Hot Toys MMS98 Goemon the Movie 1/6 scale Chacha Asai

This is my first Hot Toys figure. I was mesmerised by the beauty of this figure when I saw the prototype pictures up on XL-Shop’s pre-order list few months back. Futhermore, she is reflective of the pretty Ryoko Hirosue. Being a toy collector for the longest time that I can remember, I have been an avid fan of fantastic movies and also games. As you all would have known, I am more of a Final Fantasy collector than a Hot Toys collector. It so happen that I find this figure produced by Hot Toys to be delicate and unique in its representation of Asian cultures which captures the rich history of Japan back in the “Sengoku” period of Japanese history. I hope to be able to provide an objective review of this figure because I am not familiar with the positive and negative points of figures produced by Hot Toys and I have not seen the movie yet. I only know that Hot Toys is one of the leading companies in producing 1/6 scale or 12 inch figures from various movies aside from Slideshow and Medicom.

Packaging

This figure is nicely packed into a white box with a magnetic flap that enables one to view the figure when it is opened. The design of the box is very simple. It has a picture of the Ryoko Hirosue who plays the character Chacha Asai on the front and the back of the box is a sample picture of the prototype figure. Once open, the figure is protected by two layers of transparent plastic cover and a black plastic box to hold the figure in tact. Amazingly, the head of the figure is also protected by a plastic cover to ensure that the paint job is not smeared. You may look for the 20 inch LOTR Gandalf figure produced by NECA few years back to see a good example of this smearing on his nose. 

Figure sculpt

I have read some reviews on the sculpting of this figure from other forums such as Toys World Hong Kong, Figures.com etc. I must say that the real figure might not be a total 100% depiction of the prototype especially the head and face sculpt but nevertheless both hair and face are sculpted in detail. Then again, prototype figures are meant to advertise and entice collectors to buy them, so they might have been “photoshoped” to perfection… who knows …

Real sculpt and prototype sculpt

Coming back, the facial features of Chacha Asai are laudable: her eyes, brows, nose and glossy lips are nice. It is just that she needs a nice hair to suit her facial features. Some collectors in Toys World forum commented that she would look better with synthetic hair like other figures made by Hot Toys i.e., Silken Floss but in this case, plastic hair is not so bad after all. It is more like she looks better in synthetic hair because the facial features of this figure are very realistic. Once you are able to fit the synthetic hair onto the figure, her facial features will be slightly enhanced. This will also improve the overall impression of her hair sculpt. It will be interesting to see Hot Toys coming up with synthetic hair for her in future if they decide to make one to complement the Asian look. 

Head sculpt of Chacha Asai

Photos from a HT collector in Toys World forum

Credits to: diodio18

Costume and accessories

I must say that her dress looks absolutely stunning. Costume is one of the reasons why I bought this figure. Chacha Asai looks gorgeous in this red kimono. Best of all the dress is designed with great details. I like the outer layer of her dress which combines intricate designs with the Japanese culture during the “Sengoku” era. Her dress is made up of two layers of fabric. The outer layer (coat) builds the “Sengoku” look of this figure with its gold-embroidered fabric whereas the inner fabric represents the basic kimono dress with additional designs sewn on it. The outer layer also forms an “obi” like piece of a kimono dress that looks like a big ribbon on the waist of the figure when viewed from the back.

Front and back view of the figure

Chacha Asai comes with few accessories compared to Goemon Ishikawa. She comes with a fan, a dagger, 2 interchangeable hands and a stand. Besides that, I think her Japanese slippers can also be considered part of the accessories that comes with this figure. It is typical of Japanese culture for ladies to have fans and slippers as accessories and they complement her look above all. I am not sure why the dagger is there as I have not seen the movie yet. Is she an assassin in disguise?

Chacha Asai's accessories

 Points of articulation

This figure has about 30 points of articulation. So far I managed to capture some poses and it seemed good. It explains the plus points of a new Tru-Type body of Hot Toys line that allows various articulations as mentioned in her counterpart figure Goemon Ishikawa in Figures.com’s review. I wonder how is this type of figure better compared to the Hot Angels body from other figures.

  












Paint job

The paint job of this figure is commendable. Despite not 100% reflective of the prototype picture, her details still pack a punch that depicts realistic features of the actress Ryoko Hirosue. The skin tone and colour of her eyes, brows are great and her lips are stunning.

Note her lips

Cost

There is no doubt that this figure costs quite a fortune (RM 498) but the striking details depicted by this figure prove the figure's worth: realistic looks to the intricate designs of her dress and accessories. I must say that this figure is impressive and I cannot wait to see the movie.

Thanks for reading. I hope Hot Toys will be able to produce more impressive figures that capture the essence of Asian cultures. I am not entirely sure but it seems that Goemon is the first line of Hot Toys figures that features Asian aesthetics. More goodies to come.