Toy
name: Kamakura Assortment: Valor vs. Venom
Wave 4 Price: MSRP $7.99 Availability: September/October
2004
I
hate to say it, but the character of Kamakura is really, really growing on me.
At first I didn't like him at all, relegating him to Snake Eyes' little gopher
apprentice who was just tossed in the book for the sake of creating a new character...no
real rhyme or reason. However recently, with the conclusion of Master and Apprentice,
the Valor vs. Venom DVD, and now this figure, my opinions of Kamakura are quickly
coming around. I credit most of my newfound respect of the character to Brandon
Jerwa's excellent craftsmanship in M&A, which was one of the most enjoyable
G.I. Joe tales I've read in some time...however, Kamakura's cocky attitude and
slow motion motorcycle skills in VvV: The Movie has definitely made him shine
in my eyes, too.
I once credited
the action attack Kamakura as quite possibly the worst G.I. Joe figure ever
made...what a difference 8 months makes, huh? This figure isn't fantastic...it
isn't mind blowing or out of this world. But it is a solid figure, and when
you consider what it once was, it has some decent traits that make it worth
picking up and paying attention to. I also like the fact that it's more of a
Hasbro original design, instead of just a figure copied from the Devil's Due
books.
Figure Mold
Upon first glance
you can't help but notice that Kamakura looks a little skimpy...but for him,
that skimpiness works, I think. He's a young kid and a new recruit who's pretty
green and shouldn't have that broad-shouldered musclebound look yet. The mold
is simple and straight forward, with a pretty normal green martial arts uniform,
but with some nice added touches on this version compared to the original Wave
7 version. The wide black shoulder pad/strap breaks up the torso mold well and
adds a nice bit of detailing to the look of the figure. I also really like the
sculpted face mask and think it looks very cool on Kamakura, and a little different
than the typical ninja mask that you get.
Another successful
aspect of this mold is the layered metal samauri-type armor on his arms and
legs. A step in a different direction from the armor we got on the previous
version, it has a very cool design asthetic and looks nice against the dark
green backdrop of the figure. One severe downside to the figure, however, which
is pretty unfortunate, is his rubberized skirting at the bottom of his torso.
Hasbro has been moderately successful employing this feature throughout recent
years, but for whatever reason, on Kamakura it is so tight that it seriously
limits his articulation. He is almost impossible to stand in a fighting stance
because of this thing. It's not a problem his previous version had, and it's
not a problem that Storm Shadow has, but unfortunately this figure is hit pretty
hard, and it really knocks it down a few notches in the playability column.
All in all,
the mold is nice and simple...nothing drastic or dramatic, but effective and
pretty fun for what it is.
Paint Applications/Color Choices
This is another
nice spot on this figure. They go with the flow from how Kamakura looks in the
comics with a base green uniform color, and they step it up a little bit, making
the green even darker and deeper. This combined with the black color of the
shoulder pads and boots as well as the charcoal color of the mask makes the
figure look great and subdued. To make it so the figure isn't TOO subdued, Hasbro
tosses on some nice silver armor to brighten things up a little bit and add
some awesome contrast to what could have been a pretty dark figure. All paint
apps work well with each other and look great.
Accessories
Kamakura comes
with the requisite Uzi, sword and sheath, but the sword is an excellent one.
It looks to possibly be a new sculpt one, and I love the angled handle and sword
design. It's meshes really nicely with the featured sword in the Valor Vs. Venom
movie and is just over all a great updated weapon for Joe martial artists. Not
a whole lot of accessories here, but all the ones that count, and they are well-chosen,
too.
Final Comments
Kamakura is
coming out of his shell in all forms of Joe media, and why should the toyline
be any different. I really like this new version of the figure now that he is
constructed properly, and I am eagerly trying to find a way to work him into
my ongoing Joeverse. His background in Master & Apprentice is great, and
obviously quite a bit different from how he is intended in Valor Vs. Venom (I
think, any way), but I'm confident the two personallities can be merged well
enough to work. This version separates him a little bit from just being a clone
of the DD character and he starts to get more involved in the Joe mythos as
a whole. Now that he has an o-ring, and now that he's packaged with Storm Shadow
(also, finally getting an o-ring!!) this two-pack is a must buy, unless you
hate ninjas.
I
hate to say it, but the character of Kamakura is really, really growing on me.
At first I didn't like him at all, relegating him to Snake Eyes' little gopher
apprentice who was just tossed in the book for the sake of creating a new character...no
real rhyme or reason. However recently, with the conclusion of Master and Apprentice,
the Valor vs. Venom DVD, and now this figure, my opinions of Kamakura are quickly
coming around. I credit most of my newfound respect of the character to Brandon
Jerwa's excellent craftsmanship in M&A, which was one of the most enjoyable
G.I. Joe tales I've read in some time...however, Kamakura's cocky attitude and
slow motion motorcycle skills in VvV: The Movie has definitely made him shine
in my eyes, too.
