I've told the story of the peg-warming Street Fighter figures, before. It is the legend that defines the entire slate of figures, for me. But, I'm an anomaly in that regard. I was never a fan of Street Fighter in general. It came out during a time when I didn't much care for video games. So, I'm mostly left with just some oddball figures that are part of the G.I. Joe line as their legacy. But, in recent years, I've come to appreciate the figures for the designs they are. And, Edmond Honda may be the most unique figure released in the entire Joe line's history.
I'm not really sure what to do with Edmond Honda. The uniqueness of his mold makes him an anomaly among the Joe line. And, that's what works for him. He's supposed to be a Sumo wrestler. And, he has the physique to prove it. Hasbro went all out and created a deluxe level figure to match the character. There was no one-size-fits-all that kept Roadblock the same height as Scarlett. Edmond Honda was massive. He features oversized arms, tree-trunk legs and a torso that is so heavy that it destabilizes his lower legs. He is a singular piece of design that was made to create the visage of a popular character that kids of the day could instantly recognize. In that regard, he might be the most successful of the Street Fighter figures. You know who he is. And he has the heft to allow kids to act out their favorite video game battles.
For someone who doesn't have the connection to the game, though, Edmond Honda is a weird figure to have around. He looks cool. But, his construction has a flaw that I'll discuss later. More importantly, he doesn't really have much of a purpose. To be fair, though, he really isn't wearing much less clothing than Quick Kick. And, if you're going to have a samurai in the Joe line, why not a Sumo wrestler, too? As martial artists were always my least favorite characters, though, Edmond Honda's appeal to me is also limited. Aside from a weird battle scene, there's not much use for him.
I've also told the story of the "battle arena" scenario I used to play out in my friends' basement. They had figures from an array of toy lines. (Though, oddly, not much G.I. Joe....) And, here, I'd pluck out two random figures and stage a battle to the death. The figures rarely had accessories. The notable exception was the M.A.S.K. figures. But, they needed the weaponry in the masks to compensate for their small size. Even with weapons, they always lost. Masters of the Universe figures always did well. Usually, just because they were bigger and could punch other guys to death. I do wonder how I'd have evolved these battles had the Street Fighter figures been available in the mid 1980's. Edmond Honda would have done well due to his size. And, when looking at the figure today, that's really the only thought I have about him.
Edmond Honda features a fatal flaw. Now, it's not the thong diaper that he wears under his skirt. Nor is it the massive physique of the figure. It is the action feature. Most action features are annoying. But, they rarely ruin the entire figure. Edmond Honda's, though, does. His left leg is supposed to kick. And, due to this feature, it will not stay under his body. So, it's basically impossible to actually pose the figure. For years, you'd see occasional photos of E. Honda. And, he'd always be in awkward poses. It was only upon my acquisition of the figure that I learned this was a design feature of the figure's selling point. So, even in my photos, you see Honda posed very carefully or just sitting. Because, this is pretty much all he can do. His leg will kick out and the figure will topple: making him not overly useful for a modern collector.
Edmond Honda features amazing sculpting for his release year. His head is well detailed and his hair is remarkably intricate...a necessary element given his larger head size. Hasbro went all out on the Street Fighter line. They made all new parts and put forth some of their best efforts on some of the characters. (They did kind of phone it in on a few others.) So, the Street Fighter subset had substantial budget spent to make it appealing to kids. And, while the survivor bias of seeing them on the pegs in 1995 and 1996 shapes my feelings on the figures, the reality is that they seem to exist in ample quantities. Suggesting that Hasbro sold quite a lot of them during 1993 and 1994. I'd love to find actual sales or production numbers on some of the later year waves. I suspect many of them had massive production runs while others got just a fraction of the resources. But, it's unlikely we'll be privy to that info any time soon.
Edmond Honda features a large array of weapons. Like most figures from 1993, he included a weapon tree. His tree, though, was large and included an impressive 7 weapons. When you add in the figure stand and the cloth skirt, Honda was among the better accessorized figures of his era. His weapons are 2 swords, 3 knives an axe and a sickle: all cast in dark blue plastic. The swords and axe are pretty well done and look nice with the figure. The sickle is a personal favorite of mine. But, that's mostly because it has a hook to which a rope can be tied: making it a much more fun accessory to use. In total, though, Honda's gear is useful to the figure and also gives you some extras to hand out to other martial arts themed figures should you not have their gear handy.
E. Honda was used twice. This blue skirted figure features red face paint and was available as part of the G.I. Joe line in 1993. There is a much rarer version that debuted in 1994 as part of the Street Fighter Movie Line. This figure features a white loincloth and blue facepaint. As most of the figure is just a naked torso and legs, though, the two figures don't have massive visual distinction. But, the Movie Edmond Honda is among the easier figures from that line to track down and isn't nearly the pricey acquisition that many of the other 1993 repaints who appeared in that line tend to be. As the body mold is completely unique, there wasn't much to do with Edmond Honda outside of his character. So, the parts never appeared again.
E. Honda figures are not as ubiquitous as they once were. Long a staple of the $5 carded figures bins you'd find at toy shows and comic shops, E. Honda has risen past that. Today, mint and complete figures will run you $30. Carded versions will cost you $50 or more. But, as is the norm in today's Joe market, the price is heavily dictated by the slow supply of quality figures in the market at any moment. Honda is a likely candidate for price reductions during the next supply boom. Until then, you can can incomplete figures for cheap. Though, the giant, fat guy in a diaper only has so much appeal. I passed on this guy for a long time. Now, I have one. And, aside from taking him, specifically, out for photos, I have no real need to own him. For cheap, he's a fun conversation piece. But, at today's prices, the figure is an easy skip for me. But, if you have an attachment to the Street Fighter game, the figure may hold a great deal more appeal to you.
