Oroshi, which means "Downward Wind" in Japanese, is actually a repaint of Waza (means "Technique" apparently), a Thailand Toy Expo 2013 3A Exclusive. He is also the 1st of the TKlub, short for Tomorrow King Club, a marketing campaign by 3A. Basically, you have to buy all of a certain number of TKlub figures to be entitled to a free gift, ie. If you buy TK1, TK2 and TK3, you will only need to pay for shipping for FG (Free Gift). Oroshi is the 1st of 3 TKlub figures that will entitle you to a Tomorrow King Mook (Magazine + Book) that is supposed to contain all TK art to date.
Some say that 3A's being nice for throwimg something free as a reward for people who bought all the figures. I think if the company is "being nice", they ought to just make the Mook (or any FG) available for purchase by people who didn't buy all TKs. Truth is, the Mook will not be available through any other official channels for purchase, so... essentially, it is a marketing strategy. Dangle the carrot and make 'em collectors buy more! Collectors are not given any option to pay and buy just the FG, even if they like it but hate the TK1, 2 and 3. This brings us to the crux of how this system will work: do you like all that 3A has to offer, or will u be forced to buy crap (a relative term, mind you) that you don't like, for the sake of getting the FG? Clearly, 3A has much to gain from this system, so perhaps it is not that they are being totally nice. They didn't have to do it? Well, only they will know whether such a system will reap more profits in the long run.
I think this marketing tactic is quite effective, probably because it worked on me! When Waza was announced, here are my thoughts:
1. New headsculpt, not bad but not much of a breakthrough, just more hair.
2. Parka again? Wasn't Kyoku supposed to own "the last of OG Oya styled jacket"? Oh! The pockets are different.
3. Standard issue swords again...
4. An event exclusive? Ok...... Glad it is something I can live without.
Then when Oroshi was announced, I still bought one. All because I wanted to get the TK art mook. As though it is not enough that fans are encouraged by the TKlub system to buy at least one, A. Wood decides to throw in some chase variant. "Make 'em suckers buy multiples so we can sell more and make more money!!! For the fun of it, cause surprises are soooooo fun!!!" he says. So grey (think Loper) and black limited chase variants were thrown in at random. Only not totally random cause 3A hooks up "long time supporters who has been there since day 1 and spent loads a money and time on 3A" by ensuring they score the chase variants. On one hand, it is nice to know 3A looks after their own, and on the other, it is a little sad knowing that I will never make it into this inner circle. I probably don't have the time and capacity to do it either. It isn't fair you say? Well... the real world is hardly fair... and for me, scoring a chase is like striking lottery. Sadly, in all my 30 years I've never had any luck with lottery so I know my chance of scoring a chase is next to zero (literally, since I bought only 1!). Alas, I have seen people who bought 3 and scored 3 black variants, and folks who bought 3 to get 3 normal ones so... I'm good.
Wow! A good half of the review is spent and I haven't even started on the figure yet!? Well, I wish I can just say "Oroshi was dropped on 27 March 2013 and it was shipped on time for a change" but, truth is a lot of things happened for this first TKlub release. I feel that an understanding of these things is quite essential in appreciating the figure in full. And now, the figure...
Oroshi is packed in "old style packaging", which actually meant how the first TKs were packed back in the days of Yama, Naga, etc. A simple shoe box, secured by a big piece of sticker (which is the box art) wrapped around the whole box, then shrink wrapped. This actually means that you will have to cut the box art sticker to access the figure... but fear not; armed with a pen knife it can still be done quite neatly.
Straight out of the box, Oroshi is all dressed up in his attire and all you have to do is equip him with his swords. Jokes aside, the pockets are not the only things different with the jacket. First things first, the figure sports the slim shoulder body, and so the jacket is tailored for it. Let's talk about the improvements first: this new jacket has Velcro straps for sleeve ends, a detail that I like quite a bit. Also, a wire has been inserted in the hood trimming for some poseability. Not that there was anything wrong with the old design, but this wire does come in handy. One minor issue I had was that the pouch on the back that you used to be able to find on the classic Oya jacket has been omitted; you can't slot the swords in like as though the TKs are sporting rabbit ears. So go ahead, slot 'em katanas into the belt and off you go.
