S.H.Figuarts: Sailor Moon Crystal Season III

If you are new to the world of S.H.Figuarts just like me, the easiest way to describe them would be high-quality action figures. In the past I was somehow always able to resist them, but when the Sailor Moon Crystal Season III figure was announced in the fall of last year, it all changed. She got pre-ordered and finally arrived in January.

Like other types of figures, Nendoroids for example, Sailor Moon comes with five different faceplates, eight pairs of hands and the Spiral Heart Moon Rod that is Sailor Moon’s third rod and weapon in the anime.

Additionally she comes with a translucent heart-shaped stand that has Sailor Moon written on it in hot pink letters and there is also a hot pink moon decorated with stars and vines. You can adjust the height and grip of the claw that is supposed to go around Usagi’s waist. I like the stand because it is sturdy, does its job and is subtle enough not to draw attention away from the figure.

Now about the girl herself: Usagi Tsukino’s aka Sailor Moon’s paint job is very good. Her uniform shines in bright and anime-true colors of rose pink, blue, white and some golden accents here and there. The detailing on her is just adorable. She is wearing the Cosmic Heart Compact on top of her rose pink-colored bow and a choker in rose pink with a golden heart in the middle. There is also a bigger rose-colored bow on top of her skirt on the back. To top off her accessories, there are tiny golden crescent moons on top of her boots and everyone of her faceplates includes her dangly golden star and crescent moon earrings, as well as her tiara that has a metallic red gem detail painted in its middle. On each side of her bangs that are parted in the middle, there are her white hair clips and in the middle of her dangos (or buns) are her round metallic red clips with silver frames.

At first I was not a big fan of the faceplates with Sailor Moon’s shut mouth because they seemed too subtle for my liking. After playing around for a bit, I started to appreciate them more, even though I have to say that I still prefer the plates with her mouth open. They give her a fiercer expression, which the other’s really don’t considering that their main distinction are the eyebrows. Also consider the fact that the main part of her brows is also covered up by Usagi’s bangs.

Above you can see my favorite pose that played a big part in buying this figure, when I saw it in the stock-pictures. Not only can you bend Sailor Moon’s knees, elbows and move her shoulder-, hip-joints, wrists and ankles; her long pig tails are adjustable as well. They are out of a different, softer kind of plastic than the rest of the figure and are a darker yellow at the tops and ends with a translucency to them.

I will end this post now with an absolute recommendation. I am extremely picky, when it comes to Sailor Moon-figures. Although I will always love the 90ies-anime a lot more than the new Crystal-series, which has as of this writing three seasons and will probably add two more, the Sailor Moon Crystal Season III figure by S.H.Figuarts totally blew me away. And there really is nothing better than more merch of your favorite series, now is there?!

Thank you so much for reading!

Theri