u/EdenVibin

Last one is a gif but idk if itll load as such

Will do more photos of that soon jus sharin this for now

Because i have been so frickin curious and ik the modeler for the figure probably cant share anything beyond confirmations as to which references were used for possibly Legal Reasons or something

So after a bit of hunting i found a few of the possible references for the figure + the possible culprit behind the forced mistranslation of the eye placements!

.Image 1: Jus a post poster of figure and image it was referenced for so move on to the rest lol

.Image 2 [Basic Ref Sheet]: obviously this was used as a reference for the figure as the open hands are articulated just like the masked stance ref hands are which is alsl used on the box art

.Image 3 [Blackwhip Hands = Escaping Nagant]: this was confirmed in one of my posts by firespray that the blackwhip hands was referenced on this shot of deku running away from Nagant in episode 20 of s6, the right hands open palms was what suspected me it was for this shot idky i remembered it so vividly lol

.Image 4 [Fa-Jin pieces = Fa-Jin Awakening]: its the only time we really see Fa-Jin be animated in a circular disc around his legs like the figure has iirc

.Image 5 [Ear Tassel misplacement = this mirrored shot]: idk if anyones ever noticed but the masked heads ear tassels are on the opposite sides of where the mask thats meant to hang on the neck and the canon placements of them, the only shot that explains Why? This shot of deku slowly turning into his broken form is mirrored from the manga page and the tassels are not the same placements cuz of it

.Image 6-9 [MY THEORIZED REFERENCE USED FOR THE EYES]: This shot from s6 ep 19 the eyes are oddly placed that when looked from the front wouldnt be super close together as its shown in other shots, its one of the only times in the anime the eyes are misplaced like this in a side profile and in comparison to the mask head? Its almost 1 to 1 in placements (minus some reshaping to match the other references and match the head mold)

If u have a hard time seeing it, look at the masked head piece from the side and make a timy gap from the tip of the mouth mask and the center of the face like the anime does in this shot and youll see it too

This frame was very likely the reference they had to use that made it so the eyes vouldnt look closer together as if it were, itd go against this reference shot

This is of course speculation but if anyone has any other suggestions if anime shots they used lemme know

also plz lets be civil and respectful in the comments, this post is just cuz my brain likes connecting these kind of dots, theres not any hate or such that is meant to be the goal of this post, its just to share my findings on this random thing ive been thinking of :p

Was posing him again using my cloth cape (gonna do pics of that later) and noticed his backpack strap was loose and just out of the hole

i would understand if its an intentional feature so its easier to put on and off but if it isnt id like to know, either way i may glue it into the hole cuz it just gets in the way of poses when its like this (doesnt even stay in the hole well if it is intentional x3)

I have a feeling as much as there is a LOT of things we'd like thia figure to have we should probably acknowledge 2 big factors

1. This figure is gonna be a S1 based figure (Yuji and Sukuna are proof as such they only have perms for S1 References) so only stuff hes done in s1 is gonna be given as references i believe

2. This line is really great at making the figures be multi-faceted to alternate looks and such for the price but usually means they gotta slim down on 1 feature or such in favor of another to keep its price at the level it is

With that said: i do think this figure being gojo who has a very bare bone look to begin with gives a little wiggle room to do a lot but probably not a ton of stuff can be achieved i fear

Ive given a display to the articulation id like him to have, i wanna see that new thigh swivel be implemented here

Im terms of hand alternates id like him to have his Domain Expansion hand sign of course and then to be the compliment hand for the other side, he should have a collar/bandana grip hand

2 fists and then there comes the 3rd set of hands issue; to give any effect parts i can imagine they have the ability to make here, its better hed have poitning hands BUT they seem to have a 3 hand set rule so it has to trade places with the other option id like to be included, open palm (For slaps and for some poses he does clasping together or teasing with his infinity)

