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As an impartial observer... M.I.M.P. vs M.U.S.C.L.E.


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#51 ironmask

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Posted 29 October 2011 - 03:22 PM

I'm not going to argue the minutia of whether or not MIMPs are historically accurate or not...
I don't care if they are 100% accurate, I still like M.U.S.C.L.E. better.
Why?

Because I do.

That's the end result of all of the debating, distilled down for everybody.
You like what you like, because you do.
Grown ups are allowed to just say that, y'know...
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#52 ComradeCuttlefish

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Posted 30 October 2011 - 07:53 AM

Yeah, my purpose was not to argue whether MIMP was historically accurate, either. However, the argument that "monsters are cool; wrestlers are stupid" is not a bad one. Wrestlers are stupid. Fake wrestling is dumb.
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#53 jkaris

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Posted 30 October 2011 - 08:41 AM

Fake wrestling is dumb.

... but highly entertaining!
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#54 TOPHER

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Posted 30 October 2011 - 09:23 AM

Monsters aren't supposed to be cool they're scary.

The Fonz was Cool,aaaaaayyy!
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OK,fake wrestling is dumb. :D

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'On Sale' or 'For Sale'. It's really the same thing! The word, 'Sale' means YOU CAN BUY IT,
not that it is discounted. We as consumers are conditioned to think"On Sale"means it's cheaper.
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#55 Ridureyu

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Posted 30 October 2011 - 05:16 PM

Okay, ginormous debate aside:

A: This is an issue of personal preference. Hey, you can even like Boglins the most!

B: Here is my extraordinarily detailed opinion on which I like more.




1. SOURCE MATERIAL

MUSCLE - A Japanese series that really set most of the tropes in boys' action anime. This was lost in the US release, at which point it SEEMED like "random things!" The seemingly-random nature was a pretty good thing for kids' imaginations, as many older collectors will tell you.
MIMP - Mythology from human history and culture since the dawn of time. This is a wonderful thing, and MIMP helped kickstart a lot of my studying tendencies as well as my love of obscure mythology.

2. FIDELITY TO SOURCE MATERIAL

MUSCLE - the MUSCLE sculpts match Kinnikuman pretty well, EXCEPT that a fair number of them have slightly bigger heads. It's a Japanese art style - they'renot QUITE super-deformed, and it's not as exagerrated as the later Ultimate Muscle line, but it is present, especially with the movie characters.
MIMP - MIMP is seriously hit-or-miss. Certain figures, such as the Hydra, are wildly inaccurate, and others, such as the Haniver, will actually mislead kids whose first exposure to that creature is the figure. Also, the Hindu god controversy is well-founded. Turning happy-go-mischeivous Hanuman into a vicious man-eating monster is... not good. Imagine if they made monsters like this:
JESUS: A zombie that makes trees wither, can cause storms, and always comes back from the dead.
BUDDHA: A massive glutton who steals your desires and eats them.
ALLAH: The father of all liars, he lives on the moon and turns Jews into rats to sate his thirst for blood.

See what I mean?

Now, on the OTHER side, some monsters were done exceptionally well. The Nuckelavee, for example, is completely and totally fantastic, and I give them props for it.


3. PLASTIC/RUBBER CONSISTENCY

MUSCLE - Very durable hard rubber. MUSCLEs can be damaged, but they take a ton of ABUSE before it happens. They do get easy, though, and the colors fade a bit with dirt.
MIMP - Softer, more flexible rubber. Feels great, but its flexibility takes away durability, as it is easy to stress and tear. Can get stained or discolored, but is easier to clean after regular play.


4. SCULPT LOOKS AND VARIETY

MUSCLE - Figures look great, have variety (although you can see some similar body types), and are generally pretty solid. However, there is the issue of "not another Muscleman!" going on, as well as some of the coolest kinhkeshi being left out (like Goro). All the same, they manage to incorporate everything from robots to knights and look cool, and even make one-panel nobodies seem awesome. Good job in representing differet textures in the sculpts - compare the toilet paper guy to the cracked sunshine to goriki, for example.
MIMP - sculpts vary wildly. Some of them look FANTASTIC, but some look like a Boy Scout carved them from soap (like that terrible dragon). The good news is that they all look like cartoon art made 3D, which is pretty cool, to be honest. The hits are mega-hits, and the misses are... dat dragon, lol.


5. COLOR:

It's a wash. Although I would have liked to have MUSCLEs in yellow, I would also have liked to have a lot of MUSCLE colors on MIMPs, too. I like 'em both.


