Royale High - DARK FAIRY!

Royale High - 3" Fashion Dolls - Dark Series 1 - Dark Fairy - Jazwares 2024

When I find myself shopping for toys, I enjoy perusing all the aisles. I like to get a sense of what the market trends in pop culture are and I like to keep my eyes open for unique new product lines. This was how the Royale High line caught my eye a few months ago. I'm always intrigued when dolls are completely sculpted with no soft goods. But these went further by combining several popular genres. I see elements of Roblox with the geometric cylindrical heads (they are actually a Roblox spinoff), Bratz with the heavy makeup, minimal noses, and sultry expressions, and Polly Pocket with the swappable outfits and hair. I always knew I would have to buy one eventually, and that time came when I saw this vampy, spidery, Dark Fairy character in Walmart last week. I discovered that Royale High is an online roleplaying game on the Roblox platform featuring a variety of princesses in a High School setting. I personally love how wicked and dark many of the characters look. Let's check out Dark Fairy below!

The Spiderwick Chronicles - SPRITES!

McDonalds Happy Meal - The Spiderwick Chronicles - Sprites - McDonalds 2008

The Spiderwick Chronicles are a series of five children's fantasy books by Holly Black written between 2003-2004 (with an additional six tie-in books published through 2009). I really appreciate when faerie lore is taken seriously. I grew up poring over the creepy encyclopedic Faeries by Brian Froud and therefore have a healthy awe and fear of the fey. Ted Naifeh's Courtney Crumrin series epitomizes the dark and mysterious faerie aesthetic I love. And coincidentally I discovered Holly Black when Ted illustrated her Good Neighbors trilogy. She clearly carries the same respect for the genre that I do. I immediately began reading The Spiderwick Chronicles and really enjoyed it. The movie adaptation had come out a few years prior in 2008, but I hadn't seen it. When I did, I was predictably disappointed. I find that big studios often miss out on the nuances that make these properties so great. In this case, the movie started great, with a slow creeping discovery of a magical world under our noses. I loved the atmosphere.

Gormiti - JESSICA THE AIR LORD!

Gormiti: Elemental Fusion - Jessica (The Air Lord) - Giochi Preziosi 2008

Gormiti is one of those properties that is a perfect recipe for great action figures. The characters are brightly-colored, creatively-designed, and nature-themed with great elemental factions. The television portion of the franchise essentially reboots every few years with a new assortments of characters, and I always scour the internet to check out the new toys. The main distribution is in Italy with availability across Europe, but here in the US we barely see any. I always wish for more female characters that can get merchandised, but it would also be a double-edged sword because they're really hard to get. As for now, there is only one merchandised female character, Jessica the Air Lord, who got three action figures between 2008-2010. This Elemental Fusion version is a repaint of her first figure with less (no) accessories but with an added voice feature. She was exceptionally hard to get (not because she's valuable, but because overseas shipping is out of control). Let's check out Jessica below!

Gormiti - JESSICA THE AIR LORD!

Gormiti: Lords of Nature Return - Jessica (The Air Lord) - Giochi Preziosi 2008

This toyline has been an obsession of mine for 15 years now and I'm finally getting around to posting in the last few figures. Gormiti was a 2005 toyline featuring small nature-themed beasts divided into elemental factions (similar in spirit to Battle Beasts). But by 2008, there was an animated series created and there was a conceptual shift introducing four human characters who could transform into the Lords of Nature. Jessica, the token female of the group, turns into the Lord of Air with control over all beasts in the Air faction. She had several different forms across several seasons and this toy represents her original look (with faery wings as opposed to later feathered wings). As far as I know, the only Gormiti toys released in the US were the small 2-3" unarticulated beast figures. But in Europe there have been several larger-scale articulated toylines over the years by Giochi Preziosi (including some as recent as 2020). These toys are always colorful and extremely fun. Let's check out Jessica below!

Mirrorverse - MALEFICENT!

Disney Mirrorverse - Series 3 - Sleeping Beauty's Maleficent - McFarlane 2022

I thought I would always be purist when it came to the design of Maleficent. I don't think I'm alone when I say that, of all the vampy sorceress-type characters, she is the most visually iconic. Just a few years ago I was ecstatic to finally get a great representation of her in my collection with the Kingdom Hearts line from DST. It was my first Maleficent figure and I was so happy with her that I assumed it would be my last. But then McFarlane Toys announced this stylized version from the Disney Mirrorverse mobile game. She has all the classic design elements you would expect, but with added gothy details that somehow enhance her overall appeal. I love this figure. From the elaborate armor to the bat-ribbed cape, I think she's terrific. All the Mirrorverse designs I've seen have had a similar merging of cartoon simplicity and video game realism. I certainly hope they include more ladies in the future. Belle and Maleficent are fantastic and desperately need friends. Let's check out Maleficent below!

