Once again we turn to Topps trading cards when NECA can't be bothered (or perhaps isn't allowed) to put bio info on these packages:
Inside a large, unobtrusive, silent warehouse at the edge of town, the evil ninja Tatsu and his warriors are preparing a devastating attack
on New York City, training outcasts, vandals and young runaways as soldiers...
When a solo hero has a helper, they're generally referred to as a sidekick; when there's a team of heroes, the helper is generally called the "Lancer," named for the medieval soldiers who were fully trained and armored, but didn't have the social standing of knights. Basically, the Lancer is whoever would be the hero if the hero weren't around. And keeping the medieval theme going, The Lancer's opposite number on the villains' side is called The Dragon, for being the monster the true baddie sends out into the world to do evil things in his name. It's fitting, then, that when the 1990 TMNT movie introduced the concept of a second-in-command for Shredder, they named him 辰, "dragon."
Tatsu was played by Obata Toshishiro, though he was voiced by
Michael McConnohie because Toshiro didn't speak English. Which doesn't explain why he was also dubbed in the Japanese release. Anyway, whatever rights needed to be worked out so they could make this character at last, NECA obviously did, because this isn't just a generic male face (this time), this is specifically the dude who appeared in both movies, with Trevor Grove getting to once again show off his portraiture skills. The set includes two heads: one simply scowling, the other with the mouth open in a shout.
The figure was sculpted by May Thamtarana,
but you'll never really see any of it, because Tatsu wears a large, softgoods uniform that covers everything except his neck and hands. Yes, you could push the sleeves up to see his bare arms, or hike up his pleated pants to see the boots and more traditional ninja pants beneath, but are you going to? Probably not. The shawl thing he wears over his shoulders is actually plugged into his back, and the belt it attaches to in the front is solidly wrapped around the figure's waist, meaning there's no easy way to take the dogi off, either. Better hop nothing needs its placement adjusted.
On the plus side, being softgoods does mean
the clothes don't get in the way of the articulation. At least, once you decipher what all the joints are supposed to be. Yes, he moves just like all the other movie Foot ninjas, but as is the case anytime you're dealing with softgoods, you have to make sure you know which direction the joints are facing or you'll have some trouble. Especially with the knees, here, since they're double-swivel/hinges, and the cutouts that allow them to move feel almost the same on the front and the back. Plus, the toy's hips are incredibly stiff, creaking and crackling with every attempt to move the leg forward or back; it's been a while since I've gotten a NECA figure whose joint is this reluctant to move.
Tatsu doesn't use any weapons in the film - even when he and Casey Jones have their designated Lancer-vs-Dragon fight, he's empty-handed. Naturally, the figure includes fists and
flat hands, but also three "holding" hands. So what's he going to hold? First, there's a crumpled Foot mask, which makes story sense - it's the one he hands to Shredder to initiate the Foot Clan's newest member. Next is a tessen war fan, in both open and folded versions. The folded version does appear in the movie: he hands it off to a Foot Soldier before the "never take your eyes off your opponent" fight, then somehow has it back to hold against the neck of the kid he attacked; the rest of the time, it's tucked into his belt, something you can do because the toy has an elastic band over the sculpted sash. The open version of the fan only ever appeared
in a promotional photo used on a trading card (not the same one we stole the text from). There's a katana with a saya scabbard, and a shinai, possibly as references to Obata's real-life history as a master swordsman. Finally, there's a red oni mask, which may be an oblique reference to Hattori Tatsu, the incarnation of this character seen in the 2012 cartoon, who wore a similar mask in white. That is a whole slew of obscure references, that all still make sense!
Shredder never had a second-in-command until Tatsu was created for the live-action movie, but now it's a fairly common thing. Fans have wanted a figure of this character for ages, but not even Playmates was ever able to do it. NECA's turned in their typical high quality for this most unexpected release. But hey, now that we have him, can he be a Universl Monster, like April and Casey were?
-- 09/05/24
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