Quick re-cap: Kotobukiya has released (3) G.I.Joe characters under their “Bishoujo” banner – The Baroness, Scarlett and Lady Jaye.
Whereas the Baroness has been offered in her Crimson & Cobra Blue uniforms and Scarlett as Glenda, this is the first time Lady Jaye gets the treatment and let me say, she looks fantastic! Feast your eyes on Canary Ann!
The world’s first series of action figures created by Hasbro, G.I. Joe follows a group of heroes in their fight against Cobra, an evil organization plotting to take over the world. In this line of 1/7 scale statues, the colorful characters of G.I. JOE are reborn as Kotobukiya’s BISHOUJO!
This limited edition variant features Lady Jaye, an agent from the global elite special unit known as the G.I. JOE team, dressed in the Canary Ann costume.
In this special color variant, Lady Jaye can be seen donning a mustard yellow coverall as she sneaks into the city. In addition, the ketchup-colored military hat adds an additional cute touch to the overall design.
Created through the power of technology, this high quality digitally sculpted statue leaves no detail untouched thanks to the expert hand of sculptor Takaboku Busujima (BUSUJIMAX)! The digital sculpting brings out a realistic look and feel like no other. The packaging of this statue can also be reassembled to look like the original packaging from the G.I. JOE action figures from the past.
The G.I. JOE BISHOUJO series will continue to grow with an extensive lineup of characters, so stay tuned for more updates! Yo JOE!!G.I. JOE and all related characters are trademarks of Hasbro and are used with permission. © 2021 Hasbro. All Rights Reserved. Licensed by Hasbro.
PROTOTYPES SHOWN,PENDING LICENSOR APPROVAL.FINAL PRODUCT MAY VARY. CONCEPT ART SHOWN PENDING LICENSOR APPROVAL.
●Product release dates shown are for Japan only. For overseas release schedule, please contact your local retailer.
●”Exclusive Items” and “Reproduction” are for Japan only. Please note that not all items are available overseas.
●”Special Bonus Items” only come with products purchased directly from the Kotobukiya shops. In addition, special bonus items are offered only while supplies last.
- Month of Release: Feb, 2021
- Scale: 1/7
- Product Size: 235mm Tall
- Specification: Pre-paint PVC Figure
- Material: PVC (Phthalate-free)
- ABS Sculptor: Takaboku Busujima (BUSUJIMAX)
The original Canary Ann, produced by Funskool India, was a marketing tie in for a brand called Complan that sold a chocolate health drink (think ovaltine). The Complan Commandos are a hard group to come by, especially in loose/mint/complete condition.
I may be mistaken, but I believe this is the first Canary Ann statue to grace our G.I.Joe Collections. Count me in, Kotobukiya!
SURVEILLANCE PORT 
I’ve been buying Kotobukiya’s (comic based) Bishoujou statues since the early days, back when they were still in a smaller scale. But I’ve to admit I’ve mixed feelings about this one. When they decided to make a scarlet red version of Baroness, I was like “Hell yeah”. But then we saw more variations of both Baroness and Scarlett, and now this variant Lady Jaye? I don’t know, feels like an easy cash grab to me (the worst part is I’ll probably buy it anyway, ’cause when you have all the others, you want this one too, right?). Personally, I would much rather have preferred a Quarrel version of Scarlett or a Night Force version of Lady Jaye. Or even better, other characters such as Cover Girl (with a Sparta variant, if you insist), Jinx, Zarana, Zanya, Bombstrike… So much choice left.
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Indeed my friend. So many more choices to go, so many cash grabs in the way.
I don’t want to be a hypocrite; I dig Canary Ann and will get her, but to your most eloquent point – We could have come back to this release and focused on new releases first.
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But in the end, we’ll both be suckers and still buy it… as they know all too well. 😉
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Oh, lol, no question about it!
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Oh and, I want an Agent Helix. 😉
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I really hope we see Helix before Dawn.
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Absolutely!
