Interest

Sailor Mercury Action Figure Previewed by Bandai

Bandai's Tamashii Nations brand showcased an unpainted sample for its S.H. Figuarts Sailor Mercury action figure at the main Sofmap store in Tokyo's Akihabara district on Saturday. (Mercury is peeking from behind Sailor Moon's blond hair.) Bandai has not yet provided a release date for Sailor Mercury.

Bluefin, Bandai's official distributor in North America, notes that the S.H. Figuarts Sailor Moon figure is currently the #1 bestselling figure on Amazon.com in the United States. Amazon just began pre-orders on Wednesday, and Bluefin warned that they might have to close next Friday. However, other stores are also accepting pre-orders.

Here is Sailor Moon/Usagi Tsukino (as voiced by Kotono Mitsuishi) in a promotional video for the figure:

The figure can recreate many familiar, fondly remembered poses from the anime. The 4,410-yen (about US$44) set will come with the figure itself, three interchangeable parts for different facial expressions, three interchangeable left hands, five interchangeable right hands, her cat Luna, two Moon Sticks, and parts for recreating the Moon Tiara Action effect. The first release of the figure will come with two extra facial expressions as bonuses: a winking face, and a crying face.

A new anime adaptation of the manga was announced last year. However, the manga's Kodansha editor Fumi Osano (“Osabu”) confirmed that the anime had been delayed.

Thanks to sushix2000 for the news tip.

[Via Akiba Jigoku]