benzoic acid Na, phenoxyethanol, mica, titanium oxide, Prussian blue, Al
Although I’ve only used the blue liner during opening and testing on paper and my hand I am confident in saying that this will be slightly different than using most liquid liners. It’s VERY thick, and oozes upon initial opening and pulling the liquid to the tip. It’s very bright, and the brush will help maintain decent lines.
The liquid should be usable, but I find the colour event specific. It might be better for raves or cosplay, unless you dress colourful and out there anyway. The eyeliner is not only bold in colour. It also features glitter.
I have no idea what this says, but I thought it might be important. It’s probably just a “Caution, do not eat” label.
The blue and red eyeliners are more like paintbrushes than the black and brown, which appear to be felt tipped instead of brush.
Red Liquid
Tip Size: 0.1mm Brush Liquid Amount: 1.0 mL Origin: Made in Japan Price: 1260 yen Ingredients: Water, BG, ethanol, (acrylic acid alkyl / diacetone acrylamide) copolymer AMP, 1,2 – hexanediol, (styrene / acrylic acid alkyl) ammonium copolymer, panthenol, hyaluronic acid Na, hibiscus flower extract, Penchirengurikoru, Carbomer, Caprylyl glycol, ethylhexyl glycerin, silica, beheneth -30, polyaspartic acid Na, stearoxy PG hydroxyethyl cellulose sulfonic acid Na, AMP, EDTA-2Na, benzoic acid Na, phenoxyethanol, iron oxide, mica, Al
The red acts very much like the blue. It’s thick, but not as thick as the blue, but the colour is much more transparent. I might take multiple layers to make the colour vibrant. On my colour test strip (below) it appears a little muddy, but I’ll let you decide for yourself.
White Pencil
Tip Size: 0.1mm Brush Liquid Amount: 1.0 mL Origin: Made in Japan Price: 1260 yen Ingredients: Methyl trimethicone, trimethyl siloxy silicate, paraffin, polyethylene, microcrystalline wax, diethylhexanoate neopentyl glycol, candelilla wax, triisostearate Poriguriseriru 2, Sorbitan sesquiisostearate, silica, tocopherol, squalene, hyaluronic acid Na, Dimethicone, BHT, mica, titanium oxide, iron oxide, ultramarine blue, tin oxide[/spoiler]
I actually avoided using my white pencil because the first thing it done when I used it on the test strip was crumble. Like most art pencils, pencil eyeliners can crack when dropped, and it looks like mine did during shipping.
That said, it’s a little gritty due to the glitter/sparkle, and it’s not really white. It’s more like an off-beige with some pink when compared to the white paper (see below).
I don’t recommend shipping this if you plan on using it. It might not be worth your time.
Test Strip
Assembly
The red and blue eyeliners take some messing with before you can use them. When you open them their brushes will be white and clear of the liquid.
^ Instructions: 1. Pull off the plastic tab. 2. Push down the lid. 3. Be sure it is down all of the way.
Don’t try and use your thumb like in my photos. Those were just convenient shots because I done photos and movements all alone. I recommend pushing down with the palm of your hand. It might be a little difficult.
Once the cap has been pushed down you can safely remove it. The brush will still be white and there will be no liquid yet. It is recommended that you leave the cap off during the next step.
It is recommended that you have some paper towel or tissue prepped for this step, just in case.
While holding the eyeliner with the tip facing UP twist the bottom of the container counter clockwise. This will push the liquid up into the tip. It does take quite a bit of twisting to get your liquid, but I recommend taking your time as once it DOES make it to the brush it will ooze a little.
Now your liquid eyeliner is ready to use!!
Identify Bootlegs
There are no bootleg items for this product yet.
Overall
For collectors purposes these are rather redundant unless you enjoy wearing make-up, or like the packaging/look of the items. I only recommend them if you plan on collecting most of the Miracle Romance collection, or plan on wearing them. The black has become my go-to eyeliner and doesn’t even bother my psoriasis.
This review was originally posted by me under the username Paulichu on MFC on December 3, 2013.
Sailor Moon Collection 