TAG Hobby » 9?12 July 2015 San Diego Comic-Con(SDCC) 2015 ? BANDAI???: ?Star Wars"??Movie Realization??????? Ohhhhhh crap. I'm in trouble.
Wow, those are some neat inspired designs. Love the Death Star crest on Vader's helmet, and Darth Maul having a red oni mask is pretty cool. The Stormtrooper ashigaru are sweet (having them ride horses in AT-AT armor/bridling is crazy!). Jango and kid Boba Fett as Lone Wolf and Cub? Awesome! Princess Leia in full kimono dress isn't too far off the mark from Queen Padme Amidala's design, I'd expect. I'm just glad I decided to skip this sub line entirely. My wallet would hate me even more otherwise.
What if the parasol had some hidden weapons like a blade (zatoichi style) or blaster (probably a derringer of some sort but having Leia include a full on arquebus that she nicked off a stormtrooper like in ANH may not be out of the question)? You know they'll throw in some weaponry for the full samurai chambara homage.
That would be ok. I'd prefer some kind of lighter armour (make her a ninja or something) but if they have to stick her in a dress so long as she has some weapons that would be fine.
And in that parasol there's a hidden sword. How's that? Just because they'll put her in a kimono that doesn't mean she's 100% passive.
So long as there is a sword. I'd still prefer some kind of light armour. If you actually look at what she wears in ANH it's a long loose dress with splits down the sides to aid movement and she's wearing relatively sensible boots. It is not as impractical as it looks at first sight and if they interpret it to be some kind of elaborate, super impractical kimono then they are missing he point.
I think they have to some basis with the OT movie character/costume designs. Vader, the stormtroopers, and Boba Fett having armor makes sense. Leia? Not so much, unless they overhaul the infamous golden bikini and rework that into viable Japanese medieval armor. ANH Leia was full on princess gowns/dresses in her design so I'd imagine they'd stick closely to that with Japanese equivalent of kimono and such. It just depends on what route they go with her - geisha/maiko, miko (priestess), or some other equivalent archetype. I do think that giving Leia a warrior miko variant design (with some nods to the golden bikini but less silly/sexualized, of course) and giving her a bow/arrows or bladed polearm (the yumi and naginata, respectively, were often associated with women of that era) would be cool. There is the potential for this sub-line to err on the ethnicity/racial front too, I think. I wonder what facial features they'll decide to go with for those figures with their faces revealed (like Leia) - Caucasian or Japanese? Anyway, I'm also curious if they'll offer Luke (maybe in either white or black kimono in full samurai garb) or Han (they definitely need to go with a wandering ronin motif with slight nods to his cowboy roots). Also, anyone else think that if they make a Chewbacca that they'll go with a kabuki warrior (known for the their giant wigs and outlandish dress and makeup) for his design?
For Slave Leia I think they'll make her in a geisha outfit since that's the closest equivalent. Chewbacca would be interesting to see how they'll adapt him. I'm not sure they'll make him the dog or a gruff hairy dude. Or maybe they'll make him a youkai, or you know what, I got it: A Shisa statue like how they're planning to make the droids as ornaments. Him and Solo from Okinawa? That could work.
I hope they never do Slave Leia. My worry is we will end up in a situation where they manage to stretch Han and Luke into having armour of some sort but we will end up with Leia as a damned doll. Same with Chewie, he's wearing less than Leia but somehow I bet they find a way to armour him up and making him look tough.
A shi-shi lion dog demon would be sweet (I was stationed in Okinawa for 4 years and those shisa statues were everywhere; I even bought a small pair for display on my TV stand ). Just depends on if the designers decide to go with the demon and monsters thing, or just have them all as humans who wear armor and masks/helmets, yeah. Though I'm not buying into this sub-line, I do find their designs (and the design process behind them) fascinating since Lucas admitted that old Japanese samurai movies were a huge source of inspiration for Star Wars, and I have personal ties to the country myself. I can't deny that I was sorely tempted by Vader and the Stormtroopers when I saw them at various hobby and toy stores in person while I was in Japan the last time I visited. Samurai only wore armor during times of war (or ceremony). It was less common during the relative calm and peace of the Edo period, so I'd expect cloth clothing like kimono for Luke and Han with some accouterments like weapon belts and such (Chewie did have that giant bandolier going for him). This is unless they use Luke's X-Wing pilot design (since it has a flight suit and helmet), or make Luke and Han disguised as stormtrooper variant figures. It's way too soon to start busting out the torches and pitchforks, is what I'm saying. Who knows, maybe they'll be really bold and use Leia's Boushh bounty hunter design (who had a helmet and some armor plus bombs, guns, and that staff weapon) or something really unexpected like that.
I know, I'm worried because they have chosen passive concept art, but it is still concept art. Especially when they could have used something like this:
I'm actually okay with them just releasing the Empire/Sith side. Even more okay with them just doing characters with helmets and masks. Maul would pass with an Oni mask.
Also, Yoda as a crazy/drunken wandering houshi monk? Brilliant. Hope he includes his staff and a big gourd to hold his sake. Yeah, like I said earlier, a warrior miko design would be pretty sweet. But something tells me they're going to go full on geisha based on Leia's ANH costumes. I suppose we'll just have to wait and see what they come up with. Minus the giant balls, I hope.
Yeah, and that bugs me because its a real misreading of her costume as its not really much less practical than what the guys are wearing. It's just really elegant and simple in an haut couture (expensive) kind of way.
