Tag Archives: cowboy bebop

Sep 13 2023

Popup Parade (Cowboy Bebop) Jet Black, Edward & Ein by Max Factory

A couple of weeks back I started checking out Popup Parade’s Cowboy Bebop figures with Spike and Faye and I promised I would be back soon to round out the bunch with Jet Black and Edward. And here we are back in the saddle again! So, get everybody and the stuff together… Okay, three, two, one, let’s jam!

Last time I commented on how the packaging here is a mixed bag. On the one hand, the packaging is practically a display case with the sides, top and front all translucent plastic, and only the illustrated backer to block the view of the figure from behind. They’re also collector friendly! On the downside, the art design is so generic that you really have to look very close just to find the name fo the characters and the franchise. Both figures come completely assembled and only need to be plugged into their base to be ready for display. Let’s start with Jet!

Like Spike and Faye, Jet is posed with his sidearm drawn and ready. In this case it’s down in front of him as he scans off in the distance to see what needs shooting. It strikes a nice balance between a piece of museum style composition with just a whiff of excitement that shit is about to go down. I really love the body sculpt here. Jet is nice and buff, there’s some rumples to his blue suit, he’s got big chonky kicks, shoulder guards and they did a really nice job on the sculpted cuts of his artificial arm.

The coloring is also excellent with some gradient shades to the blue suit, a rich matte gray for the boots, and some red from the undershirt visible through the short sleeve and the plunging collar. You also get an extra splash of color in the sculpted yellow and red insignia on his back.

The portrait is OK. I think the overall likeness is pretty good and I love how they sculpted his beard and sideburns. You also get the implant under his right eye and the scar bisecting his eyebrow. Honestly, the only thing about this portrait that gives me pause is the expression in the eyes, which just look kind of startled to me, and not really in character for Jet. It’s not enough to ruin the figure, but I think they could have done better. Moving on to Radical Edward and Ein…

Or is that Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivruski the Fourth? Either way, doing both Edward and Ein as one release was surely the way to go here and I love what they went with these two. I’ve had a few nitpicks here and there with the rest of the Bebop crew, but I think they nailed Ed in every way possible. Everything about her is just pitch perfect, from the way she’s walking to the expression on her face. I also love that she’s got an armful of Ein, rather than just having Ein standing on the base.

The skin tone here is a lot warmer and more even than some of the others and not at all waxy. I also dig the gloss finish to her shorts. But possibly the real show stealer here are the perfect little pads on Ein’s feet. It’s just adorable.

Everything about the portrait here is spot on perfect, from the huge expressive eyes to the rosey cheeks. I really dig the way the hair is sculpted to spike out behind the goggles. Ein’s expression is fantastic too.

As I mentioned last time, I paid $30 for these, but the MSRP is around $45. The former is pretty fair, the later is pushing it. I think it’s just worth noting that I’ve picked up prize figures for less that I would say could give these a run for their money. I actually think Jet and Edward feel like a bit better quality work than Spike and Faye, but I think they’re all pretty solid and they sure do look great together. It never ceases to amaze me how little Cowboy Bebop merch is out there, so it’s nice to have the characters represented on my shelf, even if I would much rather have them as Figmas or Figuarts.

Aug 21 2023

Popup Parade (Cowboy Bebop) Spike Spiegel and Faye Valentine by Max Factory

A short while back I picked up some Popup Parade figures at my not-so local comic shop and was pretty happy with them. Well, last week I was back in that area and they had some more at a bit of a discount and my impulse control failed me so I picked up a few more. Honestly, I think what did me in here was the fact that I have never been confronted with Cowboy Bebop figures while out and about, so I could hardly say no and quickly picked up the four they had. Actually, now that I think about it, these are probably the only Cowboy Bebop merch that I own, which goes to show you how little there is out there. Anyway, let’s have a look at Spike and Faye.

