Miraculous Ladybug - MULTIMOUSE!

Miraculous Ladybug Action Figures: Wave 05 - Multimouse - Bandai 2019

Considering how many cool forms the main character in Miraculous, Marinette, has assumed, it's surprising there haven't been more interesting toys of her. We've seen rehashed Ladybug costumes, and a very cool Lady Noire, but there could have easily been a few fun Marinettes in each wave. It's amusing then that the very last figure produced in the Bandai line would be Multimouse, one of her more unique transformations. I'll be honest, I was never planning on getting this figure. I knew the line was ending and she would be hard to get. Plus I wasn't a huge fan of the gray and pink color scheme, especially when compared to the bright bold colors of the other figures. But, typical of most collectors, over time I began to covet this figure. Her "exclusivity" (meaning: final-wave poor distribution) only ramped up her appeal to me. I finally got her at a decent price right as the new Playmates line started seeing wide circulation. She's a great final addition to the old line. Let's check out Multimouse below!

Miraculous Ladybug - AQUABUG!

Miraculous Ladybug Action Figures: Wave 04 - AquaBug - Bandai 2018

With the first assortment of Miraculous figures from Playmates Toys finally hitting the shelves, I scrambled to get the last couple Bandai figures I never picked up (before they became impossible to get). Similar to any Batman or Spider-Man themed property, there is some version of Ladybug in every wave of Miraculous toys. She's the focal character so I totally get it, but I usually skip slight variations of a character I already have. When I first saw pics of this AquaBug figure, I wrote it off as just "Ladybug with blue hair" and didn't pay any attention. But a few years later I saw a pic of her and realized she had some interesting details. The most impressive part is that her costume is completely covered in a fishscale texture. It's only noticeable up close and Bandai could have been cheap and just re-used the smooth mold. Her hair gradient from light blue to pink also really stands out. In the packaging, the pink blends in with the background graphics, so seeing it in person was a nice surprise. Let's check out AquaBug below!

Miraculous - QUEEN BEE!

ZAG Heroez - Miraculous - Series 01 - Queen Bee - PlayMates Toys 2021

I love Miraculous Ladybug and Cat Noir toys so much. I've tried to watch the cartoon but I'm too far removed from the target demographic to fully embrace it. But these action figures just thrill me. Colorful female characters with animal themed costumes makes for a toyline seemingly custom-made for me. Plus, I always take notice when an action figure line is catered to a young female audience. It's surprisingly rare for there to be product beyond dolls. But Miraculous has never shied away from true articulated plastic action figures, and I adore them for that. Recently the toy license has shifted from Bandai to Playmates and the core characters are slowly being re-released in a slightly smaller scale and greatly improved accessories. It's a very well-made line, but the distribution is extremely spotty and only the five original figures shown have been released. I certainly hope there will be more, but only time will tell. There are tons of characters deserving of figures. Let's check out Queen Bee below!

Miraculous - RENA ROUGE!

ZAG Heroez - Miraculous - Series 01 - Rena Rouge - PlayMates Toys 2020

I think I could go out on a limb and say that Rena Rouge is my favorite Miraculous character. I don't really watch the cartoons, but I find her design immensely appealing. Her bright colors and fox-like hair is so fun. Plus, orange-clad female action figures are oddly rare, so she really stands out in my collection.  I also like how the civilian characters in Miraculous often evolve into different costumed characters. Marinette becomes Ladybug, Aquabug, Multi-Mouse, and Lady Noire. Chloe becomes Antibug, Queen Bee, and Queen Wasp. And Alya becomes Lady Wi-Fi and Rena Rouge. So they always give that "powered up" excitement that you would get from classic video games or Power Rangers. Even though Rena Rouge is the second fox character after the villain Volpina, Rena just seems special. I'm really glad she was included in the first wave of this new PlayMates line. She's honestly the main reason I decided to jump on board with this new scale after the Bandai line ended. Let's check out Rena Rouge below!

PlayMates Toys - MIRACULOUS!

