Recommended music: Ilan Eshkeri – The Way of the Ghost
On this #TurtleTuesday, we’re looking at the NECA Toys Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tatsu!
In the 1990 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film, Master Tatsu, played by Toshishiro Obata and voiced by Michael McConnohie, serves as the main enforcer for the Foot Clan. While Shredder operates from the shadows as the mastermind, Tatsu is the visible authority on the ground.
Tatsu runs the Foot Clan’s underground warehouse. He recruits runaway and troubled kids from New York City, using their feelings of isolation to build a loyal and disciplined group of Foot Soldiers. He intimidates without saying much, using his size and sudden bursts of violence to maintain control. His harsh treatment of his soldiers shows how cruel and uncaring the Foot Clan is, especially compared to Splinter’s caring approach.
Tatsu is the main obstacle the heroes must beat before facing the final boss. He leads attacks, like the ambush at April O’Neil’s antique shop, and fights the heroes himself. In the end, Casey Jones knocks Tatsu out with a golf club. With Tatsu gone, the Foot Clan loses its main enforcer, and Shredder is left to face the Turtles alone on the rooftop.
NECA Toys released the Ultimate Tatsu figure in August 2024 during Walmart’s “Collector Con” event. After that, fans outside the US could get it through specialty shops and the NECA Store website.
This release was a big win for TMNT collectors. For years, likeness rights for actor Toshishiro Obata made it impossible, but NECA finally worked out a deal to give us a movie-accurate Tatsu. Sculpted by Trevor Grove, the figure features two phenomenal head sculpts; one with Tatsu’s trademark stone-faced scowl, and another mid-shout for dynamic dojo poses. Both are incredibly accurate to the actor’s likeness.
NECA used a mix of soft-goods for his gi robes and pants, along with a plastic shoulder overlay. The fabric outfit lets you pose him in martial-arts stances or in his signature brooding, hands-on-hips look.
The figure comes with a bunch of cool accessories that fit the character and show off Obata’s real-life martial arts skills, even though Tatsu doesn’t use weapons in the film. Besides the extra head and seven hands, you get a katana with a removable saya sheath, a wooden shinai training sword, an open and closed tessen (war fan), a crumpled Foot mask to hold, and a red Oni mask, which I think is a nod to Tatsu’s character in the 2012 TMNT cartoon.
Overall, I’m very pleased with the execution of this figure, and its historical significance to the line. Though there are a handful of 1990 film characters that will likely never be officially released, Tatsu is a must-have for completing your 1990 film display.
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Dale's Toys 