2 head sculpts is an obvious want for this figure (one masked and one unmasked) meaning we're gonna have just 4 face plates if we're lucky and 2 ar e masked and other 2 unmasked BUT i considered a possible idea of making his plates just his jaw, so the masked being his bandana cover face and hair and have the unmasked head sculpt be his hair and top half of his face, id think it could work as his eexpressions (that id like to see included) could work with his open eye stare in each expressio (imo)

this idea i also see working well to spare an issue of wanting an expression from the masked side being in the unmasked n such

Effect pieces id like is red and hollow purple, i do think theyd have to choose 1 or the other for that however and if they had to id prefer for purple

Accessories just his bandana when off his face that sits inside his collar, maybe making it a rubber like material so it can be held but the pointer and gripping hands (actually could be neat if they made it work to sit on the masked head sculpt instead like no bandana but hair sat up and space for it to sit on)

And extra thing id like but i doubt theyd even considering including; itd be funny if he had his shopping bag with the mochi he buys before the first time fight with Sukuna at Yuji's school

This whole concept thing is messy and im aware of that, its just fun rambles of ideas since i dont wanna feel like im setting up some mantle idea to feel self afflicted disappointment at all with the figure when its revealed cuz i had way more ideas with unlimited restrictions unlike the jazwares team has had with the past figures (dark deku mask as a reference-)

So ill end this by saying we should hold expectations down somewhat as this figure is definitely gonna be great with this line but i do see it'll likely be limited in some ways

Is there an alt form he has thats different enough to warrant 2nd figure based on it or something?

Cuz these are def different figs, the designation digit is different on the back of each boxes

After a whole year of hunting, awaiting, idly clawing for this figure, hes finally arrived in my silly palms.... And figuarts had to go n' take away all the possible hype it could have with US consumers- [i jest, i jest]

First impressions: OH BABYY YEAHHH- Ahem uh Yes! its everything i was expecting and hoping itd be after all this time.

The mask is still wonky mold but it is so easy to pass over as an issue when there is so much still GREAT about this figure (plus i get use to it often when i get deep into play)

He poses REALLY well, every pose I'd wanna do and imagine others would wanna do seems very achievable!

The cape is a lot softer plastic then i was expecting, makes it a lot easier to bend it around for more poses

Articulation: Its about the same as the base wave 1 Deku figure but it is a lot more noticeable softer and easier to move around then the wave 1 figure

In fact it is TOO easy, i almost got worried a few times id snap or pop off his arms and knees a few times but after a little bit i got it down the best ways to comfortably mive it withiut those risks, the stiffness that there is on the figure in any joints (which amazingly was few) is an easy fix with the heated water trick

They changed the length of Dekus neck Peg and im glad they did, not only does it give him a short mer neck length that was longer n' looked a little silly on Wave 1 Deku's but it also helps sits his head well with all accesory parts on and off so posing him for the Nagant fight doesnt give him Bakugo long neck syndrome from Op 4

And idk if this should count but the pack plug pops out like REALLY easily to a point i just dont keep it in at all to not risk losing it (its in a little box of figure parts i keep) Isn't really an issue since the backpack and cape cover thwre more often then not

[EDIT] For anyone who hasnt seen my past reviews about the articulation, the head-neck has a lot of freedom, the arms have a very light butterfly joint design though not multiparted as figuarts so may seem limiting at first but its easy to use, the torso ab crunch is okay backwards is the best distance it has, the legs use their old thigh swivel design so it has limitations but can be worked with same as the arms, the ankle swivel design is goos for what it needs to, no toe joints so cant do crouch poses easily, the ankles can bend sideways and backwards for using float or swinging, it cant bend foward and stops as soon as its at the standing position, the hands design for alternating can twist it ariund 360 and bend back and forth just a little better then figuarts allows with their ball joint design

Paint work: As solid as usual with this line aside from a few errors sometimes, however i have noticed consistently with other peoples figs of Dark Deku there seemed to be an consistent error of paint work on the torso: The lines never seem to be fully painted in properly but thats only my speculative say so tbc

More confidently i can say for my figure the torso and mask was slightly off center with the paintwork, i fixed it up myself but sucks i had to do that myself, hope its just a rarity issue.