ZAG Heroz - Miraculous - Ladybug, Marinette, Cat Noir - PlayMates Toys 2020

Sometimes I find myself totally obsessed with a line of action figures, but be completely indifferent to the source material. This happens all the time with video game properties (since I am not a gamer at all), but it's pretty rare with comics and cartoons (since I am fully immersed in both genres). But Miraculous is a big exception. I adore these character designs. Most of the figures have simple animal-themed and brightly colored costumes. And the base body type is definitely an animated style with spindly limbs and big heads, but they are actually more naturally proportioned than a lot of animation figures on the shelves. I was very excited to watch the cartoon when I first got the Bandai toys back in 2016, but I quickly realized I am very far from the target demographic of that show. I couldn't relate and I just didn't enjoy it. But my appreciation for the toys has been growing ever since. Last year at Toy Fair they announced that the Bandai figure line was ending and a new one from Playmates was launching. 

Miraculous Ladybug - RENA ROUGE!

Miraculous Ladybug Action Figures: Wave 04 - Rena Rouge - Bandai 2018

I just made a new friend who works for Nickelodeon and it made me realize I never reviewed this amazing Rena Rouge figure. I know that Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir is on Disney now. But I will always think of it as a Nickelodeon show. Rena Rouge is another akumatized version of Marinette's best friend, Alya. Earlier in the series, she had been tricked into becoming the villain, Lady Wi-Fi, but this time around she joins with the Kwami Trixx to become the fox-themed hero, Rena Rouge. In this identity, she assists her friends Ladybug and Cat Noir with her powers of illusion and trickery. I always love the eastern-inspired folklore of foxes as supernatural tricksters, and I'm super glad that the Miraculous toyline has given us two fox-themed ladies so far. I just love these bright, colorful action figures and I hope Bandai continues to produce more (even if they are impossible to get in the US). I'm only missing one character now (Multimouse) and I don't want the hunt to end! Let's check out Rena Rouge below!

Miraculous Ladybug - PUPPETEER!

Miraculous Ladybug Action Figures: Wave 03 - Puppeteer - Bandai 2018

I think it's super great when an obscure character is given the full action figure treatment. The Miraculous toy line from Bandai is full of fun, colorful, female-centric characters and is really unlike anything else on the market right now (it was similar to DC Superhero Girls, Mysticons, and WWE Superstars, but it appears all those other lines have failed). Miraculous has all but disappeared from US toy shelves, but there has been a steady flow of new releases in Europe (it's a French cartoon). I believe the Puppeteer only appeared in a single episode of the show as a child that Marinette was babysitting who gained powers and became the tantrum-driven villain for an episode. The fact that this character warranted an action figure speaks highly to the potential of this line. It's a pet peeve of mine when we just get endless redecos of the same main characters over and over. And while we still see some variation of Ladybug in each wave, the B and C-list characters are endlessly present. Let's check out Puppeteer below!

Miraculous Ladybug - QUEEN BEE!

Miraculous Ladybug Action Figures: Wave 04 - Queen Bee - Bandai 2018

I love Bumblebee-themed characters. I even did a week-long series of bee-lady reviews back in 2014 leading up to the release of Sweet Bee. There's something about the yellow and black color palette that I find very appealing (with the inexplicable exception of team colors in sports... on a jersey I hate this color combo). The occasional wings and stinger added to the look is just an added bonus. Something I find enjoyable about Miraculous is how the same human characters assume different costumed identities throughout the series. Chloe is Marinette's nemesis and has appeared in Ladybug's outfit, a color-swapped version named Anti-bug, then this Queen Bee costume (which I think is her most iconic look), followed by a color-swapped version Queen Wasp. Marinette's best friend, Alya, has been Lady Wi-Fi, Rena Rouge, and Rena Rage. And Marinette herself has been a number of characters, most notably Ladybug, Lady Noire, and Multimouse. I love this system. Let's check out Queen Bee below!

Miraculous Ladybug - VOLPINA!

Miraculous Ladybug Action Figures: Wave 03 - Volpina - Bandai 2018

Foxes are really intriguing animals to me. As a kid I was always excited to see them mysteriously slinking around our land, but there always seemed to be a certain mystery and intelligence surrounding them that I couldn't pinpoint. As a teenager I learned about how Japanese culture holds them in a similar regard and my overzealous childhood imagination suddenly seemed justified. The movie Pom Poko, the anime series Inu-Yasha, Sonic the Hedgehog, and the comic Skeleton Key were all a big part of my teenage years and they all featured foxes as shapeshifting or generally magical beings. (Plus a recent episode in the 1st season of Love, Death, & Robots featured a Huli Jung, which is an almost identical Chinese version of the Japanese Kitsune mythology). Long story short, I now had backup for my fox obsession. When I saw this character Volpina in Miraculous, I knew she had to have an eventual action figure. And luckily my premonition was correct, this Volpina is gorgeous. Let's check her out below!

