Review: Jakks Pacific: Charmix: Bloom and Stella Dolls

A while back I had told you guys I had bought Bloom and Stella from ToysRUs and was waiting to get Flora to do a review.. well since there's no new episode airing this week and I wanted to post something for you guys, I decided to post just these two, and I'll add Flora when I get her. :)

BLOOM

Bloom is a lovely doll, and I'm very glad they made her, but she's not my favorite of the line. 

The doll is quite different from the stock picture-- the crown seen in the stock picture is a clearish yellow, while in person it's much more yellow then clear. The outfit is made out of an odd material, but if you zoom in on it here you can see it. It doesn't look quite so bad in person though-- it has lots of sparkles on it, which for some reason do not show up in pictures.

The hair is also different, it's just the same as Concert of Everyday Bloom's hair instead of Believix like it's pictured as here. I do like however that unlike Believix, if you brush this one's hair it won't be messed up. The face is the same as Concert and Everyday, as well. She isn't posable, either. Same body as Concert/Everyday.

While there are quite a few different things about this doll from the stock picture, that make her better or worse, there are quite a few wonderful things about her! 

She really is a beautiful doll, and she resembles Bloom closely. They did the gloves perfectly, and the wings are really pretty too. If you're looking for a cute Bloom Charmix doll in the USA, this is probably the one to go for, since Mattel's is only on eBay now and Simba's is only sold in Europe. Giochi's is also only on eBay now, AND was only sold in Europe.

My only two big complaints about her is that they opted for a necklace instead of a jewel on her shirt, and for some reason they didn't give her a turtleneck like it is in the show.

She's still very cute though. Overall rating is around 6 or 7/10. She's more on the 'cute doll' side then the accurate side.

STELLA

Stella is my favorite of the line, for sure. She's absolutely adorable.

Her hair didn't come in pigtails, but that can be easily fixed if you just use some of the rubberbands from the packaging. It also has bangs like Everyday/Concert Musa's in person instead of the side part seen here.

Her accessories seen here are a clear blue, in person they are a solid clear blue the same color as their Enchantix Bloom doll's top part of her dress.

That's about all the varies from the stock picture.

I love how they did her wings-- both her and Bloom's are coated in glitter which can be a little obnoxious at times, but overall it gives them a cute effect. They didn't do her shirt quite right, but it still looks fine. Confuses me why they gave her a jewel on her shirt and not Bloom, though. Her boots are very accurate.

Very cute face, same as Concert/Everyday Stella's face. I haven't tried brushing her hair personally, but it's not in a style I think would be messed up if you brushed it.

Overall I'd give her around a 7.8/10. Very cute doll, and more accurate then Bloom, while still remaining a cute doll.

Flora will be added when I buy her, thank you for reading! :)

Brand Licensing Europe: 2D Musa, Tecna, Aisha Sirenix

And looks like we get 2D art of those three, too! Glad we are, it was kind of obnoxious how it was just Bloom, Stella and Flora.

These are from Brand Licensing Europe's Netbook for September/October.

I think out of the 2D Sirenix in general my favorites are Aisha and Bloom. They both came out really well. The other did too, I just mean I like them especially. :P

Musa looks really good, too! And Tecna's hair is awesome. and I really like the contrast between her shirt and her tights, that worked well.

Who are your favorites in 2D Sirenix? Share in the comments what you think!

PS: Did you guys notice the new look on the blog? It's time for Halloween soon!

Review: Season 5: Episode 5, Tecna the Robot *SPOILERS*

Today's episode wasn't my favorite-- but it wasn't bad. Here's my review!

First off, we have Bloom trying to jog Sky's memory. It seemed to be going pretty good-- well, Sky still wasn't remembering anything, but Bloom seemed to be in a fairly good mood, which is something really rare in plots like this. :P Of course until Sky decided that it was useless since nothing was helping.

Then, I can't remember if it came before or after, but we got Princess Crystal trying to heal Sky. I like her. I like that she's not just the usual jerky brat like all the other love rivals are in this show. Not to say I don't adore out jerky brats-- but it's a nice change, isn't it?

But then of course Sky still won't remember, because there's a "barrier blocking Crystal's healing"... it was the pendant what. Get over your pendant Sky. You lost it, it's gone. That's it. No more. Groan. It could've have meant that much.

I did crack up over his little phone conversation with King Erindor, though. That was hilarious.