Sentai Hero Series - LADIES OF MAGIRANGER!

Sentai Hero Series - Magi Pink, Magi Blue, and Magi Mother - Bandai 2005

Power Rangers Mystic Force was the 2006 iteration of the Power Rangers franchise and marked my first real fascination with the brand. Every season of Power Rangers had a theme - most of which honestly didn't interest me in the least: ninjas, space, etc. But the Mystic Force season featured a mythology theme and I loved it. The main females were the Pink Mystic Ranger (Fairy) and Blue Mystic Ranger (Mermaid). Even their Zord forms looked like vaguely feminine humanoids. I picked up several of the Bandai USA toys, but my favorite products were the Japanese Sentai Hero Series vinyl figures (released with the 2005 Magiranger series). They beat out the rest because this line included the White Mystic Ranger (Snow) that I don't believe was ever included in the American toylines. The Sentai Hero Series is a really fin and inexpensive line to collect. While not especially well articulated, they have decent, consistent sculpts and great character selection. Let's check out the Mystic Rangers below!

Mythic Legions - ARTEMYSS SILVERCHORD!

Mythic Legions: Advent of Decay - Artemyss Silverchord - Four Horsemen 2018

I struggle with a lot of fantasy properties because the aspects I especially like (unicorns, mermaids, fairies, etc) are so often spun off into a separate genre - a genre of sparkles and pastels and rainbows and hearts. Not that I dislike any of that stuff, but it effectively segregates these "softer" elements from the warriors and swords and dragons. And I hate that. (For the Schleich nerds out there, I just want my Bayala and Eldrador in one world with a unified aesthetic). That desire is one of the reasons I fell in love with the Mythic Legions: Advent of Decay line. There were no females in previous Mythic Legions lines, but this wave gave us eighteen glorious ladies! And while most of the characters so far don't fall into the unicorns and mermaids category yet, this Artemyss Silverchord figure reads as a powerful fairy warrior Queen and is easily one of the most dynamic figures in the series. It gives me hope for some kickass unicorns and mermaids down the line. Let's check out Artemyss below!

Lanard's Revamped FAIRY-KINS!

Fairykins (the Magical Pixies) 28 Piece Play Set - CP Toys - Lanard 2012

When I went to my first Toy Fair several years ago I quickly learned that a byproduct of that event is that you get on tons of mailing lists. Most of the catalogs filling my mailbox were way off-topic for my interests (swingsets, stuffed animals, etc), but one catalog had a Fairykins Enchanted Forest playset that really intrigued me.  A little research showed me that this was yet another Lanard property that had been around for many years (perhaps as a knockoff to Sea-Wees?) but had recently modernized a'la yesterday's Pony Tales review. I found that these small dolls were available in a variety of assortments: single packs, vehicle sets, giant playsets, etc. But unfortunately I couldn't find them anywhere at a decent price.  Then recently I discovered this CP Toys-distributed "all-in-one" playset on Amazon and I finally took the plunge. I think it was a very good purchase.  I love the design of these figures, and I'm obsessed with their firefly steeds. Let's check out the Fairykins below!

The Girls of DISNEY FAIRIES!

Tinkerbell, Silvermist, Rosetta, and Periwinkle - Jakks Pacific 2013

About a year ago I found myself lamenting that there wasn't a good Tinkerbell figure out there.  It seems like a no-brainer for a company like Figma to produce a collector figure of one of the most iconic Disney characters of all time.  Of course, this made me start researching all existing Tinks.  It was overwhelming how many modern dolls have been released in the in the past few years due to the popular Disney Fairies movie franchise.  Unfortunately for me, 99% of these toys have rooted hair and/or cloth outfits (which regular readers will know I avoid like the plague).   Luckily, however, there is that small 1% out there that has sculpted hair and clothing.   They aren't the super-articulated figures that I hope for someday, but Jakks Pacific does a great job with these little action figure/doll hybrids.  In the meantime, they're a fun addition to my small girly collection (which I keep hidden in a large wooden box with a fancy lock so no one will judge me).  Let's check out these sculpted-hair ladies below!

Winx Club TRIX COLLECTION!

