Bandai’s Yumi Ashigaru Stormtrooper Action Figure
If you are a Star Wars fan, you may have heard that George Lucas was an admirer of Japanese director: Akira Kurosawa. Lucas himself has said: “Kurosawa’s films have served as one of my strongest sources of creative inspiration.” Having read that statement, and taking a look at Darth Vader’s costume, you can see some elements that have been borrowed from samurai armor: kabuto (helmet), menpo (mask), and a katana (sword). A modern twist was applied to these components in the Star Wars films…but what if we went in another direction with Star Wars armor and applied a more traditional twist? Enter Bandai’s Movie Realization action figure line! In this post, I will be reviewing an Imperial Stormtrooper Archer, known as Yumi Ashigaru Trooper.
Yumi Ashigaru Trooper is about the same size as the Hasbro Black Series 6″ figures. However, he/she is a little pricier than Black Series characters. I picked mine up for about $70 on Amazon. It may sound like a hefty price, but taking a closer look at the trooper, you know where that money went. The detail is phenomenal, as is the articulation. This trooper is very moveable and can be placed in an infinite number of poses.
Opening the box, you can see that the trooper comes with the following accessories:
- Collapsable Bow
- Arrows
- Arrow Quiver worn on back
- Katana (sword)
- Shirasaya (sword case)
- 4 sets of left/right hands
There are also instructions on which hand sets to use for the accessories. The hands have the following grips:
- Closed fist
- Katana grasp
- Bow grasp
- Arrow grasp
Here’s a closer look at the ornate detail on the trooper’s armor:
And zooming out a bit:
Life in every breath. That is the way of the warrior. That is Bushido.
– Katsumoto played by Ken Watanabe in “The Last Samurai”
The trooper’s quiver not only stores 5 arrows, but also holds the collapsable bow securely on the figure’s back.
The trooper’s katana can be held in hand, or stored in the Shirasaya that mounts to the belt:
Let’s check out the bow and arrows! As previously mentioned, the trooper has detachable hands that grip both the fletching (feathers) of the arrow, and the bow.
If you are into figure collecting and cool mash-ups, I highly recommend checking out Bandai’s Tamashi Nations Movie Realization line of Star Wars figures.