We are getting near the finish line on 2020, and I think most people will be welcoming the change of the calendar more than ever. There are a few surprised left in store, and Jakks Pacific has released their next World of Nintendo series just in the nick of time. If you are like me, you are anxiously waiting out the completion of the Koopa Kids, and we now have Lemmy to add to our collections.
Nintendo fans, we are playing the long game with this line, but it it is starting to pay off. I have made it clear that my number one want for this line, by a wide margin, is to get all of the Koopa Kids (or Koopalings if ya nasty) added to the shelf. I have loved them since their debut in Super Mario Bros. 3, and I am glad they have seen a resurgence in popularity over the past several years being a part of many premier Nintendo video game titles. Luckily, my favorite, Iggy, was the first out of the gate, and after an agonizing amount of time, Ludwig also joined the line last year. Well, it has been over a year yet again, but Lemmy is here, and that leaves Larry, Roy, Morton, and Wendy of me to continue to stress about it.
I really like this line, and I understand the need for keeping Mario and others at the fore, but man, some of the main supporting characters in addition of the Koopalings like Daisy, Birdo, Toadette, Rosalina, and others are still painfully outstanding. I know that Jakks renewed their partnership with Nintendo earlier this year, so I am going to take that as a positive sign there is still much to come, and I hope that means more of these characters. It is rumored that maybe, just maybe, Larry Koopa is set for the next series, and if that is indeed true, I would be just as happy as I would be shocked. Getting two consecutive series with a Kid is an excellent start to get this little group done, and it would give me hope Jakks does the smart thing and knocks the rest of the gang out in consecutive series.
However, Lemmy is the star of the day, and overall, this is a good figure and pretty much what you would expect if you have Iggy, Ludwig, or even Bowser Jr. The sculpting work is solid with Lemmy being on-model and very similar to the smaller scale figure Jakks released earlier in the year. Lemmy’s hair design is awesome and very eye-catching and it is rendered very nicely here. I would have preferred his mouth be open and his eyes a more crazy, but that is just personal preference as the figure resembles character art that has been used countless times in various media. This Lemmy is definitely the smallest of the Koopa Kids bunch, as he should be, but he might be a bit too big to be perfectly to scale. Now, the relative scale with the Kids is pretty fluid as it is anyway, so as long as he is smaller by comparison, I am good, and Jakks got that right.
The articulation scheme is pretty much identical with what you get with Ludwig, so it is fine, but missing some of the points that Iggy holds, like elbow hinges. As it stands, Lemmy has partial ball shoulders, wrist twists, partial ball hips, and hinged (up and down) ankles. As I said, this is serviceable, and he can balance on one foot, which is always a good thing for an action figure, but he is not getting into any Spider-Man poses. Not the he needs to, mind you, but due to the character design of the shell, his head is restricted from any movement.
The accessories, or accessory, as I should say, get us the requisite wand, but fall short at the same time. Yes, all of the Kids should come with their wands, and Lemmy does get his green version, but his bombs, and especially his yellow ball are iconic to the character, and both are absent here. I get it, the ball could have been tricky due to its size and shape, but I think they could have gotten it pretty close if it was split in half for the packaging. Even with the ball ruled out, at least one bomb would have been easy to include here, so I will call that a miss for sure, and that is unfortunate given all of the space left in the blister packaging. I get it, at this point I am just happy to get the characters, but keeping them dynamic with thoughtful accessories is always a plus. As it stands, I had to fashion my own version of Lemmy’s ball for the display.
Three down, four to go! Lemmy is a nice addition to the World of Nintendo display and I am *this* much closer to closing out my favorite little sub “team” for the line. Let’s hope Larry is up in due order in the next wave, and the final three will follow in due time right after. I got Lemmy at Target, but he should be landing at some of the online stores soon, so keep and eye out for that crazy rainbow hair.
Well, I’m fascinated with Greenland. I enjoy teasing animals, action figures, and seeing people running for their lives.
