SH Figuarts Anakin Skywalker figure review – Attack of the Clones

Jeffrey Lyles November 1, 2018 0 Comments Anakin Skywalker, Hayden Christensen, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Padme, SH Figuarts, Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones

I love Attack of the Clones. It’s such a fun movie with some classic Star Wars action, great character moments, the start of a war and the most ominous ending of any Star Wars film. While Obi-Wan Kenobi has most of the best scenes, I love the continued progression of Anakin Skywalker as he starts to show exactly why he’s going to become the scourge of the galaxy very soon. I got into SH Figuarts’ Star Wars line too late to get the AOTC Padme and Anakin Skywalker at a decent price. I had no buyer’s remorse after getting Padme. Will I say the same about Anakin?

Packaging: As great as their figures are, Figuarts really doesn’t seem all that interested in cool packaging. Although, I definitely prefer the closed package style of Anakin and Padme as the open window presentation on the others doesn’t do much for me. There’s a nice drawing of Anakin on the front reminiscent of the Star Wars Black Series imagery.

sh figuarts anakin skywalker figure review - package front

sh figuarts anakin skywalker figure review - package rear

sh figuarts anakin skywalker figure review -package side

sh figuarts anakin skywalker figure review - package side portrait

The side features a slimmer version of the figure pictured on the front. With a decent collection of them now, I do really like the side portraits. The back shows a few more shots of the figure in some action poses and alongside some other AOTC-era figures. I don’t want to get further into the rabbit hole and start getting SH Figuarts Clone Troopers, but I think this will be a losing battle come the Revenge of the Sith clones.

Likeness: It’s easy to see the Hayden Christensen likeness in the head sculpt. This is Padawan Anakin so he’s got a youthful, almost most innocent expression. Figuarts has all the details down from his braid and rat tail.

The intricacies of his Jedi tunic with the inner layer, main layer and vest are all done perfectly. Notice how the sleeves have a little room to them without being too poofy. The boots are the appropriate length and look very solid.

Scale: Even before he gets the cybernetic lifts, Anakin was a tall guy. I’ll chalk this up to him not spending decades milking aliens. Anakin is the tallest of the prequel figures we’ve gotten so far.

Paint: The Jedi clearly missed a few warning signs with Anakin. Taking him away from his mother when he’s old enough to remember her and his infatuation with Padme might have been hard to spot, but his fondness of wearing darker Jedi robes should have been a red flag.

sh figuarts anakin skywalker figure review - front

sh figuarts anakin skywalker figure review - rear

sh figuarts anakin skywalker figure review -right side

sh figuarts anakin skywalker figure review -left side

Figuarts did a good job of capturing the color transitions of light to dark in Anakin’s outfit. His hair isn’t even as bright gold as some of the other figures in the line. That’s a big plus for me.

Articulation: There’s not a lot you won’t be able to do posing-wise with this guy. Figuarts engineers their body types to provide maximum articulation without compromising the sculpt. In this case the only trouble is it’s hard to get the signature Jedi two-hand lightsaber pose. For all the Jedi, that seems like it should have been the first articulation concern rather than a happy afterthought.

sh figuarts anakin skywalker figure review -reaching for lightsaber

sh figuarts anakin skywalker figure review -raising lightsaber lit

Anakin Skywalker has:

Neck
Shoulders
Elbows (double-jointed)
Wrist
Waist
Hips
Knees (double-jointed)
Ankles

Accessories: There’s a super exclusive (read: more expensive) version, but the standard figure has all the real essential accessories I needed.

First up are two additional hand options — the force push and lightsaber clutching. Since Anakin wasn’t getting into too many brawls, I doubt I’ll use the fists at all.

He also has his trust light saber. This isn’t the one Obi-Wan retrieved to give to Anakin. This one gets squashed in the Geonosian mines.

The deluxe exclusive figure also includes an alternate angry head sculpt and an additional green lightsaber. Since I don’t have a slew of Tusken Raiders to slaughter, I don’t mind not having the angry head. Anakin wasn’t nearly as angry and aggressive on Geonosis. Or maybe I’m just trying to convince myself I didn’t need it?

And in a pinch, I’ll just borrow Jedi Luke’s green saber to replicate that 30-seconds of AOTC when Anakin had two lightsabers. The trailer had me psyched thinking Anakin was going to fight Count Dooku the whole time with two sabers. That was a bummer.

As usual, I’ll complain about the lack of a Jedi robe and it seems like Figuarts missed the opportunity to include a robotic right arm. That would have been a nice bonus accessory.

Worth It? At this point it really depends on how crazy a Star Wars fan you are. You can find a ‘cheap’ Anakin for $160 and if you can track down a good eBay coupon he becomes a better deal. Is he worth that much? Probably not, but with reasonable prices for the AOTC Obi-Wan, Mace Windu, Jango Fett and a Count Dooku on the way, it doesn’t make much sense not to have him and Padme.