Michelangelo Comes to Life in NECA TMNT x Usagi Yojimbo Figures

Up next in these looks at the new NECA TMNT x Usagi Yojimbo figures is Michelangelo. He might not be my favorite Turtle, but he is my favorite from this series.

An action figure of Michelangelo from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, displayed in packaging with accessories, set against a yellow background.

Back of a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figure packaging featuring artwork of the character with scenic backgrounds, text describing the figure, and additional characters from the series.

If you missed Usagi and Donatello, you can catch up with them, but if you want to focus on the star, I have to hand it to Michelangelo. I have already sung the praises of this series overall, and I talked about how these are in the conversation for my favorite TMNT figures ever, so to float to top of that stack is pretty impressive. Mikey takes advantage of all of the strengths of the design and construction found in Donatello, but due to the nature of his jovial personality, he gets to amp it up past that.

A green action figure of a teenage mutant ninja turtle, standing upright with a big smile, surrounded by additional interchangeable parts including a head, hands, and weapons, set against a bright orange background.

As my look at Donatello did the heavy lifting for what you should expect for this figure, I get to focus on what makes Michelangelo different. Of course his skin tone is different, and he has the requisite nunchucks, but his portraits and one set of hands pushes him over the rest just in how expressive this figure is. Don’t get wrong, the more standard “Sakai” head is great, and he can pose well with his weapons, but I will ALWAYS have this figure displayed with the smiling portrait and waving hand. I love the look so, so much.

A colorful action figure of a green turtle character with a happy expression, wearing orange accessories and combat gear, posed against a bright yellow background.

Back view of a green turtle character toy with a large shell and orange headband, set against a bright orange background.

I mean – it’s Mikey! He is jovial, and happy, and playful, and all of that lends itself perfectly to Sakai’s designs, and feel of the stories. These figures stepped off the pages to be sure, but Mikey really has come to life from those pages. It is precious to say that Michelangelo has never been this “cute,” but that is really true, and I mean that in the best possible way. This figure is instantly adorable and emotes everything you need to know about Michelangelo, and in fun fashion.

A close-up of a green action figure resembling a turtle, wearing an orange mask and holding a white shuriken, against an orange background.

A close-up of a green action figure resembling a ninja turtle with an orange bandana, holding two sticks that resemble explosives, against a bright orange background.

If you want, you can display him with a slice of pizza from one of your other countless Turtles, or maybe this one wants some ramen or sushi instead, frankly, it will work. If this guys doesn’t bring you joy every time you look at him, I don’t know what will. If I had to pick on Mikey figure from my entire collection my very first TMNT figure (the original vintage Mike) now has some actual competition to be my favorite. I just love this one so much.

Two action figures of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles against an orange background. One figure holds a bo staff and has a purple mask, while the other has an orange mask and a smiling expression.

Four brightly colored action figures of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles standing against an orange background.

So there you have it – this figure captures the personality of Michelangelo better than just about, if not ALL, previous figures released over the past (almost) forty years. Like his brothers, he is debuting at Haulathon, so be haunting those Targets over the next few weeks. As you will see in the coming days, getting this entire series together really is something.