Marbled Flounder, Greater Amberjack, Splendid Alfonsino, Alaskan Pollock & Largehead Hairtail (Primary Saltwater Fish by Takara Tomy A.R.T.S.)

Review and images by JimoAi; edited by bmathison1972

Over the last few years, various companies have given us a whole slew of fish figures: Yujin with their accurate depictions of the Finding Nemo characters, along with some obscure species like the pineapple fish in their first Saltwater Fish in Colour set; Kaiyodo pumping out obscure fish species like the dorado, Kidako moray, and the Clark’s anemone fish for their Aquatales lines; Colorata with their various fish sets: the Fossil Fish and Deep Sea Fish sets are two examples; Safari Ltd. pumping out figures lesser-known sharks like the lemon shark and the grey reef shark; CollectA with their upcoming Xiphactinus later in 2021. Still. Many fish species are still left in the dust, even though there being almost 28,000 species of fish alive today (although most are very similar to one another and most are small and don’t grab much attention from the average person, which sadly, includes most of the oddities). In 2021, Takara Tomy A.R.T.S has released a set of saltwater fish which included 12 species of fish shown here on this leaflet, which are commonly eaten in Japan and other parts of the world, 5 which are unique (have never been made in toy form before). However, due to not being able to acquire the full set, I will only be taking a look at the 5 unique species, going from what I think is the least exciting, to most exciting.

1. Marbled flounder (Pseudopleuronectes yokohamae)
Size of figure: 5 cm
Size of actual animal: up to 45 cm
Scale: up to 1:9
Color: chocolate brown with some blue speckling on top, white underbelly and transparent brown fins
Diet: Amphipods, crustaceans, polychaete worms
Additional information: the one of the 2 flounders in this set, the other being the olive flounder. An interesting looking fish with both eyes on one side of the body that is often overlooked by toy companies, with the Colorata olive flounder being one of the easiest to get and was the only one in production, until the recent release of this figure.

2. Greater amberjack (Seriola dumerili)
Size of figure: 6 cm
Size of actual animal: averages at 100c m, largest one found was 190 cm
Scale: 1:17 to 1:31
Color: dark yellowish brown top with white underbelly and lighter yellowish brown fins
Diet: Benthic and pelagic fish, cephalopods and crustaceans
Additional information: this figure is sculpted with its mouth open and its body undulating to the side, like most of the figures in this set. This figure is relatively small, which doesn’t really do justice to the fact that it’s the largest fish in it’s genus, and other species in this genus was made into figure forms are the yellowtails, which is present in this set as well as by Yujin, and the Capsule Aquarium by Kaiyodo. I remember fondly of meeting a kind fishmonger who was delighted when I Identified the fish he brought in correctly as a yellowtail amberjack while I was in Osaka.

3. Splendid alfonsino (Beryx splendens)
Size of figure: 4.8 cm
Size of actual animal: Averages at 37.5 cm to 50 cm, but up to 70 cm
Scale: 1:7.6 to 1:14
Color: bright red fins top, a large yellow eye and a gold underbelly
Diet: Primarily crustaceans, cephalopods, and small fish
Additional information: the only figure of an alfonsino made so far, this little figure does not disappoint. A relative of the squirrelfish, this figure has large eyes to allow it to see in the low light levels of the depths of the deep ocean. This figure is sculpted with it’s mouth open and fins splayed out to the side. Great addition to any fish collector’s collection!

4. Alaskan pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus)
Size of figure: 6 cm
Size of actual animal: Averages 30 to 50 cm, up to 91 cm
Scale: 1:5 to 1:15
Color: a metallic pink top with brownish speckling a creamy mid-section and bottom with clear dark grey fins.
Diet: copepods and krill
Additional information: this is the first time a cod under the family Gadidae has been made as a standard-sized figure, although AAA has one too, but it is a large figure. Its metallic color is really eye catching for what looks to be a drab-looking fish otherwise, and it is a fish widely eaten around the world.

5. Largehead hairtail (Trichiurus lepturus)
Size of figure: 9.5 cm when stretched out
Size of actual animal: ranges from 50 cm to 234 cm
Scale: 1:5 to 1:24
Color: a translucent gray body and fins with a yellow eye
Diet: other fish, squid, shrimps, and adults will cannibalise on smaller individuals
Additional information: also known as the beltfish, the very first figure of a fish under the Trichiuridae family; this figure does not disappoint. In fact, the whole set is worth purchasing just for this fish alone! I have seen this fish turn up in supermarkets in my area and this figure is sculpted with i’s mouth open and features individually sculpted teeth in its mouth, much akin to the razor sharp teeth of the specimens I see.

Final thoughts. The set is worth purchasing just for the unique species alone. Other companies have done some of these species, although in larger sizes and better accuracy: the bluefin tuna and the japanese sea bass being noteworthy examples. My favourite has to be, hands down, the beltfish. This set was released in 2018 but has since retired. But fear not! This set was recently re-released, giving people the chance to collect these neat little figures (I regretted not picking it up earlier in 2018 and had to wait until late 2020 to pick mine up). The smaller size of some of these figures may put off some collectors but at the same time, they do scale well with some larger sea animal figures like large sharks or cetaceans. Be sure to preorder your set soon, before they’re gone again, like these fish fleeing the Schleich great white shark…