I have a major obsession with female monsters (kaijin) in Japanese serial television programs. Whether it's the newest incarnation of Power Rangers, Metal Heroes Series, Ultraman, or Masked Rider, the female villains are right up my alley. There's just something about their theatrical presence, their formidable strengths, and their de-sexualized nature makes them awesome. (I say desexualized because 90% of the Japanese pop culture properties I pay attention to are inundated with girls in bikinis). I think the most successful Japanese action figures these days are high-end, super collectible, and super-articulated toys like Figma or S.H.Figuarts. These companies produce all the major characters quickly and within a reasonable budget. But sometime $40-80 bucks for a 6-7" action figure is not a feasible prospect. That's where these amazing vinyl Super Sentai-type action figures come into play. You can get the same detailed character selection, but at an extremely low price. Let's check out Bee Woman below!
Instead of packaging, these 6-7" vinyl figures usually have a cardboard hang-tag with a plastic hook in order to hang from the pegs.
Bee Woman also came in a translucent version.
Here are a couple images from the Movie.
Bee Woman is only articulated at the shoulders. These figures are usually articulated at the neck as well, but her hair eliminated the option for this figure.
Time for a Comparison Pic!
Cheers!
Shes is so bizarre! I love her. Must have! Thanx again for inspiration!
ReplyDeleteHooray! Just got the last one on ebay, with two other characters. Three makes a collection, right? Haha!.
ReplyDeleteThat does indeed make a collection! I actually have a ton of these vinyl figures that I'm just about to put on display after years in storage. I can't wait to review more of them.
DeleteShe's gorgeous! She looks wonderful in color. The translucent version loos pretty nice too. I have a, well...less screen accurate...version of her myself: http://toyriffic.blogspot.com/2011/05/let-it-bee.html
ReplyDeleteHaha I've seen that little version in auctions before. It's so bizarre.
DeleteDespite her role on the show being very small, Bee Woman had a pretty big impact on Japanese popculture. Nearly every bee-themed female character after her drew inspiration from her design. She is pretty much the Japanese Catwoman!
ReplyDelete(sorry for the double post)
That's awesome information. It makes me want to hunt down the other figures of her I've seen. Comparing her to Catwoman was like opening the floodgates of my obsessions haha.
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