Popup Parade’s packaging has it’s ups and downs. I love how it’s almost all plastic (take that, Hasbro!) and that they actually work as their own display cases since all but the back of the figures are exposed and there’s plenty of room for light to get in. On the downside, the branding is really subtle with the character names in tiny fonts and nothing that shouts the Cowboy Bebop franchise. Still, everything here is collector friendly and I will likely display the figures in the packages for the time being. At roughly 7-inch scale, these are definitely in the prize figure class, and each come with generic black display bases to plug the figure into. Let’s start with Spike…

Be careful with this guy! My figure’s ankle snapped while I was gingerly inserting the pegs into the stand, and no wonder because they are very thin and delicate. I was able to glue it back with no problems, but who wants broken toys right out of the box? I like the pose they went with here. Spike exudes what I can only call his characteristic casual confidence, with one hand shoved in his pocket and the other arm drawing up his weapon. And might I add, it’s nice to see Spike exhibiting the proper trigger discipline! They really nailed his lanky proportions as well as the appearance of his suit, which isn’t heavy with detail, but does have some nice rumples and rolled up sleeves. The popped collar and the loose necktie are nice touches as well. The coloring on the suit looks pretty good, but the paint on the tie could have been sharper.

I think the portrait is a pretty good likeness, but it took a little bit for the hair sculpt to grow on me. At first it looked off, but the more I look at it, the more I like it. Spike’s chaotic coif is not something that is easy to reproduce in 3D, but I think what we got works well enough. Spike’s eyes are drawn very sharp and I love the little hint of a smirk on his broad thin line of a mouth. My biggest gripe with this figure is the skin tone which looks rather pale and waxy. It’s often a complaint that I have with lower end prize figures, but I’ve seen it done better at this price range. Still, all in all it’s a decent figure. How about Faye?

I’m happy to report there were no breakages with Faye, but then only one of her feet peg into the base, so there was no need to stress her. Once again, I think they did a great job with this pose Faye looks down over her shoulder, while shifting her weight to one foot as she racks the slide of her pistol and gets ready for action. This figure has several sweet spots to choose from when positioning her on the shelf. Her outfit is a lot more complex than Spike’s with the jacket tied around her and resting on her elbows and I like that they sculpted the tops of her stockings, rather than just paint them. There’s also a nice sense of depth to her boots, as her ankles disappear into them. I thought gold was an interesting choice for her top and shorts, as I would have gone with yellow, but it definitely makes the figure pop. No pun intended. The peach colored stockings, aqua colored boots, and red jacket all make for a great looking deco.

The head sculpt is a homerun and, just like Spike, her features are printed perfectly sharp. The hair looks fantastic as it billows out around her face a bit as if being tussled by a sudden head turn. But yeah, the skin tone looks even a bit more waxy here than on Spike, and it’s certainly more obvious because Faye is showing a lot of skin. Does it ruin the figure for me? Heck no. It’s just one of those things that these cheaper prize figures often struggle to get right.

I paid $30 each for this pair on sale, and that was down from the $45 they were stickered at. Thirty feels about right, while the original retail is way too high. I like them and I’m happy to have them on my shelf, but I think SEGA and TAITO are doing figures on par or in some cases a smidge better quality than these at even less. And while those are nice and all, they aren’t Cowboy Bebop characters, and that’s what ultimately won me over on this pair. Next week I’ll swing back and finish off the set with a look at Jet Black and Edward!

Jun 24 2017

Pop! Vinyls (Cowboy Bebop): Spike, Jet, Faye, and Ed by Funko

I was all ready to open up another Kantai Collection Figma for this week’s Anime Saturday, but then I thought, “why not serve up a little variety and do something else.” How about some Pop! Vinyls! Yes, folks, while I don’t buy a whole lot of these, the truth is I’m still part of the problem, even if just marginally so. But at least I can still say I’m very choosy about the ones I buy, and those purchases are often targeted at franchises that haven’t been properly exploited in plastic. Apart from a couple Play Arts Kai figures, there’s a bewildering lack of merchandising around Cowboy Bebop. I don’t get this. I mean, seriously? Still no Figmas or Figuarts for the Bebop crew? I get that the love affair with this series has waned in recent years. As always, the more the Internet adores something, the more they will turn on it later on, and I feel that’s set in vis-a-vis Bebop. But to me, Cowboy Bebop belongs among the classic anime that it steals borrows from. And, as usual, Funko has stepped in to fill the plastic void with some of their goddamn Pop!s.

