Let’s explore a new Super Mario figure from @jakkstoys long running toy line. This time it’s Explorer Mario. The last new figure in the series’ 15th wave. Explorer Mario brings to the table an entirely new sculpt! Like the 4” Mario with Cappy’s gorgeous textures, this figure too is nicely textured throughout, giving him more depth. He also features a mix of finishes giving us hints of gold and silver throughout as well as nice glossy rain boots and leather straps. All the detail on him does come with a price. It is rampant in paint misalignments and bleeding here and there. Inspect him through the plastic carefully. They really tried to do everything they could for this figure in its visual appearance including the gradated light blue eyes. However, this is where all my praise for this guy ends. Unfortunately, not much was done for him in terms of articulation. He does have a bit more space between his head and torso, affording him a larger amount of neck rotation which has plagued 4” Mario figures in this line. He also has rotating fists and the standard issue shoulder and elbow flexing, however his backpack stops any movement toward his back. His legs suffer the most in that they are simple stumps extruding from his torso and have no articulation at the hips. He does have knee articulation which does not much for him since he can’t pivot anywhere else in his lower extremities. I guess you can pose him on his knees trying to pick up his blue power moon. It’s best to simply leave his knees alone and allow him to stand. You will need to lean him forward, however, as his solid backpack weighs him down, causing him to fall backward. Overall, this figure is a fresh welcome for the line with his nicely detailed sculpt and attention to detail, but a lack of careful paint application brings it down. It’s brought further down by lackluster articulation, relegating him to mostly a display figure with limited posability. I give him 3 out of 5 stars, it’s okay, you may or may not be crazy about it!