Another issue worth bringing up, i noticed after putting it on and off a lot the Fa-Jin effect parts paint chips REALLY easily, it doesnt stick on the figure and can be just wiped or blown off but be wary of that in cade

Criticism of paint work that WASNT done though? I wish the tips of the ear things in the mask had the faded weathering look, the back of his hair has no darkening paintwork either

Accessories:

.x2 Pairs of Hands [Fist, Open Palms]

.x1 Pair of Blackwhip Hands [1 open palm, 1 fist]

.x2 Face Plates [Neutral Expression, Angry Expression]

.x1 Masked Head

.x1 Backpack [the right strap popped off im pretty sure its a feature but if not lemme know]

.x1 Torino Cape [looks less like cheese as all initial images made us believe, it has a dsrken weather color tone added to give it definition even if slightly]

.x1 Hung off-Mask [Slight thing that bugs me i don't think is worth mentioning out of here, The size and shape of the ear tassels is opposite to the shape the mask head uses, which is off the reference art for the anime i have to assume they gave so, idk what thats about]

.x2 Fa-Jin Effect Pieces [They attach seemingly on the knee and shoes the best but they can attach on the wrist of the gloves fine if you wanna represent him using Fa-Jin in his hands]

Every accesory here is like 100% perfect for what this figure is needing to be

What i wish they couldve included? Just 2 things

.1 extra Face Plate: neutrual-mourningful like expression, in the reference art for this form of deku, his expression is wide eyed sad looking neutral wouldve liked to have that

.a stand plate like Wave 1, it was the best inclusion the first wave ever had

Anime/Manga Accuracy:

[NOTE:Obviously certain details cannot be achieved when translating animated or drawn characters into a figure] + [3rd dimension translations of 2d drawings usually limits dynamic shaping or shading] + [With this in mind i will not be treating the figure too harshly for any errors of translation between the anime and manga unless it is egregious]

Now lets get the elephant addressed, Yes the mask is atrociously inaccurate for anime and manga, I HOWEVER WILL DEFEND IT WITH THIS, if what firespray (A figure designer at Jazwares) has said in the past is true, the mask design was forced on their hands to specific reference images that pushed it into the shape they needed to reach to appease the copyright holders

And wether or not that IS the case ir not i won't put into debate BUT the mask does look actually fairly gud and accurate within SPECIFIC poses that seem to lean on being backward side profiles the most that seems fitting to some reference shots i saw while rewatching s6 ep 19-23

Hence my theory here rq; i think they were given conflicting references to both before and after the nagant fifht Dark Deku frames, hence his ea rtassles looking far more weathered then it should've likely looked at this point AND the pose of the back of the box being the "He looks nothing like a hero" panel when this form of him really shouldn't, the figure was being forced to be BOTH when it was really wishing to be just 1 of them, but this is a theory, A FIGURE THEORY-

Paintwork though as mentioned before i do wish they gave the ears on the mask the weathered look on the tips of them

Now that that is out of the way-

The figure is very accurate to the anime design as far as i can percieve

The thick bulkiness of the gloves hands are very matching to the mickey mouse goofy thickness they have in animation and reference art

Dekus hair and faceplates are much better fitting to Deku's face compared to wave 1 which i still believe are accurate models

I believe the improvement is due to a smaller forehead bulk and better eye printing design

Blackwhips colors are acceptable for effect hand pieces, compared to the figuarts blackwhip effect colors for the hand piece, Figuarts looks definitely Better but the Total Anime's look is good still.

Fa-Jin looks great and can work for both the introduction scene and when deku hits Nagant with Manchester Smash.