6. OVERALL?

I love both lines, but I have gotten more enjoyment out of MUSCLE than MIMP. I didn't bring up MIMP Super Scary series, because it's almost like a whole other toyline. Nor did I bring up the bugs, dinos, sports stars, wrestlers, ninjas, or spacemen, because they are... not my favorites.

Edited by Ridureyu, 30 October 2011 - 05:17 PM.

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#56 mrjayberry

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Posted 30 October 2011 - 05:29 PM

I'm really curious now to figure out which toy line has a greater concentration of great sculpts, good sculpts, and terrible sculpts.

My heart says mucscle is the clear winner but I'm second guessing myself a bit. The problem I always had with M.I.M.P. is the low point sculpts didn't grab me as a child. The Skeleton is a good example of what I didn't like about M.I.M.P. as a kid you couldn't do much with the skeleton but sitting on the shelf it is a fun sculpt.

Just my two cents, like I said maybe I'll take the time to find who has the higher percentage of winners and losers.
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#57 Ridureyu

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Posted 30 October 2011 - 05:59 PM

it would be hard to judge - again, it's not FAIR to include the crappy post-super-scary sculpts (is it fair to include those ones, too? The GitD figures are colored in such a way that you really can't make out the details, anyway), so you'd be dealing with series 1+2+3 verses 233(236) MUSCLEs, so one bad MUSCLE would mean less for the percentage than one bad MIMP, thus weighting it against MIMPs. We would need some way to even the playing field.

Edited by Ridureyu, 30 October 2011 - 06:04 PM.

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#58 Strontium Dog

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Posted 30 October 2011 - 06:44 PM

Also, the Hindu god controversy is well-founded. Turning happy-go-mischeivous Hanuman into a vicious man-eating monster is... not good. Imagine if they made monsters like this:
JESUS: A zombie that makes trees wither, can cause storms, and always comes back from the dead.
BUDDHA: A massive glutton who steals your desires and eats them.
ALLAH: The father of all liars, he lives on the moon and turns Jews into rats to sate his thirst for blood.

See what I mean?


Just an aside, but I would totally buy that toyline.

I think you're being harsh on MIMP, they were obviously constricted by the need to maintain sculpt integrity. So Hydra looks flat and its heads look like feathers.
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#59 Ridureyu

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Posted 30 October 2011 - 08:28 PM

They could've left out the fur/feathery waist, or done flat heads in a different shape, or something like it. The figure looks cool, but.. peacock. peaaaaaaaaaacock. It's actually a very cool Lovecraftian peacock beast, though, just like the Haniver is one of my favorites for being an awesome head-monster despite not being a very good Haniver at all.
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#60 ironmask

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Posted 31 October 2011 - 01:47 PM

Yeah, my purpose was not to argue whether MIMP was historically accurate, either. However, the argument that "monsters are cool; wrestlers are stupid" is not a bad one. Wrestlers are stupid. Fake wrestling is dumb.



Oh? I fight, AND do 'Fake wrestling.'
I would love to hear your opinions about how 'dumb' I must be, based on my hobbies.
Please, indulge me.
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#61 aimforthetop

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Posted 23 November 2011 - 02:01 PM

I'm biased here (born late 70s, MUSCLE was right in the middle of my childhood. MIMP not so much).

But even knowing that I'm biased, I feel objective in saying that MUSCLE is superior thanks to more rugged material making finer details and edges to the sculpt and more solid-feeling in the hand.

Subjectively: I find the humor-style and general cool looks of the Kinnikuman characters better. I prefer the choices of colors also.
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#62 Leitmotiv

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Posted 25 November 2011 - 11:54 PM

However, the argument that "monsters are cool; wrestlers are stupid" is not a bad one. Wrestlers are stupid. Fake wrestling is dumb.


Something that is already fiction, can't be fake right? You know, like cartoons can't be fake, because like... they're cartoons and not real to begin with.

Edited by Leitmotiv, 25 November 2011 - 11:54 PM.

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#63 PimpNugget

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Posted 26 November 2011 - 01:06 AM

Something that is already fiction, can't be fake right? You know, like cartoons can't be fake, because like... they're cartoons and not real to begin with.


?

Edited by PimpNugget, 26 November 2011 - 01:58 AM.

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#64 TwoHeadedBoy

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Posted 26 November 2011 - 06:10 AM

Well, about a month ago I made up a list of my Top 100 Most Favourite Toys Ever, and Monster In My Pocket came out at #1, whereas MUSCLE only managed to get to #21...

Not saying it's a definitive list or anything, just did it in reaction to that one Channel 4 did last Xmas.
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#65 Leitmotiv

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Posted 26 November 2011 - 11:19 AM

?


You know, because these are children's toys as opposed to living and breathing people.
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