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Saint Cloth Myth - Libra Dohku |
| Series | Saint Cloth Myth |
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| Title | Libra Dohku | |
| Release Date | February 2005 | |
| Manufacturer | Bandai | |
| Suggested Price (JPY) | 4,800 | |
| Scale | 1/11 | |
| Height (cm) | 16.9 cm (approx.) | |
| No. of Parts | 1 figure + 61 parts + 1 8-pages color manual + 1 mantel | |
| My Rating | Very Good |
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Story
Dohko, also known as Roshi, is Dragon Shiryu's mentor and as well as a Gold Saint of Libra.
He is perhaps the strongest Gold Saint and the eldest alive. Other Gold Saints pay respect
to him and heed his command by default. The Yoda-like midget is actually a hero at about 500
years back where he used to fight side by side with the previous Aries Gold Saint, Shion
whom is the rightful Master of the Sanctuary. In Chapter Hades, Roshi reverted to his
youthful form and challenge Shion for the last time. At that duel, he demonstrates his most
powerful attack twice to Shiryu, the ultimate "Rozan Hyaku Ryu Ha" (Rozan Hundred Dragon
Punch).
Beside Dohko background, the Libra Gold Cloth has its story of its own. Libra represents justice and a Libra Saint is the executioner in the event where a Saint has committed unforgivable crime should he be a Bronze or Gold. Athena granted special permission to Libra to utilize physical weapon to aid in the execution of justice. There are altogether 12 weapons hidden on the Libra Cloth.
Packaging
Libra Dohko is the sixth release of Gold Saint and the 12th in Saint Cloth Myth series and
comes packaged in the standard yellow ‘book box’. The box opens in the middle to reveal two
windowed boxes; in one side is a well-articulated figure of Dohko along with some of his
armor parts whereas the other is the rest of his Libra Object parts. The surprise comes when
you hold the package in your hand. It is much heavier than normal since it is loaded with
tons of parts and that require 4 separate tray to hold it all!
The following are the parts count and items in bold are of metal. Items in bold underline are a mixture of plastic and metal.
Left Tray
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Right Tray
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Lower Left Tray
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Lower Right Tray
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This package also comes with 8-pages colored instruction manual and a cloak. The clock is the standard design as in Leo Aioria, Aquarius Camus and Capricorn Shura. This mean that it is made of soft PVC and it comes with two plastic plugs to attach to the back of the chest armor.
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| The 'book-box' opens to reveal that it consists of two window boxes. | Box packaging |
Libra Object
Thank goodness that the construction of the Libra object is not as complicated as its prior
release, Wyvern Rhadamanthys. It started with its base attached with its waist and skirt
armor. Arm guards, thigh armors and the bracers are slotted to the 3 pins located at the
back of the base. The shoulder armors clings to both side of the base. The object frame
holds the chest armor and the helm. It comes with a V-shape side extension to slot in both
leg guards. The moveable extension rod on the frame holds the long spear that rest on the
middle pin on the base. The shields are pinned to the scale on each side. On each scale,
there is a choice to place which weapon capsule preferred (blade, Tonfar, or twin-rod).
The result is a stunning golden scale of Libra.
Naturally, all Saint Cloth Myth object uses up 99% of the provided armor parts starting from Pegasus Seiya to Wyvern Rhadamanthys. When Bandai announce the release of Libra Dohko, I am dying to see how the designer at Bandai could hide 12 weapons onto the Libra Object. I am disappointed as Libra still has many other parts lying around. Maybe Bandai designer is not good enough or Masami Kurumada’s design is never logical.
Figure
Dohko comes in his youth form with the standard PVC body, which is the exact same design
since the series first release. Maybe Bandai found no reason to improve the already superb
articulated body. The minor difference found on this figure is its body is painted in deep
green and comes with a different head sculpt. The hair is removed like a helmet where the
whole piece is taken off to accommodate the full helm. An additional head is provided, which
is of Shiryu with his eyes close.
Libra's weapons when not in use are supposed to be in capsule form. There are 2 slots on each leg armor to hold these weapon capsules (tonfar and twin-rods) and 2 on the arm guard to hold the blade. Both triple-rods are store at the back and the shields are attached on left hand and right shoulder armor. The last lies with its long spears where it is held in hand.
The Gold Cloth in armor is solid, hefty in weight and immediately increment Dohko’s height by a centimeter or two. The paint job is beautifully done with the entire armor plated in gold decorated with intricate patterns. The armor gold color is much deeper in orange than Capricorn Shura. The Libra's cloth design is definitely inspired by a Chinese design. The helm and the large round button on the chest are obviously following the armor design of a Chinese General in the dynasty era.
The loads of accessories on the armor is a double-edge sword where on one hand it is definitely worth the play time and on the hand pose a problem in the figure stability. Moreover, parts pops out here and there while posing with it. Another point is that the top of the figure is just too heavy where displaying Dohko in armor is subject to a tumble down. One thing that I like is that the shoulder armor is following Capricorn Shura design, which implements a metal catch that clasp between the chest armor. This is much durable than the flimsy connector appears in those plastic shoulder armor such as in Aquarius Camus.
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| Box arts |
Conclusion
When we weigh our hard-earned cash and the weight of this package, I will say that the scale
will definitely tip over this splendid release of Libra Dohko. The tons of weapons
definitely ensure a plentiful amount of play time. Moreover, the unique cloth design and
Dohko as an iconic figure in Saint Seiya series will definitely help Bandai to squeeze the
money out of the fans pockets. A must have for those who just love to see Dohko in his
youthful form donning the Libra Cloth.
Note: Since I first watch Saint Seiya TV1 about 10 years ago, I always used to joke around about how the midget Roshi is able to wear his Libra Cloth, which is much bigger than he is. Roshi is undeniably an important characters and a rumor at that time stated that he is able to revert to his full form to wear the armor. I have painstakingly waited for 10 years to see it happens and finally, the answer is reveal in Chapter Hades. It is nostalgic to see my 10 years old question answered in this release of Gold Saints.
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| This is Dohko but I really miss the Yoda-like Roshi. | I am 500 years old and I am not wrong wearing a wig! |
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| Is there something wrong with my eyes or the scale of justice imbalance? | Three rows of arm guards, bracers and thigh armor at the back. |
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| The helmet is place in front, resting on a place holder on the frame. | I see ONE long spear. Where is the other being kept? |
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| Since Dohko ultimate attack, "Rozan Hyaku Ryu Ha", is so mighty, I am showing the stance in three angles. Shiryu learn the attack by witnessing it twice and maybe you can learn it with 3 pictures. ^_^ | ||
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| This guy is loaded with weapons from head to toe and I wonder who will dare to challenge him in an actual war? | ||
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Document Date : 2005-03-27 |
Responses to this page:
wow
Good work here, but do u know that Dohko has 2 pairs of xtra hands? They are actually hands to hold Libra's weapons ... Leo Aioria and Sagitarius' Extra hands. U can refer to the manual though