Cinema Toy Tamashii!Cinema Recommendation vol.6 "S.H.Figuarts HARLEY QUINN (BIRDS OF PREY)"

This time, we will introduce "BIRDS OF PREY" released in 2020.

These days, "Wonder Woman 1984", which was finally released at the end of 2020, is receiving great reviews. Speaking of DC Extended Universe movies released in 2020, you can't forget "The Fantastic Awakening of One Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey" (hereinafter referred to as BIRDS OF PREY)! This is a memorable work that depicts the exciting activities of the first female DCEU movie team!
Harley Quinn in such "BIRDS OF PREY" was S.H.Figuarts ized with a goofy quality when the movie was released. But it wasn't introduced properly on Cinema Toy Tamashii! yet. So, let me talk about the beauty of this figure along with the charm of the movie!

First, speaking of Harley in BIRDS OF PREY, unlike the memorable Margot Robbie version of Harley Quinn's first From" Suicide Squad" (2016), you showed us a lot of pop clothing changes. The style chosen for the S.H.Figuarts conversion was the Jump suit he wears in the climactic battle.
Erin Benacchi was in charge of costume design for ``BIRDS OF PREY,'' including this Jump. She has previously designed costumes for films such as ``The Neon Demon'' (2016) and ``A Star Is Born'' (2018), but this is her first time working on a comic book movie.

``I want to make a new hero movie that's never been seen before,'' she says, and Cathy Yan, the film's director, says, ``I'm not conscious of the male gaze when it comes to the costumes of the characters who become Harley and other members of Birds of Prey.'' I want it to be a costume that women would want to wear,'' she ordered.
In order to meet this demand, Erin Benacci decided on three rules for designing the costumes worn by the main characters of ``BIRDS OF PREY.'' it is,

・No bodysuits that fit well!
・Clothes that look like underwear are also prohibited!
・Create clothes that women would want to wear and that would make them feel confident.

In addition to this rule, Margot Robbie, who not only stars in this film but also produces, also contributes ideas to the costume design.

In order to play Harley, Margot Robbie, who had thoroughly researched the character, proposed to Erin Benacchi:
"All the clothes Harley wears should be impractical."
further,
"He always wears clothes that are inappropriate for the situation. That strangeness is what makes Harley so appealing."
something like.

As a result of these ideas, this Jump suit, which was S.H.Figuarts converted, was initially a red and black diamond pattern inspired by Harley's suit at her comic debut, but was changed to a more out-of-place gold-only diamond pattern! That's why the 145mm tall "S.H.Figuarts Harley Quinn" also finely reproduces the diamond pattern that emerges on the golden Jump suit.

Speaking of the high level of reproduction of "S.H.Figuarts Harley Quinn," the tattoos are also noteworthy! The letter J on her upper right arm, which was originally tattooed as a pledge of love to her lover Joker, was re-tattooed after she broke up with him, as well as the back of a mermaid and the word ROTTEN on her right chin area have been fully recreated!

Another great thing about Harley in ``BIRDS OF PREY'' is the action scenes in which Margot Robbie put her body on the line, rather than relying on stuntmen to the limit!
In the comics, Harley Quinn is a former gymnastics athlete. His acrobatic fighting style that takes advantage of his physical abilities was also depicted in `` Suicide Squad.''

"BIRDS OF PREY" inherits that fighting style, but upgrades it to a more realistic and brutal fighting style. For this reason, director Cathy Yan used ``Jackie Chan movies from his heyday'' as a model for action scenes. Among them, I particularly referenced Jackie's tricky and unpredictable fighting style in Drunk Monkey (1978). Add to that Harley's unique mechanical gymnastics skills, her unusual thinking that is incomprehensible to ordinary people, and her sadistic sensibilities, resulting in a dirty and tricky fighting style that makes it impossible to predict the next attack. I did.

By the way, Harley's most memorable bout in Suicide Squad is the headscissors whip, an acrobatic professional wrestling move in which she pinches the opponent's head between her legs and then spins her body to throw the opponent away. This technique was performed by Black Widow in Iron Man 2 (2010) and has since become a popular technique for women to defeat stronger men. However, if I muster up the courage to write about it, I feel like this technique has been used too much in too many action movies... I also used Mera from the same DC Extended Universe work ``Aquaman'' (2019) as this work. That's why it's sealed in "BIRDS OF PREY"! But no problem at all. In this work, Harley showed off a number of crazier and harder new techniques.

For example, in the scene where Harley fights eight criminals in a detention center, she shows a kick that incorporates a cartwheel and twisting round dart in the hallway of the Gotham police station where Harley punches, and in the scene where she fights eight criminals in a detention center, she uses one of her opponent's arms. He showed off techniques that incorporate gymnastics skills, such as grabbing someone's body and knocking him down using the momentum of a forward somersault using that arm as an axis. In addition, Hiroshi Tanahashi of New Japan Pro Wrestling also demonstrated his specialty, the sling blade, in which he uses a Salchow to circle in the air, wrap his arm around the opponent's neck, and use that momentum to throw the ball.

During a fight in the police station's storage room, he delivers a dropkick that Harley Quinn of the DC fighting game "Injustice" series is known for, in a fighting style that is sure to appeal to video game fans. At the end of the film, he jumps on Black Mask and throws him into a wrestling armdrag. All of these moves can be recreated with "S.H.Figuarts Harley Quinn," which boasts amazing mobility and posing ability!

One of the things that comic book fans went crazy over in "BIRDS OF PREY" was that Harley, who used a baseball bat in the fight in "Suicide Squad," finally used a hammer in this film, a weapon that is familiar in the comics! Incidentally, this hammer is nicknamed Beatrice in the comics. Incidentally, the hammer used in "BIRDS OF PREY" is the same as the one that appeared briefly in "Suicide Squad", but it is 30% smaller to make it easier to use in combat action scenes. The "S.H.Figuarts HARLEY QUINN" comes with a hammer that reproduces the size of the hammer as well!

In addition, S.H.Figuarts Harley Quinn also comes with roller skates that will be important item in the climactic battle! In the movie, Harley Quinn, equipped with roller skates, performed a roller chase that was extremely Dangerous, and this is also in respect to the Jackie Chan movies "Battle Creek Blow" (1980) and "The Five Lucky Stars" (1983).

Some of Margot Robbie's fans wonder, "She showed off her brilliant figure skating skills in 'I, Tonya' (2017), so I wonder if she used those skills in this movie?" There may be some. But it's different. As many comic book fans may know, Harley from NEW52 joined a roller derby team in 2014. In other words, it was decided even before Margot Robbie starred in I, Tonya.
In addition, Margot Robbie was a fan of the ice hockey movie ``The Ducks'' (1992) and was on an amateur ice hockey team when she was a girl. In other words, Harley was familiar with skating even before she wore roller skates in the comics. In the movie ``BIRDS OF PREY,'' Harley says, ``Women who have it get drunk and flounder,'' and Margot Robbie is the one who truly has it.

The "S.H.Figuarts Harley Quinn" comes with three interchangeable head parts, one of which is the smiling face of Margot Robbie, the person who owns the figure! If you display such a figure in a gorgeous costume in your room, it might bring you good luck! I can't write anything too specific about it, but at least it will make you feel good about the economy!

If I may further recommend, if you display this figure and the "S.H.Figuarts Wonder Woman Gold Armor (WW84)", two figures wearing the golden suit, side by side, your room & feelings will be more gorgeous than ever! Maybe!

TEXT: Ginty Kobayashi

*The images shown include prototypes that are under development. The actual products may differ slightly.
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