Saturday, March 30, 2019

Action Figure Review: Piranha Plant from Super Mario by Jakks Pacific

    Today I'm checking out the fifth and final figure in series 1 of Jakks Pacific's Super Mario series: The Piranha Plant. Definitely in the upper echelon of Mario villains due their long tenure with the series, the Piranha Plant is an instantly recognizable part of the Super Mario games. This figure is a great release for this line not just because of the strength of the enemy but also because the Piranha Plant was released earlier this year as a new fighter in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for the Nintendo Switch. That's timely, right? Jakks' World of Nintendo had a lot of repaints and variants so it's always exciting to get a new character/ enemy to grow the world. Let's check out the Piranha Plant after the break and see if Jakks has a green thumb for action figure creation...



 The Facts:

Height: 4 3/8ths inches

Articulation: Swivel stem base, swivel "neck," and hinged jaws.

Accessories: Question block

Non-Scalper Price: $12-$13 dollars
 The Positives:

* I always complement Jakks Pacific on how many unique designs this line offers but I do believe that the Piranha Plant might be the most unique looking figure of them all. Permanently attaching the Piranha Plant to a pipe base was a good idea and it automatically makes for a more interesting figure. The paintwork and colors are great and the overall look of the character very nicely captures the Nintendo look and feel.


 * I love the.. headsculpt? I guess that's what you'd call it. Anyways, the shape of the plant's head is perfect and the teeth and tongue look really, really cool. Seriously, the Piranha Plant is one of the coolest looking figures released yet in one of Jakks' Nintendo lines.


 * The hinged jaw allows for a greater degree of posing and is very fun to play with. Seriously, this thing could chill out on your desk and amuse you over and over by eating anything in sigh. Opening jaws are always a tremendously feature on a figure. 


* I love that Jakks Pacific rooted the Piranha Plant in a pipe. Popping out of pipes is what these chompers are know for so this is a perfect fit. It provides a great base. I love that the interior base is black, too, as it gives the illusion of depth in the pipe.


* The simple paint pattern on the leaves really strikes me as very cool. These could have just been plain green but this little extra detail goes a long way towards making the figure even better!
 * The Piranha Plant comes with a question block, giving you another piece towards making a very cool diorama for your WoN/ Super Mario figures. While the earlier WoN figures came with cardboard question blocks with mystery accessories sealed inside, this is a fully sculpted accessory. The "?" is actually a relief on four sides of the block. It looks great. A clear plastic stand to give it the illusion of floating would have been a neat idea, too, but this still very much works as an accessory.
 The Negatives:


* There isn't much articulation here. I can understand most of that but a true balljoint at the base of the Piranha Plant's head or at the base of it's stem would have been very welcome. Heck, a bendable stem would have been amazing!

  While the simple Mario and Luigi variants in this series were incredibly disappointing, the villains were great. Parabones was excellent, the Fire Bro made for a nice additional army builder, and now the Piranha Plant pops in to add another Great villain to the Super Mario lineup. This is definitely a figure Mario fans should check out as Jakks did a great job. It' a really fun toy and, despite it's limited articulation, still manages to be quite fun.





This is the first action figure of the Piranha Plant I've reviewed. For more Super Mario figures check out the following:
Fire Bro.
Fire Luigi
Mario with Super Star 
Parabones

2 comments:

  1. Neat toy! Can't ever have enough piranha plants.

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    Replies
    1. Jakks did a great job with this one. It really looks impressive!

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