Editor’s Note:  This review has been updated with our second look at TVC…

Original Review:  Chris - 12/24/2011 6:48 PM

I try very hard not to let the subject affect the review of a figure.  I don’t always succeed.  A figure of padawan Anakin Skywalker just doesn’t get me excited.  I would have preferred an upgrade to the standard Tatooine Anakin Skywalker from Episode 1.  If this were a super articulated figure of another diminutive character like Rycar Ryjerd I’d be doing back springs and petitioning the board for an 11 Bantha Skull rating.

But alas this figure is what it is, and that’s padawan Anakin Skywalker from the last moments of the film. As a figure it’s decent.  It has the standard 14 points of articulation which is impressive for a figure this small.  The training remote and helmet add an extra dimension of play value.  The detailing is impressive, but at the same time something that feels standard for Jedi costumed figures these days. The only thing I can legitimately knock the figure for is the fact that Hasbro didn’t quite get the hair correct.  It seems more like a perm than the spike doo Jake Lloyd adorned in the waning seconds of The Phantom Menace.  I’m giving this figure an 8 out of 10 due to the objective factors and nothing subjective moves my needle too much in either direction.  As an action figure, it’s a quality item. 8 out of 10. 

Updated Review:  Bret - 10/16/2018 07:05 AM

Here’s another fine example of the once glorious Star Wars line.  This is Anakin in the Jedi Padawan outfit he wore for 5 seconds of screentime at the end of The Phantom Menace.  I’m glad Hasbro finally got around to making this figure, although it’s funny because as Chris mentioned, we really are in dire need of an upgrade to the Anakin figure that wears the Tatooine outfit from 98% of the movie.  That figure should see the light of day at some point, as unpopular as that may sound.  If it came with full articulation, some tools, and a podracer helmet with flip down goggles, we’d be in business. Or maybe Hasbro would be out of business.  I’m not sure, but either way, that figure is long overdue.

As it is, we get this version, and I’m happy to have it.  It’s really a great figure, even if the source material isn’t particularly exciting.  Anakin wore these robes during the Naboo celebration, and no Naboo celebration diorama is complete without it.  Just ask Randy.  He’s got the world’s largest Naboo diorama, which includes a spectacular Gungan marching band, and scores of background Naboo to fill out the cheering crowds.  He’s even rigged a confetti drop that is activated by a button.  It’s amazing.  Anyway, Anakin is loaded with articulation, especially for a figure this small in stature.  He’s got everything except for ball jointed hips, which should be standard for all Jedi, even the padawans.  The cloth “skirt” would make you think he’s got ball jointed hips, but like Obi Wan and Qui-Gon, this is not the case.  Nevertheles, Anakin is quite posable.

The best thing about the figure is that the additional accessories allow you to make better use of it than just standing there for that one scene.  The helmet, lightsabers, and training remote are great inclusions by Hasbro, so that you can recreate those gripping EU scenes where Youngling Anakin wrecks his classmates and sends them to the infirmary, or just crying to their rooms.  As you can see in the photos, he likes to use his superior articulation to show off his smooth moves and make his fellow younglings look like veritable statues.  He’s a show off, and the other kids don’t like to play with him.  Yoda does not approve.

Maybe not a lot of people asked for this figure, but I think it’s a nice addition to your collection.  Even though it lacks the most modern types of super-articulation, it’s great for what it is meant to be.  This should be considered the definitive Anakin youngling.  Now, if it weren’t for that ridiculously undersized “peace globe” that Boss Nass can’t hold, this scene would pretty much be complete, even if many of the figures could use an update. 

Anakin can be found for very low prices on eBay, loose or carded.  It’s also the definitive version of him in this outfit.  As such, there’s no need to revisit this figure in any way.  If you want it in your collection, grab one off eBay on the cheap!

Updated Review for PhotoReal 2022:  Bret - 07/19/2022 07:05 AM

I wrote this as part of the last paragraph of the updated review for 2018 above:

there’s no need to revisit this figure in any way.

Even with this figure in hand, almost 4 years later, I feel the same way.  I don’t think Kid Anakin was something collectors were begging to be re-released.  It’s certainly a nice figure, and it helps to almost complete the Scene [It] for the Gungan celebration at the end of TPM.  But we got the figure, it wasn’t particularly exciting at the time, and it seems it hasn’t been hard to get on the secondary market either.

The differences between this release and the original are minor.  The most significant, of course, is PhotoReal.  But it really doesn’t seem to elevate the portrait much.  It’s definitely more realistic than the 2012 figure, but I just don’t feel like it looks any more Anakin-y.  Less expected, but possibly more important than PhotoReal, is that Hasbro corrected the unpainted ankle joints.  They are now colored just like the rest of his boots, which is a change that is always appreciated when Hasbro has the opportunity. 

There are very slight color variations to the hair and outfit, but nothing attention-grabbing.  The only other difference I could find was that the soft goods lower robes now only have one seam instead of two.  It’s certainly not a big deal, but it does look a little neater this time around.

Beyond that, Anakin comes with the same exact accessories:  A training lightsaber, a hilt, a helmet, and a remote with a clear stand.  The only variation I can see here is that the helmet coloring is not as bright white as the original; it seems almost cream colored.  To my old eyes, it also seems to be a slightly different shape - and it sits a little differently on his head.  I doubt it’s new, it could just be the age of the old tooling.  Or I could be seeing things.  Either way, the whole aesthetic reminds me of those old beauty parlors my grandmother would go to:

This is a detailed, nicely posable figure, with cool accessories with which it interacts well.  Was it worth the effort to repack?  Eh.  But if you missed out the first time, nobody will give you a hard time if you pick this one up now.  I’ll maintain the 8/10 score.