Miraculous Ladybug - LADY NOIRE & MISTER BUG!

Miraculous Ladybug Action Figures: Wave 05 - Lady Noire & Mr. Bug - Bandai 2019

I love a good gender-swap, and I like it even better when it's true swap and two characters reverse their gender polarities. I don't know the exact storyline behind these costumes, but seeing Marinette in a cat outfit and Adrien in a ladybug getup makes me really happy.  Miraculous products have all but disappeared from the shelves in the US. The first two waves were available everywhere: Target, Walmart, Kmart, TRU, etc. But waves three, four, and now five seem to only be released in Europe (France, Germany, UK) and Russia. The crazy thing is that the show's popularity seems to be picking up lately. I've had multiple friends ask me where to get Miraculous toys, specifically because their kids have (recently) become huge fans. I hope the US toy industry takes note and they bring them back. I'll be spending the next few posts catching up on the backlog of figures I've acquired. It was really fun to finally open them all. Let's check out Lady Noir and Mister Bug below!

Miraculous Ladybug - LADY WIFI!

Miraculous Ladybug Action Figures: Wave 02 - Lady Wi-Fi - Bandai 2017

I'm very excited about what the future holds for all the various Zag Heroez/Zagtoons properties and all the potential action figures that could come from them. If this Miraculous line from Bandai is any indication of the production quality and character assortment coming down the line, we are going to have a great few years. Check out Superstar, Pixie Girl, Zak Storm, Ghostforce, etc to see just a small selection of the new cartoons on the horizon. This Lady Wi-Fi figure is pretty elusive. I believe she is supposed to be included in the second wave of Miraculous figures, but she is not in the assortments that are showing up in stores, and she's not ever shown on the character lineup on the cardbacks (but the rest of wave two is). There is a third wave in the works including Volpina, Puppeteer, Bumblebee, and a new Ladybug, so I have feeling this little lady is going to get lost in the mix. I caved and ordered mine off Amazon to avoid missing out. Let's check out Lady Wi-Fi below!

Miraculous Ladybug - WAVE TWO VILLAINS!

Miraculous Ladybug: Wave 02 - Antibug, Chloe, and Stormy Weather - Bandai 2017

I'm so glad that the Miraculous Ladybug line is continuing. I saw major potential in the cool roster of characters, but I was afraid that the first wave of the two main characters (Ladybug and Cat Noir) and their civilian identities (Marinette and Adrien) might be the beginning and end of the line. But then I was in Target last week and literally did a double take when I noticed these new figures hanging next to the DC Superhero Girls. I guess my expectations for a second series were pretty low because I've since discovered that information about these toys has been on the internet for a while. I realize that I haven't googled the line since the first wave came out in July.  And that is very unlike me. But I won't make that mistake again. I'm already hyped about the third wave (two characters verified already!) The action figure revolution is happening, and it's in the pink aisles! Next I want to see Monster High and SpacePop in this format. (Not to mention DC Superhero Girls Wave 02). Let's check out the villains below!

Miraculous - LADYBUG & MARINETTE!

Miraculous - Action Figures Series 01 - Ladybug & Marinette - Bandai 2016

We are in the middle of a revolution of female-led action properties and toylines. The I Am Elemental Kickstarter got the ball rolling last Summer. Then DC Superhero Girls burst onto the scene this Spring. Then Ghostbusters flooded the shelves. And next year Mysticons will be sure to be a hit. But right now we're seeing the first figures for a lesser-known but very cool property called Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir. Miraculous is a French CGI-animated series following the adventures of Marinette, a young fashion designer and her male model crush Adrien who fight crime as Ladybug and Cat Noir. The first season began in December 2015 here in the US (on Nickelodeon) and I believe seasons 2 and 3 are already completed and airing in foreign markets. I've seen about 6 episodes (last night!) and I really like it. Hopefully this action figure line continues because there are a lot of cool characters I would love to see in my collection. Let's check out Ladybug and her secret identity Marinette below!