Oyu from Odani (Onimusha 2)

by McFarlane Toys

The entire Onimusha 2 series is a great example of a videogame license done properly.  However, with Oyu from Odani even though the likeness is great, the paint job is great, hey, everything is great, except for one thing: her parts come off like so much shrapnel.

Oyu from Odani (or Shrapie, as I like to call her) first lost the medallions off her breastplate thanks to the shoulder pads.  Then the shoulder pads went.  Then the garter belts (!) snapped when I turned her leg the wrong way.  Then I popped out her hand trying to put the sword in it.  It’s almost a wonder she didn’t finish the play test in a Ziploc bag reduced to her component pieces!  Granted, some of these deficiencies can be fixed with strategic gluing, but the garter belts… I’m still working on them.

If I ignore Shrapie’s tendency to fall apart, she’s actually another good addition to your collection.  If you’re more concerned with looks and how she fits in with the rest of the Onimusha 2 series, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.  All the details, big and small, are present and accounted for, including the small shield and “too big for a woman” sword.  Even though she’s fairly balanced in her “default” position, she definitely falls on the tippy side.  Most of the fault lies with the fact she lacks a foot hole for any kind of peg, which would add a whole ton of stability and more poseability.

Articulation is all over but less effective thanks to overlapping 

armor.  There are roughly 14 points of articulation but quite a few are limited in their mobility.  Poseability still manages to be quite good (regardless the chances of snapping off bits) but it would be even better if her stability was higher.

Playability… oh, what a nightmare of micro-repair!  I needed to screw in my jeweler’s eyepiece and get out my set of exacto knives and trusty tube of Krazy Glue after 15 minutes of moderately rough play.  It wasn’t pretty and I regret putting her through it.  And not only can these pieces go missing, but the shield can be lost relatively easily.  The sword is big enough that losing it takes some effort.  Playing with the other Onimusha figures is a great way to extend playability – also not playing around with a 2x4 while playing with Oyu will also extend playability.  In short, don’t play with Oyu from Odani.

A far better display piece (there’s nothing wrong with that), especially if you’re even casually interested in videogame action figures.

- Omni

(November 1, 2002)