Storm Shadow doesn't need an introduction - he's Snake-Eyes' rival, who often works for Cobra, although he's changed sides more than once. What's important to note is that he's never gotten a good figure. There's always something wrong with them, from having an articulation-limiting action feature to just looking silly. Well, it's finally changed. The best Storm Shadow sculpt to date was released in Wave 1 of Valor vs. Venom, but it featured a terrible Action Attack that limited the figure's articulation to one arm and one leg. People complained. That sculpt has been retooled into a normally-articulated Joe figure, and I don't think that I've seen a bad review of it yet.
Kamakura is a ninja with the name of a city. As I've mentioned in a previous review, naming a ninja Kamakura is like naming a cowboy Albuquerque. Anyway, his first sculpt was about 7 feet tall, and his second one had the same action attack problem as Storm Shadow. THEY'VE FINALLY FIXED IT.
Sculpt:
Storm Shadow: Storm Shadow's sculpt is not exactly the same as the action attack version - there are tiny differences here and there. 99.9% of them are improvements - greater detailing on his belt, more intricate dragon patterns - in fact, the dragon design on his back is the only thing that looks less complex in the new figure. Firstly, the head scu,pt - his mask looks more like cloth than spandex, since you can't see the perfect outline of his mouth anymore. I love the embossed Cobra symbol going over his face, too. His torso has some really nice designs along the collar and shoulder, and the strap that obviously connects with his backpack is pretty well-detailed. the dragon on his back is also very nice. Storm Shadow's waist and legs have the biggest change, but the twisting dragon designs look just as good. Overall, this figure is easily one of the best-looking Joes ever.
Kamakura: Kamakura's sculpt is also not exactly identical to his AA one. For one thing, they fixed the height - instead of being 7'3", Kamakura is the sma eheight as nearly everybody else. For the most part, he looks the same, except for some subtle differences which improve the sculpt - his torso is better-designed, his waist skirt doesn't interfere much with movement and has a nice molded pattern on it, and he has new shin armor. As a result, Kamakura now looks like a valid ninja. He can actually be USED as one, for one thing. woooooow.
Paint Job:
Storm Shadow: Storm Shadow is primarily white and red, with some gray and black accents. the color pallette is excellent, and is both reminiscent of his original sculpt and striking in its own right. Sure, white ninjas aren't the best at camoflague (except in the snow), but he just looks too cool to be anything else. Besides, a black ninja in the desert sticks out just as much.
Kamakura: Kamakura is still primarily green, but one big change has been made - his mask is now black instead of yellow, and his arm and shin guards are silver. This maked a huge difference, and goes more toward making him look like a ninja as opposed to a living target. I can actually take Kamakura a little seriously now.
Articulation:
Both figures now have NORMAL JOE ARTICULATION, which is an incredible bonus. their Action Attack incarnations were only good for standing still, but now these guys can be posed in pretty much any way imaginable. The articulation makes this set.
Accessories:
Storm Shadow: All of Storm Shadow's accessories are unique to him. Firstly, he comes with two chinese hook swords, which are expertly sculpted and painted. He also has a bo staff that splits in two, and a backpack that can comfortably store all the weapons (as well as having some little shuriken sculpted on). His accessories are EXCELLENT, and I couldn't imagine Storm Shadow with anything else - even though his AA incarnation came with a normal sword and some nunchuks. Storm Shadow also has the same loincloth that his Action Attack incarnation comes with, which adds very nicely to his sculpt.
Kamakura: Kamakura comes with a darned wrist communicator, Snake-eyes' old uzi (A great gun sculpt if there ever was one), and a new sword with a sheath. This sword is obviously made to match the special one that Kamakura had in the VvV movie - you know, the one that he couldn't pull out of its sheath half of the time. It's very well-made, and even the sheath has some specific details in it. I really like these accessories, and they just add to the figures' play value. Something important, too, is that the AA Kamakura came with very generic, minimalist accessories - his old sword was a glorified butterknife. Thus, these weapons look MUCH better in comparison.
Pricing: At $7.99, this isn't that bad a price - this set is kind of hard to get ahold of, though.
GOtGM (1-10): 3. There's nothing offensive about these guys.
Overall (1-5): 4.8 out of 5. Why didn't it get a 5? Because Kamakura's not as cool as some other ninjas
Seriously, though, this set is easily as good as the Venomous Maximus one, and is one of my favorites in the GI joe line - and I'm not even a fan of the ninjas!Images:
Storm Shadow:
http://yojoe.com/act...mshadow15.shtml
http://generalsjoes....tormshadow.html
Kamakura:
http://yojoe.com/act...kamakura3.shtml
http://generalsjoes....4/kamakura.html
Edited by Ridureyu, 13 November 2004 - 04:01 PM.
