Wow guys—after almost two years, I've finally completed my Bandai Finding Dory "blind bag" collection! As you probably know, I've been an avid collector of these cute stylized figures ever since they launched back in May of 2016 (right before the release of Finding Dory in theaters). SERIES 5 here (which hit shelves briefly a year ago last spring) was the last series I needed— and boy was it a tough one to track down. I feel like the last wave or series in most collections is the hardest to find since it's usually because the line is dying out/under performing at that point and companies just ship the small quantities they have to select stores. So yes, this series was a much more limited release compared to the previous four and that's why you may have never even seen them (I actually think each series got increasingly more difficult to find).
I originally found five of these Series 5 characters (out of eight) last April at my local Target (I remember somehow the case had already been picked over, even though I had just been there). When I went to pay, they weren't even in the store's system (so they had to make up a price—very strange). On our road trip to Florida a few weeks after that, I stopped by another Target and found one more I needed. The last two I had to wait for a seller to list them on eBay, which finally happened a couple weeks back. You know I SNAGGED them up like no other.
This series is fun because it was the first one to add some original Finding Nemo characters to the mix, as well as some new and improved designs of a few previously released characters. Once again, there are eight characters total: Dory (newly designed; originally in Series 1), Nemo (newly designed; originally in Series 2), Destiny (newly designed, originally in Series 3), Baily (newly designed; originally in Series 4), Bruce, Peach, Seagull and Gill.
Once again, while these are technically classified as "blind bags", each bag actually has a little window on the back so you can see who you're buying. I love that! I like that it gives you options; you can either live on the edge by feeling around and seeing who you get once you open it (like a traditional blind bag) or you can cheat (like me) to make sure you get them all.
I personally like the best of both worlds. I like to make sure I have them all there at the store (plus I hate getting repeats), but then I open each of them without looking once I get home (so there's still a little element of surprise).
Let's have a closer look at each figure! Each one is made from a hard, durable plastic (no articulation) and is about two inches in size. Original retail price was $2.99 each.
DORY
This is a cute, brand new sculpt of Dory—this time with an excellent thinking/confused expression and a curved body.
NEMO
I'm so glad that they decided to release Nemo again with a new sculpt. The original one from Series 2 always seemed a little off to me (with the mega stretched out eyes). This one is much cuter with better proportions (and ultimately captures the character better).
DESTINY
The original Destiny figure from Series 3 has always my absolute least favorite of all the series (which is a shame because I was really excited for that character). Despite being one of the largest characters in the movie, she was (and is) the smallest figure of them all and just not well sculpted. I am SO glad they revisited her for this series (I'm sure Bandai knew they got her wrong), giving her a brand new sculpt. Now this is exactly how I pictured her figure looking the first time around! The stylization is much more in line with the collection, her size is bigger and is cuter overall. Yay!
BAILEY
As far a Bailey, I never had much of an issue with his original sculpt in Series 4. So while I didn't feel this one was needed, I'm actually really glad they included him here! This time we get Bailey in his signature "echolocation" pose, which is fun. Comparing the two, I do have to say I like this one better. "OoOoooOOoOoooooOOo...."
BRUCE
Now we're getting into the Finding Nemo inspired characters! Who doesn't love Bruce? He's captured perfectly here. Super cute.
PEACH
Same goes for Peach. SO cute. My only tiny gripe with her is that she doesn't stand on her own (as you can see in my photo here, I had to lean her against a small piece of plastic). As far as her look though, it's a fantastic figure.
SEAGULL
MINE! MINE! MINE! Ok the fact that they made one of the seagulls into a figure is just awesome (in fact, I predicted/wished one would be included in a future series back in October 2016 in my Series 3 post). They're iconic! And how adorable is he? This one is absolutely perfect. I actually wish a had a few more of them.
GILL
Gill is one of my favorite characters from the first film (so full of mystery with brilliant voice acting by Willem Dafoe). It's so exciting he was included here and he looks great! I just wish the line continued beyond this series so that we could have gotten more Finding Nemo characters. Sadly I think this is the end.
There we have it folks, my fifth and final review of the fifth and final Finding Dory blind bag series. The end of an era. It's been super fun collecting these! What made this line so incredibly cool is the vast array of characters we got across five series (with so many of them being obscure; like ones I never thought would actually get made)—we're talking 43 unique characters/variations total! (That's including the three exclusive figures that came in the Target 14 pack).
And here they all are!
Update 4/8/21- My YouTube video is finally up!
If you're looking to add this series (or really any of them at this point) to your collection, the only way to go is eBay (check out THIS DIRECT LINK TO CURRENT LISTINGS). Best of luck and be sure to let me know your final thoughts/any fond memories you might have regarding this line in the comment section below!
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