Star Wars Movie Realization – Samurai Darth Vader Action Figure Review- A Re-imagining of a Sith Lord

Review by Nolan P. Smith

Photos by Nolan P. Smith

(Victor Valley)—The force is strong in the land of the rising sun. Bandai/ Tamashii Nation’s Movie Realization line has taken on the epic sci-fi franchise, Star Wars and taken it to feudal Japan with their line of Samurai reimagining’s of some of the franchises most iconic characters. First up is the Sith lord himself, Darth Vader. Does this culture mash up work?

The figure stands 7’’ tall and features over 15 points of articulation. Accessories include a lightsaber hilt, a fully extended lightsaber and two extra sets of interchangeable hands. Now that the stats are out of the way, how does this figure measure up?

The sculpt on Darth is nothing short of amazing. The detail that goes into the armor, the fusion of the original Darth Vader design with the amazing design by famed artist Takeya Takayuki, it meshes the elements of old Anakin wonderfully into the aesthetics seeing in the intricate armors of the samurai. From the helmet, with a wicked design on the helmet that has a menacing mouthpiece, to the centerpiece of the design that featured the iconic panel- it all works so perfectly. Plus, with the Imperial logos worked into the armor, it looks like it belongs in the Star Wars mythos.

I am blown away by the quality of this figure. It has a solid feel to it, great quality, the articulation is worked into the design, to where it doesn’t detract at all from the overall design flow. When compared to the Star Wars Black Darth Vader, this is leaps and bounds a superior figure. I can’t wait for the Stormtrooper, Sandtrooper and Royal Guard, all which are already in the works. I give the Samurai Darth Vader a perfect @@@@@ out of FIVE. This is the perfect mash up, literally a match made in heaven.