Now Anime wise this is all accurate design, Manga is about the same story aside from coloring decisions the Anime ignored of Horikoshi's with the gold decals on the iron soles and obviously the mask.

Also seems implied with 1 colored sketch by Horikoshi that the mask, torn sleeves, and kneepads torn up top half are blood stained but eh its a small detail i dont feel worth needing in anime or figure.

The height difference between this deku to the wave 1 deku and figuarts base deku is very tightly close.

The difference with Bakugo and Shoto is dtill the same, glad to see no change in his height (if they do a future Bakugo figure if this line continues id like them to fix up Bakugo's Height)

Add-on Notes: In some of my images taken, Yes i did do some of the paint work decals i wish were done for the figure already (The darkened tip of ears of mask both on and off parts and the gold decal on iron soles) i just got too excited and enated to give him the extra detailing, still planning my eye adjustment work for mask later

Yes the mask doees fit fine on the wave 1 deku, colors dont match up but if you got a 2nd Dark Deku could be worth a workshop job to repaint and remodel into a repaired look

My cloth cape ive shown off in the past works very well with the figure but i might actually stick with the plastic one more ngl

To anyone who has the Figuarts Base Deku, yes the Fa-Jin Effect pieces do work well with him

Overall: This figure is very much worth the wait we have been dealing with Every issue i have is like easily washed away when something good to great comes up that i notice with the figure!

So overall i think this figure is befitting to history's craziest hero, 'll be giving him a solid 8.7/10

He isnt a 9 only cuz of the mask mold, every thing else this figure has is worth it if you want a Dark Deku figure for either early on time frame or if you want a cheaper option over the Figuart's Dark Deku who is seeming to be over 100 bucks, so grab him while ya can before what i predict will happen that scammers use him when people buy from "resellers" for the figuarts Dark Deku x3

And really quick to say, if this is the way they handle all future figures, making their material somewhat softer for better articulation and less risk of the snapping QC they've had, and now Kafka using a new thigh swivel design, i can say that if this line continues I'm happy to see it keep going cuz it has a strong potential to be even greater then it is rn!

ill be making like a figure review eventually but i jus gotta share these pics i mananged with him rq first

(This was expanded upon an Idea from u/yeetman13246 i saw suggested a while back)

Here is my rough concept sfor a special varaint of the Dark Deku figure, i really hope jazwares does this idea

Dark Deku Special Edition (Deku vs. Class 1A/"He Doesn't Look like a Hero")

Figure:

it is a slightly modified variation of the vigilante deku figure;

.The Mid-Gauntlet sleeves have tassels of it unloos with a softer plastic mold onto it

.The Iron Soles look deformed and loosened with its straps unclapsed using that same plastic but a little thicker

.The gloves are torn, softer plastic representing its torn edges

.The cape and suit is all darker shades to fit the darker tone of the suit's context

.The mask can be a new mold as this is different form of his suit, torn lines molded and colored in, the teeth of the mask jagged, and the eyes pupils using a glow in the dark paint (like used in the FNAF line)

The deku unmasked head of hair is a slightly altered model to look more unkempt and sunken in like it is soaked from the rain

Accesories;

.2x Faces< Serious(ly Tired) expression [More lines unde rhis eye to show hes exhaughsted and slight hue of purple for his eyebags] / Crying Expression [Like in example image when Iida catches up to him, has tiny bubbles molded onto his face to represent his tears]

.2x Pairs of hands< Clenched fists / Open Palms [both with weathering lines and clawed tips included]

.1x New Backpack model [Has 6 Peg holes for the next accessories to attatch]

.6x BlackWhip Tendrils [Each of them can fit into any peg hole of the backpack to twist around and bend to any direction the player wishes]

.1x New hung mask [more weathered design with jagged edge teeth] (Optional)

.1x Smokescreen effect piece [it would fit into his foot peg hole like the Sukuna model or maybe a new model with the same or a new function like the Fa-Jin pieces]

This as a figure alone could be a good "premium" release like the tokyo ghoul figure

But also had an idea to make it extra worth it for an exclusive release at poasible future conventions:

[A Backdrop Display Piece!]

