review: higashikata josuke (banpresto, prize figure)

today, i'll be doing a review on higashikata josuke (mfc entry is here), from banpresto's jojo figure dx collection! (this is my first review for my first jojo figure, and i'm really excited to be writing this!!)

about josuke: higashikata josuke is the main protagonist (the "jojo") of the manga jojo's bizarre adventure part 4: diamond is unbreakable, by araki hirohiko. he's just a regular high school student who has been living a pretty peaceful life in the small town of morioh-cho, but that all changes when some bizarre (heh) events start going down. if you haven't read the manga, i would highly recommend it! (start from part one of jojo, though!)

i'd say that physically, his greatest defining features are his (perfectly styled) pompadour hair, and his slick get up (a "modified japanese school uniform," as the jojo wiki puts it). he has a sweet ass and a beautiful face and is actually just perfect in general, but i might be a little biased. also he's a complete sweetheart (he cares a lot about his friends and family, and i'd say that he's super dependable), but the thing i really treasure about part 4 are the chapters dedicated to the hilarious shenanigans he and his friends would get up to.

purchase: i bought this gem (a prize figure, if you couldn't tell already) from jungle: entertainment hobby shop. this was my first time purchasing from this store, and from this experience, i would definitely buy from them again. josuke was "A" grade, which means that the item was new and that only the outer box had been opened, and the condition of the figure i received reflected that.

jungle packaged the figure in an appropriately sized box (sorry i don't have any photos!), and used bubble wrap and newspaper as padding. they also shipped him out the day after i paid for him! (shipping costs were the usual, i used registered sal.) the only thing that might have been a potential detractor is that they charge a 5% international handling fee, which personally i didn't find to be a big deal, since i got josuke for a really great price. all in all, i will be buying from jungle again, and would highly recommend them!

figure box: i'd say that the box is pretty nice for a prize figure! i really appreciate all the illustrations that it incorporated, with (almost) all the jojos on the front, and different drawings of josuke on the two sides. the back showcases all the jojos that banpresto has made for this line. (i like the ゴゴゴゴゴ detail behind josuke and giorno at the top, too! ^__^) the box has an overall greenish tint, which i don't particularly care for, but it doesn't really bother me either. personally, i would have preferred it if it had been brighter and flashier. (like josuke.)

that last photo up there is just something i thought was cute. the top of the box had a little handle and a string, which i suppose was used to hang him up in game machines...?

figure base: the base is simple, and i think it works very well with the figure. it has a hexagonal shape and is a demure purple (maybe lavender) color, with a diamond (did they do this on purpose?) pattern. as you'll see in later photos, the size of the base is perfect for the figure, and people with crowded shelves will definitely appreciate this.

the pegs fit the figure perfectly as well, which is always a plus in my books! there was no need to force his feet in at all; he went in nicely and is very stable. in conclusion, i'd say that i'm a fan of this base. it doesn't detract from the figure, but i think it's charming in its own right.

the figure: (i saved the best for last!!) this josuke figure is gorgeous, and i'm 100% in love with it. at first, i was torn between this one and a variant where he's wearing a black uniform, but i have absolutely no regrets. the colors of this variant are very vibrant, although i wish his shoes were green like in the above photo... (i'm a sucker for tacky colors that work!!)

the posing of this figure is beyond perfect! it's completely faithful to josuke's jojo pose, and the flare and wrinkle patterns of his clothing give it a lot of movement. his face was also very well done. they definitely got his strong eyebrows, and i adore the sculpt of his lips. ^__^ the figure is around 7 inches tall, which makes this a very approximate 1/10th scale of josuke. (he's 185 cm tall according to the jojo wiki.) and now, i'll stop talking and give y'all a general tour of the figure:

see? he looks gorgeous from all sides!! i won't say much more about him, since the photos speak for themselves, but he truly is a beautiful figure. i love how all the colors compliment each other (even the pink jojo design on his back, i love it so much omg) and just how fun the whole piece is. a very high quality prize figure!! now for a more detailed look:

(side story: i took out josuke's legs first, and i was completely mortified. i was like "where is his ass?????" and i felt very, very disappointed... then i took out his upper half and everything was wonderful again. ^__^)

josuke's pompadour is very pretty and has a nice texture. the details in this figure are great; just take a look at the painting of those gold wristbands, and the sculpt on the back of his hand. i found that this figure had virtually no stray splotches of paint anywhere (minus one exception, which i will touch on later). note the ugly seam line behind his ear in the second photo. (i would say the other seam lines are quite pronounced, but for some reason they don't bother me as much?)

more of josuke's face and the surrounding area. i'm very happy with how his signature accessories turned out!

flaws: the above two photos showcase really the only major flaws i could find. the photo on the left depicts a rather subtle seam line that ends in this strange ellipse shape. on the right, you can see the painting flaws that i mentioned earlier. underneath the peace sign and his hand are two blotches of white paint, which are kind of annoying, but in real life they aren't as obvious as they are in the photo, which is a relief. also, you can see that there is some sort of white substance stuck to the bottom of josuke's uniform. i'm not sure what it is (hardened dust?) but it won't come off with water, so i guess i'll just have to live with it.

final thoughts: i don't know how many times i've said it throughout this (biased) review, but i am so happy with this rendition of josuke, and so glad that i bought him! i would highly recommend this figure to any jojo/josuke fan, but i guess you can decide for yourself based on the photos. i adore banpresto prize figures, and this one is no exception.

anyways, thanks for reading my review! or at least, thanks for browsing my pictures. ^__^v this was really fun to write and work on, and hopefully i'll be able to do some more reviews soon!!