Dawn Moreno… I’ll be honest, I’m not a fan of the character. It goes a bit farther than that. I know that’s a sensitive subject, but to be totally honest I’m not too thrilled with Larry Hama’s current run on ARAH. Sometimes I feel like people don’t dare criticize his work because of everything he has done for the GI Joe brand in the past. And let’s be clear, I’m grateful for all he did and the joy he brought us. But this is not 1982 anymore and what worked then, does not necessarily work anymore today. I just feel his stories lacking. Too simplistic, too black & white, a Cobra organization that borders on the ridiculous, always the same limited cast of characters (there are 100’s of Joes & Cobras!!!), way toooooooooo much Ninja Force (I’m so tired of the Ninja crap… again, it’s 2020), characters that are way too powerful/perfect, very little characterization, too many personal political opinions… and I can go on. I read a lot of comics, about 50-60 every month and story wise this is simply weak. Sure, it’s a question of taste. But if this weren’t GI Joe, I would have stopped reading it long ago. I often compare it to what Devil’s Due did back in the early 2000’s. Those are the comics that brought me back to GI Joe. I left my toys when I was around 14-15 (they were resting in my parents’ attic), but around 10 years later, these comics brought me back. It was around the right time as Hasbro was slowly releasing new stuff (Gi Joe vs Cobra, Spy Troops, VvV… love it or hate it). I think the impact of Devil’s Due bringing the comic back to life is often underestimated! I loved these comics: great stories, great art, amazing covers… It didn’t just trow away what came before, no it respected it and built upon it. But characters seemed to have grown, had that more edgy and adult feeling. Cobra finally became a global organisation to be taken seriously. These were not the jokers from the cartoon or movie, as Larry often portrays them. No, this is Cobra Commander who nukes his own island to get rid of those who oppose him. I also loved how they finally gave him some background. Even the Dreadnoks got fleshed out. The new Red Shadows were an interesting idea. New characters such as Kamakura and Blackout (the Joe gone rogue). And yes, there were still ninja’s around, but they were so much more interesting. I was so disappointed when Larry Hama took over the book for IDW and decided to throw all of this away. I didn’t write it, so it doesn’t matter and doesn’t exist… that sounds borderline arrogant if you ask me (almost like Bendis, who I can’t stand either).
And this brings us to Dawn. I simply dislike the character. First of all, the whole concept feels forced. The way he killed off the real Snake Eyes was almost as bad as the temporary death of Wolverine. It still feel as if the whole idea was rushed in order to quickly replace him with a female, teenage (minority based of course), female version. Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind colored characters (love Stalker!) and I love strong females (Scarlett, Baroness…), but not like this. This feels forced and I hate that! I almost threw the comic away when I was reading the story line where she battles like 100’s of Red Ninja’s, you know those elite assassins everybody is scared of, and goes through them as if they are not even there. That was simply ridiculous. And we got a repeat of that when she goes through the Cobra elite forces in Springfield. The more I read about her, the stronger my dislike of her character becomes. But I guess to shut people like me up, they keep the second Snake Ayes, Sean around…. ‘sigh’ that guy has less personality than a brick. No, I know it’s sacrilege for many, but I really wish they would thank Larry for his services and give the book to another writer, an hard edged, rougher, military oriented writer. I know these days he’s considered to be on the wrong side of the political spectrum, but Chuck Dixon did some amazing stuff on GI Joe. It’s only one of the names that comes to mind. Or John Ney Rieber, the writer who did some neat stuff on GI Joe Reloaded. I’m sure there are plenty of others around, but this title needs a fresh wind that at the same time still respects it’s past and builds upon it (so, not like the other IDW GI Joe ideas that always turn into flops).
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I’ve been thinking a little bit more about this and I think the perfect candidate for the job would be Tim Seeley! He has tons of experience with the franchise, he has shown he can handle many different genres (Hack/Slash…yeeeeeeeh!), he’s a fan, he could fill in for the art every now and then and do the occasional covers. And he has shown with Masters of the Universe he knows how to handle brands like these. Give him a dynamic, talented artist such as Robert Atkins and you’re set.
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Oh man that would be an instant win!
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