We also get to see Nereus and Queen Ligeia trying to find Tritannus, and Lenny(?) following them. They find him, he turns Nereus into one of his demon sea-mutants and then he demands information on Sirenix from Ligeia. She tells him Dafne/Daphne was the last Sirenix fairy, then he zaps her into a demon sea-mutant too.

 

Gosh Tritannus. Evil or not they're your family why are you turning them into ugly zombie mermen. And how did you turn Ligea from a female mermaid to a male mer-zombie? Gosh darnnit, Tritannus. I don't like your mer-zombies. Get rid of them. You should know this is only going to cause Neptune getting all angry at you and coming after you. ((Not to mention I was in love with Ligea's design.. why'd she have to get mutated too darn it.))

 Then it shows the Winx searching for The Sirenix Book-- Timmy and Tecna have worked out a new invention that should help them find it. But the Trix come and mess with her phone... causing her to find this creepy book.

As soon as she opens it... BOOM Tecna's a robot!! Poor Tecna. She finally gets her own little story/plot and it spans over what felt like six or seven minutes. I wish it had been the main focus of the episode instead of the mixture we got, she had quite a cool design. See the bottom of the article.

The robot wasn't even exactly evil-- it didn't try to really hurt the girls. It just started trashing the library looking for the Sirenix book. That lasted a couple minutes, but then the girls figured out it was her phone that was cursed and so they pulled it out of her robot self, causing her to turn back to normal. That was about it, for this episode. Oh, except!!

At the end it showed Tritannus talking to Icy about how he wanted her to go after Dafne/Daphne to find out more about Sirenix. That should be fun.

The next episode preview sounded pretty sweet though, with the whole competition thing going on. Minus the rainbow unicorn of course. That thing doesn't need to be there. 

Overall I'd say it was a pretty good episode, but there were a few minor complaints. Be sure to check back next week for the review for the next episode!

PS: All pictures used in this article are from Nick's official site, in their "Tecna the Robot" photogallery. :)

Total Licensing/Total Licensing Italy: Winx Club Images and Articles

From Total Licensing Magazine.

Total Licensing Italy September is out... and includes Winx!

First we've got some sort of fashion sketch-style images with this. I'm not 100% sure what exactly it is, so I'm just linking it instead of posting the image. 

http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/21041167#/21041167/2

I'm totally in love with them. I've always thought fashion sketches were gorgeous, and seeing Winx... aaahh!!! They may only be slightly stylized to look like fashion sketches, but they still are. ;)

Then in Total Licensing Magazine Fall 2012, we've got official 2D Sirenix images!! They're what's to the side of this article here. ;) It's only Bloom, Stella and Flora, but still!

Here's the source: http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/4722a369#/4722a369/23

Man, is it just me or is Flora kinda giving off a punk-rock vibe?? haha. She looks nice with it though. The pose for her is a little odd, but it works!

There were also articles included in both magazines, but I don't really want to load them all into this post. That could crash my computer, lol.

Anyone else in love with these images, just in general? Aaahhh!! 

Be sure to check back tomorrow for my Episode Five review. :)

PS: Anyone else think it's about time I update the look of this blog? If you have any suggestions for images for a new banner or anything, tell me! :) I'm thinking maybe Hallowinx, for Halloween.

Review: Season 5: Episode 4, Return to Alfea *SPOILERS*

Image from the Winx Wikia

Let me start this off by saying I LOVE that they're returning to Alfea. It's good they're not staying on Earth, Earth had too many opportunities to do useless things. (Like, there's a much lower chance they're going to throw their Rock band and Pets into Magix then Earth.)

Now here is my review of the episode.

First off, since when can Dafne make wind blow? I know it was supposed to make the scene more dramatic, but jeezus. She's a spirit not... wind. What?

I kinda wish she had really died instead of this. Before it was made out to be she died saving her sister (and it was her choice to), now it just seems like an accident gone wrong, that can easily be fixed. Don't get me wrong, I love Dafne, but I hope they don't bring her back to life. It would negate the value of her sacrifice and make it too "happy ending for everyone." 

Looks like we're getting some Flora/Helia love drama this time. It's about time. I really like Princess Crystal's design. 

And does this mean Helia is from Lynphea? If he's childhood friends with Crystal, and she's the princess, wouldn't that mean he is?

Man, how much power can Tritannus pack into that trident?! If he can give the Trix THAT much power from one zap.. man.

Anyone else love Musa. She's being so snarky, it brings some variety to the cast. Almost reminds me of Season 1/2 (but mainly 1) Musa. She might be creeping up on my favorites list to be almost with Stella.

