My first impression of Budo was that he was a waste. The mold looked silly in the context of the semi-realistic Joe line. He lacked any guns and his the only unsheathed sword was colored red. As such, he was not a figure that I had any desire to own. He simply didn't fit into what I wanted out of a Joe figure. However, some time in the early '90's, I acquired a mint, complete Budo figure. I don't remember where it came from or how I got it, but I did. At that time I had a shelf in my room that held a few plants and some miniature Asian temple shaped incense burners. (Ahhh, the craziness of youth!) For some reason, I stuck Zanzibar's spear in Budo's hand and placed him up on this shelf as symbolic guard over my desk below. Suddenly, I liked the figure. In fact, when I found another complete one at a flea market a year or so later, I bought him over several other, major characters so that I would have a set of guards. (I remember the day when you could get mint, complete Joes at a flea market for about $3 each. I only wish I had taken more advantage of those days!) This resulted in me having two Budo figures during a time when I had only about 25 Joe figures of any sort available to me. However, the aesthetic appeal of the Budo's in my setting was enough to make me rethink my position on this character.
If you look at the Budo figure, he is actually a remarkable mold. He features rick color, intricate detail, and quality design. He is one of the few figures in the line whose head works both with and without his helmet. He also has a small hook molded onto his waist that was designed to hold his scabbarded sword. His chest armour is thick, like you would expect from a non-ninja sword fighter, and finely detailed to give the appearance that is handcrafted rather than a product of the modern age. His chest probably could stand a little more color to better accentuate the details, but still works as the solid brown. From this color, the rest of the figure is set off. The green legs and grey arms with red highlights create the type of figure that you can appreciate even if you don't want to use him extensively.
Budo's accessories are nicely done, but have a few glaring problems. First off, his pack is designed so that it can hold both his unsheathed sword and his sai. The sai also has a loop on the end that would allow it to be hooked onto Budo's waist should his scabbard not be attached. The sai is in a nice, silver-grey color that looks like a metal weapon. Budo's sword, though, is red. This is a failing of both this figure and the Stormshadow figure from the same year. The red sword takes away from the figure's realism and was the first mockery of edged weapons in the line. As a design, though, the sword is nice. It is just red. Budo also has a sheathed sword that attaches to his belt. This is done in the same color as the sai and looks great attached to Budo's side. In fact, it was this feature, with Budo's hand resting gently on the handle as if a sly cat who could pounce at any time, that drew me to the figure and lead me to my current use for this figure.
Currently, in my collection, Budo acts as a ceremonial guard. He is no often used on real combat missions but does see some time watching over prisoners and secure installations. He is not a named character but a nameless, faceless character type who fills a role that would be better served in Cobra but can be utilized on the Joe side as well. Every now and then I'll pull out a single Budo who will fight against some other swordsman in a combat arena type setting. That, though, is more of a one off type thing than real story continuity. However, in recent months my Funskool Budo has become a bodyguard to accompany my Funskool Cross Country who is a recently depowered criminal boss. Budo is the silent weapons expert who helps the Cross Country character in his quest to escape from the U.S. and avoid his criminal enemies (lead by the Funskool Red Dog and Funskool Zartan. Budo is fun to use in this capacity, but that type of thing, again, has less effect on my overall Joe universe and is more of a side-continuity that only, occasionally, crosses paths with the primary story.
If you want a Budo figure, you can find them cheap. As figures and characters go, Budo is down near the bottom. As such, even mint and complete, the figure is easy to find and cheap to acquire. (Be sure to check the figure's arms, though. Budo's arms are often discolored.) On top of that, if you really want a nice version of this figure for dirt cheap, Funskool makes a Budo figure that is colored nearly identically to the American release. As a bonus, the sword colors on the Funskool version are reversed so that you can replace the red American sword with a silver one from Funskool and have a nice Budo that is fully accessorized with realistically colored weapons. For most people, though, this doesn't matter. Budo is the type of figure that, while looking decent, doesn't really fit into the Joe mythos. While the ninja stuff with Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes was acceptable, adding a samurai to the mix just didn't quite work. Budo's outfit prevented his use in a more military way, so we are left with a figure that just lacks real purpose in the history of the Joe line. If you are like me and enjoy having figures that can fill some diverse roles, then this is okay. Otherwise, your need for Budo is probably pretty small. Personally, I don't mind this as it has enabled me to acquire the Budo figures I wanted for very cheaply. Of course, when that's all you can say about a figure, you know his place in the collecting world is lowly.
I'm well set for Budo figures. About the only thing I need is a 1993 Budo (International Team) filecard. If you've got one available, please let me know.
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