Ashoka Tano made her live action debut as part of The Mandalorian Season 2 in 2021 and Hasbro have wasted little time in bringing this newest Ahsoka appearance into the Black Series 6-inch line along with the previously released Ahsoka figures from Rebels and The Clone Wars.
Ahsoka is part of Wave 7 of the Galaxy Collection and was originally scheduled as a late 2022 release but surprised many with an April 2022 arrival alongside The Client, beating much of Wave 6 to market in the UK at least. She is number 19 in The Mandalorian line and follows on directly from the Cobb Vanth deluxe release.
The side artwork shows the Rosario Dawson Ahsoka in front of the gates of Calodan, the city on Corvus where Mando finds her in Episode 5. The amber-hued illustration repeats to the rear of the box along with the usual brief and non-specific background text.
"A Clone Wars veteran and now wandering Jedi, Ahsoka Tano forges her own path in the galaxy, righting injustices that she discovers."
Ahsoka is a full new sculpt for this release and the outfit she wears on Corvus is faithfully recreated with her armoured boots and bracers in silver with deep blue trim as per her Rebels costume. We then have her baggy trousers, belted waist and upper robes with a green hue used on the vest section. The arm wraps are detailed with cut out sections revealing Ahsoka's deep tan skin colour beneath. Other details include the silver clasp on her belt with more silver added to tassels to the side, and then round to the back where the belt is tied with a number of strands hanging down in individual rubbery plastic pieces.
The whole body is pinless and designed in such a way that none of the joints are obvious, making it one of the most aesthetically impressive Black Series bodies to date.
The head sculpt is just as impressive with a bang on likeness to Dawson as seen in the episode and enhanced not only with facial print photo-real decor but applied over this with the white facial markings of Ahsoka in perfect alignment. Her headband is a plain brown affair inset with three silver segments and beyond this, her montrals and lekku, shortened as per the episode prosthetics and coloured in a slightly off white with blue markings. This blue is applied naturally and as seen on screen so does not feel overly regimented as often can be the case.
Paint across the head and body is excellent and there is no sign of any paint errors, splashes or errors other than a tiny spot of blue to the base of one lekku
Ahsoka does don her grey Jedi robes during her Season 5 appearance, but Hasbro has chosen not to include soft goods robes with this release and therefore it does remove the choice of an alternative look.
What we do get are her lightsabers, the twin blad combination we have seen on other Ahsoka releases but now realised with a white blade rather than blue. The hilts are new sculpts, despite the option to use the Rebels versions. They are plainly decorated with a silver finish and some small black highlights around the inlay section and the grips. The white blades are less translucent than usual so can look a little dull. The hilts retain the loops from the previous releases and two very subtle hooks are included on Ahsoka's belt to allow the saber hilts to be hung once the blades have been removed. This fit is not great and while they hold in position, they will dislodge easily - Hasbro having found a point between full functionality and the lack of any direct impact on the figure's overall looks.
As mentioned early, the entire body of Ahsoka is pinless and with a lot of thought having gone into engineering her articulation around her outfit. There are a total of 19 points of articulation including the dual joint neck and a very well hidden pair of butterfly shoulder joints that sit within and work under the vest top. There is also some innovation in the legs with a knee joint hidden behind the pleated trousers, and a thigh swivel that is invisible from the front by way of shaping the upper thigh to cover the joint and allowing the leg to rotate from the back.
While this all looks brilliant, you might expect some level of sacrifice in the movement of the figure but that is not really the case. Despite the size and bulk of the legs, Ahsoka can still kneel and crouch and achieve a myriad of action stances in between. The arms are fully mobile for lightsaber posing, and the body positions are supported with another well-hidden waist ball joint.
Every joint is tight, secure, and moves just as intended and Ahsoka is a joy to pose!
At a time that has seen some unrest in the Black Series community over the number of repaints and re-releases, Ahsoka is very much a statement of what the Black Series can and should be for collectors. This is a figure of the highest quality across sculpt, paint applications and articulation and shows a level of innovation that really enhances the looks of the figure without sacrificing any of the articulation. The only gripe might be with the accessories, but at a time when costs are rising I think my preference is picking the right ones in the £22 releases and not dipping into the deluxe status which this might well have been if we added in her robes, and perhaps the owl, Morai, and maybe even another Grogu.
If this is Ahsoka is indicative of the Black Series going forward then it looks to be in good hands and we may simply have to accept multiple repaints and repacks - that we can choose not to buy - so as to also get figures of this quality from across the Star Wars saga.
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About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...