The fight they had was entertaining, but nothing to comment on. 

But wait, Sky fell ten stories!!

SKY WHATS WRONG WITH YOU WHY DIDNT YOU DIE IT WAS A TEN STORY FALL WHAT

You die if you fall ten stories, kiddies. Don't forget that.

..But now he doesn't remember Bloom. Somehow I am not surprised. It seems like it'll be an interesting plot nevertheless, but I hope it doesn't span over more then three or so episodes. I don't want the Season to just consist of "waahh my boyfriend doesn't remember me," but that might just be because I've watched various shows with that plot and I'm tired of it.

MY GOODNESS THE PREVIEW FOR THE NEXT EPISODE IS FRIGHTENING

Tecna finally gets some attention and she gets turned into a robot oh Tecna. :(

What I want to know though, is why is there EVEN a book that turns someone into a robot hanging out in Alfea's archive. WHY. When will that come in handy?!

Anyway, I liked this episode, but it wasn't as good as the last two. But it was better then the Lilo. :) I'd give it about a 7 or so out of 10. 

Thanks for reading everybody! Feel free to share your opinion on the episode in the comments :)

Review: Jakks Pacific Enchantix Doll 4 Pack

So this weekend I went to Target and got one of these! I got mine for a real bargain-- they have a temporary markdown going on right now so it was $47 or so, but because I had a 20% off coupon it totaled up to only $38 when it usually retails $55. Cool, right?

Overall I think it's a fabulous pack for Winx fans, but for normal doll collectors it my fall flat. Here's my review.

BLOOM

Bloom is surprisingly one of my favorites out of this pack. While she doesn't look particularly interesting in images, in person she's the most stunning.

Her wings are GIGANTIC, for one thing. Believix size, if not bigger. Her dress works very well how they did it, and I love the pink glitter used on it. I'm glad they used it instead of plain white glitter or blue glitter, it looks much nicer.

Not to mention she just looks pretty in general, she uses the Believix face and has the Believix hairstyle though, which means don't brush it. I went over that in my Believix review, so unless you want a raging monster on your hands don't brush it.

My only complain about her is her hairstyle-- in the show she has a side part with a few little short strands. While I didn't expect them to do short strands or anything detailed like that, I do wish they would've done a side part. With some boiling water it could be fixed though. And it doesn't look bad how it comes, anyway.

Bloom gets an 8 out of 10.

STELLA

Stella fell flat, when I expected her to be the best out of the pack judging off pictures, I'm not saying she isn't a good doll, she is! Her face is absolutely gorgeous, it's almost like an altered Believix face for her, altered just enough so that it looks just a little bit different. 

Her outfit isn't bad, but it just isn't that interesting. The top is rather plain, though I do appreciate them putting those two blue straps. The skirt would be better if the little pieces of cloth were fuller, instead of just laying flat. When laying flat they don't cover up the entire under-skirt, so it looks kind of odd.

Her wings are my favorite of the pack-- they're not as big as Bloom's, but the colors and shape are gorgeous and they're what complete the doll. The only really bid downside of this doll is her hair, it's like Believix's weird hair but twice as bad. With some combing and/or boiling water it could be fixed, though.

Stella gets a 6.5 out of 10.

FLORA

Flora isn't particularly bad, but she's not amazing. The pink piece of fabric on the front of her dress is cut very well and looks like the show (enough) on some dolls, while on others it's cut too little and it's too big. I got one that's too big-- they had one that was the right size, but I worry more about faces then clothing with these dolls. You can touch up an outfit and alter it, but you can't a face.

As far as hair goes it wasn't that bad, but if you tried to brush it it would be. They gave her the same two curls in the front as Believix, when I would have liked if they had given her actual Enchantix hairstyle with the two little strips of hair in the front. 

I do however really love her wings, the coloring is really nice and they're really big. They look just like the show and are absolutely perfect. 

With Flora, the top of her outfit/dress is a pattern, instead of different pieces of ribbon. I would've preferred they use a striped fabric instead though-- they used one with wavy lines, and it looks kind of odd. With Flora, she looks very pretty as a doll, but she falls flat on accuracy.

Flora gets a 7 out of 10.

ICY

Of course Icy is the main reason everyone is buying the pack, so this is probably the one you want to hear most about. ;) 

Overall I think Icy is pretty nice. I love the color they made her hair, it's perfectly accurate. And as silly as it is that she has a sparkly cape, it works really nice and it almost looks like ice crystals from afar.  That works really nice, imo.