Today I’m looking at all four of the current BePop! offerings, numbers 145 to #148 in the Pop! Animation Series if you’re keeping track. They originally showed off some concept art for Ein a while back, but I haven’t seen him actually make it to vinyl yet. As for the packaging, these all come in standard Pop! window boxes. If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all. There’s a pyramid of these things at the local Barnes & Noble. I think they have more Pop!s than books now. Anyway, let’s run through these, starting with Spike Spiegal.

This is a great likeness for a Pop!, and there’s no doubt about who he’s supposed to be. I love the way the head cocks to the side ever so slightly and they really nailed his Dylan-esque mop of hair. The body is not as lanky as it should be, but let’s face it, one doesn’t buy Pop!s looking for accurate proportions. They did a great job on his blue futuristic leisure suit, complete with yellow shirt and loose tie. He’s even got a cigarette burning in his right hand. The paint quality on this one is excellent, with pretty clean lines and not much slop to speak about. While he doesn’t really need it, Spike comes with a clear disc stand to help keep him from toppling over. Five out of five Woolongs.

Jet Black is also unmistakable to me in this Pop! form. Of course, his portrait is a lot more distinctive than Spike’s, thanks to his cyborg implant and unique choice of facial hair. They even sculpted in the scar that runs down the right side of his face. Unfortunately, they didn’t line up the break in his eyebrow paint to match it, but it doesn’t bother me that much. The rest of the paint is really good, especially the emblem printed on the back of his jacket. Jet is the only one in the lineup that doesn’t come with a stand, nor does he have peg holes in his feet, but he stands just fine on his own. Even if I take a little something away for the botched scar paint, he still gets four out of five servings of Bell Peppers and Beef. Tasty!

Faye Valentine is another very distinctive looking character that translates really well to Pop! form. With her purple hair and yellow hairband, I think I would probably know who this was even if you just handed me her head. The outfit is also created down to the last details of her mid-riff crossing suspenders and thigh-high stockings. I even like the way she’s standing with her hands on her hips and her weight shifted slightly to one side. The paint here is pretty damn good too! The yellow sure is flashy, and I like the mix of gloss and matte finishes. No complaints here, five out of five regurgitated poker chips.

And that brings us to Edward, and another direct hit for this series. Funko had a lot to work with here when it comes to the portrait. The blush on her cheeks is well executed, the hair is great, and the goggles that she wears up on her head actually feature translucent tinted green lenses. She has the simplest outfit among all of them, but it still hits all the right points. The plastic used for her skin tone is a little too shiny for my taste, but I’m not even going to take any points off for that. Five out of Five super-intelligent corgi pups. Arf!!!

What I really enjoy about this set of Pop! Vinyls is that it not only fills the Cowboy Bebop shaped void in my collection, but it’s an easy in and out. Funko may make more of these, we may eventually get that Ein or maybe a Vicious or a Julia, but I don’t need them, because the core of the show’s cast is right here and ready to go up on my shelf. And the beautiful thing about Pop!s is that I rarely ever have to pay full price for them. Someone is almost always doing some kind of deal to chip away at the piles of these on retail shelves. In this case, I got in on a BOGO, so these basically only set me back a fiver each. Not bad at all. And that’s it for today’s Anime Saturday. I think it’s time I blow this scene. Get everybody and the stuff together. Ok. 3. 2. 1. Let’s jam. dundundundundundundundun duuuuuuuuuuuun …