Icy, Darcy, & Stormy - Winx Club: Trix Collection - Jakks Pacific 2013

Man it took me forever to find these three ladies.  I first found Darcy at a Toys R Us Express in early February, and I finally picked up Icy and Stormy at Wal-Mart this past weekend.  Considering they're new figures that retail from $4.95-$7.99, I'm amazed that I haven't seen an online price below $30 per figure yet.  The Trix are three Witches who are the main antagonists for the Winx fairies.  The toys actually have them looking pretty angelic, but in the cartoon they're wicked, power hungry, and petulant (ie: fantastic cartoon villains).  When I first started collecting these 3.75" Winx action figures last year, I thought these three characters would be an amazing addition.  I honestly didn't expect them to come out so soon, but I couldn't be happier with the results.  Jakks Pacific has been doing an amazing job with this line.  Including this set, they've put out 23 different figures in less than a year.  Plus I know of at least 2 more coming out this fall.  Hopefully there will be many more to come.  Let's check them out below!

The Harmonix Collection from WINX CLUB!

The Second Wave of 3.75" Winx Club Figures from Jakks Pacific 2013

The Winx Club is an Italian Magical Girl series about a group of young girls at a school for fairies.  The series incorporates a lot of themes popular in young adult genres.  The various competing schools (Fairies, Witchcrafts, Heroics) is very Harry Potter;  The transformation sequences are classic Magical Girl;  And the way the main characters graduate to different levels of power each season is very Power Rangers.  I first discovered Winx Club when I saw a small advertisement for the first series of 3.75" action figures online.  I picked one up at Target on my lunch break that day and pretty much got hooked.  I guess it's natural that I would be drawn to a series like this, but my dislike of rooted hair and cloth outfits has always kept me at bay from similar properties.  I eventually started watching the cartoons online and now I must face the fact that I'm a fullblown fan.  This second series of action figures from Jakks has the girls in their underwater Harmonix forms from Season 5.  Check them out below!

Neopets: Legends of Neopia ILLUSEN!

Neopets: Legends of Neopia - Illusen the Earth Faerie - by ThinkWay Toys 2004

Neopets is an online virtual pet website from 1999 that took popular elements from some Japanese properties like Pokemon and Digmon and added a Sims-like customizable/playable twist.  The concept was very popular and is still successful (and often imitated by newer mega-brands like Webkins).  My perception of the Neopets characters were very cute little anime-styled critters (ie.. very Pokemon), that why I was surprised to discover this line of action figures featuring very humanoid characters.  These figures are very hard to find.  Apparently they barely made it into the market and were most often found in discount stores or clearance sections.  I don't know much about Neopets or Illusen, but I have discovered that she is an Earth Faerie that lives in her tree-top sanctuary in Meridell.  She also apparently played a big part in the PS2 game Neopets: The Darkest Faerie.  It's amazing how little information I can find about her considering the sheer amount of images you can find.   Just google her and you'll see.  On to the the Review!

Winx Club Magic Gardenia FLORA!

Winx Club Gardenia Magic Garden Playset - Jakks Pacific 2013
 
Winx Club is an Italian Magical Girl animated series that is quickly starting to take over the toy aisles in the United States.  Reviewing these toys kind of goes against my mission statement of focusing on female characters with "boy" brands, but I give Winx Club a pass because at it's core, it's an adventure series, with cool villains, magical powers, and great characters (think modern-day She-Ra).  This playset is a little disappointing to me because it doesn't highlight any of the action/adventure themes.  Flora is the fairy of plants in the group and I really wish this set would have included some snared ivy or a snatching venus fly trap for combating the evil witches.  Instead, we get a tea party.  Oh well.  The figure is a great addition to my little collection and it is my first in-person look at the new tooling incorporated in all the 2013 figures hitting the shelves right now.  There are seven additional new figures showing up (although none have been officially announced): 4 Fairies in Harmonix form and 3 Witches.  I found one of them at TRU almost a month ago and am eagerly awaiting (ie hunting) the rest.  On to the review!

The Girls of WINX CLUB!

Believix and Concert Collections from Jakks Pacific 2012

This one is likely to spark up some "action figure vs doll" debate.  Winx Club is an Italian Magical Girl series (a'la Sailor Moon) featuring a group of girls who attend a special school for fairies.  There are neighboring witch and hero schools that create a very Harry Potter-like environment.  The main characters are six girls, each with a different "theme"  (i.e. Plants, Water, Music, etc).  The girls mostly appear as normal humans (albeit from a variety of different worlds), and only turn into fairies when called upon.  The change sequence is a staple in the Magical Girl genre, and here I thought He-Man and She-Ra were being original.  In 2012, the Winx Club were the 3rd most popular dolls in the world.  These dolls are usually large barbie-sized things with rooted hair and cloth.  The toys in this review however, are small, super-articulated, 3.75" scale, completely-sculpted little beauties.  There's something really fun about these toys.  I feel like I'm getting in on the ground floor with a new She-Ra-ish property.  You may love them or hate them, just check out the review and decide for yourself.