She's missing the I on her jumpsuit, but it was kinda dorky anyway. My only other complain about the outfit is how vibrant a blue it is-- it's not ugly or bad, it's just in the show it was kind of a dark faded teal. But hey; I'm content with any Icy doll.

Her face is probably the part that is the most inaccurate, it doesn't look much like Icy. It looks pretty, and it looks evil, but it doesn't look much like Icy. I see what they were trying to do with it, but it looks too... well, you know how there are two different kinds of evil smiles? The eyes wide open, big grin, angry eyebrows evil smile, and the slight smile, half-closed eyes, angry eyebrows evil smile. Icy in the show has the first kind, on the doll she has the second.

Icy gets a 8 out of 10.

OVERALL THOUGHTS

I think this pack is a really good purchase for any Winx collector-- imagine how rare Icy will be in ten years! But as far as doll quality goes most doll collectors would be a little disappointed. 

Though I don't really like how all these dolls (minus Icy) have the same gloves, I wish they would've made them different colors. :( It works fine though, it looks good. Just for accuracy purposes I wish they would've. Or at least made them lighter. Oh well! 

For people who are worried about the bendy legs some of these dolls are suffering, from being tied into the package weirdly: This pack does have it. My Icy's right boot suffers the most from it, then Stella's right leg. 

Overall this pack gets a 7.5 out of 10.

Thanks for reading, and be sure to check back tomorrow for my Season 5 Episode 4 review!  

New Preview Clip: Sirenix Fairies

A new preview clip popped up, this time about Sirenix Fairies!

It was a pretty interesting clip, but not too much to say about it other then OMG, Dafne was a Sirenix fairy? Cool :) Talk about unexpected.

That explains why we see the Winx at Roccaluce so many times in the theme song. It's Dafne helping them get Sirenix. 

Not much else to say, but I'll have a bigger post on Sunday for the fourth episode :) 

Here you can watch the preview clip, on BelieveInWinx's channel!

Review: Season 5: Episode 3, The Rise of Tritannus

Image from Flora Enchantix on Winx Wikia

Today the third episode of Season 5 premiered! I must say, it was quite good. Here are my thoughts!

Tritannus is really kinda creepy. He keeps going after toxic waste for power, doesn't that seem dangerous?? Like it would have some sort of long-term affect on his body. Unless he wants to stay sea-mutant forever. In which case go ahead.

Icy.. I can't tell if she's trying to use him, or if she really likes him? If she's trying to use him, goodness she is a good actress. If she really likes him.. bleh. It's fine, since at least it's not all three of the Trix liking the villain like in Season 3, but it's still kind of obnoxious. 

The Winx had a band concert, but honestly who wasn't expecting that, based on the description including them having a benefit concert. I don't really like how much they're pushing the 'be green' thing, mainly because they even wrote a whole song about it, but it's not bad. It's teaching people to be green, alright. I just wish they'd do it more subtly. 

Aisha is so awesome. All the girls are using magic to attack the enemy and she is just kicking and throwing the enemy. Kinda feel bad for her though, finding out her cousin is the sea-mutant absorbing pollution.

I'm glad they're heading back to Alfea, I was missing that place! I hope they stay there for the rest of the Season, at least most of it. It's really fun to see them there. 

The writing is improving. It was kinda lacking Season 4, but it's getting better. I'm happy about that. I hope their personalities get more development, that was the main mistake of Season 4. There was barely any, minus Roxy, Musa, and Riven.

Overall I think it was a really good episode, about as good as the last episode! I'd give it about a 7/10. :)

Thanks for reading, and be sure to catch Episode 4 when it premieres next Sunday!

Italian Harmonix Dolls and New Season 5 Clip: Toxic Power

It's been a pretty good week for Winx news. Not too much, but not too little. ;) Then again, when is there ever too much Winx news?

First off, MagixJourney found an image of the new Italian Harmonix dolls! I think they're by Simba, but it might be Giochi. Not sure. It was found here. :)

Personally, I think they're pretty cute! Not the best, but not the worst. I really like Stella and Flora, but I wish they would try harder to do accurate hair. The Italian Believix dolls had really accurate hair (minus Bloom), so wondering what's going on here. Should've at least given Stella bangs, she does have them in her Harmonix transformation. Oh well, it's not that bad! It looks fine like this too anyway. :) 

The other main complaints I have with these is for one, Aisha's coloring. Why is her dress blue? In the show it's green and a little blue, where's that pink coming from, too? Bloom's wings look a little weird next to the others, but it's not that bad.