The T-shirt shows a square logo with chesse like cut-outs and reads "Wish we had met last life", "The D.I.Y.S". It is usually never clearly spelt out when it comes to 3A, but a safe guess is that the D.I.Y.S is referring to the TKYO band group of 4 that was previously released (as reviewed here by yours truly). Evidently, the slim shoulder body isn't really a looker without any shirt on, but man, the articulation on the shoulders are pretty crazy. The hinges really go in almost all directions. One thing I liked about Oroshi is that the quality of joints is really good. They are adequately tight, but not too tight, and he can hold up most poses real well (not that I am really good at posing figures).
3A recently admitted that they made a mistake for missing out on the left bicep tattoo that reads "VIC40" that was shown in the promo. They declared that replacement bodies with the tattoo decals applied on will be compensated to all who bought and received the normal version. I wonder why they bother, since probably only A. Wood knows what the tattoo means, and nobody really noticed it was missing. Still, I applaud 3A for their willingness to correct their mistake. I know the same can't be said for many toy manufacturers out there (I recently had issues with Original Effect and their poor QC for Viola, and was saved only by the reputable retailer that I purchased her from... long story). I hope that with a new bod on its way, people will be more encouraged to whip out their spray cans and dyes to customize their Oroshis into the Lopers / Black Variants that they never got. Tsk...
An astute friend of mine then remarked, "so... they have a record of who gets the normal and who gets the variant?" Well... as I said, 3A did give some select individuals special privileges. Of course, while they have a list of do-gooders to distribute their candies to, surely they will never compile a black list of haters that shall never receive chase variants! ***insert evil laughter*** I digress.. my imagination always gets the better of me...
BTW, if you haven't handled 3A figures before, I strongly encourage you to strip the figure down to its bare body to
As the blog states, Oroshi's headsculpt will "retire and never be used again"... I never thought I would say this but I actually think it is a pity since, in hand, I actually like this headsculpt. It looks like something you will see if Baka suddenly jumps up into the air very quickly, or if there is a pretty heavy downward draft... HEY! There you have it! The origin of the name "Oroshi"! ***drum rolls, smacks the cymbal***
I know what you are thinking... Eew... Purplish maroon hair and shoes...? Yucks! Well, I had that reaction too initially but like most things unexpected, they did grow on me. If you really hate them so much, they really are just a few masking tape and a spray can away from your favourite shade of green. ;)
Oroshi's forearm popped out when I was trying to pull out his glove and put his jacket on. Not a big issue, but a pretty interesting detail. This will make spraying the forearm easier if you are thinking of implementing some customization. If the tattoo had been designed to be on the forearm, I wonder whether replacement forearms will be compensated instead of the full body. Heh... well, it is what it is so kudos to 3A.
These shots are so static... Gonna try some dynamic posing.
End of dynamic posing, and back to boring standing poses. Heh...
Final verdict? I enjoyed the figure a lot. Turns out it wasn't just a necessary expenditure to acquire the TK mook that I thought it would be. I had fun posing it with all the tight joints. If you hadn't bought yours yet, don't worry... I expect that they will flood the secondary market since rich folks out there must have bought multiples of them in hopes of doubling or tripling their chances of scoring a chase... suckers... Wait a couple of months when the hype has died, probably with the release of TKlub 2 Nage figure, and we shall see how far their prices shall dip...!
As the saying goes, the clothes make the man, and the newly tailored jacket does look really nice on the slim body. Being a black parka that is preceded only by Yama's, it adds some warmth to the sad gloom of knowing that I will never afford the Original.
Unless I strike lottery.
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