Being a huge Tiger & Bunny nut, I’m very fond of Wild Tiger’s infamous “crapsuit” costume, or as normal people call it, the Top MaG outfit. Owning every mold of the S.H. Figuarts Tiger & Bunny characters so far, Top MaG Wild Tiger was a no brainer when he came up for preorder last year, and now that I have him, I can say he’s been met with some mixed feelings. While the base figure itself has a ton of charm relaying Wild Tiger’s early character, the overall package leaves quite a bit to be desired in both the mold and accessories. (As always, click on the pictures for larger versions!)
Wild Tiger has standard ball-jointed articulation in the head, as well as having some motion and wiggle in the neck area for some extra movement. I think both of Top MaG Tiger’s included faces look great, but a 3rd one might have added some extra value to the set.
Wild Tiger’s shoulders are a bit weird compared to most S.H. Figuarts. While the shoulder articulation is great overall (ball-joint and hinge), instead of adding a bicep swivel Bandai just decided to give the arm the ability to slide around the shoulder’s ball-joint for some faux bicep swivel articulation. While I guess it’s better than nothing at all, a standard bicep swivel would’ve been MUCH better, especially when the majority of the other Tiger & Bunny SHF figures have it.
One of Top MaG Wild Tiger’s great high points is how much articulation is in the chest, which is much more than I would’ve expected. To me this point of articulation is really important to give Wild Tiger a fluid and natural feel in the Top MaG suit, a luxury that Wild Tiger’s Apollon armor doesn’t have.
Crapsuit Tiger’s hips are standard for SHF articulation by having the ability to be pulled down for extra flexibility and movement, while still retaining the ball-joint for typical articulation. Something that is a bummer here though is the lack of any thigh swivel. While the leg can technically twist a tiny bit at the hip, it still would’ve been nice to have a dedicated swivel. The knees are excellent and double-jointed so you shouldn’t have any problems there. Wild Tiger’s feet and ankles are one of the highlights of the figure as they have a ton of articulation. Bandai really went all out by giving Top MaG Wild Tiger a dedicated ankle tilt joint that allows for some great poses in that area. The toe section is also swiveled, like you’d expect.
Something that I did find to be a bummer was that this version of Wild Tiger didn’t include any die-cast in the feet, something that every Tiger & Bunny S.H. Figuarts release so far has had. While it’s not really a deal breaker, it does make the $58 price tag seem a little more out of hand.
The accessories are where I think Bandai really dropped the ball with Top MaG Wild Tiger. Not necessarily in quality, but definitely in quantity. Top MaG Wild Tiger comes with 2 heads, 2 pairs of hands, 2 capes (one flowing and one static) and a custom Tamashii Stage. Yea, that’s it. While there’s not much in the way of effect parts that Top MaG Tiger could’ve came with, some more hands and heads would’ve been nice.
Overall, S.H. Figuarts Top MaG Wild Tiger leaves me with some mixed feelings. While the sculpt and aesthetics look great, the lack of bicep and thigh swivels combined with the lack of accessories makes it hard to justify the $60 price tag. I don’t regret my purchase of this particular figure, but unless you’re a crazy Tiger & Bunny fan, I’d wait for this one to go on sale like the rest of the T&B S.H. Figuarts have.
I wish he had had an extra head with glowing eyes and maybe some glowing hands as well.
Yea, he just needs a little more character somehow.
Maybe a version down the road a Top MaG Tiger in his Hundred Power size will get released with some effects?