The Tomorrow Kings are the heroes of Ashley Wood’s “Popbot” universe. Or maybe they’re not — I’m not exactly sure. Wood isn’t the greatest when it comes to story development, so fans are often left to their own devices when it comes to filling in the blanks and fleshing-out a narrative. Whatever their role may be, Shosuke here is the latest release in the 1:6 Tomorrow Kings collection. He was available very briefly back in November on Bambaland in two batches: the first lasting a whopping seven minutes, and the second lasting just slightly longer. Normally, you order a figure on Bambaland and it shows up 6-12 months later. This time, however, Shosuke was produced as a lilmited “pre-made figure,” so once those two batches sold out, that was it. It’s a nifty approach, but it was one that left a lot of fans upset due to the fact that he sold out so quickly. So let’s take a look and see if this figure is worthy of all the headaches he caused.
His packaging is the standard 3A long box. The artwork being an artistic rendering of his profile is a neat touch, and I’m a big fan of the use of the color orange here. What is odd, though, is the name on the shipping box. It reads “Kensaku” rather than “Shosuke.” I haven’t seen an explanation as to why that it, and the first few people who received the figure in the mail were wondering if they got a variant rather than Shosuke due to the name. That wasn’t the case, though, and it’s Shosuke inside the packaging despite what the name on the shipper reads.
I don’t normally concern myself with the Tomorrow Kings and usually stick to the 3A Adventure Kartel, but there was something about Shosuke’s design that spoke to me. Honestly, I think the combination of the orange shirt and the off-white vest reminded me a little bit of a Star Wars X-Wing pilot — that’s really it. I know Wood is a big fan of Star Wars himself, so I’m willing to assume this similarity wasn’t a coincidence.
In addition to the colors used, the weathering on his clothing is as solid as 3A usually is. The 1:6 figures are usually so well done, and this figure is no exception. Shosuke has a brother in the Tomorrow King ranks named Kozo, and that figure was basically the same body and uniform, but in his case, it was all whole lot more red. I wasn’t a fan of that figure and skipped it without a second thought, but I had to have Shosuke based on his colors alone.
Another feature I really like is the facial hair this figure is sporting. I love the long sideburns along with the wild hair.
One of Shosuke’s key features is the gas mask/gas tank combo. The mask is held in place by a combination of a thin strip of elastic that fits around his head and the two hoses that extend from the mask and connect to the tank. The hoses are slightly bendable, or it at least seems as though they are. I haven really tested this out for fear of breaking something. The tank connects to his back by way of a small clip, but the hoses and mask pretty much keep it in place as well.
The mask naturally brings to mind the NOM troopers and Grunts from the World War Robot universe, so this isn’t the newest or most refreshing feature in the world, but it’s different enough to at least feel as though we’re not getting the same exact thing we’ve seen before.
On his belt, in addition to enough pouches to make Jim Lee or Rob Liefeld take notice, are two strips that hand down to store a few grenades. Once unique to Baka and his variants, the grenades are slowly becoming a Tomorrow King staple. And the splash of orange they provide helps tie his entire uniform together. I know that sounds ludicrous, but it totally works for me. The only other accessories he comes with are the signature Tomorrow King sword and a swappable left hand that’s more of a “grippy” hand. I much prefer the one pictured though. (Apparently so much that I didn’t bother to photograph the other one!)
Being a 1:6 Tomorrow King figure, Shosuke is highly posable and is loaded with useful articulation. His soft-goods clothing hinders his range of motion very little, and I find I can pose him in just about any pose I can think of. All his joints were perfectly functional too — nothing too loose or too tight.
If you’re interested in nabbing a Shosuke for yourself, the secondary market is the only way to go due to the Bambaland sales model — especially in the case of this limited, pre-made figure. Hopefully a few pop up for sale in the usual places.
Discuss!