A solid platform mimicing the patterned stone from the image 2 reference with pegs and peg holes on the floor for the figure to stand on or attatch a floating handle to hold him and with paper backdrop that sticks in the edges, it'd display the All Might Statue at this point of the Arc

Maybe this with the backdrop piece could be a SDCC exclusive or another convenient's exclusive release for a higher price and then just release the figure+all the accessories as a premium version in the jazwares vault

With my Dark Deku now on the way, i wanna have my plans better thought out for my customizations (which ill do after i fiddle and pose around with the figure for a month or 2, jus to enjoy it as is first and understand its look better in hand)

BUT i've come to a new idea id like to hear from fellow fans of custom work here opinions on:

Im planning to do the manga accurate iron soles details of the buttons for the figure as i did with my wave 1 deku and maybe even spice up the soles to shimmer a dark iron shimmer to differ it from his black kneepad sleeves even more but since i am being manga accurate, i had to be sure if there was any more manga exclusive details and it seems the official colors for Dekus suit for the manga (According to the clearest colored sketch horikoshis done of his suit in this state that the figure is based on), his suit is blood stained on the masks edges and his torn sleeves and his mid thighs (i assume the rest covered by his knee guard sleeves) from the damage of using 100% smashes in his fight with Shigiraki, However the official manga colorings volume releases sample images (yes afaia there is an officially colored manga volume releases with all the panels but its only in japanese text and only available to see via purchase on a japanese site) the detail of the blood stains is left out either intentionally or genuinely forgotten but the cover sketch i share here does, id honestly be into the look of it myself like on paper but i would like to hear if anyone thinks design wise itd ruin it or not

Should i add the bloodstains when i customize it or skip it?

Also separate stuff from my main question ive updated the eye design from what i made so long ago as i fear the og designed eyes were WAYYY too big now looking back, so i shrunk it down to be more reasonable (and easier honestly) to cut out a shape for, btw the way the eyes are drawn is messy so keep that in mind plz lol x3

I would appreciate thoughts as well from anyone with the actual dark deku figure in hand if you think (using as best of example i could think of putting in to imagine it in hand yourself) my Gran Torino cloth cape i made for my zeta suit custom (RIP) and dark deku figure in mind would fit well with it or if i need to make another new cape that'll fit better (And just mentioning, the torino cape cant work for wires inside it imo, i just couldnt fathom it lookin good in wires for its frayed look and how short it is, jus sayin)

I can answer any questions about the bloodstains, eyes shape, cape, iron soles, ect thats needed for your reply, go ahead and ask, ty for reading!

Finally took some time to make this shigi figure a cloth cape and i think i did pretty solid, the clip i have a better alternative idea for but for now what im using works

Wanted a cloth one for even more dynamic poses the plastic one (which i do still love how much it can bend btw) limits from (that i cant risk here as my shigi figure is getting fragile to use so can do more examples later on), more specific example is the "im cold" moment from s

In my process making this cape made me realllyyy wish they kept up this costume for Shigiraki longer man, it really is one of his best looks

Planning to do the torn cape too eventually, will post whenever i finish it

After putting off posting this for too long finally proud to share my custom of bakugos winter costume from s5 and s7!

Personal opinion, i like his winter costume WAY more then his first costume from s1-s4 and s6, i really like the collar and sleeves more to his look then the tank top look

I used some spare black fabric and Harvest Orange/Jet Black acrylic paint to make the look Only issue ive had is the paint chipping a lot in the joints where it rubs against the torso joints so ive been having to refresh it often so i will be looking into solutions later on, for now though while the paint is refreshed, imma share how it looks!

Whenever/if i get a 2nd bakugo im gonna also make the mask removed and such things cuz id like to have his unmasked look as an option