On the shelves!
Here's a photo of a Target store shelf showing how it'll look when you find these bendy figures. They're pretty big, larger than an ordinary bendy. The box has a nice new style and shape. There's die-cut Sonic CG up there in the corner & the bubble is thick / stands out pretty far. The edges are all angular.
This type of bubble card packaging usually holds up pretty well on shelves. They won't have the broken stuff problem Tomy invited with their poor packaging. The die-cut Sonic could take some hits to the pointy finger or ear, so be sure to inspect the packages in the store. They're bright, colorful, pretty safe, and show the figures well.
Sonic starts it off! Here you can see the figure up closer, as well as the box-back detail. And, he looks good. It's quite a nice figure, with all the detail you expect (shoe buckle, well sculpted hands/socks, the spikes are fine) and the proportions are also very good. Nothing looks 'off' about him. The box back shows you the other figures from the line as well as how to work the 2nd toy that you get inside the box.
TWO toys in every package:
The second toy you see looks a little like a sticker. It's actually a "rolling wheel" or "roller" toy that can also stand. The wheel part is a large, pixelated character head but it has a pop-down pixel-mini-body so it can also 'stand up' as a kind of chibi? style simple flat figure. The body/feet bit then pops in and you can roll the character along like a wheel. I guess it's to simulate the games where everyone curled up and rolled?
Amy Vs Shadow
Shadow is the only one who does not have a roller. So, for some reason, Tails gets an Amy roller instead otherwise there would be 2 of the same roller character. But there's no Amy figure on this line? Does that mean there will be a line 2 where Amy is also a big bendy like this? Hopefully so. (But why exclude Shadow from being a roller--those aren't classic pixel sprites so it's not like he somehow didn't have one)
Here is JP Bendy Knuckles.
Like Sonic, he's another good job. The fists are really big and look very game-like & on-model. His shoes are big too so it's obvious he'd be easy to stand up on his own. His face & proportions are also quite decent, and all the coloring is good.
The forearm area is a little thick, maybe to support the larger solid fist plastic. He comes with a pixel Tails roller, but it looks somewhat concerned.
Jakks Pacific Shadow bendable figures can have an issue.
If it looks like he has a neck (Sonic characters rarely, if ever are shown with a neck) it's because many of these first run figures the action-figure head didn't get pushed down enough onto the body at the factory. The box-back photo shows how he's supposed to look, with the head all the way down. If you get him, you should push the head down.
Shadow is good as well, with one grasping hand and a fist. Maybe he can hold something small? He doesn't seem to suffer from overspray (common on other lines because of all of his markings & detailed shoes) He comes with a Sonic pixel roller, but it looks aggrivated.
Their bendy Tails is nice as well.
He has no reported head issues, however it doesn't seem like his tails can be turned or rotated. They also don't bend. Notice that he's sculpted with them up. Usually they are either able to rotate, or sculpted down to act as another point of balance so he can do more poses. This figure may be difficult to stand up / keep standing because the tails are solid/heavy.
He has good detail, good paint, and is pretty proportional. The eyes may be just a tad too large or the head sliiiightly big but it is of almost zero concern. He comes with an Amy pixel roller.
The lowdown:
COST: 9.99 each
WHERE: Target stores
WHEN: August 2019 onward
9.99 is a bit costly for 1 bendy figure, even if it is large, but remember there are TWO toys in every package with the pop up wheel. If you put the bendy at 7 and the wheel at 3 you can see that it is a decent enough deal. Each item individually at those prices would seem ok, so it makes more sense that the box is 10.
New Gimmick?
Yes--action figure head COMBINED with bendy body = better figure. Bendy material isn't the best for detailed head sculpting so combining hard-plastic action figure heads on bendy bodies gives it the best of both worlds. No need to worry about joints breaking when there are none. Also, the joined on head means you can turn it for more poses, unlike with a plain bendable.
Opinion Zone:
Great first showing! Go Jakks Pacific!
This is a strong first wave! Modern characters that everyone has been clamoring for & missing for so long because of the Boom Ban, but well done AND at a decent price? Signing up for success. They don't look or feel like a ripoff unlike Tomy stuff which was so tiny and poor and costly.
The sculpting is all also really nice, as is the color & paint. This is a strong way to start the JP Sonic showing of toys. Hopefully it bodes well for whatever else they plan to do.