But really, what's going on with Aisha's outfit? The others have minor outfit problems, but none as off as Aisha's. But they're still quite nice dolls, I'll probably import a Stella for myself.

Also this week we got a new clip on Nick's site for the third episode, titled Toxic Power! Be sure to check out BelieveInWinx and MagixJourney posts on it as well. ;)

It was a pretty nice clip, but man is Tritannus psycho. Who yells "ITS TOXIC!" then starts laughing?! Icy's pretty smart though, trying to get Tritannus to work with them. She knows he's probably their only way out of these prisons.

Not much else to say about this clip, it wasn't that interesting. I'm sure tomorrow's episode will be though!

Also, I picked up some Charmix dolls from ToysRUs this weekend. Once I get Flora I'll do a full review. :)

Be sure to check this blog tomorrow, I'll be doing an episode review on the third episode then, be sure to take a look!

Review: Season 5: Episode 2, The Spill *SPOILERS*

Image Credit to Winx Club Fãs on Flickr

Today a fantastic episode air! It was more like the Season premiere. It was a lot better then The Lilo, and probably would've made a better Season starter.

So we start out with the Winx going to the Frutti Music Bar. Well, first they put on a fairy show, but I didn't think that was worth noting. It wasn't much. Anyway, They go there, they talk, and Sky tries to give Bloom a pendant-- the Pendant of Eraklyon, which he says if you give to your true love you and your loved one will have good luck. (anyone wanna bet that in some other dub it'll be to propose to her? after Nabu's 'forever girlfriend' move, I would NOT be surprised)

But of course, Bloom keeps being distracted so he doesn't get around to give it to her. Silly Sky. I feel like he's done this somewhere before.

The Winx also notice an oil rig in the sea, but it's not leaking or anything so they leave it alone. They also met Roxy at the bar, and she mentioned she was heading to Alfea "tomorrow", eee! Wanna see her at Alfea!

 So then Aisha shows she's video chatting with Tressa, who's sending her a live showing of the coronation going on on Andros. This next part really got me-- Aisha showed the Winx a picture of the royal family: Neptune, Ligea, Tressa, Nereus, and Tritannus. Then the Winx call Nereus a cutie, and Tritannus 'ehh'.

..are you kidding me? They look exactly the same, but one has darker hair and slightly darker skin. My goodness. They look exactly the same. Anyway, as seen in the clip "Masked Assassin," Tritannus interrupts the coronation. But man, is it just me or is Neptune kinda a jerk? Who goes on with the coronation when one of your children isn't there. Talk about playing favorites.

Anyway, as seen Tritannus is pretty disliked among the Andros people. And yeah, he is a total jerk. But that's not why they dislike him. It seems like a "OMG NEREUS IS SOOO MUCH BETTER" kinda thing going on. Poor little Tritannus.

Anyway, they start to send him to jail then we're back with the Winx. They realize the oil rig had an accident, and is now spilling oil all over the ocean! Flora has one of her psychic nature pain blasts, who knew it affected her for only water too? Thought it was only plants. And yeah, I know there are plants in the ocean, but didn't think they'd be far enough up to affect Flora.

They go in and save the people involved, but during the event Sky accidentally loses his pendant! It's a shame, it was pretty nice looking. Both Flora and Aisha try to stop the spill, and while they got it to stop leaking by turning the rig into something else, there's still pollution floating around in the sea.

So at the end we're back to Tritanuus, in prison. There he finds.. the Trix?

Am I the only one a little confused at this? Why are the Trix in prison? Weren't they just after the Lilo? The Winx didn't throw them in prison, they just kinda drove them off. Oh well. So then it pretty much implies that Tritannus and the Trix were teaming up.

Image Credit to Winx Club Fãs on Flickr

Then in the next episode preview at the end, it showed Tritannus absorbing the pollution, and breaking into more containers of oil (I think?) and absorbing that to have more pollution-power.

Man, is it just me or is Tritannus a total jerk? I knew he was kind of whiny and I kinda felt bad for him with his brother becoming king, but dang. Now he's just being ridiculous.

Anyway, I really liked this episode! It was much better then The Lilo, and it was a proper Season opener. ;) Be sure to tune in next week when they air the third episode!

Pictures used in this blog post are from http://www.flickr.com/photos/winxclubfas/, be sure to check out all their screencaps!